1300 Maniac is what I am...
Hey there DHart you are correct, I made a mistake. My fat misguided fingers hit the 6 when it should have been the 8! My bad, good catch. My Defender 1300 is the 8 shot model. I also found this article somewhere on-line and thought some might enjoy reading what others have found true of the 1300 Defender;
Too bad Winchester doesn't make them any longer but I hear the FN is an exact copy of the 1300 Defender, exact.
Anyhow OLD as it may be, here's the article;
When we were building our collection of firearms for survival, a good shotgun was the first one we wanted. We looked at several models from different manufactures and in the end, we decided on the Winchester 1300 defender. There were several reasons for this. First and foremost, it had the best price for the features and quality. Now this is our opinion and I know that there are more popular shotguns out there, but for us this is the best.
The Basics:
The Winchester 1300 Defender is Winchesters entry into the Police ~ Defence shotgun arena, based on the Model 1300 sporting line. It is a pump action firearm. You must manually work the action for each shot. It has a simple brass bead front site and very simple groves along the receiver to assist in aligning the gun for firing.
The stocks are either wood or black plastic for the full length models and black plastic for the pistol grip model.
The barrel is 18 1/2" with an improved cylinder choke on the basic models. There is a new model with a 22" barrel and rifle sites, but I have not tested this model.
The Magazine seven rounds of 2 1/4" shells for a total of 8 rounds if you carry it chamber loaded.
The safety is a basic cross bolt trigger lock in the front of the trigger guard.
Features:
The Winchester has many things going for it. It is a little lighter then other models due to it's alloy receiver. Some may think that an alloy receiver is inherently weaker then others, but this leads us to another feature that I like about it. The Winchester's bolt is a four lug rotary lock, similar to the AR-15's. It locks solidly into the chamber of the barrel and keeps pressure trapped in the barrel through the peak of the firing cycle. Since the receiver does not have to withstand the pressure, and so can be made from lighter material. It also allows the use of lighter plastic materials in the trigger guard and some other internal parts.
After the pressure peaks and returns to a safe level, the bolt unlocks and the remaining pressure assists the bolt in it's rear ward travel. This makes the Winchester the fastest pump action shotgun that I have ever used. Follow up shots are very quick.
The action has dual action bars for smooth chambering of shells and to prevent binding when working the action. I have never had a binding problem with either of the 1300 that I have owned.
It’s called the Winchester Model 1300 "Speed Pump" for good reason.
We’ve always known that the1300’s unique action design made it possible to shoot follow-ups faster than ordinary pumps. But it never really sunk in until we tested it with an electronic, sound-activated timer. The average was .56 of a second for three shots. That’s right, about a half second! Of course you may not be able to shoot as fast as one of the avid shotgunners in the R&D department, but anyway you cut it, the Model 1300 pumps very fast. All thanks to the Speed Pump rotary bolt design. Look no further than its unique 4-lug rotary bolt system for the reason. The rotary bolt disengages from the
barrel fractions of a second after the shell fires. Inertia from recoil starts the forearm and slide rearward. This actually assists you as you pump rearward for the next shot.
You can feel it in your forward hand. The result is faster follow-up shots, period!
The Good Points:
The Winchester is the fastest, smoothest pump shot gun I have ever used. It is quick, follow up shots coming naturally, almost at the speed of thought.
The safety on both examples that I have owned is positive and quite efficient. They survived one or two drops in the woods without a mishap. I have every confidence in the safety of this firearm.
The Winchester patterns very well for an improved cylinder. I get good patterns on paper targets out to 50 yards, the extent of my testing. Slugs also shot well and I am confident in it's accuracy out to 100 yards.
The Bad Points:
None that can't be fixed. My first problem is the sitting system on the Winchester. I prefer rifle sites even on a shotgun. Contrary to popular beliefs, you must aim a shotgun to get consistent accuracy. a shotgun is more forgiving, but you have to aim it.
This problem can be fixed by adding a set of rifle sites to the gun. there are many options for iron sites, so do a little research and find the ones that are right for you if you decide to add sites.
The grip on the pistol grip models is uncomfortable. Both of mine started out this way. They did not stay that way for long. The first one wore a Chote top folding stock and was okay, but the present one has a Chote conventional stock. This is the best choice for me, do what is best for you.
Final Thoughts:
I feel that the Winchester 1300 is the best shotgun on the market. None of the problems that it has can not be surmounted and it is the fastest, smoothest shotgun I have used. I am hopping that Winchester will address some of these issues in future models, but for now I am very happy with mine.
As I said the article is quite ols seeing how Winchester is out of the 1300 Defender production business. But despite the age of the article, what it says is true as fae as I can see through experience with both of mine.
