Winchester Model 12 shotgun value

[rchall]

A friend of mine has his father's Model 12 16 gauge shotgun for sale. 28 inch full choke barrel with a small corncob forearm. Gun made in 1942 by serial#. He asked $500 for it. Very good original condition. Is this a price
that approaches this gun's value?? Thanks!

 

[ColbyBruce]

Around here a nice field grade Winchester 12 would probably be a $600.00 gun, more for a 20 gauge. The 16 gauges seem to sit a while.

There is a north Georgia pawnshop that has a pile of Winchester 12 & 37 shotguns.

 

[DGT]

Have you priced 16 gauge shells? The last time I looked, they were almost 3 times the price of 12s or 20s.

 

[mauser9]

Sounds like a fair price if overall condition is decent. haven't seen one recently but they were a very well made gun back then. Forged parts not stamped ones.

 

[rchall]

Need to go look at the gun this weekend. Shells are about $16.00 for a box of 25 at WalMart. Sometimes I find them at gun shows too. I really like a 16 gauge to hunt with. Light, easy to handle and shoot, and not a lot of recoil. Good gun.

 

[model70hunter]

I have its twin. Good condition. Gave about 300 in an lgs several years ago.

I always used to have a 16 or 2 around. Been stockpiling 16 ga ammo for years.
some years ago walmart had ordered way too many cases I . It sat for a long time. I think I bought a case or 2 for 2 dollars a box when they closed it out on clearance.

It is lighter than my mod 12s in 12 ga.

l mostly use it for walking up rabbits or 1 day a year for doves.

And one can reload...........

 

[alwslate]

At the local big box store where I grocery shop 12 and 20 ga basic
game load shells were 6.99 the last time I checked and 16 ga 1 oz
game loads were 7.99. I was buying a few boxes at a time but quit
because I probably now have more 16s than I will ever use up just
by hunting. About two yrs ago I responded to an ad from a guy who
was helping a widow friend dispose of her late husband's shotguns.
Among them were a very nice pair of 16 ga Winchesters from around
1941, a mod 97 and a mod 12. The 12 was a bit nicer than the 97
but both were priced at $500. I wanted both but only bought the 97.
The 12 was really nice and was a plain barrel 28" full choke. He sold
the 12 right after I bought the 97 which probably saved me $500. The
20 ga usually sells for more on GB and it does take an awfully nice
plain barrel 16 ga mod 12 to fetch $500.

 

[DWalt]

Academy Sports usually has a limited selection of 16 gauge loads in stock, at prices not too much more than other sizes. Nothing at all wrong with the performance of the 16 ga, but at least in the USA, reloading is the best way to go if you plan to use it much. I once had a friend who used 16 ga for skeet, and he loaded his own. I don't know anything about the current availability of 16 ga plastic wads. 16 ga guns are usually priced a notch or two below identical guns in other gauges.

 

[Watchdog]

A friend of mine has his father's Model 12 16 gauge shotgun for sale. 28 inch full choke barrel with a small corncob forearm. Gun made in 1942 by serial#. He asked $500 for it. Very good original condition. Is this a price
that approaches this gun's value?? Thanks!

I'd say $500-$600 around here. The 16-gauge is experiencing sort of a resurgence lately...it used to be really popular with rabbit hunters. I wouldn't worry about the cost of shells, unless you're going to be using it for skeet or something. If you're just out with the beagles rabbit hunting, you aren't going to be using a whole lot of ammo on a regular basis. Probably say the same thing about bird hunting...dove hunting being the exception to that.

So yeah, if it looks/functions good, $500 would be a nice price, I think.

 

[Skeetr57]

The Model 12 was only made in two frame sizes, the 12 ga and the 20 ga. Both the 16 ga and the 28 ga were built on the 20 ga frame, which makes for a heavy 28 ga, but a light 16 ga. Early 20's and 16's have short chambers. This is not a problem on the 30's as the chamber can be lengthened and they function just fine, but the 16's will give ejection problems with most brands of shells unless the ejection port is also lengthened.