I have a Winchester 1890 .22 with the special order nickel plated receiver and crescent butt plate. I'm not an expert on this very popular .22 and someone told me it was only available in only .22 short. Mine is .22 LR, could it have been factory made that way? It is not a a high grade gun, but in very decent shape.

They were made in 22 LR and 22 WRF also.

The majority of guns were .22 short then .22 Winchester Rim Fire and the fewest in .22 LR. Because the cartridge carrier was only set up for 1 cartridge they are not interchangeable. The later designs included a stop on the end of the carrier allowing the use of S-L-LR . The WRF is similar in size to the .22 Magnum Rim Fire but not interchangeable and quite a bit les powerful. They made take downs and solid frames. My gun was my Grandfather's. He died in the flu epidemic of 1918. Mine was re-barreled to LR. As for original finishes I'm really not sure. They were used a lot in shooting galleries.

A nickel receiver deserves a Cody letter.

To get the Cody letter you write to the museum in Cody Wyoming?

Carl,
Yes, The Cody Museum.

There are lots of the shorts, I think, in part, because they were often used as gallery guns.

I have one as well. Mine used to be shorts only, but it was converted to LR. Many a mile and many smile from that gun. It was passed down to me when I was very young. I used it well, and still do.

Thank you all.

I see no one has mentioned the .22L, I have one from 1904 marked 22L, octagon barrel. Maddis states more 22L's than .22LR's but less than .22S and .22WRF.

I have one in 22 Long, dates to 1928, was Grandpa's gun.

I see CCC and Winchester still make .22 Long, have you shot either?

I've used both, they shoot pretty well. LRs chamber and fire also.

Craig, can you measure the twist on your .22 Long barrel? Curious, as to results with HV .22 LR in a 20" twist barrel.

Memory says the difference between 22l and 22lr is the bullet weight and velocity the cartridge case is the same.

I will do that. I'm going to the club tomorrow and will put some rounds thru it. Can't really remember, but as I recall it shot pretty well with the LRs.

Correct. Longs use 29 gr, LR 40 gr.

The question being what rate of twist did Winchester use for the 1890s in .22 Long as opposed to those in .22 Short. If anyone has an 1890 in .22 Short, please measure and report on the twist.

I have one chambered in .22 WRF. It has a 15.5" barrel and a 12 3/4" LOP. It must have been specially ordered for a youth.

Shorts and Longs were 1:20, Long Rifle: 1:16. My rifle is chambered in Long and has a 1:20 twist. I shot it this AM with shorts, longs, and long rifles. The rifle shoots OK, but is by no means a tack driver. But, at 50yds off the bench, the LR groups were half the size of both the Longs and the Shorts.

Go figure.

https://winchestercollector.org/forum/winchester-shooting-and-hunting/22lr-in-22-long-firearm/

Does someone know roughly the total number of 1890's made with the nickel finish and how many were LR?

I seriously doubt Winchester kept records of nickel finishes. Chambering ? Maybe.

A letter is on it's way but all I will discover is the date it was made and a general description, and if it was sent in for repair. It will not detail the finish and the lady at Cody said no info is available on Nickel finishes.