Up through my 1934 Winchester catalogue they show the small pistol grip. The next Winchester catalogue I have is 1938 which shows the new style grip. Riffle says the grip style changed in 1935.
I had a wonderful Sage Grouse hunt in the area around Craig, Colorado, in 1970.
Dave Riffle is 100% right- from 1912 to 1934- the field model 12's (and 1912's for you "purists")had the "perch belly" style buttstock with the smaller radius pg- which I prefer. I have a field M12 12 gauge 28" full made in 1921, and a field M12 20 gauge 28"mod made in 1931, and they both have these style grips --which I prefer, as I do a POW style grip on by side-by-side double guns.
