Winchester 1400, what's your impression of the gun?

[gunforhire]

I aquired a Winchester 1400 the other day, and it's in really nice shape! but, I have heard both that they are junk and they are good shooters. what say you? What besides the firing pin screwing up should I be looking for for it? I know it's not anything I can do a mag tube extension for because of the gas system and all, but I am thinking this guy will be used mainly for trap and as a slug gun anyway. Tell me a story about these things!

[Hoot]

I aquired a Winchester 1400 the other day, and it's in really nice shape! but, I have heard both that they are junk and they are good shooters. what say you? What besides the firing pin screwing up should I be looking for for it? I know it's not anything I can do a mag tube extension for because of the gas system and all, but I am thinking this guy will be used mainly for trap and as a slug gun anyway. Tell me a story about these things!

Back in the 70's my best friend bought a used one which he used for waterfowling alongside me with my Franchi, on the Chester River (tributary to the Chesapeake Bay). It never failed him in bad weather, including a lot of sleet and freezing rain. He mastered it well for coming from a non-shooting family. That has been my only experience with one. We didn't keep in touch over the years so I don't know if he kept it.

Hoot

[Rip Van Winkle]

The M1400 was my first gun. I bought it new at Monkey Wards in Midway for $128 in the mid 70's. I dispatched many pheasants and clay targets with it over the years and then raised two boys who hunted and shot with it. The only trouble it ever gave me was when I started reloading. After several hundred rounds of reloads the safety refused to engage. Turns out the unburned flakes of Red Dot powder fouled up the trigger mechanism. To this day I still hold a bias against Aliant colored Dot powders.

[smurfman]

They are pieces of junk if allow it to be related to the 1200 pump gun which it resembles. The 1200 is not a piece of junk but it is not a Model 12 which it replaced. The 1400 had a lot of plastic and alloy parts which was not well thought of when it came out. In comparison to the Remington 1100 it seemed pretty pretty hokey but it did as designed and worked well for the typical hunter. A 1400 MK II was the first semi-auto I ever bought.

If you look at it on its own merits, the 1400 (and the fancier looking 1500) are decent utilitarian shotguns. There are issues with the carrier spring weakening prematurely and/or being replaced upside down and something with the ejector failing but I never had any problems with mine. I liked the gun and did well with it but traded it for a S&W 1000 Super when steel shot was mandated. I would not expect it to last a lot of heavy use but for the person who runs maybe a couple hundred rounds through it per year, it could last quite a while.

[870TC]

The magazine feed throats are a weak link. Other than that they are a decent gun that will provide reasonable service for the average hunter.

[gunforhire]

damn, I think I better try to sell or trade it for another pump gun

[gunforhire]

just scored two 870's for it. win