Anyone else a Winchester 1300 Defender fan?? Turns out Savage makes a clone!

CobraGT

CobraGT

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So, am I the only one who didn't know that the Savage/Stevens 320 Security shotguns are Winchester 1300 clones? I just discovered this a few days ago. I've owned a TON of different shotguns over the years, and the 1300 Defenders have always been my favorites. I was disappointed years ago when they discontinued them and moved to the SXP platform... SXP's similar to the 1300, but not as good.

I see that these Stevens ones are available cheap... looks like it might be worth trying one :) (see below... seems like a decent price!!)

I'm sure they won't be as good as an original 1300, as they actually look more like an SXP, but??

https://theammosource.com/stevens-320-pump-shotgun-12-ga-3-18-5-barrel-synthetic/
 
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I've had a 1300 Defender for decades, I can't really say that I'm a fan and I haven't shot it in years but it proved itself to be reliable so simple is good and it's a good gun to have if things go off the rails.
Would I buy a Turkish clone for as cheap as $215, not a chance!
 
Fan boy right here, I've probably bought and sold at least 30 of them from time to time, I've got rid of a few and just kept the creme de la creme

I have also had a few 1200 stainless police models and 1300 defender marine nickel plate ( shouldn't of sold that one )

These are bullet proof shotguns that will outlast us, I always keep an eye out for them at gun shows/ee if the price and condition is right
 
I thought they would be made in Turkey but it appears they're actually made in China and as is the case with a lot of Chinese guns reports say they are pretty rough inside. That aside I think the greatest thing about cheap guns is that they get people involved in shooting that otherwise couldn't afford to.
 
I picked up a Stevens 320 combo 18.5/28” barrels for $274 from Cabelas about 4-5 years ago on a Boxing Day sale. It is a tank, I have put probably 2000 rounds or more thru it over the years and it will eat anything it is fed. Used it in a few 2Gun/3Gun events over the years and it’s never had a problem. It’s cheap, and rough and it just works. A couple of friends bought them last year when TNA had them on sale at Xmas, the newer ones come with a kind of scalloped out buttstock and both said it kicks pretty hard, I’ve never found that with mine and the old style normal buttstock, I’m assuming the newer ones are lighter?
Overall I’ve been happy with mine, I passed it on to a buddy when I switched to a 590 Retrograde and it just keeps on going. For the price I definitely got my value out of it.
PS- mine was not the pistol grip buttstock, just a normal buttstock
 
I have been rocking a cut down 1200 and loved it since the day i got it. I had the stevens 320 and it is the current best cheap shotgun. Its made in china but it is a decent quality gun. I had an SXP and loved it too but not as much as the 1200. Between the 320 and SXP is a tough call but i would go with the 320 because i dont trust turkish shot guns. Turk shotguns are junk. Yhe sxp might be the only exception
 
Not really convinced that the Defender 1300 and the Savage/Stevens are the same gun . I have two 1300s that I wouldn't part with ; whereas I briefly owned a 320 which literally shook itself apart . I wouldn't own another 320 .
 
Midnight Rider said:
Not really convinced that the Defender 1300 and the Savage/Stevens are the same gun . I have two 1300s that I wouldn't part with ; whereas I briefly owned a 320 which literally shook itself apart . I wouldn't own another 320 .
Click to expand...

Well, given that I just tore two of these down side-by-side, I can tell you that the Stevens/Savage is absolutely a rough 1300 clone. The question is, is it a GOOD clone? There's no question that they're closely related... about as closely related as the M16 and the CQ311 are. Not QUITE the same gun, and not EVerything is compatible, but they're... close.

