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Winchester 1890....I Found a Pair

3K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  Rondo ihde 
#1 ·
"It was the best of times." "It was the worst of times."

Today I'm in a local shop and the owner tells me to hold on a second. That he has a couple of "Gallery Guns" I may be interested in buying. So he scoots off and returns with two Winchester Model 1890's in hand. That's the good news. The bad news? They have been completely refinished.....reblued, brass polished and stock sanded and stained. Darn! One is a .22 short and the other WMR. When I asked what he was asking he came back with $695 each :confused:. To me they'd be nothing more than a cool 22 and $695 is more than I want to spend for just a cool 22.
 
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#3 ·
I would like to have one of the little gallery guns myself. But again, not $695 worth of like there. A couple of years ago, my LGS had one of the Rossi copies in his rack that stayed there for eight or nine weeks. He was asking something like $400 and I would have bought if I had the money. I started putting a little money back every week and when I had it I went over to buy it and of course, a guy bought it the day before!!
 
#4 ·
That rifle for .22 short is a fantastic shooter,,,
One just like it was my first ever rifle.

I could hit a playing card at 100 yards when I had young eyes,,,
My sharpshooting father could hit the Ace.

Aarond

.
 
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#5 ·
Is the other one a 22 WMR (winchester MAGNUM rimfire) or a 22 WRF (winchester rimfire).

'Cause I did not think the 22 Magnum was around when they were still making 1890s.
 
#7 ·
I traded a friend out of his 1890 22 Short, back around '95 or '96. Made in 1909.

He COMPLAINS about it every time I see him. "I can't BELIEVE I let you talk me out of that rifle."

Worst case of seller's remorse I've ever seen.;)

But then, I traded him a stainless Security Six, another time, and I've tried to get it back a time or three. That's his stepmother's bedside-table gun, and he says if he tried to get it back from her she'd shoot him with it.:(
 
#9 ·
In the past , I have worked a number of different gallery 22s. (actual carnival gallery rifles)
Before putting your hard earned money down , please have the chamber checked for a literally burnt out chamber.
I have seen what appears to be a gallery rifle in very good shape only to find that the chamber and throat are totally burnt out. One of the rifles I worked on was marked 22S - 22L. It work fine with a 22s , but when it fired a 22L the case was stuck ( due to expantion) to the point of having to pound it out with a cleaning rod.
So if you do get a gallery rifle please check it out.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the warnings and advice. While it would be nice to have, I can get a very nice 22 for $695. Been wanting a 22WMR lever rifle for some time now (Yes, a WMR not WRF). Been buying WRF when I find it just in case I come upon a rifle I'd like that happens to be chambered in WRF. Also, if I don't end up with one I can always shoot it in my Single Six with the WMR cylinder.
 
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