Price check on a Winchester 1300

[Arbor]

Today at a pawn shop I found a used Winchester model 1300 shotgun, 12 ga, for $229+$10 background check fee. The furniture is wood and looks pretty good, barrel is blued with a few minor blemishes overall everything is pretty smooth, almost new looking. I don't think it was used that much. It's not the Defender model, it has a full length barrel and 4+1 ammo capacity. Chambering is 2-3/4 or 3, I don't know what exactly this means but the receiver is marked WinChoke.


Anyways, I have the money to buy this now, but my question to you is: Is it worth it? Are the 1300's even good shotguns? I like the light weight and smooth action but I don't know much about these guns or whether they hold up over time.

-Thanks-

 

[Beagle-zebub]

WinChoke, if I'm not mistaken, refers to the sort of choke tubes it takes.

Someone should weigh in on whether this is the same choke-tube system as the Browning Invectors, which were on the most recent Winchesters.

 

[Arbor]

If that were the case, would it be advisable/necessary to remove the choke tube to fire slugs?

 

[MCgunner]

NO! Never fire anything in the gun witb no choke, will screw up the threads. Just put a cylinder or I/C choke in it for slugs. It's safe to shoot slugs through a full choke, actually, but the more open chokes should prove more accurate.

Aftermarket chokes are readily available for the gun. Winchester 1300 shotguns are fantastic, well fitting to my physique and very strong actions what with the rotating bolt. I have a 1400 semi auto that's the same gun minus the pump. I'd call it as good at any Remington 870 or Mossberg 500 except that if you're the tacticool type, there ain't so many whiz bang ninja attachments available for it. To me, I wouldn't care, being as all a ninja attachment does is ruin the balance and weigh the gun down. :rolleye: You should be able to find a short cylinder barrel for it, though, somewhere like e-gunparts.com or something. I can't tell ya what it'll cost, though.

 

[1KPerDay]

rifled lead slugs were designed to work through chokes. Dunno about saboted slugs... they're designed for rifled barrels anyway.

 

[1KPerDay]

NO! Never fire anything in the gun witb no choke.

Simul-post with MCgunner...

also, don't clean the bore with the choke out. If you need to clean the choke tube threads, do it carefully with a nylon brush and then wipe clean, and re-oil. Install the choke before you use a bronze brush or anything similar.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

Someone should weigh in on whether this is the same choke-tube system as the Browning Invectors, which were on the most recent Winchesters.

Yes it is.

Great shotgun. Is that $10 background check fee a common charge? Seems like a slick way to squeeze you out of an extra $10.

Pretty good price otherwise.

You may want to see if the shop has any extra choke tubes for you. Also have him look around for an extra short barrel or one you can cut down.

Haggle on the $10 and get him to throw in a nice gun case and some ammo.

I don't know exactly how it works, but the Win 1300 supposedly has a very fast pump action. It goes out of battery faster after shooting or something. I have never had a need to shoot so fast, but it's sort of cool about this gun.

Also, these 1300s supposedly cycle those Aguila (sp?) mini shotgun shells (still lethal, less kick and allow more shells in the chamber) better than other shotguns.

Buy and shoot!

 

[Geneseo1911]

I have a 1300. I love it. That's a pretty darn good price as well. I believe the difference between the 1200 and 1300 is that the 1300s are chambered for 3" shells. The 1300 uses a rotating bolt lockup, similarish to the AR-15 system. The recoil automatically unlocks the bolt, and if you fire the gun one handed, it will eject the shell on its own.

This basically means the backstroke of the pumping action is power-assisted, and one can cycle this gun very, very fast.

Some have said that the aluminum receiver is a liability, but I doubt the average person will wear it out. They probably aren't as bullet proof as an 870, and there aren't as many accessories, but I really like mine. I don't think there is a faster pump gun ever built.

The only downside is that barrels are getting hard to find, and are expensive when you do. If you want a short barrel for HD, it'll take some looking. I lucked into one in a pawn shop.

 

[Arbor]

Okay, that makes sense to me. I don't need pin-point accuracy with slugs, as they work and aren't damaging anything.

I'll probably end up picking it up soon. Pics to follow.

EDIT: I ended up buying a Beretta AL-2 instead.