Kissing cousins? - The Remington 870 Wingmaster (top) and the Smith & Wesson 3000.
I recently had my examples of each of these out and for the first time put them next to one another for a close comparison.
If you're not familiar with the Smith & Wesson Model 3000, this model dates to the 1980's, and to put it politely, was "inspired" by the Remington 870 Wingmaster. It's not a slavish copy, but there can be no doubt about whose market share it was intended to pare.
Let's get a couple of other inconvenient truths out of the way while we're at it. The 3000 was in production for just a few years, and is exceedingly unlikely to ever be making a comeback. It was made in Japan for rather than by S&W. The 870, on the other hand, is an all-American classic that continues to be one of the most popular shotguns ever.
Still, I can't help but look at each and think that this S&W venture didn't deserve a better fate.
The fit and finish of both the 3000 and 870 are first rate. The machining, polish, and bluing of the metal surfaces on each cannot be faulted The walnut stocks and forends of either are of a good grade, with high gloss coatings that are indistiguishable from the other . The 870 sports a fancy "fleur-de-lis" pattern of checkering, but this is impressed. The 3000's plainer (but not at all unattractive) style is actually cut, so advantage to S&W on that count. I like the 3000's logo pistol grip cap and slightly larger forend better, too.
Another area in which I give the nod to the S&W product is with regard to interchangeable chokes. There's nothing particularly wrong with Rem-chokes, other than they're proprietary. The 3000's supplied chokes on the other hand, were clones of the Win-choke design, and with that system, the Mossberg flush style chokes may also be used.
Another small thing that I appreciate on the S&W is the mid bead, which you generally won't find on Remingtons.
All in all, the Smith & Wesson 3000 and the Remington 870 Wingmaster are comparable in any significant measure of quality, utility, feel, and operation. You couldn't go wrong with either, unless the issue of future parts availability is of concern to you. But if you're simply putting one gun up against the other, from the standpoint of the various detail differences, I actually prefer the S&W. And when your standard is a legend like the 870, that's saying a lot.
I recently had my examples of each of these out and for the first time put them next to one another for a close comparison.
If you're not familiar with the Smith & Wesson Model 3000, this model dates to the 1980's, and to put it politely, was "inspired" by the Remington 870 Wingmaster. It's not a slavish copy, but there can be no doubt about whose market share it was intended to pare.
Let's get a couple of other inconvenient truths out of the way while we're at it. The 3000 was in production for just a few years, and is exceedingly unlikely to ever be making a comeback. It was made in Japan for rather than by S&W. The 870, on the other hand, is an all-American classic that continues to be one of the most popular shotguns ever.
Still, I can't help but look at each and think that this S&W venture didn't deserve a better fate.
The fit and finish of both the 3000 and 870 are first rate. The machining, polish, and bluing of the metal surfaces on each cannot be faulted The walnut stocks and forends of either are of a good grade, with high gloss coatings that are indistiguishable from the other . The 870 sports a fancy "fleur-de-lis" pattern of checkering, but this is impressed. The 3000's plainer (but not at all unattractive) style is actually cut, so advantage to S&W on that count. I like the 3000's logo pistol grip cap and slightly larger forend better, too.
Another area in which I give the nod to the S&W product is with regard to interchangeable chokes. There's nothing particularly wrong with Rem-chokes, other than they're proprietary. The 3000's supplied chokes on the other hand, were clones of the Win-choke design, and with that system, the Mossberg flush style chokes may also be used.
Another small thing that I appreciate on the S&W is the mid bead, which you generally won't find on Remingtons.
All in all, the Smith & Wesson 3000 and the Remington 870 Wingmaster are comparable in any significant measure of quality, utility, feel, and operation. You couldn't go wrong with either, unless the issue of future parts availability is of concern to you. But if you're simply putting one gun up against the other, from the standpoint of the various detail differences, I actually prefer the S&W. And when your standard is a legend like the 870, that's saying a lot.
