Has anyone had any experiences with the regular FN Police shotgun - NOT the Tactical model with sliding stock and pistol grip? Pros or Cons? I have been thinking about getting one, but would like some comment on it before I pass over the 870 to buy one. Thanks.

i have one, i like it. it is a Winchester 1300 defender with rifle sights and choke tubs. i paid $325 for mine and i think if you can get one for $350 or less go for it!!!

BTT...thanks for the reply DvlDog. What is your opinon on the 1300? I don't know much about the Winchester either. I've only used the 870 (which I like) and the 590 (which I didn't care much for).

Like already said it is based on the 1300.  Personally I like the 1300 better due to the fact that the safety is forward of the trigger guard.  For me it is easier taking the saftey off than the 870, which is to the rear of the trigger guard.  YMMV

I love my 1300 for pheasant hunting. However if I were going the tactical/SHTF/home defense way, I would lean more toward the 870. Nothing wrong with the FN/1300 design, it's just more toys for the 870 and you go to love that classic sound of an 870!

Quoted: I love my 1300 for pheasant hunting. However if I were going the tactical/SHTF/home defense way, I would lean more toward the 870. Nothing wrong with the FN/1300 design, it's just more toys for the 870 and you go to love that classic sound of an 870!

I have yet to find any accessories that I would want that couldn't be had for the 1300. The sound is better on the 870 but the action is better on the 1300. A lot smoother.

I was in the Texas Guard (2nd M.P. Regiment at Camp Mabry in Austin)

As M.P.s we most often used Shotguns, so we had crates and crates of both Win 1200 (the same as Win 1300) and of Rem 870s.  All had same configuration 1970s Police type Riot guns with 18" bead riot bbls.  (bunches of these guns recently went onto the surplus market!)

As one of our units Rangemasters, we often took the soldiers of each of our companies to the qualification range and noted that more stopages occured with the Winchesters than the Remingtons.

The Winchester action is VERY smooth, using a 4 lug rotary bold that is designed to open as pressure is still in the bbl (Winchested touted it as "the fastest pump in the world" because the recoil / gas pressure would partially open the bolt about halfway back, so you just pumped a bit more to finish the stroke.  I had a Win 1300 turkey gun that if you fired it one handed, it  would open run the bolt all the way back and spit out the fired shell!

The problem with this system, is that many times, especially when firing with heavy shells, the Win forearms would bounce back, then front again which would relock the action onto an empty shell or worse yet to lock up the gun if the forearm had moved back far enough to release a shell from the magazine. It was a gun system induced short shuck that we saw many times with results that would have been "Very Bad" if they had occured in a serious situation!  

But... This was never a problem on the Rem 870s, which have a more traditional tilting bolt and thus a slightly heavier reciprocation action.

To cure this forearm bounce problem, we taught the shooter to always pull hard backwards on the forearm of the Winchesters, (in contrast, most shooters push forward on the forearms of 870s to both point the gun toward the target and to reduce recoil)

I like dove hunting with my Win 1300 turkey gun, (the 21" bbl made it fast as lightning on the doves!)  but for serious duty, I would recomend and reach for my 870 for dependablity and sure function!!

Of course others or your opinion may differ, so I just wanted to share what I learned in the safety of the firing range with many troopers before you were solo at dark thirty wondering what just went crash!

Best regards!

      BIGGER_HAMMER

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Another issue with the 1300 based weapon is the controlled feed. On one hand it seems like a great attribute, holding the shell during insertion. But...if you are trying to do a tactical type reload you can't just dump a round and insert another...example: dumping a shot load and inserting a slug.

With the 870 you can pull the action back partially dump the shell and insert a slug. The 1300 has a grip on the shell and a ramp that prevents it from falling out when the action is cycled.

I am not the greatest at explaining these things. sorry.

MT

phew... i thought you were asking about that God cursed fn collapsible stock shotgun... that thing is the nastiest thing i have ever seen...

phew... i thought you were asking about that God cursed fn collapsible stock shotgun... that thing is the nastiest thing i have ever seen...

Nasty good or nasty bad?

Hehe..

MT

Thanks for the input guys. That was very useful info on the 1300 system. However, I found a NIB 870 for about $230, so I think I'm going with it. I figure I should just stick with something I'm use to shooting. Although, I would like the ability to swap choke tubes ever so often.

Quoted: Another issue with the 1300 based weapon is the controlled feed. On one hand it seems like a great attribute, holding the shell during insertion. But...if you are trying to do a tactical type reload you can't just dump a round and insert another...example: dumping a shot load and inserting a slug. With the 870 you can pull the action back partially dump the shell and insert a slug. The 1300 has a grip on the shell and a ramp that prevents it from falling out when the action is cycled. I am not the greatest at explaining these things. sorry. MT

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You sure you're not talking about bolt action rifles? You can drop a round in the Winny's just fine.

No the controlled feed and ramp on the Shotties...

MT

You might keep an eye out on e-bay or gunsamerica for a Rem 870 deer bbl with remchoke.

Remington made a smoothbore 20" rifle sighted bbl with a rifled remchoke tube, (so just pocket the rifled choke tube and drop in a Imp. Cyl, Mod, or whatever!

Bigger Hammer

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