The FN Police Shotgun Stream Of Consciousness Review

[littlered75]

How is the cheek weld on the collapsible stock TPS? It appears the rear sight is pretty high. In your opinion is the FNH TPS as good or better than the 870 and 590 in handleing and how it shoots? What does backboring do for the pattern and why isn't a good idea to shoot slugs through a backbored barrel?

 

[stiletto raggio]

Time for another resurrection.

I bought my first Winchester 1300 in 2005, a Defender with 7 shot tube and a fixed cylinder bore. In the intervening five years, I have purchased several more Defenders (now in different configurations) and a couple standard 1300s. I have also owned one FN TPS, the version with M16 sights and M4-style collapsible stock.

The Collapsible stock TPS was fun to shoot, but I highly recommend a recoil pad. Once the butt is widened and softened up a bit, recoil is not bad at all. Shootability was great: I broke 18 of 25 targets in a spontaneous round of trap. Once you get used to the sights being nothing more than reference points (like a bead on a standard shotgun) they aren't much of a distraction, and the familiar sight picture and ergonomics were a help. If you want a pump gun with really excellent open sights, the TPS is hard to beat.

Overall, the 1300 is my favorite pump gun. While I understand what Lee was saying about light weight equating to more recoil, I think handiness is important, too, and I would gladly put a 1300 in my backpack for camp gun duties. Another option for lowering recoil (one that did not exist at the time of the original review) is the Centurion 2" load. It is a little longer than the Aguila mini shells and supposedly does not have the feeding problems the Aguilas did. The 1300 is less sensitive to ammo length than other pump guns (mine ran Aguilas without a hitch) and the 2" shells increase capacity on a Defender to 8+1 while decreasing recoil significantly. I haven't shot them so I don't know how they pattern, but they've received decent reviews. Anyhow, it is an option.

Anyone else have more recent experience with the 1300 family?

 

[DHart]

Lee... wonderful thread you have created! I bought a 7-shot FN TPS a few years ago and, having a number of shotguns already, gave it to my best friend as a gift. Now I'm kind of wishing I had given him something else and kept the TPS. But no problem. I just bought, on GB, two 1300 Defenders in top condition. One with wood furniture, the other still NIB as a PGO option.

This one has a beautiful polished blued finish and gorgeous furniture. I am thinking I will strip the slick varnish and do a tung oil-finish for better grip and richer looks.


This one seems to be matte black oxide? Or parkerized? Not sure which - any idea?


I'm making the PGO copy a permanent "Birdshead" PGO gun with the Speedfeed Birdshead grip, just for times when I want a very short shotgun for close-range use. I find the 1300 Defender with birdshead grip fired at mid-chest height is quite controllable and plenty accurate at 25' or less. I would likely only use it in the close confines of my home for HD and for carry in a vehicle on occasion.



I'm really enjoying getting to know the gun! Your thread helps add some very useful info.

In shooting my full wood furniture Defender, I don't find the recoil with 00 Buck bothersome at all. I think it must outweigh the TPS, though. The wood clad 18.25" Defender weighs more than a 20" 590, by a couple of ounces (6 lb. 15 oz. for the Defender and 6 lb. 14 oz. for the 20" 590).

stiletto... nice to hear of your experience with the Defender. The Centurion rounds sound interesting... I'm going to try to find some to test out. Thank you.