16 ga Wingmaster production date, receiver/frame size

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rla1000
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Apr 29, 2011 11:10 am

16 ga Wingmaster production date, receiver/frame size

Post by rla1000 »

Maybe I posted this in the wrong place before, I'll try again. Hoping someone can help me out...

I just acquired an older, Wingmaster 16 ga. Unfortunately I cannot discern the production date code on the barrel - it looks like "KI" or "K1" but I don't believe Remington would have used either an "I" or "1" because of potential confusion. A second pair of letters closer to the receiver is basically illegible, like only the lower portion was stamped into the barrel, and these could be DV, UV, DU or something different. These are all on the left side of the bbl. S/N is T4313xxW. Barrel is plain with bead sight. Any idea when this was manufactured?

Also, did Remington ever produce the 16 ga. Wingmaster on a 16 ga. frame, i.e., one sized for the gauge as opposed to just putting a heavier 16 barrel on a 12 ga. receiver? Or for that matter, put a 16 ga. on a 20 ga. frame? I believe when they did the more recent 16 gauge production run a few years ago they simply slapped a heavier bbl. on a 12 frame but I don't know. Mine would pre-date that.

Did Remington ever produce the 16 ga Wingmaster with a vent rib barrel with interchangeable chokes, i.e., RemChokes or other system, not a polychoke? And of course, any idea where I can located such a barrel to change out the barrel on my 16 ga. Wingmaster.

Thanks for any help you can provide.
Virginian
Posts: 685
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 5:03 pm
Location: Williamsburg, Va.

Re: 16 ga Wingmaster production date, receiver/frame size

Post by Virginian »

Man, that ain't older. Made between 1974 and 1978. Prime years. 12 and 16 and pre-1972 20s were all built on the 12 gauge size receiver. In '72 the Lightweight 20 started being built on the 28 gauge sized receiver, but they still made the standard for a while, too. I believe the 16 was dropped before they introduced RemChokes, but there are scads of vent rib barrels around. They made a recent "Classic" run of 1100s in 16, but i don't remember any 870s - I could be wrong - have never kept up with 16s much. You can have choke tubes fitted to almost any barrel. Try looking at www.Gunbroker.com, www.Corsonsbarrels.com, or www.barrelexchange.com.
What could have happened... did.
rla1000
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Apr 29, 2011 11:10 am

Re: 16 ga Wingmaster production date, receiver/frame size

Post by rla1000 »

Thanks Virginian. Well, I was afraid I'd get that info. Too bad Remington didn't see fit to make the 16 gauge in a 16 frame size in the Wingmaster. To me, that's just plain dumb to not do that. And the same on the interchangeable chokes for the 16. Regardless of the arguments pertaining to the 16 and certain clay sports, in my mind the 16 gauge is the finest all around upland game gauge there is, and there are more than sufficient reasons to offer the world's leading pump shotgun in terms of sales - in fact, the world's leading shotgun period at 10 million copies and counting - in a variety of 16 gauge options, including appropriate receiver and frame size/weight, barrels, chokes, etc. Remington certainly has offered the 870 in plenty of other other configurations.

Thanks for info on barrels, too, but have come up empty there and elsewhere. Will keep trying. Thanks again.
Wulfman
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Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 6:04 pm
Location: N.W. Wyoming

Re: 16 ga Wingmaster production date, receiver/frame size

Post by Wulfman »

.
In 2003 (as per the catalog), Remington issued a Wingmaster and Express Synthetic in 16 ga. with light contour barrel and Rem Choke options.
I believe they were cataloged for a couple of years before they disappeared again.


Den
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