Advice on new buy: Winchester 1300

[mendozer]

Went to gun shop today to see my options for my first shotgun. I had been considering mossberg 500 for the price, reliability, weight, etc. They had this Winchester 1300 SpeedPump on consignment. Have to look it up, but it's probably from the 80s, but BRAND NEW, never been fired, has tags on it. Some old guy let it sit in his safe I guess.

Anyways, I love the way it feels, nice stock, smooth pump nice and tight, and it has a 28" barrel with threaded choke comes with mod, but can find others easily).

I want a shotgun for: home defense (will get shorter barrel), hunting birds, possibly deer (also have an '06 for that), and clays. This one seems to fit the bill quite nicely and its $250, cheaper than the Mossberg 500 I would have bought new at Cabelas yesterday at $300.

So I come to you wise people for advice on it's reliability. I'm assuming Wins are better than Mossbergs due to their history and higher prices.

thoughts?

[PetahW]

.

You know what "assume" does, right ? .

The Winchester 1300, while nice-looking, is a later development of the Winchester 1200 - the gunsmith's friend.
( old guys know "stuff" )

Get the $300 Mossberg, and you'll be dollars ahead a few years down the road, when you find some M1300 parts hard to find & extra barrels far & few between.

I don't believe that there's any aftermarket bbls available for it - but I could be wrong.

[rcase1234]

I'm with Petah. The mossberg has barrels and extra parts readily available and it will do everything you want it to

[mendozer]

Darn I thought ppl would say older is better.

[Kilrain]

I bought a "new" old stock Winchester 1300 Stainless Police about three months ago. I didn't buy it as a primary use firearm, I bought it as to add to my collection since it's kinda rare being nickel plated and the price was cheap, $325.

It's light weight and while I wouldn't characterize the action as smooth(it was "new") I would say that it had very little resistance and had a short "throw" for a pump gun. I suppose there is something to that rotating bolt design. Anyway, I took it out and shot it and it performed flawlessly and looked good doing it. No performance complaints from me.

Taking it apart...frankly I was disconcerted at how cheap and flimsy the internals(except for the barrel and bolt) were. I mean, really, really flimsy, even the receiver seemed pretty thin compared to other aluminum framed shotguns I own like the Mossberg 500/590 series. Practically speaking, I don't know if that means they fail more often, but it was kinda shocking to me to be honest.

Go with the Mossberg would be my recommendation, it should do everything you want and more.

PS - Sometimes older ain't better, sometimes it's just older...

[mendozer]

now b/c Mossberg is lighter with that frame, does it therefore kick harder? And is it just as user friendly in terms of removing plug, cleaning ease, etc

EDIT: Also, I was looking on GB for used 870 wingmasters, but most (except magnums) say 2 3/4" shells. I like the ability to use whatever

[Kilrain]

now b/c Mossberg is lighter with that frame, does it therefore kick harder? And is it just as user friendly in terms of removing plug, cleaning ease, etc

Not sure what you mean by the Mossberg being "lighter with that frame." Lighter than what?

That being said, felt recoil is a pretty subjective thing. The Winchester didn't seem to "kick" harder to me than my Mossberg 500. As for takedown, the Mossberg was simpler for me but I've done it a bunch of times. The Winchester wasn't unduly difficult, but a bit different do doubt.

[mendozer]

lighter than steel framed like 870. Just curious, even though the weight difference is minimal

[340 Weatherby]

Buy it quick before my Son comes home from work. I like the way they feel and I haven't seen one break yet. I won't say anything bad about a Mossberg, but a 1300 would be of more interest to me.

[Kilrain]

lighter than steel framed like 870. Just curious, even though the weight difference is minimal

Best I can tell is that the weight difference between a base 870 Express(4+1) model and a base 500(5+1) model is 1/2 a pound empty or 8 ounces.

