My new shottie, 1931 Winchester model 12, 16 gauge

I'm just pleased as punch and wanted to share.

I'm the oddball 16 gauge fan. I can't say why, apparently my brain is wired wrong. I have more than enough shells, 100s of them. Every time I find shells, I snap them up, hollow points, buck, small game.

My goto gun was my 1965 Stevens 16 gauge single. Super simple, works every time.

Talking to my friend today about guns and I mentioned shooting the Stevens this weekend. Well, he takes me in his office and pulls out a Winchester 1931 model 12 16 gauge, full choke in pristine condition, not a scratch, crack or blemish. Even the serial and model stamps look like new. His dad had it for home defense and never used it. I'm debating if I even want to fire it but I'm like Jay Leno is about cars - they're meant to be used, not sit around. I drive my classic sports car every chance I get so I figure the same with guns so I'll clean, oil it and have some fun.

a reply to: billxam1

You know you're not gonna feel right till you run at least 1 box of shells through it.


Do it.

nice weapon. I love a nice wood stock. Got a Browning sweet 16 not long ago. Still haven't shot it. But it's been shot, so I'll get to it soon. You need to shoot it. Enjoy it. the guy who first bought it would have wanted it that way.

a reply to: billxam1

Nice! Mine is my heirloom Belgian Browning made by Remington. Only made by Remington for a few years during WWII...so pretty rare. It was my Grandmothers and she used it for hunting quite a bit...then she got old and stopped hunting as I was becoming old enough to handle a 12ga. I then hunted with it for many years. I don't do a lot of hunting these days...but I would still take it over anything else if I did go. Like you I believe it should be used...I still take very good care of it...but what good is it sitting in the closet?

Edit: Just looked it up...1940-46 FN moved production to the US to escape nazi germany. Remington also makes a licensed version as well as savage arms...but both cut features from Browning's original design. The A5 I think is one of the most successful shotgun designs by sales too!

a reply to: billxam1
I still have my grandfather's model 12 12 ga. a sweet shotgun. 1950s vintage.

a reply to: charlest2

Wish I still had my fathers passed down double barrel...not even sure who made it but I think it was a winchester. All I know is it was like 100 years old or something like that as his dad passed it on to him then me for quite a while.

a reply to: charlest2

It's special (to me) when you find something that's older and taken care of. One of my cars, 1992 Dodge Stealth twin turbo I got from the first owner with 34,000 miles on it works perfectly and aside from the aero package is bone stock and as perfect as it can be so I keep it that way.

This shotgun is the same way. I love the stock on it and how bloody shiny it is. And the wife approved of the purchase so I got that going for me.

I need to go across the street with my shotgun and practice up a bit. I have a sixteen gauge double barrel. I have quite a few shells, but they are pretty old, be nice to get some new shells after blowing off the old ones. Sixteen gauge shells are hard to find these days, and when you do, they are double the cost of twelve gauge shells around here.

I got my uncles old pump twelve gauge shotgun too, I have picked up shells for that on sale occasionally. But have not shot that one in around seven years either.

Now I got the bug to go down to the range and shoot some shells again, but I think before I start shooting, I should buy some new shells because what good is a gun if you can't buy shells if you need them.

What I really want is a 12 gauge barrel for the Stevens since the barrels are swap-able on them. They're around $150 when you can find them.

a reply to: billxam1

Wow! I have a couple Model 12's, one in 12 ga and one in 20 ga, both of them about the same vintage. When I first started shooting competition trap, my very first shotgun was a model 12. Mine have all been gently used over the decades. Yours is in fine condition. Very nice! Congrats!

I've never been much of a fan of the 16 ga primarily because of the difficulty in getting much variety in ammo. I also reload all my trap rounds, but I've never come across any 16 ga dies (though I've never had a reason to look very hard). I know some guys who are just absolutely in love with the 16 ga. Same goes for 28 ga fans (another non-standard gauge).

I'm of the same mind as you regarding use. No safe queens here. Use 'em if ya' got 'em! I've even got some really old "drugstore guns" from back in the 1900's (not Damascus, but almost as old). Have a pristine LeFever Nitro Special SxS from 1903 w/26" barrels which I still use for pheasant hunting. They called them "drug store guns" because you could go in a drugstore back in the day and buy one. Back in the day, you could buy one for $17 dollars. My trap guns now are mostly dedicated Browning O/U's with 31"+ barrels (definitely not drugstore guns...LOL!)

a reply to: billxam1
Very nice! Get out and shoot it👍
I had my grandfather’s pre WW1 Stevens dbl barrel 12ga that I shot for decades. Because it was a Damascus barrel and not the safest with todays rounds, I finally retired it. They make great guns, mine had put a lot of food on the table between grandpa, dad and myself. Enjoy yours!

