Can anybody educate me on the Hydro-Coil trap guns? Surprisingly I found nothing in searching the "I love my Winchester" forum.

Are both the forend and stock plastic? Dumb question...just confirming!

If the spring is non-functioning, will the sliding part remain fixed so it is like shooting a regular one piece wooden stock? If it is still moving either properly or at all, can it be stabilized to remain fixed and cease moving like a regular stock?

Thanks!

They were only made for a short time in the early 1960s. Yes, all plastic. They came in brown and ivory, the ivory being less common. The concept wasn’t successful and I believe it was ended in 1964. They do have collector interest.

The Hydro-coils were made in the trap and skeet grades. Only about 400 were made and they came in Ivory or walnut colored stocks. The Ivory are the scarcest. I have a Ivory skeet thats new in the box which is probably the rariest of the four variations. Its also pictured in the second edition of the Shotguns and shotshells by Ron Stadt. These Hydro coils are also very late guns and everyone that I have seen is in the 19xxxxxx range. My gun was actually stilled sealed when I bought it but I had to peek inside. The old gun dealer had a Walnut skeet sealed also but I passed and bought some other guns from him.

Winchester made them after 1964 because the Winchester model 1200 also had these stocks as an option, and the model 1200 was made post 1964.

I was referring to the Model 12 which is the subject of this thread. Sorry

Didn’t mean for my post to sound offensive, sorry if it did.

I've own one, not a Model 12, but a Model 1200. The plastic hydro coil stock was noisy and ugly.

It was "news" in 1963: https://www.si.com/vault/1963/09/09/596 ... f-shooting