Winchester Model 1897 Trench Shotgun History
The Wincester 1897 Trench shotguns were made from 1917 to 1945 with Heat Shield and Bayonet Lug.
I am a huge fan of history and really enjoy researching the history of firearms. I constantly think to myself that I wish that some firearms had the ability to talk. Can you imagine the stories that some of them would have.
This firearm is in that category. I am sure that it has some amazing stories about World War I.
The Unique thing about this Winchester 1897 Trench shotgun is that it was used in World War I only. It must have been taken home by a soldier after the war or may have been decomissioned. Either way, It retains the original stock from world war 1. They replaced the stocks before World War II because most of them cracked. It is also the first firearm that I have seen that is worth more money without the US and Ordnance Bomb stamps that are normally seen on this firearm. I have read that they stamped them and replaced the stocks of the Winchester 1897 Trench Shotguns just before World War II.
The 1897 Trench Shotgun was first issued to American Soldiers in the Philippine-American war of 1898. They sent 200 of them to the Philippines in 1900. (Per Wikipedia) They were also used during the Punitive Expedition in Mexico.
The Germans didn’t like us having the Winchester 1897 Trench guns. They thought it was unfair and requested that they be banned from use in warfare. Of course, they were denied and shotguns are still used as a great weapon for short range defense by Military and Police in many countries. They also used standard or trap guns in combination with trained Trap shooters to shoot grenades out of the air that were going to land in our trenches. I couldn’t imagine being the guy in a trench just waiting for grenades to fly at you.
One of the coolest features of the Winchester 1897 Trench Shotgun was its ability to be “Slam Fired”. Which meant that you could hold the Trigger down and Pump the Shotgun to fire quickly. It did not have a Disconnect for the trigger. Five rounds could be fired of 00 Buck shot in a matter of 2-3 seconds.
This Shotgun was a devastating force. It was used in Korea and Vietnam, but was a little more limited as newer shotguns were started to be used. Still, this shotgun is one of my favorites and I am lucky to have handled one.
I am sorry for those interested, but this shotgun has been sold in our retail location.