First, I'm not going to dispute that accidental discharges happen with the Model 97, or with any other firearm, since I've seen them happen with way too many different kinds of firearms during the approximately 50 years I've been shooting and instructing. I made my living for awhile instructing, but that still doesn't make me a professional.....
With that said, I currently own 6 original Model 97's and my wife owns 2, both original. Her guns are solid frame guns, with the one she uses in monthly matches being made in 1899 and her backup gun made in 1906. She prefers the solid frame guns because the reach to the forearm is about 1" shorter than the takedown guns. My guns range from 1912 to 1954 in vintage and include one Black Diamond Trap model.
All our guns have been disassembled and completely inspected and CLEANED. The emphasis is on cleaning, since every one of our guns had years and years of caked in oil and residue all over the internals when we bought them. Some were so caked up they would hardly work at all, but after scraping the gunk out, oiling and reassembling, they work great.
It's the caked in gunk that causes problems, not only with the Model 97, but with any old firearm. We've never had an accidental discharge with any of our Model 97's, and we've put thousands of rounds through them in Cowboy Action Shooting matches. We also shoot with a whole bunch of other SASS shooters using Model 97's, both original and reproduction, and we've never witnessed an accidental discharge with any of these guns, and I'm talking about a whole bunch of guns. We've shot in several End of Trail matches, Winter Range, numerous different state matches, plus monthly matches at our own club and other clubs. End of Trail will have anywhere between 600 and 800 shooters from all over the world, as will Winter Range, and well over half of them will be shooting Model 97's.
As with any other mechanical device, they have to be maintained. That means cleaning out all the gunk from the places it builds up, including the sear notch. They also have to be inspected for wear, and if the sear notch is worn, it needs to be attended to by a competent gunsmith. That means one who is familiar with the Model 97, not some guy working off his kitchen table and calling himself a gunsmith.
With due care, the Model 97 is a great gun. I don't think I would want a novice using one for home defense, though. It doesn't have a trigger disconnect, which means that if the trigger is depressed when the action is pumped, and a round is loaded into the chamber, then it's going to discharge as soon as the bolt locks up. An experienced shooter will use this to slam fire the shotgun as fast as they can work the action, but an inexperienced shooter "may" shoot when they don't intend to.
My suggestion would be either your Mossberg or a Remington Model 870, which is what my wife and I have for a house gun.
Hope this helps.
Fred