I have one too but I wish it was a 12 gauge lol

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I'm just a 16 gauge fanboy I suppose. I've been thinking about a Henry .22 repeater since they started making them again but once I saw this model 12, well, I just had to have it. Like classic low mileage cars like my Stealth, a classic gun just speaks to me. Well, off to shoot a few more shells. This time with the hearing protection.

a reply to: rickymouse

Can you not reload the 16 guage /bore cartridges yourself Ricky ? , I had to reload all the 12 bore cartridges and the small 410 shotgun cartridges when I was young .

The old guy who was showing me how to do this actually had learned on a black powder musket when he was a kid and still had the tools for the lead shot , all I remember now is the thing for reloading the cartridges looked like a old mincing machine and I had boxes of different size lead for each cartridge.

What I was good at was fly tying and my then dog had lots of bald patches

originally posted by: stonerwilliam
a reply to: rickymouse

Can you not reload the 16 guage /bore cartridges yourself Ricky ? , I had to reload all the 12 bore cartridges and the small 410 shotgun cartridges when I was young .

The old guy who was showing me how to do this actually had learned on a black powder musket when he was a kid and still had the tools for the lead shot , all I remember now is the thing for reloading the cartridges looked like a old mincing machine and I had boxes of different size lead for each cartridge.

What I was good at was fly tying and my then dog had lots of bald patches

I probably could I suppose. But I never got into reloading. I also have a black powder rifle and powder I got from my stepfather...don't know how long the powder is good for though, it is at least thirty years old.

I'm not rich, but also not poor. If I wasn't frugal, I would go out and just buy shells for my guns. I bought three boxes of shells for the twelve gauge when they had the grand opening at L&M Fleet a few months ago, seven bucks a box. Just short brass number sevens and eights. Maybe good for shooting some partridge, but mostly for shooting skeet. I prefer the long brass shells for hunting myself, number six is my choice for BB size. Although fours age good for rabbits and number two for geese.

Used to do a lot of hunting when I was young, but kind of got over my urge to kill wildlife for one meal when I got into my early twenties. I still hunted deer for many years, only bucks four point and larger that were big enough to keep me in meat for a long time. I guess I started to believe that I should not kill my fellow creatures if I did not need to We buy a half a cow each year, and it feeds us fully for our beef and partially my kids families and grandkids for a year. I am responsible for one cow dying and I do not like to waste any food, that would be disrespectful to the animal that had to die for me to live.

I wish everyone would think like that, our world would be a lot less polluted if we were respect other things in nature. All the food wasted in the USA has led to a lot of extra forests being cut down to put in fields worldwide. I worked in restaurants washing dishes for a few years, and since then I watch what is left on plates in restaurants. Boy people are wasteful, and I know lots of people that do that with food at home too.

Ok, a completely off topic rant...which is related to the OP just a little. Just because you have a gun doesn't mean you have to kill something with it.

a reply to: rickymouse

I had a gun in my hand at 4 years old and shot anything that moved ,some days walking beside the combine harvester I was shooting a hundred plus rabbits a day plus at 7 yo , It was gutting and skinning them that was not fun .

Horse stalls full of dead animals some were there for many days and stinking had to be gutted ,skinned and cleaned and little muggings had to do it I pulled the bolt out of the gun at 15 or 16 and never shot anything again I was so sickened with the sight of dead animals and the lifestyle , I did carry on fishing for a few years but work and a girlfriend took all my free time after that . The cruelest thing I ever took part in as a young lad was a pump gun /blunderbus that was 15 or so foot long and filled with nails and bolts and in a small boat on a river full of ducks I peeped out of the tarpaulin às it was fired to see dozens and dozens of ducks blown apart , but such was life on a farm

7 bucks a box for 12 bore /gauge www.thecountryman.com...

Welcome to UK prices Ricky www.thecountryman.com...

