Winchester manufactured the Model 1897 in response to the 1893 model poor design. It is a slide-action shotgun designed for smokeless powder. The 12 gauge had a 30-inch barrel until 1899, when the new 16 gauge with a shorter 28" barrel became popular.
The company offered the six-shot M1897 in a variety of styles: standard or field grade; special or standard trap, including the Black Diamond; and pigeon, brush, tournament, riot, and trench.
The Winchester Model 1897 became the most famous outside-hammer, slide-action in history. As with any Winchester, fancy wood and engraving was available at extra charge. Today, the Model 1897 field grade is valued between $250 and $500 (very good to excellent condition).
Most wannabe Old West gunfighters start with a 12 gauge, 18-½” double-barrel stagecoach gun complete with hammers, the slide-action is faster.
A gunfighter’s fantasy is that a western lawman carried your Winchester 97 down the streets of a desperado town in the Olde West.
The company offered the six-shot M1897 in a variety of styles: standard or field grade; special or standard trap, including the Black Diamond; and pigeon, brush, tournament, riot, and trench.
The Winchester Model 1897 became the most famous outside-hammer, slide-action in history. As with any Winchester, fancy wood and engraving was available at extra charge. Today, the Model 1897 field grade is valued between $250 and $500 (very good to excellent condition).
Most wannabe Old West gunfighters start with a 12 gauge, 18-½” double-barrel stagecoach gun complete with hammers, the slide-action is faster.
A gunfighter’s fantasy is that a western lawman carried your Winchester 97 down the streets of a desperado town in the Olde West.
