The gun referred to as a Black Diamond Model 1897 or, later, Model 97, is actually the Trap Gun or Trap Grade. I don't believe there is any catalog reference to the Black Diamond Grade. The Trap Gun was made with Black Diamonds behind the receiver, with or without the matted barrel, with or without the stippled receiver top, and, apparently, with or without checkering depending on the era and the way it was ordered. I have an uncheckered Trap Gun that appears to never have been checkered. As far as "documentation" goes, the Cody Firearms Museum offers factory letters of provenance on some serial number ranges of Model 1897 and Model 97 Winchesters. Check their website for exact number ranges. Regardless of how fancy a Black Diamond 97 is, it is not a Pigeon Grade (or Pigeon Gun)unless it has an Ulrich designed (and probably executed) engraving pattern rarely pictured in early catalogs. The breech bolt on original Pigeon Guns was stamped "Pigeon Gun". It is debated whether some Trap Guns were made without the "Trap Gun" logo stamped (not engraved) on the breech bolt. If a 97 has checkered wood and a matted barrel but no black diamonds, it is probably a Tournament Grade. Tournament Grade guns can be assumed to be original if the word
"Tournament" is stamped under the buttplate. It is easy to fake checkered wood and the black diamonds, but it is nearly impossible to fake the matted barrel top, the stamped breech bolt, and the stippled receiver top. Most faked black diamond inlays are poorly inlaid and incorrectly placed and are easy to spot by an experienced collector.
