doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Winchester 101 - Best reference book.

What are the best books about this gun?

Thanks!

Mike

There is no 101 reference book as such. They are mentioned in several books, but not a great amount of detail. A set of the old Winchester catalogs is the best reference.

Nick Hahn had a decent article on 101's in Double Gun Journal, Summer 08.

Yes, Larry it was decent, but it wasn't comprehensive and there some miss-information(though unintentional I'm sure).

Don, then you need to write one! There are, I think, about 4 books out there on Parkers, each one containing information that the other does not, and in some cases correcting misinformation. I think most folks consider the most recent one (the multivolume one) to be the best of the bunch. But I'll bet someone, somewhere, has found a mistake or two.

It's difficult to be totally "comprehensive" in a magazine article about a particular gun model, even one as recent as the 101--which had, compared to some other models, a relatively short production life.

Larry, I not a writer. Just not good at being a "Word Master" and I don't have the wherewithal and dedication it would take produce a good book.
I could help with information and editing out mistakes, but not the writing.

It would be nice if a reference dedicated to the Model 101 was written before much more time passes, as the information grows thin and becomes lost to time.

I can add that serial #204626, a 20 ga. was bougth by me in the Rod & Gun Club, Kirsh Goens, Germany in 1966, one of the early ones made in June of 1966 I believe. Still have it with the hang tag. Used buy not abused. Nice piece of wood on it.

I also believe that they didn't announce the 20 ga. until June 1966.

Your gun was the 4626th one made in 20 gauge.
It'd possible that they offered these guns in Europe before they did in the USA.
The 1967 Winchester catalog was the first to offer the Model 101 in 20 gauge in the USA.

Don it's funny that you said that. I had ordered a 12 ga. earlier in that year. Reading a gun magazine article, I can't remember which one, it stated that Winchester proudly announces that it will be coming out with a 20 ga. in June 1966 I told the retired Master Sargent that ran the gun club about this and he said don't worry I'll sell the 12 ga. Wait until I get 4 other people and then I will order 5 of them, and he would get them for $186.85. It came in and I shipped in home in a leg-o-mutton gun case which I also still have.
The prices for guns over there was unbelievable, I could have bought a 4 barrel Browning Superposed for $500, but at a Spec 4's pay it was a lot of money then.
Hunting there was also good but that is another story.

In 1971 I bought a 20-gauge field gun at one of the U.S. Navy exchanges in Japan with a nice luggage case for $201, and gave it to my Father. He used it a lot the last 17 years he hunted.

In 1974 and 75 I was very involved in the Chugach Rod & Gun Club at Fort Richardson, Alaska, while I was a token U.S. Navy officer on the joint staff at next door Elmendorf AFB. We got in a number of Winchester Model 101s. The Model 101 three-barrel small gauge skeet sets were very popular. We also got in a numberof higher grade Model 101s that I've never seen listed in any Winchester catalogues. I suspect the high grade guns we got in were testing the waters for higher grade Model 101s to come.