Just had this stuff shipped to me for my next big stock project. A heavily customized Remington 40X .22lr. The only part actually made by Remington here is the receiver, and even that has been fully blueprinted. Has a PTG bolt with custom engraved bolt handle, 3-position safety (yes!!!), Shilen trigger, and a very special 24" long 8-groove barrel made and hand-lapped by Ed Shilen himself (the client is a personal friend of his). It was fitted and chambered by a top rimfire gunsmith, so I can expect pretty much the same accuracy as a target rifle. You could put this barreled action in a target style stock and win matches with it. The wood I'm putting on it is a stick of Australian walnut coming from a prominent wood cutter there, and the client is giving me a lot of liberty in how I design and make the stock. It will be a very classic style stock, but at my discretion. I am basically building my dream gun here, so even if I don't own this project I am way too excited to be a part of it.
In the market for a reasonably-priced 12 gauge pump shotgun. Something I can eventually hand down to my son when he gets old enough. The ability to modify it with add-ons is a must (my AR-15 now fits me and my needs perfectly). So basically what I'm asking is... is there any reason I should go for something other than the Remington 807 Express Magnum?
If you're looking for something a little more on the heirloom side, I'd spend a few extra bucks and get an 870 wingmaster. The quality and finish is much better than the express. For what it's worth, my dad handed down his wingmaster to me. It's over 30 years old and still had a better finish and feel than a brand new express.
I've had my Wingmaster for over 35 years. Dad has one as well, won't even begin to guess for how long. Awesome shotgun.
If you intend on handing this gun down spend the extra $100 and get a Wingmaster Magnum. You can find these locally for less than $400. The twin action bars and finish on these guns are legendary. I have a Wingmaster Trap gun I use for hunting that is even older than I am. (I'm 31)
I abuse the hell out of my guns and expect them to keep on ticking. The more I think about it, the more I realized a "hand down" shotgun and a "use every few days" shotgun cannot be one in the same. Eventually I'll get a nice O/U for trap and dove and that'll be for my son.
You would be wrong. I've used the shit out of my WingMaster, and I got it from my dad. It's older than I am. Sure, I want to get a nice over/under for trap, but that's only because I prefer to use an o/u for trap.
Although I still don't understand why O/Us are considered more accurate than side by sides. I have a 20 gauge youth side by side that I got when I was like 12, and I can dust skeet with that more reliably than any 12 (though the range of a 12 is nice). I guess it all comes back to how you feel with the gun. I was able to take my massive 12 pt buck with my .223 AR because the gun has been customized (and shot enough) to feel like an extension of my arm. My .40 Taurus PT 24/7 Pro is fucking surgical in my hands.... Give me another brand of AR with a different weight and feel, or another .40 with a heavier or lighter trigger pull, and I'm certain I'm going to embarrass myself on the range. Hence my desire for a shotgun with the ability to customize. From what I've seen, the 807 has almost a cult following of accessories and accessory makers. It may not look like a "traditional shotgun" by the end for me, but it'll damn well feel natural in my shoulder.
Are we still doing the EDC thing? Here is what I have: Ruger LCP and Kershaw Ken Onion Leek. I carry the LCP in my front pocket at work. The Kershaw is probably the ugliest pocket knife I have ever owned but it is crazy sharp out of the box and is very well made.
If you're looking for an 870, don't buy new. Buy something ten years old or older. The new stuff from big green is inconsistent at best. Bet that. If you do opt to buy a new gun, plan on slicking up the guide rails, bolt and most everything else inside of the gun with an emery cloth and some metal polish. There is the belief that wingmaster guns are slicker than their counterparts. I do not believe that is true with newer guns. In my opinion, the synthetic 870 guide guns from the early 90s are as good as any. They're good guns. The most popular shotgun in history. I think there are better semi-auto shotguns, though. That may be an apples to oranges comparison, but for real. If you're buying, you might as well get something better.
Thing is, I have a semi-auto 12. It's a remington 105 CTI II. It was "cutting edge technology" when it first came out, and now it's no longer made. I spend more time trying to fix it than I do shooting it. When it works, it is absolutely incredible -- at 50 yards it throws slugs in the same MOE my AR does; but it doesn't always work, and in the field, I need something I know will fire when I pull the trigger... I'll turn it into a dedicated slug gun once I get a new shotgun. I've lost confidence with semi-auto shotguns after that one. And like I said before, confidence is key.
So you ARE familiar with Remington's recent past. I wouldn't use then105 cti as the benchmark for all semi autos. Ever. Browning Gold/Silver/Maxus. Winchester SX3. Beretta 390 and 391 are all far superior with a much better track record. You can also go for a Browning Auto 5. The Japanese guns are every bit as good as the Belgian guns, steel shot safe, timeless, and affordable.
My WingMaster is a pump, and has always been solid for me. I've never felt the need to "upgrade" it. But yeah, it's old... seems that most new shit is gone to hell. I have a cheap, synthetic Browning pump dedicated as a slug/deer gun with a couple different barrels and a holosight that I can lug through the swamps in the snow, and it's perfect for that. Never been a fan of semi shotguns, or rifles, for that matter... the only one I liked was my FN when I was in the military. Otherwise, all my long-gun shit is bolt action. My main deer rifle is an original Browning A-Bolt in .30-06 with a monster Leupold scope on it. The only thing I'd like to get now is an over/under Beretta 12 gauge for clays. My dad bought one semi-customized for my mom and it is a phenomenal firearm.
Oh, and one of the reasons I want an over/under is because I keep getting the stink-eye from fellow competitors when I eject shells on them shooting trap.
If I'm an idiot when it comes to something, I'll tell you. I was raised around guns at an age young enough to invoke the Board's "no politics" rule... Anyone who can't shoot skeet with a single-shot 410 break barrel (yell pull, cock it, then dust 4 outta 10), is a step behind far as I'm concerned. I got spoiled with my Bushmaster Carbon 15 (unfortunately, the same gun involved in Sandy Hook), and my Taurus PT 24/7 Pro. The whole shooter vs. fit thing. I know you can basically re-build a gun to have it fit exactly how you want.... But I guess what I'm looking for is the shotgun version of the AR-15?
My sole hunting shotgun is a Remington 870 Wingmaster 12 gauge that I bought used almost a decade ago and I have done everything, everything with it since. I agree that whatever Big Green made in the past few years is not as good as before- in general I'd have more confidence in a used Remington gun than a new one. But the point of my post is that the Wingmaster combines elevated aesthetics with fuck you durability. I just used mine today to help me up a few slick creek banks en route to smashing a few squirrels today. The wood finish is a thick synthetic that is super tough, albeit more challenging to redo, but it's still a nice enough stick of walnut for me to refinish at some point (I don't bother with shitty wood anymore). Just go get a used Wingmaster and be done with it.
Have any of you seen this thing? First Ever Hornady Rifle Call me a traditionalist, but that is one ugly rifle. Certainly not everything about it is bad, and while the stock has some really beautiful wood the grain runs at an angle clear through the wrist (check out the seventh photo down) and that is the #1 deal-breaker to me. I'd bet whoever buys that rifle will just keep it in the display case, but that's the kind of awful flaw that makes a stock break just from a hard fall. The stock design looks like they did 90% of the shaping in a milling machine, smoothed out the grip, and said "fuck it, good enough." We can tell.
The scope mounts are kinda neato. Any of you guys have any experience with the Remington M24 rebuilds? They're a little expensive if you're just looking for a nice 700 with glass ($3500 before tax), but they're all stamped 'M24'. Would civilian collectors pick something like that up, even though some of the parts were never fielded? I can't find any running auctions.