Thanks for the replies. I'm not a cowboy action shooter or anything like that I just like to hunt and shoot clays with old guns. Something about using a gun that has several lifetimes of use and several more left in it just appeals to me. I'm only interested in 12 gauge. Do I need to watch for short chambers? It's my understanding that all M12's were 2 3/4 but that the early 97's could be almost anything.