Guns International #: 103002998

Category - Winchester Shotguns - Model 12 - Winchester Shotguns - Model 12 - Heavy Duck

Category
Winchester Shotguns - Model 12
Winchester Shotguns - Model 12 - Heavy Duck

RARE Factory-Engraved 1959 Winchester Model 12 Heavy Duck w/ Original Matching Box & Paperwork *A Centerpiece Addition to ANY Collection!*

Description:
 This is truly rare, late 1950's Winchester pump-shotgun in beautiful all-original condition!   This Model 12 "Heavy Duck" features #1 factory-engraving with scrollwork-framed ducks on each side of the receiver, additional scrollwork on the underside of the receiver just below the barrel assembly, and on the bottom of the triggerguard.  It has a 30" inch vent-rib barrel choked "Full", a 3"-inch chamber, a deluxe American Walnut stock set with a raised-cheekpiece, a factory-installed recoil pad, and hand-cut checkering on the wrist and forearm accented with hand-carved Fleurs-De-Lis, with 3 around the straight-wristed buttstock, and another 3 on the bottom of the forearm in a line.  The handsome nicely-figured Walnut stock set was finished with a coat of gloss clearcoat.  All of the steel or metal parts of the gun have a factory gloss-blue finish on them except for the bolt and lifter, both of which were left bright and jeweled, providing some flash and contrast to the dark blue.  This spectacular Winchester Model 12 even comes with it's original serial-numbered box, the original owner's manual, and the same promotional hang-tag that it originally left the factory with when it shipped new.  The all-important original factory end-label is still intact and in great condition on this box.  The label clearly shows BOTH of the added-cost options of factory Special Select #1 wood, number #1 engraving, a straight-gripped stock ( that is an "sg" located above the "9" in the serial number), and pattern "B" carving.  The rest of the label has the standard information on it like the model number of the gun, the serial number of the gun, the gauge, the barrel length, and the barrel's choke.
     As you can see from the pictures, this special all-original Winchester is in superb condition overall.  This extremely classy and handsome 66-year old shotgun is so clean that it appears to be unfired since leaving the factory. While there is no way to know that for certain, it definitely does not show any evidence whatsoever that is has been fired.  The internals are just as clean as the exterior, and the exterior rates a solid 97%.  What deductions there are on this gun, come almost entirely from the glossy clearcoat on the wood showing some tiny web-like cracks in it (that usually are caused by age and the wood shrinking rather than from use), some light marring visible on the magazine tube, located just below where magazine tube passes thru the support ring, and some tiny scratches and marring on the exposed side of the bolt (when it's in-battery).  It turns-out that Winchester left some pretty sharp edges on this shotgun on the inside the receiver, and on the inside face of the magazine-tube support ring.  Consequently, extreme care has to be used in both the assembly and disassembly of this shotgun to keep it from causing additional wear and tear in those two places. The remaining  95% of the metal parts finished with the original factory blue finish still look like-new. This blue finish is still very bright, and it is beautifully uniform in appearance, from top to bottom.  The beautiful factory jeweling mentioned earlier on both the bolt and the lifter is still in great shape overall.  Both parts are both still shiny and bright, with no pitting or visible staining on the steel.  It should be noted that there is no stripe worn into the bottom face of the lifter, almost always caused by the rim of shothells making contact with it when being slid into the magazine.  Loading and firing a full box of shells thru it would be more than enough to create this stripe.  The outside face of the bolt is still bright and unstained, but it does show some very tiny scratches in the mirror-like surface.  These marks look much worse in these pictures than they do to the naked eye.  If you look at pictures #3, #17, and #22, you will see how much the lighting and angle can totally change the appearance when taking pictures. These pictures are not edited to look better, yet the bolt in picture #3 looks like it has a totally different wear pattern than the bolt pictured in #22, yet they are the same bolt. 
     The factory engraving on this 1958-production gun is a textbook-like example.  The scrollwork and ducks are all uniform in appearance, cut at a consistent depth into the metal in a consistent style.  The 30" barrel has a perfect mirror-bright bore with zero visible imperfections.  There are no visible dents, pitting, bulges, or repairs in or on the barrel.  The ventilated rib is fully and securely soldered to the barrel.  It "rings" nicely when it's suspended and tapped, indicating there are no loose posts or bad seams present in this barrel assembly.  The FULL choke in this gun is great as you will never be under-choked. You will either hit whatever you are shooting at very hard, or you are morel likely to miss cleanly.  This tight choke is particularly good when hunting live game with it, or when shooting trap.  It will force you to concentrate more on your aim, you will wound less birds, and you will have the ability to shoot both birds and clay pigeons at much longer distances than you could with a more open choke.  I have found that I shoot better when using a shotgun with tight chokes.  You know that your margin for error is smaller, but for me, i think the probability of breaking the clay pigeon offsets most of the margin for error that was lost when your aim is good.  This is due in-part to the shot pattern being more dense and therefore there are not as many voids or holes in the cloud of shot, and what holes there are, are smaller in size in addition to being less numerous.  With the exception of the two internal sharp edges identified earlier, the overall fit and finish of this Winchester pump-shotgun is superb.  All of the parts appear expertly-fit, the joints or seams between these parts and whole assemblies are very flush and tight,  The action or mechanics of this Model 12 have been fit and tuned very well; the action is extremely slick and smooth, which is even more impressive when you consider that this shotgun has not even begun to be "broken-in" yet.  If you bought a new pump gun tomorrow, you would be ecstatic if it felt even HALF as slick and precise as this Model 12 even after you fire 1000 shells thru-it to break it in!  The hand-fitting and hand-tuning performed by the gunsmiths at Winchester on their shotguns during this period is really spectacular.   Despite the ridiculous advances in manufacturing tech and modern machining equipment, no gun manufacturer has been able to replicate that hand-fit and hand-tuned feel without someone highly-skilled actually physically putting their hands on it.  The remainder of the controls on this Model 12 are in perfect working order, and the majority of them still feel stiff from their complete lack of use. 
     The original factory stock set on this Model 12 is in very good condition overall, and both the forearm and buttstock show some very handsome figure in the wood. The buttstock shows a lot of circular-shaped figure in it, and numerous shades of brown and black in that figure that provides beautiful contrast and makes it interesting to look at.  The forearm also shows some very beautiful figure in it,  with multiple dark stripes running perpendicular to the gun, from the nose to the tail of the forearm.  Both parts of the stock set are 100% structurally-sound, with no visible cracks, chips, or chunks missing from it, and the checkering still feels sharp, as the top of each tiny little pyramid that constitutes the checkering is still sharp .  There is no oil staining, soiling, or staining in the checkered panels, and the checkering itself does not show any wear.  The buttstock has a straight "English-style" wrist, free from any cracks or visible defects, and it contains the ideal type of straight grain running thru it for strength.  The buttstock has an ambidextrous style of a raised-comb that runs along the top of the buttstock, which has a very pleasing shape to it.  There are smooth contours at all of the corners and bends, including where the wood tapers upward and downward to create the raised comb.  It feels like the comb will be the perfect height for just about everyone to get a good cheek-weld when the gun is shouldered.  The factory-installed red recoil pad is Winchester-branded at the rear, and it measures 7/8ths" of an inch thick, making the length of pull 13.5" inches total.  This LOP is an inch shorter than what a standard Model 12 would have from the factory at 14.5" inches, due to being a "Heavy Duck" Model 12, with the primary sales target being duck hunters.  The basic idea behind Winchester shortening the LOP on this model, was that duck hunters usually wear heavy coats over multiple layers of clothing to stay warm in the duck blind, and that the thickness of that clothing would make up for that missing inch, ultimately making the LOP the standard 14.5" inches. The main deductions being accounted for from the stock set are overwhelmingly assessed from the spider web-like hairline cracks in the clearcoat.  Unfortunately, these cracks usually form on their own, and they cannot be prevented.  As you can see from the pictures, almost ALL of the cracks that are visible are located directly over the right side of the buttstock where the figure in the wood appears in a swirl-like shape, easily the most highly-figured section of the whole stock set.   These tiny cracks stem from the wood shrinking over time as the water / moisture content within the actual wood slowly evaporates.  
     All in all, this rare and beautiful Winchester Model 12 Heavy Duck pump shotgun is going to be a true "showpiece" for the next owner.  It doesnt matter if you only collect Model 12's or if you collect vintage American-made pump shotguns, this beauty will become one of the true centerpieces to ANY collection it is added to.  Try to find another one just like it....You will likely have zero luck with that.  If you are lucky enough to find a factory-engraved Heavy Duck, it is very likely will lack the factory carved-stock set with a straight-gripped buttstock with a raised comb, and if by some small miracle there is another one just exactly like this one for sale on the market, it will surely NOT still have its original serial-number matching box, manual, and hangtag accompanying it,  This extremely classy and handsome factory-engraved Winchester Model 12 Heavy Duck with all of it's special-order options, is truly one of those guns that you could take to any hunting camp, or any organized shoot in the world, and you can be extremely proud to own it every single time no matter where you are.  This unique and eye-catching Model 12 is just one of those guns that everyone wants to see and handle at any dove shoots, live pigeon shoots, sporting clays courses, skeet fields, trap shoots, or pheasant hunts that you take it to.  It really stands-out from the over and unders and doubles when sitting side-by-side in a rack full of them.  When hunting birds afield, you should probably only load 2 shells at a time.  That way, no one can give you a hard time because you had a third shot that they did not have, nor can they claim it was unfair when you limit out first or shoot a bird 50 yards away that they missed at 20 yards!!  LOL! 
This will most likely be the only one of these you ever see that is identical to this one in every respect, so don't procrastinate if you want to add it to your collection. The odds of seeing another one exactly like this, with the same exact special order options this has, is in  the same excellent condition that this one is in or is better condition, that has an original stock set that is equal-to, or more attractive, than this one, that is totally unmodified, and still has it's original factory box with it, those odds have to be astronomically high, like winning the lottery high! 

