Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Winchester Super X Model 1

Here's one you don't see too often. Made 88k in the 70s and early 80s I believe. 26" poly choke ( aftermarket) . Lot of people don't like the poly but I like them on a hunting gun. Screw it down and knock a squirrel out of the top of a hickory, open it up for grouse or kicking brush for rabbits 20230405-132018-Chrome.jpg[/img][/url

Solid gun.

I think the Poly is just part of the vintage experience. And they do work. I have one on a pre-war Ithaca 37R 20 ga.

DF

very clean and nice gun. I sue to see them at the trap and skeet range back when I first started shooting, but you are right, have not seen one in a long time.

As far as the Poly goes, I agree with Dirtfarmer, part of the vintage experience. I have a Remington 58 with a Cutt's compensator on it. The bad thing about it was you have to have the different ends and a wrench with you vs the Poly where you just grab and twist on the fly.

They don't build them like that anymore for sure. Looks brand new as well!

Very nice Troutnut, great shotgun! Probably don't need to say it, but, how old is the buffer in it? I've had a couple few of these over the years and always started out with them by replacing the buffer. Very nice shotgun, enjoy!

They’re built like a tank. Probably cost too much to make.

Sorta clunky IMO, but a solid, good gun.

I don’t have one, but have handled them.

DF

First thing on my agenda. After doing a little research it seems the buffer is the only thing that normally goes bad on them. It's a shame they quit making guns like that

Best as I remember (hope someone here knows for sure) but I think I read it was built to go head to head with a Remington 1100. Due to cost to build the Super X1, it was at a higher price point and so the 1100 kinda won the battle.

I think you're right. These were about $75-100 higher than a comparable 1100

I've owned a couple of these. My current trap gun is an SX-1. Only Winchester shotgun I can shoot. I wouldn't walk past one in the rack if I saw one today. Nice gun

I have owned several of these guns, and all were superb. The engineers had two orders from the front office in developing the SX-1:

Build it of all steel and walnut, and make it to have the feel of the Model 12.

They succeeded. As others have said, the 1100 buried it in the marketplace. And even with the additional cost over the 1100, when all costs of production were added, apparently the bean counters figured that Winchester never made a nickel on the Super-X Model One.

As a number here are shooting this gun now, the only additional note I would make is to be sure to have a fresh bolt buffer in the gun. All of the originals, even if factory new, have hardened and deteriorated with age. New replacements are available from multiple sources.

If I remember correctly, the ones I handled were fairly heavy but I suppose that's part of real steel and sturdy build. I did like the high rib.

As the Super X models go, Super X1 were great, I was not a fan of the Super X2, but I did/do like the Super X3's, and have not shot but a hand full of shells out of a Super X4, so really can't comment on it.
I did like my Super X3 but a guy wanted it more than me and paid me more than I could say no to.
As far as shotguns go, I shot the Super X1 and 3 the best, (for their autoloader) and have and shoot their original 101 (over and under) very well. I did try one of their newer models of O/U they came out with, and was not impressed, and sold it as fast as I could.
Remington is/was in the same boat when it came to shotguns, the 48,58, 1100, and 1187 were good but the V5 and (can't remember the other one they came out with) were not much in my book. As far as their O/U's give me a 32 or 3200 (if the upgrades have been done) and I am good to go. Their later attempts at an O/U were a swing and a miss.
I think Winchester and Remington both fell to the same bean counter trap on their shotguns.

Some of the first had ribs that would come loose. They fixed the issue. The original magazine tube is prone to rusting. Many used to replace them with a stainless tube. Occasionally a trigger pin would work loose. Big one you can see on the left side. Peen it. Triggers always had a little drag. There were 3 generations of slightly modified triggers. None were thought to be significantly better. If your trigger is stamped with an RB, it was tuned by Mr Super X, Bob Bumgartner. Who sadly is no longer with us. A new rubber gas ring would also be a wise replacement.

Still have three of them.

Sweet gun!

They came so close to hitting a home run. With the weight it was mostly used by the trap, skeet and waterfowl crowd. Never really caught on with those who had to carry one at the ready all day. They had minor issues, but none that couldn't have been corrected over time. They make a solid recognizable sound when the parts are moving.

Winchester made to other good SemiAutos that never caught on. The Model 50 and 59. Both were better Upland carry guns than the SuperX Model 1.

