Winchester 1897, modern loads? Brass shells?

[IndianaSoloMcfly]

I have a nice 1897 winchester,
2 3/4 chamber. My understand is the chamber is actually 2 5/8.

my question is, what can I shoot out of this safely? Id like to set it up for defensive purposes, as well as deer hunting.
the internet is full of contradictory information.

what can i buy off the shelf today that is safe to fire? No modifying shells or anything.

I do not want to modify my gun. At all. Its only original 1 time.

But it needs to be safe and functional, because i wont own a wall hanger.

any and all information is welcome. And if im being paranoid, thats just fine. I just need to know for sure to avoid any accidents.

 

[Hawkeye7br]

I had one about 45 years ago. I used mild 2 1/2 inch shells for squirrels. Never tried buckshot or slugs. Probably hard to find slugs in 2 1/2 inch.

 

[russc2542]

Don't worry about the technicality about the chamber, the size of shells you want are 2 3/4 or less (has to do with how shells are made and the ends are folded over to cap it)

I have 2. one's bubba'd but functional, the other's original. I have shot high-brass buck and slugs out of them without incident but can't speak on the advisability. They had a great reputation in world wars which says something. I wouldn't be worried about mine breaking under use but I also wouldn't designate them as go-to defensive weapons. I've also read they're quite complex internally. I view them as I view some of my cars: I don't expect them to break but I also wouldn't be surprised. I've fixed stock cracks in both and a dented mag tube in 1 (that still needs some tweaking).

There's a difference between "safe and functional" and "dead reliable, durable, runs anything, and suitable for SD". I shoot both my '97s but if I were to opt for a SD shotgun, I'd get something less than 100 years old, common as dirt, and with a great reputation. I don't have glocks, I don't like glocks, but I'll argue all day they're great for carry/SD because they're reasonably priced, have a great reputation for function, everything available aftermarket should it be needed, and I'm not going to miss it should it get confiscated and lost post SD-use. My '70 Beetle has a great reputation for reliability, safety, and economy (for the time). It's fun and I beat people autocrossing it (yes, they did show up AND finish!) but if you tell me I need to get the family and leave in 5 minutes to drive 2000 miles, I'm going to hop in my wife's soulless joy-sucking Prius every time.

Hunting? sure. defensive? If you want. Inspect the woodwork and make sure it's put together right. Just don't run nuclear loads.

 

[IndianaSoloMcfly]

Im down with that sentiment I usually carry a glock 19.
but, i own an 1897 that has no role. I could just as easily grab my AR pistol, or glock for defense.
as it sits though it is just fun to look at.

it needs to be able to fulfill a role if needed.
Its also part of a collection of ww2 guns, ( garand, m1a, 1911,)
they all run exceptionally.

If you were to buy a hunting slug and a defensive shell, what brand/load specifically would you suggest?

 

[Leadeye]

Being an old gun guy I like the 97. Have several, including a Chinese copy. All have never failed to feed, fire or eject anything that I've used and that's over 50 years with one. Enjoy and use with confidence.

 

[Alpo]

The Winchester 97 is a fine shotgun, but really isn't suitable for hunting in this day and age. While many might disagree, it's lack of modern safeties and free-floating firing pin can result in a discharge if dropped. It was called the Widowmaker back in the old days.

Chamber length is not an issue, although lengthening the forcing cone will help with felt recoil to some degree.

They aren't wallhangers. Cowboy Action Shooters love them. But good 97 smiths are few and far between nowadays. I've worked on many 97's over the years and know the gun well. I would not use it off the range in a hunting situation. Trap shooting or CAS is where its use is safe.

 

[Leadeye]

Alpo is right, it is from the era of "Safeties? We don't need no stinkin safeties". It's far from a modern gun, but I still like shooting it by holding the trigger down and just working the action.

 

[IndianaSoloMcfly]

Looks like the great ammo crisis of 2020 has affected 12 gauge as well. to bad.

So it sounds like 00 reduced recoil should be safe to shoot from time to time, good news!

 

[rhslover]

The Winchester 97 was called the thumb buster not the widow maker. The widow maker was the model 1911 shotgun, and go check out the videos to see why. It wasn't an unsafe gun but it's design led it to be used occasionally in an unsafe manner. The 1897 has a half cock setting as it's "safety" as was the practice of the day. The 1893, a very similar gun to the 97 was made for black powder loads and shouldn't be fired with modern loads. Yours is fine.