Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Winchester Model 12's -why so inexpensive

I've got a two barreled trap set that hasn't been out of the safe in probably 10 years.
Bought it 40+ years ago. Back then that what you saw on the trap fields.
It would smoke those clays along way out there but it shot too high on game birds.
Maybe I should get it out and see if an old timer with an old time gun can still bust a few clays.

I've had two model 12's. Both 12 gauge. Good guns but I never fell in love with them so I moved them on. But last year I found a 16 gauge model 12 at the LGS that felt like a dream and it was only $350. But then I saw it had 2.5" chambers and so I didn't take it home with me. I still regret that

In 1984 I had a neighbor [next door on 5 acres] that collected Win 1912 shotguns.
He said it took forever to find the 28 gauge.
He was going through his second divorce when I could hear his wife screaming at him "LOOSER!!".


Years later other people lived there and cleared some of the woods. They found his guns all rusty and hung them on the wall of their new barn.

Now they are Win 12 collectors.

Model 1912 in 20ga. s/n 32xx, heck that's all they made then, resides at my house. Appears to have had the chamber lengthened & shoots modern shells just fine. It's my brothers & he has taken several limits of doves with it. Storing it for him after he got flooded out. I made sure it's dry & lubed.

We were at a small gun show & had gotten separated. I look at everything on every table. He looks mostly at old 22's & shotguns. He looked me up & asked me to go look a gun with him. The model 12 in question. It had finish issues, but zero damage, & hadn't been fired much. Then I saw the s/n & price. He wasn't sure & that's when I told him to buy it or I was. He said but your not a big model 12 fan & you'd buy it? You're damn skippy.

Just glad he did but one of us was. It's the oldest gun in my vault.

Under 6lb💩 or your scale is wrong. This is about what old 20ga Ithaca 37 with honeydipper forend weighs. To get lighter need Ultrafeatherweight with aluminum alloy receiver.

How would you know? You've never laid hands on anything discussed in this thread.

Fake eurotrash Spic

16 is a great gauge for folks like me with neck problems. Throws a decent load, but not as harsh as a 12 on the shoulder.

Kind of leaves a person wondering what it was that he was tightening. Might have been at least part of the reason for the divorce.

Looked at Mdl 12 16ga in a pawn shop today. Cheap enough, but no way

And the artificial demand rarity and prestige add.
If they weren't rare and expensive, there are many who wouldn't want one.

Careful. Around here spelling and grammar Nazis are regarded about as tenderly as Boomers😡

He was an architect that had once worked as a draftsman at CCI.
He told me he had misrepresented his finances to his wife.
His obituary was 4 years ago.
The wife was a good looking blonde that was charming, except when I could hear her scream at him 800 feet away.

Originally Posted by gunzo
They lost popularity because the 870 is simply a better shotgun.

Good guess!
...BUT...
The finished Win M12 was hand fitted. The Rem M870 was all stamped parts and didn't need fitting. Even the riveted ejector is done by machine.
It is MUCH easier and cheaper to sling some new parts at a nonoperating M870 than finding hard to locate M12 parts and then pay someone hand fit them to get it working again!

HEY --- MAGNUM_BOB!!!!

Look up "Nu-Line Custom Guns"! That's the last place that I know of that can/will/is able to replace and adjust those chamber rings back to "like-new"!

I have a 1926 model Win M12 16 gauge. It had that same problem.
Had a 'smith buddy, but he wouldn't touch it. HE packed it up and sent it to P.O. Ackley's shop out in SLC, UT!
Got it back and it operated as slick as any new gun I ever picked up!
That was back in the early 70's and she's still just slick as a button!

If you're interested in getting it operational, I'd give them a shout. Either that or contact Briley in Houston, TX.

Had a really good friend that used to say he wanted a Bng A5, but he wasn't willing to pay but $50! LOL!
He came in from work one day and told his wife he was going out to feed his dog.
When he didn't come back in, she went to check on him.
He was sitting, leaned back against a big pine tree, his hat laying on the ground beside him. Stone cold dead.

Don’t be too hard on him. I was thinking of my Ithaca 37 28 gauge…which goes just under 6 pounds.

I remember when my cousin's got to bird hunting age they both got 12 gauge guns.

My Uncle bought a 16 gauge out of self defense, just to keep his boys from shooting up HIS ammo!

Virgil B.