Once again with the ol' 97!

Another year, another Tom, taken with my dad's century old model 97. Folks go on and on about the need for new fangled chokes, optics and 3 1/2" shotshells that reach out to 70+ yards. I have found out over the last 4 years that none of that is necessary. 4 years, 4 shells and 4 birds. This year's Tom was taken at 35 paces from the blind, looking down the barrel at the bead, using 2 3/4" pheasant loads. The big Tom never knew what hit him. I knew he had a 'ell of a bush of a beard when he came down the hill, but didn't realize he had three separate beards til I got him home to clean him.

He, along with another Tom, came out on the hill on the upper right hand corner of the pic. Right about where the broken branch of the blind is. I had been there for about 20 minutes and they came in silent to some aggressive calls. Once they came out, I made one more series of yelps and they came running, like they were racing to see who could get here first. As they went behind the brush pile (underneath the same broken branch), I got turned and ready. I believe they only stopped at 35 yards because of the Tom decoy I had out. Both their heads went from white to red and they looked as if they did not want to come any closer. Something 40 years of hunting turkeys, tells you.




....about three minutes later.

redneck2 said:

Back a couple lifetimes ago we used 97’s for fox hunting. The external hammer made it easy to see if it was cocked

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Yep. Growing up I used the old '97 for deer hunting. It threw slugs like a rifle for 50 yards or so. It would also reach out and touch those pheasants that outflew the range of my buddies 870. Patterning it with 2 3/4" pheasant loads it holds a nice tight circle out to 40 yards. Farther out and the smaller amount of pellets in a 2 3/4" shell starts to leave gaps between the pellets. I was taught, because of the outside hammer and the possibility of the gun going off when attempting to put the gun on safe, to always point the gun at the ground when lowering the hammer. Taught the same with the old model 94 .32 special handed down to me by my grandfather back in the 60s. It was a habit so ingrained that even today, with modern hammerless guns and with no possibility of a ND when putting on the safety, that I still note the direction of the muzzle when putting on the safety, even tho the gun is already pointed in a safe direction.