Winchester 1897-modify , restore, or ??

[HalveNaught]

I recently took possession of my grandpa's old 1904 Winchester 1897 (in addition to his Rem. 870 Wingmaster, which I plan on using for bird hunting). The M97 is in decent shape, has been stored well but was shot pretty heavily when he was using it and could use some restoring. How easy would it be to turn it into a trench gun for my HD gun? Or should I just clean it up and keep it as is? I will never sell either of them, so that is not an issue either. Should I cut it down?

Thoughts and opinions??

[FastFinger]

I love those Knuckle Dusters! So I'd lovingly restore it w/o overdoing it. The last thing I'd do is cut it down or alter it - but then again it's your baby so mutilate it if that's what you want to do. Maybe even hang a laser, flashlight, and grenade launcher off it

[smle-man]

Any '97 that has been used hard is going to need rebuilding. See how well it functions before you make any plans to cut it down. It may best be a momento from your grandad and leave it as-is.

[rudeboy3]

I myself wouldn't touch anything on it, just buy another barrel for the 870 if you want a short hd one.

[cadjak]

I am right in line with the others on here...leave the Winchester alone. The thing has done great service to your grandfather and has lived 106 years. It deserves to be respected and given a good home. If you want a "Trench gun", buy one of those Mossbergs that already came with the barrel shroud and Bayonet lug. Doing that to the 97 will just look like someone turned an old shotgun into a wannabe trench gun.