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The Winchester 1897 was designed by John Moses Browning, and was the first commercially successful pump-action shotgun. Operating much the same as one may expect of a modern one, with a tube magazine under the barrel and a sliding hand-guard running over said tube, for manipulating the action back and forth.
The 1897 is distinct from later designs for its short receiver, rather than housing the full travel of the bolt, it actually comes back out of the rear of the receiver (conceivably you could rap/tear your knuckle if really working the action fast, but as long as you have low grip it's not a risk), the shell elevator also tilts out the bottom of the receiver.
Pictured here is the so called 'Trench Gun' of the First World War, as employed by American forces, featuring a perforated heat-shield running over the barrel (so one would not burn themselves on a hot barrel), as well as sling swivels, and a bayonet lug to let it take the impressively long M1917 sword bayonet, because it had to be made just a little bit more badass.
This gun here is an original gun, not an older 1897 with added parts, or the much later Norinco replica (which isn't bad), it has a fair bit of wear, but is in overall decent shape, and the old 'Flaming Bomb' insignia of the old US Armed Forces' acceptance can be seen on many spots.
Though the action poking its guts out with every cycle wasn't always ideal in muddy trench war conditions, the hardened lead 00 buckshot did very well for itself, particularly given that the 1897 lacks a trigger-disconnect, meaning if you hold the trigger down while cycling it, the hammer will immediately drop as it goes into battery. Some might complain about safety, but others realized this would let you rapidly fire off salvos of shot by holding the trigger down and working the pump-slide rapidly, and at times this was exploited.
Germany complained a lot about shotguns being inhumane, which is funny coming from forces employing flamethrowers and mustard gas.
