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Winchester Model 12 (1937)-Cleaning for a friend

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VaTom

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A very close friend for 45 years stopped and brought me his grandfather's 1937 Model 12, 12 gauge, breakdown that had been left to him many years ago. My friend is not a "gun guy". It had been stored in a canvas shotgun case for many years. Don't think it had been cleaned since his grandfather last used it. Had some minor rust spots on barrel and end of receiver which cleaned up well. What an amazingly well made shotgun! Thought you would enjoy pictures. Note the leather recoil pad.
One question-Should I put gun grease on the threads of the receiver and barrel/magazine where it fits together or will regular gun oil be ok? (I am not a shotgun person).
 

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I personally would not use grease. It won't hurt, but over time, it will harden and get crusty. A drop of oil and spread it around with your finger, or a few drops on a rag followed by a wipe on the threads is all that is needed for lubrication/protection. I would suggest that you kindly inform your friend of the dangers of storing the gun in a canvas case (or any other case for that matter). It is far too easy for a gun case to collect moisture which in turn will cause the gun to rust. It was lucky that there was not more rust on the gun.

And it was very nice of you to give some care to your friend's "heirloom".
 
kscharlie said:
I personally would not use grease. It won't hurt, but over time, it will harden and get crusty. A drop of oil and spread it around with your finger, or a few drops on a rag followed by a wipe on the threads is all that is needed for lubrication/protection. I would suggest that you kindly inform your friend of the dangers of storing the gun in a canvas case (or any other case for that matter). It is far too easy for a gun case to collect moisture which in turn will cause the gun to rust. It was lucky that there was not more rust on the gun.

And it was very nice of you to give some care to your friend's "heirloom".
Click to expand...

Yes I intend to give him some instructions on care. He also brought by a 1980 H&R Model 929 "Sidekick" 22lr revolver with 2.5" barrel. Like new in box that belonged to his late dad.Had all paperwork, etc. All it needed was some good lubrication. Not familiar with the H&R revolvers but was surprised by it's heft, heavy barrel and 9 shot cylinder.
 
I live and breath model 12's. The OP mentioned he was surprised at the quality. Us Winchester guys have known this for many years. The model 12 is the finest constructed pump gun EVER with few even coming close. Its strength is legendary and equaled by none. Most guns are tested at 10% over pressure loads. The model 12 has been tested at over 300% above SAMMI specs. There were over 3,000 hand inspections on every model 12 before it left the factory.Some advise follows.

Quit taking the gun apart, it aint no toy. Though they were designed to be taken down but not as a hobby. Take it apart when it must only.

Remove that laced on leather pad. The chemicals will react with the finish and destroy it. I have seen many guns with these lace on pads and nearly every one had ruined the original finish.

Take it out of the canvas case and store it in one of the inexpensive silicon impregnated socks. These will allow it to breath but keep rust away.
 
As 30-30 said they can be taken down. Check to make sure when it is assembled that it is tight, with no wiggle between the halves. If it is loose, the threaded end of the barrel is an adjustable collar that can make it tight. That being said there is only so much take up and a new collar will need to be fitted. lots of decent info online about the M-12
 
Nice. I have my grandfather's that he bought in 1924. It is still beautiful and tight as a drum. Love them.
 
I have 2, one a 20 gauge that I bought second hand in 1963, and a 16 gauge that I bought about a year ago. I wish I had a 12 gauge. They are great shotguns.

Have a blessed day,

Leon
 
Oil or grease on the TakeDown threads. Doesn't really make much difference. It's not a constantly moving part, just keeps them free and movable is all.

Good info on leaving the gun together and not constantly taking it down (TD). Some people are obsessed it seems with taking them apart.
It doesn't do them any good and does eventually loosen the TD joint.

The joint does have a take up adjusment on it as mentioned.
Looking at the bbl assembly you will see a ring with teeth on the outer edge and a small cog held in place by a small screw. The cog has small teeth that engage the rig and hold it's position. Loosening the screw and pulling the cog away from the ring allows the ring to rotate.
Rotating the ring a 'tooth' or 2 tightens the take down assembly. Reset the cog once again to hold the new position.

You can do this a few times before you run out of adjustment teeth.
Actually in ones lifetime you should never get to that end.
But the factory did provide extra rings with advanced timed threads to go even further if the TD became even looser than the primary factory ring would take up.
I think they made 5 in total and were #'d in that way.
Long out of production, they are still occasionally avail from parts dealers but are pricey. $80/$100 for a higher #'d TD ring is not uncommon.
It's about the only (easy) way to put a loose as a goose M12 back in tight TD shape.
The rings were also made for the Model 97 and the 410ga Model 42 pump shotgun. Same prices and availabilty seems to prevail.

So easy on the TD feature,,lightly lube the threads and leave it.
I'd remove the lace on pad also. They can damage the wood finish.

Not much to fuss with the M12 unless something is wrong with them!
Pretty easy to fix if they do break,,and they do sometimes like everything else. Lots of parts still around for them. Some are gauge specific but 12ga parts are the most common.
 
A great vintage shotgun for the field or trap field.

Don't ever let it out of the family............
You might give it some love and shoot a box of shells through it.

You are a lucky man.

The action gets better, the more you use it.........
I am lucky enough to also have one in .410, also.
 
A marvel of engineering and manufacture, the likes of which never to be repeated.

But I don’t like having to engage the lifter when loading the magazine and the pump handle has too much play for my liking.
 
Last edited:
L

So easy on the TD feature,,lightly lube the threads and leave it.
I'd remove the lace on pad also. They can damage the wood fini
.[/QUOTE]

Thanks. I will pass on to my friend. As the last part of cleaning I took off the leather pad. Fortunately wood was not damaged. However the foam padding had melted/deteriorated from age and heat and was stuck all over butt plate. Was able to get butt plate cleaned up but took some time.
 
VaTom said:
L

So easy on the TD feature,,lightly lube the threads and leave it.
I'd remove the lace on pad also. They can damage the wood fini
.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I will pass on to my friend. As the last part of cleaning I took off the leather pad. Fortunately wood was not damaged. However the foam padding had melted/deteriorated from age and heat and was stuck all over butt plate. Was able to get butt plate cleaned up but took some time.[/QUOTE] See before and after pictures
 

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"Yes I intend to give him some instructions on care. He also brought by a 1980 H&R Model 929 "Sidekick" 22lr revolver with 2.5" barrel. Like new in box that belonged to his late dad.Had all paperwork, etc. All it needed was some good lubrication. Not familiar with the H&R revolvers but was surprised by it's heft, heavy barrel and 9 shot cylinder."

I had one just like it, but from considerably earlier than 1980, and I fired it a lot. Somehow it just vanished years ago. I have no idea what happened to it but for sure I did not sell it, I liked it too much to do that. It's one of three such vanished guns I once owned.
 
What a fantastic thread.

Two years ago I bought a Model 12 at an auction by accident. Thought I was bidding on something else and I ended up taking home a very nice Model 12 (that lettered to 1924) for only $200. I don't regret it at all; it's a fine shooting gun that I use semi-regularly, but I didn't realize that many considered it the pinnacle of pump action shotties.

Mike
 
Thanks to all the forum members for their replies and information as I worked to clean up the 1937 Winchester Model 12. I found a good YouTube video on how to remove the trigger assembly by removing one screw. Decided to pull and clean it and as expected it was very dirty. Decades - perhaps 80 years of gunk. Here are some before / after pictures. Ready to return it to my friend. Perhaps one day he will offer to sell it to me as I have grown quite fond of it!
 

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