[81 336]

Wanted to post a picture of the M-90 16 ga. I got a few months ago. It's a solid shooter grade gun, 28 inch barrels choked F over M. I paid $380 with transfer fee. For y'all serial experts, when would you say it was made, serial #401x?
The only real problems it has are a slight grain separation on the stock at the back of the receiver on the left side and some cracking in the wrist of the stock. Is the crack in the wrist something that should be fixed, or should I just keep an eye on it?
I shot it about a 100 times last Thanksgiving and I'm pretty sure I shot it better than any other shotgun I've shot so far.
Thanks! Lavern

 

[BarkeyVA]

Nice looking Model 90! Is there "engraving" on the frame? The fact that the serial number does not have a letter prefix indicates that the gun was made prior to WWII.

There are no serial number records at Marlin or anywhere else. However, the checkering pattern on the stock is the same as the chekering on my Model 90 Skeetking and my .410 model 90. Skeetkings were only sold in 1939-1940 and Marlin introduced the .410 Model 90 in the fall of 1939. My guess is your gun was made sometime between 1939 and 1941.

Also in 1930-41, some model 90's came with a bird dog scene "engraved" on the frame.

I suggest you also post pictures and your questions on the 16 ga.com site. There are a number of folks posting there who know a lot about Model 90's.

 

[81 336]

Yes, it does have the bird dog scene on the receiver.

 

[BarkeyVA]

I had a typo in my previous post. Some Model 90's made in 1939 to 1941 had the bird dog scene.