fluid steel gun barrel

What is a fluid-steel barrel - how is one made, what does one look like, and more importantly is it safe to shoot? The piece in question is a 12 ga. Winchester Model 1897, c. 1901-02. The barrel has a veined appearance on the surface. I've been told I should only shoot black powder loads in it (at $20 a box).

The diversity of knowledge on this board is a constant source of amazement to me. Thanks for your help - past present and future.

Lou[NE]
47 2N

Thanks, Jim WI for the link, and to all for answering another question I had, namely whether "twist," "damascus," and "fluid steel" were different names for the same method of barrel making. I have a Parker Bros. dbl 10 ga. with the barrel labeled "twist". On it you can clearly see spiral lines where the edges of the ribbons join. There are no such spirals on the Winchester - instead you see loops and whorls, rather like fingerprints - no spirals. Perhaps this is the fake damascus mentioned. No "twist" or "damascus" label on the Winchester.

Brent, thank you for the safety reminders. I was aware of the slam-fire "feature" - probably very handy in the trenches; very scary elsewhere.

I did have a guy at a local guns/ammo store look at it. It was he who said I shouldn't use smokeless rounds in a fluid steel barrel. Does he just want to sell me black powder loads at $25 a box? I have used 2-3/4" pheasant loads in it with no problem, until the gun store guy scared me. According to his book, only a small number of '97s were made with the fluid steel barrel - no mention in his book of a '97 being offered with a damascus or twist barrel. He said my piece was in 70% condition and was usable (with his black-powder loads).

According to John Browning's biography, his personal trap gun was a solid-frame '97. An amazing man who I'm sure would have loved this forum as much as I.

Thaks again to all.

Lou[NE]

Try getting a second opinion.

By the way, I believe Winchester did offer the Model 1897 with damascus barrels. If you have one of these and would like to shoot it have the barrel swapped out for a fluid steel barrel. They are readily available.

Lou

The veined appearance is probably "fake" damascus that was used to be decorative and appear as damascus because that was once considered superior. I've never seen this applied to a 97 but that may indicate that you have a high grade model.

In any event, it is "safe" to shoot with any reasonable lead load. The chokes will not stand up to much steel shot so avoid that.

There is one or two caveats about this particular gun that you should be aware of. First, it will slam fire. That is, if you pump the action while holding the trigger down it will fire. This could be a safety issue for some, but I do not find it a problem - I just don't do that.

The second is that the hammer can slip out from under the thumb of the most careful shooters as you cock it back from half cock to full, or as you set it down to "safety" half cock. I have done this exactly twice while hunting. The first time, it shot blue sky. The second time, it killed the quail I wanted, but before I got the gun to my shoulder. Muzzle control with this beast is a must.

A friend with reason to know told me once that this gun had accidentally killed more people than any other, due to this very feature. Not sure I believe this, but I tend to use this gun only when hunting alone for this reason.

Brent

A "fluid" steel barrel is the more modern process and is done by casting a solid piece of steel that is then bored. Some early fluid steel barrels are etched to look like Damascus (at one time, Damascus steel was thought to be the best).

The Winchester 1897 was designed for smokeless powder (visit the Classic Firearms site for more details). Have a good gunsmith check it out before using it though (good idea for any gun of unknown condition).