It’s a Remington Model 870 Wingmaster 16 gauge.
Does the serial number give a clue as to how old it is?
Yes.
Lots of information here:
Hard to find 16ga shells most places.
Remington 870’s are one of the most desired shotguns ever made for all-around utility purposes. You did well for a serviceable shotgun. I can’t tell you much about the collector value. It is probably about a $300 - $400 shotgun at most used. Because it is so popular, there are many of them out there and yours has some minor pitting on the receiver.
However, as long as the rest of it is in good working order, it should serve you well for your shotgun needs for the rest of your life and beyond as long as you take care of it. It is a great gun for skeet shooting as well as bird hunting.
The weird thing about it is that it is a 16 gauge. That is nice round but never caught on the way that 12 gauges and 20 gauges did. It is a compromise in size between those two. It will be more difficult to find shells for it than most shotguns but they are still made. Buy a few boxes at a time or have them custom ordered and keep your own stock if you want to shoot it on a regular basis. The shells never go bad if keep them in a dry place.
Thank you. The gun belonged to my late brother. He was a retired history teacher. I was somewhat surprised when my sister-in-law asked if I wanted it, as I was unaware that he even owned a shotgun. I knew he had a small collection of black powder replicas, as well as some historical infantry rifles, but I don’t recall him ever mentioning this. I did google the model, but the results seemed to contradict themselves. I was hoping the photos might register with a resident expert here.
I agree. I’ve known a few people that used 16 gauge that sometimes call it “Sweet 16”…more shot than a 20 gauge, but less kick than a 12 gauge.
I have the same in 12 gauge. They’re work horses. I mostly hunt pheasants and rabbits with mine. Shooting birdshot, even a 12 isn’t too much gun. A 16 is neat to have.
We used the 870 pump with 12 ga slugs for bear protection up in Alaska. It is a great gun, very reliable. I’ve never seen it in a 16 either so that’s pretty cool that you have one, especially coming from your brother. Enjoy.
The online serial number lookups don’t seem to work for that model and age of shotgun. I contacted Remington via e-mail for you with the serial number and this is the response they sent back.
"Thank you for contacting Remington Country. This Model 870 was produced in 1970. To view the history on our older model firearms please visit the link below
Damn Shag, that was very nice of you!
I cleaned the gun yesterday & fired it for the first time today. I found 16 gauge bird shot at Dick’s Sporting Goods. I’ve only fired a shotgun a few times in my 56 years (almost a crime for a southern boy) & that was my dad’s 12 gauge. The 16 had a kick to it, but didn’t leave my shoulder aching.
While I was cleaning the shotgun, I recalled that I had an old .22 rifle that an uncle had given me many years ago. I dug it out of the closet and, after a good cleaning, discovered that it was a Savage Model 4C. I managed to hit a few cokes cans with it today.
Anyway, thank you for tracking that down for me.
The name “Sweet 16” is the name of the Browning A5 in 16 Ga. and is a nice light “Sweet” little gun with “Sweet 16” Stamped on the receiver. If your Browning A5 Auto-loader doesn’t have "Sweet 16"stamped on it it then isn’t a Sweet 16 as it would then be the full size A5 in 16 Ga.
And if you don’t understand, well carry a full size A5 all day and then pick up the “Sweet One” 