The classic pheasant gun is a 12- or 16-gauge repeater, chosen because ringneck pheasants are tough and often found in bunches. When the air is full of cackling roosters, as it commonly was back ...

Some of its fans have even gone so far as to agree with the company’s appellation of the gun as “the perfect repeater.” The Model 12 was initially offered in 20 gauge only, which made it the ...

Winchester’s subsequent ads christened it “The Perfect Repeater.” Brought out in 1913 as the Model 1912 and priced at $20, the name was shortened to Model 12 in 1919.