I have 11 older (pre-1950) Model 12's and have shot the living piss out of each and every one over the past 50 years. Never have experienced a broken firing pin, or needed to replace any parts except a cracked buttplate- I agree with Ted, I did take the Model 1912 20 gauge out for barn pigeons (mild weather still here in MI-not great waterfowling yet--and shot two boxes of AA 7/8 ounce skeet loads through it- works like gangbusters, just getting used to the straight hand stock-the only Model 12 I have ever owned or shot with that unique feature. Makes me think of the Havilah Babcock story "Slim Boggins' Mistake"-- as I visualize the main character of that great quail huntin' fable as shooting a similar Model 12.
But, Murphy's Law rules supreme in our world, and anything can fail or break over time, and it is true, if a broken firing pin tip protruded from the bolt face and the bolt was closed into battery on a live round in the chamber- not a good thing indeed. One of many reasons to always have that muzzle pointed in a direction so if that did happen, the worse case scenario would be a schmidtload in the BVD's--
Last edited by Run With The Fox; 10/19/16 08:02 AM.
