Winchester 1200 or 1300, is there a difference?
What is the difference between a Winchester 1200 and a 1300 12 gauge shotgun? Did the 1300 follow the 1200 in production because they stopped making the 1200 or is one of the two a better gun than the other?
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im a little fuzzy on this one and being away from my books...im going on memory, but i somehow remember that one was marketed in canada and one was marketed in the usa. 1200 came first. help me out folks! 0 -
The 1200 began in the 1964 and was made into 1981. The standard 1200 was a 2 3/4", but they also made a magnum model. The 1300 started in 1978 and continues to this day. You'll find they are the same basic design, primarily the 1300 was just a later version and all of the 1300 are 3" as where the majority of the 1200 were 2 3/4". There were changes to the wood pattern over the years in both the 1200 and the 1300, but the basic way they attached remained the same. Just their checkering patterns as well as the size and style of the forearms changed at various times on the different models. 0 -
'Bout the only difference is:
Each is more poorly constructed, than the other!
I have often said that the 180 degree turn around from the high quality of the Model 12-to the extremely poor quality of the 1200 was one of the biggest letdowns in firearm history.0 -
I'd rather have a model 12 too. My 1200 has served me well over the years and I just bought a 1300. The big thing here is price. If you've priced a model 12 lately thats in good or better condition, they can cost $500.00 + Thanks, Bubba 0 -
thanks for the clarification guys. i havent talked guns in years, thus im rusty. i remember now...the model 120 and 130 are canadian models. all winchesters were a letdown in 1964 when the whole plant went to automation and quality went out. keep in mind, it wasnt the factories fault. customers wanted cheaper guns. m-12, m-70, model 94 sales were slumping. they went automation, fired half the overpaid union workers, and the customers still complained. such is life. winchesters are still a slight cut above the mossbergs. remington sewed up the market with the 870. the cost of the m-12 has only increased as the demand increased and the availablity went down. but it must be mentioned, as nice as m-12's were in respect to the m-1200, they required tuning and expensive repairs to keep them operating. the 1200 and 1300 did sucsessfully eliminate that part of the demand.... high repair costs and less returns to the factory for work. since the custom shop never closed, people could have their precious fancy guns, but they had to pay for it. market demand was always there for a rare few, even to this day. for the record, i had family in the winchester factory. this comes from the horses mouth as i sat around a fireplace on those cold conn nights, listening to the stories! hope it helps!
former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction.0 -
I have a Winchester model 1300 Defender. It's a nice shotgun for home defense, that's about it unless you change the barrel. I recently purchased a Choate side folding stock for it....makes it look cool. The only differences that I'am aware of is the length in the barrels. The 1300 has a shortened barrel that just meets the requirements to be legal (I think). Opposed to the 1200 which has a lengthy barrel for hunting. Also the forend grips are not interchangable between the two. For some reason the magazine tube on the 1200 has a smaller diameter. Hope this helps!! 0 -
um,a little off track here but I've a pair of model 11's...the 12 is um...am improvement![;)] 0
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