Winchester Model-97 Trench Shotgun
- Thread starter DUDE
- Start date
Al Thompson
Staff Alumnus
No Photo from me, but what sort of info?
Steven Mace
New member
The Winchester Model 97 Trench Gun had a 20" barrel with a cylinder bore. These were only chambered in 12 gauge. Hope this helps!
Steve Mace
browning designed, a well built hammer pump operated with a hard slide and load pull, not a pump for the weak.most were solid framed but a number of takedowns were made where the pin in the mag tube cap was pushed and the barrel turned part way enabled the barrel and tube on the reciever to be removed. the good part was the barrel/reciever fit could be easily adjusted with an adjustable headspace ring if it shot loose a bit simply by loosening a screw and turning the ring just a slight bit. at least that worked on a 16 ga 97 i had,which was not a trench gun but my 22" bird gun for upland birds. one of the best hammer pumps you could get back in the day next to the marlin model hammer pump shotgun put out in 96 i believe ,i actually had one at one point over 20 years back which incidentally looked alot like a 97 from the side veiw untill you looked at its bolt. a number of winchester pump 97's were fitted out with punched metal handgaurds and attached bayonet lugs and improved cylinder bore chokes for the us army for trench warfare in ww1 and most who owned one for theyre tour swore by them for clearing an "alley" in a trench line. this is also where the term marching/trench/riot trigger was coined as well. what the game plan was is to have a spotter looking for an advancement on theyre position, then holding the pumps overhead and holding the trigger back,inside the trigger group the lack of a disconnecter would allow them to pump the shotguns empty in a volley of 00 buck towards the advancment with hopes of downing them, the hands would be the only thing to aim for making a harder target to hit than a full or half exposed torso aiming at them and also admittedly a group laying a 00 carpet down equls a hellavalot of lead balls in the air at one time making it hard to get thru.especially with some 30'06 back up power from 03a3's or p14 eddystones to make sure.that disconnect feature from the past has held thru to today on some 870's m+p models, ithaca 37's,model 12 winchester pumps and a few others i cant recall in my foggy past my bedtime mode right now but that was a taste anyhow for ya,Model 97 Winchester 12 Guage. The Model 97 Winchester was used by Teddy Rosevelts Rough Riders during the Spanish American War. It was employed by our military until the mid 50's (to the best of my knowledge)When it was replaced by the Remington 870. ... enjoy heres more on it from the factory
TO PUT THE GUN TOGETHER
See that the hammer is down. Grasp the barrel and magazine near the butt and, holding the slide
handle clear forward. Insert the barrel shank into the receiver with the magazine at the left. Turn
one-quarter turn to the right. Holding the carrier up, draw the slide handle rearward. Push out the
magazine locking pin (in front end of magazine) as far as it will go. Push the magazine rearward into the
receiver. Holding it back and using the locking pin as a lever, turn the magazine one-quarter turn to the
right. Push the locking pin back alongside the barrel.
TO FILL THE MAGAZINE
Press the shells, one by one, upward against the carrier and forward into the magazine.
TO EMPTY THE MAGAZINE
Press inward on the buttons at right and left sides of the receiver, allowing the cartridges to escape
rearwardly from the magazine.
TO OPERATE THE GUN
Draw the action slide clear back, then forward. This cocks the hammer, carriers a shell into the chamber
and leaves the gun ready to fire. For safe carrying, let the hammer carefully down to half-cock by
placing thumb on hammer and exerting pressure on trigger sufficient to release full-cock engagement.
The IMMEDIATELY remove finger from trigger. Permit hammer to move forward under control of thumb
to half-cock position. When expecting to fire, draw the hammer back to full-cock.
TO OPEN WHEN COCKED
Press inward on the release button in right side of receiver, near hammer, push slide handle slightly
forward, then operate as above.
NOTE-the action slide cannot be operated when the hammer is at half-cock.