They were good shotguns. I own a 50 as well , the 59 I never could shoot well with that super light barrel. Always messed with my swing. Made a lot of sense for a grouse or pheasant gun though

Model 59 in the Grouse woods...I said, "We get one Bird and we will get you back to the truck and on the way home."

Good picture

The Super-X has been a favorite of mine for a long time. I shot a monte carlo-stocked trap grade version for years. It's a soft shooter, and it absolutely ink-ball targets with that "special" full choke of theirs.

My most recent one is a 30" field grade (vent rib) version. I had Briley install screw-in chokes, and it's pretty effective at smacking 5-stand targets.

Great shooting shotguns!

Your Super-X is in great shape, Troutnut!

Exactly right... And have a spare or two on hand just in case...

shameless plug! want mine. im clearing out.
https://www.americantrapshooter.com...-model-one-skeet-trap-2-bbl-combo.15146/

and model 50's....

https://www.americantrapshooter.com...12ga-field-grade-28-mod-plain-bbl.18411/

Great guns! I shot many rounds of skeet and trap with them and they flat out smash clays.

Nice shotguns. GLWS

Multiple World Championships make for an impressive resume....Would be interested in some history.

Bought this one new in September 1976 (made in 1974) from my local hardware store, plain modified barrel, took it back to APG MD with me and killed deer and pheasant hunting through the post rod & gun club. I replaced the bolt buffer about 12 years ago when it got brittle and broke to pieces - ordered the new one from Stu Wright.

Nice shotgun!

Since we are showing them....I was hoping they would hang around longer. So bought up my own parts supply.

Never shot the top trap, the second one down paid for itself a couple times. Have $300 in the third one down. The rest were pickups found here and there.

Very nice. Spare parts are never a bad idea. I have several complete 870 , 1100 and model 12 receivers

Battue, nice looking Super X - 1's. Question, looks like the forend has a smaller diameter near the receiver on the top and bottom vs the middle shotgun? Was wondering if that was a change they made based on later vs earlier production?

The reason for my question is I find the forend quite fat on my early production field gun (probably second year) that came with a mod choke, ribbed barrel attached with a screw, no scroll engraving....similar to your bottom gun. I'd prefer a more slender Beretta 391/400 diameter forend, but that is likely due to having shot Berettas more.

Trap forends were wider and had the different checkering...as on the top and number 3. Fields are like the second and bottom example and the one Odessa posted. Although for some reason you do find field guns with the competition forend. Trap models also had the receiver engraving.

The third one down in my pic is a complete part mixed gun..Field receiver, trap forend and hacked field stock. Which is why i bought it cheap. However, the receiver and the rest of the mechanicals are like new.

The second one down is a DU Atlantic flyway edition, which I shot sporting clays with for a few years.

Error in the above...I placed the field stock on the third one down onto the Atlantic Flyway I used for sporting because it felt better. The Atlantic Flyway originally had the trap style stock. The third gun down originally came with a field stock and the butchered back stock.

Battue, thanks for the SX-1 education! I find the field stock has a touch too much drop for me for sporting clays. Wonder if the skeet version was straighter...but not "trap straight"?

Sorry for jumping in a bit late here - the skeet version does indeed have a straighter stock than the field models, wears the same large foreend of the trap models.

Another big point is that all that I had, five total, had really nice triggers, better than any I’ve see on any autos, all series of SX-1 triggers. I also like the feel of the gun when firing, no noticeable “clang clang” just bang.

It is also quite true that they are too heavy for my liking as bird guns, weighing over 8#.

The Target versions had wider forends and the trap stocks of course had raised combs but surprising most - including me as I earned my first registered targets, 25-50-75 straights (never managed a 100-straight) with it, was the skeet model. Supposedly the straighter stock forced the shooter to conciously keep his down when mounting the stock, thus helping prevent what we called "peaking" (lifting your eyes above the line of sight). Don't know about others but helped this old country boy out. I still have this gun but unfortunately sold my 28-in field model which I later had converted to 3-in. Killed my share of ducks with that one and sorely wish I still had it.

The straight stock gave one the same sight relationship no matter where they placed their head.

It had nothing to do with lifting your head or “peaking”. Which is a desire to see results before completing the shot.