Either way it's still subjective for the most part. My experience(and I'm no expert) has been that a properly(or close to properly) fitting stock and shooting technique has more to do with felt(not actual, physics based) recoil in MOST guns than sheer weight.

BTW, the 870 is a great gun, considered the greatest pump shotgun by many. The Wingmaster is one of the nicest variants of the 870 from a fit and finish standpoint, at least straight from the factory. Can't go wrong with that gun and couple of different barrels for different purposes. I have an 870 Marine Magnum and couldn't be happier with it.

Regarding 2 3/4" vs. 3" guns...I agree options are nice, no doubt, and most of my 12 gauge guns are 3" capable. That being said, I personally have little use for 3" rounds as I don't hunt.

[mendozer]

well Gander Mtn has the 500 all purpose for 230 using cyber monday $50 off from 280. However, they only ship to Gander Stores, of which I don't have here in WA!! Dang. Next best deal I can find is $290. or $321 for field/home defense combo barrels

[PawPaw]

I must have gotten the one good 1300, years ago. It's a 20 gauge, and it's still shucking shells. It taught my three boys to shoot shotgun with nary a bobble. As late as last week, it was still going strong.

Maybe I got the one good one, but it's a keeper.

[mendozer]

well this one was from the mid 90s, checked the serial and basically new.

However, much to my disdain, I had to agree with most opinions I got here and read on other forums and decided to go with the Mossy 500 today at Dicks. Got it and 5 boxes of ammo for just under 320 so can't complain. I will say though that it feels "tighter" and overall better than the 500 I felt at Cabela's on Friday, which is odd. The cabela's one had a much looser slide (that famous rattle). This one doesn't and is pretty tight like the Winchester.

[markj]

Too bad, I have both the mossberg 500 in 12 ga has the extra rifled barrel, and the winchester 1300 bought in th 80s, came with a 20 in barrel 3 choke tubes and I got a rifled barrel for it too. The winchester is a better finished gun, the mossberg is made cheaper IMHO. That 1200 mentioned was a total POS and winchester learnd from that. The 1300 unlocks the bolt upon firing which gave it a faster reload.


Dicks had the mossberg with 2 barrels for 299

[Nickel Plated]

If it's a brand new 1300 like you said. I wouldn't worry about parts breaking. Maybe they're not as tough as a Mossberg, but it's still a pump gun. Kinda hard to break one of those.
if you're worried about spare parts. The Stevens 320 which is currently in production is an exact clone of the 1300 with all parts being interchangeable.

If you like the 1300, you can also look into the Winchester SXP. It's an update of the 1300 but still the same general design. And it's currently in production so you get full parts support from the factory. I have one and love it. About the same price as a Mossberg.

Frankly I'd pick a 1300, Stevens 320 or SXP over any Mossberg any day. Action is fast and slick and they feel like quality. The Mossberg, while undoubtedly tough and reliable, just feels like a cheap rattle trap.

Edit: Whoops, didn't read all the replies. Looks like he made his choice. Hope it serves you well.

[L_Killkenny]

OP bought his gun so things are settled on that front but.........

It's just so damn funny reading all the anti-1300 crap flying around from those with zero to little experience with them. There is absolutely zero, none, nada inherent issues with the 1300's. They are light, smooth and fast. They get away with the lightweight receiver due to design. Barrel availability can be an issue but they can be found.

In short, you couldn't get me to trade a 1300 for a 500 on a dare. Or an 870 for that matter.

[Virginian]

I used to sell guns. I don't remember how many 500s I sold, but it was quite a few. I had to send a couple back to Mossberg for cosmetic issues, and they took care of them pronto. I sold several 1300s, and two had to go back due to functional issues; one twice. There are a lot of people who love the 1200s and 1300s, but as noted earlier they have a history of being gunsmith's friends that that won't change.