TO TAKE THE GUN APART
Push out the magazine locking pin downward. Unscrew the magazine one-quarter turn to the left and
push the action slide, with the magazine, clear forward. Grasp the barrel and magazine near the butt,
turn the whole one-quarter turn tot he left and lift out of receiver.
TO TIGHTEN THE TAKE-DOWN
Should the gun become loose at the joint, remove the adjusting sleeve lock screw in the right side of
the receiver extension, draw back the adjusting sleeve lock, turn back the adjusting sleeve one notch
and replace the screw. If the joint is still loose, repeat the operation until tight.
Designed by John M. Browning as a product-improved variant of the
pre-existing Model 93, the Model 97 Winchester was a classic design that
almost singlehandedly led American shotgunners from the era of the double
guns into the modern age of mechanical repeaters. In fact, more than one
million of these guns were produced by Winchester over a nearly 60-year
production period.
Officially adopted in World War I, the Winchester "Trench Gun, Model 1917"
utilized the pre-existing Model 97 Winchester shotgun with a number of
"improvements" specifically designed for warfare. These included a
ventilated steel overbarrel handguard and a Springfield Armory W-type
bayonet adapter, designed to accept the then-numerous Model 1917 Enfield
bayonet.
The Model 1917 trench gun featured a 20-inch cylinder bore barrel and a
five-shot magazine. The action was bottom-loading and side-ejecting. As
the gun used an exposed hammer, no secondary safety was necessary. The
inertia-locking slide was retracted by first pressing the trigger, then
sliding the fore-end forward and then to the rear. Government-purchased
Model 97s were of the earlier, solid-frame variety. Unfortunately, the
trench gun order also included Model 12s and the numbers were never
separated. It is believed that of the 19,196 trench guns delivered to the
military during WWI, two-thirds were Model 97s.
The Model 97 trench gun was capable of tremendous firepower. Issued to
AEF soldiers with paper-hulled 00 buckshot loads holding nine pellets, the
97 could lay down 54 .33-caliber projectiles in a matter of seconds simply
by holding back the trigger and rapidly working the slide, as the gun did
not have a trigger disconnector.
Today's owner of a Model 97 trench gun is armed with a fighting arm that
has stood the test of time. Apart from their short 2 3/4-inch chambers,
these guns are as versatile and deadly today as they were almost a century
ago.
[Edited by old hawk on 01-02-2001 at 11:00 PM]
TO PUT THE GUN TOGETHER
See that the hammer is down. Grasp the barrel and magazine near the butt and, holding the slide
handle clear forward. Insert the barrel shank into the receiver with the magazine at the left. Turn
one-quarter turn to the right. Holding the carrier up, draw the slide handle rearward. Push out the
magazine locking pin (in front end of magazine) as far as it will go. Push the magazine rearward into the
receiver. Holding it back and using the locking pin as a lever, turn the magazine one-quarter turn to the
right. Push the locking pin back alongside the barrel.
TO FILL THE MAGAZINE
Press the shells, one by one, upward against the carrier and forward into the magazine.
TO EMPTY THE MAGAZINE
Press inward on the buttons at right and left sides of the receiver, allowing the cartridges to escape
rearwardly from the magazine.
TO OPERATE THE GUN
Draw the action slide clear back, then forward. This cocks the hammer, carriers a shell into the chamber
and leaves the gun ready to fire. For safe carrying, let the hammer carefully down to half-cock by
placing thumb on hammer and exerting pressure on trigger sufficient to release full-cock engagement.
The IMMEDIATELY remove finger from trigger. Permit hammer to move forward under control of thumb
to half-cock position. When expecting to fire, draw the hammer back to full-cock.
TO OPEN WHEN COCKED
Press inward on the release button in right side of receiver, near hammer, push slide handle slightly
forward, then operate as above.
NOTE-the action slide cannot be operated when the hammer is at half-cock.
TO TAKE THE GUN APART
Push out the magazine locking pin downward. Unscrew the magazine one-quarter turn to the left and
push the action slide, with the magazine, clear forward. Grasp the barrel and magazine near the butt,
turn the whole one-quarter turn tot he left and lift out of receiver.
