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I want to get the gurus opinion on this shotgun. It is old. I'm in my 50's and my dad just gave me this gun which was his Grandfathers gun. That of course makes it my Great Grandfathers gun just to give you an idea of approximate age. I have a few questions and would appreciate any input from you guys/gals:

As title states, it is Winchester Model 12-20 GA.
Its pump.
On the barrel, it says MOD kinda where the end of the barrel meets the stock area.
On the barrel, it states Nickel Steel
And the other writing are the Patent info/dates.

Just seeing what the opinions are on this keep sake and thanks in advance.

You have one of the best repeating shotguns ever built.

Being that it has a Nickel Steel barrel it was built 1926-27 or earlier, and being that it is marked Model 12 and not Model 1912, that places it after 1920 or so.

It might be chambered for 2 1/2 shells, is the chamber length stamped on the barrel ?

I can look real quick. The barrel looks rather short compared to the newer ones. I'll check it out, be right back.

No barrel length and no mention of size of shells. I measured the barrel, its 23 and 3/4 inch. I dont want to shoot it till I get it looked at. Any good gunsmith in the North side of Houston?

The early Model 12 20s had a 25 inch barrel, try putting a dowel rod down the barrel to measure the length.

Houston is out of my area, so I will defer on that.

Yep, dowel rod measured exactly 25 inches. I just checked the serial numbers and they match. Serial numbers are 6 digits, all numbers, no letters.

Edited: I did a search on the serial numbers. Appears to be a 1922 year model.

It sounds like you have a great family heirloom. I hope you have someone to pass it along to and that it still shoots well.

The MOD is modified choke. Wish mine wasn't stolen 20 some years ago.

Thanks for the feedback fellas. Luckily, I do have my son that I will pass it down to and he also has a son to pass down too. He also has a girl that I would love to see it passed down to if she shows interest. When it does go to my grandkids, that will be 6 generations. Wow, thats cool. You better believe when it comes time to hand it down, I will pound it in their heads over and over the gun is to never be sold under any circumstances. I really hope it shoots well but I will take it to gunsmith first to give it a good look-over. Maybe he can tell me what size shells it takes as I'm not 100% sure.

Man, I'm sorry yours got stolen. Of course the criminals dont care but that was 20 years ago and you still remember it, and will probably never forget it. Guns, especially heirlooms, are sacred and the thieves just sell them for beer money. AAARRRGGGHHH. They dont care how deeply it effects people.

Mxrdad wrote:Thanks for the feedback fellas. Luckily, I do have my son that I will pass it down to and he also has a son to pass down too. He also has a girl that I would love to see it passed down to if she shows interest. When it does go to my grandkids, that will be 6 generations. Wow, thats cool. You better believe when it comes time to hand it down, I will pound it in their heads over and over the gun is to never be sold under any circumstances. I really hope it shoots well but I will take it to gunsmith first to give it a good look-over. Maybe he can tell me what size shells it takes as I'm not 100% sure.

Man, I'm sorry yours got stolen. Of course the criminals dont care but that was 20 years ago and you still remember it, and will probably never forget it. Guns, especially heirlooms, are sacred and the thieves just sell them for beer money. AAARRRGGGHHH. They dont care how deeply it effects people.

You can thank all the respondents by posting some photos of your heirloom shotgun. Model 12's are still very much sought after and the 20 ga guns, while not rare, were made in lower numbers than the 12 ga SG.

Good idea Puma Guy. Lets see if I can get it right the first time???

Hmmm. Didnt work. I'll research on posting pics here.