I am in the process of fixing up a 1890 Winchester .22 pump for a young man in my church who recently received it as a birthday gift from a family member. The rifle was in non-functioning condition with a cracked buttstock and a heavy coat of dirt and rust. Currently, I have the rifle stripped down and am in the process of cleaning it. The bore has some pitting, but I think it will shoot okay. The rifle will be shooter grade only given the different serial numbers on the barrel and action, condition, etc. Surprisingly, there is still some decent bluing remaining on parts of the rifle under all the filth. The stock is irreparable so I am in looking for a replacement.

My gunsmithing question is this. At some point the tang screw was lost and replaced by a small carriage bolt and nut. The threaded portion on the lower part of the tang was drilled out to a slightly larger diameter leaving no threads behind. I was considering finding a new bolt that fit and tapping the lower tang to the appropriate threads. Rather than having to make a tang bolt from scratch is there a tang bolt/screw from another rifle that might be a close match? I considered a Winchester 94, but the tang is much wider than the 1890. I was going to see how close a Marlin 1894 tang screw might be since I have one of those on hand. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. The overall length of the bolt is approximately 1.25".

Weld up the hole, redrill and tap accordingly.

I bought a screw kit a few years backfor a 1906 from MidwayUsa.

This right here.

Considered that, but wasn't sure it that would be the best way to do it. Not much to loose given the rifle's current condition.

Sounds good gentlemen, thank you for the help.

Just for kicks I compared the Marlin 1894 tang bolt with the Winchester 1890 tang today. The Marlin bolt is about 1/4" too long and the threads about 1/4" too short, but the head fits properly and the diameter is the right side for tapping the existing hole.

Hey guys, I went to the hardware store today and picked up a 5mm fine thread allen bolt which was slightly larger diameter than the original tang bolt. Once I got home I tapped the lower tang to the appropriate thread and then turned down the allen head to fit. I cut a slot in the head and trimmed the bolt to length. Just need to add a little cold blue to it and the job will be done. Best part about it was that it only cost about a $1.

Thanks again for the suggestions.