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hayseed
PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 12:27 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 14 Feb 2017
Posts: 401

Tell me about the model 97. Likes, dislikes, etc. I have heard the the short hammer could be a safety concern and that most models have 2 9/16 chambers. I have read about military service but was wondering what opinions are from a 16 gauge collector/users view. Thanks
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Byron Whitlock
PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 4:33 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 27 Jan 2016
Posts: 488
Location: Oswego, Kansas

I grew up hunting with a 12ga 97 that my Dad had bought at a farm auction and loved it. A few years back I took a 16ga model in a trade because I wanted a 16ga model. However this one was in need of a rebuild that I didn't want to spend the money on and sold it to my uncle. The 16 did have 2 3/4"chamber.

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16gaDavis
PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 5:31 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 24 Jun 2013
Posts: 2058
Location: canandaigua - western n.y. (formerly deerhunter)

probably the most solid gun ever made ... thick barrels , really solid breeching , the hammer is a great safety feature . if you see the internals , they are solid !! sears , solid !! The guns can be cocked dead silently , try that with your 870 . If the gun can't unlock wiggling the fore end . Great ! if you can cock the gun from firing slowly and the sear stays in full cock , Great ! tight chokes ! Do not ever drop the hammer even slowly on a loaded round , the hammer spring will fire the gun even if just resting on the primer ! The guns will make ANY shell fire !!

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Researcher
PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:57 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 13 Jun 2009
Posts: 695
Location: WA/AK

While the original version of this John M. Browning designed pump gun, the Winchester Model 1893 was made for the 2 5/8 inch 12-gauge shell, the follow-on Model 1897 was made for the 2 3/4 inch 12-gauge shell. When the 16-gauge version was introduced it was made for the 2 9/16 inch shell. Stadt states the big W began making the 16-gauges for 2 3/4 inch shells in 1931.

Two of my favorite characters of American shotgunnery shucked Model 1897s for the big W - Ansley H. Fox 1900 into 1902 and Harold Money (De Shootinist Gent'man) 1905 to 1910.

Having played with one briefly, I found it very unforgiving. Needed to be very precise in pumping it. Wouldn't tolerate the sloppy work a Winchester Model 12/42 or Remington Model 31 will. Gives me great appreciation for Ansley and Harold being able to do good work in the Pigeon Ring with them!

Then there are those that get their thumb in the wrong place and slash it open!! Never happened to me, but saw it happen on a couple of vintage sporting clays squads I was on. Happy day when I traded it off on another Browning Superposed.

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last dollar
PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:57 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Jul 2008
Posts: 765
Location: Great State of Kansas

I have one on my couch right now....Picked it up last week..Shot a round of trap yesterday..Broke 91...I have several....All of them great.....I have never had a feed problem or any other issue....couch gun is a 12 bore and for sale....pm for details
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MaximumSmoke
PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 9:19 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Posts: 1550
Location: Minnesota and Florida

I used to share a 97 with a fellow who has been a good friend from grade school through the present. I'm sure he still has it. It belonged to his grandfather, and I found it in his attic when we were snooping around up there one day, along with a nifty little nickel plated S&W pocket revolver, another gun I took home and got working, but that's another story. My friend had never shot a gun. I was an eighth grader at the time, 12 years old, he was 11. We hauled it over to my place on my Honda SuperSport 50, and shot it at hand thrown clays in the farmyard. Thus my friend learned to shoot. That 97 was in good shape, and worked well. I had been shooting my dad's Model 12, and truth be told, the 97 was a clunk alongside that. Nonetheless, I do like 97's, as they are somewhat "John Browning iconic", though I have no room for one in my stable. They are not slick to pump - smooth enough, but lots of friction and force required, a sort of viscous feeling, fairly smooth, but lots of high inertia stuff moving around, on the same order as a Model 10 Remington in that department, certainly not better. The projection of the bolt with the action open can be disconcerting at first. The hand position on the grip is decidedly lower relative to the sight line than today's gunners might be used to - about the same as a Remington 11 or an A-5, maybe a bit lower if I recall correctly -- not as low as on another Browning design, the lever-action Winchester 1887 shotgun, though! In my high school days, I'd ride the bus to my friend's place after school and we'd walk the Bald Hill Creek on his grandfather's land (which by coincidence had once been my greatgrandfather's land) and jump shoot ducks, carrying only his 97, exchanging it at each opportunity for a shot.
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kgb
PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 1:41 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1256
Location: Nebraska

Mine's a 16ga with a Cyl choked 26" barrel. Certainly not as svelte as a Model 12 but fun to shoot and hunt with. When it's just me and the dogs the hammer is on half cock. When with a hunting partner the bolt stays open with a shell on the carrier. At its lowest point the carrier extends enough below the frame that I can wedge my little finger against it and know the bolt is fully back. Maybe a bit overly cautious but there's sufficient time to close the action as the gun comes to shoulder from whatever carry position is used. I've hefted lighter 97's with 28" barrels, the walls seem pretty thick on mine but it is comfortable to shoot.

