Winchester 1300 Defender

[ml1209]

What do you guys think of this shotgun compared to Mossberg 500/590/590A1, Remington 870 Wingmaster/Police?
I know they don't make them any more. I know it was made in the U.S. and now has been re-branded as the FN Police pump gun.
18-1/2" barrel. Aluminum alloy receiver. Rotating bolt action. Extended mag tube holds 7+1. Takes 2-3/4" or 3" shells. All black. All business.
Can someone confirm that it cycles the Aguila mini-shells reliably?

 

[fm2]

I really like mine. I haven't tried it with the Agilla's, but I have a buddy trying some new ammo out that looks pretty good.

I know it has went through some strenuous shotgun classes that had the other 2 you mentioned falter.

 

[Jeff-Tex]

I've shot some centurion 2in buck through a 500. They feed better if you point the barrel down a bit when you chamber them. If you point the barrel up, they tend to jam. They do make mods that handle the smaller ones better.

 

[DCortez]

Have this and a mossy 500, I like the 1300 better.

 

[Libertarian_Longhorn]

Out of curiosity, why would you want to shoot the mini shells? It can't be price point or performance? Maybe I'm wrong, I just don't understand

 

[ml1209]

Out of curiosity, why would you want to shoot the mini shells? It can't be price point or performance? Maybe I'm wrong, I just don't understand

I actually don't care about the mini-shells.

 

[robocop10mm]

IMHO the Winchester 1300 Defender is one of the best pump shotguns ever made. I have a 1200 Defender I bought new in 1982. It has had over 5000 rounds fired through it and it works like a champ.

The 1300 uses a rotating bolt that locks into the barrel. The aluminum receiver is much lighter than that of an 870. Because the lock up is bolt to barrel there is no need for a heavy steel receiver. The spring loaded bolt actually assists in cycling the action when fired. If one arm is disabled the Winny will eject the fired hull by its self. A strong muzzle down shake will load the next round. Kind of a semi semiautomatic design.

The barrel is stronger than Remington's 870 barrel. We did some testing to destruction and blew a Remmy barrel with a lodged slug, slug fired behind it. The Winchester easily survived this test. When two slugs were lodged in the Winchester barrel and a slug was fired behind them, the barrel split about 1" from the muzzle back through the sight bead. The gun was still functional.

At one time we were arguably the largest user of Defenders in the country. We had about 250 in our inventory. We have some that were bought new in 1985 and still work fine today.

The main "issue" I have seen is dirt/powder fouling lodging inside the receiver preventing the shell stops from working properly. I would detail clean the "range guns" every 250 rounds. As long as the relief cut area of the receiver (adjacent to the shell stops) was clean, they fired w/o problems. We have some Defenders that have easily 25,000 rounds through them.

 

[biglucky]

I have one that is always no further than a pump away from defending my household. I love it and have never had any problems when I have ran ammo through it.

However if you want a gun that will work good for things like 3 gun as well as HD then you would need to put some extra money in it to get a gunsmith to drill it out to accept choke tubes..

Overall it is a big win.

I also like hearing about the torture test above by what looks to be my local LEO. I knew it was a good weapon but didn't know it was that good.

 

[Big country]

Hey robocop, is that the same test that you were telling us about at the dinner with starker? How did the mossy 500 do in that test? I can't remember.

 

[Big country]

Sweet gun BTW I think that is what I qualified with on my shotgun quals.

 

[robocop10mm]

Hey robocop, is that the same test that you were telling us about at the dinner with starker? How did the mossy 500 do in that test? I can't remember.

Same test. Only 870 and Defender tested. It would be interesting to see how Mossberg would fare in such a test.

 

[Big country]

Cool thanks.