Browning BPS Predator or Winchester

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Jason_W

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The first gun I'm planning to replace after a near complete liquidation of my previous collection is a general purpose utility pump action 12-gauge.

Two that have all of my desired features (sights, drilled and tapped, 18-20" barrel threaded for choke tubes) are the BPS Predator Hunter

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?fid=011B&cid=012&tid=276

and the Winchester SXP Extreme Marine Defender

http://www.winchesterguns.com/products/catalog/detail.asp?family=021C&mid=512299

The Winchester while cool looking and retailing for a few hundred less than the Browning is Turkish made which is of concern in that Turkish guns are of sporadic quality.

I'm willing to save up and extra $200-$300 for a gun if that extra money translates to greater reliability and durability.
 
It was never American Made.

It has always been made by Miroku in Japan beginning in 1973.

rc
 
Browning. And I own a couple Winchester 1300s. The SXP line is lame IMO. They just needed a fancy look to sell the same budget-line Winchester 1300 that they'd stopped selling for a few years. Same guts, but new stock, new barrel and new mag tube so none of the old parts will work.
 
I got a Browning 10 gauge BPS shotgun in the early 90's with 26" barrel for hunting mostly Mallard and Canada Goose. It digested homemade steel and shorter barrel for ease of swing. With correct loads the length of barrel did not appear to affect strength of kill shots.
This unit had scroll work which was standard on many up until some point in time which I imagine you could find in the "Blue Book" or some other firearm used buyers guide.
These are extremely tough and mine is a fine piece of machinery. Talk about a home defense unit-wow. I load 760 grain sledge hammer slugs and (3.5" 00 buck) loads or steel loads of all sorts for legality etc. I got tired of getting ripped for all sorts of shotgun ammo way back when before many were born so there you have it. I would have to get my hands on each of these firearms your looking at before a purchase. The alloy receivers always have a flimsy/plastic feel to me , however, less weight is a great plus for me if hunting or trying to shoulder a firearm quickly, and or swing said firearm quickly. Of course you should never use reloads in your home/personal defense firearms which I do not.
 
I got a Browning 10 gauge BPS shotgun in the early 90's with 26" barrel for hunting mostly Mallard and Canada Goose. It digested homemade steel and shorter barrel for ease of swing. With correct loads the length of barrel did not appear to affect strength of kill shots.
This unit had scroll work which was standard on many up until some point in time which I imagine you could find in the "Blue Book" or some other firearm used buyers guide.
These are extremely tough and mine is a fine piece of machinery. Talk about a home defense unit-wow. I load 760 grain sledge hammer slugs and (3.5" 00 buck) loads or steel loads of all sorts for legality etc. I got tired of getting ripped for all sorts of shotgun ammo way back when before many were born so there you have it. I would have to get my hands on each of these firearms your looking at before a purchase. The alloy receivers always have a flimsy/plastic feel to me , however, less weight is a great plus for me if hunting or trying to shoulder a firearm quickly, and or swing said firearm quickly. Of course you should never use reloads in your home/personal defense firearms which I do not.
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That would be ideal, but I doubt I'll find either of them in a gun shop, so I'll have to buy sight unseen.
 
Monetary considerations aside, do you prefer bottom ejection and feed only (BPS) or the possibility to load from the side ejection port and shorter gun (Winchester)? Good thing you are not considering buying the plain Defender and adding a longer barrel for chokes: I waited nine months for mine! Very satisfied with the Winchester, by the way. Nothing against Browning, I just love their rifles. The Winchester "combo" was just all I wanted. Turkey is not Japan, but mine is fine. Hope this helps you decide.
P.s. The safety location is not the same either.
 
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Turkish guns are of sporadic quality.
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I disagree. There are varying levels of quality coming out of Turkey. What matters is what level of quality is specified by the company having the gun made for them, or to what standard they set up their own factory in the country, not where the gun was made. Beretta (under the Stoeger name) offers several high quality firearms that are made in Turkey.
 
My primary requirements for a shotgun of this type (a general purpose utility gun) are reliability, durability, and versatility. Manufacturers are finally making shorter barrel shotguns that are threaded for choke tubes and are drilled and tapped for the mounting of an optic, which means there are now options versatile enough to meet my requirements.

For some reason, I have a hard time trusting the durability and reliability of a gun priced as low as the new Winchester pumps. Is this outmoded thinking?
 
1K,

You're main gripe with the SXP seems to be the fact that 1300 parts aren't compatible with it. Any issues with reliability so far (jams, breakage, failure to feed, etc.). Does have an overall cheap, might break at any second, feel?
 
Does it have to be the Marine Defender? The regular Defender can be had for $280 before tax from some chain stores. I have handled that one and it didn't feel like it was going to break in my hands. I have owned a Maverick 88 and it felt better than the that IMO.
 
I haven't shot one. But the ones I've handled felt as cheap as the Stoegers next to them.

It just bothers me that they killed off a good line of shotguns and then brought it back with a different label, but changed just enough stuff so it killed the aftermarket/parts compatibility. Makes no sense, really. It'd be kinda like Glock discontinuing the popular G19 and then coming out with a "Gen 4"... oh, wait... :D

I'm sure they work just as well as the old 1200/1300s, which is to say, well. Not sure if they're 100K round reliable, but not many budget shotguns are, I'd imagine.
 
Does it have to be the Marine Defender? The regular Defender can be had for $280 before tax from some chain stores. I have handled that one and it didn't feel like it was going to break in my hands. I have owned a Maverick 88 and it felt better than the that IMO.
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The Marine defender is drilled and tapped and threaded for choke tubes. My understanding is that the basic defender model is not.

The role this gun will play is not of a HD only shotgun, but as a general purpose utility gun that is ready for all non-flying game as well as potential defense against dangerous two and 4-legged animals.
 
1k the 870 express tactical with a picatinny rail, choke tube bbl, and extended mag is $462 at Bud's. The SXP Marine is $324. The 870 Marine Magnum is $649. Even the Mossberg 500 Mariner is $508. The BPS Predator Hunter is $649. I'm sure you'll disagree, but the SXP Marine seems to me to be priced competitively and appropriately for its country of origin.
 
That's cool... I just was going based on the OP's link ($550). I have no interest in this shotgun and obviously hadn't priced it.
 
That's cool... I just was going based on the OP's link ($550). I have no interest in this shotgun and obviously hadn't priced it.
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And I was looking at the wrong Winchester SXP. The one the OP linked is the Ultimate Marine Defender, and it was only offered at the SHOT Show, and isn't a cataloged item. Online prices on that model are $450-$500. Given that price I'm going to take a mulligan and agree with you 1k. I'd take the American made Remington 870 Express Tactical (Model 81198) for the same price, or spend the extra $150-$200 for the Moroku built Browning.
 
In general, all go the browning products seem nicely made that I've held. As such of the two choices per op, I'd go with the browning.
 
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