Picture of my 870 project in progress.

[will_reed]

So I picked up an old, pretty rough Wingmaster to build into the pump gun that I've always wanted. I'm still waiting on a few parts to show up so everything can be tested together before tearing it down and shipping it off to be parkerized.

Here's the parts list:

1973 Wingmaster reciever, etc.
20" Rifle sighted barrel
Ameriglo night sights
TacStar +3 and side saddle
Wilson Combat follower
Hogue 12" LOP stock and forend
CDM Mod-C clamp and light mount
Vang Comp safety

Is there anything I'm missing? I've seen people talking about upgrading to the flex tab carrier, and I like the longer action lock lever too. Can those parts be added to my trigger group? I also have an Express here and thought about just swapping the whole trigger group between the two and getting them in this gun that way. Any issues with doing this? The metal vs plastic thing doesn't bother me much, as a Glock guy I've learned to love plastic guns. Ha!

Here's where she stands right now.

[bustos870]

Cant wait to see the final pic. lol

[Synchronizor]

I've seen people talking about upgrading to the flex tab carrier, and I like the longer action lock lever too. Can those parts be added to my trigger group? I also have an Express here and thought about just swapping the whole trigger group between the two and getting them in this gun that way. Any issues with doing this?

You should have no issues swapping entire trigger plate assemblies. If you want to keep the aluminum trigger plate, you can also just swap in the carrier assembly from your Express trigger plate assembly (though personally, I prefer the polymer trigger plate). To have the full flex-tab fix, you'll also need to swap over the new-style breech bolt and slide assembly. I'm guessing both your 870s are magnums, but in case they're not, these parts are interchangeable between magnum and non-magnum guns, but not SuperMags.

If you're planning to put the old parts back into your donor Express to keep both guns operational, I believe you'll also need to switch the fore-end tube assemblies. As I understand it, both old and new slide assemblies will work with the old-style fore-end tube assemblies, but the new fore-end tube assemblies will only work with the new slide assemblies.

Is the action bar lock on your Express geometrically different than the one on the older gun? I wasn't aware Remington ever redesigned that part.

[will_reed]

I've seen people talking about upgrading to the flex tab carrier, and I like the longer action lock lever too. Can those parts be added to my trigger group? I also have an Express here and thought about just swapping the whole trigger group between the two and getting them in this gun that way. Any issues with doing this?

You should have no issues swapping entire trigger plate assemblies. If you want to keep the aluminum trigger plate, you can also just swap in the carrier assembly from your Express trigger plate assembly (though personally, I prefer the polymer trigger plate). To have the full flex-tab fix, you'll also need to swap over the new-style breech bolt and slide assembly. I'm guessing both your 870s are magnums, but in case they're not, these parts are interchangeable between magnum and non-magnum guns, but not SuperMags.

If you're planning to put the old parts back into your donor Express to keep both guns operational, I believe you'll also need to switch the fore-end tube assemblies. As I understand it, both old and new slide assemblies will work with the old-style fore-end tube assemblies, but the new fore-end tube assemblies will only work with the new slide assemblies.

Is the action bar lock on your Express geometrically different than the one on the older gun? I wasn't aware Remington ever redesigned that part.

The Wingmaster is a 2 3/4" reciever, but the new barrel has a 3" chamber. I would like to have the capability to fire 3" shells, not for HD reasons but I plan to have this barrel threaded for chokes for that it can serve as my turkey gun as well and I would much rather use 3" for that reason. What is involved in that swap?

I'll probably just swap the whole trigger plate assembly, it would save a step in the refinish since all the remaining parts would be steel. The lock tab on the Express seems to stick down further past the trigger guard than the Wingmaster does, I'm not at home or I would snap a pic.

Another question, when I installed the Wilson/Scattergun follower I lost a round of capacity in the tube. I can fit 8 with the stock plastic follower but only 7 with the new one. I assume it would be safe to trim the "tail" off the new follower to try to get that round back. Any thoughts on that?

[will_reed]

Disregard on the follower, it isn't the tail that is the issue at all. The thickness of the follower is where the problem is. The stock follower was a thin cup that capped over the end of the spring where as the new one is much thicker.

So is it better than have 7 in the tube with the upgraded follower or 8 with the stock one?

[Synchronizor]

The Wingmaster is a 2 3/4" reciever, but the new barrel has a 3" chamber. I would like to have the capability to fire 3" shells, not for HD reasons but I plan to have this barrel threaded for chokes for that it can serve as my turkey gun as well and I would much rather use 3" for that reason. What is involved in that swap?

To reliably cycle 3" shells, the gun needs a different ejector (and maybe a new ejector spring and ejector rivets as well). It's not an overly complicated process, but it does require a certain amount of know-how and some specialized tools, so it's generally a gunsmith job. If the ejector rivets are changed, the receiver will need some refinishing.

Disregard on the follower, it isn't the tail that is the issue at all. The thickness of the follower is where the problem is. The stock follower was a thin cup that capped over the end of the spring where as the new one is much thicker.

So is it better than have 7 in the tube with the upgraded follower or 8 with the stock one?

In my opinion, the big functional advantage of aftermarket followers like the Scattergun ones are that they make it easier to check the magazine by feel. There are aftermarket followers out there that retain this advantage, but are cup-style like the stock one to avoid the capacity loss of solid followers. S&J Hardware makes them for the 870, and if I wasn't running Remington extensions on my gun (which have the same capacities with cup-style and solid followers, due to their internal follower stops), those would be the first thing I would try.

[will_reed]

I swapped back to the stock follower to compare and that 8th shell is an extremely tight fit. I'm considering just leaving it a 7 round gun.

Refinishing isn't an issue since I've got to have the whole thing done anyway.

[will_reed]

Ok, a little update. After a talk with my local gunsmith, I've ordered the ejector parts to do the 3" swap. Assuming the parts arrive as scheduled, the receiver will go to him tomorrow for that upgrade. I'm also shipping my barrel out tomorrow to be threaded for chokes and have some forcing come work done.

I picked up a newer style trigger group on Gunbroker, thinking it was the plastic one. When it arrived it was metal with a textured finish. It seems to be in great shape so I'm going to use it.