Winchester Model 1890
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 610 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.72 kg
- Introduced
- 1890
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Winchester Model 1890 is a slide-action (pump-action) repeating rimfire rifle designed by John Browning and produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company from 1890 until 1932. The first pump-action rifle Browning designed for Winchester, it featured a takedown frame, a 24-inch octagonal barrel, an exposed hammer, and a tubular magazine under the barrel, and was chambered for various .22 rimfire cartridges including the .22 WRF cartridge introduced alongside it. Renowned for its smooth action and reliability, it became the most popular gallery and small-game rimfire rifle of its era, with roughly 850,000 produced.
The Model 1890 was John Browning's first pump-action rifle design for Winchester and became the quintessential 'gallery gun' of American shooting galleries and carnivals, where the .22 WRF cartridge it helped introduce offered more power than the standard .22 rimfires of the day.
Originally chambered for .22 Short, .22 Long, and .22 WRF; a .22 Long Rifle chambering was added in 1919. Produced in three distinct variations over its run. Succeeded by the simplified Model 1906 and later the Model 62/62A.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Winchester Repeating Arms Company
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1890 to 1932
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 610 mm
- Overall length
- 1016 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.72 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Pump action
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 12
- Magazine
- Tubular
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Walnut
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 442 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 285 J
- Effective range
- 100 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Takedown design
Octagonal barrel
Tubular magazine
Exposed hammer
Corncob forend
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,612 rifles | 2.72 kg | 3.50 kg | Lighter than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,557 rifles | 1016 mm | 1080 mm | Shorter than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,659 rifles | 610 mm | 584 mm | Longer than about 60% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,611 rifles | 12 | 5 | Holds more rounds than about 80% |
Answers
Questions about the Winchester Model 1890
How much does the Winchester Model 1890 weigh?
The Winchester Model 1890 weighs 2.72 kg (6.00 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Winchester Model 1890?
The Winchester Model 1890 is chambered in .22 WRF.
How many rounds does the Winchester Model 1890 hold?
The Winchester Model 1890 holds 12 rounds, fed from a tubular magazine.
How long is the Winchester Model 1890?
The Winchester Model 1890 is 1016 mm (40.0 in) long overall, with a 610 mm (24.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Winchester Model 1890?
The Winchester Model 1890 is made by Winchester Repeating Arms Company (United States). It was designed by John Browning.
When was the Winchester Model 1890 introduced?
The Winchester Model 1890 was introduced in 1890 and discontinued in 1932.
How does the Winchester Model 1890 operate?
The Winchester Model 1890 uses a pump action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Civilian sport and small-game shooters
- United States
- Shooting galleries
- United States
Provenance
Confidence in this record
82%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/winchester-1890' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "winchester-1890", "name": "Winchester Model 1890", "manufacturer": { "id": "winchester", "name": "Winchester Repeating Arms Company", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1866, "website": "https://www.winchesterguns.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:45", "version": "032f75658544de9d931ca09f772b9ab92b282bf53db67851bf4eb3f8c0612520" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1890, "barrel_length_mm": 610, "weight_empty_g": 2722, "action_type": "pump_action"}