1897 Trench gun question. Bubba?

**shooter88** · 01-01-2017 07:49 PM

Hello all. I have a Winchester 97 built in 1918 that appears to be a legitimate Trench gun. After reading Canfield's book, I believe it to be a WW2 rebuild as it exhibits the following characteristics:

-parkerized
-WW2 style stock
-metal checkered buttplate
-four row ventilated heat shield ("W" stamp on left side)

Other traits it has

-serial number is in correct range of a WW1 trench
-barrel is exactly 20" measured from the bolt face, and is marked "CYL"
-hand stamped flaming bomb and "US" on right side of receiver just forward of the ejection port
-has the "WP" proof stamped on top of receiver and barrel
-heat shield fits snug on barrel without shims or sleeve.
-barrel has three grooves in the bottom.

One thing I am not sure of is that there is a hole about a 1/4" from the end of the muzzle that has been filled in with a black substance. The hole itself is not threaded. Right now I'm thinking Bubba however wanted to check to see if it is possible it was mistakenly done at an arsenal or maybe some other explanation.

Information

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**browningautorifle** · 01-01-2017 10:06 PM

Originally Posted by shooter88

there is a hole about a 1/4" from the end of the muzzle that has been filled in with a black substance.

Sounds like the bead hole which should be filled...like they were. Pics would be priceless...

**shooter88** · 01-02-2017 12:02 AM

Here is a pic with the black filling in it. What is strange is that it is a 1/4" away from the muzzle...Im about 90% positive that the bead on '97's was 1/2" inch away from the muzzle. Thats the biggest thing making me think it was bubba'd. It is also not the quality of fill work that I would expect from an arsenal. It comes off rather easily.

**fjruple** · 01-02-2017 07:05 AM

Shooter88--

I have seen this type of repair before. What happens is the front bead sight breaks off. Instead of removing the broken sight base. The owner who probably did not want to take it to a gunsmith to remove the broken sight base simply drilled and tapped a new bead sight farther back. This damage probably took place after the shotgun left the service. If this damage was discovered while in a rebuilt program the broken bead would have been removed and replaced.

--fjruple

**browningautorifle** · 01-02-2017 11:30 AM

If this is a trench gun then something's wrong. The first hole should be filled properly as it wasn't used with the shroud in place, the bead wouldn't even be seen. You couldn't get it over it. The second attempt at a hole is wrong. Here's a picture from one of the threads here showing you what you should see...