Little different than looking up before the club makes contact with the golf ball.

Scheels in Sioux Falls had a couple on the rack last two times I was in there. Both field models, one was a PB, the other VR. I thought they were a bit out of line on the pricing, given how long they've been there, seems that others agree. I thought about haggling on the VR but decided I'd want a skeet model if I was to acquire one.

Never had a Win Super X but admired the “hose nozzle” Poly Choke as a kid. As depicted in F&S and others, those rose-colored pictures implied a shotgun that could do everything with it. Maybe could. Kind of a neat if simple engineering feat.

Never owned one. I'll haul an A-5 out hunting any day of the week and multiple times on the weekend. You guys can have my share of the Sx-1.... mb

The thread wasn't about you, what you like/don't like, or what you use...

What was the reason to trash another's good fortune?

Didn't trash troutnut's gun I've shot a few I'll take an A-5. Troutnut likes m870's also just like I do. Any badmouthing being done it's by you..mb

You could have complimented him on a shotgun he obviously was glad to have….rather than….

Trout

Love that shotgun! Remember the 1978 Winchester catalog? I still have slobber marks on mine on the SX 1 pages. Mom and dad however thought it was extravagant and I received an 870 Wingmaster instead but my eyes were on the Winchester. Your shotgun was made of wood and steel and a thing of beauty it is, (yep, I am old) now thanks to you I am looking for one myself! You big enabler!!

Battue

The planned invasion of PA this fall has begun in search of the elusive grouse. Just thought I would warn you ahead of time...........

I went back and looked at the pictures of his shotgun again, bad move on my part. I am starting to sweat but I will be okay..............maybe

I don't exactly remember that catalog. I was 5 at the time and guns weren't really dads thing. However I did have several uncles who were into them. And as was customary in those days everyone visited everyone on Sunday afternoon. I remember looking through old Winchester, Remington, even the Savage catalogs they had . I do like my 870s , 1100s, model 12s and a few others but you're right this is a nice shotgun. Just so happens I shoot or pretty well too so far . Good luck in your search

The hunt will most likely be North of I80. There was a time you could make a 60 to 90 minute circle around Pittsburgh, and have the opportunity to have 20-30 flushes....sometimes more....a day.
They are history. North of I 80 they are hanging on and seem to be increasing slightly. Gun them with care....the Eastern Ruffed Grouse has few equals as a Game Bird. Our crew is thinking about going to Wisconsin or Minnesota.

The original poster has a nice gun! Very clean!

Based on my sample of one Super X Model 1:

Pluses (my opinion)

- Very smooth operating action (compared to my Beretta AL391 sporter and A400 Xcel). No clunky sounds...just a solid thunk.
- Extremely well built and finished.
- Modified choke only has -0.012" of constriction...so really is Light modified choke and patterns as such. Not a bad place to be for a sporting clays gun with some spreaders for the in-your-face targets.
- No one knows what it is!
- Very simple disassembly/reassembly makes for easy cleaning.
- Parts are still available for the springs and buffer.



Drawbacks (my opinion)

- Trigger is stiff on mine...7#s. Gun is clean and has not been shot very much. Two pounds or more too high and it affects my timing on the first round of skeet I shoot with it for the day.
- Gun is heavy at 8#2oz with the 28" vent rib barrel. Sluggish handling in my hands. Not an upland gun for me...but I knew that have some other nice ones.
- Forend is very "chunky" compared to my 12 ga Beretta AL391 and A400.
- Field stock has a lot of drop at 2-9/16" at the heel. The skeet stock I found fixed that issue.
- No cast-off built into either stock
- No stock shims for drop and cast
- Fixed chokes (I'e got a Full 30" trap barrel and 28" Modified ribbed ...would like a 26" skeet or IC ribbed barrel too!
- It doesn't handle anything like my M12's despite Winchester's claims! M12 beats it easily for what I like in a shotgun fit and dynamics.

They are nice guns but definitely don't handle like my model 12s .

Agreed with that conclusion. I am good with fixed chokes, and LM is about perfect. However I just don't see the SX-1 as an upland gun at all. They're beautiful and well made and just too heavy...all that said, the thought of a 20ga SX-1 coming in at 6 and a half pounds about gives me palpitations. Too bad we'll never see such a thing.