NOTE: Please contact us if you have any questions, or if you have a request for pictures of something specific that is not shown at all, or not shown enough to be accurately judged.   It is very hard to get all the shots you want included in the 25 pictures allowed per listing when you have a gun like this one that has so many features and areas that need to be shown.

Price: $7,995.00

Curio/Relic: Yes
Shotgun Gauge: 12 Gauge
Manufacturer: Winchester
Model: Model 12 Heavy Duck (Factory Engraved)
Serial Number: 1790304
Barrel Length: 30" Inches
Bore Info: Smooth
Chambers: 3
Condition: Excellent
Metal Condition: Excellent
Wood Condition: Excellent
Bore Condition: Minty
Action: Pump-Action Shotgun
Stock: Factory Fleur-De-Lis Checkered Deluxe Walnut w/ Cheekpiece
Stock Comb: Factory Monte Carlo-Style Cheekpiece
Fore End: Fleur-De-Lis Checkered Deluxe Walnut
Butt Pad: Factory Original Recoil Pad
Rib: Factory Vent Rib
Finish: Gloss Blue & Jeweled Bolt & Lifter
Sights: Silver Bead Front Sight & Mid-Bead
Manufacture Date: 1959
Chokes: Full
Engraving: Factory Engraved
Extras: Original Factory Box w/ Manual, Etc.