I have had a couple of these over the years and used them in western shooting events. Now I am looking at one to tuck away in the gun safe but having problems finding a value....
It is an 1897 Winchester 12 Ga. full length barrel. It is marked Trap Gun on the bolt, has the inlaid Black Diamonds in the wrist so I am assuming it is the Black Diamond Trap gun and the gun functions fine. Up to this point I am fine but here is where it gets sticky.
The gun appears to have been professionally reblued (hot not rust) and the forend appears to be a replacement. There is a "cheek rest" (not like you find on a monte carlo stock just sort of contoured into the stock) on the left side (for a right handed shooter). It does have a black older rubber recoil pad. Overall I would rate the gun at about 80% (conservatively) for appearance.
When I look in the older Blue Book I have it shows the Win '97 Trap and then the black diamond model that has the ebony diamonds inlaid in the "pistol grip" portion of the stock. This gun has a straight stock with the diamonds inlaid into it. But my new BB only shows the '97 Trap with a mention and values of the Black Diamond model but nothing about the diamonds set in the "pistol grip" portion of the stock...
So my dilemmas are:
How much to deduct for the reblue and wrong forend?
Is the butt stock original or a fake?
Can anyone help with a value? The fella is asking about $600.00 for the gun so we are not talking a huge amount of money but then again I don't want to pay $600 for an investment gun only to find I have a $250 shooter either.
Thanks for your Input & have a Great Day........DonT