It would be a good one in 20.

Winchester was apparently going to start producing 20’s then pulled the plug. They may have actually been in a catalog. Probably a profitability issue. There was a prototype made and supposedly it ended up in Cody, WY. I visited there back in 2019 and I wanted to see it. I knocked on the door of the research room and asked the one person working there about it. She left and a guy came out in a few minutes and said yes, they had it but it’s not available for display because at some point the bolt was lost. I would have loved to have seen it.

Practically arousing to think about

Beautiful guns.

I'd scratch the living hell out of all of them in no time.

battue.....heres that very gun of mine fs, in my young hands....at the armed forces match at the san ant gun club, tx. 1995.

xpert16....just for you.
heres a 20ga sxm1 made with a field grade plain bbl. note no checking.
its not the best but this old pic is all I have.
an old fellow here in ct (in the know) from win x-div, said 4 were made. no one can confirm this.
so this pic is the only one I know of.
enjoy.

q and answers to kurt..........

- Trigger is stiff on mine...7#s. Gun is clean and has not been shot very much. Two pounds or more too high and it affects my timing on the first round of skeet I shoot with it for the day.

*which trigger do you have? type 1 or 3?

- Gun is heavy at 8#2oz with the 28" vent rib barrel. Sluggish handling in my hands. Not an upland gun for me...but I knew that have some other nice ones.

*weight absorbs recoil. keeps bbl from climbing from recoil, giving clear view of target.

- Forend is very "chunky" compared to my 12 ga Beretta AL391 and A400.

*gun was built for what american men wanted at the time. wide f.a's were in vogue then...not today.

- Field stock has a lot of drop at 2-9/16" at the heel. The skeet stock I found fixed that issue.

*personal preference.

- No cast-off built into either stock

*gun was marketed for a larger crowd, not for the custom crowd. but the trap grade could be had with a rh cast.

- No stock shims for drop and cast

*the sxm1 isn't a teckno transformer leggo gun. personal fitting was done with a wood plain and dremel.

- Fixed chokes (I'e got a Full 30" trap barrel and 28" Modified ribbed ...would like a 26" skeet or IC ribbed barrel too!

*both were made. skeet is common, ic is not. happy searching!

hope this helps.

Mine is an early S# grooved type 1 trigger. I knew a lot about the SX1 before I bought one and what I was getting into...just listed what I called "my comments".

I shot it today with the "full choke trap" barrel on it....patterns very high...about 80/20 vs the modified choke ribbed field barrel which is around 55/45 POI vs POA for me. Still looking for a skeet or IC ribbed barrel for it...my buddy has one I've shot (very well) and would love to add one SX1 to the collection.

I will say that the SX1 makes a super comfortable trap gun with 1 oz 1180 fps reloads! And very deadly on rising birds but for me not so much on those the wind was pushing down...haha. Again, all my observations....and quite a bit different feeling and handling shotgun vs my Beretta AL 391 Sporter and A400 Xcel Sporters. I enjoy shooting the SX1 and appreciate the quality firearm that it is.

my sxm1 weighed in at 10.5 lbs.
I had a merc reducer in the mag tube with extra lead filled into empty hulls with the recoil spring wrapped and taped around them. there was only room for 1 extra live round. the stock had lead ingots in it with a morgan adj pad on it.
I could shoot 1 1/8oz all day and never feel it.
its still a great platform to win the 12ga events with.
heavy guns were in vogue in the 80-90's. but then...so were 1 1/8oz loads.

the type 3 solved a lot of heavy trigger issues.

I bought a trap model in late 70s, shot trap some, it pointed so well I shortened tha barrel and sent it Texas for a sef of chokes, my favorite gun for doves and decoyed ducks.

if anyone wants a 2bbl skt/trap sxm1, pm me. im letting mine go.

Great looking gun, I bought one in 1972 IIRC. Modified with a plain barrel.

It was a great dove gun, heavy enough to shoot in comfort with 1 1/8 oz WW Upland shotshells.

Had my best dove day ever with it shooting a limit with a box of shells. Gosh it sure brings back such good memories of the dove hunts in Georgia before the laws made it nigh impossible to plant a decent field.

oh heck, why not....shameless plug!
https://www.americantrapshooter.com...-model-one-skeet-trap-2-bbl-combo.15146/