I will comment generally on both shotguns, both guns make good home defense weapons today, holding 5 rounds in the magazine (except for the Italian Win87 reproduction, whcih holds two):
The Win97 is a pump action shotgun and is used extensively today by Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) participants. The cowboy shooters cut the barrel down to approximately 20 inches. The Win97 is a John Browning design and was available in both take-down (most common) and solid frame models. The gun has a lot of parts; about eighty. A good shooter costs about $400-$450, but you will find them selling for less and more. The popularity with CAS cowboys is the reason that these guns sell at that price. They are wonderful, well-made guns. Reproductions of the Win97 are coming in from China (IAC/Norinco) and they are generally pretty good copies, but they certainly are not Winchesters. The original Win 97 was made from 1897-1957....a sixty-year run. The predecessor to the '97 was the '93, which looks the same, but there were important modifications made and the new gun was the '97. For a time back in those days, Winchester would trade the owners of a '93 straight across for a new '97
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The Win87 is a lever-action shotgun, also a John Browning design. BE CAREFUL if you get your hands on one. They are safe only for black powder shells. There are reproductions now being made by Norinco in China, distributed in the USA by IAC. So you will see them referred to as IAC or Norinco or IAC/Norinco, etc. The modern reproductions, of course are all made for smokeless shells. The Italian guns, I do not have much use for. Their target market is CAS shooters and they cost more than double the price of the Chinese gun. I have a Chinese reproduction and I find that the fit and finish is quite acceptable. The reproductions are only available in short 20" (or thereabouts) barrels. The originals have longer barrels unless they have been cut. The originals will all have short ~2 1/2" chambers. The original guns will have, on the left side of the receiver, a Winchester Arms Company circular monogram, approximately 2" in diameter. The Chinese guns have plain, unmarked receivers...don't know about he Italian guns. The Chiese reproduction sells for $400-$500 and the Italian Chiappa brand reproduction is double that, I understand. There are not too many of the original Win87's around because their were not as many made and they were made for black powder shells. BP is corrosive and those that exist are not in the greatest shape.
I own both an original Win97 and a Chinese reproduction Win87. Both guns are very nice to shoot, but the Chinese Win87 is a bit rough and has an inherrent issue with ejection, attributable to the original gun being designed for the old 2 1/2" shell length and the Chinese have so closely reverse-engineered or reproduced the gun as to the reproductions now having issues ejecting the modern 2 3/4" length shell. This can be addressed by a GOOD gunsmith who understnads the problem. Unfortunately the CAS gunsmiths DO NOT. Don't send your gun off to one of those characters!! There is an outfit up in Oregon called Pisco Gunsmithing who can address this issue.