US Model 1897 Sawed-Off Trench Gun

[thegreengrundel]

Surprised there isn't a thread about this one. Tanaka has a 1897 sawed-off. The action looks true to the real steel which is impressive to me. I was privileged to hold a real 1897 full size WITH the bayonet but the price was far more then I could afford ($1,700).

Airsoft one is here:

www.redwolfairsoft.com/redwolf/airsoft/ProductDetail?prodID=26505



I want!!

[Medic]

I prefer the regular ones.

[mccallion]

i also perfer the reguler i hope i dont see any ww2 airsofter with a full impresison using this....

mccallion

[Medic]

I think people who don't know any better will - it's perceived as "cooler" and it is cheaper. It is also in stock.

[bluecrabofpain]

I honestly wasn't even aware that punp-action shotguns were ever sawed off; only the double barrel ones.

[thegreengrundel]

Mar 26, 2009 20:40:14 GMT -5 mccallion said:

i also perfer the reguler i hope i dont see any ww2 airsofter with a full impresison using this....

mccallion

Why? No one in WW2 under any circumstances cut down a 1897 ever, ever?

EDIT: I'm not being a smart ass that is a legitimate question. Couldn't it be a modified partisan weapon? The 1897 (or M97) was used in WW2 without a doubt. Given the modifications done by the US infantry to their weapons (like brass knuckle grips, ect..) I would have a hard time believing not one person in WW2 cut down their 1897 /M97 to serve a particular purpose (like someone in trucking, ect..)

[guitarmaster]

The knife with brass knuckles was a trench knife from WWI.

[thegreengrundel]

^ Actually I was talking about the M1a1 with brass knuckles attached to the foregrip.

Again i'm not trying to start an argument i'm just surprised that a gun that was in WW2 would have people turning their noses up at it because it is in a non-standard issue configuration.

[deacon]

That Thompson you are talking about, has a model 1918 trench knife attached to the foregrip, in the sheath. And yes, I know for a fact, that the 1897 has been cut down, or "sawed-off" because my grandfather owns one. He bought it from someone in Germany when he was stationed there in 1945. It is a civilian model, I'm not sure how the previous owner got it, but I can tell you, that thing kicks like a horse with a burr in its saddle.

[mccallion]

i think that it would be a rare ocasion and also the m97 shotguns were very scarce in ww2 you mostly see them in the PTO never in the ETO but if you were to cut it down you would just be giving it more kick i dot see it practical to shorten a shot gun unless you are trying to conceal it. the partisans might have done it but i wouldn't think so. also in airsoft if i saw a guy with a us parratropper impression with this he would be total farb

mccallion

[deacon]

Yes, my grandfathers just has 8 inches off the barrel. everything else is the same. I second that anyone with this at an event has there head... where it shouldn't be.

[thegreengrundel]

What specifically makes you a "farb" for using this? Would a partisan still be a "farb" for using this?

[Medic]

I don't believe they were used in WWII. A lot of companies make i337 variations of historical weapons. Partisans didn't use US weapons, because they would be hard to acquire except for when the Allies were actually there.

[thegreengrundel]

Alright that makes a little more sense to me. I see the word "farb" thrown around a lot here and was wondering if this was a just application of the term.

[CharlieEverywhere]

The M1897 did see service in WWII, but almost exclusively in MP units in all theatres (as a method of crowd control when handling large numbers of POW's) and in some Marine units in the Pacific, where the close-combat nature of jungle warfare actually made these useful.

Hence, seeing these at a non-PTO event would pretty Flaggrantly Wrong.

[Adler69]

Marines in the PTO did use them , like it was said before , Here's our Living History Groups Marine armed with a WWII M1897 , ignore the red
vehicle in the background.




And this is our MPs display with a Shotgun ammo belt .

[Medic]

Are you guys talking about the regular M1897 or the Sawed-Off? I know the M1897 was used in WWII, that's pretty basic knowledge.

[Adler69]

Regular 97s , haven't heard or read about sawed off 97s used , why saw off a pump action shotgun? when you saw off the barrel you also have to shorten the magazine , limiting your ammo in the mag.

[mccallion]

good point adler69,so in the end we can say that tie regular m97 was used by some marines and mps and that the partisans never used sawed off m97s same for the troops that had them

mccallion

[Medic]

Exactly.

[lrich]

Mar 28, 2009 15:21:55 GMT -5 Adler69 said:

Regular 97s , haven't heard or read about sawed off 97s used , why saw off a pump action shotgun? when you saw off the barrel you also have to shorten the magazine , limiting your ammo in the mag.

If you cut down just to the ammo tube you won't have decreased the ammo capacity. The only reason i could see the cut down version being used by anyone would be concealment, or in the military, as a breaching, bunker clearing weapon. Yes it would kick horribly, but at that range, you really don't need any appreciable accuracy, and by removing all excess weight, it would be easier to carry.
I understand this is the exception, not the norm, but just throwing the idea into the mix.

[jmhpa]

Isn't that a signal flare belt?

[Adler69]

Yeah it is , i taught this was the photo i took of his Shotgun belt , but now i can't find the belt photo in my computer , i will have to take one next time we do a display.

[troyluginbill]

where did he find the flares for the flare gun?

[Dees]

That cut down 97 is just about cute!