Model 1912 was an advance over the 1897 in many respects. The hammer is internal and the receiver has smoother lines. On the '97 the carrier (lifter) is a large and machined chunk of steel. On the Model 12, Winchester trimmed it down considerably, until it was a flat tongue. Still made of forged and machined steel, it is much lighter than the carrier of the '97. The lighter weight is one of the reasons the Model 12 is such a fast-pumping shotgun.
Check to make sure it is unloaded. To disassemble the Model 12 you start with the exact same method as you do on a take-down Model 97, by removing the barrel and magazine tube assembly. With the front half off, turn the shotgun over. Behind the trigger guard is a single screw. The trigger guard is held in place by this screw and a shoulder at its front that hooks into the receiver directly behind the opening for the cartridge lifter. Turn the screw out and remove it. The trigger guard can then be removed by lifting the rear of it out of the receiver, and then pulling towards the buttstock. With the trigger assembly out, you need to remove the ejector and shell stop. With a small screwdriver, gently pry the ejector out of its hole in the receiver. Then remove the shell stop. The bolt will be locked into the receiver. The lock is on the side of the bolt away from the ejection port. To unlock the bolt, reach in with the screwdriver and press the rear of the lock lever into the bolt. With the bolt unlocked, pull it to the rear and upwards to remove it from the receiver.
Scrub and lubricate the parts. Insert the bolt into the receiver and press the front of the bolt lock lever to lock it in place. Slide the ejector into its slot in the bolt and press it forward until it pops into its hole in the side of the receiver. Slide the shell stop into the receiver and into its slot between bolt and receiver. Press the front of the trigger assembly into the receiver and pivot it down until it is flush with the receiver, and replace the trigger guard screw.
The barrel and magazine tube assembly go back into the Model 12 in the exact manner as on the 1897. (Despite their being operationally identical, the barrel and magazine assemblies of the 1897 and the Model 12 are not interchangeable.)
Browning A-5
The Browning shotgun was the first dependable self-loading shotgun. While he had many competitors in the automatic pistol field (not that their numbers helped, Browning still prevailed), John Browning was alone in conceiving and designing a self-loading shotgun. As he held the patents, he could and did license its manufacture to several firms at once. You may run into Brownings, Remingtons. Savages and many others that all work the same. They are all Browning A-5's in operation even if their parts are not interchangeable.
The disadvantage of being first is the legacy of old concepts. Unlike newer designs (starting with the Remington redesign of their shotgun lines right after World War II), the A-5 can be a hassle to take apart. Modern shotguns come apart with a couple of drift pins, and leave you with a few large assemblies. When you are done stripping your A-5, you'll have at least 10 screws on the bench along with the receiver and its internals as individual parts. The screw slots on Brownings are narrower than any other screws you are likely to run in to, and you should specially grind screwdriver blades to fit them.
The Browning action is called the “long-recoil” action. At lockup, the bolt is locked to the barrel. Upon firing the barrel and bolt recoil to the rear of the receiver while they are still locked together. At the rear, the bolt unlocks, and the barrel goes forward. As it runs forward, the barrel ejects the empty. The next shell has been traveling with the bolt, pressing on the bolt-mounted shell stop. Without that shell, the action would lock open. With the second shell now under the bolt, the bolt follows the barrel forward. Running forward, the bolt chambers the round. The bolt and barrel each have their own recoil spring. The bolt spring is in the buttstock, while the barrel spring is around the magazine tube, hidden by the handguard.
Lock the bolt back and press the barrel back into the receiver.
To disassemble the A-5 make sure it is not loaded. Lock the bolt to the rear. Place the butt of the shotgun on your bench with the barrel vertical and grasp the barrel. Press the barrel against its spring back into the receiver an inch or 2. Let go with one hand and unscrew the magazine cap. Remove the cap and slide the forearm off the magazine tube. While the forearm is supported on the shotgun, it is relatively strong. Off the shotgun the forearm is a hollow shell that you can easily damage if you are not careful. Place the forearm someplace where it cannot fall or have anything heavy set down on it. Ease the barrel forward and remove it from the magazine tube. Remove the recoil spring and friction rings.
Grasp the operating handle of the bolt and hold it to the rear. On the side of the receiver just under the ejection port is a button. It is the bolt release button. Press the button and ease the bolt forward. If you do not restrain the bolt, it will slam forward and stop when the handle strikes the front of the ejection port. If you look closely at enough used Brownings you will see the ding this creates.
Unscrew the magazine cap…
…and remove the barrel and forearm.
Now get out your screwdrivers. There are many screws on the Browning, and they are all fitted to the receiver. In order to get them back correctly I lay the screws out in the pattern they are in when in the receiver.
Press the bolt latch and ease the bolt forward.
Turn the receiver over and look at the lower tang behind the trigger guard. You will see three screws. The closest one to the trigger guard locks the hammer spring in place. Leave it atone for now. It comes out much later. It is not uncommon to see this screw slot chewed up from attempts to remove it too early in the process. The hammer spring tension must be relieved or its tension will be too great for the screw to be removed.
Turn your attention to the rear pair. The smaller one is a lock screw. Remove this small screw, then unscrew the larger one. The large one holds the stock on, passing through it to the upper tang.
With the screws out, place a disassembly pad or folded towel at the edge of your bench. Hold the stock in one hand and the receiver in the other, and tap the rear of the receiver against the pad. The stock will slide off. Set it aside.
If you let the bolt slam forward when the barrel is off, you'll kick up an unsightly burr.
Turn the receiver onto its right side. On the left side of the receiver just above the trigger guard are the trigger assembly screws. As with the tang screw, the smaller-headed screws are lock screws. Remove the lock screws and then the trigger assembly screws. The trigger assembly is tightly-fitted and may require some forceful pulling to extricate it. With the trigger assembly out, turn the receiver upside down. On the inside of the receiver on the side away from the ejection port is a leaf spring. This spring activates the lifter. At its front end it is hooked under a stud on the lifter. Press the tip down and then to the side to free the spring. With the tension relieved, slide the spring off of its pivot post. (Some Brownings have the spring attached to the trigger assembly housing.) Turn the receiver onto either side. The large-headed screws are the lifter pivot pins. The smaller screws are their lock screws. Remove the lock screws and then the lifter pivot screws. Pull the lifter (one or two-piece) out of the receiver.
