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I got a story.

I inherited my Grandfathers Win 1897 12ga back in the 70’s. I used it for bird hunting for a couple of years and then noticed the fit-up between the barrel and receiver was a little sloppy. So I retired it and put it in the closet for 30 years.

In the last few years I’ve seen the 97’s discussed on other gun forums and read with interest. Well yesterday morning I ran across another 97 thread on The High Road. A guy was asking about it and one of the knowledgeable responders asked if it was a solid frame or a take-down.

Take-down???? I had never run across that. So I looked at you tube and sure enough mine is a take-down. That explained the sloppy fit. So I took it apart and now I think it will be a fine functioning gun.

Also looked up the serial # and found the manufacturing date to be 1898-1899!!

So now I’m cleaning it and ordering some parts for it to get it back in good shape. It fits nicely in a carbine case.

I didn’t know my Grandpa had it when he was alive, so I never got to talk to him about it. And it is a John Moses Browning design!