sawed-off Wingmaster for HD

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Driveout02

New member
I own a 12g Remington Wingmaster 2 3/4 in. only. It has a 28" barrel. First and foremost I want to cut the barrel down to a suitable HD firearm, but want it still to be useful for hunting birds. Would a good inbetween be 22" or 24"? If HD was your first priority? Hunting? Let me know..
 
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inSight-NEO

New member
I agree with the notion of buying another barrel for HD. You may just end up regretting the modification to your current barrel.
 
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zippy13

New member
By all means, keep the 28-inch barrel! The gun isn't called a "Wingmaster" for nothing.
Does it have a vent rib and screw-in chokes?
 
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Ruger4570

New member
I am curious...What is the "right" length for home defense? I have a 28" barreled Berreta 390, to me is seems a good length. I mean, I am NO WAY a Tackycool kinda guy. I just fail to see how a 4 inch shorter barrel will be better. Like in WHAT situation?
Is a 22" inch barrel that much better than a 24" barrel?
I have been a Skeet shooter for probably 40 years now. At one time a 26" barrel was considerd the right length, nowadays, 28, 30 and 32 " barrels are considered better. They swing better, are more accurate and actually easy to handle. Of course, I wouldn't want a 32" berrel for HD, but I don't see a lot of differece in handling from 24" to 28" barrels.
 
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inSight-NEO

New member
I am curious...What is the "right" length for home defense? I have a 28" barreled Berreta 390, to me is seems a good length. I mean, I am NO WAY a Tackycool kinda guy. I just fail to see how a 4 inch shorter barrel will be better. Like in WHAT situation?
Is a 22" inch barrel that much better than a 24" barrel?
I have been a Skeet shooter for probably 40 years now. At one time a 26" barrel was considerd the right length, nowadays, 28, 30 and 32 " barrels are considered better. They swing better, are more accurate and actually easy to handle. Of course, I wouldn't want a 32" berrel for HD, but I don't see a lot of differece in handling from 24" to 28" barrels.
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Well, its probably not that rounds fired through, say, a 24" vs an 18" barrel would be more or less deadly. But rather, its about maneuverability. In other words, lugging around a shotgun with a barrel longer than 20" would be less than ideal in close quarters (not to mention a bit easier to grab). Hence, practicaly speaking, maneuverability/control would suffer.

What works best when shooting skeet or hunting may not necessarily be ideal when it comes to close quarters HD. If you think about it, it does make sense. Also, shot spread may be an issue here as well, but Im not sure to what degree. But, comparing an 18"-20" barrel to a 24"-28" barrel, Im sure there would be some differences. But again, as I see it, its mainly about effective maneuvering. The longer barrels used for hunting simply arent ideal for close quarter situations. After all, how well a longer barrel "swings" when shooting at skeet or game has no significance when one is having to weild a shotgun down a narrow hall or around tight corners, for instance.

In summation, to directly answer you question, I personally believe that the "proper" (ie., ideal) barrel length for HD would be 20" or less.
 
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Ruger4570

New member
I would think, someone grabing the end of my shotgun barrel would result in my stationary triger finger tripping the trigger as the gun was pulled away from me in a grab thus eliminating the problem on my end and a shot up bad guy at the other end.
 
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inSight-NEO

New member
I would think, someone grabing the end of my shotgun barrel would result in my stationary triger finger tripping the trigger as the gun was pulled away from me in a grab thus eliminating the problem on my end and a shot up bad guy at the other end.
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True. However, an intelligent individual might expect this and grab from the side and pull/push AWAY from his core..what then? Also, consider that someone may grab the barrel as you round a corner. You just never know.

Of course, you could use the "low ready" technique or something of that nature, but still...you just never know.

There are just too many possibilities and extenuating circumstances regarding HD encounters/disarm attempts for me to even begin addressing them all. Besides, regardless of barrel length, the bane of using shotguns for HD is their size. Compared to handguns, they just require far more "smart" handling.

