I walked through the local Cabelas gun library (sad) and saw an old Winchester pump. The stock needed to be refinished and the forearm did not match the stock. It looked tired. The label said Heavy Duck $1500.What am I missing? I thought three hundred would be in line.

Overpriced by Cabelas should come as no surprise

They haven't sold it yet. In this market, that tells ya something.

If an actual Heavy Duck, then $300 would be out of line on the low end, unless in worse condition than you imply.
Cabelas tho was never known for accuracy on gun valuations.

Some guns deserve to be tired ....mismatching wood isues, depends upon what use you wish to put the gun.
Some do say the 3" Heavy Duck was the best 2 3/4" duck gun ever made.

No solid rib, eh?

I'm trying to sell one now (Heavy Duck) that is in 98-99% original condition with a rare 32" barrel that is in that price range and so far no takers. I'm hoping that a collector will come along who thinks that it is a must for his Model 12 collection.

Tell us about the gun and its history and its name? I never heard of one.

Well it’s nothing more than a nearly pristine Model 12 Duck gun with a highly unusual 32” plain barrel made in 1954. All original. Any book on Model 12s has a section on the Heavy Duck Gun

I recently sold a pristine 1954 30” SR HD for $1100 on Gunbroker. FYI

What was its condition?

It was a benchmark gun in my opinion.