Model 97

[dvdstdg]

Are there any Winchester Model 97 knockoffs worth looking at as I doubt I am going to run across an original worth owning that I can justify paying the price for.

[henry0reilly]

I saw a thread on another site that highly recommended the Norinco copy of the 97. I have handled one at a shop and thought it was very stiff and said so. The reply I got said that they must be shot several boxes to smooth them out.

[dvdstdg]

do you remember which site you were surfing? Thanks (The really sad thing is my Uncle had two - one of which was brand new - and offer me my choice. I turned my nose up at them because they weren't autos. Ahhh, youth!)

[henry0reilly]

I am new to Perfect Union and did not know if it is acceptable to mention other sites by name, but since you ask I will say it was at http://www.gunbroker.com Sorry I don't remember whether it was general or ask experts but the subject line of the string was Norinco 97 (or something like that).

[dvdstdg]

Thanks. As far as I know there are no prohibitions against mentioning other sites, posting links, etc. Welcome.

[Oldjad01]

The Norico 97's have been out for a few years. The original ones that showed up in SASS matches tended to be rough and not very dependable, and the stocks looked like reprocessd orange crate wood. There was a rumor that the Chinese used a worn out Win '97 for their pattern gun(?). An updated gun was later released and was much improved, but a lot of shooters still weren't convinced that they were worth fooling with. A 2nd update was made and they started showing up in good numbers with few complaints. I haven't been to a SASS match in a year and a half or and I would suggest that you check out the SASS page to see what the word is on them.