doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Remington Model 1889

Being a fan of Remington products, I am looking at a vintage Remington Model 1889 with steel barrels for casual and recreational shooting with black powder. It is described as:

12ga. Remington Hammer double shotgun. Locks up tight no wobble. Hammers work good. The 28" barrels are blue turned to brown, and the wood is very good with no breaks. LOP IS 14 1/2". Boresw are clean and shiney with the right chamber showing mild pits.Barrels appear to be made of steel. Chokes are : IC and CYL.Chambered for the 2 5/8" shells!

Are these guns as solid and reliable as, say, Remington's rolling blocks? I have a pretty big pile of the latter and all are built like tanks. So, tanks in advance for any input.

Sorry I can't answer your question about solid and reliable. But I want to add a question...Are all 1889's chambered for 2-5/8" shells? What's the easiest way to check to see if chambers have been lengthened?

A chamber gauge will tell you.

Do they sell chamber gauges for each bore size 12-16-20 etc. or does anyone sell one that fits all (like some choke gauges)?

Here's a way to easily measure your chamber
http://www.lcsmith.org/faq/chamlgth.html

If you like old shotguns spring for one of these, you won't ever regret it. https://secure.netsolhost.com/connecticu...?idProduct=1770

Seller indicates that chambers are still 2 5/8. This is fine since I shoot 2.5" Magtech brass shells. But that gauge looks like just the thing.

Could you tell us a bit about these Magtech shells? Loadings? Chamber pressures? Etc.
Jim

Not sure about pressures, but I load by hand (helps me relax)with 50-70 gr FFG GOEX (depending on what I want to shoot), nitro card, fiber wad, shot, overshot card, and top off with white Elmers glue. Lots of smoke and fire.

The 1889 Remington is a good solid shotgun. I have one in 12ga with the decarbonized steel barrels that’s chambered 2 5/8.” I regularly shoot modern nitro 2 ¾” ammunition through mine and have done so for well over 25 years now, not even a hint of a problem. I can heartily recommend the 1889 Remington, but the buyer should know one detail. The drop at the heel is very severe and I’ve yet to come across one that really fit anyone well. If the wood is good on yours, I’d recommend having the stock bent; do that and you’ll have a very fun hammer gun for not too much cash.