I recently purchased an 870 20 ga. It was sold to me as a "youth" model but it has a "Special Field" stock on it and the forearm seems to be shorter than the standard 870. The barrel is marked for 2 3/4" and 3" and is a vent rib, "MOD" choke barrel. The reciever is marked "REM M 870LW SPECIAL". The serial number is W294xx xU. If my memory serves me correctly, the standard 20 ga. barrel will no fit the "Special Field" shotguns. Can anyone tell me if this is a "youth" gun and if barrels are available? Also, is the reciever designed for 3" shells? Thanks for any help you can give.

I'm guessing that this is a youth model that someone outgrew and changed the stock to a longer one, using a special field stock because it was handy. Regular, LW, and special field barrels won't interchange. I don't know if Remington still makes LW barrels, but there is quite a market in used shotgun barrels on sites such as Gunbroker.

Unless an 870's SN ends with an "M", it won't handle 3" shells.

Thanks for the info on the barrel and the "mag" identification. One question about the youth vs. Special; the receiver is marked "REM M 870LW SPECIAL". Does the SPECIAL marking here identify this shotgun as a Special Field?