Post by goomba on Nov 2, 2010 23:51:42 GMT -5
Winchester Model 1897 Riot Gun
The 1897 was considered the “bad boy” of smoothbores.
By Rick Hacker
11/1/2010
Whether brandished by Lee Marvin in “The Professionals” or wielded by William Holden in “The Wild Bunch,” the Winchester Model 97 Riot Gun is the “bad boy” of smoothbores, but paradoxically, it was a favorite of early 20th century law-enforcement agencies. Yet in its standard 30-inch-barreled configuration, the 12-gauge version of John Browning’s exposed-hammer pump-action design was one of the most popular sporting shotguns in America.
The Model 1897 was a much-needed evolution of Browning’s Model 1893, a weaker gun designed for blackpowder shotshells. By contrast, the Model 97 had the improved strength and metallurgy required for the then-new smokeless propellant shotshells. Its action locked up tightly and required a slight forward movement of the automatic slide lock (usually recoil was enough) to free the pump handle for cycling.
From 1898 through the 1960s, Winchester offered its Model 1897 as a Riot Gun (take-down versions were added after 1935) with a cylinder-choked 20-inch barrel. There was no trigger disconnector, which meant that by holding the trigger back the gun could be slam-fired as fast as the pump could be worked. With the ’97s standard five-round-capacity tubular magazine and a sixth shell in the chamber, the Riot Gun was a formidable arm indeed. During World War I it evolved into the Model 97 “trench gun,” complete with a bayonet lug, sling swivels and a perforated steel heat shield covering the barrel.
www.americanrifleman.org/articles/winchester-model-1897-riot-shotgun/
The 1897 was considered the “bad boy” of smoothbores.
By Rick Hacker
11/1/2010
Whether brandished by Lee Marvin in “The Professionals” or wielded by William Holden in “The Wild Bunch,” the Winchester Model 97 Riot Gun is the “bad boy” of smoothbores, but paradoxically, it was a favorite of early 20th century law-enforcement agencies. Yet in its standard 30-inch-barreled configuration, the 12-gauge version of John Browning’s exposed-hammer pump-action design was one of the most popular sporting shotguns in America.
The Model 1897 was a much-needed evolution of Browning’s Model 1893, a weaker gun designed for blackpowder shotshells. By contrast, the Model 97 had the improved strength and metallurgy required for the then-new smokeless propellant shotshells. Its action locked up tightly and required a slight forward movement of the automatic slide lock (usually recoil was enough) to free the pump handle for cycling.
From 1898 through the 1960s, Winchester offered its Model 1897 as a Riot Gun (take-down versions were added after 1935) with a cylinder-choked 20-inch barrel. There was no trigger disconnector, which meant that by holding the trigger back the gun could be slam-fired as fast as the pump could be worked. With the ’97s standard five-round-capacity tubular magazine and a sixth shell in the chamber, the Riot Gun was a formidable arm indeed. During World War I it evolved into the Model 97 “trench gun,” complete with a bayonet lug, sling swivels and a perforated steel heat shield covering the barrel.
www.americanrifleman.org/articles/winchester-model-1897-riot-shotgun/
