Winchester Model 1897 shotgun
Official wording
Winchester, Model 1897, pump action shotguns, all gauges, manufactured between 1899 and 1957, S/Ns 1 through 1,024,700.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESYour serial number is one ATF listsATF: “S/Ns 1 through 1,024,700”
- ATF REQUIRESMade 1899–1957 (ATF’s dates)ATF: “manufactured between 1899 and 1957”
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
United StatesBasis: outside reference ¹- Manufacturer
- Winchester Repeating Arms Co.Basis: the ATF wording
- Type
- ShotgunBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- OtherBasis: the ATF wording
- Caliber
- All gaugesBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- S/Ns 1–1,024,700 · c. 1899–1957Basis: the ATF wording
- Service
- Military
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section II · PDF p. 22 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: High · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “Winchester Model 1897” ↗, country: infobox origin United States
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- None
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Repeterhagelgevär - Livrustkammaren - 98434 (cropped).jpg” by Jens Mohr, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Winchester Model 1897”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Winchester Model 1897, also known as the Model 97, M97, Riot Gun, or Trench Gun, is a pump-action shotgun with an external hammer and tube magazine manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Model 1897 was an evolution of the Winchester Model 1893 designed by John Browning. From 1897 until 1957, over one million of these shotguns were produced. The Model 1897 was offered in numerous barrel lengths and grades, chambered in 12 and 16 gauge, and as a solid frame or takedown. The 16-gauge guns had a standard barrel length of 28 in (71 cm), while 12-gauge guns were furnished with 30 in (76 cm) barrels. Special length barrels could be ordered in lengths as short as 20 in (51 cm) or as long as 36 in (91 cm). Since the time the Model 1897 was first manufactured, it has been used to great effect by American military personnel, law enforcement officers, and hunters.