Winchester Model 12 Heavy Duck 3 Inch

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  • OF1937

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    I have a Winchester Model 12 Heavy Duck 3 inch chamber shotgun. It has a solid rib 30 inch full choke barrel. It has been completely refinished. All of the metal has been covered with Dura Coat. The stock has some minor crack repairs and has been refinished. The serial number indicates it was manufactured in 1956. It appears to function perfectly. I realize that the refinishing decreases the collector value; but I wonder what it would be worth as a shooter. And is it still a desirable firearm?

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    MyTFAL

    "It's no big deal,...."
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    Abita Springs
    Whoever duracoated this gun should be ashamed, these are extremely rare and VALUABLE!!! Or at least it used to be, as a shooter( which is all it's worth now) maybe 200-300 bucks.

    http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=223306

    More really good info the Gun in this thread is mine......

    http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=149282


    Rule of thumb, never, never, never, refinish a gun unless it's a worthless piece of crap, or you want it to be.

    It is no longer valuable it is desirable as a shooter only, it truly hurts to see a piece of history defaced. The solid rib on this model 12 would have put the value over the thousand dollar mark pretty easy.
     
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    OF1937

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    SKYWLKR -- In fact it is quite heavy. Nearly nine pounds. It is much heavier than a standard model 12. I suppose that was to reduce felt recoil. That was a big concern when the 3 inch shells first appeared.
    Bob
     

    Akajun

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    Ive been offered over a grand for mine. Its in 99% condition with the little red plugs still in the buttpad(that very important to collectors).

    Yours being duracoated, and the wood looks a bit dirty, (is this a katrina gun?) Id say about 300 for sure, depending on the bore condition. They are very tough guns, and you cant wear them out. But those full choke barrells are alergic to steel shot. Either use bismuth or have the forcing cone reamed and open the choke to Mod.
     

    OF1937

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    Not a Katrina gun. I'm not exactly sure why it was refinished. The wood has been stained a dark brown, but looks to be in good shape. It is shiny and difficult to photograph properly. Some spots in the choke end of the bore; but no pits. It is very tight and shows little signs of use. It locks up like new. Even the safety feature works where you must push the slide forward to action it when the trigger is pulled and no shot is fired (happens mostly when dry-firing). I've seen many model 12 where this feature did not work due to wear.
    Bob
     

    Quickdraw22

    I SPEAK DA THUGG!1!
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    Even the safety feature works where you must push the slide forward to action it when the trigger is pulled and no shot is fired (happens mostly when dry-firing).

    Bob -

    Are you saying that after you dry fire the gun, you must push the pump handle forward before you can pull it back to open the chamber?

    I've also got a M12, and it does the same thing. I thought it was broken :rofl:

    -Dave
     

    OF1937

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    Quickdraw22, That is exactly what the model 12 is supposed to do. It may not have been on the very early model 12s; but it is a safety feature from what I have been told. The slide can be moved straight back if the weapon actually fires. I have seen this on many model 12 that are in good condition. Most of the really old ones are ragged out and this does not work properly. Again, I'm not sure if this feature was added later on in production. I'll try to find out. By the way, I have posted the gun for sale.
    Bob
     

    oleheat

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    Bet that would be a good turkey gun.
    Like the others said- don't shoot steel shot through that full choke barrel. That's a fine shotgun- reminds me of the older days when there were no non-toxic shot rules on ducks (hence the name)....
     

    OF1937

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    Quickdraw22, That is exactly what I am saying. Read this article from Gun Digest:
    http://www.gundigest.com/article/?p_ArticleId=4716.
    I will add this excerpt from that article if you don't want to read it all:
    "All Model 12 shotguns have an action slide lock that keeps the action closed and locked in the event of a misfire or hang-fire. If you pull the trigger and the shell does not fire you must push the slide handle forward to unlock the action. Consider the possibility of a hang-fire, an occasional event in 1912, in a gun without the slide lock feature. You jack the shell out and it goes off under your nose. The slide lock is automatically released by the forward nudge of recoil in the Model 12. Later pump guns, such as the Remington Model 870 and Mossberg Model 500, do not have the slide lock feature. It is possible for the slide lock to fail to unlock the action during recoil. The duck gun sent to the American Rifleman staff in 1935 would not unlock during recoil."
    Bob Moore
     

    Quickdraw22

    I SPEAK DA THUGG!1!
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    OF1937 -

    That's good! I'm glad to know that it's not broken - I could have sworn something was hanging up on the inside :D

    BTW - Mine is from 1933, and that safety feature still works fine. Never put any shells through it, so I have no clue if it does it when shooting live rounds.....

    -Dave
     

    OF1937

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    I have seen several ragged-out ones where this feature does not work properly. That is one of the things to check to see if it is worn badly.
    Bob
     
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    A5Mag12

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    Being it's a heavy duck you should be able to get $450.00 or so out of it. If it has Winchester Proof Steel on the barrel you can open the choke up and shoot steel through it. If it has Nickel Steel on the barrel it's too soft for steel.
     
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    HammondShooter

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    Just a question about Model 12s; what size of slip-on LimbSaver or other brand slip-on recoil pad do they take? Does anyone know, as they're not listed on the reference chart. I believe the Winchester 1300 is a medium, so would the model 12 be similar? My dad has a 1932 Model 12 (12 gauge), and he wants to add one for the extra inch of length, more than for problems with recoil.

    Thanks for any info,
    Shane
     

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