Winchester 490 Discussion Page. 

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Winchester 490 Recall

"rediscovered shooting treasure"‏
From: Paul Phillips 
Sent: Sat 7/26/08 11:13 AM

Original Email:

to: a couple of guys I go to church with, one of whom is the pastor, and a wider email readership

I found this rifle 'by chance' and had never heard of it. Sending in out to alert readers who may come up on one.

Winchester 490- attached picture

found what I consider a good survival rifle, yesterday. Was sending a picture to a couple of friends, and decided to mail this out to a broader audience.

First sold 1975. discontinued @ 1977. @ 33K were made. Made at Winchester's plant in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada.

MODEL 490
Produced from 1974 to 1977

Rifle mentioned can still be found. Advantage to such an old rifle is that it is well made, and 'has a lot of metal in it.' Listing below for where you can it, the manual reprint, and clips.

Point is that this practice rifle, for which you can readily buy clips:

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http://www.gunpartscorp.com/

Gun Parts Corporation
The World's LARGEST Supplier of Firearm Parts & Accessories
226 Williams Lane, West Hurley, NY 12491
Orders: (845)679-2417 · Customer Service: (845)679-4867
TOLL-FREE ORDER LINE: 866-NUMRICH (866-686-7424)

Clips five or ten rounds about twenty dollars.

http://www.e-gunparts.com/DisplayAd.asp?chrProductSKU=251030&chrSuperSKU=&MC=

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Background

Winchester 490- First sold 1975. discontinued @ 1977. @ 33K were made. Made at Winchester's plant in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada.

MODEL 490
Produced from 1974 to 1977.

Price Ranges- from the web

1) I have seen listing for new in the box around 800 dollars.

2) Cabellas has them for $490

3) one list: Winchester 490 .22 LR caliber rifle. Canadian made deluxe sporter with checkered walnut stock. Very good condition with only a minor area of small spots on top rear of receiver. Very nice 22 auto in fine shape! $429.50

4) one list: 7786 Winchester M. 490 Clip Fed .22 Semi-Auto $325.00

5) Mine is the deluxe Sporter. Good shape, bargain at $195- from a local gun shop ( condition probably between the two prices , above) some minor rust problems on rear of receiver, and barrel. Mine appears to be mechanically perfect. Apparently just propped in the closet, for years. ( as former owner's wife stated) What a blessing.


good report from web
The M-490 is a different animal. ...it's indeed pretty, but wait till you shoot it!!!! This thing is SWEET!!! No problems whatsoever with feeding/ jamming, etc. It's a wonderful rifle with a lot of weight. weiieght. It has the same iron sights on it as does my Winchester M-88 in .308. It holds a very tight group at 50yds, and this is no doubt my favorite rifle

I always keep my auto-loaders squeaky clean and use a very light oil, them mostly wipe it off. .22 ammo is dirty, and you'll see a fast build-up with an oily gun. Try and get an owners manual, repo if possible. It's a must have in order to break it down correctly and clean it. When I received my 490, it had a clean barrel but that was it. I followed the owners manual but still couldn't get the bolt out because of crud. After soaking it for 24hrs, and a little persuasion, it did come out and the inner guts behind and around the bolt were filthy!! I got it clean and used 2000 grit wet/dry paper and polished all the working surfaces on the bolt. ... I emptied the clip into a dime-sized group at 50yds, as fast as accurately as possible. LOVE taht 490!!!w

another from the net ' This is my Winchester 490. From what I can find out it was manufactured by Winchester in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada. To my knowledge this is the only Winchester .22 not made in America. Production started in 1974, they made 32,000 before closing down the line in order to start making centennial guns for 1976.

It's all steel and the stock dimensions match up with the model-88 carbine and the model-70 to provide an inexpensive to shoot .22 as a practice weapon for the larger caliber rifles.'
 

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Source for Manual

http://rediscovered-shooting-treasures.com

Rediscovered Shooting Treasures
6116 E. Harrys Rd.
Traverse City, MI 49684

Winchester Model 490 Manual Repro
Total:$7.75
Shipping and handling to 27055 (change): $1.25

Total with Shipping: $9.00 USD - (to my zip code)

sales@rediscovered-shooting-treasures.com

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Paul.
website
http://www.survivalprimer.com

Winchester 490 Recall

 below a picture of the Winchester 490 I bought.  Found seemingly in unused, or very little used.   I would guess there were under a dozen rounds ever fired through it.   Facts come from verbal history, that first owner just put it in the closet, and never fired it, as well as internal examination.  Almost no residue inside of rifle.  Parts appear to be in pristine condition.  Rifle found internally clean and in brand new condition, inside. There were some leopard-spot rust marks on receiver.   Slight, only slight blemishes on stock.  At worst, superficial problems. What a find.