fs: 1959 winchester mdl 12 28ga skeet 26"vr..yes a real one, SOLD

The holy grail of model 12's....
I'm letting my M12 28ga skeet gun go. make it yours.
it sat in my cabinet for 31 years. last time i shot it i went 50 straight with it and put it up.
28ga = 1614306. CATALOG # G1217SV
back of receiver is marked 28 on the stock bolt.
barrel is marked SKEET.
AA select feathered crotch factory skeet wood. 3 diamond pigeon grade forearm.
26" VR uncut fixed choke.
riffle book pg 157 says 1955. previous owner said 59.
I bought this gun from a retired winchester employee in meriden, ct.
I'm not going to argue a guy who worked in the factory!
so, i believe 55 on the receiver being made.... but assembled 1956 or later.
my clues:

straight logo transition buttplate.
metal grip cap.
square faced bolt.
knurled rib left to right on sighting plain.
round post introduced 1956.
according to riffle, 55 was the explosive year for demand. thus the reason for guns being slapped together to meet that demand with 16 and 20ga parts.
a 20ga bbl hanger is used on mine. (most 28ga hangers are found on pre war guns.)
last of the 28ga guns had pigeon jeweled bolt and carrier. mine are jeweled.
receiver extension serial looks hand struck to speed assembly. (to crank them out) you decide.

as ive explained to numerous winchester collectors, (and they concurred,) as parts were made, they were stored on shelves. as the piles increased, assemblers would take the most recent from the top of the pile, causing many of the last to be assembled to have early numbers or with older parts from the bottom of the bin.

the gun has a 55 serial, but because of the jeweled bolt and carrier, it was assembled towards the end of the line for 28ga's...which was 1959, with newer parts on top, and using the first of the batch in the pile as far as receivers. it could have truly sat in the pile for 4 years until an assembler got down to it.
hope this helps those that are interested in correctness.

many know that because the 28ga was assembled quickly to meet demand, quality suffered. the 28ga gun was famous for not cycling by shaving the hull as it chambered. this was due to a bad carrier design that allowed the 28ga hull to roll as it was being chambered. a higher factory wall was designed to help the issue but it only worked sometimes. (remember, when this gun was made, plastic ammo had not been invented yet. it was designed around paper hulls.)
mine had that issue, so i had an experimental wall designed to accommodate the plastic hulls positioning on a spare carrier. it worked.
i have the original lower side wall carrier that will be included in the purchase.
this gun was not shot much at all. maybe because of the loading issue. note the lack of wear on the mag tube.
the one blemish on the gun is located on the rear of the receiver where the wood mates up to it on the left side. there is a 1/2" section of minor pitting and discoloration on the edge that is very hard to see, unless you look closely.
the buttplate is original to the gun and shows the proper horizontal sand marks going thru the plate and stock. they match up.
at some point in the guns life, there had to have been a pad installed because there is an extra set of holes drilled in the wood. but, the wood wasn't cut. its factory lop. the owner wisely kept the plate.
this gun was displayed in gun shows as part of a traveling winchester promotion. the bbl hallmarks were lightened with typewriter correction fluid and can be cleaned out with proper solvent.
otherwise, the gun is absolutely beautiful.
chamber is for modern ammo, 2 3/4".
choke measures out to be around 003. sorry, i cant offer you any more than that.
there will be no haggling. 10,500.00 firm as is, plus ship to your ffl thru my ffl lower 48 only.
partial trades considered for certified gold coins.
thank you for looking.
more pictures to come.

 

more...

 

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Pic(s) of the left side of the barrel showing the choke marking please. Also, pic of the cartridge stop with "28" stamped in it. Pic of the side of the rib and the top of the rib please.

 

choke mark is in pic 2.
portion of top of the rib can be seen in the second set of pics, pic 11.
the cartridge stop is unique in design, which identifies it to be 28ga., pic 9.

 

sorry, im hanging tuff. 13500.00 plus ship.
lower 48 only, ffl to ffl.

 

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there one of these on guns international with a refinished forearm and a chipped toe going for 13,500.00!
mines as nice if not nicer.
don't miss out.

 

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finding one of these is like finding a prairie dog sticking his head up on opening day of varmint season.
keep your offers to trade coming.

 

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potential buyer pulled his offer to trade a k80 r&i.
gun is still available.

 

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the exact same gun that was on g'international...' just sold for 13,500.00.
and mine is in better condition. the demand for these guns continues to go up.

 

of course im open to trades.

 

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will trade for gold coins. happy wife, happy life.

 

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tell ya what.........10 grand for 7 days. as is plus ship. ffl to ffl. im in a good mood.
goes back to 13,500 monday.

 

wow. must be tuff out there.
one more week, 10 grand plus ship.
as is...

 

Welcome to The Club of Having Great Stuff...That No One Wants. Happy 4th of July and Thanks for Your Service.

 

hopefully with a new white house in nov.....things will change.

until then, those that can shoot AND eat, buy.
those that can only eat, dont shoot, and dont buy.

the lefty's wiped out an entire shooting market.

 

sale expired. back to 13,500.00.

 

btt...

 

im seeing a lot more poor examples of 28ga m12's getting posted on websites for sale. im still proud of mine. come and get it.

 

a true parts gun just sold for 9 grand on GI with no shame. it had a 1963 serial number (which made it a 20ga receiver,) it had 1963 wood and grip cap, and the bbl was a pre ww2 assy in a modified choke!
folks, they stopped making them in 1959!
mine is real.
and its a skeet choke.
come and get it.

 

im getting a lot of calls on this gun asking for a 3 day insp.
sorry folks, this is an 'as is' sale. i will not allow the buyer to disassemble, marr, and damage this gun on a 3 day insp period, only to return it because one molecule in the universe is out of place. ask your questions now or forever hold your peace.

and too, i will not suffer accusations or endure the classic collectors attitude of guilty until proven innocent mentality. either you want it or you dont.
this is the argument i pose to the hypercritical collectors. if you try to claim my gun isnt as real one, then i challenge you in return to prove it isnt.
you cant. all winchester records were destroyed in a factory fire in the 60s and you know it.
so what it boils down to is trust and integrity.
i hold more proof from more good people that it is.
this gun passed into my possession from a well regarded gun shop in conn..
winchester employees frequented it all the time. i TRUSTED the owner of that gun shop. his reputation was paramount.
my gun was handled by numerous former employees at my conn gun club and they concur'ed its real.
i paid renowned gunsmith lawerence pylinski to disassemble it at the 1994 world shoot and he confirmed its real and, that it had the 28 mark on the receiver. he mentioned that it was tight as the day it was made.
my gun is a 400% PREMIUM for being a skeet choked knurled vent rib gun. vent ribs were only offered for 5 years and only came in one design, a round post.
so....before any thieving winchester collector wants to take me on, by hinting that im a liar and that my gun is a fake to get it on the cheap....think twice. i did my homework on this gun. its worth my asking price.
i hope this helps others wondering and wanting to learn about the mystery and controversial cut throat 28ga m12 market.