I recently purchased this Winchester 62 at a local gun show. This little old man walked in with a pistol in one hand and the Winchester wrapped up in an old fabric gun sleeve. Everyone was asking him about the pistol (I don't even remember what it was other than overpriced) and as he was walking away I asked him what he had in the case. He replied "It's an old .22 rifle." As he pulled it out I gritted my teeth to keep my jaw from hitting the floor. It was beautiful. My first thought was that it had just been refinished, and I started pouring over it looking at every detail. The more I looked the more I began to realize that this was all original. And in 99% condition. The only flaw in the bluing was where the pump rode on the mag tube, and they couldn't have put more than 2 boxes of ammo through it. There is no blurring on the receiver flats to indicate any polishing and all lettering is clean and crisp, including the fine print on the right side of the barrel. The wood is almost perfect with just a slight dent on one side of the stock that didn't penetrate the finish. Bore looks factory new. The only places I can find fault is that the stock does not fit the receiver perfectly, but I believe that this is about the time that Winchester was tooling up for war time production so a little slopiness in fit could be expexted I guess. The other is the buttplate, it has wear on the high spots like it had been stored standing up all of it's life.
I paid the man his asking price of $600 and watched as word got out about it at the show. Several people looked at it as I did and were all in agreement that it looked too good to have been refinished. My hope here is that someone who knows more about these than I do (proverbial thimble) can give me some sort of educated guess as to it's actual value. I'm sure that what I paid was a bargain, so I want to get some idea before I shoot it. And man do I want to shoot it!

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Congratulations on the new addition to the Family

I Love the old pump 22s, actually I Love most pump rifles. I have a few of them in 22, though not in that good of condition. I also have two in 45LC. I want one in 357 Magnum to go with the rest.

Pump rifles work so good from the prone position

Then if you are using ammunition like the Super Colibri from Aguilla or CCI's new Quiet you can pretty much bag small critters right in your back yard and no one hears a thing louder than a cap gun

Awesome find indeed. I love those old pump models from many years back. Talk about a solid build that will last through years of shooting pleasure. let us know how she shoots if possible. Can't beat the old milled parts guns.

Excellent find!!!! And a beauty too. That is my father’s favorite squirrel gun, he still uses it too. Yours looks to be in excellent shape, better then any that I have seen come up for sale for a long time. Congrats on an great find. It does kinda look like it stepped out of a time machine. Either way I think you did great. Thanks for bringing back some old memories too.

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Hillbilly with a gun

Nice one!,,and a true Model 62,,,not a 62A.

The Model 62 should hold a value a bit above the later Model 62A.

The 62A was a modification to use a coil mainspring set up in place of the Model62 flat mainspring which was a hold over from the Model 1890.
The forend was lengthened also from just under 6" to about 8" on the 62A.

The change over to the 62A was made in mid 1940. I don't recall the ser# of the change over off hand but it's pretty well known in collectors circles and publishings.
Win used up some of older M62 marked bbls on early 62A production but the lack of the flat mainspring attachment screws on the lower tang tell you the rifle is a 62A.

If you can find a copy of Ned Schwing's book "Winchester Slide Action Rifles" you will learn more details about it than you ever thought possible. Only problem is that the book is out of print and is very expensive if you can find one. If you have specific questions about it PM me and I will look up answers for you (if they are in the book).

I have my Dad's Model 62 given to him by my Mom on his birthday in 1939. That date also happens to be their wedding day. I spent my growing years on the farm with that rifle eliminating pigeons. I had them cleaned out but as soon as I left home they came back. Dad was using the rifle with bird shot to get squirrels out of his bird feeder. He gave the rifle to me before he passed. It's in very sad condition because of bad storage. The rifle had a bird shot case stuck in the chamber when I got it.

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

I'd say you got a good deal. I have a 62a, not nearly as nice as yours. It shoots great! They are not rare, but well made rifles nonetheless. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot it. You'll love it!

Here's an article I did on the Winchester Model 62 some time ago. You might find it of interest.

John



The Winchester Model 62 .22 slide-action repeating rifle, another in the long list of John Browning’s designs, had its ancestral start way back in 1890. Those early guns and the final model had a combined production span of 69 years. That was a real tribute to John Browning’s genius and the manufacturing skills of the Winchester Repeating Firearms Company. This handy gun was many a youngster’s dream rifle, proving to be affordable, accurate, a lightning-fast repeater, and reliable. I remember using Model 62s in shooting galleries during the 1950s. Gallery guns had to be durable and relatively maintenance-free, so their use in such venues spoke well for them. Good specimens continue to be in demand today as both working guns and prized collector items. They don’t last long when offered up on gun show tables, estate sales, or gun stores.

To begin at the beginning, on June 26, 1888, John M. and Matthew S. Browning of Ogden, Utah Territory successfully secured a patent for a slide-action magazine rifle. Recognizing the potential in this design, the patent was quickly purchased by Winchester in the same year. It was not the first Browning patent utilized by Winchester. The company had enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with John and Matthew since 1883 when they acquired the rights to what became the Winchester Model 1885 single shot rifle.

