[email protected] said
Picked up a nice unaltered 1897 16ga 28 inch E469XXX recently. I was so excited to finally find a decent older 16ga that I didn’t ask any questions since I thought I knew what I needed to know, as I have a 1906 1897 12ga and a 1925 Model 12 16ga, all takedown versions. After inspecting the shotgun barrel markings, I see the “Full” mark on the left side of the barrel just forward of the receiver, the “16 GA” and “P/W” proof mark top of the barrel but no marking anywhere as to shell length. I was thinking 2 3/4, so am I correct or does anyone know what the correct length is, if not the 2 3/4? Thanks!  

Your E-series Model 1897 16-ga shotgun was manufactured in late October or early November of the year 1909 (depending on what the last three digits of the S/N are). 

At that time, all of the 16 gauge guns were manufactured with a 2-9/16″ chamber length (unmarked).  It was not until 1930 that Winchester began chambering (and marking) the Model 97 16-ga guns for the 2-¾ shell.

Bert

[email protected] said
Thanks, Bert!

Well, that’s not good news if I want to fire the gun, which I did because of its condition. Is it possible to load for that length shell, and if so, is the load data for a mild load significantly different for the two shell lengths?  

You can buy the correct length shells for it from RST – 16 Gauge (rstshells.com)

Bert