My Old Gun: Winchester 1897 12 Gauge

This is going to be a series I will be doing on old guns that I have. I will be something different for those of you that like older guns and give you something to read that is dedicated to old guns.

So for this first article of the series I wanted to show you my Winchester model 1897 that I wanted for a LONG time and got this one about 4 years ago. This one is from 1934 and was completely redone by a well known Gunsmith, I was not the one that had it redone. The friend of mine who had it before me had it redone a year before I got it off of him.

The Gunsmith did a great job on this Winchester, I personally would have left it original. I have shot it a few times and it works perfect! It is a joy to shoot and for those of you that don’t know this Winchester, if you hold the trigger in the fired position and rack the slide as fast as you can the shotgun will fire as fast as you rack it. That is one of the reasons this shotgun was so popular in its time.

It has a single rail for racking the slide, which some don’t like for fear of bending it if racking the slide fast or if it gets stuck and starts to jamb. But I have to tell you the steel they used back then will hold up to very aggressive attempts. This Winchester is very well built. I collect Winchesters, not for anything to do with value, I just always loved Winchester guns and the whole story behind Mrs. Winchester and her home.

This is again a 12ga,  the trench shotgun used by our military in both WWI (not this one as it was built after WWI but just in time for WWII) and again in WWII, Korea, Vietnam and yes even in to the Gulf War. I have been told that limited numbers are still in use in our todays military but I can’t back that claim up.

It features the heatshield for the fast round firing as to not burn the hand of the shooter if he had to run and grab the shotgun other than by the stock. This was a John Browning design made from 1897 to 1953. It was an improved design from the 1893 Winchester, tube mag, hammer fired and a total of 1,024,700 were made.

Here are the photos of my favorite shotgun I own, enjoy!

Holding up this close WILL cut your hand

This is the proper way to grip and shoot

Stay safe and see you out there!

Ron Gunner

Started as a firearms instructor in 1986, sponsored pro shooter, teaches CC classes, advanced pistol and shotgun tactics, teaches reloading classes, does seminars, radio shows and in-store promotions for the sponsors. But more important is I spend as much time as possible with my family, life is just too short!