Originally featured in Points West magazine in Spring 2015
Plinky Topperwein’s Winchester Model 1890 shooting gallery rifle
The Winchester Model 1873 frequently has been called “The Gun That Won The West.” In his massive—and brilliant—two volume tome about it, James D. Gordon, a member of the Cody Firearms Museum’s Advisory Board, said of this Winchester, “And of those guns which came out of the plant in New Haven, Connecticut, by far the most sought-after by all parties was the Model 1873.” This was certainly true of those chambered for the Winchester Center Fire cartridge.
There was, however, an exception: the .22 caliber rim fire version, which never attained any great popularity.
Winchester knew what to do about that. The company requested that John M. Browning develop another model to take its place. The result was the Winchester Model 1890, which became the most popular, all-purpose repeating rim fire rifle ever produced by Winchester. The Model 1890 was also the most famous shooting gallery rifle ever known. There were about 849,000 of them manufactured between 1890 and 1941.
This particular model, a beautiful rifle with a nickel receiver and bird’s eye maple stocks, belonged to Elizabeth “Plinky” Topperwein, wife of the famous exhibition shooter Adolph “Ad” Topperwein, and a world-record shooter in her own right.
Plinky Topperwein’s Winchester Model 1890, 1918. Gift of Olin Corporation, Winchester Arms Collection. 1988.8.2469
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