Is it an 870 Wingmaster or not??

[kevinpeda]

My friend has an 870 remington 12 gauge shotgun with rem chockes, his mom purchased the gun new back in the late 80's as a present. He always thought it was a wingmaster because of the finish on the stock and the bird in the bottom of the stock, the gun says 870 magnum on it but does not say wingmaster anywhere on the gun. Is this gun a wingmaster on another variation of 870? Thanks

[Virginian]

Probably. If it's gloss blue and polished walnut, and doesn't say Sportsman on it, it's likely a Wingmaster.

[kevinpeda]

My other friend has a wingmaster of that period and we compared guns, the only difference was the gun in question did not say wingmaster on it?(same wood, finish,checkering,etc.)It said magnum on it.

[Virginian]

Is the other friend's Wingmaster the same as it was brand new for certain? People swap stocks and such.
In the second half of the '80s was when Remington was playing with reducing prices via various means. The 'Sportsman' was basically a Wingmaster with hardwood stock, but the ones of those I have seen did have a Sportsman rollmark. The earliest Expresses had a much slicker finish than the current variety, and all of them that I recall did not say Express on them. I tend to think that's what he's got, but hard to be sure. Your friend may have gotten a somewhat unique specimen of whatever. What's the serial # ?

[kevinpeda]

Hi, thanks for you imput. His mom bought the gun new and the gun is orginal nothing was changed on it .it has the gloss finish and the bird on the bottom of the stock ,it is roll marked magnum on the rec. but not wingmaster. the serial #W500955M thanks again, Kevin.

[Wulfman]

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anybody know what the diff is between 870 express and the 870 sportsman field ( selling brand new ) ...unbelievably they dont appear anywhere in the Remington catalog nor in the online PRODUCTS...there is next to nothing in the forums ....very very strange

You just need to do a little searching and be familiar with that has happened over the years.
There was a two-page spread on the "Sportsman" models in the 1985 catalog (Pg. 20 & 21). There was the Sportsman 12 gauge pump shotgun, Sportsman 12 gauge autoloading shotgun, Sportsman 78 bolt-action rifle, Sportsman 74 semi-auto rifle and Sportsman 76 pump-action rifle.
Remington has used the "Sportsman" model name designation for decades.

http://www.remington.com/search.aspx?zo ... =Sportsman

http://www.remingtonsociety.com/rsa/journals/870

http://www.remington.com/products/archi ... aster.aspx

In the mid-80s, Remington was creating variations of the different shotgun models with the "Sportsman", "Special Purpose" and "Express" designations. All three had similarities in the wood used in the stocks. Other similarities and differences were the finishes used on the stocks and metal.


Den

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