Introduction
I don’t find every old firearm to be interesting, but there are the occasional ones that grab my attention for any number of reasons. The Winchester model 12 just happens to be one of the few that did pique my interest, and today I’m here to tell you a little bit about my experience with it.
History
The Model 12 is a pump action twelve-gauge shotgun, iconic in that it has the classic features that make a pump-gun so appealing. And it may not be the first, but it certainly trained generations how to shoot airborne game among many other things. The Model 12 was also used by the US Military, making it an actual war weapon unlike your AR 15.
My father grew up shooting an old model 12, barely a teenager when it was given to him by my grandfather he used it for hunting pheasants and ducks in the marshy wetlands beyond grandpas pasture. As a child I remember seeing Dad tinker with it amongst his other guns.
The model 12 uses traditional wooden furniture, with an easily identifying ribbed front grip. A shallow rib runs the length of the barrel, with a targeting bead on the muzzle end. The barrel itself is a thirty-inches long and has a three-inch magnum chamber. It features a familiar safety at the front of the trigger guard, and an action release just behind it. The tubular magazine holds six 2-3/4 shot-shells, and it is clamped to the barrel at the front of the tube.
I looked up the serial number and if the internet is to be believed, this gun was manufactured in 1917, making it a hundred and five years old.
In the Field
After some inspection and thorough familiarizing myself with the gun I decided it was time to see how it shoots. I loaded up some clay targets and a few boxes of shells and headed to the hills. The family and I spent a good part of the afternoon shooting the model 12, smashing clays and pumping fresh shells through the gun.
This model 12 in particular appears to be in pretty good shape, and yet we did have just a few hiccups with it. The trigger on the gun doesn’t reset when pumped, you can literally hold the trigger down and pump shot after shot like the old western revolvers. A couple times it felt as though the trigger followed the bolt home and didn’t go off, leaving a dead trigger. This is likely as much a result of my children’s inexperience with shotguns as anything. On a couple occasions the bolt felt stuck in battery, requiring an extra shove from me to extract the spent shell.
Despite these hiccups, we still had a great afternoon on the mountain. The barrel was made way before interchangeable chokes, so you get what it came with as far as that goes. I imagine it is set fairly tight, as the shot pattern seemed much smaller than I expected. This made shooting the hand-thrown clays a whole lot more challenging. We were shooting one-ounce loads from Winchester and Fiocchi, both using 7.5 shot.
I am certainly not the best wing-shooter, but I did feel like I was cheated out of a few hits by the model 12. Shots I am very confident I’d of made if I were shooting one of my guns. Continue Reading Here…
Coolest Model 12 I’ve seen was at a Rob Haught class hosted by VCS. Vang Comp had worked their magic on it to include Sentinel sights. Definitely a sweet shotgun. If I ever find one on a used rack for a reasonable price, I’d be very tempted. Especially since the Model 12 is a takedown design.
I have one for sale. It was my late husbands grandfathers. There is a lot of history with this gun, which was only used once by Bruno Schmidt, the Inventor and Patent Holder of the Carburetor and Aeroplane. He used it to go pheasant hunting with President Taft and President Roosevelt and Cabinet members. I guess there are photos in the Library of Congress, this massive pile of pheasants and one turkey. It’s been in a zippered case and protected but he never used it again, nor did anyone since. This gun was made in 1912 and is the Model 12. It is a beautiful work of art and while I wish I could shoot it, I have not. When my late husband contacted the company before it closed about having it valued. They said if he sent it, we’d never see it again.
Hi,
I’m interested in buying the Model 12 shotgun. How much are you asking?
Thank You,
Mike
I have one that was in my family for years; I’m looking to sell.
Is the model 12 still available? If so what is the price?
Thank You, Jerry Evrett