So while I'm not really a shotgun guy, my C&R went rogue with my credit card and I now have an 1897 Takedown in 12Ga. What a cool gun. From C96s that come in a stock that also holsters the gun to a shotgun that breaks into 2 contained parts in just a few steps, I'm so impressed by the thought that went into firearms from times gone by.

I did a complete disassembly, scraped about 105 years of dirt out of it, lubed and reassembled. It came with non stock slug style rifle sights and isn't a particularly collectible model so I'm currently considering chopping the barrel back to 18.5 inches polishing the internals and slow rust bluing the gun which is currently patina in color. I'm also considering a titanium firing pin and a 6 shot mod as the magazine tube isn't that strong anyways and it comes with a spring.

Any other ideas for good spare parts and sources?

Any benefits to a pipe cutter vs a hacksaw for chopping?

Its turning into a project/custom gun so while I'm not going to hang lasers and AFGs off it I will look into parts that aren't stock as like I said it didn't come stock anyways.

If you are going to trim the barrel down, the USGI heat shield / bayonet mount is a must for me.
And watch your hand / face when you rack it!

I’ve been looking at those. Does it stop the take down feature?

Check to make sure it is not a short chamber. Early 97's had a 2.5", not 2.75" chambers. I've had several over the years, fun to shoot. Currently down to one. If you decide to go the trench gun route, I think I still have a repo version of the guard and mount around here. Trench gun barrels were 20" by the way.

Personally, I'd have a gunsmith shorten it, recrown the barrel and replace the bead. Here is my Chinese Winchester 97 (commonly referred to as a "Chinchester"). It has been hard chromed.



A picture of my older '97

Thanks for the advice so far. I'm reading up on lengths and want to make sure I have this right. If I have a shotgun over 26" in overall length can I have a shorter than 18 inch barrel? IE 14" barrel with 27 inch OAL? I didn't get the saw out yet but just looking at options.

quote:

Originally posted by Anubismp:
Thanks for the advice so far. I'm reading up on lengths and want to make sure I have this right. If I have a shotgun over 26" in overall length can I have a shorter than 18 inch barrel? IE 14" barrel with 27 inch OAL? I didn't get the saw out yet but just looking at options.

Not without a permission slip.

Got it. The difference isn't that much anyways so i'll leave it 18.5. I see a titanium firing pin with a spring listed. Any benefit to this? I've seen spare firing pins for about half the price of this if I just needed a spare.

I shoot 97s in CAS exclusively. In over 7 years I have not had an issue with a firing pin. Carefully consider where you polish. If you polish the sides of the carrier in the wrong place you won't be able to feed reliably from the magazine. If you shoot it enough you will eventually need a left hand extractor. There are 2 or 3 good sources I like Cowboys and Indian store. Have fun with it!

After a detail cleaning and oiling its actually very smooth so I may pass on polishing unless I find a good guide. Best not to fix whats not broken. I have an extractor and a few ejectors on order so sounds like the next thing to do is shoot it.

I took the rifle sights off and learned that the screwholes go through the barrel. Should I just put the screws back in and ground down to seal it or is that a bad idea?

quote:

Originally posted by Anubismp:
I took the rifle sights off and learned that the screwholes go through the barrel. Should I just put the screws back in and ground down to seal it or is that a bad idea?

Did the screw holes for the rear sight go all the way thru, or just the front?

The rear ones will be venting quite a bit of pressure. I'd think of shortening the screws, setting them and applying a bit of TIG weld to the hole on top. File to level and polish and blue.

The 97...

We had a few of them as Hot Guns scattered around the gunshop I worked in.

I like them.

Hey, I read that Winchester had a 97 in their ammo plant that burned thru OVER A MILLION ROUNDS of shotshells in testing back in the 20's-'30's.

It’s the rear sight. Thanks for the advice I'll try it.