Winchester 1400???

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Was in the local gun shop the other day looking at the used shotguns and found a Winchester 1400 12 gauge for $225. The gun is in very, very good condition and doesn't appear to have been fired much. It has a fixed, mod. choke and vent rib. Anyone have any experience with this gun? Are there certain parts that are prone to breakage? The only thing I don't care for is the position of the safety (on the front of the trigger guard). Thanks in advance.

[Gil Martin]

The Model 1400 semi-automatic never set any sales records and sell for rather low prices when found on the used gun racks. That's about all I know. All the best...
Gil

[Aim to maim]

I had one many years ago and liked it. It never gave me any problems, but I only owned it for about a year. I ended up trading it for a Browning A-5 which I liked better.

As Gil pointed out, the Model 1400 was never a particularly good seller. This was in part due to the fact that it had to compete with the Remington 1100 which most people would agree is a far superior design. The 1400 has a lot of aluminum, alloy and plastic parts, which are generally going to be more prone to breakage than steel.

Most important is the fact that the firearm has not been manufactured for many years and replacement parts will become more and more scarce as time goes by.

[skeet]

About on a par with a Mossberg...except the Mossberg works almost all the time. Worth about 175 bucks....at least around here.

[fabsroman]

I have a 1400 in the gun safe, but it rarely sees the light of day. It was my uncles gun many years ago and I think I have pretty much inherited. He uses it once in a while when we go on canned upland hunts because it has an IC fixed choke in it and a 24" barrel, but the rest of the time it just sits in the safe. Another thing I haven't been able to figure out about it is how to get the barrel off of it so that I can thoroughly clean it out.

In my opinion, I would rather buy a Remington 1100 than the Winchester 1400, but then again, I wouldn't be buying a Remington 1100 either.

[JJ]

That gun had a short, short life span. The 1400 was not a good gun, Winchester had lots of problems with this gun, hence it died an early death. Winchester stayed out of the auto business until it's partnership with Browning.
The 1400 was made at the same time Winchester was making the 1200....another gun prone to malfunctions! The 1300, though similar, is a much improved version ofthe 1200. This period was a dark era for most of the Winchester product line. Getting parts for the 1400 is possible, but it's not easy. If you can get it for $150-$175, it might be worth the chance.
It may not have been shot much for a reason.....?

When Winchester released this gun, they gave them to numerous gun ranges for promotional purposes to be used as classroom guns etc and the problems were so bad with most of them that word just spread too quickly for Winchester to do anything positive with the gun.

I think in an article I read recently, it was voted one of the all time flops........ Take that for whatever its worth.

[Aim to maim]

Originally posted by fabsroman
I Another thing I haven't been able to figure out about it is how to get the barrel off of it so that I can thoroughly clean it out.

Fabs:

It's been 30 years, but as I recall, a 1400 disassembles just like an 1100.
1. Firearm safe and unloaded
2. Lock action open
3. Unscrew and remove magazine tube cap
4. Remove forearm
5. Pull barrel out

The steel barrel sitting in the aluminum receiver may have gotten bound up over the years and require a bit of work/penetrating lube to remove.

Please keep in mind I haven't handled one of these for many years and may have forgotten something before you take a large hammer or wrench to it based solely on my advice.

[fabsroman]

I have tried to disassemble it just like an 1100, an auto 5, a Beretta 391, and a Benelli SBE, but it just doesn't come apart easily. Never thought that the barrel might be stuck/rusted to the magazine. I'll try spraying some liquid wrench or something on it.

[Aim to maim]

Fabs,

The Winchester web site shows an instruction manual available for download. I didn't pursue it further since I don't own a 1400 any more (and the fact that it was a fairly large file). You might want to check it out if all else fails.