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Winchester 1897, 16 gauge date produced

Floyd58523
I am looking at purchasing an 1897 with serial number 90xxx, I dont have the actual number but it is 90 thousand. It is a 16 gauge. The reciever has an honest 60% bright blue, Hammer has been gouged to roughen it up. Barrel is a full choke. The Stock looks like it is a custom home made stock but has the widows peak on the but plate.
He is asking $ 450.00 for it. What was the serial number for the earliest 16 gauge model 97? Is this a antique serial number? I will try and get pictures and the last 3 of the serial number. The serial number is the C series and no Winchester proof mark. The shotgun is a takedown and serial numbers match on barrel and reciever
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Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • dfogleky
    oldguns.net

    Left side menu, halfway down he page, has manufacture dates for many brands of firearms. According to their chart, # 90,000 was manufactured in 1901.
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  • Bert H.
    quote:Originally posted by dfogleky
    oldguns.net

    Left side menu, halfway down he page, has manufacture dates for many brands of firearms. According to their chart, # 90,000 was manufactured in 1901.


    For at least the 100th time (on this forum), the Winchester serialization versus date of manufacture information contained on that website is grossly in error[xx(].

    Model 1897 serial number 90000 was manufactured on December 30th, 1899. Serial number 63867 was the last "Antique" Model 1897 serial number, manufactured on December 31st, 1898.

    Winchester introduced the 16-gauge version of the Model 1897 in September of 1899, at circa serial number 83,000. The earliest 16-ga Model 1897 that I have verified is serial number 83207.

    As for the gun in question, with an altered hammer, a non-factory original stock, and the fact that it is chambered for a 2-9/16" shell, it is not worth $450.
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  • Floyd58523
    Thank you for the reply, I was interested in it if it was the earliest or very close to the 1st 16 gauge produced. I will offer him $ 200.00 and see if I offend him.

    He passed on my offer. He raised the price he is asking to $ 650.00, I thanked him for his time and politely left the shop.
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  • 5mmgunguy
    Maybe worth $200, $250 tops. For $650 he will be setting on it a long time. About the year 2030 inflation should make it worth about $650.
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  • Wolf.
    I agre on the just-mentioned price of $200-250. Someone who wants the gun for Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) or for parts, might pay more, but after $300 - $335 (especially with the non-factory stock), I personally think that the seller is dreaming. The 16ga guns are favored by some CAS gamers who believe their speed is increased by being able to grab and manipulate, in one hand, more of the smaller 16ga shells (vs. the 12ga shells). The 12ga guns are far more popular. About the most I'd pay for a 12ga "E" series gun in excellent working condition is $450, with $400 being more like it. AND, you have to understand that the only reason these guns may fetch that much today is their popularity in the sport of CAS. Having said THAT, however, the Winchester Model 1897 shotgun, is a John Browning design and is a very nice gun, albeit complicated by today's standards. The workmanship is excellent and these guns' use in WWI, WWII and Vietnam (to some extent) is testimony to their durability and reliability. This gun also has a designed-in slam-fire feature that allows the user to hold down the trigger and just operate the gun's slide to fire the gun. There are other interesting features, too.

    Also the "C" series guns are the earlier guns and do not have the "quick dump" feature that the later "E" series guns have. This feature on these later guns provided buttons on either side of the receiver that allow manual "disconnect" of the left and right cartridge stops, which when depressed, release the entire contents of the gun's magazine. This feature, while maybe being a bit more convenient, is not a huge necessity.
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