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New to me shotgun, Remington 870 Police, Winston Salem N.C. Surplus....

C

canoeguy

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Near me is a Police Wholesaler, Town Police Supply of Collinsville, Va. They take a lot of police firearms in trade, and in turn sell them to sportsmen like me. I missed out recently on some Virginia Department of Corrections Remington 870 Express Magnum's, orange "Less Lethal" marked stocks, priced at a crazy low price of $125. So, when they got in some Remington 870 "Wingmasters" with slug barrels and rifle sights, trade ins from Winston Salem, N.C, Police Department, I put one on layaway.

Got it out today, I picked from a number of them to get one that didn't seem too worn, and had a good "WSPD" mark on the receiver. Price was $349, more than the orange stocked Express Magnums, but these look so much better. These came with a sling and buttstock shell carrier:






"WSPD" mark, trade ins from Winston Salem, N.C. PD:



At some point I might find pout what the "RS 58" mark means that follows "WSPD". Any ideas?

The price of $349 seemed reasonable giving what it would take to put one of these together from some other Remington 870 receiver. About ten years ago I put together a similar shotgun, starting with a pawn shop 870 Express Magnum ($240), a slug barrel with rifle sights ($100), sling, attaching hardware and buttstock shell carrier probably well over $40, and when I was done, it was still an "Express Magnum" and not a real Wingmaster.

I'll get a chance to shoot it later this week, I'll let you know how it wrings out.

By the way, their Virginia Department of Corrections S & W Model 64's are down to $279, "Norfolk Police Department" marked Glock 17's $399....
 
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The "RS 58" is probably the inventory number. I have a Dayton, Ohio PD veteran 870, not nearly as nice as yours. I paid a lot less 15 years ago, but I didn't get the sling, sling swivels, ammo sleeve, or the 10 round magazine extension!

It should be in pretty good shape, but it needs detail disassembled and cleaned and lubed. Maybe buy the Wolff spring kit and put all new springs in it when reassembling. At that point, you should have a shotgun to last the rest of your lifetime and probably your grandkids' too!

My Father-in-law was the ordinance head sergeant for a large PD. He spent 27 years getting all the 870's he could (trying for one pre officer). Now the trend is, PD's are getting rid of shotguns in favor of AR-15/M-16/M-4 so for now there are many surplus 870's.

When fully loaded it will be nose heave and a little long for my home defense usage. You may want to go shorter and mount a small flash light on it. You should put some money and time into finding the ammo you prefer, #4 Buck and Slugs are my preferences, but your needs may vary!

If nothing else you can buy Wingmaster barrels for Skeet, Waterfowl, or upland game a enjoy hunting with a fine shotgun!

Ivan
 
RS probably stands for Rifle Sights and 58 is their inventory number. I retired from a large Sheriffs Department and the first half of my career, the shotguns had our own inventory numbers engraved on them. Later on, the Armor realized it the serial number worked just fine for inventory.
 
I like 870s and that old 'Wingmaster" is a much nicer finished gun than an express. My first 12GA "Wingmaster " cost me $150 in '73...
 
I like that. A good working shotgun that'll last forever probably. What's the barrel length...20 inches? 18.5 inches? That's a good price, in my opinion.
 
Barrel length is 20 inches.

I have accumulated a lot of slugs and #4 Buck over the years. I still have a bunch of Estate Low Recoil #4 Buck left over from my Three Gun Shooting days. In the 90's I competed in Three Gun with a 1911 pistol, a number of different rifles (AR-15, M1A, pistol caliber carbines) and a Mossberg Defender 6 shot pump. A very humble shotgun compared to other competitors.

I'm certain this 870 will be better than my old Mossy with it's bead sight.
 
Watchdog said:
I like that. A good working shotgun that'll last forever probably. What's the barrel length...20 inches? 18.5 inches? That's a good price, in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Unsolicited advice:

18.5" is okay, but never buy a police shotgun with an 18" barrel.

The PD departments did not care if a barrel on one of their shotguns was 17.99 inches -- but if you had one like that and the BATFE found out you would be in for a world of hurt.
 
That's a really nice one!

I picked up two new ones this year a Remington Police Magnum Model #24899. Fully polished 5 shot.
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And a Remington Police Magnum Model #24903. Fully Parkerized, 7 shot.
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The only thing I've done to them so far is to replace the factory right handed safeties with left hand versions.:)
 
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That's a beautiful shotgun and a great deal!
Must resist the jealousy!! :)

Congratulations sir.
Nothing like a 12 gauge pump if you ask me.
Enjoy it in good health.
 
diegobxr said:
That's a beautiful shotgun and a great deal!
Must resist the jealousy!! :)

Congratulations sir.
Nothing like a 12 gauge pump if you ask me.
Enjoy it in good health.
Click to expand...

IMHO, except for the lack of an ambidextrous safety, a six shot police Wingmaster is as close as you can get to firearm perfection for under $400
 
We carried those in our patrol cars in the 1970's. Great shotgun. When I first became an officer in 1976 we had High Standard 12 ga. pump riot guns mounted in the front in an upright position rack. Those were replaced with the 870's. When we went to Chevorlet Malibu patrol cars from full size Dodge/Plymouths, the 870's were too tall to be mounted that way and had to be kept in trunk.

Nice buy.
 
I was the armorer/firearms instructor for the last department I worked for in Iowa. Cars went in and out of a heated garage year round. The blue 870 shotguns were kept in fleece lined cases in the trunk that drew moisture so I removed the shotguns from the cases and installed rubber coated U shaped hangers with a catch that held the gun in the hanger.
I waxed the guns with car wax twice a year and after qualifications that seemed to protect the guns.
 
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I have a Wingmaster Riot from Honolulu PD. Bought it in the late 80's. Someday I need to replace the old hardened recoil pad. LOL.
 
That's a find that I would leave "as-is"...it's called CHARACTER :)

Question for you shotgunners: if you store your shotgun in a safe, do you keep it loaded, and a cartridge in the chamber?
 
"You should put some money and time into finding the ammo you prefer, #4 Buck and Slugs are my preferences, but your needs may vary!"

I go with that. If you are shooting something which is out of range with #4B, you need a slug anyway. For my shotgun, the patterning with #4B is much more uniform than with 00B.
 
I have a new 870 in the safe. I do not like pump guns particularly, but they have the advantage of shooting light loads that won't function a semi-auto. The best pump shotgun, to me is an 870. You got a fine gun.
 
Spent many years with an issued M870 riding next to me, and in later years, an overhead rack.
Just felt right when I got a chance to grab a used/like new Remington M870 'Marine Magnum' 20" a few years back.
Like all 870's, I'm sure it'll far outlast me.
 
I have a 870 wingmaster that was a SC state trooper gun.it has the most beautiful wood stock. its from 1974. I even got a plain hunting barrel for it that came off a 1974 870. I also have a leo 870 with18.5 inch barrel and rifle sights and it will flat shoot slugs real nice.
 
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