I finally got around to taking a camera to the range with me to do some quick pattern testing on my Winchester SXP riot.
This is the gun i talked about a while back that my daughter bought me for my birthday....the SXP Marine Defender.
.Marine Defender
After playing around rather informally with it for some months with a lot of bird shot and some buck loads, i have noted some things i like and some things i don't. Most folks that steer towards the Winchester appreciate the "speed pump" feature......its not a deal breaker for me. I will rack the thing when i want and do not care for the assist but it don't bother me.......I am on the receiving end of a good thump anyways so i will still have to regain the sight picture after the recoil and the rack so for me there is no advantage. Perhaps if i worked exclusively with this gun i might learn, but for now the 870 remains the issue gun till the new incoming sheriff says different.
I like the disassembly and the trigger group. The elevator system seems more "positive" than the 870. The thing really does have a very positive feed system that probably is assisted by that giant curved spring/ejector in the receiver. That thing takes up space and will not let the round bounce around very much in the action and more or less assists in keeping the shell on the right track. I have read that the Winchester design does real well with those "mini" shells and this might be why.
One thing that i noticed is that i can still "combat load" the gun which is opening the action and just rolling a shell into it thru the ejection port providing you press fit a tad. On the other hand, you will play hell unloading it the same way. What i am trying to say here is for example.....fire a round, pump back to eject, and in the process the mag tube releases another round into the action for immediate loading. At this point, with the 870 if i wanted to clear the open action, i would simply tilt the gun to the right and let the round fall out thru the ejection port.. Good luck with the Winchester design as that round does not want to roll out. The ejector cramps the innards and does not give the round enough play to allow it to roll out easily. The end result for me is that if i decide to stop shooting, and clear the action, I could sit there and roll it right, shake it, tilt it, and cuss it a blue streak as i finally have to actually fish it out...and i ain't gonna do that....instead i will manually release the shells from the mag tube first and then clear the action last just to avoid the aggravation......A nit-pick thing...quick combat loading and clearing thru the ejection port is something that i have done a lot of over the years with the 870.
Other than that, i think i am good to go on this design. IT is sleek and snag free...... She is drilled and tapped for a rail but at this point i do not see myself putting an optic on her......who knows, i may end up one of these years in a shotgun only hunting area God forbid, but if i do then i might just put a red dot on this and go hunting with slugs. .Field stripping is as easy as the 870 and less complicated than the mossberg 500.
The recoil pad is decent and the stock fit as it turned out for me was purty good. My initial impression was she was a bit short but in practice all was well. This model of SXP does have the invector plus chokes, One choke was supplied and she was cylinder bore. After pattern testing her today, i am purty happy with the cylinder choke.......though i may go ahead and get an IC choke later on if for no other reason than to compare patterns.
She comes with a TRUGLO pipe. Easy on -off and she is cut and relieved in a way that the existing bead keeps here true on the barrel wit no shifting around to jack with the windage.....a nice touch and that glow pipe really was easy to see.
so here is my informal pics.........
my target was a plain white B27 that i reversed.......and then put a small shoot-n-see in the middle for an aiming point. Here is the target at 25 yards.....all shooting was standing and unsupported.
i fired two rounds of Federal reduced recoil slugs from 25 yards and this was the result........the slugs impacted in the black.....the impacts on the left side of the pic are from the wads.
here is the buck test at 25 yards........a Remington reduced recoil load which is eight pellets of "00" buck.....i took a tape measure to her and the biggest spread was 17 inches.
my final test......the same Remington load but at 15 yards.....naturally quite a bit tighter with a spread of nine inches.
I imagine that later on i might play with some different loads just to see what is going on.......but for now i am very pleased with the Federal and remington loads. I was a bit surprised about the point of impact which seemed actually a bit low to me....i am just accustomed to having to aim low with the 870 as the slugs and pattern from "00" loads had always seem to sail high over the years.......but not with this Winchester. Good to see also that the slugs were dead on with no windage concerns.
There will be no 3 inch loads in my future........and i have really come to appreciate the reduced recoil loads as i find them very tolerable compared to our old full power teeth jarring shoulder bruising loads. I think its funny that officers still complain about the recoil......they do not know just how good they got it nowadays compared to what we use to shoot. And dwspite this Winchester's light weight, i found her very manageable.
I like this Winchester despite the combat loading/clearing issue........and with no jams or hang-ups, it is going to take the place of my 870 up front with me as soon as i can get her approved..
i still have to get use to that hard chrome finish.....i am accustomed to my guns being blue......but i guess it is one less worry.
