Winchester has a long history of service shotguns within the United States military. They produced the first repeating action adopted by the military in the form of the Model 1897. They followed that up with the Model 12, and for a lot of folks, that seemed to be the end of Winchester in military service. Ithaca, Remington, and eventually Benelli and Mossberg took over. However, for a short period, the Winchester Model 1200 served as the last trench gun in U.S. service.
The Winchester 1200 Shotgun
Winchester watched as Remington revolutionized the shotgun industry with the 870. The 870 was designed for ease of mass manufacture. It could be produced and sold at a lower cost than the Model 12. The gun had two action bars and became an instant favorite. The Model 1200 was their answer to a more affordable, mass-produced pump-action shotgun.
The Model 1200 kept some of that Winchester pizazz. It integrated a rotating bolt for more reliable extraction and ejection. It was the second shotgun to ever do this, being beaten by the often-forgotten AR-17 from Armalite. The rotating bolt has been popular amongst premium-grade shotguns.
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The Military’s Adoption of the Model 1200
In 1968 and 1969, the military purchased a small number of Model 1200s. This was right in the middle of Vietnam, but I cannot find any pictures or firsthand accounts of the 1200 being used there. It’s completely possible some made it over there. The closest source I found stating the 1200 made it to Vietnam was the book US Combat Shotguns by Leroy Thompson.
It doesn’t elaborate, but simply says the gun was used in Vietnam. The same book states that the aluminum receiver and lighter weight made it more appealing for jungle warfare. The Trench Gun model used a heat shield that integrated a bayonet lug to mount the classic M1917 bayonet. This would be the last gun produced and acquired by the U.S. Military to use that bayonet.
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The gun featured a parkerized finish and a four-round magazine tube. Winchester offered high-capacity options, but the bayonet mount and heat shield prevented the use of a longer tube on the military variant. The sight was a standard bead, and like most shotguns of the era, wood furniture was standard.
There is a famous photo of a young Army Ranger training with the 1200 in 1982 that shows a top-folding stock on the gun. Another photo shared on a forum shows a National Guard soldier fielding a top-folding stock Model 1200, but the soldier added the stock as a private purchase.
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The Model 1200 and History
Officially, the Mossberg 590, aka the M500, became the shotgun of choice in the late 1970s, but military shotguns tend to stick around for some reason. The Model 1200 remained in service and, according to Rock Island Auctions, saw action in Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, and Somalia throughout the 80s and 90s.
You’d think that by the Global War on Terror, they’d be gone, but they popped up in Iraq and Afghanistan. National Guard forces would still wield the gun. The Model 1200 wasn’t magically out of date; it wasn’t much different than the Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 in terms of usefulness and shotgun technology.
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By now, it seems like they’ve disappeared, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they are still kicking around in a reserve unit or NG armory. They are scarce on the civilian market due to the fact that the Army destroyed most of them. They fetch a high price, and I’d argue that they are likely rarer than an M1897 trench gun.
It’s a real shame the CMP doesn’t get into shotguns and shotgun shooting sports. The Model 1200 has a legacy of being the last trench gun produced and adopted for military service. It’s undoubtedly a fascinating history of a shotgun that’s long out of production, but still an amazing tool.
I have three Winchester 1200s, and if only someone would create a reproduction bayonet lug and heat shield…
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