Winchester Model 1897 Brush

Winchester Repeating Arms Company · Shotgun · Discontinued · 1897

Also known as: Model 1897 Brush Gun, Model 97 Brush, 1897 Brush Takedown

Overview

The Winchester Model 1897 Brush, commonly called the Brush Gun, is a sporting variant of John Moses Browning's exposed-hammer, pump-action Model 1897 shotgun built for hunting game in dense brush and heavy cover. Offered in both 12-gauge and 16-gauge, the Brush Gun paired a short 26-inch cylinder-bore barrel with an abbreviated magazine tube, giving it a quicker-handling, more compact profile than the standard 28- and 30-inch field guns. It was catalogued in solid-frame and takedown configurations, the latter allowing the barrel to be separated from the receiver for transport. Like all Model 1897s, the Brush retained the exposed hammer, tubular magazine and the absence of a trigger disconnector that permits slam firing, in which the operator holds the trigger down and simply cycles the slide to discharge each shell as the action closes. Fitted with a plain walnut modified pistol-grip stock and grooved slide handle, the Brush Gun was a working man's field shotgun rather than a presentation piece. The 16-gauge, 26-inch-barrel version was a comparatively scarce catalog offering, produced during a window when fewer than 120,000 Model 1897s of all specifications were made, making surviving examples sought after by collectors today.

Specifications

Weight (empty)	3300 g (116.4 oz)
Overall Length	1150 mm (45.28")
Barrel Length	660 mm (25.98")
Action Type	Pump Action
Firing Mechanism	Hammer Fired
Trigger Type	Single Stage
Magazine Capacity	4 rounds
Magazine Type	Tubular
Effective Range	35 m (38 yd)
Barrel Rifling	Smoothbore
Frame Material	Steel
Slide Material	Steel
Barrel Material	Steel
Stock Material	Wood
Finish	Blued

Calibers

16 Gauge · primary — also known as 16 ga, 16 bore
12 Gauge — also known as 12 ga, 12 bore

Features

Firing modes: Manual
Feed systems: Tubular Magazine
Safety mechanisms: Half Cock Hammer
Features: Exposed Hammer, Slam Fire Capable, No Trigger Disconnector, Takedown Construction, Cylinder Bore Barrel, Shortened Magazine Tube, Grooved Slide Handle, Modified Pistol Grip Walnut Stock

Base model

Winchester-Model-1897

Service history

Operators

Civilian sportsmen (upland and brush hunting)

Production

Production years: 1897-1931

The Brush and Brush Takedown 26-inch-barrel configuration was a catalog offering until roughly 1931. Total Model 1897 production across all variants reached approximately 1,024,700 units from 1897 to 1957; the 16-gauge 26-inch Brush guns represent a small fraction of that output.

Origin

Country of origin: United States

Designer: John Moses Browning

Discontinued: 1931

Notes

The Brush and Brush Takedown models were offered with a 26-inch barrel and shortened magazine until approximately 1931. Early catalog Brush guns carried a 13 7/16-inch length of pull with 1 5/8-inch drop at comb and 2 5/16-inch drop at heel. The 16-gauge chambering was originally cut for 2 9/16-inch shells and standardized to 2 3/4-inch chambers in 1927. Because the base Model 1897 was produced in numerous barrel lengths, grades and gauges, exact Brush Gun specifications vary between catalog years; the figures here reflect the 16-gauge 26-inch takedown configuration.

Background

The Brush Gun name describes exactly what it was built for -- swinging on flushing birds and bounding game in thick cover where a long-barreled field gun was slow and unwieldy. By trimming the standard Model 1897 to a 26-inch cylinder-bore barrel and a shorter magazine tube, Winchester produced a lively, fast-pointing shotgun that hunters could carry all day through briar and timber. The open cylinder choke threw a wide, short-range pattern ideal for the quick, close shots typical of brush hunting. While its trench-gun sibling earned worldwide fame in the mud of the Western Front, the Brush Gun lived a quieter life in American fields and woodlots, and today the scarcer 16-gauge examples are prized by collectors of early Winchester repeaters.