Newbie 870 Question of the Day

[Scorpion8]

So I got in a new magazine tube cap for my 870 Wingmaster that includes a sling swivel in the cap. The original one did not. But in my examination, the box/parts list says "Fit's 12-ga and 16-ga 870's". Okay, I recall seeing 16-ga 870's on GB, and I have an old Eastern Arms 16-ga single shot (my only shotgun until this 870). So if it fits an 870 16-ga Wingmaster also.....what else fits? Logic says the magazine tubes are the same size, since the magazine end cap fits both. 16-ga and 12-ga shells aren't all that different, compared to the other gauges. Kind of similar to a standard-sized bolt head on a Mauser-action rifle, which will fit .308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield on the same bolt face, even though they are difference by a few gnats eyelashes.

Can I find an old 870 barrel in 16-ga and thus have TWO shotguns for the price of one? Will the 16-ga shells function through the 12-ga action?

[Synchronizor]

16ga & 12ga 870s (along with early 20ga models) are built on the same size receivers, so some 12ga parts like stocks, optic mounts, and magazine components will also fit a 16ga. However, internals like the bolt, shell latches, and other items are different in order to handle the narrower shells & shell rims. You can't change gauges with just a barrel swap the way you can with break-actions. There's a lot more going on inside a repeater.

Besides, 16ga 870s - especially the newer ones - are kind of pointless unless it's a gun with some personal significance, or you just like the novelty of the less-common chambering. The 16ga models are the same size and pretty much the same weight (older ones were very slightly lighter, but newer ones are actually heavier since the barrels are 12ga profiles with a 16ga hole inside) as the 12ga guns. Since 12ga shells are easier to find, more versatile, and can handle any 16ga load; you might as well just go with a 12.

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It would kind of be like a .300 Savage conversion kit for a .308 Winchester rifle. Yeah, it would give you two guns in one, but what do you really gain with the Savage cartridge that the more common Winchester round couldn't already do?

[Scorpion8]

Well, just something about a 16-ga since it was my first shotgun. Some calibers have special meaning.