Winchester Model 12

John Browning’s famed Winchester model 1897 pump shotgun has been renowned as the first successful pump shotgun. An evolution of John Browning’s pump-action Model 1897, the Winchester Model 12 shotgun was designed by T.C. Johnson and introduced in 1912. Winchester had enough confidence in it to market it as “The Perfect Repeater,” and time would validate that claim. It had an internal hammer design and was the first truly successful pump-action shotgun with that feature. Nearly two million were manufactured over the gun’s 52-year run.

First-year guns were all 20 gauge. Although 12-gauge versions are considerably bulkier and heavier, they proved to be outstanding waterfowl guns. Some 20 years later, a 28-gauge version was added, and it’s certainly the rarest Model 12.

Of all the bore sizes, the 16 gauge boasted the best combination of authority paired with easy carry and handling characteristics. Perhaps more Importantly, 16-gauge guns were built on the same frame as the 20-gauge versions, rather than the bigger, heavier 12-gauge frame. As a result, they carry like the slender, responsive 20-gauge Model 12s—lively, as a fine upland gun should be—yet hit with authority akin to that of a 12 gauge.