Mark:
According to The Winchester Book, George Madis, your gun was made in the latter part of 1907.
Early guns were 12 gauge only..... Sixteen gauge guns were first made in 1899 and listed in some 1900 catalogs..... After 1950 no 16 gauge model 1897's were made.....
A parts clean up around the factory netted about 2,000 more guns and a few remained in inventory until 1959 but they were twelve gauge models.......when production ceased in 1957, the serial numbers reached 1,024,700.....Number 1,000,000 was presented to John M. Olin in 1951......
Sixteen gauge guns chambered the two and five eights inch shell until serials in the early 800,000 range when the two and three quarter inch shell became standard, which was about 1930.....
In the count of the first 800,000 guns the twelve gauge outsold the sixteen gauge nine to one.......
Standard barrel was twenty-eight inch full choke for the sixteen gauge.....
Best Regards,