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16gaDavis
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 5:22 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 24 Jun 2013
Posts: 2058
Location: canandaigua - western n.y. (formerly deerhunter)

to slicken down a 97 : open action - the travel groove for the fore end , oil it up a little . The bolt rails are now out , oil them up a little . close the action and oil the outside fore end bar . A little oil on the mag tube where the FE travels and away you go . A 97 can be slam fired , but the action is just slow enough for that to rarely occur in the heat of action - NICE !! you don't have to oil a M12 mag tube as it's built with some rails molded in . this feature was never done to a 97 , so it needs a dab of lube . Funny how when roosters are flushing etc , you never hear that clunky action noise ! parts to get : an action bar lock and the little "L" shaped ejector - easy to get - that's it for a min 50 yr old gun .

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hayseed
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 5:59 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 14 Feb 2017
Posts: 401

Lots of good info here. I had no idea what to expect as I have never held one, much less shot it. Probably would not be my first choice for a hunting gun.
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Beagleman
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:27 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 04 Oct 2015
Posts: 280
Location: Clemson

For a pump shotgun it would not be my 1st, 2nd, or 3rd choice. I would prefer a mod 31, mod 37, or a mod 12 in an older slide action gun to use for hunting. The Winchester 1897 is a unique gun that was built like a tank and almost as heavy. Nice gun to look at,not as nice to shoot.

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16gaDavis
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 1:45 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 24 Jun 2013
Posts: 2058
Location: canandaigua - western n.y. (formerly deerhunter)

B-man .... have several m31's , Many M12's , 6 m97's ... my 16ga M97's will be the last to go when all are gone !!

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last dollar
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 2:44 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Jul 2008
Posts: 765
Location: Great State of Kansas

I wonder if BMAN has much FIELD experience with the 97.? The balance point makes them feel like a wand...One of "MY" first scatter guns was a 97 trench gun,Dad and I purchased on trip to Bannermans in the early50's..Gun and several cases of brass hull 00 went out the door for under 10 bucks....Killed lots treestumps and other enemies,,,on the back farm....Pawned that one when I went in theNavy in 1956...Uncle John kept up the interest payments and I redeemed it in 1960?...Upon BAD advice,put a CUTTS on it..changed the whole geometry....went away sometime...My Bad STAY WELL,all.............
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Cheyenne08
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 3:21 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 09 Dec 2009
Posts: 1370
Location: Cheyenne, Wy

The first shotgun my Dad handed me was a Win '97, 12 ga, 30" barrel, full choke.

I was a happy camper! Like LD says, it is a wand in the field, a natural pointer, it was heavy as hell, but I was young and dumb and didn't know it Wink .

I still have that gun, never had a problem with it, other than allowing the pheasant to get out far enough before pulling the trigger! hee hee

I wouldn't recommend it to anyone for a first shotgun, you ought to know a little bit, and be disciplined enough to know what you are doing with it.

I sure wouldn't sell mine, too many memories, and in a Duck blind, you aren't going to find a more deadly gun.

Dale

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Byron Whitlock
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 6:07 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 27 Jan 2016
Posts: 488
Location: Oswego, Kansas

As i stated before, I grew up hunting with an old 97 that my Dad had bought at a farm auction for $15. Of course that was in the late 60's when he bought it. it had the Full choke barrel of course but my Dad had solved that problem by cutting an inch and a half off the barrel to make it a perfect rabbit or quail hunting gun.
I saw a 12ga 97 for sale at Cabela's in Wichita today that was in good original condition and they had a price tag of $575 on it! Of course I saw a lot of other used guns there with outrageous prices on them as well. I think they must be trying to convince us all to but new guns.

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Sweet sixteen forever
LC Smith Field Grade
LC Smith Ideal Grade
CZ Ringneck
Win. Model 12
Rem M11
Stevens 235
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Beagleman
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 6:36 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 04 Oct 2015
Posts: 280
Location: Clemson

last dollar- In the 45 years that I have hunted quail and rabbits, I have never taken my 97 16ga. So, no field experience. Nothing wrong with the gun, I just prefer to carry and shoot other guns.

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