Regardless, IMHO, shorter barrels=greater maneuvering capability/control when indoors...period. A "hunting" barrel allows for up to an extra 6" to 10" of barrel length vs. the typical "HD" type barrel. To me, this is just too much unnecessary "baggage."
 
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zippy13

New member
Ruger4570, I read with interest your question about optimum HD barrel length and inSight-NEO's well reasoned explanation. His conclusion, "I personally believe that the 'proper' (ie., ideal) barrel length for HD would be 20" or less," seems to be the present consensus.
Since we've both been shooting skeet for around 40-years, Ruger4570, I'm guessing that we're of a same generation. I'm curious, when you read explanations like inSight-NEO's, do you see them as de facto arguments favoring handguns for HD?
 
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Scattergun Bob

New member
zippy13

I'm curious, when you read explanations like inSight-NEO's, do you see them as de facto arguments favoring handguns for HD?
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In my humble opinion it is the primary reason that scatterguns stay in cruisers and are not deployed frequently in house searches. While hunting in our house, if our adversary gets inside our sight radius, we are TOAST!

Good Luck my friend and Be Safe
 
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zippy13

New member
Scattergun Bob

Perhaps if we weren't so politically correct, and still called them riot guns (or trench brooms) for their intended application, we wouldn't stir-up so many tempests in tea pots about HD shotguns. Thanks for you input, my learned friend.

Pete
 
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bwheasler

New member
Trade it

If you must have a HD barrel and are tight on cash, trade it, if it is an older wingmaster barrel you could probably trade staight up a local shop or gun show. Just don't saw it off with a hacksaw in the garage.
 
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inSight-NEO

New member
I'm curious, when you read explanations like inSight-NEO's, do you see them as de facto arguments favoring handguns for HD?
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At the risk of "hijacking" this thread (not my intention), I have to say that it was not my intention to question the use of the shotgun as an HD weapon. I was merely pointing out why I believe long "hunting type" barrels are not necessarily the best choice when it comes to CQ situations.

But, in regards to your posted question (to another member), I personally am still internally debating on which weapon I would grab first during a potential HD encounter...the shotgun or the .45 ACP.

However, I am somewhat beginning to adopt the belief that the shotgun, as powerful and intimidating as it is, just might be best used for the "come and get me"/barricade/back-up type situation(s), while the handgun would be best for the "search and destroy"/quick grab/mobility sensitive type situations due to the fact that handguns are simply lighter, "faster," and more "maneuverable" vs. the heavy and somewhat cumbersome shotgun (yes, even those with shorter HD barrels).

Of course, there are many other things to consider which may have an affect on which weapon would be most appropriate, such as dwelling type (house, apartment, etc.), the layout, size and location of such a dwelling, time of day (situations/mindset can vary depending on such a factor), shooting ability (are you better with handguns or shotguns?), etc., etc.

Anyway, enough about this. To the individual who started this thread, as I mentioned before, cutting your Wingmasters barrel down to "HD" length would be regrettable. Just go out and buy a nice 18" to 20" barrel for HD and enjoy the fact that you now have versatility and most importantly, no regrets.
 
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BigJimP

New member
+1 on what Scattergun Bob said - and he has experience to back it up.

It would be a sin to cut that barrel down.
 
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Housezealot

New member
lugging around a shotgun with a barrel longer than 20" would be less than ideal in close quarters (not to mention a bit easier to grab). Hence, practicaly speaking, maneuverability/control would suffer.
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My 18 year old brother in law went out and bought an 870 with a 28 inch barrel set up for waterfowl, when I asked why that model, he said "it was on sale"
the next thing he did was put tac rails and a fore grip on and then bought an ati folding stock for it!:eek: I almost crapped myself! by saving a couple bucks on his supposed HD shotgun he made the most mismatched gun i have ever seen and spent a ton on accesories, on the plus side It will make those ducks think twice before pulling a B&E:D
 
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Steamboatsig

New member
"Spend 80-100 bucks on an extra barrel for HD and save your 28" for hunting"

Everything I see is $160 and up! I have seen them as much as $360 for a 20" barrel for a Wingmaster.
 
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