An old Winchester 290 .22 Auto

[Sarge]

Hit a local gun show this AM and nabbed an old Winchester 290 .22 automatic for 150 bucks. It's the replacement for a Ted Williams T3, Sears version of the same basic gun, that I gave to one of my sons a couple of years ago. The 290 was Winchester's fancy version with pressed checkering and a jeweled bolt. These were nice, man-sized rifles that feed 22 Shorts, Longs and Long rifles interchangeably. This one was dry and grungy as hell inside. It needed hosed with RemOil before it would run 100% with Long Rifles. It even ran a magazine of (25!) Shorts with a couple of bobbles. I'll tear it down when I have time, scrub it and go all through it.

It's also helping me relive my misspent youth. When I was a 14, I wanted a 290 bad. This was not long after the series was introduced. It ran from 1967 to 1980 with total production of the store-brand guns, the Model 190 and Model 290 at around 2,150,000 rifles.

 

[oldandslow]

Sarge,

My dad bought me a Winchester 190 when I was 14 (about 45 years ago) from the Alameda Naval Exchange (Calif.) for about $40. It's always shot great and it's taught another generation of shooters how to shoot. Great guns- enjoy.

best wishes- oldandslow

 

[Doyle]

Before you tear it down, search online and find the PDF for takedown/reassembly diagrams. They are notorious for being tricky to put back together. I had a 190 (same rifle but with a plane stock).

 

[bamaranger]

trip

I remember those rifles, thanks for the pic and trip down memory lane.
Winchester made a lever that was similar in appearance, that's the one I wanted.

From the pic, seems like your new .22 is in fair shape. Good for you.

 

[candr44]

I have the Sears version of the 190. It was a Christmas present when I was 14. It was my first real gun and I still have it today. There was also a pump version of this rifle in .22 magnum.

One week point of these rifles is the barrel had a habit of coming loose. If your forearm shifts back and forth, the barrel probably needs to be retightened. Its an easy fix too, just push the barrel back in and tighten the barrel nut. Another week point is the plastic bushings on the hammer. They tended to shrink with age but replacements are easy to find.

 

[Sarge]

Here's an excellent takedown PDF of the 190/290 series guns from, I believe, the old NRA Book of Firearms Disassembly.

http://www.stevespages.com/pdf/winchester_190.pdf

 

[dgludwig]

I've always entertained a hankering for getting the "fore-runner" of the Model 290; the Model 77. It was my childhood dream until my dad gave me a Model 67 for Christmas of 1957 (which I, of course, still have). Not my intention to "high-jack" this thread, but the only debate I have with the Model 77 is whether to get one with the tubular or the detachable box mag.

Sarge, I'm curious as to whether the sling swivels were factory or add-ons on your nice Model 290 (personally, I'd never have a rifle without a sling whether it came that way or not).

 

[Sarge]

I believe the swivels are add-ons dgludwig, because of the leather ring spacer under the front swivel.

And no 'hijack' taken on the 77. I actually had one decades ago, the version with the magazine mounted in front of the trigger-guard. It jammed badly and didn't stay long. In all fairness, it was used when I got it and the magazine may have been damaged somewhere along the way.

 

[Sarge]

I have to add one thing to this thread. Winchester must have been really, really pissed off at the hobby gunsmith when they designed this rifle. Yes there a few youtube vids and a good tutorial or two online. My suggestion is to not remove the bolt or hammer mechanisms unless you have one or more available and an abundance of patience.

 

[TnTnTn]

My first personal rifle was/is a Winchester 290-it is the 'fancy' version with red paint fill in the Winchester logo on the rear sight. With that rifle and an old Weaver 4x skinny tube scope I learned how to shoot and hunt squirrels successfully. Pickup loads of squirrels fell to that rifle-as a kid I kept track of consecutive one shot kills and 12 was the most I ever did. It also accounted for many crows, rabbits, several foxes, and a wildcat. It would shoot shorts, longs, and long rifles interchangeably. I used quite a few shorts and they were good killers seeming to fling the squirrel out of the tree with an audible bullet strike. Routine takedown was no problem although I never disassembled the trigger group-just used a toothbrush and compressed air to get out the rimfire grit. The 290 isn't a classic high quality rifle by any stretch but mine was very accurate and awesome for a 16 yr old kid roaming the TN hills and hollers. Ahhh-memories from long ago....

 

[michaeldarnold]

I rebuilt one of the 190s that my father in law had hanging up in a closet. He had passed and my mother in law was going to pitch it. The thing wouldn't cycle the trigger group retention pin was missing and the whole thing just was a mess. Ended up needing to back the stock hold down bolt out of the receiver and properly thread it back in just to get the trigger group to seat correctly.

I also went through the thing and completely disassembled the trigger group assembly. It really wasn't that much of a pain to take apart and put back together actually. But then I also fly RC, work on cars and electronics so small parts, springamathings, and the like don't bother me. I did have the barrel replaced because the magazine retainer was broken on the original and the barrel so beat up from someone trying to remove and weld on the retainer that it look terrible.

It's a fun gun, needs a finish job on the metal and furniture, but it shoots fine now.

 

[Danwin22]

Winchester also made 32,000 Model 490 auto's in Canada.

 

[Guv]

Sarge,
I had one (a 190) long ago and it was a fine rifle. My wives wonderful late uncle had a 190 that rode in a pickup rifle rack all the time. He was a full time rancher and pretty hard on all his equipment! It had developed a very loose barrel so I took it home and completely went through it. The barrel attachment was a bit of a surprise, kinda like a nut on a Rochester Quadrajet fuel line. I took it apart and cleaned it up really well while putting a little Loctite on the retaining nut before tightening it back up. You would have thought I gave him back a Super Grade M70 he was so happy to get it back in full working order.

Danwin,
That is one sweet looking rifle there!

 

[dgludwig]

Hey, Danwin22. I've always liked the Model 490 (the perfect "understudy" for the Winchester Model 100 centerfire rifle) but you almost never see them around here. I didn't know they were made in Canada.

 

[Danwin22]

Yup, they made them in Oberg, Ontario from 1972-1974 and stopped production so they could set up for the 1776-1976 commemoratives.

The 490 stock matched the dimensions of the 70, 88 and 100.

The 490 has "Made in Canada" on the barrel.

 

[Sarge]

Way cool info and photo Danwin. Thanks for sharing that!

 

[Sarge]

Double Post... please delete.