The worst gun Winchester ever made...

[cjw3]

I would say the 1200 was the worst Winchester ever made, an absolutely awful weapon. Was replaced by the 1300(still made as an FN) and the 1400 for the semi auto guys.
The Chicago PD bought several hundred 1200s in the early 70s to replace the model 12 and 97 they had in inventory. It took only about a year for ALL of the guns to become inoperative. Eventually the 1200s were replaced by Ithaca 37s, and later Remington 870s. In between the old 12s and 97s were brought out to fill the gap, which they did quite well.
To be fair the 1200 was Winchesters first effort at an alloy frame shotgun with a rotary locking bolt, they maybe just rushed it to market because they suddenly could not make the model 12 anymore (too expensive) for the LE market.

I agree on the 1200. The bolt on mine "disassembled" itself as I threw a shot at a fox (which I killed). While sitting there in the woods with the trigger assembly out and the bolt in pieces, another fox came trotting by (laughing, IIRC). I finally got the bolt put back together and had it welded to permanently fix that problem. I sold or swapped later for an Ithaca 37....which had to go back to the factory due to an issue with the alignment of the barrel threads.

Repeating shotguns........

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Don't fret. I have a Win. 94 in .32 Special made in 1948. My dad gave me it for Christmas around 1972. Well, I was looking in Cartridges Of The World, you know, the book that tells about every weird ass cartridge ever concieved, and Barnes refers to only one round in that whole book as "totally useless". Yep. It was the .32 Special. I didn't tell my Winchester about that, though.

 

[kewpie]

Congratulations (I think)!

I'd rather have that than a Model 190.

Some have experienced barrels loosening on the 190. I've heard of some whose trigger assemblies were suspect/sloppy
and shimming carefully (safely) with brass shim stock would make them more positive.

((The Model 52 didn't seem to have those problems ))

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I would nominate the Winchester Model 55 (?)-a single shot semiautomatic?
The weakness of the Model 40 was in the wrist of the stock IIRC. The M1911 shotgun was like the Rollin White Patent Evasion models. A Clever Idea That Didn't Work.

 

[michael thornton]

had a 190 the barrel would get lose every so often, traded it for speedmaster

 

[kewpie]

traded it for speedmaster


IMO, you traded a Yugo for a Cadillac

 

[moosedog]

Personally, I hate their model 88s. The lever action on those is a far cry from the 92's, 94's and Marlins.
It rotates at an odd angle.

 

[Steave]

I would nominate the Winchester Model 55 (?)-a single shot semiautomatic?

The Model 55 .22 is a bit of an oddball, but I don't think it ranks among the worst Winchesters. I would have to agree that honor falls to the 1400 and some of the .22's produced in the late '60's to early '70's.

 

[Steave]

Nice old Winchester, Andy. I'd sure swap ya a Model 190 for it, and the 190 I have is the ultra rare carbine......

 

[OFT II]

Hi:
Speaking of Winchester Shotguns: What was the Model made with fibreglass barrels?
Jimmy

The model 59. It was model 50 with a thin steel barrel that had a spun fiberglass sleeve. The biggest problem was that the choke would gradually get shot out, especially when using high brass loads. I found this out the hard way.

 

[keith44spl]

I think the worst shotgun Winchester ever made was the Model 1911. In order to evade Browning patents, the long-recoil action was initiated by pulling back on the knurled barrel. That feature caused some horrible accidents, and it quickly earned the nickname "The widowmaker." I had one I bought on a whim from an antique dealer who nearly gave it to me. Never shot it, but finally sold it to a guy who collects oddball shotguns. That was surely one, and it gets my "worst Winchester" vote hands down.

Ran across one of the above in a dope house...The younger guys with me couldn't figger out how to clear it.

I guess that's why they kept a few of us old dogs around...For the high risk tasks.~Smiley~

Su Amigo,
Dave

 

[n4zov]

Andy, we need a range report on that Model 40. Not a bad looking old gun by any means and a darn sight better looking than the A5 Brownings and its clones that ruled in the pre-war years.

 

[M2A2]

Well I have chime in here and say ...I bought a .223 wssm model 70 bull barrel.What a piece of crap.. A true bunch of lies. Such a piece of crap I hoped the company would fold! I will NEVER buy another winchester rifle again ! Go big green!