Winchester 1897 Action Issues

keysort · June 10, 2012, 06:59 PM

Junior Member

Join Date: June 10, 2012
Posts: 1

Winchester 1897 Dilemma
Hello, everyone!
I bought a ratted out Winchester 1897 to make into a trench gun repro. I'm pleased with the outcome of my project, but I'm having an issue with the gun.

When I try to cycle the action, the carrier seems to hang up on the face of the shell in the mag tube. If I press the round forward slightly in the tube, the gun cycles fine. Have any of you seen this issue? I can't decide if the mag tube is sitting out of position, or if the carrier is slightly too long to accommodate the shells...any suggestions?

Here's a photo for your viewing pleasure! (I now have the stop screw that is not present in the photos)

g.willikers · June 11, 2012, 08:52 AM

Generally, when a round from the mag sneaks out to cause a jam, the cause is the part that's supposed to prevent that.
It's called the cartridge stop; there's actually two, right and left.
It's the long skinny part that runs along the side of the receiver with a curved end that controls the rounds in the mag.
It should be easy to see from the bottom.
It might be just dirty and sticking to the receiver or it could be bent, or possibly old enough to have lost its springiness.

keysort · June 11, 2012, 09:35 PM

The problem wasn't the cartridge guide. The mainspring wasn't installed correctly. It hung over the edge of the carrier by a fraction of an inch. Now that it's in place, the gun functions flawlessly!

sltm1 · June 11, 2012, 11:39 PM

I have one myself and after a few replacement partd (using old mfgr'd stuff), it works new. Glad you worked out the problem, mine had stripped threads on the magazine an was a bear to figure out.

June 10, 2012, 06:59 PM	#1
keysort Junior Member Join Date: June 10, 2012 Posts: 4	Winchester 1897 Action Issues Junior Member Join Date: June 10, 2012 Posts: 1 Winchester 1897 Dilemma Hello, everyone! I bought a ratted out Winchester 1897 to make into a trench gun repro. I'm pleased with the outcome of my project, but I'm having an issue with the gun. When I try to cycle the action, the carrier seems to hang up on the face of the shell in the mag tube. If I press the round forward slightly in the tube, the gun cycles fine. Have any of you seen this issue? I can't decide if the mag tube is sitting out of position, or if the carrier is slightly too long to accommodate the shells...any suggestions? Here's a photo for your viewing pleasure! (I now have the stop screw that is not present in the photos)

June 11, 2012, 08:52 AM	#2
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	Generally, when a round from the mag sneaks out to cause a jam, the cause is the part that's supposed to prevent that. It's called the cartridge stop; there's actually two, right and left. It's the long skinny part that runs along the side of the receiver with a curved end that controls the rounds in the mag. It should be easy to see from the bottom. It might be just dirty and sticking to the receiver or it could be bent, or possibly old enough to have lost its springiness. __________________ Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez: “Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”

June 11, 2012, 09:35 PM	#3
keysort Junior Member Join Date: June 10, 2012 Posts: 4	The problem wasn't the cartridge guide. The mainspring wasn't installed correctly. It hung over the edge of the carrier by a fraction of an inch. Now that it's in place, the gun functions flawlessly!

June 11, 2012, 11:39 PM	#4
sltm1 Senior Member Join Date: February 25, 2009 Location: Idaho Posts: 353	I have one myself and after a few replacement partd (using old mfgr'd stuff), it works new. Glad you worked out the problem, mine had stripped threads on the magazine an was a bear to figure out.