The invention utilized a sliding forearm, that through an attached rod, first lifted the breechbolt from its locking surfaces in the frame, and then retracted it to the rear, cocking the hammer with the same motion. The forward movement of the forearm brought the bolt back into battery, in the process picking up a round from the tubular magazine and inserting it into the chamber. When the process was repeated, the expended shell was extracted and ejected upward, clearing the chamber for another loading. Movement of the action was easy and could be incredibly fast, surpassed only by semiautomatic designs.

Winchester engineers, on viewing the patent drawings, expressed skepticism that the gun would actually work as billed. Normally, Browning would also send a working model, but because he was busy and in the interest of time, John sent only detailed drawings. The staff at Winchester wrote to him, indicating they thought he should cease work on this gun, because their engineers were convinced that it wouldn’t work. John’s response was to make a working model and send it back to Winchester with a note: “You said it wouldn’t work, but it seems to shoot pretty fair to me.” It certainly did work, and became the Winchester Model 1890. It was one of Winchester’s best-selling products for years.

The Model 1890 was initially offered only in calibers .22 Short, .22 Long, and .22 WRF. While the .22 Long Rifle cartridge existed then and was considered a great target round, it had no place in a magazine rifle. As originally designed, the LR round had no crimp in deference to gaining maximum accuracy in the single shot target arms of the day. This allowed the bullet to be pulled from the case easily. With the quick and positive chamber insertion by a magazine-fed rifle, this sometimes left the bullet in the chamber when a loaded round was extracted. It was not until 1919, long beyond when most LR cartridges were commonly crimped, that the Model 1890 was finally chambered for this very popular cartridge.

In September of 1892, the rifle began to be made as a takedown type, permitting the gun to be easily separated into two major assemblies. The changeover was fully completed in January 1893. This improvement was conceived by Winchester’s talented master mechanic William Mason. It allowed easier cleaning, storage and transportation. The takedown procedure was initiated by loosening a thumb-wheeled and grooved screw located at the left rear of the frame.

In 1906, the locking “ears” of the breechbolt were extended to the sides so they became visible. This modification by Winchester designer Thomas C. Johnson provided more locking surface and simplified manufacture. A good number of Model 1890s were built with colorful case-hardened receivers and trigger guards. These have become highly valued on the collector market today. It was Winchester’s practice to offer special variations on request, so the Model 1890 will be encountered in many different configurations. Special sights, barrels, and stocks could be ordered.

The Winchester Model 1906 was offered as a less expensive version of the gun that would compete with the Stevens Arms Company’s more economical “visible loader” slide action .22 rifles. The new Model 1906 would be priced at $10.50 compared to $16.00 for the renamed Model 90, which remained in production. This lighter-weight gun would be standard with a 20-inch barrel, a gum-wood stock, and a composition buttplate. The newer gun proved to be very popular on the market. It was first chambered only for the .22 Short, but in 1908 it was configured to handle the Short, Long and Long Rifle cartridges interchangeably. This change occurred in the serial number 110,000 range. Early Models 1906 utilized the second variation Model 1890 receivers in which the locking ears of the breechbolt could not be seen from the sides. The receivers and guards were all blued, as the case-hardened option was discontinued.

The Model 62, itself an improved version of the Models 90 and 06, was first offered in 1932, strangely enough when both the Models 90 and 06 were still being sold, and the hammerless Model 61 had came on stream. The Model 90 was discontinued in 1935, and the Model 06 in 1934. The new Model 62 used the Model 90 receiver, the Model 06 carrier assembly, a 23-inch round barrel, and a new buttstock and forearm. The magazine would hold 14 Long Rifle, 16 Long, or 20 Short cartridges. Some early guns were chambered for the .22 Short only. Winchester advertising touted the proven mechanism of the new gun as being already used by 1,500,000 owners. Some minor improvements to the locking system were implemented in 1938. A few serial numbers were suffixed with an “X” to correct inadvertent duplicate numbers.

From late 1938 and through 1939, the change from the Model 62 to the Model 62A took place. The major difference was that the hammer spring was of the coiled type instead of flat as before. Some related minor parts were also modified to accommodate the new spring system. These changes took time, and both Model 62s and Model 62As were made until about early 1940, when the older parts were finally used up. The Model 62A became standard around serial number 120,000. The hammer thumbpiece was changed from checkered to grooved in late 1945. There were some made in .22 Short-only configuration, most of them for gallery use. It’s important to know that the action cannot be opened until the hammer is fully forward, pressing against the firing pin, such as after a round is fired. If an unfired cartridge is still in the chamber with the hammer back, the head of the firing pin can be carefully pressed forward against moderate spring pressure to allow the action to open.

