Winchester 02 and 04

Winchester 02 and 04

This Firearm Friday we are combing the history of the Winchester model 02 and 04 with the recent controversy over educating children in shooting. The reason we chose this rifle is that it was fondly referred to as ‘the Boys' rifle. They were aimed squarely at the youth (boys) market, and gave boys a small, light-weight, but accurate rifle with which they could learn firearm skills and hone them as they grew.

Winchester even began the Winchester Junior Rifle Corps, which encouraged youth marksmanship competitions and provided medals, certificates and other items as incentives and prizes.  At its height in the 1920s, there were over 300,000 members of the WJRC.   It was an inspired marketing strategy that introduced generations of young men to the joys and skills of hunting and target shooting.

This week, The Herald Sun posted a misleading and alarmist article that breaches several fundamental journalistic principles and standards. The Click Bait title “ A new Victorian outdoor recreation super agency will be given the power to encourage kids as young as 12 to take up shooting, a measure which has alarmed leading child and animal welfare advocates.” The article is in regard to the proposed bill that merges the Victorian Fisheries Authority and the Game Management Authority into a single statutory body, “Outdoor Recreation Victoria”

This has triggered the debate of Children learning to shoot. Some of the opinions are that children should under no circumstances hold a firearm. Even in a safe, controlled environment. With this kind of logic, Children shouldn’t learn to drive cars or learn to cook; education is the only way to help our children know firearm safety and respect the tool.  Over 100 years ago, the attitudes were very different.

In 1899, Winchester sought an affordable .22-­caliber rifle to market as a plinker and for small-game hunting. Browning filed the patent for the Model 1900 in February 1899, and the design was purchased by Winchester. A few months later, Winchester announced it on a flyleaf attached to the August 1899 catalogue. Inexpensive, the rifle was sized for young boys and destined to become an ideal first rifle. Designed as a takedown rifle during a time when the .22-­caliber rimfire cartridges were still evolving, it would chamber .22 Short, .22 Long, and later, .22 Extra Long. These were cartridges that a kid could have found in just about any country store in those days. The .22 Extra Long round, which dates to 1880, has long been forgotten except by cartridge collectors.

The barrels of Models 1900, 1902 and 1904 are secured to the stock with a coin-­slotted thumbscrew in front of the trigger guard. This allows for easy takedown with a penny. The thumbscrew engages a threaded block dovetailed to the underside of the barrel. That part helps retain the sear spring, which, at its front, engages a notch in the barrel. At the rear, it presses up on the sear/ extractor.

There is no separate receiver; the barrels were gun­drilled from the rear to accommodate the bolt body. After the pilot hole was bored through the length, rifling would have been cut. Longitudinal notches and slots give passage at the top for the bolt handle, as well as the bottom for the sear/extractor. Cross­milled openings provide access to the loading port.

The trigger is an L-­shaped piece pinned into the stock. It engages a recess milled into the sear/extractor and pressed down on that part when pulled, releasing the firing pin.

Cocking is manual, a great feature for a boy’s gun. The bolt does not cock the rifle when it’s cycled. Instead, pull back on the knurled knob at the rear of the bolt to cock. To uncock, keep a firm grip on the cocking knob and pull the trigger to ease it forward under control — but watch your muzzle while doing this! Browning’s approach allows the rifle to be carried loaded, but not cocked, which was especially useful when hunting.

The sear/extractor moves forward and back in its slot during bolt operation. Retracting the bolt pulls it rearward, with the extractor hook removing the spent case. It will eject if operated smartly; if you crank it softly, you’ll need to invert the rifle to dump the empty. When loading, leave the cartridge on the extractor and push the bolt home; don’t load it with the extractor pressed forward because it won’t remove the empty if you do.

If you want to remove the bolt, you’ll need to remove the action from the stock and pull down on the sear/extractor to release the bolt. This also provides access to the breech for cleaning the bore with a cleaning rod from the rear.

Before 1968, rimfire rifles were not required to have serial numbers, so dating these rimfires is approximate, at best. What’s helpful is identifying the changes between models and considering significant years of development.

Model 1900

If you look closely, you’ll see that the Winchester Model 1900 was awarded its patent on August 19, 1899. The unassuming piece was intended as a boy’s rifle priced at $5, or the equivalent of $183.58 in 2024 dollars. To get to that price point, the Model 1900 was simple in design, sporting an 18-­inch barrel with an uncrowned muzzle.

Assembled Winchester Junior Rifle Corps kits were offered between 1904 and 1931. (Courtesy of Rock Island Auction Co.) (Photo by Michael Anschuetz)

Having a length of pull of 12¾ inches, the straight-­gripped stock was made of gumwood, or sometimes a substandard walnut with an oil finish. The original drop at the comb measured 1½ inches, with 2¾ inches of drop at the heel. The early Butt plate was rolled into the shape with texture. After about 20,000 guns were produced, shotgun-­style Butt plates were added, many with the Winchester brand later. Once production passed 89,000 guns, hard-rubber Butt plates appeared exclusively. The Model 1900 was discontinued in 1902, with about 105,000 produced. It was Winchester’s first action cocked by pulling rearward on the knurled firing-­pin head, a Browning invention that has since been employed by most firearms manufacturers. The 1900 was replaced by the Model 1902 single-­shot.

The Model 1902 was a sales success with 640,300 made by the time it was discontinued in 1931. Notably, a few employees made target pistols using the 1902 action for their own use.

Model 1904

Sensing a demand for a “man-­sized” version of its boy’s rifle, Winchester added the Model 1904, which was first delivered on July 5, 1904. This was fitted with a 21-­inch barrel in a somewhat larger stock that featured a subtle, but distinctive, Schnabel forend. The rifle was heavier than the Model 1902 by a pound, too. Like the Model 1902, the steel crescent buttplate was changed to a hard rubber buttplate in 1925 and discontinued in 1931. The triggerguard on the Model 1904 was enlarged in proportion to the larger stock, and the 1904 featured a rear sight adjustable for elevation with a small, slotted screw. The price of the Model 1904 was slightly more than the Model 1902 and, therefore, not as successful. Some 302,850 were made before the Depression laid waste to the Winchester line in 1931.

The Winchester Junior Rifle Corps Range Kit No. 1 was first offered in 1920, featuring the Model 1902. The Range Kit No. 2 included the Model 1904. Winchester’s Model 1902 and 1904 were the staple of the Winchester Junior Rifle Corps, a post-­World War I effort to promote shooting among the younger set. In keeping with the arrival of women’s suffrage at about the same time, the first member of the Corps was Ruth L. Russell of New Haven, Connecticut.

In 1904, a curved steel triggerguard was added to the design. Though originally blued, this one has been case hardened. (Photo by Michael Anschuetz)

Corps members could buy the cunningly packaged Range Kits that incorporated these smallbore rifles, as well as everything a young shooter would need to get started shooting: Cartridges, cleaning tools, grease, oil, rust remover, targets and belt pouches for notepads and pencils. The one-­screw takedown was handy with this configuration because the young rifle owner could quickly disassemble these rifles into two pieces for convenient stowage in the case. One of these sold at a Rock Island Auction on December 1, 2018, for $2,588, sure to have provided the top bidder a fascinating time tunnel back to the past. The Winchester Junior Rifle Corps lasted until 1931, and it was influential in inspiring the NRA Marksmanship Qualification Programs that continue today.