Remington 870 wingmaster

T

Trashcan-man

New member
Ok guys, I have a 2 parter that I could use some help with. I just inherited a remington 870 wingmaster from my grandfather. I have inspected it and cleaned it thoroughly, it was easily the dirtiest gun I've ever seen, and fortunately the barrel looks good. It also has what appears to be a superficial layer of rust all over the outside of the gun, I was able to scrub it off of the serial number with a regular nylon brush and some solvent so I don't think it has done any perminant damage. So here's my questions. 1. How do I remove the rust, I have to take it to a gun smith to make sure it is safe to fire but if there is a way to safely take off the rust myself I would prefer to do so because of the cost. I've heard that using a light touch with a very fine steel wool will take off the rust but wouldn't that also take off the bluing? That would be counterproductive as it would probably be more expensive to get it reblued.
2. A little bit off topic here, but does anybody know how I can find info on how old the gun is? Like I said I have the serial number but have been unable to find a way to figure out when it was made other than that they started producing them in the 50's.
Any help advice would be greatly appreciated. If I have to take it to a gunsmith to get it refinished then I can deal with that, just want to make sure there isn't another way.
 
Use fine steel or bronze/copper wool and any good oil (Breakfree CLP works fine). You can rub quite firmly and still not harm the bluing.
 
Remington Year of Manufacture Codes maybe found on the barrel of your Remington rifle [or shotgun] on the left side, just forward of the receiver; the first letter of the Code is the month of manufacture, followed by one or two letters which are the year of manufacture. For shotguns with removeable barrels, the code will be valid for the manufacture of the barrel; maybe for the receiver, as barrels do get switched around.

According to the "Blue Book of Gun Values", the coding continues as follows:

Month Codes: [first letter]
B - L - A - C - K - P - O - W - D - E - R - X
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12

Year:______Code: [second (and third*) letters]
1930_______ Y
1931_______ Z
1932_______ A
1933_______ B
1934_______ C
1935_______ D
1936_______ E
1937_______ F
1938_______ G
1939_______ H

1940_______ J
1941_______ K
1942_______ L
1943_______ MMZ
1944_______ NN
1945_______ PP
1946_______ RR
1947_______ SS
1948_______ TT
1949_______ UU

1950_______ WW
1951_______ XX
1952_______ YY
1953_______ ZZ
1954_______ A
1955_______ B
1956_______ C
1957_______ D
1958_______ E
1959_______ F

1960_______ G
1961_______ H
1962_______ J
1963_______ K
1964_______ L
1965_______ M
1966_______ N
1967_______ P
1968_______ R
1969_______ S

1970_______ T
1971_______ U
1972_______ W
1973_______ X
1974_______ Y
1975_______ Z
1976_______ I
1977_______ O
1978_______ Q
1979_______ V

1980_______ A
1981_______ B
1982_______ C
1983_______ D
1984_______ E
1985_______ F
1986_______ G
1987_______ H
1988_______ I
1989_______ J

1990_______ K
1991_______ L
1992_______ M
1993_______ N
1994_______ O
1995_______ P
1996_______ Q
1997_______ R
1998_______ S
1999_______ T
2000_______ U
2001_______ W
2002_______ X

* the years 1943 though 1953 had double letters: ie, MM = 1943

As maybe seen, the year code letters duplicate; some knowledge of when the model was introduced should resolve the actual year of manufacture.

Joat
 
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