CMP Trench Guns: The Winchester 1897 Shotgun Story Hiding Behind the M14 Circus

Everyone is screaming about the CMP M14 rifles, but the better collector story may be the CMP trench guns.

Yes, the M14 announcement is big. Military Times reported⁠ that CMP received special authorization to sell more than 100,000 surplus M14 rifles, which is exactly the kind of headline that fills gun YouTube feeds for a week. But tucked behind that larger story is something much scarcer: surplus pump-action military shotguns, possibly including Winchester Model 1897 trench guns.

And the timing could get even more interesting. Upcoming changes to the National Firearms Act may remove or reduce some of the federal friction around short-barreled shotguns. If those changes take effect as expected, the next wave of trench-gun interest may not be limited to original military guns. People may soon be able to build their own short-barreled battle shotguns without the same tax and registration burden that has historically made the project such a bureaucratic hostage situation.

If you got here after seeing a CMP trench gun YouTube video, a YouTube short about surplus shotguns, or some half-baked YouTube comment section argument about “cheap trench guns,” slow down. The interesting part is not just “CMP might sell shotguns.” The interesting part is what kind of shotguns, how many, what condition, and whether the collector market is about to get a small batch of documented U.S. martial shotguns with real provenance.

Before we get into it, if you like weird shotguns, go read my old post on the Remington Model 11 Whippet: Bonnie and Clyde’s Shotgun⁠. The CMP 1897 trench gun is probably more collectible. The Whippet is still cooler. Sorry, history has spoken.

What CMP Actually Said About Shotguns

This is not a live CMP order page yet. Nobody should be licking stamps or harassing Anniston over it.

The legal door opened through the FY2026 NDAA. Section 1062⁠ modified CMP transfer and sale authority to include surplus pump-action shotguns, with limits. The law allows one-time transfers from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, but excludes short-barreled shotguns and modular under-rifle shotgun attachments. It also requires a report to Congress listing the make, model, and number of surplus shotguns before transfer can happen.

CMP later stated that the military departments were still assessing what shotguns were excess to their needs. CMP’s May 2026 update⁠ said expected transfer and sales would likely be in late 2026 or early 2027, and warned that there would not be huge numbers, though CMP had “good intel” that interesting and historic shotguns were on the list.

Then CMP CEO Gerald O’Keefe replied to a comment asking about trench guns and said, “I do think there will be some trench shotguns in the mix.”

That is the honest status. Not a catalog. Not a price list. Not a guarantee that your cousin’s barber is getting a crate of trench guns at the North Store next Tuesday. The YouTube version of this story will probably skip all of that and jump straight to “CMP TRENCH GUNS CONFIRMED.” That is how the internet gets stupid.

Why The Winchester 1897 Trench Gun Matters

The Winchester Model 1897 is the obvious headline gun because it is the trench gun most people picture first. John Browning design. Exposed hammer. 12 gauge. Heat shield. Bayonet adapter. World War I trench warfare. Later service into World War II and beyond.

Firearms News reported⁠ that CMP is expected to receive an unknown quantity of Winchester Model 1897 trench guns, but also noted that CMP had not announced quantity, condition, grading, pricing, purchase limits, or the actual sales timeline.

That uncertainty matters because 1897 trench guns are a fake-heavy collector market. Riot guns get dressed up. Reproduction heat shields show up. Bayonet adapters get added. Markings get debated until everyone involved needs a nap. A real CMP paper trail would be the whole point. The shotgun itself is cool, but the government inventory provenance is what would separate a CMP trench gun from a table-show fairy tale.

This is also why the YouTube hype is only partly useful. A YouTube video can show you what an 1897 trench gun looks like. It can show the heat shield, the bayonet lug, and the slam-fire lore. What it cannot do is magically turn a questionable gun into a documented U.S. military shotgun. Provenance is the game here.

The NFA Changes Could Make New Trench Guns More Interesting

The original military trench guns are the historical prize, but upcoming NFA changes could make the broader category much more accessible.

For decades, cutting a shotgun barrel below the federal minimum has generally meant dealing with the short-barreled shotgun rules under the National Firearms Act. That has meant paperwork, registration, a $200 tax, and waiting for approval before the gun could legally be made or transferred. It is the kind of process that turns a simple gunsmithing idea into a small administrative religion.

If the coming NFA changes eliminate the federal tax or otherwise reduce the registration burden for covered short-barreled firearms, people may soon have a much easier path to making modern short-barreled battle shotguns. That could mean 1897-style builds, short Remington 870s, old Stevens pumps, or other practical and historically inspired configurations.

But “easier” does not mean “anything goes.” State law may still prohibit short-barreled shotguns. Barrel length and overall length still matter under federal definitions unless the law actually changes those definitions. A shotgun that is manufactured or configured as an “any other weapon” may raise different questions than a conventional shotgun. And the exact effective date, scope, and implementation of any NFA change will matter more than internet summaries written by a guy holding a tape measure next to a parts kit.

So check the current federal law, state law, and official ATF guidance before making anything. Do not rely on a meme, a forum post, or a YouTube comment from someone named TacticalDad420.

The larger point is that the market may soon split into two related categories:

• Original military trench guns with historical provenance.
• Modern short-barreled battle-shotgun builds inspired by those originals.

The first category should remain scarce and expensive. The second could become much more common if the legal environment changes. That may make original Winchester 1897 trench guns even more desirable because a reproduction can copy the silhouette, but it cannot copy the service history.

These Should Not Be Cheap

This is where people start whining, so let us get ahead of it.