Hey there DHart you are correct, I made a mistake. My fat misguided fingers hit the 6 when it should have been the 8! My bad, good catch. My Defender 1300 is the 8 shot model. I also found this article somewhere on-line and thought some might enjoy reading what others have found true of the 1300 Defender;
Too bad Winchester doesn't make them any longer but I hear the FN is an exact copy of the 1300 Defender, exact.
Anyhow OLD as it may be, here's the article;
When we were building our collection of firearms for survival, a good shotgun was the first one we wanted. We looked at several models from different manufactures and in the end, we decided on the Winchester 1300 defender. There were several reasons for this. First and foremost, it had the best price for the features and quality. Now this is our opinion and I know that there are more popular shotguns out there, but for us this is the best.
The Basics:
The Winchester 1300 Defender is Winchesters entry into the Police ~ Defence shotgun arena, based on the Model 1300 sporting line. It is a pump action firearm. You must manually work the action for each shot. It has a simple brass bead front site and very simple groves along the receiver to assist in aligning the gun for firing.
The stocks are either wood or black plastic for the full length models and black plastic for the pistol grip model.
The barrel is 18 1/2" with an improved cylinder choke on the basic models. There is a new model with a 22" barrel and rifle sites, but I have not tested this model.
The Magazine seven rounds of 2 1/4" shells for a total of 8 rounds if you carry it chamber loaded.
The safety is a basic cross bolt trigger lock in the front of the trigger guard.
Features:
The Winchester has many things going for it. It is a little lighter then other models due to it's alloy receiver. Some may think that an alloy receiver is inherently weaker then others, but this leads us to another feature that I like about it. The Winchester's bolt is a four lug rotary lock, similar to the AR-15's. It locks solidly into the chamber of the barrel and keeps pressure trapped in the barrel through the peak of the firing cycle. Since the receiver does not have to withstand the pressure, and so can be made from lighter material. It also allows the use of lighter plastic materials in the trigger guard and some other internal parts.
After the pressure peaks and returns to a safe level, the bolt unlocks and the remaining pressure assists the bolt in it's rear ward travel. This makes the Winchester the fastest pump action shotgun that I have ever used. Follow up shots are very quick.
The action has dual action bars for smooth chambering of shells and to prevent binding when working the action. I have never had a binding problem with either of the 1300 that I have owned.
It’s called the Winchester Model 1300 "Speed Pump" for good reason.
We’ve always known that the1300’s unique action design made it possible to shoot follow-ups faster than ordinary pumps. But it never really sunk in until we tested it with an electronic, sound-activated timer. The average was .56 of a second for three shots. That’s right, about a half second! Of course you may not be able to shoot as fast as one of the avid shotgunners in the R&D department, but anyway you cut it, the Model 1300 pumps very fast. All thanks to the Speed Pump rotary bolt design. Look no further than its unique 4-lug rotary bolt system for the reason. The rotary bolt disengages from the
barrel fractions of a second after the shell fires. Inertia from recoil starts the forearm and slide rearward. This actually assists you as you pump rearward for the next shot.
You can feel it in your forward hand. The result is faster follow-up shots, period!
The Good Points:
The Winchester is the fastest, smoothest pump shot gun I have ever used. It is quick, follow up shots coming naturally, almost at the speed of thought.
The safety on both examples that I have owned is positive and quite efficient. They survived one or two drops in the woods without a mishap. I have every confidence in the safety of this firearm.
The Winchester patterns very well for an improved cylinder. I get good patterns on paper targets out to 50 yards, the extent of my testing. Slugs also shot well and I am confident in it's accuracy out to 100 yards.
The Bad Points:
None that can't be fixed. My first problem is the sitting system on the Winchester. I prefer rifle sites even on a shotgun. Contrary to popular beliefs, you must aim a shotgun to get consistent accuracy. a shotgun is more forgiving, but you have to aim it.
This problem can be fixed by adding a set of rifle sites to the gun. there are many options for iron sites, so do a little research and find the ones that are right for you if you decide to add sites.
The grip on the pistol grip models is uncomfortable. Both of mine started out this way. They did not stay that way for long. The first one wore a Chote top folding stock and was okay, but the present one has a Chote conventional stock. This is the best choice for me, do what is best for you.
Final Thoughts:
I feel that the Winchester 1300 is the best shotgun on the market. None of the problems that it has can not be surmounted and it is the fastest, smoothest shotgun I have used. I am hopping that Winchester will address some of these issues in future models, but for now I am very happy with mine.
As I said the article is quite ols seeing how Winchester is out of the 1300 Defender production business. But despite the age of the article, what it says is true as fae as I can see through experience with both of mine.