[dwaawd]

There is no shortage of 1300 parts and won't be. Likewise, barrels are easy to find except possibly Defender 8 shot(always in demand) and rifled slug barrels. There are 17 barrels on ebay right now. AR-7 lists 8 new in stock currently. (Defender 8 shot sold out at present)

I got my first 1300 Defender early 1984, still with all factory original parts. Never a problem with it. Same for my later model Defender Speed Pump.

quote L_Killkenny:
"In short, you couldn't get me to trade a 1300 for a 500 on a dare. Or an 870 for that matter."

Ditto on that statement.

[MJFlores]

The Winchester is worlds above the Mossberg in every way. I have a Winchester 120 that I've hunted hard with since 1984. I also have a 1300 I bought in 93 or 94 and it has had the heck knocked out of it and you wouldn't know it. Parts availability? I've never changed a part of any kind on my Winchesters so it's a non issue. I think needing to change parts on a shot gun and you have real issues going on. Buy that Winchester if it's still there...you wont regret it. By the way, when did Mossberg become "the" shotgun anyway? Growing up in the duck swamps...people carried Mossbergs because they couldn't afford a decent shotgun.

[Shootrj2003]

I have had a win.1300 (actually a sears ranger120) for well over 30 years it stands as my truck gun ,coyote gun bird gun and home defense gun,my friend sold it to me fo $45 years ago,he had sawn the stockto a pistol grip,I made a stock out of cherry and it looks great,some guys told me I would not find barrels for it then ,or other accesories,not true then,not true now.The 1300 is the fastest pump you'll find ,easily as fast as a auto in the right hands!if your into technology ,you can find all kinds of lights ,lazers,hand grips,mag tube extensions etc etc,the only one I'm interested in would be the mag extension.In my opinion(?) your better off "extending" a short mag instead of installing the whole long mag.as there are more long barrels ,say for upland birds,ducks,or small game ,available for the short tube set up and you can still easily convert to a police or military type set up if you have a need or desire.If you happen to get a good deal on a defender or the "tactical" type with a long mag there are ways to easily get around the problem by making a spacer,these Winchester 1300 are when broke in slick as greased lightning and lots of barrels floating around on ebay and auctions as well as in gunstores ,.The bolt has many similarities to an AR rifle in how it looks up and though I have not tryed them ,it is supposed to be able to handle the Aguila short rds wit fair aplomb,better than most other guns and it is lighter than most also,I would buy the Mossberg and/or the Rem. unless another 1300 showed first,and I would be looking for the 1300 hard.

[mendozer]

finally got around to the range after all this time and gotta say, the mossy 500 is fun. Easy to completely strip and reassemble, as long as you don't accidentally flip one of the parts over by mistake and arrange it improperly....

[thinktwice]

I like them all. I have never herd of many people having problems with pump shotguns as far as breakage or anything like that. I am sure it happens but I haven't herd a lot of complaints from people I know that have some of the guns discussed here. To me they 870, Moss.500, Stevens, Winchester, H&R, and I am sure I am missing some all fall into the low budget shotgun category.
People that knock Mossberg probably on 870's or something else and visa versa.

[skizzums]

funny you say that mendozer, i did the same thing a couple weeks ago, still havent taken it apart again and fixed it, its a single shot at the moment

[Virginian]

When Winchester undertook to reduce the cost of manufacturing their repeaters, they did it by utilizing the cheapest internals they could find, and they introduced the 1200/1400 series. They were fraught with problems and many internal parts failures right from the get go, and they helped the slide of once proud Winchester Corporation into eventual sell out. They dropped the 1400 and the 1200 morphed into the 1300, then the speed pump, now the SXP.
Mossberg and Remington have been basically unchanged for 50+ years. The Benelli Nova likewise remains constant, and we all know how Benelli likes "new and improved". Manufacturers do not change pump guns other than to address issues, or add new models of the same base gun with different options.
I do realize there are a lot of guys who have these guns and like them, but that doesn't change the facts. If I didn't already have one, I wouldn't buy one.