Winchester 1890 ?

dav1965

Someone gave my Dad a Winchester 1890 in 22LR the S/N is 632116.

The stock is cracked where it mounts to the gun. The man who gave it to my Dad put a radiator hose clamp around the stock and it has been that way for years.

Someone on the other board told me a way to try and fix it. So i am going to try that.

The bore of the gun is in really nice shape however a lot of blueing is worn away.

I would say the gun is in about 60 to 70% shape.

From me looking into the gun i think it was made in 1919. Is that right?

Also from what people say they make it seem like the 22lr round was the least produced and gets a premium.

If so how many were produced in 22lr also i was wondering how much it might be worth.

This gun will not be sold i am just curious.

Also would it be worth getting the gun refinished and the stock replaced?

Whatever i do to the gun its going to always be a shooter.

Would you get the gun refinished or just leave it like it is.

charliemeyer007

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Model_1890

As a shooter I would get a different stock or properly fix the one that is there. Re-blue is up to you. I have helped hot salt blue 100's of firearms. They sure look better - worth more or less depends.

I have a 06 that I'm very fond of. Dad had a 90 in short that was like brand new. I think he bought it in the 30's. He sold it before he died I have no clue what he got but it was good money.

Bert H.

The serial number identifies it as being manufactured in June, 1919. Winchester added the 22 Long Rifle chambering to the Model 1890 line-up in 1918, and they continued to offer it through July 1942 (when the final parts clean-up Model 90 rifles were assembled).

The total number of Model 1890(90) rifles manufactured in 22 Long Rifle was considerably greater than most collectors & dealers were lead to believe by past authors. Based on the research survey that I have been involved with, the least common cartridge chambering was actually the 22 Long. With that stated, the 22 Long Rifle chambered rifles do bring a premium value over the other (3) .22 rim fire cartridges. Based on the current survey results, Winchester manufactured just over 30,000 Model 90 rifles in 22 Long Rifle from March 1926 through July 1942, with several thousand more in the 1918 - 1926 timeframe. My estimate is that the total was approximately 45,000.

Based on your description of the rifle, I would not be inclined to grade it as high as 60-70%. The broken/damaged stock is a big minus to the graded condition, and the bluing loss adds to the reduction in the graded condition.

I would not recommend having the rifle refinished, and No, it would not be worth the cost to have it refinished. What I do recommend doing, is find an original butt stock and replacing the broken stock with it. If you can find a butt stock with its original butt plate still on it, that would be preferable.

pip5255

I would repair the stock if possible, clean it up a bit to prevent any rusting and use it like that.

dav1965

Thanks Bert i have no clue on how to grade a rifle. Its missing a lot of bluing but is not pitted or have deep scratches. Its just worn off. Plus the inside of the barrel is in great shape.

Thankfully the inside of the barrel is in better shape than the outside.

I have not looked at the stock to see how bad the crack is. I am going to take it apart and see if i can fix it to where i can take the gun squirrel hunting.

Worst case i will replace the stock. I just want to make it a good shooter so if i need to grab a 22 rifle i could grab this and not worry about it breaking.

Thanks for the info.