- The Stevens barrel fits on the Winchester; the Winchester barrel doesn't fit on the Stevens
- The pump mechanisms each fit in the other rifle, but do not cycle properly
- The trigger mechanisms are interchangeable
- The threading on the end of the tube magazine is identical, meaning that mag-tube extensions should be interchangeable
- The rear of the receiver where the stock attaches is clearly different, which is actually a good thing, as getting aftermarket 1300 stocks or stock parts was always a PITA
- The Stevens feeds and ejects mini shells just fine, which is one of the things I always loved about the 1300s; the tubular mag holds eight of the 47mm minishells

The pistol grip is comfortable, as is the stock, but I'm not really a fan of the look of the stock. I haven't fired it yet, but it seems to be decent quality. It cycles smoothly, but not as smoothly as the 1300.

I bought this mostly just to check it out; I'll probably put it up for sale, but if nobody buys it I'll happily keep it. If I do keep it, I think I'll look for a pistol grip sans stock, Winchester pump plastic, and a mag-tube extension, and set it up more or less the same as the 1300 Defender in the photos.


1300 and Stevens:




1300 and Stevens:




1300 and Stevens:





1300 and Stevens:





Stevens barrel on 1300




The two trigger assemblies:





1300 with Stevens trigger group and pump assembly, including bolt and bolt carrier,
Stevens with 1300 trigger group and pump assembly, including bolt and bolt carrier:





1300 and Stevens bolt carrier and bolt:

 
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^ Are you crazy? Those don't look anything alike! No way its a clone! lol

Been seeing these for REAL CHEAP lately. I want to say as cheap as like $220? They're only $320 at Tenda right now...

I considered getting one of these as my first shotgun nearly a decade ago as they were one of if not the cheapest pump gun around (this was before the glut of Turkish guns we see now). Couldn't really get much information on them though, and I didn't want to take the gamble so I just got a Mossberg instead. Not disappointed with my choice but I've always wondered if these are any good.
 
Suther said:
^ Are you crazy? Those don't look anything alike! No way its a clone! lol

Been seeing these for REAL CHEAP lately. I want to say as cheap as like $220? They're only $320 at Tenda right now...

I considered getting one of these as my first shotgun nearly a decade ago as they were one of if not the cheapest pump gun around (this was before the glut of Turkish guns we see now). Couldn't really get much information on them though, and I didn't want to take the gamble so I just got a Mossberg instead. Not disappointed with my choice but I've always wondered if these are any good.
Click to expand...

It actually seems decent. I put mine in the EE earlier, as I bought it just to check it out, but I'm actually thinking of just cutting the stock off and adding a mag extension and keeping it as a truck gun. I definitely want to fire it before I spend the money on buying a tube extension though.
 
The Defender comes in a couple of varieties, depending on where the barrel ring attaches to the magazine tube.

The one I bought in the late 1980s has the ring in the front of the handguard. Sort of the expected place for a 12-ga. It had a short wide open choke barrel and a long conventional bird gun barrel with interchangeable chokes. The ones in the photos ^^^^ are different - wouldn't fit the barrels I remember.
 
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maple_leaf_eh said:
The Defender comes in a couple of varieties, depending on where the barrel ring attaches to the magazine tube.

The one I bought in the late 1980s has the ring in the front of the handguard. Sort of the expected place for a 12-ga. It had a short wide open choke barrel and a long conventional bird gun barrel with interchangeable chokes. The ones in the photos ^^^^ are different - wouldn't fit the barrels I remember.
Click to expand...

Every Defender I've ever owned, or even seen, had the same barrel ring configuration as my Defender shown in the photos above. The Stevens barrel slides into place, but the barrel ring is farther back, so it couldn't be used on the Winchester Defender without making an adapter. I wouldn't recommend swapping parts between platforms for use in any case though - I was just seeing how similar the parts are.
 
You couldn't give me a Win 1200. I foolishly bought one as a kid and all it did was jam if you put 2 shells in the magazine tube. After ejecting the fired round the hook in the tube always let 2 shells go/double feed and jammed. Sent back to the factory when it was in Canada and 2 weeks later jamming again. I used it with only one in the chamber and one in the mag it was fine. A buddy has the same gun same issue. Should have bought the 37 at the time.
 
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