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The Winchester Model 1200 was introduced by the Winchester-Western Division of Olin Corporation, in 1964, as a low-cost replacement for the venerable Model 12. A small number of these weapons were acquired by the United States Army in 1968 and 1969. The military style Model 1200 was essentially the same weapon as the civilian version, except it had a ventilated handguard, sling swivels, and a bayonet lug. The Model 1200 was succeeded by the Winchester Model 1300(same firearm with small changes) in 1983 when U.S. Repeating Arms Company became the manufacturer of Winchester firearms. Production of the Model 1300 ceased in 2006, when USRAC went bankrupt. The Winchester Model 1200 came in barrel lengths of 30-inch, and 28-inch with a fixed choke or the Win-choke screw in choke tubes system and is a 12, 16, or 20-gauge, manually operated, slide action shotgun. The slide action, also known as a pump-action, means that the shotgun has a moving bolt system which is operated by a "wooden or composite slide called the fore-end". The fore-end is located on the underside of the barrel and moves front to back. The weapon can hold a maximum of five rounds total with four in the tubular magazine and one in the chamber. It has a hammerless action which means that there is no external hammer spur. There is only a firing pin which strikes the primer on the shell to ignite the powder in the round. The Model 1200 was the first shotgun to utilize a rotary bolt with four locking lugs secured within the barrel extension. The 1200 was Winchester's first shotgun to incorporate the company's patented Winchoke system, a quick-change tube to allow the easy replacement of chokes Variants • Model 1200: Standard capacity model with four-shell tubular magazine • Model 1200 Defender: Increased capacity model with six-shell tubular magazine (Six 3" Shells or seven 2&3/4" Shells). • Model 1200 Police: Increased capacity variant of the Model 1200 Defender with an electrolysis nickel-plated satin barrel and magazine tube. • Model 1200 Marine: Increased capacity variant of the Model 1200 Defender with an electrolysis nickel-plated polished barrel and magazine tube. • Model 1200 Riot: Standard capacity model with 18.5" barrel and rifle sights. Blued steel barrel and magazine. Marked "Riot" on barrel. • Ted Williams Model 200: Standard Model 1200 marketed by Sears • Model 1200 Hunting: 28-inch barrel with a built-in choke and a five-shell tubular magazine. • Model 1300: Slightly updated version with five-shell tubular magazine • Model 1300 Defender: Increased capacity variants of the Model 1300 with a seven-shell tubular magazine. • Model 1300 Marine: Increased capacity variant of the Model 1300 with an electroless nickel-plated barrel and magazine tube. • Various Model 1300 variants • Model 2200: Model 1200 with full length stock and barrel, produced for the Canadian firearms market. • Model 120: Budget version marketed at various department stores, such as K-Mart. Birch stock, fixed choke, etc. • Ranger Model 120: Budget version marketed at sporting goods stores, such as K-Mart. Plain stock, Issues The Winchester 12, 1200, 1300 and 1400 series shotguns were low end or entry level guns marketed toward the economical buyer. These are not the Winchesters of 50 or 60 years ago but are good enough guns if you do not expect more than they were designed to deliver. I offer this for anyone thinking of buying one of these guns used as there are some things you need to know. Their designs are simple, but not overly robust and employ, in different models, several weak plastic parts. The worst of these is a plastic feed throat that screws onto the end of the magazine and is press fitted into the receiver. This is a critical part that plays several roles in the operation of these guns. One end of the trigger assembly locks into this throat piece; it facilitates the bolt hold open feature and assists in stopping and allowing shells to feed the lifter. The full force of the magazine spring bears against the thinnest portion of the throat all the time and is subject to breaking. This feed throat can be the source of a whole host of feed and cycling issues. A 10 minute search of the internet will reveal a great deal of feed and cycle issues with these guns, many having to do with this plastic feed throat. If you are considering one of these guns in the used market one must be aware of the weakness of this part and what wear and tear it may have previously sustained. Its location, recessed into the receiver makes it hard to see for a good inspection and may be broken even if you can’t see it. Even in plastic a replacement feed throats are a little pricey and replacing one is not a novice task. Another weaknesses inherent in these guns, depending on frequency of use, is the bolt release button mounted on the under side of the receiver where you load shells into the chamber. They can be either metal or plastic and are subject to wear. The metal ones are pretty durable but the plastic ones are not. If this part is worn or broken the bolt will not hold open or may release unexpectedly. Finally on the ejector bar and its spring. These guns are pretty simple to disassemble and clean, as any gun owner will do dutifully, but the ejector bar, in most of these models only lies against the right side of the receiver, held loosely on a pin, and will frequently come off the pin when the bolt is removed. It is easy to put it back in place but what can too easily be overlooked is there is a coil spring hidden in the back of the receiver that the rear end of the ejector bar rests in. Too often this spring falls out and is lost before the owner is aware it is there. The ejector will still work, most of the time, without the spring and is more or less held in place by the pin and side of the bolt but can cause ejection problems and jam the bolt. It is interesting to see design differences between the 3 best known, American slide action shotguns, namely the Remington, Winchester and Mossberg. Winchester and Remington are the older, but not by much as Mossberg was also there at the turn of the previous century. The best known original or first design were John Moses Browning’s patent Winchester repeater. But 100 years down the line, the designs of all three manufacturers, were several times made cheaper and easier to manufacture, to keep the companies afloat. The chances are that Mossberg may have had the least financial pressure on them. A good measure in quality comparisons may be to look for the plastic parts in later designs. (Ref: Winchester Shotguns by Dennis Adler, America’s premier gunmakers: Winchester by K D Kirkland, Guns and how they work by I V Hogg, Gunsmithing at Home; lock stock and barrel by J E Traister, http://www.chuckhawks.com/good_pump_shotgun.html, http://www.gunsandammo.com/tv/browning-slide-action-shotguns, https://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/detail.asp?smallarms_id=109 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8bzzQUmz24

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