Hi Chris and Bert-

While I certainly cannot speak to the origins of the subject M37, I’m sure you know that at the outset of WWII the US Government bought many commercial firearms from Winchester, including M97s, M12s, M37s, M24s, M70s, etc.  Presumably these were intended for Stateside use in some capacity or other.

If anyone is interested, the records of Winchester Quotations and Orders from 1942 through 1945 (four volumes) exist in the McCrackin Library archives and have been digitally scanned and loaded on-line such that they can be downloaded at no cost.  These hand-written bound ledgers are each 200+ pages and record the prices and quantities Winchester quoted in response to purchase inquiries.  Everything is there, from flashlight bulbs, to lubricants, guns, and ammunition components.  Below each quotation, in red pencil, is recorded whether/when the order was placed.

For example, below is a clipping of part of a page from the 1942 volume:

At the bottom is a price quote made on May 12, 1942 to the US War Department HOD for 2090 M37s (at $6.68 ea) and 1700 M24s (at $22.04 ea).  G3701S, G3702S, and G3703S are the catalog symbols for 12 gauge M37s with 32″, 30″ and 28″ full choke barrels, respectively.  Beneath that in red is recorded that Winchester received the order on July 8, 1942 and the corresponding Federal Ordnance Contract number. While this ledger does not document whether Winchester actually filled the order (only that it was placed) or give any help in documenting whether an individual gun was part of such an order, it does suggest that “US Property” marked M37 shotguns would be by no means rare if they survived their time in the service.  

I’ve found these ledgers particularly interesting with regard to the UMSC and HOD orders for M70s.  The numbers ordered might be surprising to some!!!  As would things like the the second quote down on the page to HOD on May 8, 1942 for six G7067C.  G7067Cs are 375 H&H Magnum Model 70 Super Grades with Lyman 48WJS receiver sights!!!  Apparently somebody wanted them bad as the order was received the next day!!!  What’s up with that???  Some Pentagon Generals planning a safari???

What I’ve not yet figured out is whether there is a way to look-up the ORD Contract by number to see if they document if/when the orders were fulfilled.  Anybody know of an accessible digital archive on the US Government side where such documents might be hiding?

Best,

Lou

Hi Bert-

Give me until tomorrow and I’ll look up the URLs…  They’re kind of buried in the library files…  Oh the joys of historical research!!! 

If I find them I’ll post the links here…  If for some reason I fail (shouldn’t happen), I did download the full document scans (way too big to post w/o overwhelming this site) and I can move the files to Dropbox and give you the link.  There’s some really cool stuff there that I think you’d find more interesting than I did (if you’ve not flipped through them before)…

I’d like to get your take on them… 

Best,

Lou

P.S.  For any guests viewing this post and who don’t know what we’re referring to, the McCrackin library is the research library of the Cody Firearms Museum.  Most “regulars” around here know that but I forgot to explain earlier.  Sorry…  

cberghuis said
At a gun show this past weekend in mid-Michigan, we spotted a Model 37 marked US Property on the side of the butt stock. 30″ full choke barrel. The only other non-standard marking on the gun was the number 34 stamped in the bottom of the frame near the forearm. I’m more into the repeater’s skeet and trap, so I’m asking the experts! Thanks in advance. Sorry, no photo’s.

Chris.  

Somewhere I have some info on the non Winchester manufactured US shotguns.  The military did buy guns for practice and guard duty. I can’t remember where my information is.