The Winchester 1300 Defender is an excellent shotgun. It has an extremely fast/smooth action, which is why they call it "speed pump". It uses Stoner syle locking lugs, which I also really like. It also offers increased capacity for its length compared to both Remington and Mossberg as its an 8 shot, as opposed to a 7 or 6 shot respectively. I also really like the factory Hiviz front sight, though its not very durable....certainly sufficient for HD duty. I recently just bought a Winchester 1200 Stainless Marine, and I absolutely love it. I prefer the 870, but also own Mossbergs and now a Winchester. The Winchester is every big as good as both the Mossberg and Remington, if not better in some respects. The biggest advantages about the 1300 is its "speed pump" and its
reduced weight, compared to the 870. All of the accessories for the Mossberg and Remington are availible for the Winchester, for the most part anyway....I recently added a Speedfeed III magazine stock/forend and Side-Saddle. I don't really like how the Side-Saddle mounts as there is only one trigger pin, but I am getting used to it. Its a solid mount and it won't cause any problems.
There have been so many of these made, I don't see them being a collectors item. If you look at Gunbroker, the Stainless Police/Marine versions are selling in the 500.00+ range. I was offered 700.00 for mine, without the Speedfeed and Side-Saddle....but its too cool to sell. Its probably the hardest looking shotgun this side of the SPAS 12. The 1300 Defender is every bit as reliable and effective as the 500/590 or 870. They all have thier pros/cons, but they are all good guns. Police agenices continue to use the 1300 Defender and have used the 1200 for years. The 1200 was a very popular PD weapon and was used by the military for years. The 1300 is an improved version of the 1200 and even better. I would have no problems using a 1300 as my primary defensive weapon. The only negative thing about the Winchester 1300 Defender is the inability to mount a single point sling. Other than that, they are superb weapons.