Quote Originally Posted by CR55 View Post
Sure would like to see pics of the Shotgun! I've got my grandfathers Model 1898 Winchester 12 gauge...I remember hunting with it as a kid and a guy literally running across the field asking me if I wanted to sell it!..lol
Sorry, I don't think I have any pictures of the '97, don't know why, as I have most of my stuff cataloged for insurance purposes. But, I can say it is no showpiece: most of the finish is completely worn off, the wood is beat up and basically "raw", the buttstock has a repair to the wrist that could have made that part useles, it is oiled, but that is just a function of the upkeep. I bought it pretty much that way, and paid a pittance for it; I was looking for a project, or a least, a spare parts source, and this thing fit the bill nicely. But after giving it a good once over, I decide to shoot it and see how well it worked; wow! It rattles when you shake it, and running the slide is more of a clank sound that the usual click-clack of a new gun, but in battery, it locks up solid, and shoots like a finely oiled watch. I can recall taking it to matches and having people look at it and just shake their heads, or suggest that maybe I ought to get a newer gun, but once I got it in action, they would, again, just shake their heads in amazement, and a few offered me crazy, exorbitant amounts of money if I'd sell it to them; but, no, we have a "thing" between us.



Jack, no Stevens 425. Got one Stevens lever action 22 Cal. single shot "Boys Rifle" that all of my kids and grands have learned to shoot with. From what I can find by poking at the internet, a 425 is quite similar to a Marlin 336. All of my antique lever guns are Winchesters of various model numbers, mostly '94 and '92.

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