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A friend of mine has an old 12gauge model that was his fathers. He has a number of other guns and has no particular attachment to this one. I'm told it doesn't work and what appears to be part of a leaf spring came out of the gun, and is presumably why it doesn't work. Doing a quick look online the serial number puts it at 1906 (unsure how accurate that is), and the gun is easily 90% or better. I'm interested in it, and he'll let it go for a pretty low price. Even if I can't fix whatever is wrong it would still make a great display piece. Is anyone familiar with these guns? Are parts available and are they easy to work on such that I would likely be able to fix it? Would there be any issue with using modern ammo in it? | ||
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| I'm not laughing WITH you  |
Not at all; however, you should have it checked out. Fortunately, you live in the same state with the #1 1897/1887 gun smiths in the world, Coyote Cap. http://coyotecap.com/ Rolan Kraps SASS Regulator Gainesville, Georgia. NRA Range Safety Officer NRA Certified Instructor - Pistol / Personal Protection Inside the Home | |||
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| Member |
Check out Numrich Gun Parts for any available parts needed. Taking a quick glance there it might be the Cartridge Stop Assembly that is broken as it looks like it has a leaf spring as a part of it. | |||
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The website lists Minnesota (MN), not Michigan (MI). Or am I mistaken? Either way that's good news. It looks like he works on these to get them up to speed to run SASS Wild Bunch. There's a sold one on his website that isn't too much higher in serial. Reading the 93 vs 97 entry on that page, though, gives me a slight worry. The cutoff for the 93 is above the serial of my friend's shotgun, which is puzzling. It is marked 1897. But it may have a floating firing pin that isn't drop safe. Like I mentioned though, worst case I have a nice wall-hanger shotgun for a few bucks.
I'm aware of Numrich. Hopefully it's a simple $5 spring. | |||
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| I'm not laughing WITH you |
Rolan Kraps SASS Regulator Gainesville, Georgia. NRA Range Safety Officer NRA Certified Instructor - Pistol / Personal Protection Inside the Home | |||
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| Member |
They can sometimes be a pain in the rear to work on. Unlike later guns like an 870 Remington, the older guns like the 97 and Model 12 Winchester have a lot of hand fitted parts. I've ordered parts and had to do a good bit of fitting to make them work. | |||
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| Member |
I found a list that's on Winchester's site. This gun is a 316XXX which does put it at 1906. Here's the photo my friend sent (aside from a few closeups). I'm not an appraiser, so my 90% estimation is only a guess. Looks pretty good for 112 years old. https://imgur.com/gallery/90uTvSG
Good to know, thanks for the info. If it needs anything more than a spring Rolan has pointed me to a competent smith. | |||
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| With bad intent |
I could be wrong but that looks to be refinished? ________________________________ | |||
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| Member |
That's possible. If so, it wasn't in the last 50 years. My friend said it's been in a closet and he's never seen it used. His father would be 75 and this was a gun from his youth. Here's a closer photo, showing some wear from the pump. https://imgur.com/gallery/eM5eyIf That could be pitting that's been finished over. | |||
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| Member |
Similar situation with a 1897. https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935/m/4750087244 Searched for ranges in Colorado that held Cowboy Action shoots. Contacted the Cowboy Action shoot match director of one of the range. He gave me the name of a local gunsmith who competes with and tunes 1897's. Never would have found this gunsmith w/o the match director. Buddy and I dropped it off with the gunsmith. Shoots and cycles great and we know it is safe. | |||
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That's excellent! Funny that they're both 1906 guns, too. Also encouraging that you've got it fixed up and can shoot it. This will be only my third pre-war firearm. The other two are a couple of S&W revolvers that I absolutely love. | |||
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Not really from Vienna |
I believe Warpig is correct. Looks like it has a matte finish blue job on it. The “TRADE MARK” appears to have been buffed heavily. Neat old gun. | |||
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| Member |
IIRC the 1897 when made featured a Flame Hardened receiver with a blued barrel, so that one has been refinished. I also suspect that the butt pad on the stock has been added sometime in the past 20 years, because I would expect the original to have either a steel or brass butt plate. I've stopped counting. | |||
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I agree. Refinished at some time in it's life. | |||
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That's good to know. I don't think it really changes anything, other than I won't be so careful about the finish. There's probably no real chance of restoring it, is there? Guess I'll just have to shoot it at every opportunity. | |||
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| Member |
Means you have a good looking Shooter. Aint no problem with that, means you can just enjoy using it. BTW, I have a 1904 vintage 1892 Winchester that was factory re-barreled in 357 Magnum and completely refinished by a previous owner. He also did me the courtesy of installing some highly figured Walnut and in the process mis-installed the magazine tube, denting it in the process. So when I got in on the cheap due to the magazine shooting loose after 2 or 3 shots fired all I had to do was make up an I.D. Arbor out of O-1 tool steel and use that to reshape the magazine tube to original. Now it shoots perfectly and with the help of a range master acting as a spotter/coach I've managed to shoot consecutive 5 shot groups under 1 inch at 100 yards using a rear tang peep sight. You just have to love these old Classics, while they may have over 100 years on them they still shoot just fine and are still quite useful for Hunting or Defense. I've stopped counting. | |||
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I should have the shotgun in a few days. I'm pretty pumped for it. (bad pun attempt) I don't currently have a pump shotgun, either. A few autos, a bolt-action, and an O/U, but no pumps. | |||
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| Doing what I want, When I want, If I want!  |
Be careful, some of those old 97’s have 2.5” chambers, not the newer standard 2.75”. If it is a 2.5”, they are getting rare. A lot of folks had them bored to 2.75”. ******************************************** "On the other side of fear you will always find freedom" | |||
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I have a model 1897 30 inch 12 gauge made in 1946. The condition of the wood on the gun is excellent. There is finish wear from the action being cycled (not all that bad IMO), a small amount of blue missing from the hammer, and some rust in the chamber. Other wise the gun looks amazing for being so old. Any ideas value wise on something like this? The research I have done does not help me a lot because prices are all over the place. | |||
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Hop head  |
it's been refinished, and buttpad added (stock likely cut, but would need to measure to be sure) leaf springs are an easy fix, IIRC 2 on the bolt carrier, and one for the sear (on the bottom of the bolt carrier) https://www.chesterfieldarmament.com/ | |||
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