We were brought up the same with food it was considered a sin to waste food even at the school canteen , and throwing food or hair in a fire would have got you a beating as it was considered feeding the devil with my folk

a reply to: billxam1

Speaking of hearing protection, this is weird. One thing I've always noticed about my 20 ga. model 12 is that it is louder than my 12 ga. model 12. The barrel lengths are the same, and the only difference is the 20 ga has an adjustable choke whereas the 12 ga just has a straight improved cylinder diameter barrel end. Not only is the 20 ga louder, it also has more felt recoil than its 12 ga counterpart. I've never understood this, and I've tested it against my numerous other 12 ga shotguns and found it to be consistently true. Neither the sound pressure nor the additional felt recoil is a problem, but it's just notable.

a reply to: stonerwilliam

I wasn't allowed to have a BB gun till I was around five and at six years old with training from my father I was allowed to use it by myself without supervision. I was almost seven in the summer, so I should have said six and two thirds.

I was warned to watch where I was shooting, a broken window or mark on the car from the gun and I would have lost my priviledge. If I even pointed it at another while carrying it around, I would have lost my priviledge. It always had to have the barrel pointed towards the ground when carrying it around people. At eight I was using a 22 rifle, but only after I turned nine was I allowed to use it to hunt alone. My friends and cousins were starting to shoot BB guns when I was shooting a 22. I did not like hunting with other kids, even with a BB gun they were dangerous.

I still have guns, mostly for protection, we live in the woods and occasionally there are bears around. They have not been too bad, they destroy the bird feeders occasionally, but are not deranged, they are just looking for something to eat. But we do keep a gun close by in case a bear gets angry because someone else stirred it up. I try to be symbiotic with nature, but others aren't, some people constantly poke the bear, trying to piss them off and bears are not good at remembering who is nice or naughty. So once riled they get crabby and might attack anyone......almost seems like I am talking about Russia.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I've noticed the same thing. Using my sort of knowledge, I'd think because of the smaller diameter tube, that the sonic shock wave would be at a higher velocity.

Anyways, I was at about 30 yards seeing how tight of a grouping I could get with 00 buck and well....poor tree.

a reply to: rickymouse

Hyvàà Iltaa Ricky i had gun etiquette drummed into me very early for good reason as the cops could visit to check on your weapons day or night , and they did ! , if your gun cabinets were unlocked or bullets / cartridges about it was instant loss of the weapons and licence.

I was mainly a 4"10 shotgun by myself and a 12 bore when out with the older men but I kept ferrets for hunting rabbits as a kid as it got good money from the butchers with them not being shot with pellets , the rifles were for the stags and I was kept away from them until I was 12 but only supervised in a group .

But I dread to think the number of animals muggings here had to gut and clean as a kid, I had it down to fourty something seconds to gut ,skin and cut the head of a rabbit and the smell of a animal that has not been freshly gutted for up to a week , hankie scarf with aftershave round your nose and a spew bucket beside me but I did get a cheque at the end of the school holidays and I got a man's wage as a small boy for my work which pleased my grandmother , I still remember her face lighting up when she opened that cheque .

Looking back on it I was hard bloody going for my grandparents to raise as I sleep very very little sometimes and was as hyper as hell and a head strong little twat that thought he was a grown man way way to young , I was never in trouble but a little nutter for working and smoking regularly at 8 , could walk into a bar at 13 and get served and at 12 I was working 50 hrs a week and for weeks I was driving to school 3 miles away at 13 YO . until I passed my grandfather one day in his old Hillman imp stiletto then it was back to the school bus not that I ever went to school much after I was 14 .

The other side of my family own fishing boats and a fish farm which equated to lots more things to gut and clean , I think if you offered me suitcases full of money to do that now I would walk away saying no thanks .

When I think back to how many animals were caught regularly it was staggering compared to what hunters are catching now in comparison , I have looked through the old journals of gamekeepers at the toffs hunting lodges and was shocked at what was written down , braces of this 30 of that , I am shocked at how much wildlife has vanished since I was a kid , The good salmon rivers near me cost thousands a week to fish and some only catch a few fish a day now , pheasants were my favourite, a trick I was shown was putting raisins in hot water /whisky till the swelled up cutting a incision in it and putting a ground up sleeping tablet and a little stich in it and throwing them to the pheasants 30 minutes later they are so out of it they could not fly away and we're easy cathing and straight to the butchers .

I wish I had half that energy now that I had as a kid , The salmon I had earlier for lunch came from a tin lol .my idea of hunting now is the reduced section in the local supermarket, I squeek when I walk as well Ricky

Fun days on the farm