Classic pumps before the 870

[Kookla]

I love pump action shotguns. These days when they are talked about, it's mostly 870's, 500's and not much else.

Hoping for folks to post pictures, thoughts and experiences with those pump guns that were out before the Remington 870, so that would be prior to 1950 IIRC. Thanks!

 

[Acera]

The Remington 10 was a popular gun, served our military in a number of conflicts as well.

Of course the Winchester 1897 is probably the most classic design, a product of the mind of JMB.

The above gun was replaced by another classic, the Winchester 1912, AKA called the Model 12.



.

 

[stoky]

Hemingway's fave was the Winchester Model 12

(arguably) The most iconic could be the Winchester 1897

very businesslike looking in social config :

 

[DDDWho]

IMO the lines of the Model 12 Winchester approach art. I have 2 which I inherited. Every time I look at one I'm amazed at the quality. They're iconic.

You'll find no stamping or plastic in the Model 12. It was built to last a lifetime. Both of mine have lasted 2 lifetimes and will be passed down again

 

[Armored farmer]

here's one of mine. Unfired nib

 

[stoky]

beautiful wood there AF

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I have a Remington Model 29. They only made them about 4 years from the late 20s to early 30s.

 

[Browngirlsdad]

Armored Farmer - that is a beautiful Mod12.

There was also the underappreciate Remington Mod 31 that some would argue was one of the best ever produced.

Also the Ithaca 37 has been around since '37.

JC Higgins pumps are out there as well. Not the prettiest guns, but they put food on a lot of tables.

I come from a long line of Winchester 97 owners (4th generation), and I hunt 95% of the time with a Mod12.

 

[Speedo66]

Ithaca 37 is probably the nicest pump gun a left handed shooter can get, bottom ejection is the key. Fine overall regardless.

 

[paulsj]

I heard Remington model 17 was nice gun and unlike early model 12 always came from factory with 2&3/4" chambers. When patents ran out Ithaca gun adopted the design and with slight modifications brought it to market.

 

[Wis-Harpo]

My first "real" shotgun was a Model 31 in 20 gauge that my grandfather gave me when I was 13 years old. That was in 1962, I still have to this day. It was the model right before the 870, and only had one action bar not the 2 in the 870. It was so smooth one action bar was enough. I had to suffer my first year pheasant hunting with the family over choked 410.

 

[.455_Hunter]

I would nominate the Stevens 520 and 620 series- Browning designed, served in WWII, precision craftsmanship.

 

[Crunchy Frog]

I remember seeing Ithaca Model 37s as police riot guns in TV shows like Joseph Wambaugh's "Police Story". I think it was the issue shotgun of the LAPD for many years. A friend sold me a Model 37 when he lost interest in rabbit hunting. After college I spent a few years as a Sheriff's deputy and the department was short on the issued Remington 870s so I had the barrel of the Ithaca cut down to 18.5" and kept it in the patrol car. My Ithaca did not have the extended magazine tube and due to the design you can't just screw on an extension. The fit and finish was very good except it had impressed checkering. It also is a lightweight hunting gun that would give you a pretty good thump. I eventually sold it off to make room for something more suited to my interests.

I started cowboy action shooting about seven years ago. The rifles and shotguns we use are generally those in production before 1900. The Winchester 1897 is, in fact, the only pump shotgun legal under the SASS rules. Marlin made an exposed hammer pump Model 1898 but it was "nixed" in the sport due to concerns over the safety of those old guns. I bought another shooter's 1897 (made in 1906) that had been slicked up by one of the top cowboy gunsmiths; that shotgun was super smooth but it had been tossed around and abused by a line of cowboy shooters and was near the end of its useful life when I sold it for parts. My wife liked it and it wore a shortened stock; when I sold it I had to find another (a youngster made in the '20s) that is pretty slick. The '97 makes a very satisfying sound when cycled and it looks like the gun turns inside out. I really like the '97, a truly classic pump a JMB design to boot.

Wild Bunch Action Shooting is a "spinoff" of cowboy action shooting, loosely based on the movie "The Wild Bunch" which was set in 1913. At first the Winchester '97 was the only shotgun legal for the sport but the rules were later changed to allow the use of the Winchester Model 12 (it is period correct and at least one was used by a character in the movie). The Model 12 quickly became the choice of many Wild Bunch shooters. Winchester made 2 million of these shotguns so there are many still in circulation. I found a "project gun" that I fixed up. In the process I had a chance to learn the insides and outsides of the Model 12; it is a well made firearm from a bygone era. Winchester discontinued it in favor of guns that were less expensive to manufacture, more's the pity. I am still trying to develop the confidence shooting the Model 12 that I had with the '97, but it's a great shotgun.

 

[Crawdad1]

Here's my Model 12. A 12 gauge built in 1927 and the action is smooth as silk. Fits neatly in that canvas take down case also.

 

[FL-NC]

I have my grandfather's model 12, nice gun to be sure. But to me the absolute best will always be the ithaca 37. In 20 gauge, my Remington 17- which is essentially an ithaca 37 in 20 gauge.

 

[Armored farmer]

Here's my Model 12. A 12 gauge built in 1927 and the action is smooth as silk. Fits neatly in that canvas take down case also.

Thanks for posting the pictures of that takedown case. My dad used to carry his win 42 to the squirrel woods in a case like that.

 

[Crawdad1]

Model 42, I love those guns.

Its funny how people react when I show up with that takedown case and pull a pump shotgun out of it.

 

[Armored farmer]

Those mod 12s, 42s, and 97s are great takedown guns. Much more compact than 870s and others.

I like takedown guns.

 

[bushmaster1313]

 

[Crawdad1]

Those mod 12s, 42s, and 97s are great takedown guns. Much more compact than 870s and others.

I like takedown guns.

I bought that Model 12 just before the Holidays in December at a local gunshop and was among a half dozen sitting there. The one I bought was the best of the lot, which isn't saying much as all of them were beaters. I went back to the gunshop in January and all of them were sold. People around here would go nutso over your NIB Model 12.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Model 12s are abundant and can be found patiently waiting in most corner gun shops and at gun shows all the time. As long as it's not a heavily worn or abused example, they are excellent and priced reasonably. Some call them the greatest pump shotgun made. The milled steel machining is wonderful and they are usually very smooth guns. Much recommended, I loved the one I had but sold it and do regret it some.

 

[Crawdad1]

To tell you the truth and until the internet and the auction sites I've never seen a Model 12 with its original bluing and stock finish that wasn't completely worn down or off. In other words, I never seen a Model 12 that wasn't beat to death.

 

[792mauser]

Top:
Remington- model 10 from 1920
Winchester- model 97 takedown from 1926
Winchester- model 97 solid frame from 1924
Winchester- model 12 T/D from 1929

 

[DDDWho]

Trying out a new photo sharing site. These are my 2 Model 12s

 

[Axis II]

I don't have any pics but when I was about 15/16yo my brother in law who got me started hunting picked up a revelation 12ga with 29/30inch barrel. The stock was abused and it had a little rust but i think he gave $50 for it. I took some steel wool and oil to the barrel and got the surface rust off and stripped the old stain off the stock and rubbed old English wood polish into the stock and it really brought out the grain. I loved that gun. Killed many pheasants and rabbits with it and a lot of clay targets. I own a Mossberg 500 and stoeger O/U now and would trade both for that old shotgun back.