Winchester Model 1890 - .22 short

[KYBowhunter]

I was looking for some info on the Winchester Model 1890. A guy I work with has one that he is wanting to sell it. He doens't hunt or even shot for fun and is just wanting money. I tried to do some research on them and found a couple of sites with info about them and some even had a few for sale. Looked to be in the $2000 dollar range.

Does anyone know anything about these guns and what to look for as far as condition and what it might be worth?

 

[BEARMAN]

Condition is everything in valuing something. Has this firearm been altered from original, is it working, has it been reblued. If you are not able to check any and all of these things, offer what you feel is what you want to pay. Just remember you may be getting very little and you can buy many very good new rifles for under $200 and maybe more than a few for $2000. The guns going for $2000 are mint, unaltered and maybe special in some way (like the personal gun of someone important or famous ).

 

[Jim K]

A first type 1890 in new condition will go for a lot more than $2000, like with a 1 in front. Those are the case hardened receiver, solid frame (non-takedown), under #15,000. Even an average decent condition one will go $3000 easily. The later guns with case hardened receiver can go up to $5000 in new condition. Most Model 1890's are blued and takedown; they top out at about $1000 and average is around $400-500.

They made a lot of them, around 849,000 all told. There were some 311,000 of the second type, so those are not rare. The thing is that most of them were used and used hard. Many are worn out or broken. Thousands were used as gallery guns, firing as fast as they could be loaded, day after day.

So the gun may be a $12,000 jewel or a $100 junker.

Jim

 

[KYBowhunter]

Thanks for the info. He is suppose to bring it in so I can see it. I will post more once I see it.

 

[10X]

I think Jim Keenan gave some good advice. Many of the 1890s are in OK but no better shape. Whether it is first, second or third variation can sometimes make a difference to a collector. Condition is a big deal. Some of those were not cared for very well at all. A common price range is $100 for junk up to $500 for one in very good shape in this area. It would be very, very unlikely it would be worth more unless it is a special grade. I would look at it as a shooter not a collector.

My father collected these and at the time of his death he had over 60 Winchester pump 22s with hammers, 1890, 1906, 62 and 62A. I learned a lot from selling those to give the money to my mother. That was Dad's wish.
They can be interesting guns to play with if you find one in decent shape.

 

[Jim K]

When one is fortunate enough to inherit or otherwise acquire a firearm that is a real collector's item, it is nearly impossible to realize the full value unless one goes national. Just shopping the gun around to gun stores or at gun shows will rarely bring anywhere near the true value of a high ticket item. For one thing, most gun dealers simply don't recognize top quality guns. Some others do, but will try to "steal" the item if they think the owner does not have an idea of its true worth.

Matching them, needless to say, is the owner of a piece of total junk who is under the illusion that he has something valuable. I remember the guy who came into the shop with an old European folding trigger pin-fire in horrible shape and wanted to sell it for "only" $50,000. He had read that Colt Paterson revolvers had folding triggers and that some were worth a quarter million. So he convinced himself he had a Paterson, and really ranted and cussed me out when I told him the gun was essentially worthless. "Ignorant" and "thief" were some of his kinder words; I finally had to ask him to leave or I would call the police.

Jim

 

[dfaugh]

A friend of mine recently brought me one of these, to "clean up" and display, as it belonged to her father, and his father before (and maybe her great grandfather). My buddy, who is a Winchester collector has a book that showed all the different permutations of this gun (and there were many, many options). As best we could determine its could be worth anywhere from $300 to $3000 depending on rarity and condition. Unfortunately the one she has is gonna be relegated to "wallhanger" status(although its probably safe to shoot), as it been stored for about 30 years without any attention, lots of pitting and rust. It could be restored but it would cost more than its worth.

These are "takedown" guns and this one has 2 serial numbers (made from 2 different guns) which would hurt the value. It does have a "pistol grip" stock, and the "triangular" loading port, which means it was probably a "gallery gun".

In short, values can vary wildely, so do some research before buying.