Old 870 Wingmaster - what gauge?

9

9mmMike

New member
Hi team. It's great to back!
I recently aquired an old 870 Wingmaster receiver with a serial number that ends in a W (461XXXW). According to my Jerry Kuhnhausen book, this would be a 16 ga.
It accepts all my 12 ga. bits with the exception of a bolt. However, all my bolts are from 12 ga. magnums and this is not a magnum.
Question:
Do the bolts not fit because they are from 12 ga. magnums or because this is a 16 ga.? How can I tell?
I can fully assemble this gun with all 12 ga. bits but it will not cycle as the bolt binds against the right side of the receiver.
Thanks in advance,
Mike
 
16 ga case head is smaller than 12 ga so the bolt would have to match the shell in order to feed/eject properly. The receiver would be milled to fit the 16ga bolt.

I behooves a manufacturer to be able to use common parts in different gauges to save money. Proper and efficient design would allow 12 and 16 ga guns to use as many of the same parts as possible.

I doubt a normal (2 3/4") 12 ga bolt would fit into the 16 either.
 
Thanks Geoff. I was not even certain that this was a 16 ga. as it is not labeled anywhere. I finally got around to trying to feed 12 ga. into the mag tube and although the tube is the same size as the 12, the shell latches are preventing the case head of the 12 ga. shell to feed.
Now the question is do I buy a barrel and bolt/bolt-slide in 16 ga. or do I swap this receiver for a 12 which is what I wanted in the first place?
Thanks again,
Mike

edited for spelllllllin
 
Last edited:
Methinks Remington just re issued the "Sweet 16" so parts may be available.

16 is the yuppy snob gun of late, several mfgr's are producing guns, including Ithaca and some of the spaghetti gun companies.
 
I will see if the fellow from whom I got this will do a deal for a 12 ga. This was my first Wingmaster (I always wanted one) albeit a rough specimen and perhaps I can get one in 12 gauge.
Thanks,
Mike
 
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