Pretty simple basic shotgun. MGW and Numrich Arms have parts for it.

 

I love my 1200. Bought it March 1977, and figured it would be my last gun purchase as I was about to get married. Missed that prediction by more than a couple. Anyway it fits me like no other shotgun, and you can imagine I shoot better with it than any other shotgun. I have two complaints, and they are pretty minor. It has a 2 3/4 inch chamber so if I lose my ammo and the closest store only has 3 inch ammo I'm out of luck. Pretty low odds on that happening. The second is if I'm slow working the forearm it can get the shell stuck at an angle, I have to slap the forearm back and forth with gusto. I've hunted pretty dense brush and there were twigs and leaves stuck between the barrel and magazine tube and it kept working. I've been in heavy snow and rain and it kept working. It just keeps working.
Used barrels for the 1200 are rare and expensive, for the price its better to get a barrel for a 1300, just remember if the barrel for the 1300 says it will take 3 inch shells those three inch shells probably won't get through the 1200's ejection port that was meant for 2 3/4 inch shells.
I to am getting older and my shoulders don't seem to tolerate recoil like they once did, so I had a recoil pad insatalled on my 1200. It ran me about $70 and the gunsmith was very careful to keep the stock the same length, so it still fits like a glove.
I'm looking with lust in my heart at two 1200's at a local gunshop. One is 12 gauge, the other a 20. They are listed at $225 so $210 sounds OK.

 

I was actually surprised that a quality made gun could be had for around $200, real nice wood VR and bluing , made in the USA ( always a plus ) I don't know why but this one fits me REAL good when I swing it into position. Almost like my SXS Spanish 16 gauge. Mossberg's and Weatherby's didn't have that natural comfy feeling.. Maybe its the 26 inch barrel ?

What recoil pad did you go with ? limbsaver and Eeze seem to be the most popular.

 

Limbsaver was recommended by the gunsmith and thats what I went with.

Mine doesn't have the ventilated rib, wish it did. There are hi-vis sights that fit onto the rib, don't know how well they work but if you want to try slug shooting it has to be better than that one little bead sight at the end of the barrel. If I remember there are counties in SE Pennsylvania that only buckshot is allowed for big game hunting, I suspect the hi-vis sight would be an improvement. You can also purchase just the hi-vis bead sight.

I don't know what your arsenal is for hunting but if the gun fits then it probably will bring home more game than guns that don't fit as well. And yes it has pretty decent wood but it's no Beretta, it was meant for field use. Small game hunting in Oregon is a tiny fraction of what I saw in Pennsylvania, and in the Klamath Falls area waterfowl is the big thing so I did purchase a semi auto that shoots 3 inch shells and steel shot is OK. If that were not the case I would still be using that 1200.

I wonder since yours has a fixed choke and not the Winchoke if it is an early manufacture date, from the 1960's, Winchester for some reason never made the manufacture dates available for the serial number so I guess the year it was made will always remain a mystery.

 

I did not like mine and sold it ASAP. Try corsonsbarrels.com for a new barrel; good outfit, fair prices.

 

Anything in specific you didn't care for ? Just curious..

 

Ngzcaz: I did not care for the 'tinny' feel of the 1200, especially compared to a Remington 870 (aluminum vs. steel receiver). I also did not like the fact you need a small screwdriver to field strip a 1200 for cleaning unlike the tool free takedown of the 870. I also believe the 1200 has internal trigger parts that should have never been considered on a Winchester and did much to sully their reputation (and eventually ended in their demise). If you like yours and it fits you, more power to you.

 

ngzcaz, I would suggest that you spend some time with the gun to make sure it functions well. If you find that it works well, doesn't double feed two shells out of the magazine for instance, then invest in a decent recoil pad or even consider a recoil reducer or weight in the stock. In my opinion you are lucky to have the plain barrel 26" IC, it balances the gun out better. You can find barrels on Ebay, sometimes at Numrich. Good luck.

 

At this point I am happy with the 26 inch barrel. It patterns nicely at 25 yards and point of aim is dead on. Very happy with the feeding and the solid feel of the weapon. I didn't get that tinny feeling at all. If anything it felt every bit as solid as the 870's I was handling at Cabelas today. I feel this is a very underrated weapon... I will admit the Remington's had a higher price tag on the racks but I'm not sure that's necessarily a good thing. But to each his own.

I doubt I'll sell this. This is a keeper. The balance is right. Just have to wait for the grandsons to grow a bit.

 

Mr. Brooks,

give me your SN and I will tell you what year your gun was manufactured. I have a Winchester list.

