Have people seen any Winchester 1897s around?

Ohhh my ....... The back knuckle of my right thumb hurts every time I see one of those.

I fired a round, lowered the gun and jacked another round into the chamber, removing enough skin from that location to make a 4 week healing process. Then about 10 years later, I DID IT AGAIN! I will never pick up another one.

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Ohhh my ....... The back knuckle of my right thumb hurts every time I see one of those.

I fired a round, lowered the gun and jacked another round into the chamber, removing enough skin from that location to make a 4 week healing process. Then about 10 years later, I DID IT AGAIN! I will never pick up another one.

These guys know the technique to avoid that problem while slam firing.

 
a lot of the old Ithaca 37s will slam fire as well. And used to be available pretty cheap. If that is the “feature” you seek.
 
imo... if slam fire is what you are looking for. A couple of things to keep in mind. I have seen it used successfully and effectively for doubles in skeet. It is kinda cool, as a toy.

but I would NEVER put it into the hands of a newbie. Or a person that does not have perfect trigger discipline. as this is really a design flaw, not a feature.
 
I'm sure you can learn the right hold with a 97 but why? A Model 12 is an improved 1897 that (usually) has two of the (usual) features that people like about the 1897: takes down to ~20" (assuming 20" barrel) and no trigger disconnector. The Model 37 is a great alternative, but no non-bullpup repeater takes down as short as the Model 12 (or 97).
 
imo... if slam fire is what you are looking for. A couple of things to keep in mind. I have seen it used successfully and effectively for doubles in skeet. It is kinda cool, as a toy.

but I would NEVER put it into the hands of a newbie. Or a person that does not have perfect trigger discipline. as this is really a design flaw, not a feature.

The Winchester 62A (.22 pump) also has this same "flaw".
These are a real blast to slam-fire with 15 shots in the tube.
I have the Rossi 62SA (stainless) clone with the 24" barrel and it's true to the original design.
 
These guys know the technique to avoid that problem while slam firing.

I have no problem maintaining the 97 on the shoulder and reloading. It is when the gun comes DOWN and off the shoulder that it eats thumbs.

A Model 12 is an improved 1897

Exactly and it will slam fire as well! My son with a model 12 Win will shoot doubles on the skeet field and it is faster than an 1100!

The Winchester 62A (.22 pump) also has this same "flaw".

The Remington model 12 pump 22 is a slam firer as well. You can go through quite a few rounds very quickly.
 
The Remington model 12 pump 22 is a slam firer as well. You can go through quite a few rounds very quickly.

OK, that's good to know, thanks.
I've never fired a model 12 so I wasn't familiar with it.
I own many .22 rifles, mostly lever actions, several semi's, two bolt actions and the one pump gun.
I bought the pump gun on a whim while browsing at a small shop in central NH. It was in great shape, the price was very reasonable, and I had the cash in my pocket.
Glad I grabbed it when I did because they stopped making them, and I don't see them around anymore.
BTW, this was the same shop where I got my Marlin 1894C, that was also a great deal.
Too bad that shop doesn't exist anymore.
 
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Regarding the Winchester Mod 12 shotgun, I am of the opinion that it is one of the best US designed and made in the USA weapons. No way it could be manufactured today, between the forging and machining and hand fitting, I would suspect that it would cost well over 5 thousand dollars to make at same specs today. The safety aspects are a non issue, the Feds would not allow it to be made these days. The barrel stampings alone would make it non feasible.



 
The barrel stampings alone would make it non feasible.

I have a Model 12. It is a mid-50s riot gun in nearly new condition. It is as magnificent as any production gun as any made in the US during the 20th century. But...wondering about the quote. What about the barrel stampings and the feds? Or are you thinking about cost issues? Just curious, not picking a quarrel.
 
The first firearm I ever shot was a model 1897. I have one and will never sell it. I see some on line but haven't seen any in a gunshop lately.
 
I love my 1897 (made in 1959, a takedown long-barrel). I've never had a thumb problem; you just keep your thumb out of the way of the bolt, just like the slide on a pistol. What are all you people doing that you're chewing up your digits?

And no, OP. I ain't selling.
 
What about the barrel stampings and the feds?

I was just jokingly thinking about the page and a half of the safety requirements stamped on the barrel. It is like 1/2 of an owners manual that they put on the guns today. Can you see the wording on the actual feature of a, "slam fire"?

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I was just jokingly thinking about the page and a half of the safety requirements stamped on the barrel. It is like 1/2 of an owners manual that they put on the guns today. Can you see the wording on the actual feature of a, "slam fire"?

.

Got it, hadn't even thought of it that way. Mentioning slam-fire brings to mind the fact that later (mid/late-1970s?) Ithaca M37s and all of the M37s made since production moved out of NYS are "safer" and won't slam fire.
 
The Amoskeag Auction house in Manchester, NH, just had a couple auctions last weekend that included quite a few of Winchester 1897s - check out the catalog for auction #125 two-day (Auction #125 - Two-Day Sale, March 28 & 29) and #125 online (Amoskeag Online #125 - March 2020) for the hammer prices (and you might be sickened that you just missed this by a week) - use the Advanced Search feature to search by model number.

I'd been looking for one of these for awhile, and was happy to win one of the auctions:

Of course, they're not offering the normal pickup, so winners need to wait for them to ship everything. Luckily this is C&R so it doesn't need to go to a local shop, and at the moment, I've got nothing by time to wait for them to get through the backlog.
 
The Amoskeag Auction house in Manchester, NH, just had a couple auctions last weekend that included quite a few of Winchester 1897s - check out the catalog for auction #125 two-day (Auction #125 - Two-Day Sale, March 28 & 29) and #125 online (Amoskeag Online #125 - March 2020) for the hammer prices (and you might be sickened that you just missed this by a week) -

Holy crap, I can't believe how many of those guns went for near or below the low estimates!
I imagine this was because of low bidder turnout due to the quarantine.
 
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