Howdy
Gotta tell ya, that is one of the ugliest rifles I have ever seen. The trigger guard is just ugly.
Clearly a knock off of the old Rossi Model 62, which itself was a knock off of the Winchester Model 62. The Winchester Model 62 was the new name given to the old Model '06, which was itself a derivation of the old Winchester Model 1890.
Pictured below, a Winchester Model 1890 chambered for 22 Long Rifle, and below that my Dad's old Winchester Model '06, that his Dad bought him around 1931 or so. The old Model 1890s were not capable of shooting 22 Short, Long, Long Rifle, and 22 Winchester RImfire interchangeably. They could only feed one specific version of 22 Rimfire ammunition. The Model '06 was a slightly less expensive rifle than the Model 1890, the stock was made of a wood other than walnut, but they could feed 22 Short, Long, or Long Rifle interchangeably. My Dad's old Model '06 was certainly not plagued with operational issues, it shoots everything I can feed it without any hiccups.
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They were called Gallery Rifles because they were very popular in shooting galleries at carnivals. I can remember going to a carnival once with my family when I was a kid, and shooting what was probably a Model 1890. It was a really, really long time ago, so I don't remember specifically if it was a model 1890 or a Model '06. I do remember it was loaded with 22 Shorts. The guy working the gallery did not have to bother loading rounds one at a time into the slot under the magazine. He had tubes of ammo pre-loaded with ten rounds each. He would pull the inner tube out of the magazine and dump all ten rounds down the magazine, then replace the inner tube.
I have three Model 1890s, one each chambered for 22 Short, 22 Long, and 22 Long Rifle. These rifles shot many thousands of rounds over their lifetimes, so it is difficult finding one that still has a pristine bore. Dad's Model '06 still has a pristine bore, and it is still a tack driver.
I do wish people on this site would stop torturing me with that photo of a aborted mutation of that Mossberg tactikool Winchesterwannabe 1894 .30/30 horror. Blechhh.
