Ted, I would guess that the Model 21s you recall having "heard about" actually had loose ribs or forend lugs back when Winchester would have fixed them for thirty two bucks. Unfortunately, the owners probably wouldn't know a loose rib if it spit on them. I shot a Model 21 Trap with a loose rib and forend lug for about twenty years before I had it fixed last year. I just didn't shoot it in the rain. Your use of the word "lug" would lead some readers to believe that the locking lug became unsoldered and loose, which cannot happen in a 21. It really isn't that big a problem and I've had one loose rib in about twenty five Model 21s over 44 years.
