Back In Da Daze
One of my last tours in the USN had me stationed at a small(er) NAS as the armorer/range master(I know,a mouse in a cheese factory). We also supported a small contingency of Marines that were there to guard some of the more "sensitive" air launched weapons.
I had 32 of the older style 870's that were in fairly good condition. All were the gray phosphate with the darker wood. Some had bayonet lugs attached and all had the bbl heat shield that reminded me of the old 97 trench guns.
At one point in this tour I had to go to Crane,Indiana for a two week school on die penetrant testing, and while there, I got a peek at the armory. This is the central point for most all of the USN's small arms for both testing and issuance. They had rack apron rack of 870's. Musta been several thousand. I noticed some were new and unissued. What a sight. -----pruhdlr