1897 Winchester Trench on Gunbroker

Hello all,

I've been in the market for a M97 Trench for a while and have done some research, but do not have nearly the level of knowledge and experience of many on this board. In fact, I am self-aware enough to realize that I know JUST enough to be dangerous!

What are your thoughts on this GB listing? Winchester M97 WWII Trench Gun : Curios & Relics at GunBroker.com


My gut tells me something smells fishy about it, but I can't put my finger on it. Reblued maybe? My Canfield book is at home (I'm deployed Afghanistan right now) so I don't have ready access to any reference beyond the web.

Not necessarily going to bid - I don't think I'd be comfortable with that sort of money without inspecting the gun myself - but I'm trying to learn so I don't get burned when the time comes.

So? Fire away.

--David

Is the magazine tube correct? I thought the take-down M97 used a different mag tube than the civilian models.
Just starting out myself..
Sgt. Tom

Take down 97s were converted to non takedown when the handguard was added, thus a bit of a different look to the take downs. The hole is there for the locking pin.

I see it has the takedown pin hole.

I know that a takedown version is not wrong necessarily and there are many takedown trench guns out there, but does that match up with the 1942 manufacture date listed in the description? I do not know when the takedown models started being used in production.

Any other thoughts on the authenticity of this thing?

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Originally Posted by drh2687

I see it has the takedown pin hole.

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Yes it does...I'm not going out on a limb with this one, it looks both good and bad to me too. The blue looks correct to me, if you polish and re-blue, you usually have stretched looking letters and numbers. Dished out screw holes too. The numbers look to match on the front and back. The military marks are always a question with me. The roll marks look good, but the stock mark would be less than stellar in my mind. My little red Winchester book shows that serial number being produced in 1948 though... Tom Doniphon will be along and there are others...they'll give you far more useful info. Just wait for a minute...if you can...

That 97 was probably made around July - August 1942. It looks right to me.

So Tom, you say it looks authentic?

Yes, from the photos it looks correct. There's a 3 day inspection period to confirm, among other things, if the finish is original.

Well, looks like someone is going to be very happy. Albeit with a much lighter wallet. I can't afford that much - I'm gonna have to find one in the low-mid 4k range. That's about the max I can justify on a shotgun, even these.

Thanks for the input gentlemen - always good to learn what right looks like.

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Originally Posted by Tom Doniphon

July - August 1942

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I don't understand what use my little red Winchester book is then. Maybe none.

Use the Red Book as a guide just knowing it is not exactly accurate for many years of production, particularly during WW1 and WW2. Most of the older production date tables for Winchester firearms are wrong. The most accurate info we have today is the Winchester Polishing Room records which show the exact day a receiver was serialized at the factory.

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Originally Posted by Tom Doniphon

Most of the older production date tables for Winchester firearms are wrong.

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Great. Thanks for the info on that. Strictly a guideline.