Winchester 1897

[Liam]

Can someone point me to where I can date, by serial #, the mfg of this shotgun, please? I usual haunt other CSP areas, such as Garand, M1903, reloading, etc. but have rarely posted anything here. Just when one feels savvy, one becomes a noob again. Thanks in advance.
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[lyman]

https://winchestercollector.org/dates/

[Liam]

Thanks lyman. 1918. Older than I expected.

[jjrothWA]

Mostly a participant in: WWI, "Banana Wars, WWII, Korean Police Action, & "2nd place SouthEast Asian" War games.

[Liam]

1918 manufacture date, but WWII-era heat shield. CYL on barrel. A stamp on stock I can't quite figure out. NO circle w/ P, no ordnance bomb, no martial markings I can see at all. Just a stamp on stock. Haven't started looking into history yet, but oddly it was acquired in Burma in mid-80's. Wonder how it got there.

[Liam]

Follow-up. The Winchester site dates my shotgun to 1918, but two other sites list it as 1919 through 1921, depending on site. The only stamp on my stock is a "W.B." in a box, which is the inspection stamp of Lt. Col. Waldemar Broberg. I see newly-made copies of the W.B. stamp being sold. Listed as "for re-stamping only." (eye-roll). So, either someone mocked up this "trench gun," or it is definitely post-WWI, as Broberg was USMA class of 1919 according to his tombstone. Therefore, he had a hand in post-WWI inspections only. Definitive either way that this is not a WWI shotgun.
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[Tom Doniphon]

The Winchester Collectors website will have more accurate serial number production dates than the other websites. If you care to divulge the serial number, I can tell you which month and year the receiver had the serial number applied.

Can you post a photo of the stock mark?

[Liam]

Message sent, Tom. Here's a pic of the stamp. Best I could muster.
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