Rem 870 Magnum vs non-magnum

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blasted_saber

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So I have a 2 3/4" 870 Wingmaster. The barrel is chambered for 3" rounds. The reciever as far as I can tell is only the standard receiver (ive been told the serial number will have an "M" in it, as well as it being stamped "magnum" if it is one).

Heres the thing; The chamber handles 3" shells (the barrel is marked as a 3" chamber). Ive put an empty 3" shell into the gun and it ejects it fine. So whats the difference?
 
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As far as I know the difference is in the ejector. I had an old 2 3/4" Wingmaster (V in the sn) which I had converted to shoot 3" shells. The ejection port is the same size. Your 870 may have already been converted. There is a way to visually tell if the ejector has been changed, but I can't remember how offhand.
 
Are you saying that you have a 3" marked barrel? Do not shoot 3" shells in a 2-3/4" marked barrel, even if it fits. Chamber lengths are based on the maximum length of the fired shell. There has to be enough space in the chamber for the crimp to open up. If a 2-3/4" barrel was re-chambered to 3", the gunsmith should have stamped it accordingly.

As mentioned above, the only difference besides the barrel would be the ejector. If your gun has a 3" chamber and has no problem ejecting fired 3" shells, carry on.

3" magnum barrels are not necessarily any heavier than 2-3/4" ones. In fact, Remington has been using a Light Contour barrel in recent years.
 
tjhaile said:
Are you saying that you have a 3" marked barrel? Do not shoot 3" shells in a 2-3/4" marked barrel, even if it fits. Chamber lengths are based on the maximum length of the fired shell. There has to be enough space in the chamber for the crimp to open up. If a 2-3/4" barrel was re-chambered to 3", the gunsmith should have stamped it accordingly.

As mentioned above, the only difference besides the barrel would be the ejector. If your gun has a 3" chamber and has no problem ejecting fired 3" shells, carry on.

3" magnum barrels are not necessarily any heavier than 2-3/4" ones. In fact, Remington has been using a Light Contour barrel in recent years.
Click to expand...

The barrel is marked for 3" shells. Its a factory made barrel. The receiver is not marked anything besides 870 Wingmaster and the serial number.
 
3" shells were originally called magnums because they were heavier than 2 3/4" shells that was until the 3 1/2" came out. Thats why the 870 says magnum! the magnum meaning 3".
 
Depending on the year of manufacture the gun may not be stamped "Magnum" all though the serial should end with an "M" which means its a magnum reciever.now have a look at the side of the reciever opposite the ejection port you should see 2 rivets that hold the ejector into the reciever do the rivets look like they may have been replaced if so someone may have converted the reciever to handle 3" shells.
 
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