Classic old Remington 870 question

LawrenceN

LawrenceN

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
240   0   0
Location
Toronto (West end)
Good day all. Given the wealth of knowledge on this site, I thought I'd turn to the pros. My best bud has an old (about 46 yrs.) Remington 870 12 Ga., 2-3/4" shotgun with a 28" barrel. He asked me about the odds of obtaining a 20" smoothbore slug barrel for it. I know they're available, but I have some questions for those folks more knowledgeable than I about these. Has the barrel to receiver mating system changed in the last 46 yrs. or should a newer barrel be interchangeable with an 870 that old. Secondly, I'm assuming the shells sit in the barrel so would an old receiver like that handle 3" shells or would a newer barrel still be relegated to the 2-3/4" shell size? Can I nail down the year of manufacture from the serial number (T069310V)? I took the liberty of attaching a few pics. Thank you all in advance.
 
New barrels will fit but the retaining method has changed. You can slip an O ring or Wave washer over the barrel ring to keep the magazine cap tight. Or get the new barrel drilled for a ball detent.

Some 2.75” receivers can eject fired 3” hulls so try it with an empty hull. I fire 3” magnums out of an express barrel fitted into a 2.75” wing master receiver. The new barrels ruin the swing but are necessary for steel shot.

Date of manufacture depends on the barrel code. Assuming that the barrel is original to the receiver. Remington names them BLACKPOWDERX corresponding to Jan-Dec months. If you google a table it’ll indicate the year and you can match based on your wingmaster variant.

Remington%20date%20code.jpg


MONTH CODE

B L A C K P O W D E R X
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec


YEAR CODE

M N P R S T U W X Y Z A
1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932


B C D E F G H J K L MM NN
1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944


PP RR SS TT UU WW XX YY ZZ A B C
1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956


D E F G H J K L M N P R
1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968


S T U W X Y Z I O Q V A
1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980


B C D E F G H I J K L M
1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992


N O P Q R S T U V W X Y
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004


Z A B C D E F G H I J K
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

https://www.leeroysramblings.com/Gun%20Articles/remington_barrel_date_code.html
 
Last edited:
Mosinmaster, is right: a new barrels will fit but the retaining method has changed. You can slip an O ring or Wave washer over the barrel ring to keep the magazine cap tight.

I got my 870 wingmaster 3" mag fixed full choke vent rib in 1981 so it's about 39 + years old. I put a replacement barrel with removable choke about 2 years ago and works great.

I use the wave washer to keep tight. I got the washer from Wilson Combat, it came packaged from speedfeed part #0999

About shooting 3" shells, I have a lot of function questions on using 3" shells. I would have checked out by a gunsmith and get is/her OK before shooting any 3" shells. If it was me I would look for a 3" receiver on EE

I agree with mosinmaster: Date of manufacture depends on the barrel code. Assuming that the barrel is original to the receiver. My barrel code is LA L= Feb and A= 1980

Your serial number Prefix T was used from 1974 to 1977 for suffix V= 12 g 2 3/4". my prefix is V it was used 1978 to 1983 and my suffix is M= 3" magnum so using a serial number is useless on correctly dating any 870.

THE REMINGTON SOCIETY OF AMERICA state: "Using these barrel codes to date a shotgun is somewhat unreliable, as shotgun barrels are often interchanged at random. One needs to be sure that the barrel is original to the gun before trusting the Barrel Code."

The only work done on the gun since new is a new recoil pad last year and i put a mid bead about 6 months after I got the gun. just cleaned it and oiled it after every use still like new
 
Last edited:
My brother, and others I've since spoken to, told me that he had ejection problems when he used 3" shells in the older Remingtons made exclusively for the 2-3/4" shells. My last question though, does anyone know when the barrel retention system changed? Thanks to a good guy here on CGN I've found an older blued smooth-bored slug barrel. Though I'd have been quite content with just a bead front sight, this one has the rifle sights. I'll know for sure when I swap barrels if I need the wave washer or "O" ring. I plan to swap out the factory sights for the fire sights like I did on my 20 Ga.
 
Most Wingmaster barrels will have the ball detent original retention system. Same as the Police barrels. Only recently has the Wingmaster barrel retention system migrated to the Express ratchet style.
 
LawrenceN said:
My brother, and others I've since spoken to, told me that he had ejection problems when he used 3" shells in the older Remingtons made exclusively for the 2-3/4" shells. My last question though, does anyone know when the barrel retention system changed? Thanks to a good guy here on CGN I've found an older blued smooth-bored slug barrel. Though I'd have been quite content with just a bead front sight, this one has the rifle sights. I'll know for sure when I swap barrels if I need the wave washer or "O" ring. I plan to swap out the factory sights for the fire sights like I did on my 20 Ga.
Click to expand...

A 2-3/4" chamber means there's room for that size shell to fully open, but not enough room for a 3" shell, so it may sorta kinda work and it mostly opens and all the bits go forward out of the barrel that were meant to, but you may be causing yourself some overpressure and it's just possible that those ejection problems are trying to tell you something and that something is PLEASE DON'T DO THIS and you're tempting fate and firearm failure. That said, I'd be interested in what they looked like afterward, if the front was more chewed or less open than you normally see on a spent shell.
 
blasted_saber said:
Plumbers thread tape works great for holding the cap on.
Click to expand...

You seem to miss the point. It's not a matter of holding the cap on, it's a question of ensuring the cap snugs up against the barrel ring. Thanks for the input guys! I'd already come to the conclusion that I'll tell my buddy to stick to 2-3/4" shells as that's what the receiver is rated for. When I get the slug barrel, I'll know right off if it needs and tweaking. From what you gentlemen have told me, it may well be that the slug barrel, which is dated from the 80's, may just slip on and snug up quite nicely.
 
LawrenceN said:
You seem to miss the point. It's not a matter of holding the cap on, it's a question of ensuring the cap snugs up against the barrel ring. Thanks for the input guys! I'd already come to the conclusion that I'll tell my buddy to stick to 2-3/4" shells as that's what the receiver is rated for. When I get the slug barrel, I'll know right off if it needs and tweaking. From what you gentlemen have told me, it may well be that the slug barrel, which is dated from the 80's, may just slip on and snug up quite nicely.
Click to expand...

I dont miss the point at all. Ive been doing it for years. Put thread tape on. The cap will snug up. It wont back off because of the tape. Without the tape, it will back off within a couple shots.

Experience - I own two older Wingmasters, one of which has been wearing an Express barrel the entire time I owned it. I also own an Express.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom