Mysterious Winchester 290 Part

Flumph · March 8, 2009, 08:56 PM

So, today i took down my ever-faithful Winchester 290 .22 rifle. I took it down with ease (besides that god forsaken recoil spring), cleaned it with powder solvent, oiled all the friction surfaces with gun oil, cycled the sear, put it all back together, cycled it, dry fired it, and it worked just fine.

But then i looked on my cleaning cloth, covered in black gunk, and i see a little metal tab. It looked like a gun part.

I cycled the weapon once more, and everything seemed to be in order. The gun works just fine without the part, but i really don't want the thing to explode all over me next time i take it out to shoot. And i get the sneaking suspicion that it's a necessary part.

Does anyone have any idea what this part might be? It's clear that it was in the gun previously, and i could not find where it was supposed to be. I looked in the manual and i couldn't find anything resembling the shape or size of this part. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Here's the pictures...

Next to a quarter and a .22 LR round, for scale.
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...rab2/partA.jpg
One side.
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...rab2/partC.jpg
The other side. Note the visible wear pattern.
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...rab2/partD.jpg

Thank you!

March 8, 2009, 08:56 PM	#1
Flumph Senior Member Join Date: March 8, 2009 Location: Dallas, Texas Posts: 139	Mysterious Winchester 290 Part So, today i took down my ever-faithful Winchester 290 .22 rifle. I took it down with ease (besides that god forsaken recoil spring), cleaned it with powder solvent, oiled all the friction surfaces with gun oil, cycled the sear, put it all back together, cycled it, dry fired it, and it worked just fine. But then i looked on my cleaning cloth, covered in black gunk, and i see a little metal tab. It looked like a gun part. I cycled the weapon once more, and everything seemed to be in order. The gun works just fine without the part, but i really don't want the thing to explode all over me next time i take it out to shoot. And i get the sneaking suspicion that it's a necessary part. Does anyone have any idea what this part might be? It's clear that it was in the gun previously, and i could not find where it was supposed to be. I looked in the manual and i couldn't find anything resembling the shape or size of this part. Your help will be greatly appreciated. Here's the pictures... Next to a quarter and a .22 LR round, for scale. http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...rab2/partA.jpg One side. http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...rab2/partC.jpg The other side. Note the visible wear pattern. http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...rab2/partD.jpg Thank you!