The dovetailed chopper lump barrel construction would be one. The fact that more often than is acceptable, the ribs and forend lugs lose their solder integrity does not detract from the ingenuity of the dovetail lumps. The assisted opening design is a great pleasure for those of us who actually spend some time shooting their 21s. British bests, Purdey for example, uses an assisted or self opening system that makes the Model 21 system look like rocket science in comparison. The barrel stop is a bit more refined than on some other highly regarded double guns. Winchester chose to make a double gun of a weight and bulk that was well accepted at the time of its introduction and the entire time of its catalog run, 1930 to 1960. Even during that time, Winchester was willing to make a lightweight 16 or 20 gauge gun as long as the customer didn't insist on picking it up at his local hardware store. Then, as now, a lightweight 12 gauge is a bit of a contradiction in purpose for those who know something about a shotgun. I would assume that among John Olin's high dollar custom shop customers, requests for 6 1/2 pound 12 gauges were rather scarce. I have owned 6 1/4 pound Model 21 20 gauges, the exact same weight of just about all of the zero frame 20 gauge Parkers I have bothered to weigh. True, I have always had to go elsewhere to find a 5 3/4 pound quail gun, but, until recently, I have been physically able to deal with a half pound more. Most of the objections to Model 21 have come from those who have never owned or shot them. As I stated earlier, my first 21 was purchased when I was 19 years old, 46 years ago, so I have a little more experience than the detractors. Of the dozens of 21s I have owned and shot over that time, I have had one bad trigger, and one loose rib, both successfully repaired at little cost. Oddly, I have had no other mechanical work done on any of my 21s. Just as an aside, I don't own one of Tony's 21s, but I'm only waiting to find one at my kind of price. The two 21s that I have bought within the last few months were purchased for $3000 and $500, so Tony has a way to go before I become his customer.
