Winchester Model 1912

Winchester Model 1912 shotgun
Winchester Model 12 12-gauge pump-action shotgun manufactured in 1948
TypeShotgun
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1912–present
Used byUnited States Army
United States Navy
United States Marine Corps
WarsWorld War I
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
Production history
DesignerT.C. Johnson
John M. Browning
ManufacturerWinchester Repeating Arms Company
Produced1912–1964, with special production runs until 2006
No. builtnearly 2,000,000
VariantsSee text
Specifications
Caliber12 gauge, 16 gauge, 20 gauge, 28 gauge
ActionPump-action, Tilting bolt
Feed system6-round tubular magazine (see text for more details)

The Winchester Model 1912, also commonly known as the Winchester 1912, Model 12, or M12, is an internal-hammer pump-action shotgun with an external tube magazine. Popularly named the Perfect Repeater at its introduction, it largely set the standard for pump-action shotguns over its 51-year high-rate production life. From August 1912 until first discontinued by Winchester in May 1964, nearly two million Model 12 shotguns were produced in various grades and barrel lengths. Initially chambered for 20 gauge only, the 12 and 16 gauge versions came out in 1913 (first listed in the 1914 catalogs), and the 28 gauge version came out in 1934. A .410 version was never produced; instead, a scaled-down version of the Model 12 known as the Model 42, directly derived from scaled drawings of the Model 12, was produced in .410.