Winchester Model 12 Riot Gun
Winchester Repeating Arms Company · Shotgun · Discontinued · 1918
Also known as: Winchester M12 Riot Gun, Model 1912 Riot Gun, Winchester Model 12 Police
Overview
The Winchester Model 12 Riot Gun is the short-barreled police and guard variant of the Model 12 pump-action shotgun, a hammerless smoothbore 12-gauge designed by Thomas Crossley Johnson. Introduced in 1918, it pairs the standard Model 12 takedown receiver with a plain 20-inch cylinder-bore barrel, but unlike the military trench gun it carries no perforated heat shield and no bayonet adapter. Marketed to police departments, sheriffs, express messengers and railroad guards, the riot gun holds up to six 2.75-inch shells in its tubular magazine and, thanks to the absence of a trigger disconnector, can be slam-fired by holding the trigger down while cycling the action, making it a formidable close-range weapon.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3200 g (112.9 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1003 mm (39.49") |
| Barrel Length | 508 mm (20.00") |
| Action Type | Pump Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 6 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Tubular |
| Muzzle Velocity | 400 m/s (1312 fps) |
| Effective Range | 40 m (44 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Smoothbore |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Walnut |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 12 Gauge · primary — also known as 12ga, 12 Bore
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Tubular Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Cross Bolt Safety
- Features: Cylinder Bore Barrel, Slam Fire Capable, External Tubular Magazine, Takedown Construction, Hammerless Receiver
Base model
Service history
Operators
- United States Army · adopted 1918
- United States Marine Corps
- United States law enforcement agencies
Conflicts
- World War I (1914-1918)
- World War II (1939-1945)
- Korean War (1950-1953)
- Vietnam War (1955-1975)
Production
Production years: 1918-1963
Total Model 12 production across all configurations was approximately 2,000,000; riot and trench guns together accounted for tens of thousands of military and police purchases across both world wars.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Thomas Crossley Johnson
Discontinued: 1963
Notes
The riot gun differs from the Model 12 trench gun only in lacking the heat shield and bayonet lug; both used the same 20-inch cylinder-bore barrel. After the 1934 Federal Migratory Bird Act, civilian and law-enforcement guns typically shipped with a removable wooden magazine plug limiting capacity to two shells. Riot guns saw service alongside trench guns from World War I through Vietnam.
Background
The plain-barreled riot gun was the everyday police and prison-guard companion to the more famous trench gun, riding in patrol cars, railway express cars and bank guard racks throughout the 20th century.