[2]: 37–38 [additional citation(s) needed] It was designed to fire 12 gauge black-powder ammunition and found great success initially.

However, its success was hampered by the increasing popularity of smokeless powder shotgun cartridges amongst the American shooters, that the Model 1893 was not designed for.

441,390) from John Browning and further improved it through the company's in-house engineers lead by William Mason.

[1] The improved design gave birth to the "Winchester Model 1893" and production began in May 1893.

As the fore-end moved forward, the bolt pushed the cartridge from the tubular under-barrel magazine into the chamber.

When the bolt was pulled back, the gun was locked, and to unlock it, you had to press the firing pin.

If loaded with smokeless powder ammunition, it would increase the risk of material fatigue and damage the gun itself, likely rendering it unusable in the process.

[3] According to Roy F. Dunlap's 1950 book "Gunsmithing", the Model 1893 was already a rare weapon in the turn of the 1950s, with there being few "in existence or at least in use".