I inherited a Winchester 1897 shotgun. Depending on which website one trusts, it was manufactured in 1913 or 1916. The barrel is marked 'FULL". Not a whole lot of rust. The wood is not particularly pretty. In other words, it's not valuable or collectible. My question: Are the 1897s of that period safely shootable with modern 2-3/4" ammo?
Since it is not a collectible, there are places that will thread the barrel for choke tubes, if you were looking to change out the full choke to something more open. And watch what direction you're pointing it when working the action; some Model 97s have a tendency to go off on their own. If it helps, my Blue Book of Gun Values has the serial numbers for 1913 running from 575213 to 592731 and for 1916, 624537 to 646123.
Have one that belonged to my Great-Grandmother, then Grandmother...both shot both for table food and competition. Grandmother still has records that hold to this day - they used to shoot with Toepperwein an' his bunch - there were some wild times to be had in the old days!<G> Anyways - yeah, that li'l puppy still shoots like a dream, and I wouldn't hesitate to use it on any huntin' trip.
Have an 1897 Win. 12 Guage, cut the barrel to 18 1/2" for Cowboy Action shooting. It served well, still a good shotgun, when it gets finiky a good disassembly and cleaning and oiling does the trick. Numrich has a lot of parts and wood if ever needed.
Looks like mine's in the 1913 column. I've cycled and dry-fired it several times. It appears the hammer stays back every time but I'll take the necessary precautions never the less. Thanks for the warning, though. Thanks for the info.
