Thinking about my old M1897 shotgun.

Got it out, have not looked at it in a long time. It is a 12 with 28” full choke. It seems most 97’s you see in the South are 16 gauge, in my mind. The only modification is a very professional rubber non vented, black on black, recoil pad added. I can’t complain too much about that. As mentioned it’s a little loose to suit me at the frame/barrel junction. I mean it shoots but it’s not 100% right. I adjusted the thread nut as tight for fit as it will allow, it needs the next size collar nut. That would perfect the fit and allow for many more years of adjustment too ($50 or so). Don’t pass on a wobbly 97 or M12, it might just need adjustment.

In the picture you can see the tiny notches. You loosen the little screw, slide that locking piece of metal clear and turn the collar counter clockwise to loosen fit or clockwise to tighten. The sliding piece of metal must engage two notches minimum to fully seat. The action/barrel will not rotate to close if that metal keeper is not fully seated. You finish by re-tightening that little screw.

I just noted a dent in my barrel! Shoot. I guess it won’t hire anything except maybe a few pellets as they pass. Brownells has rigs to fix that but it would be easier to find a guy that has the tool already. The old gun was made in 1908, 112 yrs. ago!