Value of Win. '87 & '97 Shotguns

S

Sharps '63

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I'm thinking of parting with my Winchester '87 12 gauge lever action shotgun and '97 12 gauge pump.

The '87 has been refinished (well done) with excellent wood (no cracks), 30" FC barrel. It's an early model with single extractor.

The '97 is a late model TD with 30" FC barrel. The wood was refinished by a previous owner and has a couple of runs. Metal work is 95%.

Both are worthy of being preserved as is rather than butchering into CAS/IPSC mutations.

What are fair asking prices for these guns? Post here or by pm.
 
Based on my observations of guns that have been in the shop or passed through here goes(don't anyone hassle me as I'm giving an opinion)..87-$850......97-$400.......don't know why but the 97's aren't selling like you would think even with the CAS use.....IMHO
 
gun prices

Thanks Ben

That doesn't explain why beater '97s are commanding pretty steep prices in my neck of the woods. Guess it depends on the locale and what's 'hot'.

What's the availability of repro Spencer rifles and carbines like in your area?
 
Take a 3 1/2" factory shell (loaded) and see how far it enters that chamber, then compare how far the 3 1/2" shell goes into a known 2 3/4" chamber. Is all this makin' sense? I do agree that the '97 should have a higher profile(price) due to CAS, but the CAS shooters in my neck of the woods must be already set-up, cus those '97s tend to sit on the shelf, I know the levergun wouldn't sit long although most I have seen are 10 Gauge 2 5/8".
 
'87 12 gauge

The barrel on my '87 is marked with (WP), but that is not a nitro proof. According to the Madis book, the '87 was intended to be a BP gun, whereas the '01 was for nitro.
How it differs structurally, I don't know as lock up is the same as for the '87 - your hand closing the lever.

I've shot it a few times in CAS with standard 2 3/4" 'light recoil' loads and 7/8 oz. handloads with no problems.

Being it what it is, it's a 'fun' gun, not one you'd want to put through the fast pace of competitive CAS matches on a regular basis. For one thing, it has an incredibly long lever swing and I've yet to see the person shooting it for the first time that doesn't short stroke it.

My gun may not be refinished after all, as the Madis book states that the blued finish did not 'take well' on the heat treated receivers and took on a brownish hue.
 
The lever is a little different on the 1901. I have a complete 1901 and an 1887 parts gun (although with a few more parts it'll be a shooter) and most of the parts are the same, but the 1901 has a 2 part lever. And I believe the 1887's were case colored, whereas the 1901's were blued.
Fun guns to shoot (this is the Norinco copy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxobZSc82fE
 
Howdy . Yes the win 87 is worth a lot to a collector . CAS not so much as it would get beat to death fast and have to be FIXED to use . The win 97 ,well there is a millon out there some place , most cowboys have got one and Norinco reproductions are good with some smoothing plus some cowboys are going back to the solid double to avoid the big train wreck 97s can cost first place at the top shooter . So 97 can be 300 to 600 if you catch the right newbie .
 
1897 prices are an enigma, for sure. Ben has reported lower prices (not to mention slow sales) in his area in the past. In the West, my experience has been the opposite. Chances are it's an effect of supply and demand. I imagine some areas have more examples up for sale or fewer collectors and CAS shooters.

The condition of the gun has a lot to do with it, too. Any gun, regardless of make or model, will be seriously devalued if it has bad wood or other mechanical issues. The majority of 1897's are getting on in years. Most have seen a lot of use. Not including trench models, riot configs, or black diamond trap models, not many 1897's go for more than $650 anywhere in Canada. If that's what a very good to excellent example sells for, what can we expect to pay for one that's iffy? The hard part is putting a price on those that fall somewhere between "parts crapper" and "excellent".

I've bought several in the $200 range that turned out real nice with a couple of hundred dollars worth of work. I've also bought several in the $400 range that were just fine as is.
 
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