1897 Winchester Feeding Issue

[Col Del Rio]

I have an ancient (110 YO)  Win 1897 pump.  I put a newer barrel on it. Now it won't feed well.  Any suggestions?

[Nickel City Dude]

You could put the old barrel back on it even if it has some problems.  In our game the distances are so short that a barrel in almost any condition will work.

[Cliff Hanger #3720LR]

New barrel!

Check the barrel to receive fit.

If there is a gap between the barrel and receiver the hull rim may catch in the gap from time to time.

 

[Captain Clark]

9 hours ago, Col Del Rio said:

I have an ancient (110 YO)  Win 1897 pump.  I put a newer barrel on it. Now it won't feed well.  Any suggestions?

Without knowing what particular feed issues your experiencing, these ideas may be a start at diagnosing your gun. Is it a  Solid frame or take down gun? If you’ve installed a different barrel on a takedown, did you reuse the original barrel extension and adjust the receiver ring to the receiver? It can affect lockup and contribute to feed issues. If the whole front assembly was replaced, take a look at the mag tube lip/ opening as well as the receiver ring adjustments. 
Describe what issues you’ve got going on. There are several cowboys here that are pretty knowledgeable on 97s and will offer more advice on what’s ailing your gun!

 
PS
(my favorite is 120 years old ) 

[Cat Brules]

The above is correct.    You haven’t given us enough information as to what your problem really consists of rather than just not feeding. We need more information from you.  It is possible that your new barrel doesn’t fit your older shotgun properly, but we’ll see.  
......  Consider the following and provide feedback:

-  What exactly are the feed issues that you were trying to correct?
-  Exactly what year was your shotgun made?

-  What year was the “new” barrel that you put on the gun I made?
-  Have you compared the lower fitting-area of your old barrel against that of the new barrel?

-  Take the magazine cap off of your shotgun, pull the spring and follower.

-  Check for anomalies and reassemble and make sure the spring and follower together go back in magazine tube correctly.
 

You might want to try to do this first, and then load the magazine tube with dummy shotgun shells.  See if they feed properly with no jams.  I advise that you do not use live shells while you are trying to correct a problem. Injury or death could result.  Use dummy shotgun shells, please.

As stated, please provide more detailed information about what the problem is. It is possible that Wire users can offer advice to help resolve the issue for you.

 

Let us know how this all turns out.

 

CB