i just picked up a model 12 made in 1953 in real great shape. however, the fore grip seems woobly, like on the 870's (you can move it side to side) and the magazine tube can be moved in the same way. i dont think it has been used much, there is little wear on the magazine tube, it still has most of the bluing on it without the usual rub marks on it. can anything be done to tighten this up? thanks

It's a pump and the forend is attached very much like the 870. It slips over a metal tube and is held tight by a threaded cap. Unlike the Rem 870, which has 2, the Win 12 only has 1 arm. You can try tightening the action slide cap, but it's still going to wobble some.

Both of my Model 12s wobble. They have had thousnads of rounds through them and they still function flawlessly. Take em apart and put em back together.

I always thought the M12 was the slickest pump gun out there. It's the only one, that I've ever seen, that when held vertically, muzzle up, would open by itself when the release was activated.

Check to see if the two screws on each side of the clamp that holds the mag tube to the barrel are tight. It may be they are a little loose and cause the wobble.

I have shot the Model 12 Trap gun for many years now and from time to time have worked on them and if I understand what you are saying, the forend "clamp" has two screws, left and right, and upon inspecting you will note there is a recess/slot in that area of the barrel and a spacer which is milled to fit the contour of the mag. tube. If that is not installed properly you would see some lateral movement in the tube itself and should not be that way. Might want to check that area out to see what is going on there. After some few hundred times you will get the idea as to how it works, but it is a pain to get it lined up. There is also a stamped/spring plate that inserts in that area and pay attention to that as well. That Model 12 Winchester is an engineering marvel and even if you should shoot the gun "loose" a competent 'smith can do the adjustments provided for in the design to bring it back to near new condition. If needed, I have a good 'smith manual on the 12 and would loan you to study and welcome to copy it if you wish.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Kobe:
Check to see if the two screws on each side of the clamp that holds the mag tube to the barrel are tight. It may be they are a little loose and cause the wobble.

That would definitely make things unstable.

i checked and everything is tight. thanks everyone for the replies.

dsiteman- i would like to borrow that manual. let me know how much you would like for shipping. pm sent

another question- when i put shells in the magazine tube, they dont stay in the tube like on my 870, 1200, or 1100. someone told me this is correct. the shotgun cycles fine, but is this right?

"when i put shells in the magazine tube, they dont stay in the tube like on my 870, 1200, or 1100. someone told me this is correct. the shotgun cycles fine, but is this right?"

That's correct. The carrier acts as the primary shell stop on a Model 12. As you are putting each shell into the magazine, you have to let the carrier come back down a bit to hold it in place. You use the next shell to press the carrier up and hold the previous shell in place while you insert the next one. It takes a little bit different technique than your Remingtons.

Another thing you will notice a bit different than the others, if you should happen to dry fire the gun and then try to cycle it, you will need to push the forearm forward slightly for the bolt to unlock. This is normal and doesn't pose a problem when actually firing the gun as the recoil will force the hand forward as the rest of the gun moves back into the shoulder.

Another tidbit about the Model 12, is the lack of a trigger disconnector. If you hold the trigger back, the gun will fire every time the bolt goes into battery. I point that out to every customer that brings me his "new" Model 12 to look at.

Apropos to nothing being discussed here, this same feature on the Model 97 in the hands of officer not familiar with it is believed to have been the cause of the Kansas City Union Station massacre in 1933. When the officer in the back seat of the car saw Pretty Boy Floyd and some other unsavory characters approaching, he chambered a round, discharging it through the windshield. It must have startled him, because he repeated the drill. One or both of the shots killed the prisoner and officer in the front seat. When Floyd and the others thought they were being fired at from the car, they joined in. The FBI version for the past 75 years has been that the bad guys started it. Hoover used the outrage over the "unprovoked attack" to boost the authority of the FBI. An author named Robert Unger has written a well-documented book with the theory of the events as I've described them.

Pardon my sidetracking the thread. I've found the story interesting from a firearms, historical and political prospective ever since I read about it.

Please don't dry fire Model 12s. That's how the firing pins get broken.

Hello all M 12 lovers,

The shell stop when loading the magazine is actually part of the bolt and not the carrier. Try loading one in the mag with the action open and you will see that the carrier does not hold the shell in there. It is the little thingy sticking down from the bottom of the bolt that acts as the shell stop.

Loading the 12 in cold weather is one of the fun things about the gun while watching others pinch their fingers loading the Remingtons or having to manually press the carrier down to keep from doing so. And if you don't press the shell all the way in the magazine past the shell stop of a Rem then out pops the shell when you need to be killing ducks.

When I was in high school I tightened my old one up by adjusting that spline apparatus at the junction of the bbl and receiver. I don't think it requires a gunsmith to tighten that up when the bbl starts loosening, just a little mechanical ability. That setup itself is an engineering marvel.

IMO, they are the Elvis of pump actions; there will never be another to equal it even though it has only one action bar. Merg