Win. 1300 Defender: Field gun?

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winchester1300

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How much larger of a pattern does the 18" barrel make then the standard 28"? Say, 25 yds. I am thinking about getting the defender for general plinking and maybe clay pigeons. It is rather annoying hauling the 1300 Ranger around with a 28" barrel and only a 5 round magazine. And has anyone ever put a plug in the tube for hunting with it??
 
Bbl length has nothing to do with pattern size. Choke and load are the deciding factors there.

Yes, it'll work. A long mag tube on a short bbled repeater can make the piece swing more like an O/U, or like a railroad tie. Seen/used a few of each.

My personal choice in this matter would be to get an 870 Remington. ALL bbls(Except those lightweight field models) will interchange within gauge, and a mag extension will add those rounds you THINK you need.
 
The do-everything shotgun, per John Satterwhite: Start with an 870, preferably with vented rib.

Convert the action to operate like a Model 12. Install an extended mag, and cut the barrel back to just a bit longer than the mag tube. Install screw-in chokes. Install a 1/2-size front bead. Toward the rear of the barrel, get a dove-tail cut and install a Williams folding rifle sight.

With a plug in the mag tube for the three-shot limit on migratory birds, the "feel" and swing is like a 26" or 28" gun.

With the folding sight up, and the cylinder choke tube installed, it's a slug gun.

Some on this forum don't like the idea of the Model 12 part of the conversion (As long as you hold the trigger back and play slide-trombone, the gun will fire each time it locks into battery.) And, not everybody does exhibitions as does Satterwhite, throwing seven claybirds into the air and "pumping" all of them before they hit the ground. Since I have used a Model 12 for some 27 years, I'm happy with its operation.

FWIW, Art
 
Dave: You wrote "...get an 870 Remington. ALL bbls(Except those lightweight field models) will interchange within gauge...". Regarding my 20ga 870 deer gun with rifled barrel (which I STILL do not yet have - the dealer's wife persuaded him to extend their vacation), I have seen the gun in the shop (the dealer's employee showed it to me)and, having handled the barrel, I would guess it is one of "those lightweight field models" you referred to above. My question is, do you know if that barrel would be interchangeable with a different barrel for the same gun? I guess I'll get some answers when the dealer finally gets back, but I'd like to have all the second opinion info I can get by then. If the dealer's info were all I needed, perhaps I wouldn't be stuck with a deer gun for home defense. Or did the fact that I specified a 20ga leave the dealer with options too limited (given the fact that he considered the Remington 870 the only make & model he could recommend unconditionally, and the deer gun had the shortest barrel of any 20ga in the dealer's Remington catalogue)?
 
Tyro, Remington makes/made a LW field model that, for some reason unknown to me, has non-interchangeable bbls with the standard model. This is NOT the light contour bbls also sold.Standard bbls interchange within my 870s, made over 30 years apart.

To the best of my knowledge,the LW (LightWeight) never was made in a deer model.
So, other standard bbls should interchange.
The only thing I don't like on that gun sof yours is the rifling,and for the purposes you've listed,that is not a major concern. However, I'd talk to the dealer and se eif he can supply a different, short bbl. The Youth Express bbl and the non rifled deer bbl should work fine, one's 21" and the other 20".
 
I use a 20ga Defender for trap and it works very well. I suspect its range on birds is limited to 20 yards though.
 
So back to the guy's or gal's question. How effective would an 18" cylinder bore be at trap? How small a shot size can one use to break clays? What if one loaded with 2oz of #9 shot with just a tad extra of powder?
 
Solitar,while one possibly could build such a load that would stay within safe pressure limits from a 12 ga,what would you NEED it for? The recoil would be horrible, the patterns probably bad, and wear on the weapon and you accelerated.
 
As some of you know, my friend Bob and I have made it our current mission in life to learn to shoot clays with "room brooms," with the kind cyber-instruction of Dave McC, Coinneach, jthuang and others too numerous to mention.

I am finding that number 8 shot is the optimum size for me, unless I can hit every clay just as it leaves the traphouse. Number 9 or 10 don't seem to have the same effective range from my 20" barrel. Regular dove loads work fine for practice, but I have obtained slightly better results with Winchester AA target shells. I am advised that skeet might be easier, due to the decreased range.

We went to the trap range last weekend with Bob's daughter and she smoked a respectable number of clays for a newbie with a .410.

Now there's a challenge.

Ledbetter
 
Dave, what I would "need" it for is exactly what winchester1300 started this thread about. I do not have the cash to buy an 870 or other "real" trap gun, so I'd have to make do with what I have - which includes a 20 gauge bolt action Mossberg with variable choke and a 10 gauge double full. Perhaps the 20 gauge would suffice if I screwed the choke down.
 
SOl, if your intent is to make the nationals at Trap, you need a different gun. If you want to have fun and get more proficient with a shotgun, you need more ammo.

BTW, I took the biggest buck of my life, the 9 point over the fireplace, with a Mossy Bolt action 12.

For clay games, I'd learn to reload that 10 with maybe an oz of shot(load data might be scarce) and work up from there. Bet you could powder quite a few with say, 1 1/4 oz of 8s,and have a good time doing so.FYI,lighter loads oft pattern beautifully...
 
So is it recommended to get a Defender for general shooting?? Or would I be disappointed with the results? I am not talking about going to national trap competitions or anything, just plain old fun shootin'. Thanks!!!!
 
If you like the Defender, goaheadon and get it. While I prefer and sing praises to the 870 Remington, I doubt you,your children and their children will wear that Winchester out.
 
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