Remginton 870 Wingmaster

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Why is it so much more expensive then the other models?

Brand new:

26927 12 28" 870 WINGMASTER $835.00


12-3½" 28" 870 EXPRESS SUPER MAGNUM $445.00

25568 12 28" 870 EXPRESS $395.00

Prices taken from shooters choice
 
The Wingmaster is the higher end shotgun. Mostly the stock wood and the finish. The Express is the same gun, but with less expensive stock wood and finish. Sort of like what a Chev and an Oldsmobile used to be.
 
The Wingmaster has a smoother slide.

One is polished the other not. After a few cases the Express will be exactly the same.

Bud your asing why one is more expensive. The best answer I can give you is if you want a pretty gun, one to carry in pheasant fields and to baby, the Wingmaster is for you. If you want a gun to go through Hell and still put food on the table, the Express is all you'll ever need.
 
One is polished the other not. After a few cases the Express will be exactly the same.

Bud your asing why one is more expensive. The best answer I can give you is if you want a pretty gun, one to carry in pheasant fields and to baby, the Wingmaster is for you. If you want a gun to go through Hell and still put food on the table, the Express is all you'll ever need.

Kinda like my ex G/F...pretty and polished but to heavy to carry in the field...but she could still put any man thru hell if need be...:kickInTheNuts:
 
I bought the Express for $375 brand new- and never regretted it. Works very well, awesome value for the money.The finish kinda sucks, wears down quick from heavy use.
She smooths up after a couple cases of shells. I don't think I would be any happier with a Wingmaster, after the rough handling and wet hunts. The super shiny finish and better grade wood would be beat to crap. The Express is the "Utility grade", the only thing I didn't like was the plastic trigger group, which I replaced with a metal group.


And for the extra money between the Wingmaster and the Express you could pimp it out a bit with a slug barrel, tacticool junk or whatever.
 
The Wingmaster has stayed the course of time for 50 years, an 870 Wingmaster is a treasured heirloom that you could hunt with for the next 5 decades and pass it along to your children to do the same.

The 870 Express is a nice gun but has a matte (almost parkerized finish) and laminated wood stocks, SquirrelNutz is right you can buy one and swap out the trigger guard for a metal one and then you would have a awesome utilitarian gun for hunting!!! The Express will never be the family heirloom or look that nice on the rack but it does its job very well!!!

I just bought a brand new 870 Wingmaster 12g, 3" with a 28" rem-choke barrel and limbsaver recoil pad for $850 CDN, I was happy to part with the cash cause I know its gonna be the last 12 guage I ever buy, that goes for my son too!!! I take mine hunting for ducks and geese, if it gets banged up its all part of the story to pass on.......

I have owned both and can tell you that either one will serve you very well. Do you want a time honoured tradition that you can keep for ever, or a well made tool that gets the job done and save you a bit of cash???
 
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its more than simply better bluing/polished.

the triggergroup on a Wingmaster is all metal, where its mostly plastic on an Express. the bolt is polished on the Wingmaster. pretty much all machining is far cleaner/sharper, and the entire thing is polished and richly blued whereas an express is bead blasted and matte/blued (and a rust magnet).

a Wingmaster is smooth out of the box and a lot of the older guys' Wingmasters that theyve had for decades are so smooth you can almost cycle the action by just tipping the gun back and forth. an Express smoothes up too with use, but not as much as a Wingmaster -- i think its just the better machining/fit/polish of all of the Wingmasters parts that makes them so smooth.

a Wingmaster is an heirloom, while an Express is a tool. both are good guns in their own right.

if you are hunting upland or targets, there are a LOT of sweet old 2 3/4" Wingmasters around (like the one below) dirt cheap (~$200 w/o barrel), in great condition and with butter smooth actions. you can pick one up for a couple hundred bucks and see the difference for yourself.
remingtonwingmaster1941.jpg
 
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Yes the internale parts (trigger group) are made of steel where the express the parts are pressed metal.
I have 2 Wingmaster shotguns in 16ga. One is a mint wentrib with deluxe checkering IC choke paid $250 for it with 6 boxes of shells. My second Wingmaster is a plain barrel that I had cut down to 18.5 inches. I use it for my camp gun. Always on the look out for a Wingmaster.
 
Yes the internale parts (trigger group) are made of steel where the express the parts are pressed metal.

Where do people come up with this stuff?


I'll say this yet again. Todays wingmaster is a far different gun then Yesterdays Wingmaster. Todays Express is the same gun as Todays wingmaster, just less shiney. The actions are the same, the metal is the same. the only difference besides high polished bluing is the famous trigger group. Has anyone ever broken one? Geez people, everyone thinks their 40 year old 870 is on par with Todays $800 Wingmaster.
 
I have a Wingmaster manufactured in 1953 that has been in my family since 1966. It is one of the first ADL models I believe, it is so smotth it cycles when you just think about it. Leaving it at home because it can't handle 3" steel is like leaving that 12 year old Lab that still loves to hunt but just can't do it anymore.

That being said my 1997 Express has probably seen 5000+ magnum rounds and while it is a fugly rust bucket with a ton of scars it always goes bang when i pull the trigger. All that matters in my book.
 
I've owned both, (still kicking myself for selling my Wingmaster, needed $ for another toy). The only beef I had with the Express was the finish seemed to attract moisture and rust. Still all in all, hard to beat for the dollar.crunch68
 
Heres the deal I have 3 new wingmasters in my safe waiting for my first one to die. I have shot it under the most extreme hunting conditions that most guys would call there worst nightmare. Been shooting this gun for 27 years and thousands of rounds. Clean it once a year at the end of bird season. My buddy has gone through 3 expresses in less time same conditions. You get what you pay for . ON average an express will more than handle an average shooter For the rest of us buy the best.
 
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