project beat up 870. Trying to decide the direction

[gunforhire]

So, I seen something shiny and I got distracted from making my 6.8 pistol happen for a minute. I got a smokin deal on a old 870 to turn into maybe a 3-gun shooter? whattya think?




It's a 870 wingmaster, I am not sure of the age yet, but it does have a serial number on the reciever and it is old enough to just be a 2-3/4 chamber. the bluing on the reciver and magtube is shot. the 18" smoothbore slug barrel looks good on the inside, but has it's share of rust spots on the outside. the furniture looks good, but there is a crack on either side where the stock meets the reciever.


I am guessing I will need to rock a barrel with choke options, as well as the longer mag tube but so far that's all I know. what do you 3-gunner do with your shotguns?

[Shipyard]

looks liek a pretty big project - a lotta work. if i were you, i'd sell it to me for $50 and i'll save you all that time and money

but seriously though - a little sandpaper and some gloss would clean up the wood. or just do a rattle can job with hi-temp grill paint for that tacti-cool look

pawn shops are a gold mine for 870 barrels. i've always seen a couple in teh bucket at Metro pawn and gun on lyndale and 494 in richfield. good people, goodprices, dicker a bit for a GREAT price most of the time

hell, ona cheapie pawn shop barrel you can get a 28" and sawzall the sucker to whatever over 18" you want.

looks like a fun project.

[JoeH]

Having chokes is the biggest need here. Knocking down steel plates past 20 yards with an open 18" barrel can be tough. At 30 yards, forgetaboutit. Your pattern will be too big.

I like the look of the new Magpul 870 furniture. Rattle can the steel and replace the furniture. Replace the barrel and add a tube. I like a fiber optic sight too.

[gunforhire]

looks liek a pretty big project - a lotta work. if i were you, i'd sell it to me for $50 and i'll save you all that time and money

Shippy, your kind of a bastard. I wish I could come down to drink with you guys this weekend and buy you a shot or 3 for that remark maybe I should sell you that Springfield 67 project i have

but seriously though - a little sandpaper and some gloss would clean up the wood. or just do a rattle can job with hi-temp grill paint for that tacti-cool look

I restore antique furniture as my other "job". My plan is clean it up a little and use the furniture on my 870 I use for trap. other than the cracks that are fixable, the furniture will sparkle when done

Having chokes is the biggest need here. Knocking down steel plates past 20 yards with an open 18" barrel can be tough. At 30 yards, forgetaboutit. Your pattern will be too big.

what length should I be looking for in a barrel? I was thinking 20-24"

[JoeH]

Having chokes is the biggest need here. Knocking down steel plates past 20 yards with an open 18" barrel can be tough. At 30 yards, forgetaboutit. Your pattern will be too big.

what length should I be looking for in a barrel? I was thinking 20-24"

22-24" seems ideal. I wouldn't pass up anything from 18-26 with screw-in chokes if the price was right. Beggars can't be choosers when hitting the local shops for used barrels.

[gunforhire]

Having chokes is the biggest need here. Knocking down steel plates past 20 yards with an open 18" barrel can be tough. At 30 yards, forgetaboutit. Your pattern will be too big.

what length should I be looking for in a barrel? I was thinking 20-24"

22-24" seems ideal. I wouldn't pass up anything from 18-26 with screw-in chokes if the price was right. Beggars can't be choosers when hitting the local shops for used barrels.

If that's the case, I may as well use my trap gun. I have all the chokes for that and a 26" bbl ain't that hard to swing, just means I need to buy two mag tubes


but, I ain't gonna pass up a good deal on a barrel if I can find one either

[Pezhead]

That runk looks almost like the one we have. We have a black one.

[shooter115]

My dedicated 3-gun shotgun is a Benelli M2 with a 26" barrel and a magazine that holds 10 rounds.

[gunforhire]

That runk looks almost like the one we have. We have a black one.

that trunk was my great-uncle's footlocker from when he was in the ARMY during WW2. he painted over the cool factor long before I got it

[Pezhead]

Ours is bigger, brother-in-law has the foot locker. From the top it looked a little like ours.

[gunforhire]

A good frined of mine that lives in KY offered to clean it up and hot blue it for me for 50 bucks. I may just spend the 50 bucks in FFL fees and shipping to do just that. is 100 bucks a decent deal for a hot blue job?

[45Badger]

A good frined of mine that lives in KY offered to clean it up and hot blue it for me for 50 bucks. I may just spend the 50 bucks in FFL fees and shipping to do just that. is 100 bucks a decent deal for a hot blue job?

You can get a blueing job around here. Another option is parkerizing. It might be a nicer end result if you have lots of rust/pitting.

I can help you detail strip and and stone any rough internal edges (basically turn it into something slicker than greased goose poop ). Then a friendly board member can help you bead blast it and another friendly soul could help with parkerizing. And then we'd put it back together. And then you can buy ammo, use up, repeat.

[promod1385]

Do you plan on shooting heavy metal in 3gun? If you dont plan on shooting Heavy Metal 3gun I would dump it and search for a beat up Mossberg autoloader for 3gun work.

If you plan on shooting heavy metal and using a pump I would sand it, rattle can it, and add a nordic tube/barrel clamp. If you really want to pimp yo gat I would look at hogging out the loading port and welding up the lifter. Not typically necessary on an 870 but if you got the skills and spare time why not!

[gunforhire]

A good frined of mine that lives in KY offered to clean it up and hot blue it for me for 50 bucks. I may just spend the 50 bucks in FFL fees and shipping to do just that. is 100 bucks a decent deal for a hot blue job?

You can get a blueing job around here. Another option is parkerizing. It might be a nicer end result if you have lots of rust/pitting.

I can help you detail strip and and stone any rough internal edges (basically turn it into something slicker than greased goose poop ). Then a friendly board member can help you bead blast it and another friendly soul could help with parkerizing. And then we'd put it back together. And then you can buy ammo, use up, repeat.

Sounds like a darn good time! maybe my buddy won't be seeing this gun after all heh

Do you plan on shooting heavy metal in 3gun? If you dont plan on shooting Heavy Metal 3gun I would dump it and search for a beat up Mossberg autoloader for 3gun work.

If you plan on shooting heavy metal and using a pump I would sand it, rattle can it, and add a nordic tube/barrel clamp. If you really want to pimp yo gat I would look at hogging out the loading port and welding up the lifter. Not typically necessary on an 870 but if you got the skills and spare time why not!

so, I am gonna guess pump is for Heavy metal class only? is chamber size going to be a factor for that too? this a 2-3/4 chamber gun.

also, I thought I would use my express mag with it's 26" bbl to try it out. I have already written off this year for going to a event, but I wanna make sure I have all the gear ready for next year

[gunforhire]

I got bored tonight, so I hit it with some alumahide