The 12 gauge takedown was added in October 1898, and the 16 gauge takedown in February 1900. The Model 1897 was first listed for sale in the November 1897 Winchester catalog as a 12 gauge solid frame. The Winchester Model 1897 was designed by American firearms inventor John Moses Browning. Since the time the Model 1897 was first manufactured it has been used by American soldiers, police departments, and hunters. Special length barrels could be ordered in lengths as short as 20 inches, and as long as 36 inches. The 16-gauge guns had a standard barrel length of 28 inches, while 12-gauge guns were furnished with 30-inch length barrels. The Model 1897 was offered in numerous barrel lengths and grades, chambered in 12 and 16 gauge, and as a solid frame or takedown.
From 1897 until 1957, over one million of these shotguns were produced.
The Model 1897 was an evolution of the Winchester Model 1893 designed by John Browning. The Winchester Model 1897, also known as the Model 97, M97, or Trench Gun, is a pump-action shotgun with an external hammer and tube magazine manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.