Quote:
Originally Posted by charlie cleveland
that hammer on the old 97 gives are some kinda carisma...i only have a good shooter in the old 97 my grandson barrowed it about 2 years ago and i aint seen it since...he must like it or throwed it in the creek .... charlie
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When young lots of our guns had hammers and half cock was considered a reliable and easy to use safety. The 97 could be put on half cock and so could the early Ruger .22 revolvers and my .357 Blackhawk and yes, my ears still ring. The ubiquitous 30/30 Win and Marlin also used the half cock safety and they were about the only high powered rifles that I ever saw in Western Kansas. Some guys still used old Krags. I cannot recall, as I sit here, any rifle sporting glass, or even peep sights, but some must have.
As I peruse photos of bird hunters at the turn of the Century (19 - 20) I see lots of 97's and a few Parkers and Elsies. Other's too, of course, but the 97, in its day, was hot potatos. Hunters must have liked the extra shots and the modernity of the pumps.