Been around since 1897... Winchester Model 1897, one of the greatest shotgus ever built, the forerunner to the also famous Winchester Model12....Jack

 

Could also be an 1893.

Norinco currently makes copies of the '97 for reasonable prices (compared to the originals).

 

Marlin also made them, and all of their hammer shotguns are dangerous to shoot.

 

Marlin also made them, and all of their hammer shotguns are dangerous to shoot.

If not in proper working order. No old guns should be shot until they are deemed safe by a qualified person. The old Marlins CAN be made safe to shoot again but most are probably not.
Here is some good info. http://marauder.homestead.com/files/Mar ... Toc5766664

 

Thanks for all the quick reply's. I had never heard of such a thing.

 

Marlin also made them, and all of their hammer shotguns are dangerous to shoot.

If not in proper working order. No old guns should be shot until they are deemed safe by a qualified person. The old Marlins CAN be made safe to shoot again but most are probably not.
Here is some good info. http://marauder.homestead.com/files/Mar ... Toc5766664

Not to mention if you aren't carefull the hammer and/or bolt will bite you.

 

Thanks for all the quick reply's. I had never heard of such a thing.

They made them until 1957. My Win. model 97 (my grandfathers) was made in 1954.

I believe there is a copy currently being made in China.

 

Winchester made over a million of the model 1897 in 12ga. and 16 ga.. There must be a few still around.

 

Yeah, Winchester made 'em, and they are the most well known, but so did Remington and Marlin. My uncle had a Remington, (which had a bad habit of going off when he unloaded it, but fortunately he always had it safely pointed at the ground), and I have seen a couple of the Marlins, too.

BobK

 

My first shotgun was a used 12ga 1897. It was given to me by a neighbor for my 14th birthday in 1956. I used it a lot for several years even though it beat the heck out of my shoulder. It now belongs to my grandson.

 

In the past I had a Winchester Model 1897.Bagged a few ducks with it and some box birds.

 

Yeah, Winchester made 'em, and they are the most well known, but so did Remington

Are you sure about Remington and pumps with external hammers?

I am aware of the following Remington pump shotguns;

Remington Repeating Shotgun (1908 to 1910)

Model 10 (1911 to 1928)

Model 17 (1917 to 1933)

Model 29 (1929 to 1933)

Model 31 (1931 to 1949)

870 (1950 - on)

887 (newly introduced)

All of these do not have exposed hammers.

Unless I missed one, those are all the Remington pump shotguns that were, or are, made.

 

Well, in all fairness, my uncle's shotgun did say "Rem-UMC" om the barrel, which I assumed to be "Remington-Union Metallic Cartridge", which it was at a time far back in the past. (It MAY have been an experimental model that he got from a relative who worked in the Ilion plant.) It was the ONLY one I ever saw. When I see his sons, I will ask them if they still have it.

BobK

 

Well, in all fairness, my uncle's shotgun did say "Rem-UMC" om the barrel, which I assumed to be "Remington-Union Metallic Cartridge", which it was at a time far back in the past. (It MAY have been an experimental model that he got from a relative who worked in the Ilion plant.) It was the ONLY one I ever saw. When I see his sons, I will ask them if they still have it.

BobK

I would be interested in hearing more about that.

There were some guns out there that almost made it into production over the years from various manufacturers.

I remember years ago, reading about the Ithaca autoloader prototype from the late 1940's or early 1950's which was basically a gas operated M37.

Never saw a picture of it until a year or two ago when it was for sale on one of the sites like Gunbroker. It was an interesting concept, obviously, as history show, it never was made as a production gun.

 

Has anyone ever heard of a pump shotgun with a hammer on it? A buddy of mine says he can get one from a fella, but we have never heard of anything like that? Any thoughts?

A lot of the older pump shotguns had them. I believe some of them were used in WW2 through Vietnam.

 

My uncle shot lots of pheasants with an 1897 hammer gun in 12 gauge.