Winchester 1300

[D53]

So I just picked up a Winchester 1300 off a buddy and have been doing some searching on it. I checked out google and found some reviews and found some aftermarket parts for it, but I figured I would post up and see what you guys that own them think of them. This will be my first winchester shotgun, I have had 2 Mossberg 500s previously. But I wanted a shotgun back into my collection and the price my buddy hooked me up for was just one I could not pass up. I am currently 9 days away from picking it up. But here is a pic that he took with his cell phone. It looks much better in person .

[A'sDad]

Winchester Defender great shotgun. Had mine for over ten years and a guy wanted to buy it for more than I paid. Looks like you got a nice one coming your way.

[mike100]

lol, it's hard to keep your feet out of a shotgun picture...I kind of think about getting one just to say I have a winchester..friend has one I could buy for 3 bills..we'll see.

[D53]

I paid less then half of that for mine. And I think the only thing I am going to do to it, is after a pay check or two ( i dont make much money) I will buy the knoxx stock for it, so that way my wife will not have a problem shooting slugs and 00 buck.

[maxicon]

I like mine a lot. It's not perfect, but it's a good shotgun. There's not the great range of accessories as for the other big names, but you don't really need that much.

Here's mine, with a Knoxx Specops, Summit Tactical sling, and Fenix TK11 in a VTAC offset mount. The sling and light are mounted on a Laserlyte rail. I don't have a side-saddle for it yet, but that's next on the list.

[D53]

if you dont mind me asking how much do you have into yours?

[maxicon]

My cost won't represent what it would take to duplicate it, as many parts are stuff I've bought used over the years because they were excellent deals and I figured I'd use them eventually (like the Daniel Defense QD sling rail adapter). My sling goal is to have QD adapters on everything eventually.

I bought the gun as part of a package deal here on calguns a few years back - 4 barely used guns and a honking pile of ammo. At the time, I figured the value at $250.

The rest of the stuff was a mix of new and used. I don't use a shotgun as a primary HD weapon, so I wasn't in a hurry, and kept an eye out for deals (like the Knoxx stock).

I recently got around to assembling it up, and have been shooting it a good bit more since I put the stock on, as I'm a bit recoil sensitive and didn't enjoy putting lots of rounds through it before. I've also been using it to test different lights, as I figure anything that can survive a few hundred rounds of 12 gauge will do fine on an AR or handgun.

Here's how the kit added up. The prices are all shipped costs.

Fenix TK11 - $67 new from Amazon
VTAC mount - $22 new on ebay
Laserlyte rail - $23 new on ebay
DD QD sling adapter - $23 used from arfcom EE
Rocky Mountain Summit convertible 1/two point sling - $26 used from arfcom EE
Knoxx Specops - $45 used on gunbroker (someone here posted a link to the auction)

So, that all adds up to $183, but deals like the Specops are pretty rare.

I'll be adding an ammo carrier when I find a good deal on one, and a heatshield would be nice when I'm putting a lot of rounds through it.

I really like the Specops recoil reduction, but it's got a lot less drop than the standard stock, and it no longer points well for me, but shoots high. To fix that, I'll need to either go back to the regular stock and find another way to mount the rear sling (and deal with the recoil), or add an optic. Mine's not drilled for a rail, which complicates the optic situation, but many are.

Other issues with the Specops - you can't remove the trigger assembly with the stock mounted, and it's a bit of a pain to unmount it. With the standard stock, the trigger assembly pops right out. Also, it's harder to reach the action release button from the pistol grip than from the standard stock.

A few other downsides to the 1300:

There's not a lot of non-smith rail options if it's not drilled for a rail, like there are for Remingtons and Mossbergs, and the angled receiver/buttstock interface means nobody makes a receiver sling plate.

The Speed Pump feature, which starts to unlock the action with the recoil, and is responsible for the fast, smooth action of the 1300, can cause problems with a fast reload. If it's a little bit out of battery due to the recoil unlocking, you can't load until you push the slide back forward again. With practice, this becomes second nature, but it still catches me now and again.

So, if I were picking up a shotgun to set up for HD specifically, I'd get an 870 or 500. For the price, though, the 1300's a great gun, and I'm learning a lot tricking it out while not spending too much.

Here are a few other threads where I've discussed the options in more detail:

Laserlyte rail - not 100% successful, but not bad for the money:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=159525

Sling setup:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=173575

[D53]

right on thanks. Yeah I will have to keep an eye out for that Knoxx stock