Adrian J Hare

I have got some deciding to do and kinda came up agaist a block wall. I am ready to get a sabot barrel for the Rem. 870. I used to own a Hastings and sold it and will never buy another again. What problem that I have ran into is I found out that the Blued wingmaster barrels with a cantiliever only come in a 20 in Barrel. I planned on getting a 23 in or longer , but what I don't understand is Why in the world would Remington make a 23in barrel with the Cant. for a 870 exspress and not for the Wingmaster ? The difference is one is Mat and the other is blued.

Has anyone had success with the 20 in barrel for grouping at 100yards?

Or is there another company that offers a good shooting barrels that would fit an 870 Wingmaster ? ...BT

bigcountry

Yep, got one 870 matte express. Groups great with Federal hydroshoks and copper solids. And lightfields. I never worry too much about barrel length with sluggun. That 3" won't give you much of an increase in velocity. They use way to fast powder in slugs to harness that extra barrel length. But I admit, its strange they don't offer both.

jcchartboy

I would not want to disagree with Bigcountry...

So, I will simply post a quote from Robin L. Sharpless, Ithaca's former director of business development concerning the ACTUAL RESEARCH they conducted when developing the Ithaca Deerslayer III, designed specifically for shooting todays modern rifled slugs.


"The additional barrel length, which may at first seem unnecessary, is also functional. Modern saboted slug loads featureSLOW-BURNINGpowders. "IN OUR TESTINGwe found that the longer barrel allowed us to keep the pressure up for a longer period of time, and so we gained velocity," says Sharpless. "It allows for a more complete burn, rather than expelling excess powder out the end of the muzzle."

Bulzeye

I got the 23" rifled barrel in a combo right off the bat.
http://www.remington.com/firearms/shotguns/870exp_slug
Last Summer, Gander Mountain had an exclusive combo combining this and a 28" bird barrel, and a decent 2-4xscope.

With Rem Core-Lokt @ 1900fps, it will keep them in one hole at 50 yards off the benchif I do my part. I suspect thehottest loads for the sabots, like the Core-Lokt can make use of a slightly longer barrel for added velocity, but I just prefer the heavy contour and extra length for stability so it is more shootable for me.

Honestly, the 20" balances a bit better in the hand, but the heavier front end on the 23"helps out at longer range.

jcchartboy

Bulzeye,

My slug gun has a 24in barrel, and it absolutely loves the Core Lokts. I believe one possible reason why many slug hunters dont find the Core Lokts accurate in their guns is because they are shooting the shorter barrels.
If that is the case then that is unfortunate. Most of todays flattest shooting Sabots are of the same general design as the Core Lokts.

TribReady

I picked up a 24" cantilever barrellmade by Mossberg for my 870. Mine is the express with the matte finish, but I thought I read that Wingmaster barrels were available.
I don't remember the site, but there were alot to choose from. Also try ebay and gunbroker for barrels--usually pretty good deals.

longrifle1000

Personally, if I was in this situation, I would just use the matte barrel. The deer don't care what it looks like.

I'm not sure why their is a difference. You would think they would be the same, so they only have to produce one of that barrel instead of two different ones. I'm sure they have their reasons, how dumb they may be.

Hunter06FlKy

yeah i just got on ebay for the heck of it and found an ithaca made replacement barrel for and 870. it's a 24 in. fully rifled with a cantilever scope mount for like $50. i was thinking about buying it but i don't have the money or the need for it right now.

bigcountry

Slow burning powders?? Never seen load data slower than international or blue dot or H110. Those are not what we reloaders call slow powders. Hey what do I know, I just chrono them.