Slugs in an old 20 gauge Winchester Model 12 ???

[soonerboomer]

Hey all,
I inherited and old 20 gauge Winchester Model 12. Its a fun gun and the action is like butter.
While it is without a doubt a nice little quail, dove, or clays gun, it also happens to be my home defense gun.
Would it hurt to fire slugs through this lightweight and thin barreled shotty?
If slugs are a no-no, what about buckshot?
To date, only 7 1/2 shot has traveled down the pipe of this little shotgun.
Please share your thoughts.

 

[Dave McCracken]

You have a fine old shotgun....

However, like other old guns, a check out by a qualified smith is called for here. He/she can check for chamber length, headspace and also actual choke constriction.

If the actual choke runs Mod or more open, slugs should be OK. Same with buck, though you may find patterns better at Full. Or maybe not.

There's few absolutes in Shotgunland.

 

[soonerboomer]

The barrel is marked as Modified.
I guess it just seems kind of thin walled to me in comparing it to my 870.

 

[rcmodel]

They hadn't invented steel shot or screw-in choke tubes when your gun was made, so the muzzle didn't need to look like a iron gas pipe then.

Forster type rifled slugs were invented in the mid-1930's, and at that time all better grade guns like the model 12 had slim graceful barrels.
And a fairly large percentage of them had Full choke barrels

SO, standard rifled slugs will do no harm in any degree of choke you happen to have, including full choke.

rc