Kano383
Member
A few months ago, I got lucky and became the new owner of a 115 years old Winchester 1897. I’ve never been a great fan of shotguns: I’ve owned a few as working tools, but never warmed to any of them. Till I met this ugly duckling…
Under the century old grime, the stock had an ebony diamond inletted on each side, and the bolt was engraved TRAP GUN. The 24” Cylinder barrel was at odd with any of the standard 1897 configurations, but when checked there was a Winchester factory ledger entry for that barrel, so this was a legitimate 24” Black Diamond 1897. Unfortunately for the collectors, the stock had been cut to a 12.5” LOP, probably to fit a now missing rubber pad, the finish was gone from the receiver and many parts, and the receiver was showing swirls of old rust pitting.
But… That slim straight grip stock, the balance coming from the heavy receiver and carrier putting the weight “between your hands”, the all-steel and wood construction, the external hammer, the steampunk takedown system… I fell in love with that thing.
As said, this is not a collector piece – and I’m not a collector. I shoot guns. I use guns. I work with guns. I’m keeping this, but it’s going to be put to use.
I cleaned the stock: got rid of the old shellac, soaked the wood in thinner for a full day to remove as much of the old gun oil imbibing it as possible. I then raised the dents, and sanded the stock till it was good enough: my aim is not to make it look new, just to make it look clean. I finished it with Alkanet root and linseed oil, and a final coat of carnauba wax when everything was dry. Carnauba wax is my favorite finish: waterproof, soft sheen, and with a natural grippiness, a non-slip feel even with wet hands. Unlike beeswax, it is not affected by the heat of the sun, its melting point of 80C/180F being far above the temperatures one may encounter in normal use.
What remained of the original checkering disappeared almost completely, which doesn’t bother me. However, I took note of the pattern, and if I get bored one of these days I might make myself a cutter of the proper size (it’s an odd 22-23 lpi, shallow diamond/flat top pattern) and recut it, just because.
Though the gun balanced very well, it didn’t mount worth a darn. It fitted me so badly that I was puzzled, even if I considered that the stock was too short. Looking closely under all angles, I had a Duh!!! moment: there was a pronounced cast-on. That was a lefty stock, no wonder it didn’t fit!
I went to work with fine chisels and sanding blocks, and corrected the wrist, as well as the receiver shank. It didn’t take too long to go from a cast-on to a cast-off, turning from a lefty stock to a righty stock.
I then plugged the many old buttpad screw holes with hardwood dowels, and trued the face, with a slight amendment to the pitch angle. I had a Limbsaver recoil pad in a drawer, I trimmed it roughly and installed it. This got me the proper LOP, but looks really ugly on the 1897: I’ll get goatskin and cover the pad after final shaping.
Under the century old grime, the stock had an ebony diamond inletted on each side, and the bolt was engraved TRAP GUN. The 24” Cylinder barrel was at odd with any of the standard 1897 configurations, but when checked there was a Winchester factory ledger entry for that barrel, so this was a legitimate 24” Black Diamond 1897. Unfortunately for the collectors, the stock had been cut to a 12.5” LOP, probably to fit a now missing rubber pad, the finish was gone from the receiver and many parts, and the receiver was showing swirls of old rust pitting.
But… That slim straight grip stock, the balance coming from the heavy receiver and carrier putting the weight “between your hands”, the all-steel and wood construction, the external hammer, the steampunk takedown system… I fell in love with that thing.
As said, this is not a collector piece – and I’m not a collector. I shoot guns. I use guns. I work with guns. I’m keeping this, but it’s going to be put to use.
I cleaned the stock: got rid of the old shellac, soaked the wood in thinner for a full day to remove as much of the old gun oil imbibing it as possible. I then raised the dents, and sanded the stock till it was good enough: my aim is not to make it look new, just to make it look clean. I finished it with Alkanet root and linseed oil, and a final coat of carnauba wax when everything was dry. Carnauba wax is my favorite finish: waterproof, soft sheen, and with a natural grippiness, a non-slip feel even with wet hands. Unlike beeswax, it is not affected by the heat of the sun, its melting point of 80C/180F being far above the temperatures one may encounter in normal use.
What remained of the original checkering disappeared almost completely, which doesn’t bother me. However, I took note of the pattern, and if I get bored one of these days I might make myself a cutter of the proper size (it’s an odd 22-23 lpi, shallow diamond/flat top pattern) and recut it, just because.
Though the gun balanced very well, it didn’t mount worth a darn. It fitted me so badly that I was puzzled, even if I considered that the stock was too short. Looking closely under all angles, I had a Duh!!! moment: there was a pronounced cast-on. That was a lefty stock, no wonder it didn’t fit!
I went to work with fine chisels and sanding blocks, and corrected the wrist, as well as the receiver shank. It didn’t take too long to go from a cast-on to a cast-off, turning from a lefty stock to a righty stock.
I then plugged the many old buttpad screw holes with hardwood dowels, and trued the face, with a slight amendment to the pitch angle. I had a Limbsaver recoil pad in a drawer, I trimmed it roughly and installed it. This got me the proper LOP, but looks really ugly on the 1897: I’ll get goatskin and cover the pad after final shaping.
Last edited:
