Winchester Model 1897 restoration?

[Matt]

I've got a Winchester Model 1897 from around the 1910/1911 timeframe. It's a little rough but looks like it could be brought back to service without too much trouble... probably a new stock, rebluing, and safety check. Can anyone here recommend an armorer who restores older firearms? Central Indiana location would be preferred.

Thanx!
Matt

 

[Clay]

Got any pics?

Just my opinion, but I like to leave old guns alone, and refinish new guns. Weird I know, but I like the patina

 

[Leadeye]

1897s are pretty solid guns even being old. There are some peculiarities that go with them, and lots of parts, so find somebody who has worked on them before. As many as were made you probably won't lose any value restocking and rebluing. Army riot guns or police guns would be a different matter as they have a higher collector value.

 

[Matt]

... There are some peculiarities that go with them, and lots of parts, so find somebody who has worked on them before. ...

Exactly why I'm asking here.

I just made some snap-caps (fired shells re-crimped empty) and it cycles really nice... better than my 590 I think!

I found this in my parents garage and it was given to me as a gift, so I'm not really interested in flipping it for a profit or anything. I just thought it was interesting and have had it tucked under my bed, nearly forgotten. But once I looked up the S/N and found out it's 100 years old, I can't resist restoring it just enough to make it safe to shoot and going out once a year to shoot a round of trap with it. How cool is that?! (Okay, so maybe it's just me. lol )

Addendum: I'll try and get some pics up later this week. But it looks to be your Standard model... nothing fancy and not military.