Winchester Model 37 Steelbilt 16 ga 30” Full VG Mfg. ca. 1950s

This Winchester 37 single shot in 16 gauge is a very nice old shotgun, very solid, despite four detractions. Its main detraction is that the hammer appears to be replacement and not factory Winchester. The breech lever’s bluing is better than the rest of the shotgun, so it is likely replacement but is factory. There are, finally, two small cracks on either side of the pistol grip area directly behind the receiver. A small chip of walnut is missing on the right side, but the walnut is intact on the left side. Receiver and trigger guard are a nice gray and spotty brown patina. The barrel has perhaps as much as 60 percent of its original blue remaining, nicely mixed with gray and brown. We see one small moderately pitted spot underneath the barrel forward of the forend, and several other less conspicuous places, mostly on the left side of the barrel about a foot back of the muzzle. Positively, the buttstock and forend maintain 70 percent of their original finish by our estimate, with several light and moderate pecked areas. Bore and chamber are Very Good, with light pitting affecting less than 10 percent of the bore, all of it well back of the muzzle and tapered choke area. Muzzle constriction is .623, and barrel wall thickness is .055. Lockup and firing mechanism are excellent. We consider this 30 inch full choke Model 37 to be in Very Good Condition, but we have included sufficient photography so that interested parties can judge finish grade for themselves. The 37 Steelbilt, of course, was manufactured from 1936 until 1963 only, and they were not serialized. From our knowledge of the collection this one came from, we estimate it was manufactured some time in the late 1950s. The barrel, by the way, is perfectly straight. Some curvature always appears from close-up photography. Own this nice old shotgun for only $369.95