Tell me about this Winchester mod.12

O

Oleg Volk

Staff Alumnus
I found a mod.12 #1036610 made in 1947. It has an 18-20" barrel with a "Noble Varycheck Choke" on it. The magazine holds 5(?) shells and looks similar to Winchester 97 mags.

What do numbers 15 through 40 on the choke mean?
Is the all-round muzzle brake (similar to BOSS) effective?
Which problems to watch for?

The gun wouldn't cycle when I dry-fired it on a snap-cap, only when the slide release was depressed. The store will check into it but I wanted to ask here what sort of a problem that could be?

Overall, how does it compare to older 97s or newer 12s for reliability, etc?

Is there anything special I need to know re: re-bluing it?

Does anyone in Minnesota do a decent parkerizing job?

Thanks a lot.

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Oleg "peacemonger" Volk

http://www.a-human-right.com
http://www.olegvolk.net
 
The Model 12 requires recoil to unlock, so it will not open after snapping without pressing the slide lock. It is likely there is nothing wrong with the gun, but if the shop thinks that "problem" can be "fixed", I would doubt their knowledge of the gun.

AFAIK, the numbers on the choke have no meaning except to allow the choke to be set back to a given position. You will have to pattern the gun to see what effect the choke has on the pattern at each setting.

The Model 12 is much better than the 97, as one might guess. Even the latest ones are good, but yours should be a little smoother and better made.

The muzzle brake should be effective, but will make the gun noisier, as all brakes do.

Jim
 
What would you recommend for restoring the finish? I am torn between re-bluing the gun and parkerizing it. I don't much care about the collector value, only about durability.
 
Just went in & dry fired (with a snap cap) my Win 12 12 Ga Riot (made in 1918) & guess what? It pumped, ejected & locked back up perfectly without pressing the slide lock to release it again. Make sure the slide is in full battery (locked forward), dry fire it & crank it back. If it doesn't pull to the rear, then push the forearm forward until you hear a click & then pull it back. Win 12's can be alittle touchy at times. If that doesn't do it, then let the store where you bought it fix it for you & fix it right. Great thing about both the Win 97 & Win 12 are you can hold the trigger down & pump away until their tubes are empty (no disconnector)! If you can get it up & running, you've found yourself a great shotgun. Sorry Jim, but I ain't found a shotgun yet that requires recoil to unlock the action (from my 3 Win 97's & Win 12's to my Benelli) & I own quite a few. Recoil operated, yes. I parked mine for the same reason. Much, much more a durable finish than bluing & you don't have to treat it like it's a baby. If you park it, go for the Mil-spec grey-green color. That keeps it looking like it's from the time period that it was made in (Korea or Nam). I still don't understand the concept of "bluing" guns. Pretty but not practical. Hope this info helps.
 
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