This was the very first gun I ever fired- a Winchester Model '06, in .22. My father picked it up sometime before I was born, and I think it was pretty much in the shape you see it in now. We used to take it out to our farm property, where I'd line old corncobs up on a stump and shoot them off. Sometimes I'd load it up with .22 shot shells and shoot sparrows in the barn. Not easy, as these were the old crimped .22 shotshells- not the modern CCIs with the plastic shot capsule. They carried 25 grains- that's 1/17th of an ounce- of #12 shot. Not very useful beyond 5 yards or so, but safe to shoot without a solid backstop.
The '06 was a less expensive version of an earlier gun, the Model 1890, which had an octagonal barrel and was chambered for the now-obsolete .22WRF cartridge. The 06 was originally chambered for the .22 short, but after a few years a simple modification was introduced that allowed the 06 to shoot .22 shorts, longs, and long rifles interchangeably. This involved a simple stamped metal piece- I've heard it called an "interrupter"- in the cartridge carrier, the assembly that picked up cartridges from the tubular magazine and lifted them up to where the closing bolt would push them into the chamber. The interrupter would catch in the space between two cartridges, and block more than one from entering the lifter. Simple and effective.
With none of the original finish left, it's probably worth about $250-275. It's not a particularly rare gun; it was made from 1906 to 1932, and over 800,000 units were produced. Mint specimens might fetch $600-800, but a gun would have to be flawless to reach that high level. Most examples you'll see are well used, like mine.
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