Win changed the 1897 to 97 in the early 1920's so not to appear old. 1897 or 97 on slide handle same, later 97 stamped on barrel. Cyl stamp on barrel correct, not cut. Maybe rebarreled, but honest gun for the most part. Much much better than a 1897 that met a hacksaw. Recoil pad your choice to keep on. Slamfire it once to get it out of your system, treat her good, she'll shoot another hundred years.

 

Thanks for the information! That bit about 1897 changed to '97 is interesting, and actually kind of hilarious. Glad to hear that you think it's pretty clean, I have not been so fortunate in the past. It cost 350 dollars, do you believe that's a fair price? I see similar so called 'Riot' models selling for crazy amounts.

I have another question. I shot it a few hours ago, shoots good, but it has an issue ejecting/extracting the spent shells. is this a worn out extractor? Is there something I'm doing wrong or should replace? Other than taking apart my great grandpas '97, I have a very limited knowledge. Otherwise, I plan to take good care of it well and keep it thoroughly oiled and not let it rust in a closet like whoever had it last.

 

Based on the serial number list I have, your 1897 was produced in 1935. As for value, these shotguns retain their value well; I would have not passed it up for $350 if it were me. The extraction issue might be solved by a thorough cleaning. Does it fail to extract or eject every time? Congrats on a good shotgun!

 

Thanks a lot! Yes, it fails every time, it just pulls it back and it sits there and doesn't even try to eject side ways. Once or twice, it didn't even pull it out of the chamber. But I just did some research, and I compared this one to the 1897 my dad has and I think I found out what's wrong. Its the ejector spring thingy, its toe is broken off so it can't flip the shell out. I found them on Numrich for only $3.75! Other than that, would there be something else worn or broken causing the occasional shell saying in the chamber?

 

New extractor and ejector springs.

 

did Winchester make Solid Frame riots as well as takedowns?

 

Yes. All the WW1 trench guns were solid frames, and they started out as riots. They were also sold long before the war too.

 

Your Model 97 was actually made in 1929.

The slide bar markings have nothing to do with military versus civilian guns. The markings on your slide bar are correct for a gun made in 1929.

The barrel is not a 1910 made barrel. There should be a date (2 digits) on the underside of the barrel near the receiver. It's sometimes hard to see because the mag tube can be in the way.

 

Your Model 97 was actually made in 1929.

Thank you for your correction Tom D.

 

So Tom, then do the barrel and receiver match? I tried looking under the barrel, all I can see right now is a little triangle. I'll take it apart soon and see what else. I have another older '97 and I can see a 'VP' and another mark under the barrel. The only serial I can find on THIS gun is the one in the photo, on other 1897s there's always 2, one above or below the other. Is it worn off or what? What's A reliable way to know that the barrel, receiver etc. match?

 

The second set of serial numbers is only on the takedown guns to match the barrel set with the receiver. I don't recall the exact year, but Winchester did not start dating barrels on rifles and shotguns until sometime in the teens, maybe after WW1, so there is a chance yours would not have a date. But if it does date to '29, it probably should have one if the barrel is original and not from a much earlier gun.

 

I see, so is there another way to determine a match or not? It's not that it really matters to me that much, I'm not a person who buys guns for their serial number rarity and then locks them in a closet forever.. I plan to use it and have fun with it. I just think it would be cool if it was all the same gun.

 

Winchester did not start dating barrels until around 1920. So, if your other older 97 was made before then it won't have a date on the barrel.

Two serial numbers are only found on takedown models - one on the receiver and the second on the barrel extension. Solid frame guns only have the one visible serial number.

 

Back to your original questions about extraction/ejection. It's quite possible the lefthand extractor is broken. It's a common problem on heavily used 97s. But repros are readily available. I just replaced one myself on a 97 riot gun that had similar issues with a part from Jack First. Wisner's sells them too. Both are about $35. Another thing to check is the ejector spring that screws into the left side receiver wall. These can get worn down or broken. Another easy fix.

 

Lol, I actually just fixed it 30 minutes ago and it works great now! Appears it was just the Ejector Spring. I salvaged the one from my great grandpas' 16 gauge '97 and as far as I can tell they are interchangeable. Thanks anyway @bigwagon, I still may get some extractors anyway for breaks in the future.

Here's a related question, I also have a Marlin 1898 (Yes I love hammer shotguns) and it has never been able to cycle right. The shells say in the mag tube sometimes, they stay stuck in the chamber, they don't eject properly sometimes. I replaced the main spring last year, that's all I've done.

 

The 2 digit bbl date on the bottom of the bbl (if there) will be hard to see, if at all unless the magazinetube is removed.
Also the bbl date is just that,,the date the bbl itself was made,,not the date that the bbl was placed onto the frame. or the date that the gun was assembled.

So a bbl date can be a year or more previous to the dated mfgr by ser# of the firearm it's on.
Bbls were made & date stamped and then stored.
They were then pulled from that storage as needed for production assembly.
No special care in keeping the dated bbls in order. So an older production dated bbl will often show up on a later ser#'d/yr mfg'r gun.
This goes for any of the Winchester production

CYL choke is most often assumed to be a short Riot length bbl shotgun.
But the Cylinder choke was offered on the 26", 28 and 30" bbl lengths as well from Winchester.

The front bead sight on a factory bbl (or one that has been cut and professionally set back) will be 1/2" back from the muzzle edge.
The bead achoring hole was drilled straight thru the bbl wall and tapped.
The bead screwed into position. Then the bore polished to trim and face any protruding part of the threaded stud of the bead off cleanly with the bore surface.

Check the CYL marking closely for it being 'remarked',,that being done to a bbl formerly being a choked bbl. The bbl being cut back and the old choke marking being removed, the area polished and suitibly blued or patina marked to disguise it. The new CYL marking then added.
Most newly added CYL markings are done by hand engraving which you can see the tool marks under magnification.
Or carefully done with individual stamps. Any misalainment can be picked up with close scruitiny as well.

A single hand marking stamp w/the choke marking on it is nearly inpossible to get a clean deep imprint of the marking on the shot bbl.
BBl bounce, hand held stamp, poor set-up, etc.,,it doesn't work well. a weak imprint, double strike often occur. A sure sign of a fake.

Most of the above is generally done when a Trench gun is 'made up',,the big $$ gun. But Riot guns are a target of the fakers too.
They generally use a gun with a high degree of orig finish though as they want top dollar return for their fine work.