16ga.com ~ View topic

Joined: 28 Aug 2014 Posts: 924 Location: Eastern Tennessee

Before you say dumb question hear me out. Looking at a new toy and was pretty much set on the 1946 winchester with poly 16 ga I found (yes I already have the same gun, choke, in the same year but I love it!). I found a guy with an older rem 870 16 ga with poly. It is 26 in barrel but he is suggesting it weighs 5.5 lb range. Can that be right? It's $100 cheaper and could be fitted with a rem choke barrel for addition options in future (possibly steel shot or turkey choke).

Joined: 18 Jun 2014 Posts: 312 Location: Western Wisconsin

My buddy has an 870 16ga from 1959 and his weighs 6.75lbs without a polychoke. I would guess te gentleman you spoke with May have meant to say 6.5lbs which may be possible but 5.5 sure seems to be too light for an 870.

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1381 Location: Denver, Colorado

I have heard rumors of lighter 870s, but haven't actually seen one yet. In theory some of the very first guns with the remnant M31 ribbed forends (1954 and earlier?) had very light barrels in 16. But....since all 870 16s were built on 12-frames, I'm skeptical. I had a 1959 16 that was, indeed, 6.75 lbs.

Joined: 21 Jan 2006 Posts: 166

Agreed, the early 16s with M31 type forend and thinner, non-rib barrels will be in the 6 3/4lb range, but no way they're under 6lbs.

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1381 Location: Denver, Colorado

The only Remington pumpgun that I know-of in 16 that could weigh 5 1/2 lbs is the 31L. Maybe your buddy has a 31L and he doesn't know it? If he does....get it! You won't be sorry.

Joined: 15 Feb 2015 Posts: 13 Location: Santa Fe Trail, ks

And take a set of scales with you.

Joined: 24 Mar 2010 Posts: 280 Location: Northwest PA

I have a 16 gauge Remington 870 from 1954 with 28" plain barrel that goes 6.6 pounds on my bathroom scale. I also have two Remington model 31 Lightweights that weigh 5.4 pounds on the same scale.

I'll second the recommendation that if it's a model 31L, you jump on it.

I'll also note that I have a newer 870 that has a barrel with rem-chokes. That barrel will not fit on my older 870.

Member Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 972 Location: Keller,TX

Try to find a Remington 870ADL made in the 50's- no rib, corncob fore end -weighs about 6 1/4#. Model12 is slightly muzzle light unless you get a longer barrel. You don't want a 5 1/2# 16ga pump- too light with 1 1/8 oz. loads.

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1381 Location: Denver, Colorado

An 1 1/8-ounce load out of a 16 isn't practical for most folks. One ounce (or slightly less) seems to be almost ideal for me in the uplands. FWIW: be careful about dragging to-many of these old pumpguns home with you, or you'll end up with something like this. This gets hard to explain after a while (& this is just the Remingtons).

[URL=http://s135.photobucket.com/user/lamiii/media/siblings2.jpg.html]

[/URL]

Model 10A, Model17B, and a Model31L.

My apologies, none of these are 16s.

Joined: 28 Aug 2014 Posts: 924 Location: Eastern Tennessee

Lloyd3,

I know what you mean. I believe it was roughly 14 months ago when I owned a cheap H&R .410 single shot (given to me) and a Ruger 9MM semi-auto (home defense, purchased when I lived in a bad part of Waco, TX).

I view this last 14 months as a corporate restructure brought on by a hostile takeover by some damn cowboy that is having way too much fun hunting.

He laid off (sold) my 2 current employees (guns) and employed so many new employees the newly built building (safe) is no long large enough to house the staff. The auditor (wife) has not yet put a stop to his investments, but practical use is starting to slow his staff hiring down. I mean how many guns to you really need? Laughing

Joined: 28 Aug 2014 Posts: 924 Location: Eastern Tennessee

dap,

You have brought up a issue I had not yet research, but had on my pre-buy list. If in fact the newer rem-choke barrels will not fit on the older 870's this might be a deal breaker.

It would be a shame to have to reduce myself to purchasing a second model 12 instead!

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1381 Location: Denver, Colorado

Charlie16:

You might have already heard this, but Remington studied the Model 12 extensively for ways to better compete against Winchester in the market for new gun buyers. The Model 31 was the result of those in-depth studies. It was made from quality materials (machined, not stamped like the later 870), and it was ergonometric in ways the Model 12 wasn't (the shape of the stock is different, the location of the trigger was changed for a better "fit" overall, etc.). It was also designed to be a much smoother action. They were so successful in that regard that it was known as "the ball-bearing" action (although no ball bearings were employed). It was priced fairly closely to the Model 12 (it had to be, because it cost so-much to make it) and that seems to have been it's downfall. Winchester so-dominated the market for small arms in this country (in the 1950s) with pure name-recognition (and history), that Remington couldn't compete, even with an arguably better product.

Remington threw in the towel and stopped Model 31 production. They then changed the game completely and competed with Winchester on price, by producing and selling the more mass-produced 870 at 30% less than the Model 12 cost. They lost the quality battle but won the war, because Winchester surrendered so-much of their marketshare to the better-fitting (M31s and 870s fit very much the same) and the as-dependable (but much-cheaper to produce) 870, they stopped general production of the Model 12 in 1962. The rest is history. Winchester is now gone (sort-of) and Remington makes and sells more domestic firearms than anyone today.

I have a 1962 era 16 Gauge 870 28" plain barrel, weighs in at 6 lbs. 14oz.

I love the feel and looks of my Model 12 in 16, but I shoot the 870 so much better.

Guest

Guest

Not trying to combative here, but I also had a lightweight Rem. 31 in 16 gauge and it was way too whippy and I couldn't hit the ground with it!

Those older 870's just work for me.