Amidst the deluge of oddly-named Turkish shotguns on display all over the SHOT Show floor, some of our Armed Intelligentsia asked us to take a peek at the Winchester SXP pump-action. In the waning hours of the convention, I dutifully checked them out and discovered them to be very lightweight and smooth in operation. And, like half the shotguns in the show, they’re also made in Turkey.
The SXP uses Winchester’s rotary bolt, which locks into a chrome-lined overbored barrel. These two parts are steel, and just about everything else is alloy or polymer. This disqualifies it from Dyspeptic Gunsmith’s rules for ‘Nice Shotguns’ (scroll down the comments section for a full explanation) but it helps make the SXP about 1/2 pound lighter than a similarly-equipped Remington 870.
The SXP Camp/Field Combo shown here lists in the low-mid $400s, and can tackle anything from honkers to big bucks and bumps in the night. It includes a 26″ or 28″ vent-rib barrel with replaceable choke tubes for hunting, and an 18″ cylinder-bore barrel with a bead front sight for defensive use. The magazine capacity is 5+1. It’s not known whether Model 1300 extension magazines will fit the SXP to give it a little more firepower.
Picked one up last Friday, 16 August. Went early season goose hunting the next day. After years of searching, this is the big boy waterfowl shotgun I have wanted for 30 years.
After inheriting a 16 GA Model 12 for pheasant and quail hunting, I fell in love with pump guns. When I started duck hunting, I wanted a 12 GA. After trying a Browning, a Mossberg, a second Browning (BPS), a Berretta Extrema, a Berretta Super Nova, I have found the gun I want.
My wife’s garage sale will include a Browning (BPS), a Berretta Extrema, a Berretta Super Nova and 500 old decoys.