Yet another Winchester joins the family...Update

[buckshot1220]

A buddy and myself were running some errands and decided to stop by the Gander Mtn. to laugh at the ridiculously high prices and see what kind of BS we can hear being spewed. I happened to see the new Turkish import Winchester SXP Defender and asked to see it. The salesman hands it to me with a "Pardner Pump $199" tag on it. I pointed it out to him and his response was "If you want it for $199, I'll call my manager over and we will honor it. It is our mistake." Truthfully, already owning five Winchester shotguns, including a Defender and Practical Defender model, I was just planning on looking it over and giving it back. Alas though, the $199 price was too much to pass up and it followed me home. I'll do a tear down tomorrow and hopefully take it out shooting.

Anyone else here fond of Winchester shotguns? I love the smooth action and the placement of controls. I still have a 1970's manufactured gun with jeweled bolt and Walnut stocks that is just beautiful.

[LoboTBL]

Among my many shotguns are 4 Winchesters: an 1897 (12), a model 12 (also 12) , a nice shooting 120 (20) and a 1300 (12). I like all of them and won't part with any of them.

[Univibe]

My closet gun is a 1300 Defender from the early 80s. Shoot that Turkish re-issue and let us know how it stacks up.

[rojocorsa]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/166994_1706755126271_1759851430_857407_919287220_n.jpg


Certainly!

[buckshot1220]

I haven't gotten a chance to shoot it, but I did do a tear down and looked it over to see what changes were made.

1.) The stock is much nicer and doesn't have the El Cheapo feel of previous synthetic stocks. The grip has a texture similar to the M&P line of pistols and the soft rubber butt pad seems like it will be light years better than the old hard rubber. However, when shouldering the weapon I notice it is a little bit "grabby" with clothing and this may bother some. Additionally, the receiver is now a straight cut so previous generation stocks will NOT be interchangeable. The forearm looks to be the same corn cob style that has been around for years, no changes.

2.) THE RECEIVER ON THE DEFENDER STILL DOES NOT COME TAPPED. I don't know what is up with this. All of the field models are tapped (even the owner's manual states this) so I can't figure why it does not carry over. If you plan on mounting an optic etc. you will need to have it drilled/tapped.

3.) The bolt carrier has changed quite a bit. The old 1200/1300s had a plate that the carrier sat on to hold the firing pin/spring in, then you would place the assembly on the forearm rails and carefully slide it back into the receiver. That "plate" is now stamped as part of the forearm rails and is no longer removable. Dis-assembly and assembly is now quicker and easier and I assume this aids in making the forearm action feel sturdier than most pump-actions as mentioned below.

4.) Capacity is down to 5+1 and the magazine cap has changed. The new barrels do not have the ball detent. Instead, the spring retainer is pushed down and twisted which indexes on dimples in the mag tube. The top of the spring retainer is splined as is the inside of the magazine cap, when they are fitted together it prevents the cap from unintentional rotation. The downside to all of this is that the dimples in the mag tube (square staked) do not allow the rim of a 12ga. shell to pass thus making the use of a mag extension impossible. Somewhere on another forum a member mentioned this was done to appease import/export restrictions, I'm not sure how true this is as I didn't think 922r or any other capacity restriction related to pump-actions, but I've been wrong before and I'm not up to date.

5.) The slide release is a bit larger and easier to manipulate. This is especially handy for those wearing gloves. Same location, bigger button.

6.) Overall fit and finish is on par with previous 1200/1300 guns. The receiver is matte black anodized and the barrel is matte black as well (may be parked). No more shiny black. The barrel interiors are now "black chromed," which I assume will help in preventing bore corrosion down the road. They are still using the plastic trigger group housing, which may bother some. The forearm is still solid, in true Winchester fashion, with probably the least movement you would see in any pump action on the market. The internals look fantastic and possibly better than previous Winchester machine work with no striations or machine marks to comment on. As long as everything is to spec and the metals used are of known quality, I don't see any reason to doubt that they should work flawless for years to come.

Overall the gun is a nice piece of equipment. I feel that Winchester should find some way to legally import a version that can at least be legally adapted by the end-user to take 7 or 8 rounds so they can stay competitive with Remmy/Mossberg/Benelli and the "capacity whore" public at large. They'd also do well to offer a model with ghost ring sights and drilled/tapped receiver, as of right now you still get the old brass bead. I wouldn't dump of any of my older models to run out and buy one, but if you are in the market it is worth taking a look at.

[Lee D]

for $199 i wouldnt have passed on it either. my shotgun of choice is the 870, but i do have one winchester in my collection...an older 1200 stainless police model, and it is a good gun. thanks for the info on the newer model, im yet to see one in person.