hey guys. i have a winchester model 1200, nice gun, shoots skeet like a fancy o/u, today i was at the range shooting slugs/buckshot though it. sometimes, a live round would fall out the bottom of the gun, and i noticed the action gets opened when you fire a round. i know that this is normal characteristic of this model (opening of the action when fired). two questions- is this bad for the gun, i.e. were these guns built for abuse with slugs, or should i only shoot skeet with it? second question- what is causing the shells to fall out the botton (1 in five shells fall out, not every one) any info would be appreciated. thank you.

If the shell is falling out while you are ejecting the fired shell then it is the secondary shell latch that is the problem. The 1200 has a very strong bolt/breech system so slugs and buck are fine on that end. Is the barrel choked Skeet? Slugs should be fired in a barrel without any constriction. The skeet choke is okay for buckshot, but only a pattern board will tell you for sure.

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sorry should have clarified this- i use a 26 inch barrel choked "skeet" for skeet shooting, and a 22 inch barrel choked " improved cylinder" for buckshot and slugs. where is the secondary shell latch, and how do i fix it? like i said before, it does not happen every time, but still i would like to remedy the problem before it is every time. thanks

When you remove the trigger guard there is a shell latch on either side. They are held on the the trigger guard with a screw. I don't have a book in front of me so I can not say offhand which one is the primary and wihch one is the secondary latch. With the shot gun assembled place a shell(preferably a dummy round) into the magazine, with the shotgun upside down, see which one of the latches is holding the shell into the magazine tube. That will be the primary shell latch, if you start opening the action the primary latch will release the shell onto the lifter, and you will then see the secondary latch move out to hold the next shell into the magazine during the cycling of the action. What is happening is the secondary latch releases the shell while the lifter is in the up position and the shell falls out. Call winchester and get a service manual for the 1200 or 1300, they are almost identical.

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I had a 1300 that would poop out live rounds as described,not consistantly,,just here and there,I traded it before I had a chance to look into the problem.Clay