Have an older 870 Mag looking for advise

[ACESDUGOUT]

Howdy Y'all
I picked up an older 870 Magnum 12ga. and when I opened the mag tube there was a larger @ 2 shells worth solid steel counterweight/plug. Will a normal mag spring retainer work and I can then offer the counter weight/plug as an extra? Any responses are happily accepted. As pic's are easy to add and if you would like to see them I will post them up at a later date. I will be offering this 870 Mag as well as a Rem 760 in 30-06 w/10 rd mag., when it is cleaned up better a Rem Model 10 from @ 1927 by the date code. All these firearms will be featured on my website on the WORKROOM page (by 06/07/15), feel free to look next week when I post them at ACE'S DUGOUT.
Thank you for any help, if you have questions feel free to ask.
Yours in service
James Acerra
Owner/Gunsmith at
ACE'S DUGOUT an 07FFL
http://acesdugout.tripod.com

[Synchronizor]

Sounds like one of the old Vari-Weight plugs Remington used to ship with older 870s.

1954_S.JPG (127.33 KiB) Viewed 3127 times

[ACESDUGOUT]

Thanks brother dandy add but? Does that mean a normal mag ring will work?
Yours in service
James Acerra

[Synchronizor]

Yes, a standard press-in spring retainer will work. However, unless you're trying to keep this gun all-original, I would reccomend using a 12ga Benelli spring retainer instead. It's a much better-designed part.

Here's a video with some more detail:

[ACESDUGOUT]

Thanks brother, it never hurts to have options.