Thoughts on the Winchester Model 190

[Saint]

My father bought this Model 190 back in the late 60's early 70's and I am really looking for any information on it. This one is a great shooter. When I got it I couldn't get it to feed reliably and I found out it was due to the loading ramp spring. I stretched the spring out a little and since then it probably has 2 or 3 thousand rounds through it without a single failure aside from a few cartridges that failed to fire even with a hefty primer dent. I am thinking of getting a different .22 but I can't seem to justify it since its such a great shooter. Was looking for anything at all about this rifle be it history, stories, things to watch out for, helpful tips, reasons to get a new rifle, or just likes and dislikes. I understand that it was also sold as the Sears Ted Williams model 3T so some may know it by that name only. Thanks for any info.

[Mk42gunner]

My Dad had one. Even though it was marked .22 L or LR only, it would cycle with shorts if it was kept clean.

While it wasn't quite as accurate as my current Marlin Model 60, I still got a lot of rabbits with it when I was a kid. I'd kind of like to get another one, just for old times sake.

Robert

[Ragnarok]

One of my coworkers had a Winchester 190...he had owned it since he was a kid..Christmas or birthday present.

He and his wife started having 'problems'...and he removed all the guns from his house to his parents house..except the poor Winchester .22 rifle..wife went 'haywire' on him one night and took his Winchester outside and smashed it against a tree..in fact broke or defaced anything in the hose that was 'his'!!!

Didn't quite bust the buttstock off it..thanks to the stockbolt...but really screwed it up..broken stock..bent stockbolt..some sort of detent spring lost..

He gathered the pieces..and brought it to me...he had every piece of the stock..so I glued it all back with Acra-glas and restained it..beat the stockbolt back straight..ordered the missing spring..and reassembled the Winchester 190....worked perfect..good as ever...

They must be pretty good guns.

[Bret4207]

We sold several of them. Never heard anything really good or bad about them either way. I thought they handled pretty good. IIRC they were always more expensive than the Marlins.

[Saint]

Yeah, the old man has a Winchester fetish. Won't even touch another brand.

[jlchucker]

I had a 290 once. That was basically the same gun with fancier wood and slightly different sights. I never had any problems with it, but ended up trading it away. Had I known then what I know now I'd have probably kept it. Winchesters of that era are known for some marketing-driven oddities. My particular 22 had reverse-impressed "checkering" and a reddish stain to what was otherwise not a bad stock.

[XWrench3]

i used to have one. it was difficult to clean, and was very fussy about ammo it ate without indigestion troubles. if i kept it very clean, and fed it the only one ammo i found that it would eat, i could run about 200 rounds through it before it would act up again. they are nice looking guns, but the one i had was not very good for a plinking tool.

[TNsailorman]

I bought one somewhere around 1964-65 and I still have it. I haven't shot it very much and it still is in excellent shape and still shoots very well. I never had any issues with it about feeding but I do keep my rifle clean, even the little .22's. The only thing I didn't like about the 190's was the stock. Stocks were about as dull as it gets, with very plain wood and no checkering. They were made to be an "economical" rifle and that is what they were. Mine has always been accurate enough to table squirrels and such, so it did its job well, no complaints or jamming. It does favor standard velocity ammo but not by much. The favorite load seems to be a Federal 710 solid point in LR. My experience anyway, James

[wv109323]

They were pretty much a rifle meant for the masses. They were targeted to be sold by department stores. Many of the parts were stamped and were sold at prices that would put them in the "economy" class. Taken care of they were good performers and had reasonable accuracy. I don't think they will ever be remembered as a high quality rifle but more of a gun to throw in the truck.
If I remember correctly the 190 sold for less than the single shot 310 of the same era.

[Mk42gunner]

IIRC, Dad paid $49.00 for his in about 1972. I was about eight when he got it, He always said his Model 67A shot ten times better than it. Of course he had the single shot since he was ten years old.

The stock on it was a greyish color I think, definitely not the redish brown walnut that Winchester was known for.

Robert

[9.3X62AL]

Another Win 290 owner here. Dad bought it in 1967 or 68, and on shooting trips I don't recall any ammo-related issues back then or into the 1980s. It likely has 5K rounds through it now.

It sat for many years, roughly 1985 to 2003. I got it from Mom at that time, and soon learned that 21st Century 22 LR ammo quality was NOT up to 20th Century standards. The ONLY ammo the 290 will feed reliably is CCI Mini-Mag. All the cleaning and lubrication on earth wouldn't make a bit of difference. Once I figured that out, it runs well and shoots minute-of-rat to 75 yards. The iron sight profile is VERY useable, blocky and square like an adjustable S&W revolver setup.

Field-stripping is a minor PITA, especially getting the bolt's recoil spring and guide to go where it needs to for re-assembly. I found a small plastic I-beam used for construction site duplication on HO and N-gauge railroad layouts at a hobby shop, and the I-beam's channel does a fine job of sliding the spring and guide into position.

[zomby woof]

My first rifle. I still have it.

[rudyc]

I had a 290 back in the 60's.
My pal had a Ruger 10-22.
He spent all day shooting,
I spent most of the day clearing jams.
My rifle looked better though.

rudyc

[snglstack]

My first rifle, too. The ground squirrel population thinned considerably in the '60's in my area. Hitchhiked to Denver from CA with it sticking out of my pack, the idea being to live off the land, you see. Try that today. Hehehehe...great little gun. Fired anything I put in it but liked the green box Remingtons best, if I recallUnfortunately it was stolen late in 1968. I saw one at a shop in Boulder the other day for about 250. I think my dad paid $39 for it at the hardware store.

[M1A4ME]

My dad bought my mom a 290 and they liked it pretty well. He bought three 190's (one for each of us - me and my brothers). My brother's seemed satisfied with theirs but mine had issues. Load it up and that first round would not hit with the rest. If there was 12 rounds in the tube 11 of them would make a nickel sized group at 25 yards. That first shot might be as much as an inch away from the group and anywhere around it. Since it was a hunting gun that just wouldn't work. We had no idea why it was doing that and I eventually traded it off on a nice Bear Kodiak Magnum compound bow.

I guess one bad one out of four isn't that bad. These days, when I see them at gunshows, I can't believe how much they sell for.

[Philngruvy]

My first gun was a 290 also. I paid $50 back in 1972. It is a sweet shooter that has never given me any problems. I will probably pass it down to my grandson when he is old enough.

[canyon-ghost]

http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx228/3rdshooter/contenders/winchester.jpg

Winchester Wildcat, imported from Russia. Two 10 round magazines and a 5 round match magazine. Around $210, it's set up like a kid's rifle but, the open sights are extremely accurate. Once I got all the cosmoline off and the feed ramp polished a little, it did great. I'd say that's it's grandson there.