Winchester has had a long and sad history of Fubared autoloaders- bet Old Bennett was kicking himself in the ass for turning down John Browning's great Auto-5 design circa 1903- he was too cheap to pay John a royalty on each one- the rest is history.
Cabelas had a Model 11 for sale- in the lower-tier price level outside the Gun Library here in MI- I finally convinced the Gun Dept mgr. that it was known as "The Widow maker"- and was not a safe design- Then the Model 40 came along pre-WW21. Replaced at a loss to WRA, by a Model 12, as they had many bugs that developed in the field- WRA has always been in a hurry to have a good performing autoloader-such is life.
I have friends who still grouse hunt and like the Model 59- I can't shoot one worth sour owl shit- too damn butt heavy and muzzle light- now a Model 12- that's a whole 'nother ball game.