CMP is not supposed to be a discount rifle and shotgun Santa for collectors. CMP’s own mission⁠ is to promote marksmanship, firearms safety, and youth programs through the secure restoration and sale of historic American firearms. The law behind CMP also tells the organization to prioritize firearms safety, training, competition, and youth participation.

So if the CMP really gets documented Winchester 1897 trench guns, they should sell them at market value. Maybe that means lottery for some. Maybe it means auction for the best examples. But pricing them like random beat-up surplus pumps would just hand free money to flippers, which helps exactly no shooter, no junior program, no match, and no range.

Market context is not subtle. A Kramer Auction WWI Winchester 1897 trench gun⁠ closed at $6,500 in June 2026. Rock Island Auction estimated⁠ an exceptional WWI Winchester 1897 trench shotgun at $7,500 to $11,000 in 2025. Even an unusual civilian 1897 trench configuration⁠ was estimated at $4,500 to $7,000 by Rock Island.

Not every CMP shotgun will be that nice. Some may be tired. Some may be later riot guns. Some may be guard armory survivors with more honest wear than collector shine. But if real 1897 trench guns are in the pile, pretending they are $900 rack-grade toys is unserious.

YouTube will probably turn this into a fight between “CMP should sell them cheap” and “CMP should auction everything.” The smarter answer is boring: price them according to what they are. Real documented trench guns should bring real money. Random surplus pumps can be priced like random surplus pumps.

The Whippet Is Still Cooler

Here is the part where I get myself yelled at by trench gun collectors.

The Winchester 1897 trench gun is historically important. It is valuable. It has the heat shield, the bayonet lug, and the World War I aura. It is the gun that looks like it should be leaning in the corner of a muddy dugout while someone yells about going over the top.

But the Remington Model 11 Whippet⁠ is still cooler in the way that matters to me. It is weirder. It is more outlaw. It is tied to Bonnie and Clyde lore. It takes a long-recoil Remington Model 11 and turns it into something that looks like a terrible idea that somehow became iconic.

A CMP Winchester 1897 trench gun is the collector flex.

A Whippet shotgun is the one people actually stop and ask about.

A modern short-barreled battle shotgun build may soon be the one people actually shoot.

That is not financial advice. It is just taste.

Common Search Questions Answered

Is CMP selling trench guns?

Probably, but not yet in a normal order-page sense. The law now allows surplus pump-action shotguns to transfer to CMP, and CMP has said shotgun sales are expected in late 2026 or early 2027.

Are they Winchester 1897 trench guns?

That is the big rumor and the big hope. CMP’s CEO said he thinks trench shotguns will be in the mix, and Firearms News reported that Winchester Model 1897 trench guns are expected. The final make/model list still depends on the required inventory and report process.

Why is YouTube suddenly talking about CMP trench guns?

Because the M14 announcement pulled attention back to CMP surplus firearms, and the trench gun angle is more interesting to collectors. A CMP M14 is a big program. A CMP Winchester 1897 trench gun, if the numbers are small, is the kind of thing that makes YouTube channels, forums, and auction-watchers lose their minds.

Should I trust a CMP trench gun YouTube video?

Use YouTube for pictures, background, and entertainment. Do not use YouTube as the final word on pricing, legality, CMP sales procedure, or whether a specific gun is original. Wait for CMP’s official sales instructions and the actual make/model list.

Will upcoming NFA changes make short-barreled shotguns legal without the old tax?

They may remove or reduce some federal NFA burdens, depending on the final law and implementation. That does not automatically override state restrictions, eliminate every federal firearms rule, or make every short shotgun configuration lawful. Verify the current rules before making or transferring one.

Can people make their own short battle shotguns soon?

Possibly, and that is one of the more interesting consequences. If the NFA changes take effect as expected, a person may have a simpler federal path to making a short-barreled shotgun inspired by a trench gun. The exact barrel-length rules, registration requirements, tax treatment, and state-law restrictions still need to be checked at the time of manufacture.

Will CMP shotguns be cheap?

They should not be, at least not the historically significant ones. CMP should price or auction scarce documented examples in a way that supports matches, safety programs, youth marksmanship, and the actual CMP mission.

Will this hurt private collector values?

Maybe at the margins, but probably not much unless the quantity is larger than expected. A small number of documented CMP trench guns may actually reinforce how desirable real examples are. Easier access to modern short-barreled builds could also make original military examples more valuable by highlighting the difference between a reproduction and a genuine service gun.

Final Thought

The CMP M14 story will get the clicks because M14 people are constitutionally incapable of being normal about M14s. But the CMP trench gun story is more interesting.

The M14 program is about quantity, politics, and whether the government can finally stop tripping over its own definitions.

The shotgun program is about scarcity, provenance, and whether some real American martial shotguns are finally going to come out of government storage and into collector hands.

The NFA changes add another layer. If short-barreled shotguns become easier to make federally, the trench gun may stop being only a collector object and become a practical build category again. People may be able to make modern short battle shotguns that borrow the old military formula without paying the same bureaucratic toll. That will not make a new build a Winchester 1897, but it may make the old guns more interesting, not less.

YouTube will flatten this into two lazy arguments: “CMP shotguns will be cheap” and “NFA changes mean anything goes.” Both are probably wrong. The real story is better. CMP may get a small number of historically interesting surplus shotguns, original examples should stay collectible, and modern short shotgun builds may become a bigger category if the law changes the way people expect.

If CMP gets actual Winchester 1897 trench guns, they should treat them like the historic guns they are. Price them accordingly. Auction the best ones. Use the money for matches, marksmanship, and the shooters who actually keep the sport alive.

And then, after all that, go read about the Remington Model 11 Whippet⁠, because it is still cooler.