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Blanks and snap caps for Winchester M1890?

2K views 18 replies 4 participants last post by  Twicepop 
#1 ·
I just got a Winchester Model 1890 Gallery Rifle and a Winchester Model 12 Shotgun (30 inch barrel full choke) as a gift from my father.

I don't have many opportunities to go shooting so I'm going to be getting snap caps for the Model 12.

I would love to find snap caps and blanks that work with my m1890 as well. I did a bit of research and believe I can use regular .22 blanks but want to know if anyone has definitive information. I also would like to know if there are snap caps that would cycle properly just like the .22 WRF (Remington special is the interchangeable as well).

My consensus is that anything without a projectile should be safe? Like I said a definitive answer would be great.

I have no issues finding modern ammo for the m1890 I just want to be able to dry fire it with snap caps and have some blanks to play with.
 
#2 · (Edited)
I'm a little puzzled.

Gallery guns, so named because they were used in shooting galleries, are 22 Short. The 1890 pump was made in several chamberings - short, long, long rifle, and WRF, but only the short was a gallery gun.

If your gun is a long rifle, there are dummy cartridges. They can be used to practice loading and cycling the gun, but they are NOT snap caps. They are made of hard plastic, and two or three snaps and the rim is ruined.

These are only made in long rifle, so if your gun is a short, long or WRF, you're out of luck.

The only blanks available, that I'm aware of, are the acorn blanks, so called because of their shape. They will not feed through any action. Either single load them, or use a revolver.



While looking for a picture o them, I found some Winchester short blanks, so they might feed through an actual gallery gun. Maybe even through a S,L,LR gun.



Both of these blanks are black powder, so the gun would need to be cleaned soon after shooting them, to avoid damage.

If your gun is a Winchester Rim Fire (and you can easily find ammo? Lucky) again, you're out of luck. No blanks in that size.
 
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#3 ·
Thanks, I only call it a gallery rifle because my father did and it looks just like the typical rifle found in shooting galleries.

Acorn Blanks? Do you know of any manufactures making them? I found blanks for 22 short, long rifle, magnum ext..... but nothing for WRF or that said it would work. I really want something that will cycle from the mag tube.

I'm looking for the perspective of someone who has tried various things and found something that worked even though it's not designed to work in this gun.

I was hoping that snap caps in a different cartridge style might work as I saw in my research mostly that other cartridges don't work because of the bullet not the casing. So I was hoping I could get another type of 22 blanks or "dummy rounds" that would work (I was under the impression snap caps were made of plastic or metal as I found plenty of 22 plastic snap caps).

I know that WRF and Remington Special are completely interchangeable but remington special seems even more rare than WRF and I couldn't even find any remington special ammo let alone blanks or dummies.

I hope I eventually figure out something, It's so hard having this amazing machine that I can't do anything with but clean.
 
#4 ·
I must have been typing my reply right as you edited your's. Thanks for the additional information.

Also yes it's definitely a model 1890 WRF with the octagon barrel. 22WRF is pretty easy to find online, I even found the full metal jacketed version of the rounds and copper plated as well all were less than $15 per 50ct

I even found listings for vintage limited edition 22WRF ammo.
 
#5 ·
#9 ·
If you're new, you need to know this.

MOST modern guns have a thing called a DISCONNECTOR. Once the gun is fired, it won't shoot again until the trigger is completely released. The trigger has to RESET before it can be fired again.

NEITHER of those guns has a disconnector. If you continue holding the trigger back, while working the pump, when that slide goes home that gun goes bang.

People today get excited about that. "Oh boy! This gun will SLAM FIRE! Just hold the trigger back and work the pump as fast as you can, and POW POW POW POW!! It's like a machine gun!!!"

That's stupid.

The guns were not designed to "slam fire". The guns were designed in a time when people were considered smart enough to release the trigger after a shot. Disconnectors were invented when automatics came along. To keep the gun SEMI instead of FULL auto. And some companies started putting them in pumps.

So, a warning. If you shoot and keep your finger on the trigger while working the action, when the action closes it will fire.

Let go of the trigger between shots.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the information and the warning. I should get my guns together and lay them out for some better pictures. These things are so cool!

I didn't even know "Slam firing" was a thing. I don't think I'd ever keep my finger on the trigger of a firearm unless it was an automatic, not likely to ever fire one of those.

I definitely won't slam fire these though, family heirlooms and just such fascinating machines to just abuse like that. (and replacement parts are expensive for the m1890)
 
#11 ·
Definitely get some pics up for us!
 
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#12 ·
Here is a short video of me firing the Model 12 for the first time after cleaning it up from all the rust it had on it.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hyaqtodp4chczd5/New Project.avi?dl=0

And some pics of both guns. These were taken after one of the last cleanings I did on the m12. I will get some better ones soon.
 

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#14 ·
#16 ·
This is a rimfire gun, won't that cause damage to the firing pin? I'm very cautious about the Model 1890 because it was my grandmother's gun and is over 120 years old.

I can find replacement parts but it's all original right now, the only part I was to swap on it is the pitted barrel to preserve it but allow me to safely still shoot it without further damaging the original barrel.
 
#17 · (Edited)
A fired case will work as a snap cap.
I don't know... Wouldn't it be next to impossible to chamber from the round being fire formed to the chamber?
 
#18 ·
A fired rimfire case will work for one, maybe two shots. Then the rim will be completely crushed and will give no protection.

You could rotate the case in the chamber and get a couple more hits, then that part will be crushed and useless.
 
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