Transform Wingmaster into a tactical shotgun

vpsalin

vpsalin

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So I got this really old wingmaster with the huge 30'' barrel on it which was given to me, didn't cost me a dime. I love the thing and the pump is uber smooth to operate. I was wondering if it would be a dumb idea to transform it into a tactical shotgun. I already own a bunch of other hunting shotguns.
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Mossberg 870 18.5'' security barrel = 120$
Tactstar 7 shot magazine = 65$
Limbsaver pad = 45$
with taxes and shipping comes out to roughly 320$.
Add to that probly an extra 50$ to have a gunsmith cut my stock and fit the recoil pad on...
I'm going for something with roughly this look, minus the sling;
135008_01_custom_12_ga_remington_wingmas_640.jpg


Remington sells an 870 Express 7 shot capacity factory shotgun for 370$. I'm not fond of that shotgun, but it's pretty much on par with what I would end up spending to accessorize my old wingmaster. So with that in mind, would this be a dumb project or not?

Thanks for your input.
 
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Of course you will want a ghost ring rear sight and new front fibre optic post sight. Add $150 for that. I am actually going thru the same quandarry right now. I have the identical gun you have only its a "magnum", bought new by me in about 1972 give or take. Wouldn't cost much more for one of them new M4 Benelly knock offs by Hatsan.
 
Beautiful old gun, if it were mine I'd probably just get a short barrel for it and call it a day.

At most I'd get a set of Hogue furniture and set aside the wood for safe keeping. Among a bunch of other positives, the Hogue buttstocks come standard with a decent recoil pad.
 
You would be saving a little and still manage to keep the 30" barrel (or sell on the EE to recoup some of the cost) so I'd say its not a dumb project. If the limbsaver is your thing great, but I found using them actually made shooting less comfortable as the recoil would sometimes compress the limbsaver completely so that the hard part of the stock was slamming into me.. however without it the hard part of the stock was flush with my body and my whole body just pushed back with the shot so felt recoil was different. like a shove instead of a punch.
 
or cut that old 30" barrel down to 18.500001" yourself, and find a used mag extension on the ee.

BTW, the remington recoil pads are great, and I think they are about $30.

with that you are likely at about $100 to get where you want to go.
 
I say go for it.

I did up a non-magnum wingmaster that was just collecting dust. The 28" 2-3/4" full-choked barrel was just not useful. So it became a tactical shotgun.

- Stripped and refinished the wood. From the scratched up brown wood that was, it was stripped, smooth sanded, and refinished with Tung Oil, and paste wax. It actually looks really good now. I touched up the checkering on the grip as well.
- Using a chop-saw with a fine finishing blade, I carefully, and easily, shortened the stock to a reasonable length, to take a a Limbsaver pad. Measuring seven times and cutting once, it worked out perfectly. Just a few touches on the belt-sander shaped the Limbsaver perfectly.
- The barrel was replaced with a Remington 20" Wingmaster rem-choked rifle-sighted barrel, new for under $180. Along the way I replaced the stock sights with Tru-Glo sights as well.
- I got a deal on an 8-shot Tacstar mag extension, which was pefect length for the 20" barrel. Though it is parkerized, and doesn't perfectly match the polished blueing of the Wingmaster.
- I also got a magazine clap w. rail. Using some old 1" scope rings I attached a very bright 1" diameter Maglight LED flaslight.
- Finally, a Mesa Tactical 6-shot side saddle and it was all done.

The whole project, other than the stock refinish/chop was pretty much a bolt-on affair, so pretty hard to screw up. The nice thing was that it was all modular, so I could buy little bits an pieces as I could afford them. In the end, what was an entirely unused obsolete Wingmaster was reborn into a useful fun shottie. Money well-spent.

FYI - Though it is a non-magnum receiver, it is fully capable of shooting 3" shells (with the new barrel). The only downside is that the ejector needs to be replaced (moved back) to properly eject a spent 3" shell. It almost works, just not fully. Regardless, I only shoot 2-3/4" anyhow, so it is somewhat a moot point.
 
Moose308 said:
FYI - Though it is a non-magnum receiver, it is fully capable of shooting 3" shells (with the new barrel). The only downside is that the ejector needs to be replaced (moved back) to properly eject a spent 3" shell. It almost works, just not fully. Regardless, I only shoot 2-3/4" anyhow, so it is somewhat a moot point.
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So what happens when you shoot a 3" shell in it and rack the pump back in an attempt to eject the spent hull?
 
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supernova said:
Rather than buy a new barrel why not cut the old one down? Saves some cash for ammo.
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It's my understanding that I can have a gunsmith ream out the fixed full choke to become steel shot compatible and it would probably become my best suited waterfowl shotgun. Plus, as it stands, it's a mighty fun barrel to shoot trap with...
 
Well that makes sense. I noticed wholesale sports lists a lot of factory Rem barrels for quite cheap too. I would recommend not buying from them unless its on the shelf at your local WSS. Should be other places to find them in Canada however.
 
I am in the exact same process.

1970s 28" full choke in 2 3/4"

Its a decent little gun, action is smooth as butter, and when I'm done I can always switch the barrel and wood back or sell them off.

And all done cheaper than even a new Norc
 
jlomein said:
So what happens when you shoot a 3" shell in it and rack the pump back in an attempt to eject the spent hull?
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It will take a 3" shell into the mag. Racking the slide will load the shell into the chamber. Pulling the trigger makes the gun go boom just fine. However, once it goes boom, racking back the slide will pull the shell out of the chamber, and the present ejector (the little spring metal deal on the inside of the receiver) will begin to kick the shell out just a little too soon. The result is the shell ends up getting hung up on the front of the ejection port. Apparently simply restaking a 3" ejector will solve this.
 
I just had a look on WSS website, the Mossberg 18.5" 870 barrel is $120 while the Remington express 18" is $110. Both are cyl. bore bead sight. Mind you, the Mossberg is available blued which would match your Wingmaster better unless you plan to refinish.
 
870P said:
Beautiful old gun, if it were mine I'd probably just get a short barrel for it and call it a day.

At most I'd get a set of Hogue furniture and set aside the wood for safe keeping. Among a bunch of other positives, the Hogue buttstocks come standard with a decent recoil pad.
Click to expand...

This. I have a Super Mag Express. Came with a 26" barrel. Bought a 14" from S&J. Can switch it from bird and bunny gun to tacti, er, :bigHug::bigHug::bigHug::bigHug:s and giggles gun in about thirty seconds.
 
Moose308 said:
It will take a 3" shell into the mag. Racking the slide will load the shell into the chamber. Pulling the trigger makes the gun go boom just fine. However, once it goes boom, racking back the slide will pull the shell out of the chamber, and the present ejector (the little spring metal deal on the inside of the receiver) will begin to kick the shell out just a little too soon. The result is the shell ends up getting hung up on the front of the ejection port. Apparently simply restaking a 3" ejector will solve this.
Click to expand...

Have you measured the chamber in the barrel of these guns? Wingmasters or 1100s will have "Magnum" stamped on their receivers if they are made for 3" shells. Even though the magazine will hold 3" or 3.5" shells, when the shell fires, the crimp opens and the crimp is restricting the barrel in the shorter 2 3/4" chamber: Imagine having a chunk of ice frozen inside the barrel - these are well made shotguns, but eventually something will give. It wasn't intended to handle the heavier shells either and you will be stressing the locking mechanism and action beyond what it was intended for.
 
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