Winchester "Desert Defender"

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Slater

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Compared to the likes of Remington, Mossberg, Benelli, etc., Winchester shotguns are somewhat under the radar. This is their so-called "Desert Defender" which (IIRC) was introduced at this year's SHOT Show. Interestingly, Winchester's website lists this particular finish as already discontinued.

Comes with an installed choke and fiber optic (removable) front sight. Not exactly sure what type of tan finish has been applied. It's made in Turkey, so possibly their process consists of a rattlecan and an oven :D. It does have a chromed barrel and chamber, though.

Haven't heard Winchesters really referred to as "hard use" shotguns, but it's a decent HD and range blaster gun.

Anyone have any positive/negative experiences with this brand?


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So why would they go to all the effort to put the tan color on the receiver, barrel and stock but then leave the mag tube and other parts black? The contrast doesn't look good.
 
And why are they using a clip on plastic fiber optic sight?! Wouldn't be that hard to install the proper sight.


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The Latest incarnation of the Winchester pump is built in Turkey under contract to FN. The 1200 evolved to the 1300, then the Speed Pump, and now this. Each version has been am improvement so maybe now they have it down right.
 
Turkish made "winchester" with snap-on fiber-optic sight, looks like the action bars are moulded into the forearm, no thanks, I will keep my 12, 870, 590 or any number of US, quality shotguns. Sad offering from the former makers of the M12, M94 and M70.
 
Turkish made "winchester" with snap-on fiber-optic sight, looks like the action bars are moulded into the forearm, no thanks, I will keep my 12, 870, 590 or any number of US, quality shotguns. Sad offering from the former makers of the M12, M94 and M70.
+1

This is quite the abortion.
 
Like many of the "combat" shotguns I've seen offered by manufacturers in recent years... this one seems more about sales than anything else.... I'm a guy that carried a popper on the street for many years and actually used it on one occasion. The fighting shotgun that gets my attention has very little in the way of bells or whistles on it -but it's still deadly for close quarters work... That said, most wouldn't give it a second look as a new item along side all the other much fancier looking shotguns in the store.
 
The U.S. market's lust for the cheapest possible ran the Model 12 and the Model 37 out of business. From what I have seen the Turks are entirely capable of making good guns, but alas they con't afford to give those away either.
 
I was doing some research to find out the differences between the older 1300 models and the newer SXP version. This is from an "American Hunter" article:

"The 1300 was made in the New Haven, Conn., Winchester plant until it closed in January 2006. At the time, Winchester management agreed with the union not to make the 1300 for three years. Winchester re-engineered the gun, renamed it, and found a Turkish vendor to produce it. Those guns are coming into the country now in 3-inch, 12-gauge, both as an 18-inch, cylinder-bored Defender model and a field gun with a 26- or 28-inch barrel. My test gun was a field model with a 28-inch barrel.

The SXP is not a Turkish-designed gun with an American brand. It’s a gun made to Winchester’s specifications in Turkey. The new gun combines the lines of the popular Super X3 semi-auto, the old fast-pumping action, and several significant improvements over the old model. Says Glenn Hatt, Winchester product manager: “This gun will function better than any 1300 ever made.”

Available in black synthetic, the 1300 takes styling cues from the Super X3. The stock has the X3’s semi-Cubist pattern of lines and planes. Red W’s here and there decorate the stock and receiver, and it even has replicas of the X3’s Quadra-Vent in the forearm. Of course, gas vents on a pump serve no purpose; they’re like the chromed, fake vent holes on the sides of 1950s cars.

More significantly, the SXP has the X3’s rib profile and stock dimensions, a near-parallel comb arrangement that fits many shooters. It also has the soft “Inflex” recoil pad with a hard insert on the heel found on the X3 and Browning Maxus semi-autos. The barrel is bored to Browning’s standard overbore of .742, and the gun takes Invector-Plus chokes.

Among the changes to improve the durability of the SXP is the elimination of the distinctive “fishtail,” V-shaped joint between the head of the stock and the rear of the receiver. The new straight-line joint is much stronger, while the receiver itself is made of aircraft-grade aluminum that is tougher than the impact-extruded aluminum of the old guns. Inside, the action bars and the plate upon which the bolt sits have been made from three pieces into one. Not only does that make the gun much easier to take apart—you can remove the action bars and bolt as one piece—it eliminates a source of wiggle and wear that was a weakness of the old design."
 
I've never been fond of the ejector system, but they are much easier to replace than the riveted one on the 870. The slides do seem to jump back on their own, without much effort by the firer, making followup shots fast.

I'll stick to my 870s and Ithaca 37 for my own use.


The Latest incarnation of the Winchester pump is built in Turkey under contract to FN. The 1200 evolved to the 1300, then the Speed Pump, and now this. Each version has been am improvement so maybe now they have it down right.

I see it more as a devolution; the 97 was the pinnacle, the 12 was also excellent, the 1200 an abrupt turn downward, though the rotating bolt head was novel. (it works better in an inertia semi-auto, though)

The 1300 was an attempt at lipstick on a pig, and they've just gone downhill from there. I understand people wanting less expensive shotguns, but I'd choose a Hawk/Pardner 870 clone over one of these, a cheaper (and heavier!) version of a better design.
 
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FN's P-12 is a variation on the exact same theme. Although it says "FN" so it must be better.
 
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