Fancy Wood on a Winchester Lever Gun...

[Cocked & Locked]

.... with pressed checkering

Winchester 250 Deluxe .22

[Ysabel Kid]

Yep - an odd combination for sure!

[Pathfinder09]

That sure is sweet!!@!

[kimwcook]

Looks as though it hasn't been shot very much. Clean piece.

[Borregos]

Good looking wood there but as YK says, an odd combination.

[Cocked & Locked]

Yes it is a weird combo of wood and "checkering".

Winchester made the model 250 from 1960-1971 (I think). In 1965-71 they also made the 250 DeLuxe which this one is. The Deluxe had the Monte Carlo stock with cheek piece whereas the regular version had the standard configuration stock. I think all the pre-64 ones had no "checkering" and the post 64's all had the waffles.

I've seen several of the Standards, but never another Deluxe...so, I don't know if this wood is typical or not.

It appears to have not been fired, but it is missing the rear sight elevator.

I bought the gun to resale, but thus far haven't made myself do so.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

If they had possesed the technology back then, they probably would have printed the fancy grain pattern on a piece of gumwood and then sealed it on with a heavy dose of the glossy Browning style lacquer.

Knowing they didn't have that technology back then makes that peice of wood on a 250 all the more amazing. Someone must have made a mistake.

Were these made in Japan for Winchester? I've only seen a few and I can't recall if they were produced domestically or not.

[Sonic Boom]

My older brother worked at Winchester in the early seventies as an assembler. He told me once that whenever he got a really nice piece of wood, say a nice stock, he’d hide it at his work station. When a matching forearm came through, maybe days or weeks later, he’d use the two and put a nice looking gun together for some lucky customer. Maybe he put this one together, but regardless I’d bet a brick of high-speeds that this gun came about this way. He hated the machine stamped checkering a great deal - 'thought it ruined the wood (which it did).

The employees were allowed to buy guns, and he of course came home with perhaps the nicest model 190 ever built. Not that a 190 is anything special, but in the world of 190’s he had the best one, I’m sure. As I compare the pics of your gun to the memories of my brother's 190, I'd say you might have the nicest model 250 ever built.

[Cocked & Locked]

As I compare the pics of your gun to the memories of my brother's 190, I'd say you might have the nicest model 250 ever built.

I think you might be right, and that's exactly why I have not yet done what I originally intended when I bought it...that is/was to Sell It hopefully for a little profit.