You know..the one without a bolt handle. (ugh)
1)What gauges was it chambered for and what
chamber lenghts were available?
2)What`s the magazine capacity?
3)The model designation makes me think the gun
was introduced in 1911,but when was it
discontinued?

And something that got me both confused and
curious.Just listen:
"Opening one was hardly a cinch with cold hands
as the hunter had to grab a knurled segment of
the barrel and pump it backwards.If I am
permitted a bit of sarcasm,it was just a tad
more awkward than opening a Holland & Holland
self-opening double!"

Now,what the hell is a "self-opening" double?

I know there are boxlocks,sidelocks,toplevers,
underlevers,snap-actions,but I`ve yet to hear
`bout a self-opening double.
When I imagine a gun that "self-opens" there`s a sound accompanying it.....KABOOOM!!!

Sorry for this little drift off.

Regards
------------------------------------------------

a self opening double has a spring arrangement which actually pushes upward on the barrels so that when the lever is moved to unbreech the barrels will spring up. makes opening and reloading faster (this is largely a driven shoot issue) altho there is a payoff in added difficulty in closing. there were also designs as well which were "easy openers" that by the arrangement of springs and lock parts were in between self openers and (for lack of a better term) conventional.

the quintessential self opener design is the purdey sidelock built on the beesely patent (which is abt all of them for last 115 yrs or so). a diagram of the lockwork shows the designer (beesely) to be either a genius or a madman in the way the parts all work off one spring.

the 1911 questions, i'm nowhere near my library and as i've never had one iota of interest in that gun other than recognizing it and running away i know nothing.

According to Mr. Bluebook The M1911 was available in 12ga only (I believe all were 2-3/4")with 26" or 28" barrel lengths offered in various chokes. Production ran between 1911-and 1921, with some occuring between 1921-1928; 103,246 were produced. With nicknames like "Widow Maker, Head Buster, and Head Banger" you should avoid them like the plauge, they are simply not safe shotguns. That said I have shot one myself, they're a nasty pointing gun with a bad sight picture (jmo) and they feel very "rickety" and "clicky" when fired, much more so than the A-5. I believe they hold 4 rounds in the mag tube like most other shotguns, but that is beside the point, shooting one is probably just an accident waiting to happen and in my opinion they should be relegated to use as wallhangers only.

i've never in my life met but one person who liked the things and he was so strange (i.e. full of it) that once you got to know him, you took whatever he said and figured the opposite. i think browning was so thorough in his A5 patents that winchester had to resort to the worst ideas imagineable to circumvent them. a recent gun list had a decent article about them but didn't paint a rosy picture.

"When the lever is moved to unbreech the barrels
will spring up."
Now I got the picture
An interesting feature.I wonder if it adds much to the cost of a DR.

"Widow Maker,Head Buster ,and Head Banger"
AFAIK the(Win.)1911 was also "famous" for
notorious stock breaking.

"...a recent gun list had a decent article
about them."
The quote in my opening post is from
1997 GUN DIGEST 51st Edition.There`s an article mentioning and a photo showing threesome of
early Winchester semi-auto shotguns:
the Model 1911,the Model 40,and the Model 50
with a comment- "Ill-fated all"


Thanks for the informative responses

My passion for guns started when I was 12,and
I still learn something new almost everyday.
Isn`t this hobby just wonderful?

I've got a 1911 winchester auto loading shotgun. I bought it as a novelty item, but if one is careful I see no reason why it couldn't be shot safely from what I know of it. I will admit that I'm not fully informed on the creature and yes, do not fully trust it without COMPLETE knowledge of how it functions! I've handled a couple of others since I bought mine and suspect that there is either something worn or broken in my action. I just need to find someone who KNOWS these actions to find out! I would like to have it repaired just for the sake of having a complete functioning gun.

So I too would appreciate ANY knowledge you guys have! I'd also REALLY APPRECIATE any information about a comprehensive source of information on these guns!

As far as the guages they were offered in mine is a 12guage. If memory serves me though I do believe that once I saw one listed on one of the internet gun sales sites that was in 16GA and looked to be original.