Barrel Interchangability for 870 Wingmaster

[BorderBrewer]

Hi,
I am new to the forum and a long time Remington fan. I have a question for the collective regarding barrels. I own a 870 Wingmaster 12 ga, for 2-3/4 inch shells. This shotgun was the first firearm that I ever purchased. I bought it in 1971 with money from my paper route. It came with a 30" plain barrel. I would like to purchase a 26" vent rib barrel for it. Will the modern barrels fit this gun, or do I need to find one of earlier manufacture? Will a barrel for 3" shells work? Thanks in advance for any help with this.

Regards,
BorderBrewer

[Dave]

Don't know about the interchangeability of the barrels but I can tell you that the ejection port on the 3" is larger than the port on a 2 ¾” so ejection is poor at best if you try to run 3" through a 2 ¾” action.
HTH
Dave

[BorderBrewer]

Dave,
Thanks for the info.
BorderBrewer

[faithfarms]

All 870 12g barrels interchange. The method the cap is retained changed over the years but I use latter barrels on my 1950 gun and I just make sure the cap is tight now and then. Latter barrels don't have the detent ball built in for the cap to tighten down onto.

This is not the case w/ my 16 ga 870. A modern bbl does not work. I read about two piece bbls for older ones, but I know there is another style bbl that I suspect mine takes. It looks like it has a ring welded on the chamber end of the bbl. Some one told me these were left over mod 58 (?) bbls that Remington modified. A modern bbl fits on it but the slide will not close. It hits part of the bbl. Any info would be appreciated. I have a nice action & no bbl.

[faithfarms]

Thanks Red Hawk. Sounds like the new bbl should work on mine, if the fram/bolt are older ones, like you '55, but it does not. Maybe I read it wrong, but if the old bolt is thinner, then an old or new bbl should work, yes?

[Virginian]

I will not say it applies to all, because I have not measured all, but the ejection ports on the 12 gauge 3" and 2-3/4" Model 870 and 1100 guns that I have checked, were the same. To 3 decimal places. I will add that I did all of my checking before 1995. I think the ejection port/receiver difference was a hoax perpetrated by Remington, relative to 870s and 1100s, back then. They are different, in that the Magnum Models have 'Magnum' rollmarked on them, so technically, they didn't lie. I also weighed quite a few examples of stripped receivers, and found no differences there, either. Back then, I had a lot more time, energy, and money, and I was doing a fairly brisk business having an FFL. I was also a slightly daft waterfowler, and I got all kinds of exotic barrel work done, almost exclusively to Model 870s and 1100s, in pursuit of the maximum range set up.
Do not take this as a slam on Remington. What with liability laws, and wanting more sales, I do not fault them, and I still think the 870 and the 1100 are outstanding firearms. There have been all sorts of "improvements" in gun making since 1963, but no one, including Remington, has made a better pointing or shooting pair of guns since. About the closest thing I ever came across was a Franchi 48, but it would clobber you, and I do mean slap you, with heavy loads, and I do not believe there is any way it would hold up over time to the same stresses.
I am looking to sell some of my SxSs shortly, but I will always keep my second year 1100 (actually had a first year, but it got trashed), and my 1100 20 ga. Lightweight, and I am looking to get another 20 ga Lightweight for my step-son. I would get them to bury that one gun with me, but my daughter wants it.