My search for this information has led me back to ARFCOM. I hope the hive mind has a member with an encyclopedic memory, or at least a decent reference book. When did Winchester put the 1897 riot guns up for sale to the public? Did they start off with the fancy editions and roll out the trench and riot guns years later, or did they have some for sale in 1897? I'm working on a story set in 1898, and I wanted to know if that particular model could be purchased in in the hands of consumers as early as 1898.

Thank you in advance. I simply don't have the reference materials here at home, and I'm stuck on this chapter until I figure it out. I could give the characters 1893 models, but they were inferior in quality.

From 1898 on.  Source is an American Rifleman article

The trench model was introduced c. 1917, concurrent with WWI. The riot model would have been available c. 1898. 26, 28, and 30" models (brush, standard, pigeon, and trap) would have been introduced in 1897.

Plus for other repeaters of the era there was:

• Marlin Model 1898
  Winchester 1893
  Spencer Repeating shotgun
  Winchester 1887 (lever action)

I think it's good for historical fiction to try and be tied into reality.  But that includes mindset.  For people of that day,  many shotguns were still firing black powder loads.  Longer barrels gave significant velocity boost to black powder as well as the earliest smokeless powders.  While there were absolutely riot guns, there wasn't this fixation with shorter barrels as there is today.  Barrels being shortened was more about concealment than improved handle-ability inside buildings.

Also, it took longer for information to be disseminated out.  If a certain model of shotgun becomes available in year X, it should be pretty uncommon in year X+1.  ALSO unless you were really wealthy, you weren't going to sell your current repeater shotgun and buy the newest best thing.  Oh, if your shotgun was worn out and in need of replacement, then yea you might look at getting the newest best thing, again making it less likely for a character to have a brand new specialty model.  Especially serious gunmen, who would have found something that worked and got very familiar with it, and stick with what works vs constantly jumping on the "newest best thing"


I would encourage you to branch out and find shotguns that had been available for 10 or so years.  One specific model I would suggest would be the Burgess Folding Shotgun

The Burgess folding 12 ga.! Wow!!

Take down 97's weren't a catalog item in 1898, but they could be special ordered.

I have a 5 digit 97 takedown manufactured in 1898, with the factory letter from the Cody museum.