Dave Markowitz
Member
Ever since I sold my Winchester 1300 Defender back to my brother I have been without a HD shotgun. No longer. There was a gunshow today in Valley Forge, at which I picked up a Norinco 97 Trench Gun.
For those unfamiliar with it (on this board?), this is a replica of the Winchester M-1897 trenchgun adopted by the US during WW1, and used at least through WW2. It has a 20" cylinder bore barrel and five shot magazine. As with the originals, it also has a perforated steel heat shield on top of the barrel, and a bayonet lug. M1917 rifle bayonets fit it. It also has 1-1/4" sling swivels. The only sight is a front brass bead.
The forearm and buttstock are made of decent American walnut with a smooth, matte finish. I don't know if it's oil, polyurethane, or what. The metal is blued and looks pretty good. Wood to metal fit is good but nothing to get excited about. The butt ends in a hard plastic plate.
The action is pretty smooth despite the one action bar and abundant machining marks inside the receiver. The gun was on display and may have been worked a lot. Like the original 1897s, the gun does not have a disconnector, so if you work the action with the trigger back, it'll fire as soon as it goes back into battery.
Unlike other new Chinese guns I've seen this one was not packed full of grease. I ran a wet patch through the bore and wiped it down with FP-10 but the gun was pretty clean. After that, I dug out the M1907 sling I kept when I sold my Garand. This is authentic, fits well, and just looks right.
One thing my dad and I noticed is that compared with other pump guns, the sound of racking the action seems louder. This is a Good Thing, IMO. Helps to increase the listener's pucker factor, ya know.
Range report to follow.
For those unfamiliar with it (on this board?), this is a replica of the Winchester M-1897 trenchgun adopted by the US during WW1, and used at least through WW2. It has a 20" cylinder bore barrel and five shot magazine. As with the originals, it also has a perforated steel heat shield on top of the barrel, and a bayonet lug. M1917 rifle bayonets fit it. It also has 1-1/4" sling swivels. The only sight is a front brass bead.
The forearm and buttstock are made of decent American walnut with a smooth, matte finish. I don't know if it's oil, polyurethane, or what. The metal is blued and looks pretty good. Wood to metal fit is good but nothing to get excited about. The butt ends in a hard plastic plate.
The action is pretty smooth despite the one action bar and abundant machining marks inside the receiver. The gun was on display and may have been worked a lot. Like the original 1897s, the gun does not have a disconnector, so if you work the action with the trigger back, it'll fire as soon as it goes back into battery.
Unlike other new Chinese guns I've seen this one was not packed full of grease. I ran a wet patch through the bore and wiped it down with FP-10 but the gun was pretty clean. After that, I dug out the M1907 sling I kept when I sold my Garand. This is authentic, fits well, and just looks right.
One thing my dad and I noticed is that compared with other pump guns, the sound of racking the action seems louder. This is a Good Thing, IMO. Helps to increase the listener's pucker factor, ya know.
Range report to follow.