Gun Digest 2011. Dan Shideler
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Название: Gun Digest 2011
Автор: Dan Shideler
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Спорт, фитнес
isbn: 9781440215612
isbn:
The Innovative Winchester Model 59
This close-up view of the right side of the receiver shows the carrier lock button located below the ejection port. The button in the anterior bow of the trigger guard is the cross bolt safety.
BY BERNARD H. DIGIACOBBE, M.D.
PHOTOS BY ROSEMARIE V. DVORCHAK
Supposedly, if you build a better mouse trap the world will beat a path to your door. However, this was not the case with the Winchester model 59 autoloading shotgun. While it was certainly a better mouse trap, the shooting public ignored it. Sales were so poor, in fact, that Winchester stopped production in 1965 after selling only 82,085 of them. As so often happens, shortly after production ceased the gun enjoyed near-cult status, especially among upland game hunters.
Then as now, if a shotgun barrel becomes obstructed with mud or snow, it is likely to burst when the gun is fired. Sometimes this causes the muzzle to split. Other times it causes the barrel to split all too close to the shooter’s hand or face. Increasing the thickness of the walls of the barrel would make the barrel stronger. Unfortunately, the extra weight would ruin the gun’s balance. To try and solve this dilemma, the Winchester engineers experimented with aluminum alloy and titanium barrels. While these metals allowed for stronger barrels, they could fragment, resulting in an even more dangerous situation. After more than five years of research and development, the engineers settled on a then new material, fiberglass. This material had recently demonstrated its strength and durability in boats and car bodies. Each barrel had a full 500 miles of glass fiber wound circumferentially around a 0.020-inch steel liner. The glass fiber was then bonded under heat and pressure in a polyester matrix. To achieve a conventional appearance, the outer surface of the barrel was wrapped with color impregnated fiberglass cloth. This outer layer was then machined to a smooth finish. The finished barrel, although shiner and slightly larger in diameter, closely resembled a conventional shotgun barrel.
In addition to serving as a mandrel for winding the glass fiber, the steel liner also later protected the fiberglass from the intense heat of the burning powder and the abrasion of the shotgun pellets. Remember, this was before shells were loaded with plastic shot cups, which is today the norm. As an added bonus the steel liner also contained the interrupted threads for attaching the barrel to the receiver!
This photo demonstrates the spatial relationship of the floating chamber to the barrel and the receiver.
In fiberglass boats and car bodies, the glass fibers are randomly arranged. This results in the fiberglass being of equal strength and – unfortunately – equal weakness in all directions. However, on the Win-Lite barrel (as Winchester called it) the strength was maximized circumferentially where it was needed the most. This resulted in a barrel with almost twice the hoop strength of a conventional steel barrel but with only about half the weight! As an added bonus, in the unlikely event of catastrophic failure, the circumferentially wound glass fibers restricted fragmentation. Factory testing revealed that when the barrels were deliberately blown up, they would split lengthwise without fragmenting. This gradually released the contained pressure.
The fiberglass also offered some more practical advantages. Like fiberglass boats and car bodies, these barrels were dent resistant. The impregnated color also made the scratches less visible. Unfortunately, the chamber area could turn yellow in color with sustained usage. Reportedly, the muzzles could start to unravel if subjected to continual abuse. But then again the muzzle of any abused shotgun can be a sorry sight. At this point one has to wonder: was the Win Lite barrel the inspiration for today’s high-tech carbon fiber Rifle barrels?
While the model 59 was available only in 12 gauge, different barrel lengths were available initially. The improved cylinder barrels were 26 inches while Modified choked barrels were 28 inches. Full choke barrels were available in 28 or 30 inches. However, by 1961 only 26 inch barrels were available. Earlier barrels had the front sight mounted directly on the barrel in conventional fashion; later barrels had a pad placed at the muzzle to mount the front bead slightly higher. Surprisingly, none of the Win-Lite barrels was fitted with a top rib. Presumably one could have been easily glued to the barrel. This would have been considerably easier than soldering a top rib to a conventional steel barrel.
The external fiberglass surface of the barrel made it virtually impossible to install one of the then-popular aftermarket external collet type external chokes. Remember the PolyChoke? To compensate for this, in 1961 Winchester introduced a removable/interchangeable choke, threaded into the muzzle end of the steel liner of the barrel. An inch or so of the removable choke extended beyond the muzzle. The external portion had a series of transverse slots serving as a muzzle brake, as was common with many of those external collet chokes. While Modified chokes were fitted as standard, extra Versalite (as Winchester called them) choke tubes were available in improved cylinder and full constrictions, for an extra $4.95 each. They were supplied with a flat stamped sheet metal wrench for easy removal. In actual practice they could be easily changed by hand. Yes, the model 59 introduced the now ubiquitous choke tubes! And after the passing of the Model 59, that idea lay dormant for decades.
In addition to its lightweight barrel, the Model 59 also had a lightweight aluminum receiver. These advances resulted in a 12 gauge autoloader that weighed only a little over 6 pounds! The gun’s predecessor, the Model 50, weighed about 7-3/4 pounds. Incidentally, there was also a lightweight version of the Model 50 with an aluminum receiver, which weighed a little less.
The 59’s receiver was not only streamlined in size and shape but was also devoid of external screws and pins. The sides of the receivers featured a roller-impressed hunting scene: perhaps a bit crude by today’s standards, but in all fairness it was Winchester’s first use of the technique. As with other aluminum receivers of the time, those receivers were prone to developing cracks at points of stress. On the Model 59 this was most likely to occur on the right side just behind the slot for the operating handle. If buying a used Model 59, be sure to inspect this area very carefully! Fortunately the engineers at Winchester learned to solve this vexing problem by peening (stress relieving) the receiver in this area. Reportedly, the receivers could turn white after hard use. While I have observed at least one cracked receiver, I can’t remember ever having seen a receiver that turned white.
Not only were the receiver and trigger assembly made out of aluminum to save weight, but even this small stock reinforcement was made of aluminum. All this resulted in a gun that weighed less than the trigger pull on many other guns!
The remainder of the Model 59 was a carry-over from its predecessor, the standard-barreled Model 50. However the Model 50 was also a very innovative gun. It was probably the only shotgun to use the floating chamber system of operation. Back then, gas operated shotguns were available, the first successful one having been the High Standard Supermatic, released under the J. C. Higgins brand name. Unfortunately those guns were unreliable, especially if their gas pistons weren’t cleaned regularly. This problem was exacerbated by the fact that their gas pistons were difficult to dissemble and clean.