Regarding the Model 21
In his book titled Best Guns author Michael McIntosh had this to say, in part, about the Model 21:
"Early on, John Olin recognized the Model 21's immense strength as a useful selling point. By that time, the ammunition industry had shifted almost enitrely from black powder to smokeless-powder loads. But the change came slowly, and the question of shotgun strength was an item of high controversey. Like Damascus barrels, black powder still had its champions, even in the 1930s. Those with an eye on the future, however, realized that if full advantage was to be made of smokeless ammunition, guns would have to be stronger. Olin's own Super-X cartridge offered more power and greater killing range than any shotshell ever had before, and he saw the Model 21 as the gun to handle it.
"To prove his point, Olin personally selected a 12-gauge Model 21 at random from warehouse stock and began gathering similar doubles from other gunmakers around the world. In one of the most dramatic destruction tests ever conducted, the guns were test-fired with round after round of proof loads. Designed to generate a chamber pressure of some 7.5 long tons--about 16,500 units of pressure, or half again the stress generated by the heaviest commercial loads--proof loads are used to test guns for structural flaws. The process normally involves firing one or two such loads, but Winchester continued firing until the guns broke down or blew up.
"The Purdey held up through sixty shots. After a BSA double broke down at 150 rounds, only the Model 21 remained, and when it had digested 2000 proof loads, the test was stopped. The technicians then disassembled the gun and checked every part against the original gauges; it showed no discernible change or damage of any kind. Commenting on the test almost fifty years later, John Olin said, with characteristic understatement: 'There was no near competitor in strength nor endurance to the Model 21.' "
The Model 21 was an American original, a box-lock side-by-side of durable design, clean lines, and exceptional craftsmanship regardless of grade. Thank-you, John Olin, for this finest of Winchester shotguns.
