The Winchester Model 12: The Perfect Repeater

Winchester has had a few notable eras. The first was the era of the lever gun. That’s likely their most popular and well-known era. Beyond the lever gun era and at the turn of the century, they entered their shotgun era when they produced a weapon known as the Model 12, aka the Perfect Repeater.

winchester model 12 top down
You can’t beat American steel and wood.

Why was the Model 12 so legendary? Why was it known as the Perfect Repeater? Well, we plan to explore that today. When we talk Winchester shotguns, the Model 1897 or M97 is often brought up. Admittedly it was an innovative and unique shotgun and was the first widely successful pump action shotgun. The famed Trench Gun configuration on the M1897 is legendary, but the Model 12 is a much better gun all around.

winchester model 12 pump
The Corncob forend is nice and easy to activate.

Generations of hunters, trap and skeet shooters, police officers, and soldiers would tell you the same. The Winchester Model 12 was what a shotgun should be, and there is a reason we call it the Perfect Repeater.

The Model 12: The Past and Future of Shotguns

To really understand what made the Model 12 so special, we have to examine that era of pump-action shotguns. Obviously, the Winchester 1897 was around and popular. However, it wasn’t perfect. The exposed hammer was a nuisance, and the slide could take a chunk of thumb as it came out the back of the gun. It’s also a fairly fragile gun.

Browning had left Winchester by this era and had designed the Stevens 520 series, which were pump action repeaters with a hint of the old humpback in their design. They also ditched the exposed hammer and slide design. These were great guns, but Stevens wasn’t Winchester, and their quality wasn’t the same.

Remington had the Model 10, which was a fine shotgun that had a concealed hammer, and ejected shells from the bottom. It worked, but it wasn’t a smooth cycling weapon and could break and wear out easily.

Enclosed hammers were the future of shotguns, and the Model 12 would, as a whole, become the future of pump actions. T.C. Johnson was the main designer behind the gun, but to be fair, he was working with a lot of Browning’s designs from the M1897. At a glance, the Model 12 doesn’t look that fancy.

It looks like any shotgun you could purchase today. That’s the point, though. In 1912 when the gun was released, this wasn’t the standard. The Model 12 was the gun that set the standard for the future of pump action shotguns. Your Remington 870s and Mossberg 500s owe their layout and features to the Model 12.

winchester model 12 profile
The Model 12 set the standard for shotguns til this day.

The Model 12 In Living Color

Model 12 shotguns were first released in 20 gauge, and in 1913 they released the 12 and 16 gauge variants. These guns were produced from 1912 to 1964, with over two million produced. Since 1964 Winchester would do limited runs of the gun, but it left mass production in 1964.

These guns did use an enclosed hammer alongside an ejection port positioned on the right side of the gun. The weapon used a tubular magazine that was loaded from the bottom. It was a slide or pump action shotgun depending on your particular parlance. A large number of Model 12s were takedown guns that featured barrels and magazine tubes that detached easily to shorten the length of the gun.

winchester model 12 takedown
The shotgun breaks down easily.

The Model 12 series would be used in World War One and all the way into the early parts of Vietnam. Winchester forged and machined most of the parts for the Model 12, and it shows. The craftsmanship on these shotguns is absolutely beautiful. It’s crazy how nice these guns are and how well they are made.

These shotguns were made to last and are very much heirloom guns. These are extremely rugged and can take years of abuse. On top of that, when something breaks, it’s easy to fix. This is why a good number of Model 12s are still being used in the field decades later.

The Perfect Repeater

If you are a shotgun nerd, you should own a Winchester Model 12. It’s a glorious gun. Everything about the gun is finely made and smoothed out. You can feel that it’s made by the hands of experienced craftsmen. The weapon’s pump moves smoothly rearward, feeding shells smoothly and easily from tube to chamber.

It’s a heavy gun, to be sure, with most of the weight towards the rear of the weapon and in its receiver. That weight doesn’t affect the swing of the gun since it’s so far rearward and tends to help absorb some of the recoil associated with the mighty 12 gauge shotgun. The weapon has the Browning front lock, and it takes some time to get used to. Even when the hammer is down, the pump doesn’t move freely. It must be pressed just a hair forward to fully unlock.

winchester model 12 standing up
The Model 12 evolved from the 1897 shotgun.

This doesn’t prevent you from cycling the gun quickly. If you are working the action, you are automatically defeating the lock. Winchester placed the controls near the trigger, making them very easy to access and manipulate. Everything clicks, pops, and glides with a brilliant smoothness.

The gun shoots well, and the smoothness of the entire system makes it addicting to shoot. A pump shotgun is largely a pump shotgun, but shooting the Model 12 is an awesome experience. I can’t help but enjoy it a hair more than any other pump shotgun. My Model 12 is no safe queen, and it sees action every year hunting this or that.

Setting the Standard

If the Model 12 is so great, why would they ever discontinue it? Well, the Remington 870 killed it. Kind of. The Winchester Model 12 and its forged and machined design made it an expensive gun. Remington figured out how to make a good gun in a mass-produced manner that drove down the price. I’ll also give Remington credit for introducing the dual-action bars that are the standard these days.

Remington owes Winchester thanks for essentially laying out how their next shotgun should be made. Winchester had to adapt, and the Model 12 was discontinued. Winchester went on to produce the Model 1200 series, which was more economical and competed with the 870. These days the Model 12 is a bit of a collector’s item but still widely available.

winchester model 12 stock
This model has an aftermarket recoil pad adjusted for cast and drop, but the stock is beautiful

I’ve seen them for sale for around $300 to $400, and honestly, with the craftsmanship involved in these guns, they can be a bargain. Make sure you have a competent gunsmith to ensure it’s not chambered for 2.5-inch shells, as many models were before 1927. The Model 12 is a great way to experience scattergun history and was an important step in the development of shotgun technology.

Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine Gunner and a lifelong firearms enthusiast. Now that his days of working a 240B like Charlie Parker on the sax are over he's a regular guy who likes to shoot, write, and find ways to combine the two. He holds an NRA certification as a Basic Pistol Instructor and is probably most likely the world's Okayest firearm instructor. He is a simplicisist when it comes to talking about himself in the 3rd person and a self-professed tactical hipster. Hit him up on Instagram, @travis.l.pike, with story ideas.

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