Winchester 1897

M

mooman13

Inactive
I just happend to get a Winchester model 97 from my neighbor, I'm tring to figure out what year it was manufactured but I'm having a hard time finding a website that can give me accurate results. Any help would be great.


On another note... He also gave me plenty more so you might see me asking a lot of questions about them because a few of the handguns he gave me I have no idea what they are.
 
Yep he gave it to me.


Would you happen to know of a website where I can figure out the manufacturing date? I have checked a few but every website has given me a different date.
 
You've been given one of the most sought-after pump shotguns ever made. Only one of my friends has one of these, and it took him quite a while to find it.

Not sure if this means you should go buy a bunch of lottery tickets, or if it means you've used up a few years' supply of luck.

Either way, enjoy it.
 
one of the most sought-after pump shotguns ever made
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Why do you say this? My Dad carried one in the field for like 40 years, it was heavy, would cut the top of my thumb with the hammer bite and after 40 years of use it would go off by itself if bumped in the right way :)

I had 4 of them but they were so dang heavy to carry I got rid of them and went with a lighter gun.

Used to make me laff when he went to the trap range andbeat the rich guys had very expensive guns. Dad could get 100 out of a 100 just about any day of the week and had trophys to prove it.

Dont they make a lighter copy now?
 
I traded a nickel Smith Model 36 for one recently. It has had the barrel shortened, but by someone who knew what they were doing, and has a non original butt cap, but when I shot some trap with it this weekend, it did as well as my friend's Benelli Black eagle and was more reliable...I like it a lot.
 
Why do you say this? My Dad carried one in the field for like 40 years, it was heavy, would cut the top of my thumb with the hammer bite and after 40 years of use it would go off by itself if bumped in the right way
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The cowboy action guys love them. As far as hammer bite, that's because you were holding it wrong. Neither of mine bite my thumb because I keep my thumb out of the way :)

And the going off by itself is easily fixable by any half-competent gunsmith. One of mine was like that when my dad gave it to me and it took the 'smith about 15 minutes with a stone to fix.

Heavy? Heck yeah, they weigh a ton! They're 100% steel with about a gazillion parts! And chock full o' history.

I've got two - they both belonged to my great grandfather. And they both are wicked at the sporting clays range, for both dusting clays and building upper body strength!
 
Hey, the '97 made a name for itself with US troops first, fighting Moros in the Phillipines, and next, in the trenches in WWI.

It's also great for speed-shooting.

It would go very nicely with a 1917 revolver.
 
When my neighbor told me he would like to give me his model 97 I got excited and for some reason started to think of a trench gun. Haha
 
I've got two - they both belonged to my great grandfather
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I shoulda saved them, dad had many when he died. I sold them all to one guy for a bit of cash. One was like new and he paid a bunch for it. Now I prefer the ithaca liteweight I got from a neighbor for 200. it is lite, bottom ejects and shoots great.

I have seen them 97s go for a lot of money lately, 10 years ago you couldnt sell one at a gun show for anything. Reminds me of the model 12 craze 25 years ago, guys were paying way too much fopr them cause they had a reputation :)
 
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