Winchester 1897

B

BillDish

New member
Picked up an old 1897 a couple of weeks ago, a real oldie. Full of crud and stiff as heck with years of firing and no love or attention . Dissassembled and thourghly cleaned all working parts. I reassembled last night and racks and cycles real smooth. The only problem is the hammer stays cocked only 1/2 the time when I rack the slid back. Often the hammer follows the bolt back and doesn't remain cocked. I probably have something miss alighned.

Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with the 1897?
 
I don't have experience with the W-1897; but, with any gun where the hammer doesn't stay back there's a good possibility it's a failure to properly engage the sear. Could be as simple as a weak spring.
 
Whatever is causing the problem, it sounds like the gun could misfire (meaning fire when unintended). Wasn't this model one that was popular for slam firing?

This guy had a similar problem with his 1897 that turned out to be due to a rounded off sear.
 
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If I remember right, the '97 doesn't have a "Disconnect". It was made to "Rock&Roll" before there was, Rock & Roll...
 
The 1897 will fire if the trigger is held back while the pump is operated. That was either a defect (in the duck blind) or a feature (if sweeping the street).

Jim
 
The good news is that, if you have a worn part or a weak spring, parts are still relatively plentiful.
 
Did the hammer stay cocked like it should BEFORE you cleaned it? If yes, then you did something incorrectly.

97s work fine, and often work fine under the worst conditions, but having a silky smooth action is not one of their usual points. A really smooth one usually means it has been cycled (and possibly shot) a lot. They are old guns, and may have been worn a lot. The good news is that they can usually be repaired/adjusted if needed. The bad news is that its NOT a home gunsmith job to do it.

There is no disconnector in the 97, and there was none in the Model 12 for a long time. This means, if the trigger is held back, the gun fires when closed.

That was either a defect (in the duck blind) or a feature (if sweeping the street).
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I like that!:D

Here's a tip, don't get in the habit of wrapping your thumb over the wrist of the stock. If you do, at some point you will regret it! (bandaid at least, worst, stitches..:eek: you gotta respect them old guns!;))
 
Funny story (to me anyway) about worn old 97s and the ability of the Chinese to copy stuff. When they first started importing 97 clones for use in Cowboy shooting, the brand new guns were worn out. They copied the one they had to work with perfectly.
 
They copied the one they had to work with perfectly.
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The reminds me of the story my Papa used to tell, about the Japanese and the tractor. Sometime in the early 30s, the Japanese bought a tractor (farm/agricultural -I can no longer recall the make). According to my Grandpa, they liked it, and began making them, themselves. Also, they didn't bother with any of the customary nicities, (like paying royalties or getting a license).

The specimen that they got (American made) had a bent #3 piston rod. (yes, it was a defect). Every tractor they built copied that same defect.

Take that EMPTY 97 and assume a shooting stance. Keep some rearward tension on the forend. Dry Fire, keeping the tension on the forend. If the gun unlocks, it needs work. If it stays locked after the hammer falls, and stay locked until you remove the tension on the forend, and actually bump it forward a little bit, then its working the way it should. (could still be very worn, possibly unsafe, and still shooting, so have a qualified gunsmith check it out, anyway).

The most commonly broken part on a 97 is the ejector. Its easy to replace, and you should get one for "just in case".
 
As usual, awesome responses. I have been doing some additional research and it sounds like I may have a worn sear. I am ordering a new one and also a new hammer just to be safe.

I agree that the gun isn't safe until this is fixed.

Thanks everyone
 
One thing to inspect closely is the camway on the cartridge lifter. The upper portion tends to wear razor thin, and can even wear completely through. It's very thin to begin with, and the camming stud on the operating handle (forearm) tends to exert all of its force on the upper wall of the camway on the closing stroke.
 
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I love my M-97 Winchester, but as James says, it doesn't have a disconnect.

Being a rifle shooter, when I pull the trigger, I hold it back through out recoil as part of my "follow-through".

I tend to do the same thing with shotguns and pistols. Problem is, while under recoil I work the slide.

No problem on my 870s, but a 'no go' on my '97. Tried using it in a 3-gun match and ended up double tapping all the targets and ran out of ammo before I finished the state.

It will take some getting use to. But its a well made, well put together piece of steel.
 
Winchester 1897 - problem solved

Just to let everyone know the solution, I removed the sear, examined closely and noticed a little rounding on the edge of the lever that contacts the trigger. I took a piece of fine emory cloth, wrapped around a wood block and honed the rounded sear edge back to a square edge. I then reassembled and it now works fine. problem solved. Thanks to all that answered here and youtube

And I agree with Kraig, the 1897 is a rugged piece of metal and fun to work on. I shoot M1's and M1A's and have learned the hardway about completing the trigger pull on these miliary guns. I have put a few rounds in the dirt above the target because of a double tap due to the semi auto recoil and early trigger release.:eek:
 
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Anyone who has seen "The Wild Bunch" movie will appreciate the no disconnector feature of the 97s and 12s.:D
 
Chinese

Interesting comments there. There is an early Norinco 97 in a local shop, appears new, and absolutely does not function correctly. Its been there for years!
 
While there are gunsmiths who have studied the 97 with a view towards slicking up the ChiCom copies for the odd CAS shooting style, an early one might not be fixable. Which is why it is unsold.
 
Interesting comments there. There is an early Norinco 97 in a local shop, appears new, and absolutely does not function correctly. Its been there for years!
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I had a Norinco trench Gun copy that worked flawlessly. What seems to be the problem with this one?
 
The early Norinco's did have problems but by the time they started making the trench guns they were all worked out.
 
The early Norinco's did have problems but by the time they started making the trench guns they were all worked out.
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What sort of problems, Hawg? I'd like to be aware of them in case I ever look at another Norinco 97.
 
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