Winchester Model 12 Trigger Group Repair

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tiriaq

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The slide release lever on a M12 trigger group has two little straight music wire springs which control its movement relative to the other parts. Cocked and locked, the latch must be manually released to open the action; hammer down, the latch is released.
Encountered a trigger group with both these springs snapped off; owner had managed to obtain replacements, wanted them installed.
Talk about a PITA job.
The springs are set in tiny grooves, the butt end fitting into a tiny hole, and the edges of the grooves are staked to secure them. Semi-permanent assembly. Getting the broken pieces out was a challenge. Once out, installation of the replacements was straightforward, and all that was left to do was reassemble the mechanism.
This design wasn't one of John Moses' greatest moments.
 
The Model 12 is not the gun most people think it is... it is very complicated and expensive to repair.

Basically many parts are not interchangeable between guns. (That's the complete opposite of the 870)

If you work on one thing you most likely will have to work on 3 other things to keep everything in sync and functioning correctly. (That's the complete opposite of the 870)
 
You're right! Glad to hear it. It appeared in the same period as the Winchester autoloading shotgun, which apparently was a real lemon.
 
One of the broken springs was snapped off with a bit projecting past the slide release. When I pushed the slide release out of the trigger group frame, the stump of the spring was bent out slightly, and I was able to bend it further, grab it with little vicegrips, and twist it free. The other was broken off flush. Used a little cold chisel to reverse the staking, and a tiny punch to start the piece out. Pried it free with the chisel. Once the broken stumps were removed, replacing them was straightforward. Tap into place, then stake. The assembly seems to work OK; I only have the trigger group, not the gun, so I can't test it.
It appears that the Model 12 was designed by the same chap responsible for the abortive Winchester Model 1911 semi auto shotgun. The 1911 shotgun was doomed from the get go because Browning's shotgun patents covered all the best design features.
There are some popular guns that I prefer to avoid working on.
 
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