Please don't wack me up 'side the head for this observation, but both the wood and steel surfaces appear to be refinished to me. It's so hard to closely examine the surfaces when viewing them through the photographs. The steel surfaces have a non-factory look about the polish job, the receiver is a bit more of a "purple-y" hue than the barrel/magazine assembly. The stock appears a bit too slick and its wood-to-metal fit appears to be "off" where it mates to the receiver. The original fit would have shown "proud" wood, with surface higher than the metal's surface.

I could be all washed up and that's just the factory appearance of that Model 12. Oil or a preservative on the metal surfaces could be influencing perception of surface color and polish characteristics.

I've admired, owned, used, and been around the excellent Winchester Model 12 all my life, both guns I've owned or those owned by family members and friends. I haven't examined that many really nice pre-war Model 12s in my time though. A good ol' gun club friend had a 16 gauge Model 12 from 1916 with the short chamber that his dad bought new when my friend was 9 years old. It was pristine, yet he'd long since had the chamber opened up before I was even born. He wanted to use it and use it he did for dove hunting here in Texas, some duck and quail hunting too. His son has it now and still uses it yet.

He had great guns with a pre-war Winchester, Colt, and Smith & Wesson bent, all either inherited or purchased new. I have a 12 gauge Winchester Model 12 Skeet Grade 14 years newer than yours that my friend ordered brand new from the factory in 1941. It's tricked out with very rare factory Model 12 option, a Cutts Compensator with the choke tubes, the barrel being factory produced with a boss to receive the choke system. I could have done without the hideous-looking Cutts ruining an otherwise gorgeous Model 12, but the gun is fabulous to use and handy with the interchangeable choke tubes.

Don't really have a great photograph of the Skeet Grade Model 12. Here's a duck haul from a hunt with it.


Here's one taken in harsh sunlight, the Model 12 Skeet Grade in its "glory," Cutts and all.


At the other end of condition scale, our youngest son fell into a shabby but sound 1917 vintage Winchester Model 12 16 gauge having nearly no finish. Despite my concerns he's happily shooting the hooey out of it using modern shells in its apparently short chamber. I've not measured it and he's not bothered to go have it checked.

The modern shells will work in the shorter 16 gauge chamber and, at least superficially appear to give perfect satisfaction. It's debatable whether or not the increased pressures generated from the longer shell's crimp opening up against the confines of the shorter chamber's forcing cone upon firing renders the shotgun unsafe. People did it for years and are still doing it. Doesn't make it an expedient choice. If I intended to shoot an early Model 12 16 gauge I'd have the chamber modified.

It's our son's choice for duck hunting on our old place at the lake. Here it is in our duck blind with the 1931 vintage Remington Model 11 12 gauge I was shooting on a day drenched in rain with a high of 34F.