Winchester 1890 conversion????

Question

I have a 1890 winchester pump 22 short, not in great shape. How hard would it be for a gunsmith to fit it in 22 lr??

Answer 1

Just stick with the .22 Shorts, or sell it and purchase a rifle chambered for .22 LR.  Even in less than perfect condition, converting it to .22 LR, which will be rather expensive, will ruin any collector value.

Even in less than great condition, those old M-1890's can bring over a grand (depending on specific features, grade, and condition).  If you convert it to .22 LR, you can watch the value drop through the floor at the same time the contents of your wallet shrink from paying the gunsmith.

Doc

Answer 2

very hard, dude. but that sure is cool!

Answer 3

You want to convert a 1890 .22 Short pump to .22 LR...

Dude, that's like dropping a 3.5 L engine with a front-wheel drive transmission into a 1927 Model T -- it just don't make any sense! Sure, it can be done,  but it makes the danged thing worth practically nothing......

You best listen to Doc.

Answer 4

You're better off buying a modern .22 and keeping that old one as an antique.

H

Answer 5

Probably would just involve rebarreling the rifle to s,l,lr barrel

Which you should be able to do yourself with a $77 barrel from Numrich

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The complete carrier would cost you $47

The guns are easily convertible, there are a few floating around many were done at the factory

The parts are interchangeable with the 62a and probably Rossi 62s

The 1890 also originally also came in 22s, l, lr configuration. I doubt these was a whole lot of different specs for the differences in a mass produced 22 rifle

Do it yourself store the original parts in a safe place and switch back when you want to sell the rifle

But you could probably get an old Rossi for a little more than the conversion would cost, less than the cost of having a gunsmith do it