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Winchester Pump Gun barrel length?


Hashknife Cowboy

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I just bought a 97 at a estate sale and the barrel is about 6 feet long.  What is the best length for CAS and WB.......

 

 

Thanks for all the info, i'll begin on my newest project gun soon.

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It's a matter of preference.  A majority would say short but many like the longer barrel.  

 

Kind of depends on the stages and how much moving around doors and windows.   Short barrels have an advantage.  But often the stages are just pick it up and shoot from a table and no moving.  Here there is not much difference. 

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We have barrels ranging from 18.1 to 34"   mostly it depends on your size.  If your a bigger guy id go with 20 to 22" if your smaller the 18 inch works great.  Just remember it's not only about the barrel length.   The stock should be the right length too.  All of ours have been trimmed. It puts the weight closer to your core

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The bottom one is my wife's main gun.  The 18.1" it also has 3 inches off the  stock.  She's small but can handle it well with one hand

20180310_204644.jpg

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1 hour ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

30 inches is my preferred length.  

 

Me too. 30" full choke makes a pretty fair trap gun.

 

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19 hours ago, evil dogooder said:

We have barrels ranging from 18.1 to 34"   mostly it depends on your size.  If your a bigger guy id go with 20 to 22" if your smaller the 18 inch works great.  Just remember it's not only about the barrel length.   The stock should be the right length too.  All of ours have been trimmed. It puts the weight closer to your core

 

7 hours ago, Cowboy Junky said:

18 lighter, faster easier to stick in & out of windows and for the distances we shoot a better pattern. 

 

51 minutes ago, BLACKFOOT SASS #11947 said:

Hang on to that 6 footer, It must be a special order gun and some collector will pay a premium for it!

Blackfoot;)

 

All of these ^.

 

I like my 97's with an 18.5" because it feels 'right' for me.   Plus, I've had the stock cut to give it a negative pitch.

 

And as Blackfoot stated, check it out for value before you cut on it.   Some Winny's run from $400 up.   I've heard a few stories where a fellow Cowboy shooter bought a rare 97 for $1600+ just for Cowboy shooting.    I'm sure there may be some that warrant even higher amounts.

 

..........Widder

 

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One more point....

 

Once you cut a barrel, it's gone, and it can never be "restored."

 

It's getting harder and harder to find a long barreled 97.   Granted, 97's are not hugely valuable, but that's my point.  If you've got a long barreled 97, keep it long and find another one that is already short.   They are out there and easy to find.

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i gotta admit i bought both of mine thinkin to cut them down , the first i gave to a friend in trade and the second i have maintained for backup and cowboy trap , its a great shotgun i can aways cut down when i need to

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19 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

....Granted, 97's are not hugely valuable, but that's my point.  If you've got a long barreled 97, keep it long and find another one that is already short.   They are out there and easy to find.

Ever bought a Black Diamond model? $$:o:o

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Over on a Winchester forum there were guys lamenting that "unmolested" '97's are getting very hard to find, and that prices are rising on guns that have not been shortened and have original stocks.  Who'da thunk that these old boomers, that used to be available everywhere for under $200 are now desirable because Cowboy Shooting has made them rare??  (I bought my first one for $194... yeah, I shortened it.  Still in the safe.  I'm a SxS shooter.) 

 

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Supply and demand.   Makes something scarce, it goes up in value.

 

I got my first 97, a 20" model stamped WPD on the stock for $400.  That was about 11 or 12 years ago.

 

About 8 years ago I got one with a 30" barrel, again for $400.   But it was in no where near as nice condition as my first one.  The barrel wiggled, and not even putting in those shim things helped.  Had to replace the part that I don't know what it is called that screws the takedown barrel into the frame.   Now it's tight, but it still shows its age.    This is now my default main match gun.   I purchased it simply because I wanted to have one with a long barrel.   This was the first one I was ever able to find after looking for about a year or so.  (Didn't wanna do an online purchase for some reason.)   I have a feeling the lament about them being even harder to find now has some truth to it.   And the rarer something is, the more pricey it becomes.

 

Except...

 

Last year I found an honest to goodness Winchester 93 in excellent mechanical condition for only $280!   I bought it.   Loaded up some 2.5" BP shells, and soon I will make it go boom.

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For this GAME anything over 18.1 is a waste of steel  :)

 

There were something over a million '97s manufactured.  Even with CAS, there are still a whole LOT of them parked in the dark corners of closets. 

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I have original Winchester riot or "guard guns" as they were called in both model 97 and model 12 versions; their barrels are 20 inches long. I always figured Winchester probably knew what they were doing.

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I have always wondered about my 20" 97.   As I mentioned before, the stock is stamped WPD, (which I jokingly say stands for Winchester Police Department) so I am fairly confident that it was once a police issue gun.   I can also see no evidence that the barrel was shortened, but if it was done correctly, there shouldn't be.   On the other hand, it is also marked as having a full choke, which I do not believe it does.   It is a mystery.

 

As far as my 30" one goes, again, this is now my primary default main match gun.   The first time I used it in a match, I did so merely as a lark.  It was a little awkward in some of the more tight spots, but I also noticed something, I NEVER miss with this gun.  Well, hardly ever.  For me to have to re-engage a falling shotgun target has become exceedingly rare since I started using this gun.   I think the longer barrel forces me to take better aim or something.   :)

 

Plus, I get a lot of funny looks when I use it.   I got a lot of good natured joking at EoT a couple of years ago over it.   But I didn't mind, it was all in fun.  

 

And I shot the match clean.  :)

 

So the "long and the short of it" really comes down to what works for the individual shooter.   Most prefer the shorter length, a few like the longer, and if I am any indication, not without cause.  

 

I still think that if you've got a long one it's best to keep it that way, and then get a short one to go with it.  Then you've got both.   You just might find that in different scenarios, they both have advantages over the other.   Even if it is just in a side match.

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My 20" Winchester riot/guard guns are stamped "cyl." I'm at the office and my Madis book is at home, I don't know if Winchester offered any other choke in these guns,

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