Winchester 1300 Defender

J

Jumpy

Inactive
I'd like to get a home defense 12 guage. From the looks of it, I like the Winchester 1300, synthetic stock, light gathering front sight, 18" barrel. Any experience or opinions concerning this weapon. Not looking for the best of class (somewhere close to $300 or below is the target). Curious if there are any shortcomings or negative experiences out there. BTW, this will be my 1st post on this website...so, Howdy Boys.
 
Hey Jumpy

I don't know if the search feature is back up after the crash, but I remember what posters here had to say about the 1300 - great slick action, some objection (to which I add my voice) over the alloy receiver. Owners of the 1300 are sold on it and seem to love it
 
I OWNED ONE IT ALWAYS WORKED FINE ,BUT IF YOU CAN FIND A GOOD USED REM. 870 THEY ARE HARD TO BEAT.
 
I own one just like of which you speak. It is great. Smoother action than my 870PM and just as accurate. I much prefer it over Mossberg also.
 
I picked up a NIB Defender a few years back for $150.00 from a home dealer. It wasn't a bad SG but I didn't like the way the barrel was mounted to the receiver. To me it wasn't very positive. If the barrel disengages from the receiver just a little the ejector spring could break making it impossible for the shells to eject.

In this respect I like the Rem. 870 a little more. The Rem. also has a little more quality built in. I picked up an HD recently for $250.00 and its worth it.
 
Jumpy - buy a bunch of cheapo Wal-Mart loads for your initial shooting (#8 dove loads), do a search for DaveMcQ's (shotgun Guru) training posts and enjoy.

I have a 1300 and they are great.

Giz
 
Thanks Gizmo, will do. Hell, maybe I'll dove hunt with this sucker...bound to hit some with 8 shots. BTW, do you know of a good sling/swivel package that attaches to the 1300. Or, is it better to avoid using a sling?
 
I avoid slings on HD firearms and require them on hunting guns. YMMV

Check your regulations on the dove hunting. All the states I've hunted in limit you to three shells in the gun.

Giz
 
You can pick up one of the "side mount" sling swivels from several places, like Tapco, Delta Force, Cheaper than Dirt, etc... They usually run around $10, and clamp to the barrel/tube. Then, what I did was to saw off the sling attachment part, drill through the base part, and presto, instant "uncle mike's detachable". That way, you've got the provision for a sling, that WON'T be on the gun while it's serving as HD.

FWIW, I also own the Winchester defender. It has the smoothest action I've ever worked. The only thing I like about the Mossburg is the safety. I'm a leftie, and don't like needing two hands to click the safety "OFF". Mine didn't come with the Tru-Glo site on front, but I'm going to stick one on there one of these days.

I tried extras like a Choate pistol grip & stock, but I finally put the original back on and stuck all the other stuff in the closet. The Pachmayr pistol grip is nice, if you REALLY want a small but not so easy to point SG. It definitely handles the recoil better than any of the others.
 
I don't have much experience with the Defender, but I own a 1300 Black Shadow Turkey, and I find it to be an excellent gun. The action is extremely smooth, and the Speed Feed deal definitely makes followup shots easier. I also like the position of the safety more than that on the 870. The forearm jiggles a bit, but it doesn't seem to affect operation.

-elper
 
While firing my own slug gun at the range the 1300 Black Shadow Deer model next to me fired one slug without incident, then failed to eject the second fired hull. When the owner (an off-duty range officer) inspected the gun, he found that the ejector assembly was completely missing. He was especially perturbed since it was the 2nd slug the gun had ever fired. Never did find the ejector.

Every manufacturer turns out a lemon so I wouldn't think this gun representative of all Winchester 1300s, especially since it occured in the economy Black Shadow model. When WoundChannel mentioned the possibility of broken ejectors due to improper barrel lockup, I remembered it. Might be something to watch for.
 
I own a 20ga Lady Defender

I shoot trap with it. Probably fired 1500+ rounds as well as some buckshot and slugs. I don't shoot 3" but 2 3/4" recoil isn't harsh. Recoil seems less jarring that blowback Remington 20ga autoloaders, maybe because my gun is heavier.

Trueglo sight raised my traps scores a lot.

Good points: alloy receiver. The bolt locks into the barrel so the receiver can be light and it won't rust. The rest of the gun WILL rust if exposed to much moisture.

Good sights, decent accuracy (overlapping slug holes at 25m).

Good placement of the slide release (behind the trigger guard) but poor safety (Mossberg is better).

Do not use the cheapo promotional Winchester loads: the recoil isn't enough to unlock the bolt...I end up with the bolt unlocking a little and re-closing.

Reliability: half-dozen failures to extract after several hundred shots in one day. No problems other than that.

Problem: shell lifter is no slotted, so short-shicked shells are hard to clear.
 
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