For a long time I had wanted a Trench shot gun and was fortunate to stumble into a really good local deal for this WWII Winchester 1897 Trench Gun. The serial number, arsenal marks, and bomb cartouche all place this shot gun as mid-WWII production. The history of the 1897 is extensive and amazing. The 1897 Trench gun was used in WWI, WWII, Korea, and even Vietnam. So Germans, Japanese, Chinese, North Koreans, and Vietnamese all got a taste of this trench beast. In fact in WWI the Kaiser was so upset at its lethality that he filed a formal protest at it being used so effectively in trench warfare. Without further adieu here are some photos:
