Sgt. Saywut Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 So I picked up a Winchester 1897, made in 1956, which has a butt stock in excellent original condition. I’d like for this shotgun to have a shorter butt stock with recoil pad, but considering how expensive original specimens are, I’d rather not cut the one I have. I’m certain some of you folks have run into this before; what is the best cost-effective solution? I’ll be going to Wanenmacher on Saturday, so I’ll look for butt stocks there that might not be in such good condition so hopefully they’d be cheaper. Or would an aftermarket butt stock be better? Are there any such with recoil pads already built in? TIA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bailey Creek,5759 Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Buy a replacement stock and cut it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace_of_Hearts Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Wood is not interchangeable on most guns. Even metal parts require fitting to some degree. Your choices are.... 1 -Try to find a stock made for a 97 and cut it to length and glass bed the action after you have done some fitting of the wood to metal. 2 - Buy a 90% finished stock from any number of suppliers and drill it, fit it to the metal, cut to length and install a recoil pad and finish the wood. 3 - Find someone like myself who will duplicate your stock (you will have less fitting to do). You cut it to length and install a pad and finish the wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Sgt - it will cost you 80 bucks for a walnut replacement stock ... http://www.shop.macongunstocks.com/Winchester-Model-93-Model-97-Example-Walnut-Stock-Winchester-93-97-Stock.htm The original butt plate will probably not fit because your shortening the length - so buy a plastic replacement too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventura Slim, SASS #35690 Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 I cut mine down to fit with the recoil pad, forgot the angle of the dangle but bet someone will chime in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace_of_Hearts Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 50 minutes ago, Ventura Slim, SASS #35690 said: I cut mine down to fit with the recoil pad, forgot the angle of the dangle but bet someone will chime in. Because most COWBOY shooter shoot at targets on the ground, it is sometime recommended that the stock be cut with a 5 degree drop. If the targets are up at 3 feet or a moving "flyer" target. This will hamper the shooter and cause them to shoot low. If the shooter is a normal person, proper shouldering and cheek weld is best way to shoot a shotgun, and no drop in the stock. Your mileage may differ.... Missing a shotgun target is going to cause you 3 - 5 seconds to score for that pesky "makeup" shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Saywut Posted November 10, 2017 Author Share Posted November 10, 2017 I’m surprised to hear that ‘97 stocks aren’t interchangeable. I’ve been collecting M1 Garands for years, and for some time, M1 Carbines, so I got used to being able to swap stocks with a good expectation of at least a decent fit. So to learn that even after decades of producing the 1897 - and the Garand and Carbine - Winchester still hadn’t standardized the ‘97 butt stock, raises my eyebrow. Thanks for the info thus far, folks. I take it no one produces a replacement stock with recoil pad already fitted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOODFOX , sass#34179 Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 I think I have one that has been shortened . I'll check latter today and let you know . Woodfox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlaw Gambler Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Send me an email to outlawgambler@gmail.com I have some. I can find you one for about $20.00. All Winchester 97 stocks are interchangeable and don't need glass bedding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abe E.S. Corpus SASS #87667 Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 My first match shotgun was an original 1897. When my wife started shooting I ordered a Boyd’s stock from MidwayUSA; it was about $75 on sale. I shortened it to fit her and added a grind-to-fit Limbsaver recoil pad. I sold that gun and bought another original ‘97. The Boyd’s stock fit both guns without modification. The only issue I had was that the internal “step” in the bolt hole was in a different position than the one in the second shotgun’s stock. The bolt on that gun was a little short so I could not use it with the Boyd’s stock. The grip or wrist area of the Boyd’s stock is wider than those on the original ‘97’s stocks, so it has a little different feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stump Water Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 2 hours ago, Outlaw Gambler said: All Winchester 97 stocks are interchangeable ... I have not found that to be the case with the four Winchester '97s currently in the safe. Their vintage ranges from 1901 - 1956. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-BAR #18287 Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Keep your “nice” 97 as it is, buy another one, a beater, for CAS matches. Chop the beater ‘s stock anyway you want. You excuse the extravagance by calling the “nice” 97 a backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventura Slim, SASS #35690 Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 Bought a new stock from not sure, maybe brownells that did not fit mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulls Head Bill SASS#33692 Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 I have a cheap chinese 97 stock you can have for "0" dollars! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleWolf Brunelle, #2495L Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 On 11/10/2017 at 7:23 AM, Stump Water said: I have not found that to be the case with the four Winchester '97s currently in the safe. Their vintage ranges from 1901 - 1956. I've noticed the same thing...there at least two different "receiver shanks" (p/n 49) that use different length "buttstock bolts" (p/n 47) 1897 parts list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Rings SASS # 27466 Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 Ok, if I understand correctly you bought this shotgun to shoot in CAS matches? It is going to get beat up, that is what happens, so cut the stock. Your other option is to keep it as a safe queen and buy a gun you don't mind beating up. SR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Meadows,SASS#28485L Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 Silver Rings is correct. A 97 used in Cowboy shooting will get used a 100 or 1000 times more than one that sets in a safe. It's a good gun and there are not that many good 97's out there. Use it for what it will be used the most 'COWBOY SHOOTING". A gun has little to know value sitting in a safe. Johnny Meadows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Saywut Posted November 12, 2017 Author Share Posted November 12, 2017 After years of correcting and otherwise preserving M1 Garands, I have a reluctance to mess with the original parts of any old firearm unless I know for certain someone else already did that. Hence my query about the butt stock, even though I know the shotgun will get a lot of use. Hard to break old habits! As it is, I picked up a second ‘97 at Wanenmacher yesterday, and this 1934-dated shotgun has had both its barrel and butt stock cut already, so I’ll make it my main match scattergun if I’m not using my CC 1887. On a related note, does anyone know when Winchester switched from the butt stock with the rounded knob at the end of the pistol grip, to the one with the flattened end? Or were both available throughout the production run? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lead Friend, SASS #53635 Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 On 11/10/2017 at 9:27 AM, J-BAR #18287 said: Keep your “nice” 97 as it is, buy another one, a beater, for CAS matches. Chop the beater ‘s stock anyway you want. You excuse the extravagance by calling the “nice” 97 a backup. Brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Junky Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 I probably owned 10 97's over the years. There are the org tear drop butt stocks, then the thin ones that started up around 1900 (that tended to crack in the wrist), then the thicker ones that appeared late in the production run. Of all the ones I had the stocks would swap from one to another. Like the OP my wife wanted to use the 97 for WB and I didn't want to cut the matching org stock so I picked the first on I found up at gun show and cut it down for her. It bolted right on that 1927 mod 97. Many of the mod 12 stocks are the same as well. Maybe I'm just that lucky..........lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Junky Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 On 11/12/2017 at 6:14 AM, Johnny Meadows, SASS #28485L said: Silver Rings is correct. A 97 used in Cowboy shooting will get used a 100 or 1000 times more than one that sets in a safe. It's a good gun and there are not that many good 97's out there. Use it for what it will be used the most 'COWBOY SHOOTING". A gun has little to know value sitting in a safe. Johnny Meadows +1 and it's kinda' funny......that such a "small market" of SASS shooter's has managed to buy up enough mod 12's (that they made a few of) to make them hard to find and drive the prices up.......then the SKB's and then the Marlin 1894's...........lol. But yet many people still say how small the market is?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Saywut Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 3 hours ago, Cowboy Junky said: +1 and it's kinda' funny......that such a "small market" of SASS shooter's has managed to buy up enough mod 12's (that they made a few of) to make them hard to find and drive the prices up.......then the SKB's and then the Marlin 1894's...........lol. But yet many people still say how small the market is?? Ginny Hinny and I spent five hours at the big Wanenmacher show on Saturday, and we looked at as many vintage pump shotguns as we could, to find the ‘97s being sold. I believe we saw five of these - and probably 40 Model 12’s. The latter were definitely in greater abundance, and the prices on some of them were decent. Saw a bunch of original 1894’s too, but not a single SKB SxS. Mostly Fox and Smith, with other makers here and there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Saywut Posted November 21, 2017 Author Share Posted November 21, 2017 Just an update; Outlaw Gambler sent me a nice, early example of a ‘97 butt stock, with knob-ended pistol grip, that had already been cut down. Not only does it fit just fine, and it’s right at about the length I wanted, but also the color is a close match to the hand guard now on the ‘97. Thanks, OG! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.