I’m Glad I Passed on a Winchester SXP Shotgun

Back in November of 2013, a friend of mine invited me out to a Goose Hunt. Up until this point I had only ever hunted for deer with a bow (no luck whatsoever) and I thought a change of pace might be fun. Since I didn’t have any of the required equipment, I was loaned a shotgun, shells, and a layout blind.

The Goose Hunt wound up being one of my most memorable hunting experiences to date. I had such a good time that I was eager to go back out every change I had. I didn’t get very many geese that year but the hunts left a lasting impression.

The following year I decided that Goose Hunting was something that I wanted to do regularly. I went out and purchased a Cabela’s Northern Flight Ultimate Layout Blind and began shopping around for a shotgun. The leading contenders were a Remington 870 Super Magnum, Winchester SXP, and a Benelli Nova.

Money got tight and my purchase wound up being held off for a couple of months (Goose Season had ended anyway) but I wound up getting a Benelli Nova for Christmas. When the following video began spreading online I was really glad I ruled out the Winchester SXP (I didn’t like the location of the safety).

The scenario plays out in my mind and scares the hell out of me. We just finish setting up the decoys and return to our blinds. The sun hasn’t come up yet so it is still dark. I sit down in the blind, insert a 3-1/2″ 12 gauge magnum round in the gun, rack the slide, and proceed to piss myself when it goes off without warning.

Winchester has since issued a recall but it just goes to show that proper gun safety must be practiced at all times.