The rifle illustrated is a Model 62A. It left the factory in March of 1946. Interestingly, it has a grooved steel buttplate borrowed from the then-discontinued Model 55 lever-action rifle. It was Winchester’s immediate post-war practice to use up such left-over parts when practical. Over the years, externally-hammered slide-action rifles became less popular, and the internally-hammered Model 61 slide-action rifle became predominant in sales over the Model 62A. As a consequence, the Model 62A was discontinued in 1959. The Model 61 itself survived only a few years more (1963), when manufacturing costs made further production impractical.

From 1890 to 1959, the family of slide actions that culminated in the Model 62A became staples and popular money-makers for Winchester. All can sometimes be found on the used gun market today. The final Model 62As made in the middle of the 20th Century were considered the best of the lot. Those in very good or better condition command ever-upward-spiraling prices. The old-time quality of these carefully-fitted Winchester .22s is in high demand today, and present-day owners treasure them. They will bring a twinge of nostalgia to many old-timers, and the younger set is only now discovering these quality firearms that have become genuine classics.

(c) JLM

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

Truly stunning 62 OP- I love hearing stories like that. Those old Winchester 22s are as American as apple pie- timeless guns that sadly many new shooters don’t see the appeal of. I have a 22 Short 62A that is a favorite.

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Some Might Say.

I too have one. It was purchased by my mother, for my father at the Sears store which was located at 63 rd and Market Street, which is right outside of Philadelphia, Pa. She paid $25.00 for it at the time. Every summer my parents would drive to visit my Grand parents in the coal region of Pa. We would spend 2 weeks at their house. Every day my father took me shooting for an hour or so in the afternoon. A great gun and it must have 15,000 round thru it and it still looks like new. As I got older my parents bought be a model 75 target model, for my 12 th birthday. I still have that one too. I love 22 rifles especially Winchesters. I also have a model 63 that was unfired when I bought it, but I changed that. Still only has a few hundred rounds thru it. That one has become a safe queen.

Beautiful rifle. The Winchester slide action .22s are some of my favorite
rifles. I have three 62As, one in Short only and two in S,L & LR. I also
have two mod 90s, one in Short and one in WRF and last but not least
a really nice mod 61. Old school all machined steel classics that are
unlikely to ever be made again.

Here in Texas we would say you got a very good deal.....I have been looking for one and the beaters are going for $400-$600 while the really nice ones are easily in the $900-$1000. If yours is as nice as you describe I think you could get north of $1000 to the right person......just my $.02. If it were me, I would try to sell it for double what I paid and buy myself a shooter grade one or put this one up for passing on to the grandson. Like someone mentioned, this is a 62 not even the 62a shooting gallery gun we all shot as kids.

I have a very early (1940) Model 62A, also in excellent original condition. Absolutely my favorite .22 rifle! Mine still sees some use for small game seasons. Perfectly balanced, very lightweight, and easily capable of shooting clover leafs at 50 yards.

The OP's Model 62 is a true gem, and the seller's asking price was probably 1/3 of what that rifle would bring from knowledgeable collectors.

Great find!

Thanks, John (paladin) for the great article you penned. I have a wonderful '90 that, sadly, was refinished before my father-in-law passed it on to me. Beautiful work, but the originality has been lost forever. When a member with your wealth of knowledge is willing to share it makes our experiences richer. Thank you, Jim

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ol' country Jim

Originality really only matters if you're a collector, or care more about money than having fun.

I put a new production Marble's tang sight on this lowly 62A, and guns don't get more enjoyable.

Thank you all for the wealth of information. I must admit, when I bought this little 62 it was as an investment. The Wannamakers gut show is coming up just up the road a piece, I think I'll run up there and see what the collectors think it's worth.

You couldn't touch that rifle in Tulsa for less than $1,000,00, probably nearer $1,200,00. A Winchester pump with a hammer was my grail gun when I was a kid. When I got a lot older I have finally scratched that Itch. I have a very nice 62A, 61 S.L.LR, 61 Magnum and many 1906s and 1890s. I will be in Tulsa next weekend and if I could find a rifle as nice as yours that reasonable, it'll come home with me.

In the area I grew up in these rifles were every kid's dream. Alas only the very few well to do family kids got one. The many dirt poor families kids received "hand me down" old worn single shot .22 rifles. Mine was a Savage Model 1904 .22 bolt action rifle. many .25 cent a box .22 shorts went down the bore.

My good feelings toward .22 rifles have increased as I get older. They are lighter so they are easy to carry, and cheap to shoot. And I don't have to reload. In the past year I have bought three of them, bringing my current total to seven. Back when I was a kid one of the family .22s was a Winchester Model 1906, not too much different from the Model 62, at least in principle. As I remember, it had no finish on either the wood or metal, but that didn't stop it from shooting. I am one of those who put thousands of those "25 cents per box" .22 Shorts through it, mainly in the Scioto River bottoms cornfields whenever I had a quarter to spend. That's when .22 Shorts were considerably cheaper than .22 LR. At 40 cents per box, I couldn't afford those, and the Shorts were more than good enough for the type of shooting I did.