Found a m12, serial says it is a 1955 DOB, buttstock is oversized possibly a 12ga? Metal appears to be original finish has vent rib 26" IC barrel serial matches receiver. What in the world is this worth? Ball park?
This is one of the most faked Model 12s out there, I would be very cautious. If you remove the buttstock it should have a "28" stamped where the wood meets the metal. Hard to give a price without seeing the gun. Does it have Skeet grade wood?
Sounds suspicious. The cartridge cutoff and the magazine band should also be stamped "28". The magazine tube for the 28 will have a crimp in it at the bottom and a different thread. Obviously, to see any of these features you have to be able to disassemble the gun.
Thanks for all the feedback, I am fairly new to the M12 game and this one has too many 'things' that concern me. I am going to move on. Something just doesn't smell right.
So how many M12 in 28ga did Winchester make ?
According to Geo. Madis in his book The Winchester Model 12, on page 35 from 1925 to 1943 only 2,600 28's were sold compared to 363,00 12 ga. I have 3 book on model 12's and this is the only reference to numbers I could find.
Madis states that the 28 was introduced in 1935. Riffle's book indicates that it was 1937. Not a big difference. I've been collecting Model 12's for 35 years and looked for them at hundreds of gun shows across the country over that time. I don't think I've seen two dozen legitimate 28's, ever. Seen more fakes than that. Whatever the actual number was, there weren't very many. With production ending in 1958 and using the production numbers oneandtwo refers to, I think you can make a WAG that there were no more than 7 or 8 thousand. I sure wish a couple more of them were mine.
I was living next door to an architect, John Minden in 1984. He had a collection of Win Model 12s.
He said it took him forever to find the 28 ga.
And that was 32 years ago he said that.
So what would a genuine model 12, 1937 mfg, unaltered, 28 gauge , be worth?
Mine is stamped '28' under the buttstock, '20' on the magazine hangar, 95+% on the wood and blue, not cutts or poly choke, lots of red left on the safety,no added recoil pad, solid rib, modified choke.
Sounds awesome, would love to see pictures
Because of the rarity of the 28 gauge Model 12, and the accompanying crazy prices for original guns, the hucksters a have been counterfeiting them for some time now. I've seen some of these guns and they are very difficult to tell from original. If you are not deeply experienced in these specific guns, stay away.
BTW, a 28 gauge Model 12, field grade and plain barrel in 97+% condition could easily bring $5,000. An identical gun in 20 or 16 gauge in the same condition would bring $600 to $800. A 12 gauge would be worth something less than that.
Caveat emptor...