scared the bejesus out of me .. first time i shot this i shot a slug in 12 guage , the pump handle and breach opened up all the way back ..., i went home and read up ,this rifle is supposed to have a design to ease the pump for faster shooting havent tried any #4 or 7 shot yet .......a little afraid i didnt feel any blast or blowby out the side , so i guess all the blast went out the front , has anyone had this happen to them>>???

All pumps open when fired. The Winchester just seems like there is a rearward assist. My brother had one until it was stolen and it was slick.

With heavy recoiling slugs they will do that.

Cycle it without shells, and you will find that after pulling the trigger you have to push the for end forward-you will probably hear a click-in order to make the pump cycle as if there is another shell in the magazine.

What happens with a heavy recoiling shell is the recoil moves the shotgun back into your shoulder. However, since your hand is on the for end-the pump-it is kinda held in one place while the rest of the shotgun moves rearward. In essence it is being pushed forward as occurred when you cycled it while empty.

You come out of recoil and the body moves forward some, while the hand on the pump again stays more stationary. The total result is you start to pump the shotgun without really trying.

Happens all the time with shells that have a lot of recoil.

Ithaca's do it as well. Kind of convenient...

whew thanks , guess ill shoot more mild slugs

That was Winchester selling points on the 1200 , recoil helping cycle the action faster

Yup, while an 870 has to move a hair foward before it releases and cycles back to load the next shell, the 1200/1300 cycle back immediately upon firing, I believe Winchester called those guns the 'speed pump'.

Bob Brister wrote in "Shotgunning" that if you take a pump shotgun, rest its forearm on a sand bag, and fire a heavy load it will often eject the empty hull without help.

He was correct as usual.

LOL... I get calls from guys every year sayin', "my pump shotgun opens when fired!!!"

Well, yeah, firing one depresses the bolt lock and it can come back a bit..some more than others.. That's why the shooter is supposed to be hangin' onto the fore-arm..

Only ones I can think of that can hang up a bit are the old Win M12s..

So does every pump you will shoot.

As mentioned, it is a FEATURE of the Winchester speed pump.

I know that my Remington 7600 in 35 whelen ejects the brass when I fire in on a rest at the range. tom