Wingmaster Conversion to 3"

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watermoccasin

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I'd like to buy an old Wingmaster, but I'd like to shoot 3" shells out of it. Now, my understanding is that the extractor needs to be changed, and then I just need to stick a 3" chambered barrel on it.

I have a couple of questions about the extractor conversion, though – I've heard something about the extractor rivet being "visible" on the receiver afterwards. Can anyone explain this, or post a photo of a converted receiver with this "visible rivet" issue?

Also, can someone let me know roughly what I could expect a gunsmith to charge me for the conversion?

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
It's the ejector that needs to be changed to keep spent shells from hanging up on the ejection port. The factory rivets the ejector to the receiver prior to finishing. If you look closely, you should be able to see the outline of the head of the rivet on the left side of the receiver. This rivet needs to be drilled out and the new ejector riveted in. Unless you have the receiver refinished after the conversion, the new rivet will be plainly visible.
 
there are 2 parts that need to be changed: the ejector, and the ejector spring. there are also two rivets (front/rear - two different types). your gunsmith - if he has the proper tool and hes good/lucky - MAY be able to trim the existing rivets enough so that he can remove the old ejector/ejector spring, and then re-peen the old rivets.

if not, then he will replace them with the two new rivets. these come in the white.
the actual ejector and ejector spring are cheap - $5-10 each. changing them is not much work.
the expensive part of the job is that after replacing them, youll usually end up with two bare rivets on the other side of the gun from the ejection port. to make these look exactly like factory, theyll often have to refinish the receiver.
if you dont care, you can just dab some cold blue on them and be done with it. youll see two spots on the side of your receiver.

part numbers are:
f18855 ejector spring
f99539 ejector
f18647 rear rivet
f18646 front rivet
Brownells:
870ejector.jpg
 
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oh, i forgot to mention:
about half of gunsmiths, when you ask them to do this, will look at you all funny and tell you its not possible/unsafe/the receivers are different/blah blah, and then proceed to steer you towards the shiny new shotguns on their rack. if this is the case, find another gunsmith.
 
Sorry to hi-jack the thread but is the process the same for converting and 870 express magnum to a super magnum? Thanks!
 
Thanks for the info! With regards to the finish, I was planning on getting the whole thing parkerized anyway, so that's probably not such an issue. Is there anything else I should know, or does that pretty much cover it?
 
watermoccasin said:
Thanks for the info! With regards to the finish, I was planning on getting the whole thing parkerized anyway, so that's probably not such an issue. Is there anything else I should know, or does that pretty much cover it?
Click to expand...

If you are going to do all of the above,gunsmithing, barrel, and parkerizing,you mayas well buy a new 870. Check the price of a new one that takes 3" shells, you may be surprised with prices.
 
jonesbb630 said:
If you are going to do all of the above,gunsmithing, barrel, and parkerizing,you mayas well buy a new 870. Check the price of a new one that takes 3" shells, you may be surprised with prices.
Click to expand...

Would that be an 870 Express, though? Or could I get a parkerized Police for that amount? Because I would consider doing so if an 870P were possible.

The other issue, though, is that dropping all the money at once might be difficult for me. Doing it step-by-step would be fine, though.
 
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watermoccasin said:
Would that be an 870 Express, though? Or could I get a parkerized Police for that amount? Because I would consider doing so if an 870P were possible.
Click to expand...

without stock/barrel a 2 3/4" Wingmaster receiver will cost you about $150. no way in hell youll get an 870P for anywhere near that.

watermoccasin said:
The other issue, though, is that dropping all the money at once might be difficult for me. Doing it step-by-step would be fine, though.
Click to expand...

you dont have to do it all at once. like i said, the most expensive part - refinishing the receiver - is just cosmetics to blend the rivet heads with the receiver. you could just do the straightforward swap without refinish, dab some cold blue on the rivet heads, and parkerize the receiver whenever you have the money for it down the road.
 
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