Guns International #: 102453018
Seller's Inventory #: M21-349

Category - Winchester Shotguns - Military - Winchester Shotguns - Pump

Category
Winchester Shotguns - Military
Winchester Shotguns - Pump

WW1 U.S. Military-Issued Winchester Model 1897 12 Gauge Trench Gun * Real WW1 Trench Gun *

Description:
This is a rare original WW1 U.S. Military-issue Winchester 1897 12 Gauge Trench Shotgun manufactured some time between late 1917 and early 1918.  It comes with the factory-original bayonet lug assembly with a missing heat shield that was on it when we acquired it  AND a 2nd original bayonet lug assembly with an intact heat shield that is on it now, which came off of another genuine '97 Trench Gun, serial number "E 694099".  This will be explained further down. It also still has it's original U.S. M1907 leather sling made by G & K and dated 1918.  This U.S. Winchester 97 Trench Gun is serial number "E 669021", and it looks like it could have very well seen combat in BOTH WW1 and WW2.  From what we were told by the family that we acquired it from, this gun has never been on the collector's market before and had been in the family for several generations.
     As mentioned earlier, when we acquired this handsome '97 Trench Gun, the gun had the original bayonet lug assembly on it that was missing the heat shield, and it was fit with a 1920's-1930's vintage U.S. Military arsenal replacement buttstock with a "circle P" proof on the face of the pistol grip and the later-type steel buttplate.  The factory-original buttstock was likely broken, heavily damaged, or cracked during service in WW1, where the weak thinner wrist of the original buttstock was exposed as a major design-flaw that was prone to breaking in close combat and trench warfare. Once WW1 ended and it was returned to the U.S. Military's inventory, the damaged or broken factory buttstock was likely replaced as it passed thru an arsenal inspection with the new improved buttstock design from Winchester, which addressed the weak wrist of the original stock design.  This new buttstock was made with a fluted comb and both a thicker and shorter wrist, making it much stronger and more durable for combat-use.  The new design also scrapped the hard plastic buttplate that was easily cracked or broken with a new checkered steel design that also incorporated a peak at the top of the buttplate that wrapped over the heel and was inletted into the wood to add strength, reduce chipping, and protect the butt of the gun much better. 
      It is also possible, or even likely, that this Winchester was already missing the heatshield at that time, as we have learned from U.S. Military records that in many cases there were more guns with missing or badly damaged heat shields than there were guns with the heat shield intact.  According to Bruce Canfield's book "United States Combat Shotguns", armorers at many of the U.S. Military arsenals did not bother to repair or replace them.  This was because the thin stamped sheetmetal heat shields were easily damaged and bent, and the edges would often get caught on vegetation or obstacles and be bent away from the barrel or to either side.  Once the heat shield was bent out of shape or position it would hinder the function of the shotgun, often obscuring the bead sight, getting in the way of the sliding forearm, and the sharp edges of the shield frequently cutting the soldier's hand that was using it.  It was found that U.S. soldiers were ripping these shields off their guns shortly after being replaced in many cases, so replacement and repair of the heat shield was very low priority.  The bayonet lug still worked well regardless of whether there was a heat shield on the assembly.  According to a U.S. Military document from April of 1929 printed in Canfield's book, an inspection of 100 1897 Trench Guns by one Armorer found that every single one was missing the heatshield.  This inspector stated "It will be noted that the handguards are secured to the guns by rivets at the front end only.  The rear end of the guard being not fastened, readily allows it's deformation to an extent which makes the guard objectionable from sharp corners at broken places, which results in the guard being ripped off by the using personnel and thrown away." He then goes on to recommend that authority be given to allow the shotguns to stay in service without replacement of the heat shield.  
      With the decision made to wait and see if we could find an original heat shield to put on this Winchester before selling it, we put it up and waited.  Many months later, we were able to acquire another WW1 Winchester 1897 Trench Gun, serial number "E694099",  that was in very good original condition BUT had one major issue.  Like many other U.S. Military-issued weapons we have seen from both WW1 and WW2, the U.S. soldier that had "liberated" this 97 Trench Gun from Uncle Sam's inventory probably got scared that he might get in trouble for having it, and tried to obliterate the U.S. Military markings off of the gun as well as obscure the serial number in an effort to hide where it came from.  Lucky for us, he must have had poor vision and did a very poor job on defacing the serial number as it can still be read with no aids needed, and the shotgun still had an original and 95% intact bayonet lug and heat shield assembly on it.  The sling swivel was missing just like the first gun, and the rear portion of the bayonet lug had been ground-off for some reason.  Whether it was ground-off to fit some other kind of bayonet, or for clearance for a sling swivel we have no idea.  Just as we were lucky with the serial number and heat shield, we were very unlucky in that he did a better job of scratching off the original U.S. Military Inspector-applied and hand-stamped "U.S." and the U.S. Ordnance flaming bomb stamp on the right side of the receiver.  You can still see parts of the stamps in several places, particularly with a magnifier, but a good portion of them is obliterated.  Apparently he did not have very good vision as he also tried to mark-out the oval-shaped "WP" factory barrel proof on top of the barrel, likely thinking it was another U.S. Ordnance bomb stamp.....  It was TRULY a shame that the soldier did this, given the beautiful overall condition of this original Trench Gun, with lots of bright and shiny original factory blue finish still intact and the exceptionally-clean original early-type stock set with no cracks or major damage.   You can see this gun and the defaced markings in the last 5 pictures of this listing, taken AFTER we had swapped the bayonet lug assembly off of the gun being sold in this listing with the heat shield and bayonet lug assembly from the defaced gun.  Ultimately, we have decided to part out the rest of the defaced gun (Serial # E 694099), and include BOTH OF THE BAYONET LUG ASSEMBLIES WITH THE GUN BEING SOLD HERE, SERIAL NUMBER "E 669021".  The next owner could carefully take the heat shield off of the assembly currently on the gun and attach it to the assembly that was originally on this gun that was missing the heat shield.  It looks like it would not be a huge amount of work to do, nor would it be very hard. The other option would be to leave it as-is, and sell or keep the extra bayonet lug assembly.  Even without the heat shield that assembly is worth quite a bit of money.  
PICTURE KEY: 
Pictures #1 thru #20 are all of this '97 Trench Gun listed for sale (Serial# E 669021)
Picture #21 is the bayonet lug assembly that is original to the Trench Gun listed for sale above.  We took it off and briefly put it on the defaced gun (that is when these 2 pics were taken)after we swapped the defaced gun's intact assembly onto the one listed here.  BOTH assemblies come with this gun.  
Picture #25 is the Trench Gun with defaced markings with the original bayonet lug assembly from the gun listed for sale here on it.  The bayonet lug assembly with an intact heat shield that was on the defaced gun was swapped onto the one listed here.
Pictures #22-#24 are close-ups of the defaced markings on the gun that "donated" the bayonet lug assembly with an intact heat shield to the gun listed for sale here.  These were posted so potential buyers can see that it too was an original WW1 Winchester 1897 Trench Gun.

SOLD

Curio/Relic: Yes
Shotgun Gauge: 12 Gauge
Manufacturer: Winchester
Model: 1897 Trench Gun
Serial Number: E669021
Barrel Length: 20 inches
Condition: Good
Metal Condition: Good
Wood Condition: Very Good
Bore Condition: Excellent
Action: Pump
Finish: Factory Blue
Sights: Bead Front Sight
Manufacture Date: Late 1917 - Early 19
Extras: The original bayonet lug assembly without heat shield that was on this gun comes with it as well.
Item Location: Kentucky