Thread: Anyone farmiliar with the winchester 190? Wanting to rebuild this.

Ive been given a very rough example of a winchester 190 .22 semi-auto long rifle.
Looks a nice gun and needs some TLC, am yet to test it out, but its been stored on a coastal area and the salt air has not helped with rust.
I want to strip it down and polish the barrel and re-blue it along with the mag tube and clean everything up.
The stock also has a bit of wood chipped off it which will need some attention, but it is US made.
I believe these were made from the late 60's through to 1980 am yet to check the date from the serial number.
is it easy to remove the barrel, or will i need it to be taken to a gunsmith for removal?
As far as bluing goes, I know there is a cold bluing you can apply but I dont believe it is as good quality as hot bluing.
Has anyone blued their own barrels? I believe you use a bath of hydrochloric acid and potassium nitrate of the right proportions and temperature.
Need to look for a guide on this, but I dont believe its overly difficult.
Anyway, I guess I just need to check the rifles accuracy and grouping before I waste my time on it.

When it comes to bluing, Alan Carr is your man. Pissing round with nasty chemicals when you're learning isn't the best.

Ive worked with hydrochloric acid in the past, yes its nasty stuff, but its completely safe if you take precautions, its not that a high concentration required when bluing steel anyway.
Edit. I just remembered its sodium hydroxide thats used, but still essentially the same safety precautions as acid.
Still will need to strip this down regardless anyway, so if anyone has experience with one of these, that would be great.

You are probably better to polish and blue the barrel in place using a good cold blue (I find G96 to work well) and then black paint the receiver with a rattle can. Remember that acids and alkalais just love aluminum! If you must remove the barrel read the following; strip the gun to the bare barreled action, the front magazine band remains permanently attached to the barrel and the outer mag tube is removed after drifting out the small pin in the band (note that it is direction specific), drift the rear sight out of the dovetail and the metal cover will come off, hold the body in padded vise jaws and unscrew the slotted barrel nut (with a punch or a proper key is better), holding the barrel firmly in padded vise jaws the receiver can be tapped off the barrel shank with a piece of wood and a hammer (do not use a hammer directly on the aluminium receiver). Assemble in the reverse manner, taking care to ensure the barrel is correctly aligned with the existing grooves, and the barrel nut is on the barrel first.

Originally Posted by muzza

The rifle is part of a series of low-budget rifles Winchester made in the 1960s after the accountants killed the good models - hence the pre-'64 Model 70 rifles being much sought after today.

The receivers are made of alloy , anodised and easy to scratch. The barrel is likely the best part because it is actual steel. The stocks are plain but not walnut. If you bought a Model 290 you got checkering at the wrist and forearm.

These rifles are not great shooters, the internals wear due to the alloy componants , and unless it has some sentimental attachment , or you like projects that will test you its not going to give you a family heirloom at the end of it .

The action is held together by two through-pins , the barrel is mounted by a threaded collar that needs a special spanner to remove. The collar doesnt come off the barrel unless you remove the sights first.

I have a Model 290 which I purchased in Western Australia in the 1970s and have used a lot in the ensuing years. It isnt my favourite semi auto .22 by any stretch of the imagination.

Have fun.

OK, thats good to know, I thought these rifles were supposed to be rather good quality, but it appears anything post 1960 dropped in quality.
Interestingly the anodizing has held up rather well on this rifle.
Most semi auto .22 rifles ive seen appear to have an aluminum receiver, im assuming this was a common thing with rifles from this period onwards? Even Ruger has replaced alloy in its 10/22 trigger mechanism, the whole body of it is now polymer!

I might just leave the barrel intact and remove the wood and cold blue the thing i guess?

