12ga Winchester 1300 Question

[yadion]

Hey guys,

New to the forum and to shotguns so bare with me! I purchased a gun from a local dealer on the cheap side to start shooting skeet with. When I purchased the gun I believed it was a Winchester 140 Ranger (without much knowledge of it before) but after reading on the 140 ranger I learned it's a semi and this is a pump. The stock also looks similar to all of the pictures of the 1300 I've found.

I know that the 140 and 1400 are similar guns but are the 140 Ranger barrels compatible with the 1300? Is there any way to 100% identify this gun?

Thanks!

 

[ithaca49]

post a picture of it and i'm sure that someone can help you out. I am not quite following your description so a pic might be best

 

[rule303]

Could it be a Ranger 120? That is the no-frills version of the 1200, which later became the 1300. The 1200 and 1300 look identical, with the ranger versions having hardwood stocks instead of walnut. Barrels will interchange between the 1200, 120, and 1300 (except defender models with extended mag) as long as they are the same chamber length. Some 1200's and 120's are 2.75" only, and all 1300's have 3'' chambers.

 

[yadion]

Thanks for the quick replies!

Here's some pictures of the gun:

 

[gibson_es]

What does it say on bottom were you load the rounds?

 

[yadion]

It says nothing on the bottom, there's a stamp with a serial number L29960xx

 

[Fred Fuller]

Winchester Model 120 Ranger or Model 1200, guessing by the shape of the trigger guard where the safety button is. Try looking on the side of the barrel near the receiver (chamber area) for markings... might possibly be a Sears/Ted Williams marked clone of the above as well, but all of those I'm familiar with lacked the typical Winchester V-cut where the stock joined the receiver. Might have had a barrel swap though... never can tell if you don't know the full history of the gun.

lpl

 

[yadion]

Thanks for the reply!

There are no other markings on the receiver besides the serial number and then a Winchester stamp on the butt. It seems to me the only gun it astetically matches is the 1300. Do the 140 barrels fit the 1300s?

 

[TexAg]

Definitely appears to be a 120 or 1200. I do not believe 140 barrels will fit as the 140 is an autoloader and will have a gas port in the barrel. What you have is a fast pump gun that should work great for you. Spare Winchester barrels aren't super easy to come by like 870s are, but the guns sell pretty cheap, so you can do like I did when I was looking for a shorter barrel and just buy the the gun that the barrel is mounted on!
The barrels for my 120 and 1300 do interchange.

 

[yadion]

Strange, it's definitely got the 140 barrel on it. All of the pictures of the 1200s have a different stock on it. The only one with the same design was the 1300.

On the plus side I went and shot it today and I'm really happy with the purchase!

 

[Steel Talon]

Thats a model 1300 in a traditional hunting configuration..My FIL had one.

 

[TexAg]

The model 1300 does not have the bump for the safety on the triggerguard.
Yadion, why do you say it has a 140 barrel? Does it say it on there?

 

[mnrivrat]

Remove the barrel and check the inside of the magazine extension to see if it has a hole that goes thru into the bore. If it does, it is an auto barrel .

 

[Steel Talon]

TxAg
The model 1300 does not have the bump for the safety on the triggerguard.
Yadion, why do you say it has a 140 barrel? Does it say it on there?

Hey brother I must be dense but I dont understand..

 

[TexAg]

The model 1300 trigger guard has lines that are smoother, on the 1200 and 120 you see where the safety is, there is a bit of a bump. The later 1300 did away with the bump and the line from the trigger guard to where the plastic terminates is straighter. I'll try and find some images to help explain. Here is a 1300 trigger guard assembly:
http://www.auctionarms.com/Search/DisplayItem.cfm?ItemNum=9655182

 

[JoeMal]

Looks like a 1300 to me. My 1300 says so right on the barrel...have you checked there for markings? I know some of the barrels between Winchester models can be swapped out. My 1300 is extremely reliable through thousands and thousands of rounds. Here's mine...





Note this picture has the safety and the button to open the chamber

 

[TexAg]

Great pic of the 1300 trigger guard, but can you see how it's different than what the OP posted?

 

[JoeMal]

Yeah I do see that now that you mention it

 

[Fred Fuller]

yadion,

I was browsing the used rack at one of my favorite FFLs this morning, and ran across a couple of Winchester pumps. One of them was a 20 gauge. But the hang tag said "Winchester 1400". So I picked it up to inspect.

Sure enough, the barrel said "Winchester 1400" clear as day. But the gun was a pump, clear as day. So I carried it over to the counter and took it up with the counter help. Clearly the tag ID'd the gun as a semiuto (there was a 12 gauge semiauto 1400 on the shelf too), but just as clearly the shotgun in hand was in reality a pump.

So we yanked the barrel.

Looking inside the barrel ring that goes over the magazine tube, the gas ports obviously had been there but just as obviously had been spot welded shut. Looking down the bore, the gas ports were clearly visible.

Don't know if this is the case with your gun or not, but it sure was with this one. Also, we couldn't figure if it was done at the factory or not, since we had no history on the gun. But the spot welds were tiny and very precise.

Definitely one of the more unusual things I've seen out there in used gun land, but there it was.

lpl

 

[TexAg]

Here is a pic of my 120 trigger guard.

 

[yadion]

I'll take close ups of the trigger guard today and pull the barrel off. Yes it does say 140 Ranger on the barrel. This is strange. I'll do it today though!

 

[TexAg]

Sounds like you've got a mismatch gun like Mr. Lapin was talking about. I'm curious if the gas port is still open or not.

 

[Steel Talon]

TexAg, Thx brother I understand now