How is the Winchester 1300??

M

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Hey guys, I have lately been looking at the Winchester 1300 walnut/field version with a 28" barrel in 12 guage. I know everyone is all hyped on remington 870's and I can't argue with their track record at all. I want a pump gun with a walnut stock and blued metal. Remington's wingmaster goes for almost $180 more than the walnut 1300 field. I would like to hear from people who own the 1300 on their opinions. I want to know if that $180 dollars extra for the wingmaster is better spent on a 1300 and some nice heavy non-tox shells. Thanks
 
Hard to say. I got a deal for $400 or $450 for a Winchester 1300 with a 5 round magazine, wood stock and optional synthetic pistol grip. It came with an 18.5" and a 28" barrel.

I've only taken it out for shooting once, where I shot birdshot and noticed that the 28" hits the target accurately at a longer distance than the 18" (big surprise there!)

Feeding has been near flawless so far. The action is especially slick and fast and you can shoot it pretty much as fast as a semi-auto.

However, the shotgun is very light and makes me worry about reliability. I don't think it would be able to take being thrown around and treated like a doorstop. But that's just me. I haven't put it through any torture test yet.

Some people say that they will malfunction if you put heavy buckshot or magnum loads through it too much. They say thier Winchesters spend a lot of time in the shop, and that Winchester's quality control has really gone down. Again, I have not put this shotgun through enough to be able to tell. So far it has performed reliably with the characteristic speed of the action, and it is a comfortable shotgun to fire. Maybe someone else has more stories to relate.
 
savage:
I purchased a 1300 field with 28" barrel a year and a half ago now. Last summer was the first real chance I got to shoot it. Since I bought it I'd say I've run around 1500 rounds of wally world #8 and 7.5 shooting sporting clays and skeet. I've hunted with it a number of times including in the freezing cold (minus 30C). I have never experienced a feed or ejection problem that was not my fault; I've managed to short stroke it on the skeet field twice.

I have not run very heavy or magnum loads through it as mentioned above so I don't know how that would effect reliability. Comparing it to the 870, which I have shot, it cycles faster, is lighter and i also like the smaller fore grip. Even though I don't have small hands, I dunno I just like it more than the big square piece of wood I see on a lot of 870's. The light can be good or bad. Hunting situations shooting a few rounds is no big deal, but after 200or so in a morning shooting sporting my shoulder will be bruised as well as my cheek.

I really enjoy my 1300 and as i said above it hasn't let me down yet. One thing about it you may not like or know about is the aluminum reciever. The gun is "blued metal", just not steel!
 
Had one and got rid of it almost as fast. I felt it had zero qualities in relation to pointing and handling. The aluminum receiver developed shiny spots from wear almost right away. The gun just didn't have that "solid' feel I demand in a shotgun. Stick with the Wingmaster it is worth the extra $ .

cheers Darryl
 
Well, I have a 1300 and love it... but with that said a Wingmaster is a great pump. $180 difference though. If you can afford it I'd say yes.

If not, go 1300 :) - I put close to 50 Slugs through mine in a weekend in addition to a few boxes of trap loads and not a single problem - don't let reliability scare you from making your decision.

The 1300 is lighter, but I like that - I also like not having to worry about rust as much (just barrel and mag-tube)
 
I've had one for close to 30 years and it's never failed on me. The aluminum receiver will never rust and makes for a lighter, easier carrying gun. I have found no balance or swing problems with it. The rotary bolt is incredibly smooth and fast, and locks into the barrel extension. The other working guts of the 1300 is similar to the 870 - stamped carrier, twin action bars, stamped parts in the trigger group, etc. I've never seen the problems in my gun that I've seen in a couple of 870s in the field. One of the single biggest differences between the two is the chokes. The Winchester choke can be removed by hand as the knurled edge extends past the barrel (thus also protecting the edge of the barrel). The Remington choke fits flush with the barrel so you must use a tool to remove it. Also, if you ding the edge of the 870 barrel, you also ding the choke and it'll be a b!tch to get the choke out.

Yeah, I have those wear lines on my receiver from the foreend, but it doesn't bother me in the least. I've seen too many rusty and pitted 870 receivers to offset that.

Grouse Man
 
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