Just bought a Winchester 1897 12GA

[superhondaz50]

Well went to Turners and they had an old Winchester 1897 in there for $99 bucks. Made in 1915, its about 60% condition. Has a 30" barrel w/ a MOD. choke. Some old lady brought it in, had been sitting under her bed for years. I'll post pics when I pick it up and then some more once its restored.

[JPglee1]

You have to be kidding... $99???


Man thats the deal of the year right there! I'm jealous.

is it a break down?


*EDIT*

NEVER leave a round in the chamber with the hammer cocked, they have a tendency to go off on their own for some unknown reason... My pal has a hole in his ceiling to verify that haha... I love them cuz you CAN keep a round in chamber w/the hammer down. No need to rack the slide, just cock and shoot. The break downs are the cat's meow... 26" O.A. and 18" BBL w/breakdown makes a good backpack SHTF shotty. Also the mag dump buttons are nice too on the models with them.

J

[Pokey]

Those things are cool. Just be carefull taking it apart, legends state that The Great One (John M Browning) put the first one together and none since then have been put together with all the pieces in the right way. Amazingly they usually work right anyway.

[El Barto]

It Was You!!!

Dude,

I went this past Saturday to buy it, but when I called it was gone.

I live about 60 miles from that Turners so I was going to combine my trip to Safari Days and gun buying.

My father has one that he is going to "Will" to my step brother, and I have plans on buying it from him, but I may not ever see it again, so I was looking for a reminder.

Please enjoy your find, and take care of her.

[kenc9]

Well went to Turners and they had an old Winchester 1897 in there for $99 bucks. Made in 1915, its about 60% condition. Has a 30" barrel w/ a MOD. choke. Some old lady brought it in, had been sitting under her bed for years. I'll post pics when I pick it up and then some more once its restored.

Nice find...Is it in unmodified condition?

[superhondaz50]

Its a takedown model. The stock is cracked and is being held together with a tape bandage, probably been there since ww2. I put it on hold on Saturday, and bought it Sunday. Someone tried to weld the mag tube to the barrel clamp but luckily the welds didnt hold so the gun can still come apart. I am just going to dremel the small weld beads off and refinish. I think it'll be a good project and turn out good in the end.

[PJA]

PICTURES!
Pete

[pogo]

I saw the 97 on the weblist last week but Riverside was too far to go and check it out, sounds like you got a gem in the rough.

[JPglee1]

Its a takedown model. The stock is cracked and is being held together with a tape bandage, probably been there since ww2. I put it on hold on Saturday, and bought it Sunday. Someone tried to weld the mag tube to the barrel clamp but luckily the welds didnt hold so the gun can still come apart. I am just going to dremel the small weld beads off and refinish. I think it'll be a good project and turn out good in the end.

Its a TAKEDOWN too... lucky dog...

Thats a $500+ shotgun, easily.



J

[hiyabrad]

pics please!

[superhondaz50]

pick-up is Wednesday the 26th so i'll definetly get pics posted then!

[gotgunz]

You should also be aware (if you are not already) that this shotgun will "slam - fire". Meaning you shoot the first shell but don't release the trigger, then rack the action and it will fire again when the action closes. Very cool feature, if you're prepared for it.

Hell, even with a broken stock the action is worth more than $100 given it's wide spread popularity in today's cowboy action shooting.

Nice find regardless of it's condition.

[jdberger]

Well went to Turners and they had an old Winchester 1897 in there for $99 bucks. Made in 1915, its about 60% condition. Has a 30" barrel w/ a MOD. choke. Some old lady brought it in, had been sitting under her bed for years. I'll post pics when I pick it up and then some more once its restored.

Nice pull. I really like the '97. I have an old solid frame with US Ordinance stamps on it. One day I'll get around to restoring it.

30" tube is a bit LONG though....look around and you can find replacements that are a little more handy. Unless, of course, you're planning on using it as a duck gun....

[superhondaz50]

Finally got it!!!

well I picked it up today. Here are the first pics. I have the gun completly disasembled, and all welds removed, everything is in sound condition, especially the receiver. the person who owned it before me didnt know how to adjust the gun to make it tighter, (or put it togther for that matter) so junky welds were used to hold it together (all the welds were already broke). I adjusted everything and reasembled, and the gun is now tight. Now its time for the restoration process, I will post more pics as I go along. Im starting with the barrel, then the receiver, then the rest of the metal, and finally the wood.

Does anyone have any load recomendations? Should I use high brass shells? any particular brands, or favorite reloads? Thanks