TO TIGHTEN THE TAKE-DOWN
Should the gun become loose at the joint, remove the adjusting sleeve lock screw in the right side of
the receiver extension, draw back the adjusting sleeve lock, turn back the adjusting sleeve one notch
and replace the screw. If the joint is still loose, repeat the operation until tight.
Designed by John M. Browning as a product-improved variant of the
pre-existing Model 93, the Model 97 Winchester was a classic design that
almost singlehandedly led American shotgunners from the era of the double
guns into the modern age of mechanical repeaters. In fact, more than one
million of these guns were produced by Winchester over a nearly 60-year
production period.
Officially adopted in World War I, the Winchester "Trench Gun, Model 1917"
utilized the pre-existing Model 97 Winchester shotgun with a number of
"improvements" specifically designed for warfare. These included a
ventilated steel overbarrel handguard and a Springfield Armory W-type
bayonet adapter, designed to accept the then-numerous Model 1917 Enfield
bayonet.
The Model 1917 trench gun featured a 20-inch cylinder bore barrel and a
five-shot magazine. The action was bottom-loading and side-ejecting. As
the gun used an exposed hammer, no secondary safety was necessary. The
inertia-locking slide was retracted by first pressing the trigger, then
sliding the fore-end forward and then to the rear. Government-purchased
Model 97s were of the earlier, solid-frame variety. Unfortunately, the
trench gun order also included Model 12s and the numbers were never
separated. It is believed that of the 19,196 trench guns delivered to the
military during WWI, two-thirds were Model 97s.
The Model 97 trench gun was capable of tremendous firepower. Issued to
AEF soldiers with paper-hulled 00 buckshot loads holding nine pellets, the
97 could lay down 54 .33-caliber projectiles in a matter of seconds simply
by holding back the trigger and rapidly working the slide, as the gun did
not have a trigger disconnector.
Today's owner of a Model 97 trench gun is armed with a fighting arm that
has stood the test of time. Apart from their short 2 3/4-inch chambers,
these guns are as versatile and deadly today as they were almost a century
ago.
[Edited by old hawk on 01-02-2001 at 11:00 PM]
Also, the Trench 97 was an update on a Police/riot variant first made in 98 or 9, no bayonet lug or handguard, cylinder bore except for custom orders.Yes, at the time you could get a full choke, 20" bbled 97.
Many alleged Trench models are forgeries, made from prison and police inventory weapons.
While removed officially in the 50s from inventory, plenty of them were still kicking around hot zones in the 60s and 70s, where they were appreciated by their third or fourth generation of GIs.For all I may know, they still are.
Like the C-47,GM 1911,and 03 Springfield, they were the standard by which all others of their kind were judged.
Many alleged Trench models are forgeries, made from prison and police inventory weapons.
While removed officially in the 50s from inventory, plenty of them were still kicking around hot zones in the 60s and 70s, where they were appreciated by their third or fourth generation of GIs.For all I may know, they still are.
Like the C-47,GM 1911,and 03 Springfield, they were the standard by which all others of their kind were judged.
Harley Nolden
Staff In Memoriam
DUDE:
If You would like the assem/disassem on the 97 send me your email address.
Compliments:
Harley Nolden's Institute of Firearms Research
HJN
If You would like the assem/disassem on the 97 send me your email address.
Compliments:
Harley Nolden's Institute of Firearms Research
HJN
Nightcrawler
New member
Cool...
Saw one of those, a WWI vet, hanging on the wall of a local gun store. What's that funny convex shaped thingy under the barrel?
Saw one of those, a WWI vet, hanging on the wall of a local gun store. What's that funny convex shaped thingy under the barrel?
Still interested
I actually have this gun. If you are you still in need of pictures I would be happy to help out. Feel free to email me at ray.shepard1@comcast.net and we can discuss further.
I actually have this gun. If you are you still in need of pictures I would be happy to help out. Feel free to email me at ray.shepard1@comcast.net and we can discuss further.