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.
I don’t like the feel of the extended mag tubes on shotguns. I like the balance of the standard tubes better. I have a 500 Mossberg with a standard mag as my house gun. My son uses an 870 remington with the extended tube. Because of the extended tube his barrel has to be longer and overall it makes a heavier, more akward setup for close quarters. Ymmv.
My stepson has a Turkish made pump gun that he’s had for years. It goes boom every time. It looks 870ish with a short barrel and sights on it.
As for DG’s taste in guns. He actually has taste in guns. I would like to have his knowledge and skill with guns. Life is a learning process and I’ve learned some from him.
Sorry but I ain’t buying EBS’s from the New Caliphate, now if they start shipping in dirt cheap ammo,,,,
Thanks Chris for the post. I appreciate it since the field/camp combo with the 26″ barrel is the one I’m probably going to buy. Locally, three lgs quoted me $400 a few months ago. Winchester emphasizes that the SXP is built in Turkey to Winchester’s design. The barrels and a part called (I believe?) the backstop uses the Browning design resulting in a slightly larger bore than average with the claim it produces an improved pattern. The SXP is known for very fast cycling. I don’t believe the model 1300 extension mag is compatible.
I have had two severe left shoulder injuries the past five years (motorcycle accident) and currently have more limited and weaker left shoulder strength and arm movement. I like the lightness, speed, and the extent of the pump grip or section that goes up to the receiver. It doesn’t have the usual space gap of several inches to reach over from the receiver to the pump which is a stretch for me.
With an injured shoulder maybe you should hold off on the shotgun or get a semi auto shotgun. When my left shoulder was injured I pretty much was restricted to mild recoiling weapons during my recovery. Fortunately, I’m right handed.
At least until your shoulder gets better. Maybe your newly aquired .357 winchester is enough gun for now.
jwm,
Thank you for your reply. The injury is to my left shoulder and I’m right handed. Still, you’ve brought up a good point for consideration.
Everyone, please understand that I have nothing against aluminum on “functional guns.” The AR series… 7075 aluminum. Works like an eight-day clock. Rem 870. Likewise. This shotgun… I’m sure will work fine. I’ve got Beretta shotguns I use in hard upland hunting (where I won’t take a “nice” gun) that has an aluminum receiver… works like a champ.
I just view guns as more than just tools. There are guns that are absolutely tools, they’re made for a purpose and they do that. A Garand meets all my qualifications for a “nice gun,” but it isn’t. It was made for being carried into horrible situations.
Guns have to function – absolutely true. But they can be so much more… a store of value, an heirloom, a work of art. And the gun industry in the US, sadly, seems to have decided that all “nice guns” should be made off-shore. That really bugs me, because I look at our trade deficit(s) and wonder “Why isn’t anyone willing to do something about this?” We used to make really nice guns here in the US. All that money now shipped off-shore to Italy, Spain, Germany or England for “nice guns” used to be kept here at home.
Along with the jobs to make them.
Most American-made guns are very functional but they have all the style of nineteenth century farm implements.
I also like the plastic and metal guns for “working”. But I do absolutely love the look of well blued steel on polished wood.
That’s why I own a beat to heck 870 AND a simply beautiful “Ducks Unlimited” wall hanger.
Guess which one goes into the swamp and muskeg with me?
AR-15s to me are not “nice” guns. They work well and are very functional. But I would not go so far as to call the most common models works of art. Some of the wood/steel guns I have are not as useful as my AR- but by golly they’d qualify to hang on my wall anywhere.
Don’t get me wrong, I still shoot those beautiful guns, I just don’t take them into the woods as often.
I guess that means I own them more to own a beautiful thing than to own a workhorse.
Good points as always. Currently, all of my four guns were made in America: two Ruger revolvers, a Browning Buckmark Camper, and a Winchester.
+1
Good review of a nice gun! Thanks for checking it out
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.
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