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Remington 3200 - Update Information with Pics!

184K views 77 replies 48 participants last post by  amboy49 
#1 ·
I have seen several posts on SW concerning the Remington 3200. I love this model and it is a great shotgun. If you are looking to buy one there are a few things to watch out for. The Remington 3200 came out in 1973-74. The first guns produced had two pins on the rear of the receiver.

These guns had to be sent back to Remington for an update after Remington made a recall. The recall improved the consistency of trigger pull, improved the wood to receiver fit, and improved the strength of the top tang and bottom tang by adding metal between them. Guns that were made after 1976 or so (serial #'s above 30,000) only had one pin at the rear of the receiver.

These guns were produced from the factory with the updates and thus didn't need to be sent back. Some will look at the serial # on the bottom of the receiver to check for the updates. Remington put a dot between the "OU" and the serial number after the gun was updated. I have heard of people taking a punch and adding the dot to a gun that has not been updated. The only way to tell if the updates have been done to a 3200 is to look at the bottom of the breechface with the barrels removed. If you see two hex head screws, the updates have been done as seen in this picture.

If the gun you are looking at does not have these updates, it will cost you about $700.00 to have them done by Laib's Gunsmithing.
Another thing to watch for in the 3200's also can be seen in the above picture. If you look at the top hole in the breechface you can see that the firing pin is stuck in the out position. This pin should retract with the top lever thrown to the right. You can see the bottom hole does not have the pin stuck in the hole. This gun has had almost all of its use through the top barrel. You can see in the above picture that there is significant wear in the top area and none in the bottom area of the breechface. These guns tend to misfire because the holes wear shut over the life of the gun. Again, Laib's can fix this problem for you, but you will spend more $$.
I hope this information will help anyone looking for a 3200. I was at the Ohio Gun Collector's Association gun show this weekend and saw three 3200's for sale. Two of the three looked brand new but did not have the updates! Both were priced @ around $1,400.00. That is what they would be worth in updated condition. They would need $700.00 of repairs to be ready to go.
If anybody has any 3200 info I would love to hear from you.
 
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#28 ·
41whitetail, since doing this post long ago, I have seen low serial numbered guns with one pin receivers. The only way I can explain this, and it is just my guess, is that Remington had to replace the receivers on these guns due to damage. I have never seen a higher than mid 30,000 serial number 3200 with two pins.
Doug
 
#32 ·
Gosh, guys...... I don't want to start a fight, but if you read all the posts on all the forums on all the 3200's, well..... frankly, they are NOT great guns. They had significant problems. But, they were eventually made into decent guns by the updates and modifications. Since then, they have developed a strong following and a loyal group of enthusiasts. I think that is great; I love loyalty and support for "made in America".

I shoot with a guy at my club every Saturday. He shoots a 3200 with all the updates and has sent it back to the guy who is the 3200 Guru. It still malfunctions at least once each round of skeet. Weak primer strike I suppose.

I like the guns (I find them attractive) and I admire the loyalty of those who shoot and worship them. But, when I read all the threads about less than satisfactory 3200 performance (and there are many for the amount of 3200's produced), I cannot justify in my mind how it can be rationalized that "they are great guns". I mean, gee whiz, when you have to reinfoce the receiver and the forend iron bends!!! And folks are very wary about an ad for one for sale: lots of questions about updates, etc.

To me, Remington should have never given away the rights to the design of the Model 32 to Europa Corporation (Krieghoff Model 32) in the late 1950's. The K-80 Krieghoff is just the latest version of the great Remington 32. Now, that was a gun!

Mike
 
#33 ·
Remington brought out the 3200 to compete with the Japanese-made Citori. To be able to do this with a "made in America" gun necessitated that the gun have a minimum amount of hand labor involved. My guess is that in order to do that with production tooling meant that the gun was heavier than could have been accomplished a hand-fitted gun. You certainly couldn't produce the M32/K80 at Citori prices. (BTW, I like both my 3200's and my K80
 
#35 ·
I have a 3200 with s/n 64xx. Two pins on receiver rear. No dot on serial number, no wreath around dog, but has hex screws. Now I am really confused. Also, how do you tell which model you have? Gun has vent rib, nice wood, pachmeyer pad, thick almost beavertail forend. Seems to be open chokes. Any help greatly appreciated. 27 1/2 inch barrels.

