Winchester Model 37

The Winchester Model 37 was an American single-shot, break-action shotgun built by Winchester from 1936 to 1963, with 1,015,554 units made. A top-cocking lever opened the action and an automatic ejector threw out the fired shell, and the gun kept a visible hammer. It rested on patented ideas by Winchester designers William Roemer and Edwin Pugsley, and Pugsley's contribution was to make the receiver mainly from heavy stampings instead of a casting or forging, which cut production costs while leaving ample strength. The gun was chambered in five gauges, 12, 16, 20, 28 and 410, and was sold in a Standard and, from 1958, a Boy's Model. Early guns, called Red Letter shotguns, had the stamped Winchester name filled with red enamel until 1948, and none were serial numbered. The source records that the US National Guard used 12-gauge Model 37 shotguns during World War II.