The Winchester Model 1200 was introduced in 1964 as a low-cost replacement for the venerable Model 12. A small number of these weapons were acquired by the United States Army in 1968 and 1969. The military style Model 1200 was essentially the same weapon as the civilian version, except it had a ventilated handguard, sling swivels, and a bayonet lug. The Model 1200 was succeeded by the Winchester Model 1300 in 1983 when U.S. Repeating Arms Company became the manufacturer of Winchester firearms. Production of the Model 1300 ceased in 2006, when USRAC went bankrupt.[5] The model lives on in the Winchester SXP. The Winchester Model 1200 came in barrel lengths of 30-inch, and 28-inch with a fixed choke or the Win-choke screw in choke tubes system and is a 12, 16, or 20-gauge, manually operated, slide action shotgun. The slide action, also known as a pump-action, means that the shotgun has a moving bolt system which is operated by a "wooden or composite slide called the fore-end". The Model 1200 was the second shotgun to utilize a rotary bolt with four locking lugs secured within the barrel extension. The AR 17 being the first to use a rotary bolt. The 1200 was Winchester's first shotgun to incorporate the company's patented Winchoke system, a quick change tube to allow the easy replacement of chokes.