I just bought a model 1200. Has a 1300 barrel with 3 chokes. What kind of wood is used on these guns? Mine does not have any engraving in the wood. Are the original stocks plain or engraved?

 

Skeetbuff.... if you don't mind I'd be curious about mine. The SN is L716769. Glad I looked at this thread again since I took a second look at my gun and found it has the Improved cylinder choke which is what I wanted for breaking clays and maybe find out how it shoots with slugs. As I stated before mine has a bit of checkering on the stock and forearm and cycles like butter. The improved cylinder explains why my son was breaking clays so easily however it doesn't explain me missing them.
Thanks for any info you can provide and I can only offer in return what I already stated about the checkering fore and aft. I would bet a steak dinner this particular stock is original.

 

HI,
My gun has a plain, but sturdy stock. Can't tell what kind of wood, but is not the inexpensive light colored wood found on the Model 120. The forend on mine IS engraved, so I suspect I have a hybrid where someone has replaced the stock with an oem product.
Any serial number without the leading "L" is pre-1972. The "L" series numbers started the beginning of 1972 and continued up through 1992. Your gun was manufactured in 1972. The last serial number used in 1972 was L739617. Production of the 1200 started in 1964 with number 100,000, but no records are available for guns made from 1964 until 1972.
BTW - the 1200 is still being made by Winchester Repeating Arms. It is called the XPS and comes in a dozen or so models. The parallel to yours is very nice with dark wood engraved, 28" VR barrel with three chokes. all for Msrp of $399.00 Not bad, but means OUR guns will never get very valuable. I paid $200 for mine with 1300 barrel and 3 chokes and nice padded soft "break down" case. Like new except for the oddball stock.

 

Thanks for the info. I can honestly say this one beats the Mossbergs and Stevens I used to own hands down. I believe strongly that the wood is walnut and looks very nice with no real wear on it at all. I think you got a heck of a deal and would be surprised if you didn't make money on it if you decide to sell it. A Winchester shotgun in good shape should bring over $ 200 any day of the week. I know I wouldn't sell mine for what I paid for it. In fact I have no intention of selling it at all. It may be inexpensive but its still a Winchester and its a nice piece to give one of the grand kids.

As an afterthought do you know if Winchester is still made in the USA or like so many others have they farmed it out to Turkey ? And that's not a dig to Turkey as they make some decent shotguns. I just like to see " Made in the USA " whenever possible.

 

ngzcaz Win. and Browning are both owned by FN in Belguim, and yes some of Win. guns are made in the USA, some in Belguim, and the new pump is made in Turkey.
Dave

 

ngzcaz Win. and Browning are both owned by FN in Belguim, and yes some of Win. guns are made in the USA, some in Belguim, and the new pump is made in Turkey.
Dave

In today's economy and world market I'm not surprised where anything is made anymore. However, if you're an old fart like I am, the " Made in USA " stampings especially on weapons harkens me back to the days of my youth when seeing that stamping just made you puff your chest out a bit further. The more weapons are made overseas the more the " Made in the USA " guns has a certain attraction to them. {hs#

 

How old do you have to be to be an "old fart"? I am 82 and still shooting 25 straight (rarely) at trap with my Rem 870 LH. In 1966 I bought a Winchester 101 three barrel set for $600.00. It was a close- out sale as Winchester was no longer making that set.
At the same sale I bought I three other guns, all pumps, made by High Standard. There was a .28 Ga, a 20 Ga and I think a .410. High Standard no longer makes shotguns.
I agree on your feelings about Made In USA, Do you remember that time years ago when a company in Japan was putting (Made in USA) on their products. Usa was the name of a town in Japan.

 

Well... you got me by a few years so I guess I'm a younger old fart ? I definitely remember when Japan did that. And when I was growing up I couldn't afford the name brands like Remington and Winchester so I went with used Stevens and Mossbergs. When I started working I remedied that by buying a new at that time 760 Gamemaster.. 30-06 of course. I recently gave that to my son with hopes he'll pass it on to his sons. I also gave him my Browning BL-22. To compensate myself a bit I recently bought this Winchester which I find so far to be flawless in reliability and form. Except for the recoil I'm anxious to find out how it shoots slugs. When I was still working we had an old Remington pump that we qualified with Remington Sluggers. Some of us had three shot egg shaped groups at 50 yards and that was a smooth bore no slug barrel. We did have regular open sights front and rear however. I also bought a new Marlin BL 18 1/2 barrel in 30/30 that I won't expect anyone to believe how well it shoots at 100 yards. Lets just say I'm smiling.. a lot