From the Vault: Winchester Model 12 Shotgun

We've featured lot of showpiece guns in FTV, but today Brownells Gun Tech™ Caleb Savant takes a look at a workhorse that put a LOT of meals on tables over the years, the Winchester Model 12 pump action shotgun. Introduced in 1912, more than 2 million Model 12s were manufactured over 51 years in a vast array of gauges, grades, and configurations. Many of them were takedown guns, as is Caleb's, mostly for convenience in transporting them - and it's a lot easier to clean the barrel on a takedown shotgun! The Model 12 was an extremely potent close-combat weapon for the U.S. military in both World Wars, the Korean War, and in Vietnam. With a lot of machined parts, it was never an inexpensive gun. By 1964 the less-expensive Remington 870 was eating up the Model 12's share of the pump shotgun market, and Winchester ended its production run. The Model 12 is still easy to find on the used market at reasonable prices, and with replacement parts readily available, it's a great "collectible shooter." Do you have a Model 12 story? Please tell us about it in the comments below. And let us know what guns you'd like to see in future "From the Vault" episodes.