Any Opinions on the Winchester 1300?

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Bulldog

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I saw a Winchester 1300 defender a while back, and was thinking about making one of those spur-of-the-moment purchases. But then I realized that I never hear much about the Winchesters. It all seems to be Mossberg vs. Remington.

I did hear one story over on GT about a 1300 that fired when a shell was chambered, but that could've been an isolated incident for all I know.

Any opinions?

(By the way, I already have a Mossberg 500.)
 
It's true that the 1300 doesn't have the following of the 870 or the 500. But my 1300s have been easy to operate, well-made, and reliable--with the following exception:

I had a factory pistol-grip 12-gauge 1300 and made the mistake of shooting 3-inch magnums in it. After all, it was chambered for 3-inch shells, so I thought, why not shoot them? Anyway, the recoil shattered the nylon trigger housing. USRA fixed it for free, but I traded it for a shoulder-stock version. No problems with the latter.
 
I have had a Winchester 1300 defender factory pistol grip for about 7 or 8 years. I don't think it has ever been cleaned. It has never failed to fire, nor fired when it wasn't supposed to.

Much to the dismay of my wrist, I have fired 3" mags, turkey loads and even slugs out of the gun and never had a problem.

I am perfectly happy to not have an 870 or a Moss 500 in my house. Between the Defender and the Benelli, I am perfectly comfortable.
 
My dad has a Model 1300 deer gun. I think it is called a Ranger. I haven't ever fired it, but I have examined it. Seems to be massive and well made. He can put a slug in the end of a beer can at 50 yards with the iron sights using Winchester Super-X 1oz'ers. Not just once in a while, but every time. Last year he picked up a few boxes of slugs, 12ga for him and 20ga for my 870. I looked at one of the boxes of his ammo, and they were 3 inchers. We went out in the woods to sight in our guns before the season, and he shot one of the 3 inchers. My God! Talk about a cannon! It seemed at least 50% louder and I felt the muzzle blast from 10 feet away. I don't think that gun has ever been cleaned. The only gripe I have is the bolt release. It is located to the left of the trigger, and I don't like it at all. I am just too used to that 870. Don't know the prices for them, but if you need a good gun, I wouldn't be dissapointed at all in the 1300. Practice a lot, and you will feel at home with it in no time. Overall- well made, good name(Winchester), not as popular, but who cares?, if you find a good price and can handle the 12, buy it!

(I think they make em' in 20ga too)



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We're on the express elevator to hell, goin' down!
 
The 1300 is a good gun. Very reliable and well made. But I just prefer the Rem. 870's over the 1300. I doubt you can go wrong if you chose the 1300. I don't know offhand if you will be getting the pistol gripped 1300, but I would caution you against it if you are not familiar with pistol gripped shotguns. For me pistol gripped shotguns are just about worthless except in a *very* few isolated cases.
Regards,
Rob

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It's amazing what a large group of stupid people can accomplish.
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[This message has been edited by Rob62 (edited July 03, 1999).]
 
No pistol grips here--just the regular stock. I've had pistol grips on pump shotguns, and I don't much care for them.

Thanks for the input fellas. Looks like I'll go ahead a get one.
 
The 1300 Defender is a great gun for home defense use. Its compact size and the 8 shell capacity makes it perfect for the home. Also, the pump action is really smooth.

This will be a good gun to have around when NATO comes to take away your guns and your rights.
 
Excellent shotgun. I found one used and got it at a bargain price. Works flawlessly. Without a doubt one of the best firearm purchases I have ever made.

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If what you know, isn't what you do, then your training is incomplete.
 
I bought one used and find it seems to fit me perfectly. I've been doing quite well at trap shooting. I got mine for $250 cdn.

I take it this is an American site. I'm on board with the screw the U.N. idea.
We are actually starting to make progress against our hoplophobic liberal imposed gun laws here in Canada.
 
short slide

the 1300 has a shorter slide distance when you chamber a round, i think its pretty smooth, and you can chamber slightly faster than the others.
 
Not my pick, but a good, dependable shotgun.

Had a student some years back who showed up with one for his first lesson. It had just a PG on it. A standard stock was on it the second session.

After the owner trained some with it, the Ayoob Test came up. For those not yet knowing, this consists of a fuinction test for ANY defensive firearm.

Run 200 rounds of your "Duty" ammo through the weapon. One glitch disqualifies it. If it goes 200 rounds sans probs, it's suitable for betting your life on it,

So, he decides to run 200 rounds through it. Right then, as fast as he can load and fire.

50 rounds had the thing too hot to handle. We cooled it off by running bottled water down the barrel and ran another box through. Repeated. We pumped this hard, jammed shells in and fired them off.

200 rounds later, the nickel plating on the barrel just in front of the chamber had turned straw colored. This came off when cleaned.

No probs, no hitches, sailed on through just fine.

I was a bit surprised. MD DOC had tried the 1200s and found them wanting.

Like I said, not my pick but a good shotgun...
 
Holy dude, we have an old one! Resurrected after 7 years!

Anyways, the 1300 is a great shotgun. It's a pity it's no longer in production. :(
 
Same quality as a remington 870 express no better no worse, Oh and just a heads up all of winchesters current things that they still make are being manufactered, asembled and developed in japan. :mad:
 
The Winchester 1300 series have a billet machined aluminum receiver while the 870 is steel. This makes the Winchester slightly lighter and faster handling. When combined with a slightly shorter stroke it's a quick action gun.

The Winchesters are good quality guns at an affordable price. They work. They're generally reliable and sturdy. Police agencies don't use them due to the aluminum receivers because police shotguns take a lot of abuse at the hands of the cops.

For home defense, a Winchester 1300 loaded with #4 buckshot works very well. The only accessory I've added to mine was a shell-holder sling that carries 3" 00-buck and 3 slugs. Though if I've gone through 7 rounds of #4 and one slug without ending the fight, I'll need the 3rd Marine division as backup.
 
i have a 1300 with 28" barrel, all black/synthetic.

Its nice i really like it nothing to say about it but good things, easy to break down, a 'tighter' feel compared to others i handled. i pull the trigger and when the barrel comes back down from the recoil its like magic there is another shell in there. not to say that, that cant be done with any other pump gun. but to me this gun just shucks very fast and smooth/effortlessly.

only gripe with it is that where the barrel meets the reciever the two surfaces werent perfectly true with each other (unlike the other side) and the metal is mushrooming a bit on both the barrel and the reciever there. i am keeping an eye on it, its got about 850 rounds through it.

its staying stricktly a shot-gun, no slugs ect so i dont think if it throws anything off a bit i would notice.

i paid $250 out the door for it new in box.
 
I assume that over the past seven years the original poster's Winchester 1300 has been running smoothly. Mine have been too. I own three. The winnie 1200/1300 is my preferred pump shotgun. It is hard to describe but it just comes to the sights for me better than a Mossy or Remmy, and it just feels right.
 
I had a nib 8 shot defender model,slapped a forward pistol grip on it and proceeded to blast away at some grackles in the blackberries,the gun worked ok but the 1-time action took all(not just streaks but all) the bluing off the magazine tube in the areas the slide went.nice new shiny area to rust.sold it promptly.
 
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