I also have an 870 Competition Trap with a fixed full choke, a total target crusher. I currently have three Wingmasters, a 1954 ADL 16 gauge with I/C vent ribbed barrel, an early 80's LT20 with three fixed choke barrels, and a late 80's 410 Wingmaster with three different barrels. The fixed choke barrels have always had great patterns, and I'll take a fixed choke Wingmaster barrel over a screw-choked barrel any day. The first 16 ***** Wingmasters were by far the best balanced, especially compared to the last "Classic Field" atrocities. On the other hand, early Wingmasters had some of the best looking wood of any Remington, especially the skeet, trap and BDL models. A lot of early Wingmasters have bolts that are dull looking, and don't seem to resist corrosion. I have an 870 whos serial number begins with RS and ends with A. Around the late 60's Remington started polishing the metal to a higher luster, and also started plating the bolt and lifter to prevent wear. The finish of the early Wingmasters wasn't as nice as later 870's. M/870 LETTER PREFIX 1950 TO APPROX 1968: NO SERIAL NUMBER PREFIX. Kind of a cool deal considering a lot of target shooters buy expensive mercury weights now that do the same thing. Also for the 8 series shotguns there was a code to identify caliber/size of the actions. Early Wingmasters also have a hole in the end of the mag tube for the "vari-weight", which is a steel cylinder that fits into the end of the mag tube to add weight to the front of the gun. Also, Remington refined the shape of the lifter over the years to make it more reliable. They put a shim spacer in between the stock and the receiver sometime in the 60's to solve this. First, you're going to see a lot of early Wingmasters with cracked or chipped buttstocks near the wrist. The early Wingmasters were great.but there are some differences. Its a Wingmaster, 12 ga, 2 3/4' chamber with a 25 or 26' barrel fixed choke IC. (To be clear, Im talking about the serial number located on the left side of the receiver. Remington 870 Serial Number Prefix Codes 1950 - 1967 No Prefix 1968 - 1973 'S' Prefix 1974 - 1977 'T' Prefix 1978 - 1983 'V' Prefix 1984 - 1989 'W' Prefix 1990 'X' Prefix. If it had an 'M' at the end of the serial number it wouldve left the factory configured for 2 3/4' and 3' shells. OK, I just have to weigh in here, having owned dozens of Wingmasters over the years. The 'V' at the end of serial number indicates the receiver left the factory configured for 2 3/4' shells.
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