Mine is not the unbelievable bargain Don's solid rib 20 gauge was - that's the farthest I've ever seen $500 stretch -- but if I ever get to go on a Mexican dove safari, my Polychoked Model 25 will go with me. 

george@georgeamlott.com said
Again….. sorry for the glare.  Good natural light has been absent here in Northern Michigan the last few days 🤨
  

Great photos and a really nice find!  

There is something about those M42's that has always appealed to me.  They just look 'special', like art and function perfectly intertwined. 

In my mind, the M42 and M71 are the most attractive and visually pleasing ever produced by Winchester.

NP

Bert

Chuck said
It is very cool that you have the bring back paperwork for the Luger.  Any idea where it was picked up?
  

I don’t…… but it came from a friend of his, so I can ask.  He might know.

Jim91 said

Bert H. said
Jim,
What you have is actually a "Tournament Gun" versus a Trap Gun.  Winchester introduced it as a new variant in the year 1910.  Your Tournament Gun was manufactured in August 1912.
What (if anything) is molded (marked) on the recoil pad?  In the year 1912, Winchester would  (on special order) fit the Model 1897 with a Silvers or Jotsam recoil pad.
I will assume that your gun has a 30-inch Full choke barrel, and that it is roll matted?
I recently wrote an article discussing the Model 1897 production (published in the Spring 2026 WACA Collector magazine - 2026 Spring (winchestercollector.org)
Bert
  

Hi Bert,
 
Thank you for the info on my 97. I have attached a few more pics to help answer your questions
 
below is what I was able to find about the butt pad
The buttplate is a Jostam “Anti-Flinch” recoil pad, not an original Winchester part. These were made by the Jostam Manufacturing Company of Chicago, and the patent numbers trace two distinct versions: the earlier J.S. Day patent from October 29, 1914, and a later W.R. Jorgenson patent granted October 12, 1915. Since your gun was made in 1912–13 and this pad wasn’t even patented until 1914–15, this confirms it’s a period aftermarket accessory added sometime after the gun left the factory — not original equipment. That’s not a bad thing at all; Jostam Anti-Flinch pads are themselves genuinely collectible and hard to find today, to the point where collectors have reportedly bought entire “project guns” just to get one of these pads. So this is a nice period-correct addition, just not factory-original to this specific gun.

All of this positive Jostam pad talk makes me feel a whole lot better about the Jostam pad on on my Burgess shotgun.  I think my pad is a very early pad (but not of course original to the Burgess).  It is marked, "NO KICK COMING RECOIL PAD" and, "PAT. 1842525".

I did read in the Madis book that on special order Winchester would provide various recoil pads and this included Jostam pads.  I assume this started about 1914.

Sadly, I've never owned a Model 42.  However, I do have a repeating .410 shotgun made just a couple years before the M42 came out:

george@georgeamlott.com said
Bert,
I’ll have to let my wallet catch it’s breath before I go back to his house again….
  

Run an oxygen tube into it!  Probably need that tube hooked up to a big cannister.  Set it on high flow!

I’ll have to let my wallet catch it’s breath before I go back to his house again….

steve004 said
 
What caliber is the Savage in?
  

.300

What caliber is the Savage in?

Bert H. said
George,
My recommendation is to commit yourself to buying every gun that your older friend offers you.  He apparently had a very discerning eye, and he assembled a collection of very fine old Winchesters.
Bert
  

I have !!!!!

Even a few from other teams…😎