doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Winchester Model 21

I've always had a keen fondness for the Winchester Model 21 as I'm sure many others do. I'd like to see some photos of some nice 21's. I would also like to hear some opinions on what people think they like about the Win 21 and also what they don't like, both as a target and as a game guns. Anybody interested in this topic on a cold winter day?

Sign up on the model21shotgun.com website and post a few comments. There are some great pictures on there and the webmaster has not closed down the website as he said he might. The bluepike.tripod.com website has apparently been closed. It was a great Model 21 website at one time.

Here's a few....
Some shooters/collectors feel the 21 was the best of the American sxs guns. I don't believe you can wear one out simply shooting it.
Winchester also did some nice custom work on 21's....12 gauge 2 barrel set no. 6 engraved with B checkering.
"Winchester's Finest The Model 21" by Ned Schwing is the definitive book on this shotgun and well worth reading by anyone interested in 21's.

Last time I tried to visit Mike's M-21 site about 6 or 8 months ago, my anti-virus filter warned me away from it as a dangerous site -- apparently it got infected. He'd collected quite a bit of data on actual weights of M-21s by gauge.

Jay

I have had 12, 16 and 20's, two were two barrels sets and one set was a composite set plus several single guns. all down the road these days. Never had a 28 or .410, but did lust for one long ago. Great guns for clay targets but they were built like tanks. Heavy to carry, when you get older and understand that a pound or two less becomes 20 by the end of the day.

Never had a failure of any type with any M-21. Workmanship was as good as it gets. The 20 was custom shop gun and the others were production guns all before 1964.

Funny thing about M-21 that no matter what you have the dealers want to tell you that is not in demand to try to lower your asking price more so than any other type of gun I have dealt in. Then when they get it in their shops it becomes the rarest thing on Earth.

I was looking for an early two trigger field gun and every one I came across was rare as hens teeth. Then the same shops acted like the two triggers were as bad as rust when I tried to sell the one I bought several years later. The same dealer who wanted an extra grand for one told me two trigger demand was gone and it was now worth five hundred less than a single.

Point is that this is a very specialized market and everything needs to be considered before any sale. Winchester hype does drive the price to some extent and you have to be careful not to fall in love with any one gun when looking. Many of the engraved guns are factory personal upgrades so be aware.

Here you go, my latest,
a 16 gauge Skeet, 2 barrel set.



Jon,
I've got a 1933 double trigger, extractor gun. 20 gauge.
By far the lightest 21 I own at 6 lbs even.

An interesting topic & I'm surprised it hasn't drawn more comments.

People seem to either love the 21 or don't like it at all. One of the English gun writers (Geoffrey Boothroyd possibly) referred to the 21 as "Truly Ugly" which I think is a little extreme but the 21 is a long way from the most handsome boxlock I've ever seen. I would call it solid & purposeful looking sort of like a 32 Remington/Krieghoff K80 O/U would be described & like the 32 Remington/Krieghoff K80, covering it with lots of engraving & or "gold chickens", doesn't IMHO improve the looks over that of the basic gun in most cases. I like some of the custom aftermarket engraved guns that are done with a little restraint much better than I like the factory pattern highly engraved guns.

The 21 has a reputation for strength & durability due to the long action bar & the type of steel used in it's manufacture but as Ky Jon has said in his comments the 21 is on heavy side & this is especially apparent when compared to English & European game guns of the same gauge.

To me most all 12 ga 21's are too heavy to be considered for use as an upland gun but they make an excellent clay target gun for the few of us who prefer a SxS for clays & for those that prefer a single trigger the 21's trigger is one of the better ones made.

The 16 & 20 ga. 21's however do make very nice upland guns as their weight is reasonably close to that of a 12 ga English game gun. I especially like the feel of most 16 ga 21's & the weight is close to perfect for shooting 1 1/16 or 1 1/8 oz of shot.

Engraved by Sam Welch. 16 bore Skeet

Yes, it's odd to me there isn't more interest in this thread. I guess people either love 21's or hate them as has been mentioned. I think they are very well built guns. Very few guns are made with chopper lump barrels like the Model 21. Here's a photo of a gun I picked up several years ago. This gun is a 20b that was made in the Winchester custom shop. It has vent rib, 28" barrels, choked IC/Mod. It has engraved on the top rib 'Custom Built by Winchester for Kerr's Beverly Hills'. Apparently, Kerr's was a sporting good store that sold guns to the movie stars back in the day. It's a neat gun imho. [img:center][/img]

Daryl,

Your post proves there is an exception to every rule. That is one of the few engraved 21's with gold that I like! Very nicely done.