870 Wingmaster Police Project

[SpeedRacer]

I picked up a Penn. State Police Wingmaster Police trade-in for a good deal about a year ago, and it's sat in the safe since. It didn't really fit me well, so it was caught in the pergatory of being too cheap to sell but not worth dumping lots of money into. I figured I'd just leave it in the safe and grab an 18" express. Well with recent price increases I gave up on that, and revisited the trusty old Wingmaster with a new approach. Instead of trying to make it something it's not, instead I'll just make it an awesomer version of what it is.

I've never so much as cleaned an 870 before, so I was seduced by the chance to try new stuff and learn more about an unfamiliar platform.

So far, I disassembled it completely (took about 5 minutes, 3 of which was researching how to). Cut 1 1/4" off of the buttstock. To retain the look (and to save money), I reprofiled the already equipped Pachmyar buttpad to match the shortened stock.

I also sourced an OEM 18.5" blued police barrel, and OEM blued +2 extension.

Next step is stripping, sanding and refinishing the wood with Tru-Oil, and some touch-up bluing. Then I'll install the new barrel and extension, and assess further needs. I'll most likely add some sling mounts and call it a day.

Just figured I'd share and update as the project goes on.

Pile O' 870

Shortened stock and roughly matched pad.

 

[Dishonored]

Goodluck man. It will be a good shotgun when you are finished.

 

[glimmerman]

I bought a Remington 870 Police trade-in from Barneys in Lafayette. It included a synthetic speed stock in addition to the original wood set and had been checked out by a gunsmith. I had it duracoated in drab green (not sure if that is the exact color, but you get the idea) and had the bolt duracoated black. I then installed a front XO trijicon sight. I ended up with what a new one would cost by the time I was finished, but, I now have it "My Way"!

 

[aherring1983]

Can't go wrong with those old guns, I have a ithica model 37, extremely light and smooth action, I need a new barrel since the old one is about worn out lol

 

[olivs260]

Curt next time you can probably save yourself some time by just getting the youth model to start

 

[103M 95G]

speed, may I suggest a few things.
flex tab lifter, most wingmasters didn't have them
SS follower
and it looks like one of the shell interrupter rails needs to be re-staked.

 

[SpeedRacer]

speed, may I suggest a few things.
flex tab lifter, most wingmasters didn't have them
SS follower
and it looks like one of the shell interrupter rails needs to be re-staked.

I plan on doing the flex tab conversion, just not in the budget at the moment.

Are the SS followers better than a basic upgrade like the Wilson or Vang? Recommend a brand?

And as I said before, I'm 870 ignorant. Is the rail supposed to be staked? It came out when I disassembled the receiver, but seems to be secured by the receiver pins.

 

[bigtattoo79]

I plan on doing the flex tab conversion, just not in the budget at the moment.

Are the SS followers better than a basic upgrade like the Wilson or Vang? Recommend a brand?

And as I said before, I'm 870 ignorant. Is the rail supposed to be staked? It came out when I disassembled the receiver, but seems to be secured by the receiver pins.

Curt, I have a new in the package S/S Vang Comp Follower you can have PM me your address if you can use it?

 

[bigtattoo79]

I also have an old 870 without the Flex Tab and jam ups are a pain to clear.

 

[SpeedRacer]

Curt, I have a new in the package S/S Vang Comp Follower you can have PM me your address if you can use it?

Hells yes thanks. PM incoming.

 

[103M 95G]

The rails should be staked in place, brownells sells a tool to do just that.

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/shotgun-tools/shell-latch-stakers/index.htm

I plan on doing the flex tab conversion, just not in the budget at the moment.

Are the SS followers better than a basic upgrade like the Wilson or Vang? Recommend a brand?

And as I said before, I'm 870 ignorant. Is the rail supposed to be staked? It came out when I disassembled the receiver, but seems to be secured by the receiver pins.

 

[SpeedRacer]

Made some progress. Stock was cut to 13" LOP, refitted the standard police issue Pachmayr recoil pad, and refinished the wood with Tru-Oil. Swapped out the 20" barrel for a new 18 1/2" blued police barrel. Added a Wilson/Scattergun +2 extension and Vang SS follower (thanks bigtattoo).

I thought I'd get away with just touching up the bluing but with the new parts the whole gun looks mismatched. Between that and realizing I'm not a blued kinda guy anyway, the metal will all be refinished with Alumahyde II matte black (still trying to keep it cheap where possible). If that doesn't work right I'll have it blasted and parkerized.

After that I'm just waiting for some sling mounts and a shotgun class.

Some sweet dirty garage floor cellphone pics...

 

[nola_]

Looks good.

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

Hey I think Scott Reitz is teaching a Shotgun Class in October.

 

[Hitman]

Nice looking. I agree with the mismatch though.

I'm wanting to do something similar but with an 1100 or 11-87.

 

[jmcrawf1]

No magpul vfg no care

 

[Tonto]

The good thing about police trade-in's.....Although they may be cosmetically rough, they usually function like almost new. Most have only been shot a couple of times a year for qualification.

 

[SpeedRacer]

The good thing about police trade-in's.....Although they may be cosmetically rough, they usually function like almost new. Most have only been shot a couple of times a year for qualification.

Yep, this one looked like it was carried/played with/banged around a LOT, but the guts look like new. That's why I decided to go ahead with this project, as it sits right now I have less in it than a new 870 Express costs and the final product will be much higher quality.

 

[JNieman]

I got a couple from that Penn state trade-in. 3" police magnum and a 2 3/4" wingmaster. I refinished the Police Magnum, stripped it, smoothed it, and just oiled it to keep her blonde. Looked pretty nice against the park'd metal. Pics instagram'd for maximum hipster gat effect.

I ended up gifting this one to my pops. He'd given/supplied me with enough guns over the years.

And the one I kept as-is, for collection's sake.

 

[jdindadell]

If you need that gun coated with something decent (on the metal, your woodwork looks great) I know a guy....

He just did a couple of 870s... They got the magpul stock and forend treatment, and all of the guts polished up.