I believe it is an early skeet model. Barrels marked skeet & skeet. Barrel length still odd, and the no dot, but hex screws modification. Still appreciate any info.
 
#36 ·
Well, I'm late to the party! Just came across this thread. My 3200 Competition is numbered 402xx. It has the dot and two nuts on the bottom of the receiver face. Several years ago I sent it to the factory for them to fit new extra 12- and 20-ga. barrel sets. Can't remember, but they may have done the upgrade then. This was more than 14 or so years ago when Remington had a sale on new 3200 barrels. If I remember correctly, they were just a few hundred dollars apiece. Anyway--serial number above 40,000 and upgrade made at the factory.
 
#37 ·
Rebel Sympathy said:
Gosh, guys...... I don't want to start a fight, but if you read all the posts on all the forums on all the 3200's, well..... frankly, they are NOT great guns. They had significant problems. But, they were eventually made into decent guns by the updates and modifications. Since then, they have developed a strong following and a loyal group of enthusiasts. I think that is great; I love loyalty and support for "made in America".

I shoot with a guy at my club every Saturday. He shoots a 3200 with all the updates and has sent it back to the guy who is the 3200 Guru. It still malfunctions at least once each round of skeet. Weak primer strike I suppose.

I like the guns (I find them attractive) and I admire the loyalty of those who shoot and worship them. But, when I read all the threads about less than satisfactory 3200 performance (and there are many for the amount of 3200's produced), I cannot justify in my mind how it can be rationalized that "they are great guns". I mean, gee whiz, when you have to reinfoce the receiver and the forend iron bends!!! And folks are very wary about an ad for one for sale: lots of questions about updates, etc.

To me, Remington should have never given away the rights to the design of the Model 32 to Europa Corporation (Krieghoff Model 32) in the late 1950's. The K-80 Krieghoff is just the latest version of the great Remington 32. Now, that was a gun!

Mike
Thanks for information: I've been looking for a 3200 for over six months, lots on the market, most over priced and by the time and costs of upgrades, thin chokes, adjustable comb, high end recoil pad plus shipping and handling fees, you got $2,200.00 invested in a 50 year old gun.

If the gun hasn't been recalled/retrofitted then IMHO: parts guns only,, $300.00. Perhaps some un-knowledgable fellow will come along and make the purchase. :wink: :wink: :wink:

I think there a nice gun, BUT: tack on several thousand to make them a real shooter.
 
#38 ·
I'm thinking about a 3200. There's a guy by me in FL selling a "never fired" 1 of 1000 Trap, no receiver modification. Looks brand new. He's asking $2200.

Im not a 3200 guru by any stretch but the price seems high to me.

Q's
Besides the good looking receiver is there any difference between the 1 of 1000 and the other models?
Also, I have a 13 1/4" LOP. Is trimming the stock an issue?
 
#40 ·
tudurgs said:
I wouldn't buy an "Unfired" gun of any description to use as a shooter. There are lots of 3200's that can be bought for a lot less money that have the mods already completed. If you are a collector of $2400 guns, go for it, otherwise, IMHO, pass
I just got an email from the seller....it's been sold.

Thanks for the advice tho.
 
#41 ·
Hey all, I figured I might post this here in hope that one of you knowledgeable individual can help me out. I recently became the owner of a Remington 3200 Skeet Serial number OU. 8XXX. I have been trying to find out some information on it but no one that I have taken it to has been able to find out anything on it.

The gun is funny engraved except the barrel. The trigger guard is engraved, the barrel release is engraved and the part that is throwing everyone off is that it has 2 ducks on one side, 2 ducks and a dog on the other side that are made of some type of silver, white gold, or Platinum material. All 5 items are also not engraved into the gun but are raised about 1mm off of the gun.

Any ideas as far as the specific model, year, price, anything, etc?

Thanks,
Clint
 
#47 ·
I am sorry, but someone did a very poor engraving job on that gun and the ducks appear to be some type of shorebird and the dog is right out of a comic book drawing. Someone needs to be honest with you and tell you this. In fact the engraving will no doubt greatly lower the value and you will probably have difficulty in finding a buyer. Look up what real engraving looks like and you will se the difference.
 
#49 ·
Thanks for the input. I looked at an engraved Browning on an enhanced image and didn't really notice much difference on the engraving. I finally heard from Remington, the gun is authentic but might have been a special order. They are doing some more digging and will let me know. Will post updated then.
 
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