Anyone ever Melonite or Salt-Bath_Nitride an 870 receiver?

[TonyBen]

I just picked up a real nice mint condition 1980's era 870 Magnum that I want to use as a HD/tactical setup. It's blued and I live in the soggy PNW.

I've had M14 parts nitrided before and it's gone well, but wanted to know if anything could go wrong with doing an 870 receiver and barrel.

I'm thinking of having the parts bead blasted to reduce the glossy finish.



I haven't received the shotgun yet. It's going to be shipped this week. I only have this picture of it. I do also have a 1974 Wingmaster that I could overhaul too. It's set up for 2-3/4" shells and has a 30" barrel.

Tony.

[Synchronizor]

I don't think the steel in 870 barrels & receivers is going to give you any trouble with that. It takes all the traditional bluing, Parkerizing, electroless nickel, -kotes, and so on; and it's been made the same way for the last 60+ years, so I doubt the alloy's anything exotic and finicky.

I will say though, I also live in the northwest. And while it is the more arid inland northwest, not the pacific northwest, my 870 - which mostly bears Express & Wingmaster bluing where it hasn't worn off - has seen plenty of rain & snow. The only time it ever tried to rust was when I got it soaked in snow, and then let it sit in a warm house for hours without attention. Even then, it cleaned up extremely easily.

Yes, that tree was shot down. It's a family tradition.

CT_2015.JPG (175.98 KiB) Viewed 3270 times

If your gun is just staying in the house for defensive purposes, and going out to the range on nice days for practice, the factory bluing should be more than sufficient so long as you oil it occasionally.

[TonyBen]

Thanks, Sync! Whereabouts in the PNW are you? Im in Beaverton, OR.

Well, I think I'm going to keep this new shotgun as-is. I got it today and I gotta tell you, it may very well have never been fired! It's flawless! There weren't even any brass marks on the carrier from loading. The bore is immaculate!

Looks like I'll be reworking the WingMaster. Again, it's had a broken ejector spring since I first saw this shotgun in the 80's. It's my dad's old shotgun and it's hardly ever been fired, but it does have handling marks and some very minor pitting. I may just Dremel the ejector in place which should basically convert it into a magnum ejector. It doesn't seem to be a high stress part.

Which leads me to another question...

I'd like a new barrel that I can shoot slugs out of and still be flush or just lightly longer than the +2 magazine extension. Any particular barrel I should be looking at?

Tony.

[Synchronizor]

Thanks, Sync! Whereabouts in the PNW are you? Im in Beaverton, OR.

I'm on the eastern border of Washington State, a bit outside Spokane. I lived across the border in Idaho for a while, and really like it. I recently lost a job in Hayden, and would like to find another in the same area. Eastern Washington folks are pretty cool (don't get me started on Seattle), but I still identify more as a North Idahoan.

Looks like I'll be reworking the WingMaster. Again, it's had a broken ejector spring since I first saw this shotgun in the 80's. It's my dad's old shotgun and it's hardly ever been fired, but it does have handling marks and some very minor pitting. I may just Dremel the ejector in place which should basically convert it into a magnum ejector. It doesn't seem to be a high stress part.

And it still ejects properly?

Not sure what you're talking about with the Dremeling. Even with a broken ejector spring, the ejector should still be held in place by both rivets; and if it's a non-magnum ejector, you'll need to change or modify it (probably better just to change it, as it's a pretty inexpensive part) to handle 3" shells. Plus, a 3"-chambered barrel, of course.

I'd like a new barrel that I can shoot slugs out of and still be flush or just lightly longer than the +2 magazine extension. Any particular barrel I should be looking at?

To stay ahead of a +2, you're looking at an 18" or 18.5" barrel, depending on the extension. Most are 18.5" these days anyway. If you want a defensive barrel that can handle slugs well, you're probably looking for something with a fixed Cylinder or IC choke. You can also shoot most slugs through a Modified if you want tighter buckshot patterns, but longer-range groups might open up a bit (this really depends a lot on which slug loads you're shooting). What kind of sights are you looking for?

[TonyBen]

It still ejects rounds, but they just fall out of the action and land at my feet. To be honest, I've hardly shot it in the last 8 years that I've had it since my late father gave it to me (he also gave me a Browning A5 12 mag at the same time). I've been so busy with M14's, Savages and many other projects, that I'm just now getting around to messing with the 870.

Now that I just received a new 12ga Mag last week, I was comparing it to the WingMaster and I see that the only difference between the two ejectors are that the raised edge that catch the shell base and pushes it out of the ejection port are in different locations. On the 2-3/4", that raised step 1/4" farther forward. On the Magnum, it's farther back and it appears that you can modify a 2-3/4" ejector in about a minute and de-burr it to make it a magnum ejector.

I'm going to try it. Worst case scenario is that I order a new one in case I futz it up.

Ultimately, I'd like a fixed Picatinny rail on the top of the receiver and a holosight of some sort, so barrel sights are not really a concern, but rifle sights are attractive, and I wouldn't mind them.

Tony.

[Synchronizor]

It still ejects rounds, but they just fall out of the action and land at my feet.

Cool. I've always theorized that the 870's two-piece ejector setup should offer some redundancy over the single-piece ejectors used in some other pumps; allowing the gun to keep ejecting shells acceptably - if not optimally - in the event that the spring breaks. Nice to see some confirmation.

Now that I just received a new 12ga Mag last week, I was comparing it to the WingMaster and I see that the only difference between the two ejectors are that the raised edge that catch the shell base and pushes it out of the ejection port are in different locations. On the 2-3/4", that raised step 1/4" farther forward. On the Magnum, it's farther back and it appears that you can modify a 2-3/4" ejector in about a minute and de-burr it to make it a magnum ejector.

I'm going to try it. Worst case scenario is that I order a new one in case I futz it up.

Yeah, that's the main difference as far as the ejector goes. The magnum version of the ejector spring likewise has its "kink" set further back to accommodate the 3" hulls, but that's not something you can do with a Dremel. Converting a 2.75" model to shoot magnums tends to always involve replacing those parts since you have to replace the spring, and if you're cutting or replacing the rivets anyway, it's easier to just drop in a new ejector while you're at it. Go ahead and try modifying it though; like you said, worst case, you'll just have to do the normal repair/conversion anyway. I'd also be interested in hearing if a 3" ejector is still able to get 2.75" hulls out of the ejection port without the spring helping.

Ultimately, I'd like a fixed Picatinny rail on the top of the receiver and a holosight of some sort, so barrel sights are not really a concern, but rifle sights are attractive, and I wouldn't mind them.

A bead sight is probably going to save you money if you intend to use an optic, and don't care about the irons.

Saddle-mount rails and saddle-mount optics are an alternative to screwing a piece of rail into the top of the receiver.



They make it a little more complicated to get your trigger plate assembly out, but they're far easier to install, and don't leave any permanant holes that corrosion or foreign material might take advantage of. Some saddle-mount optics or rails will also leave space for you to look underneath and use the bead if needed: