In House Shipping:
Make: Winchester
Model: 90 (1890, Third Model)
Serial Number: 567410A
Year of Manufacture: 1915
Caliber: 22 Short
Action Type: Pump Action Rifle
Barrel Length: 24" Octagon
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a bead dovetailed to the barrel. The rear sight is a “U”-notch leaf screwed to the barrel.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece walnut with a 12-groove slide handle, straight grip, straight comb, and nickel plated crescent steel buttplate. Both pieces have the original finish with exceptional wood to metal fit. The LOP measures 12 7/8" from the front of the trigger to the back of the crescent buttplate. There is scattered intermittent corrosion on the buttplate, concentrated in front of the plate screw, but most of the nickel finish remains intact. There are no chips or cracks. There are scattered compression marks and a few nicks. Overall, the stocks rate in about Fine Condition.
Type of Finish: Half Nickel, Half Blued. Winchester called this “Nickel Trimmings”.
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is mostly bright with well defined rifling. There is some light to mild erosion throughout. Overall, this is a nice clean bore for a well used “Gallery Gun”. In this writer’s opinion, the bore rates 7 out of 10.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 65% of its blue and nickel finish. The balance of the finish shows general operation wear. There are a few scratches on both sides of the receiver. Most of the nickel remains throughout, except on the right side of the receiver where a large area has thinned and taken a deep patina. Most of the bluing throughout the rifle has gone to a deep patina, and there is frost and rust freckles throughout. The screw heads are good. The markings are clear. There are some tool marks on both sides of the barrel behind the rear sight. Additionally, the markings on the barrel date it to post-1919 when Winchester changed the model name from “Model 1890” to “Model 90”, but the receiver dates to 1915. The tool marks and mismatched markings confirm that at some point in the past, the barrel on this “Gallery Gun” has been replaced. This may have even been done while the rifle was still in use at a shooting gallery, as spent barrels were often replaced to extend the service life of a “Gallery Gun”. Overall, this rifle rates in about Very Good Condition.
Mechanics: The action functions properly. We did not fire this rifle. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None
Our Assessment: Winchester was the first American company to offer a practical .22 pump-action rifle, the Model 1890. Designed by gunmaking genius John Moses Browning, the Model 1890 was patterned after Winchester's iconic lever-actions with a tubular magazine under the barrel, an exposed hammer, and top ejection. Winchester had asked Browning to design the rifle as a replacement for the rimfire versions of the Model 1873, which had never achieved great popularity. The Model 1890 was an instant success, and set the standard for all .22 repeaters that followed. Today, among the rarest and most desirable Winchester Model 1890s are the “Gallery Guns”. These were the pump action repeaters used by shooting galleries at amusement parks across the country, which offered the chance for men of all ages to “step right up” and show off their marksmanship skills. “Gallery Guns” have a few distinct features. First, they were chambered for .22 Short, better suited for the short distances of shooting galleries and the crowded environments in which they were hosted. Second, the loading ports were of a triangular shape, as opposed to a cartridge shape on standard Model 1890s. The triangular shape facilitated the use of speedloaders, which allowed the carnies to get the “Gallery Guns” into the hands of the next customer even faster. Factory nickel trim was a special order feature from Winchester, but is encountered fairly regularly on “Gallery Guns”, as the finish was considered more durable for the rough handling expected at carnivals and amusement parks.
This Special Order Nickel Trim Winchester Model 90 (Third Model) Takedown .22 Short “Gallery Gun” was made in 1915 and is in Very Good Condition.There are some tool marks on both sides of the barrel behind the rear sight. Additionally, the markings on the barrel date it to post-1919 when Winchester changed the model name from “Model 1890” to “Model 90”, but the receiver dates to 1915. The tool marks and mismatched markings confirm that at some point in the past, the barrel on this “Gallery Gun” has been replaced. This may have even been done while the rifle was still in use at a shooting gallery, as spent barrels were often replaced to extend the service life of a “Gallery Gun”. It features the classic triangular loading port, a 24” octagonal barrel, 65% of its blued and nickel finish (what Winchester called “nickel trimmings”), with most of the nickel remaining throughout, except on the right side of the receiver where a large area has thinned and taken a deep patina, a matching nickel plated crescent steel buttplate, rugged two-piece walnut stocks with a 12-groove slide handle, and a mostly bright bore with well defined rifling (there’s some light to mild erosion throughout). With its nickel trimmings, this is a visually striking Winchester Model 1890 “Gallery Gun”.