Winchester 97

Gentlemen,

I recently picked up this 30" 12 bore Winchester. As far as I can tell it was made in 1937; I am thinking of turning it into a trench gun. How difficult is it to find the correct barrel and heat shield? I see Numrich lists them but the prices are kind of stiff. Does anybody have any experience with these Numrich parts? Are there other suppliers? Any comments about this gun will be highly appreciated.

Balder

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...P1080581-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...P1080582-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...P1080583-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...P1080584-1.jpg

Assuming you can find a proper trench gun barrel with the three transverse grooves on the underside of the muzzle for the bayonet adaptor, it's probably going to cost you $300 or more for it. Then you have to buy the bayonet adaptor and heat shield. I would imagine a repro will set you back another $300, and an original will cost a lot more. By the time you're done you will have several hundred dollars or more into the gun. IMO, it's not worth it.

Thanks Tom, I guess I'll just keep it in its original shape. It's a bit off my core collecting interest anyway.

Balder