Originally Posted by gundoc

You are probably better to polish and blue the barrel in place using a good cold blue (I find G96 to work well) and then black paint the receiver with a rattle can. Remember that acids and alkalais just love aluminum! If you must remove the barrel read the following; strip the gun to the bare barreled action, the front magazine band remains permanently attached to the barrel and the outer mag tube is removed after drifting out the small pin in the band (note that it is direction specific), drift the rear sight out of the dovetail and the metal cover will come off, hold the body in padded vise jaws and unscrew the slotted barrel nut (with a punch or a proper key is better), holding the barrel firmly in padded vise jaws the receiver can be tapped off the barrel shank with a piece of wood and a hammer (do not use a hammer directly on the aluminium receiver). Assemble in the reverse manner, taking care to ensure the barrel is correctly aligned with the existing grooves, and the barrel nut is on the barrel first.

I think its probably best as you say to cold blue looking at it. I thought this rifle may have been more valuable than it appears.
I will see how this thing shoots first anyway and go from there.

Be worth a quick check to see if its been pinned too..... they were an 18 shot magazine from memory? I had one as my first powder burning rifle.

Muzza's advice is spot on. If this Winchester 190 is a family legacy piece, by all means do it up. But if not I wouldn't spend too much time on it. They are not a well regarded 22LR - not the 190/290 or the 150/250 series etc. The earlier Winny pumps in good condition may be worth something, as are the later 94/22 levers. The contemporary Remington 22LRs are much more worth while eg the model 552 Speedmaster and the 572 Speedmaster.

Gundoc's advice also on the button for me. I have used cold blueing on dozens of rifles and had very good effect - do them carefully and the blueing does not wear off by next Tuesday. And spraying the 190's receiver probably the easiest way to make it presentable.

Originally Posted by mudgripz

Muzza's advice is spot on. If this Winchester 190 is a family legacy piece, by all means do it up. But if not I wouldn't spend too much time on it. They are not a well regarded 22LR - not the 190/290 or the 150/250 series etc. The earlier Winny pumps in good condition may be worth something, as are the later 94/22 levers. The contemporary Remington 22LRs are much more worth while eg the model 552 Speedmaster and the 572 Speedmaster.

Gundoc's advice also on the button for me. I have used cold blueing on dozens of rifles and had very good effect - do them carefully and the blueing does not wear off by next Tuesday. And spraying the 190's receiver probably the easiest way to make it presentable.

Funny how many say they are not a well regarded firearm.
They seem popular in the US, although I get that winchesters quality dropped off around that time.

Anyway I tried it out last night and despite the neglect this thing has had and the fact that it is in need of a clean, the thing is cycling perfectly even with the crummy old subsonic ammo I tested it with.

Grouping looked good too, so the barrel must be ok.
I think its worth tidying it up. The most work is going to be in cleaning up the barrel and polishing out the pitting from the rust.
I have some Birchwood Casey bluing on hand, I believe this is one of the better brands of the stuff.
Kinda ironic it's more reliable than my german made rifle of similar age, which was also a far more expensive gun, but often has poor primer strike.

i know its a few months down the track, if your looking for parts i have a 290 model stripped and selling items. the 290 is what the 190 is based on, just the 190 had very std stock etc while 290 have monte carlo. if you want to jazz yrs up can sell a really nice matching stock butt and forestock if interested.
my rifle was missing the rod and instead of looking for one stripped and selling for parts...

Originally Posted by waimanu

i know its a few months down the track, if your looking for parts i have a 290 model stripped and selling items. the 290 is what the 190 is based on, just the 190 had very std stock etc while 290 have monte carlo. if you want to jazz yrs up can sell a really nice matching stock butt and forestock if interested.
my rifle was missing the rod and instead of looking for one stripped and selling for parts...

I have a 290 I'm doing up, we should chat

The only time i would use or recommend cold "blue" is never.

You do not need to hot/caustic blue it either. If you have the time a "slow rust" or "accelerated rust" bluing process will turn up the best result IMO.

I have a digital copy of Angier's "firearm bluing and browning" somewhere on PC, I'll try and upload it later, it has all the caustic recipes. But as I say I think a rust blue will do a smart job. I would also suggest if you're playing with caustic that you try first on a few different metal scraps or offcuts or go and fetch some second hand tools to try first.