Marv inherited a Winchester Model 12 in 16ga.
It is NOT a Remington 870.
It is NOT a Mossberg 500.
I say that because all three are pump shotguns with internal hammers. That's just about where the similarity ends.
Being familiar with an 870 leads to making mistakes on something as simple as loading the gun. On an 870 the ready round is held in the magazine completely. On the 12 the ready round is held by a tab on the bottom of the bolt and the next round is stopped by the cartridge stop while the elevator is presenting the ready round to the chamber. When you close the action, the cartridge stop moves and releases the round against the tab on the bolt.
Here's a vid.
Another interesting bit is the slide lock not disengaged by firing, but by either pushing the slide forward or using the latch behind the trigger guard.
It is NOT a Remington 870.
It is NOT a Mossberg 500.
I say that because all three are pump shotguns with internal hammers. That's just about where the similarity ends.
Being familiar with an 870 leads to making mistakes on something as simple as loading the gun. On an 870 the ready round is held in the magazine completely. On the 12 the ready round is held by a tab on the bottom of the bolt and the next round is stopped by the cartridge stop while the elevator is presenting the ready round to the chamber. When you close the action, the cartridge stop moves and releases the round against the tab on the bolt.
Here's a vid.
Another interesting bit is the slide lock not disengaged by firing, but by either pushing the slide forward or using the latch behind the trigger guard.