This is the gun i talked about a while back that my daughter bought me for my birthday....the SXP Marine Defender.
.Marine Defender
After playing around rather informally with it for some months with a lot of bird shot and some buck loads, i have noted some things i like and some things i don't. Most folks that steer towards the Winchester appreciate the "speed pump" feature......its not a deal breaker for me. I will rack the thing when i want and do not care for the assist but it don't bother me.......I am on the receiving end of a good thump anyways so i will still have to regain the sight picture after the recoil and the rack so for me there is no advantage. Perhaps if i worked exclusively with this gun i might learn, but for now the 870 remains the issue gun till the new incoming sheriff says different.
I like the disassembly and the trigger group. The elevator system seems more "positive" than the 870. The thing really does have a very positive feed system that probably is assisted by that giant curved spring/ejector in the receiver. That thing takes up space and will not let the round bounce around very much in the action and more or less assists in keeping the shell on the right track. I have read that the Winchester design does real well with those "mini" shells and this might be why.
One thing that i noticed is that i can still "combat load" the gun which is opening the action and just rolling a shell into it thru the ejection port providing you press fit a tad. On the other hand, you will play hell unloading it the same way. What i am trying to say here is for example.....fire a round, pump back to eject, and in the process the mag tube releases another round into the action for immediate loading. At this point, with the 870 if i wanted to clear the open action, i would simply tilt the gun to the right and let the round fall out thru the ejection port.. Good luck with the Winchester design as that round does not want to roll out. The ejector cramps the innards and does not give the round enough play to allow it to roll out easily. The end result for me is that if i decide to stop shooting, and clear the action, I could sit there and roll it right, shake it, tilt it, and cuss it a blue streak as i finally have to actually fish it out...and i ain't gonna do that....instead i will manually release the shells from the mag tube first and then clear the action last just to avoid the aggravation......A nit-pick thing...quick combat loading and clearing thru the ejection port is something that i have done a lot of over the years with the 870.
Other than that, i think i am good to go on this design. IT is sleek and snag free...... She is drilled and tapped for a rail but at this point i do not see myself putting an optic on her......who knows, i may end up one of these years in a shotgun only hunting area God forbid, but if i do then i might just put a red dot on this and go hunting with slugs. .Field stripping is as easy as the 870 and less complicated than the mossberg 500.
The recoil pad is decent and the stock fit as it turned out for me was purty good. My initial impression was she was a bit short but in practice all was well. This model of SXP does have the invector plus chokes, One choke was supplied and she was cylinder bore. After pattern testing her today, i am purty happy with the cylinder choke.......though i may go ahead and get an IC choke later on if for no other reason than to compare patterns.
She comes with a TRUGLO pipe. Easy on -off and she is cut and relieved in a way that the existing bead keeps here true on the barrel wit no shifting around to jack with the windage.....a nice touch and that glow pipe really was easy to see.
so here is my informal pics.........
my target was a plain white B27 that i reversed.......and then put a small shoot-n-see in the middle for an aiming point. Here is the target at 25 yards.....all shooting was standing and unsupported.
i fired two rounds of Federal reduced recoil slugs from 25 yards and this was the result........the slugs impacted in the black.....the impacts on the left side of the pic are from the wads.
here is the buck test at 25 yards........a Remington reduced recoil load which is eight pellets of "00" buck.....i took a tape measure to her and the biggest spread was 17 inches.
my final test......the same Remington load but at 15 yards.....naturally quite a bit tighter with a spread of nine inches.
I imagine that later on i might play with some different loads just to see what is going on.......but for now i am very pleased with the Federal and remington loads. I was a bit surprised about the point of impact which seemed actually a bit low to me....i am just accustomed to having to aim low with the 870 as the slugs and pattern from "00" loads had always seem to sail high over the years.......but not with this Winchester. Good to see also that the slugs were dead on with no windage concerns.
There will be no 3 inch loads in my future........and i have really come to appreciate the reduced recoil loads as i find them very tolerable compared to our old full power teeth jarring shoulder bruising loads. I think its funny that officers still complain about the recoil......they do not know just how good they got it nowadays compared to what we use to shoot. And dwspite this Winchester's light weight, i found her very manageable.
I like this Winchester despite the combat loading/clearing issue........and with no jams or hang-ups, it is going to take the place of my 870 up front with me as soon as i can get her approved..
i still have to get use to that hard chrome finish.....i am accustomed to my guns being blue......but i guess it is one less worry.
