The Winchester model of 1897 Shotgun is among the most written about firearms in history. So why bother to author a blog post about a gun which has so many previous articles written?
I was brought on of these guns by a family member and asked to restore it. I was curious about its date of manufacture, which led to more reading which led to this post.
As always I try to cover most of the info and bring something new to the table.
We start the story with the most famous gun designer of all time: John Moses Browning. After learning the trade from his gunsmith father, he began to experiment with different designs. He earned his first patent in 1879 for what became the Winchester model of 1885 rifle. That rifle started a long relationship with the New Haven gun maker.
Now working in partnership with Winchester, Browning and his brother Matthew Sandefur Browning designed lever action shotgun known as the model of 1887. Browning had tried to talk Winchester into a pump action design, but they wanted to stick with a lever action.
A few years later the brothers created the world's first pump action shotgun. On June 25th 1890, the Browning Brothers filed for a patent for what they called the "magazine gun" and were granted a patent on November 25th that same year.
Winchester then decided they wanted to produce the gun and bought the rights to the "magazine gun". This became the model of 1893.
A few years later smokeless powder was quickly adopted by the industry and the 1893 needed a redesign to cope with the higher pressures.
After only 4 years and 31,000 units, the model of 1893 was replaced by the upgraded, but nearly identical model of 1897.
One of the distinguishable features of the 1893 & 1897 models was the exposed hammer, the bolt would retract out the back of the receiver and cock the hammer, similar to the lever action guns popular in the day. The advantage of course, was that you could leave the chamber loaded and de-cock the hammer. The gun would be safe from being fired with the trigger, but not safe to carry or drop as the gun has no hammer block.
Another unique feature is the ability to "slam-fire" the gun, by holding the trigger down and working the action, the gun will fire without needing to reset the trigger.
Between 1897 and 1909 there were 37 major and 52 minor changes made to the design.
As early as 1900 the U.S. Military had been purchasing shortened model 1897 shotguns for special use. This later became known as the "Riot" model.
This led to the development of the shotgun as a "Trench Weapon". The barrels were shortened to 20" and the bayonet lug from the M1917 rifle was added along with sling swivels and a barrel heat shroud.
The U.S. deployed more than 20,000 M97 shotguns in WWI. The weapon was so successful that the Germans made a protest, claiming the guns violated modern rules of warfare....this from the people that used Mustard Gas against the British and Canadians earlier in the war...
The M97 was deployed again in WWII as both surplus and new units were sent to both theaters to support the U.S. Troops.
Another major design change came in 1919: The ability to remove the barrel and magazine. This "take-down" feature made the gun much more portable, decreasing its overall length from 50+ inches to 30 inches or less (basically the length of the barrel).
The guns retailed for $25 in 1897 and started with serial number 34150 (where the model of 1893 left off).
The gun was replaced (perhaps superseded is a better word) by the model 12 in 1912, but Winchester continued to make and sell the model 97.
A side note here, in 1919 Winchester abandoned the use of the year of introduction as the model number and simply went with a two digit number, so the model of 1897 became the model 97.
It wasn't until 1957 that Winchester ceased production of the model 97 after nearly 60 years and more than one million units produced.
Specs (of the gun below)
Model: 97 Standard
Action: Pump/Slide
Gauge: 12 Gauge - 2 3/4"
Overall Length: 50.5" (originally 51")
Weight: 8 lbs
Barrel Length: 30 "
Magazine Capacity: 5 shells
Choke: Full
Length of Pull: 13 5/8"
Years produced: 1897-1957 (59)
Number of units produced: 1,024,700
This particular gun was built in New Haven in 1925, the previous owner removed the factory butt plate and added a Pachmayr recoil pad.
This gun will be refinished, but not restored. The recoil pad will stay, but the metal and wood will be renewed so the gun can be used for generations to come.
Check the year of manufacture for your 1897/ M97 here
Resources:
Marauder
Wikipedia
American Rifleman
Guns Magazine
Thank you!
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