Turkey hunting with the model 1897

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buck460XVR

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When my dad returned home after his stint with the Marines in the South Pacific, one of the first things he did was buy a good shotgun. It was used and almost 30 years old when he bought it in 1945. It was his only firearm for a dozen years and he used it for upland game and deer. When I turned 12 in 1966, I used it for hunting deer also, since the rifles(other than his) went to my mom and two sisters that also hunted. He continued to use it for Pheasants/grouse and waterfowl up until the mid seventies when he bought himself a model 1100. It then sat in his closet until he died and I inherited it. Just for old times sake and in his memory(he's been gone for 14 years), I still occasionally use it for pheasants and turkey. Since it only shoots 2 3/4" shells, turkeys gotta be pretty close. This one today was a 12 yards in the pourin' rain. I didn't think it was too bad for a 65 year old guy using a 102 year old gun.

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Congrats, and it's a very special experience because you used your dad's old model '97. I've known lots of experienced turkey hunters who used 2 3/4" shells because their old guns couldn't use anything bigger but they still bag turkeys. Couple friends of mine had Model 97's when we were teenagers and I've always considered those things to be special and to score high on the "coolness factor".
 
my dad and his dad both hunted with 97's. dads was a 16 ga and gpas was a 12.

dad used to tell stories of when him and gpa would drive out to the Dakotas in the 50's to hunt pheasant. he said the pheasant would flush from roadside ditches so numerous they would block out the sun.

dad said they would fill the trunk of their 40's chevy with pheasant and then return home to Wisconsin. later pheasant were plentiful in Wisconsin and they hunted them there also.

dad a few years ago returned from a trip back home with gpas 97. it was a wreck. stocks cracked and taped up, no blueing. meanwhile dads 16 ga was in very nice condition,almost like new.

when I asked him about the difference, he told me. he said one day gpa was going to take his gun to be refinished and accidently took dads gun by mistake. whoever did the refinish did a very nice job.i hunted with that gun a lot when I was a kid and its still in very nice condition.

I took gpas gun to a gunsmith and had him refurb it. handed it to dad during thanksgiving dinner. after examining it. and saying thanks, he handed it back to me. he said I would have more use for it than he would. we both were very touched.
 
Great story and great bird, Buck! I wish I'd have taken a picture of the tom my ol' 97 bagged for me this spring. I have had the old girl for quite some time now, and it has done yeoman duty around the farm through the years. Many possums, coons, groundhogs, and other manner of feathered or furred varmints have fallen to it. Shot lots of squirrels and rabbits with it, and usually fill one doe tag with it each year. Mine was made in 1914, so about the same age as yours, and looks every bit of its age. Still works real good. Do most of my hunting and pest control with 1 1/4oz of #4's or #6's. Deer get #1 or #4 buck. Seems to get the job done, despite what the gun hacks say.

Mac
 
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