22K and counting

[Cold Spring]

Four years ago I found a 1949 Winchester M-12 Field gun, 12 gauge with 32” barrel that was reworked by Simmons in 1995 to include one of their vent ribs and a nicely figured MC stock. She was redone as a Trap gun and shot a little high for sporting clays. I reworked the comb to shoot “flat” and began to use her as my go-to sporting gun. About a year later I got distracted when putting her in the vertical gun rack on my cart, didn't use the elastic safety strap, and she fell off while backing down the incline at Station 10 at Rock Mountain. That badly dinged and cracked the buttstock. I replaced it with a Deluxe stock that I found at a Gun Show and added a tapered spacer under a Jostam recoil pad because someone had cut the butt at an odd angle for pitch. I’m careful to clean and lube the bolt locking cut in the receiver after each outing and once in a while I’ll pull the barrel and lube the slide nub that works the bolt. I’ll also lube both extractor springs. Otherwise no special cleaning other than a rag into the bolt opening to clean out burned powder. I use Alliant E3 in my reloads and it's so clean burning I don't clean the barrel all that often. Anyway, today I fired the 22,000 th shot since she came to me. The bolt lift is still as measured when I first got her and with no wear indicated. Same with the sllde lock engagement. Extraction and ejection are perfect with any shell I care to fire; almost always my Rem Gun Club and STS reloads with 7/8 or 1-ounce of 7-1/2's at 1200 speed.

Winchester claimed that with proper care Model 12’s would hold up for something like 325,000 rounds. Not sure how the Big Red W extrapolated to that figure but I tend to believe it.