870 Express vs. Wingmaster

J

JL Hunnicutt

New member
Aside from parkerized vs. blued and the fact that the Express receiver is investment-cast vs. the forged receiver of the Wingmaster, what are the internal differences, if any, between the two? To me, both handle and perform equally well. Additionally, can one expect equal longevity between the two? I like the parkerized finish of the Express and believe I actually prefer it over the Wingmaster. Thanks for your time.
 
I'm thinking there is no difference on how they're made(cast vs forged)---just more finish work goes into the Wingmaster.
 
I believe the Express is blasted and then blued rather than parkerizing. Also, the inside of the receiver on my two express shotguns both contain burrs... a problem I've never seen on a Wingmaster. The machining is also not complete and much of the hand-work on the gun is neglected for speed of manufacture. Other than that, I do believe both start life in the same way.
 
JL, TTBOMK the differences are all in the finish.

As I understand, the Express receiver just doesn't get the polishing that the WM does.

Gunsmith Bill Gillette says there's no differences in fit or longevity.

I've found the Expresses pump a bit rougher than WMs do until they break in. Then, no difference I can detect.
 
JL
Feel not the pull of the DARKSIDE Forsake the Express and come over to the W-I-N-G-M-A-S-T-E-R !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
The Express receiver is not cast. All Remington shotguns have forged receivers.
Other than the powder-coated finish and the "Pisswood" stocks, the only real difference is quality of finish.

I'm not sure about the current guns, but the older Express's had plastic trigger plates, and the Wingmaster still had aluminum.
The older Express also had the new mag tube assembly and the Wingmaster still had the original assembly.
 
If you are going to be taking it out for a beating while hunting get an Express.

If you like nice, blued steel and walnut stocks get a Wingmaster.

I got the Wingmaster and never regretted it. Look around for a nice used one. I picked up mine for under $200.
 
I stopped going on that bb a good while ago. A bit too much bombast and braggadocio, and too many gun shop commandos for my taste.

There's three Express bbls here, the reworked one on Frank and the two for the 20 gauge Youth 870 I got for the kids. Just went and looked at the slug bbl for the 20. One piece, and if there's a difference in finish inside, it's not distinguishable to the naked eye.

BTW, after maybe 30 minutes of work, the 20 cycles very smoothly.

All my 12s are WMs, some rather elderly. For the life of me, I cannot tell the difference in feel or function between them and my best bud's nearly new Express.
 
Maybe I should send mine back for an inspection. I had a 20ga Wingmaster at one time and was a wonderful gun. Did a stupid thing and sold it. Bought an express 20 years later and just figured it was the sign of the times. The bore in my express is barely even shiny. you can see the circular boring grooves that don't appear to have been polished out. At least the choke is in straight which I understand is a problem. I really wish I still had my Wingmaster:o
 
What's all the misinformation here? Am I missing something? Both of my Express Shotguns have aluminum trigger groups and shiny bores. Their barrels are one-piece on mine. Did I get lucky... TWICE?
 
"Tactical Forums"?!

To hear those guys talk, you'd think they're using shotguns in firefights every night! Geez, they must live in some real crappy neighborhoods. You'd think with the money they claim to spend on weapons, they'd have enough to live in a better area. I guess you can slap "tactical" on anything, up the price, and they'll beat a path to the door to buy it and then claim it's better than anything else. The funny thing is, I understand quite a number of SWAT team casualties are from each other. Probably from filling their heads full of all that kind of crap like you see on that forum. I wonder how Wild Bill Hickok got along with cap-and-ball Navies when everyone else had "tactical" Peacemakers?

Tactical?

:rolleyes: :barf: :rolleyes: :barf:
 
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