what years were the heavy contour Wingmaster barrels ?

[madashell]

Older Wingmaster 12 gauge barrels were light contour, then came the heavier lawyer version, than back to the light contour.

What years were the heavy guys ? Did they come with vent ribs or no ?

Want to get an older LW and don't want to accidentally purchase a heavier model.

Guessing the LW's were pretty much all 30", 2 3/4" only, full choke, no rib of course. Thinking of cutting down to 26" and thread for Rem-chokes. Figure that could be pretty handy.


thanks.

 

[FLHTCUI]

Older Wingmaster 12 gauge barrels were light contour, then came the heavier lawyer version,
thanks.

What is this 'heavier lawyer version you speak of?
Likely the product change was end user driven opposed to someone not being able to swing a heavier barrel and thus injuring themselves.
But, I digress...
12 gauge -26inch barrel and magnum ammo my ears are bleeding already.
Rob

 

[3macs1]

Older Wingmaster 12 gauge barrels were light contour, then came the heavier lawyer version, than back to the light contour.

What years were the heavy guys ? Did they come with vent ribs or no ?

Want to get an older LW and don't want to accidentally purchase a heavier model.

Guessing the LW's were pretty much all 30", 2 3/4" only, full choke, no rib of course. Thinking of cutting down to 26" and thread for Rem-chokes. Figure that could be pretty handy.


thanks.

Man you are all over the place with this one
I will try to answer based on what I remember. Others can chime in if I am wrong
First there is no such thing as a light weight 12ga that I know of
LW was 20, 28 and 410
There was no light contour barrels on any fixed choke wingmasters
In 1987 remington introduced the rem choke in a new heavier barrel version since they didnot want to use thin wall tubes. Immediately new owners started to complain how terrible the gun handled and how nose heavy it was.
They listened and came back with the light contour barrel which I think officially they will say 1992 and onward but I have a factory 1988 with one
The smaller diameter on the 1100 and 1187 made fitting the forearm an issue they fit the older 870 but were really sloppy & noisy
All LC were vent rib and all LC barrels were stamped as such
All heavy barrels for the few years they were made were VR and had rem chokes
Cheers

 

[madashell]

Sorry, should not have used the term "light weight" ... only light contour.

Stumbled across this old post on another forum, not sure how accurate it is but have seen other references to same information.



"Old 870 bbls are as strong or stronger than new ones, and oft better made. I was shooting trap last Sunday with a man who had recently added a 1959 TC to his collection. Beautiful gun, and with a history of thousands of rounds behind it, still ticking along.

870 bbls come in three generations. The first were very well made, light and balanced very well for the field or trap, in 30" length.

Remington lost a class action suit, brought by idiots who clogged their muzzles, shot the guns and blamed the maker for their injuries. More idiots on the bench and jury box gave them much of BG's money.

As a result, the next generation of bbls were lawyer designed, and weighed more. Some also were bored off center, but this doesn't seem to affect performance.Some folks prefer the heavier bbls.

Third generation of bbls is the Light Contour job, a return to the dimensions and steel of yesteryear. Retro bbls, as it were.

I'd be hesitant to pick up a 60s vintage WM ONLY if I were planning to shoot steel and it was choked tightly. Even then, damage would be limited only to the choke."



So, trying to figure out what classification the older 2 3/4" NON-vent rib 870 WM barrels are. Light contour or standard/heavier contour.

 

[3macs1]

I have never had an issue with new or old wingmaster 870 barrels nor do I notice any quality differences
Yes they had a batch of barrels that were not bored correctly but it had nothing to do with a lawyer also think they were express not wingmaster barrels
They were corrected and it was not large numbers
Heavier barrels were to ensure there was enough material to fit rem chokes not to fix clogged muzzles
Cheers
Three not two as you state
1) There was the older standard fixed choke barrels no heavy all pre 1987
2) Heavy came with the rem choke and that choke only maybe 87 to 91
3) Then came the LC again with rem choke only 88 and so on

 

[madashell]

No no, not questioning difference in quality, nor concerned about a batch of off-centre bores.

Just so I'm clear ...

- are the older non-vent rib WM barrels in the same light contour size as the newer light contour ? This is what I'm trying to get to the bottom of.

 

[3macs1]

No no, not questioning difference in quality, nor concerned about a batch of off-centre bores.

Just so I'm clear ...

- are the older non-vent rib WM barrels in the same light contour size as the newer light contour ? This is what I'm trying to get to the bottom of.

No there is no older non vent rib light contour barrels period and the size is slightly different not enough that they cannot be used

 

[madashell]

No there is no older non vent rib light contour barrels period and the size is slightly different not enough that they cannot be used

Ok thanks 3macs1.

Glad to have that cleared up because I've read in many places the earlier ones were lighter counter.

 

[3macs1]

From remington as suspected 1992 which is BS. They started a few years before that. Maybe full production was 92 I am not sure

remington
Light contour barrels became available in 1992. They are Rem-Choke only. If you're looking at a fixed choke gun, then it's standard contour.

 

[VLT79]

That's correct 3macs1. Plain barrels and vent-ribs with fixed chokes had the same profile from 1949-1986. 1986-current saw the heavier RemChoke equipped vent-rib barrels. 1992 was the year the "Light Contour" barrels were officially introduced and catalogued on the field versions (both were available till 1997-1998?) of the 12ga Wingmaster. That being said, and as you know, the odd one appeared well before that date. The "Light Contour" is still standard production today. The 870 "Target" RemChoke 28"-30" barrels are supposed to be a heavy contour but I've owned them in the light version as well. Rumour has it it was a 2 3/4" only barrel supplied on the little known 870 Wingmaster Sporting Clays version...and they were also supplied on some newer 870 Classic Trap Wingmasters.