Winchester 1300 Shotgun - Browsing my favorite Internet Gun Emporium, I came across a clean old Winchester 1300 Defender. I got a Winchester Model 1200 "riot gun" in 1980 and remembered it being a good, smooth shotgun. The 1200 was also a military issue at one point and saw combat duty in Vietnam.
I bought the 1300 a short time ago. Mine is a 12 gauge with a sporter standard length magazine tube, 18 ½" barrel marked "Defender" and useful wood furniture. It was fitted with an unmarked steel +2 extension that has been completely reliable in use. According to Winchester, mine. 1300 in 1990 it was done
Winchester 1300 Shotgun
My wife and I shot some clay birds that afternoon. The 1300 is light and fast in the hands and a natural pointer from the hip or shoulder. My hit rate with 1300 was close to 100% while I was getting the mud out quickly. The Winchester pad worked surprisingly well and this gun does not punish at all.
Winchester M.1300 \
I made the 1300 pattern in 25 yards of 11×17 steel plate. This is one round of Universal #8, a Federal 2 3/4″ Magnum $00, and a Super X slug. Good spread with the birds, 7 out of 9 on the plate and the slug only pushed a couple of inches above the grain, even though I pulled it a little to the right.
The old grain for this shotgun was pumpkin shaped rather than spherical, so I am digging through my 3-56 grains to find a replacement. I originally tried a Bradley, but it was so big that my slug groups at 100 yards grew a foot. Also, I went from not being able to miss a clay bird with it, to missing it half the time. I found a 1/8 inch round silver bead in the parts box and replaced the Bradley.
Interval time to check results... This target represents a #8 Universal and Remington #0 12 round hack, 25 yards. I used Remington 2 3/4″ slugs this time; each at 25, 50 and 100 meters. Then I shot another one from the paddock, measuring 196 yards. Without thinking I held the 6 on the bucket and it landed low on the left side of the paper. We don't usually think of shotgun pearl sights from such a long distance, but someone is sure to leave you two football fields alone.
The 1300 series has some. Winchester advertised the 1300 as a "Velocity Pump" because its rotating bolt basically unlocks when fired and if you hold the forearm back a bit, the action will open and eject the fired shell. The temptation is to slap you; but if you do not bring the front to its rear limit, you will close short in an empty chamber. Forget the hype and run the 1300 like any other pump-action shotgun.
Shotgun Winchester 1300 Stainless Marine
Another 1300 gremlins appeared in this shotgun - double feed. If this accident finds you, holster the gun, point it in a safe direction, and pull out the pin holding the trigger assembly. Remove and clean the action from below. Double feeds occur when the primary shell stop has released a shell over the holder and the secondary shell stop fails to check the remaining shells in the magazine. This is quite easily fixed by adjusting the hook of the secondary stop toward the center of the shotgun; and it worked well in this one. Why Winchester chose to insert these into the trigger assembly instead of into the receiver slots (870, 500) is beyond me. It was a recipe for failure, with the next gremlin ice.
Remington brazes the receiver magazine tube on the 870 and I have long hated them for it. Mossberg gets it right by threading it to the receiver. In the 1300, Winchester used a plastic "magazine neck" insert that was pressed into the receiver. When the year 1300 entered, plastics were not as advanced as they were 10-12 years later. Therefore, the necks of fourteenth-century newspapers are fragile. They also include the critical front end of the shell stop mentioned above; so a break in the magazine's throat becomes a big deal. I should also mention that Winchester hasn't made the 1300 in 10 years and they don't make replacement parts. If you find yourself in doubt and need parts, Midwest Gunworks is a factory recommended supplier that also carries magazine necks. I can order one to keep on hand.
In my opinion, the 1200-1300 Winchesters were too fragile for military or police issues. This certainly does not disqualify them as hunting or home defense shotguns. They are light, handle well and have very smart actions. I especially like how they store. For me, they are very comfortable to shoot and use. This 1300 threw some great custom/defense shotgun patterns and despite its spartan sights it's absolutely deadly with slugs. It needs some TLC, I can do that. I like it and hope to find a home here. The summer I was 13 we moved to western Illinois. I had already been given opportunities to fish and do the kind of fishing that many outdoorsmen dream of. But I never hunted anything stronger than a Benjamin pellet gun. Dad introduced me to his .22 and bought me my first compound bow before the leaves started falling. I was excited about each new tool I picked up and learned a lesson in using it. But in my mind came the question of when I can get my first gun. I didn't want to ask out loud for fear that my expressed desire would rule out the possibility. When Dad took me to Merkel's and started looking over the used gun rack and shouldering a few, the only logical conclusion was that we were shopping for my first gun. But it was still too wonderful to believe, even when Dad downsized to a 20-gauge Winchester 1300 and put money into it. It was a bit of a long shot for me, but he told me to figure it out.
Illinois was and is the only shotgun state when it comes to modern firearms and whitetails. Dad, Grandpa, and I found that the bolt-on Improved Cylinder chokes and the unusually small Winchester grain allowed me to engage Foster slugs very tightly inside 70 yards. The 8-point buck I caught sneaking through cover at the north end of the yard was only 40 yards away. Father and grandfather saw me coming from the fields and by the way I was walking and carrying my gun they saw that my news was good.
Winchester 1300 Ranger 12 Gauge Pump Action Shotgun
My son is 12 years old. He shot my Winchester 1300 for the first time this fall. It's a bit far, but he'll figure it out in time. I do most of my hunting with a rifle in my hand these days. But talking to my son about the 20 gauge reminded me what a great thing a smooth pumping shotgun is. There's a lot to be said for a gun you can use to kill squirrels, doves, quail, pheasants, turkeys, rabbits, and deer. I'm thankful for whoever traded the gun for Merkel, I'm thankful for all the hours I've sat in the stands with a slug in my attic, I'm thankful for all the rides down the turns with the 7 1/2s shaking in my pocket and I'm thankful I never convinced myself the gun to exchange for another. Every shop has nicer and nicer weapons. But this is mine. Mine because my father gave it to me, mine for all the hunting, and mine to pass on to someone else who will appreciate all the things he lets me do. —
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