If the barrel is marked #3 or larger it will be the large shank. #1 or #2 will be small shank. 

Frank

1887 is when it was introduced by Stevens.
Cheers,
Laurie

Just to muddy the water a bit more, does the "R" in the stamping stand for "rifle" or "rimfire"?  Would measuring the rifling twist settle the issue?

Bill Lawrence

As Biil says. "The WRA catalog (Feb 1890) lists the 22 Short, 22 Long, and 22 Extra Long for the 1885 rifles." 

They do however in that same catalog list the .22 Long Rifle ammunition @$6.00/1000as well as primed cases @ $2.50/1000. 

Cheers,
Laurie

fallingblock wrote on Nov 27^th, 2016 at 7:13pm:

The footnote found directly below that listing for the .22 Long Rifle ammunition is revealing, as it reads:
     " ADAPTED TO Various Rifles of this Caliber. "

Four years would pass before WRA revised that footnote to read:
     " Adapted to Winchester Single Shot and Various Rifles of this Caliber. "

WRA didn't seem to be in any kind of hurry to add the 22 LR cartridge throughout the WRA production line.
The 1890, the 1902, the Thumb Trigger, the 1904, and the 1906 were introduced without the 22LR chambering, though it was added to the 1906, and a couple 1890s had 22 Long Rifle marked barrels installed near the end.
The 22 WRF was added to the list of availabe Single Shot chamberings before the 22 LR was added.

I had a friend who got into the Blue of Case Hardened Actions. He contacted Winchester about having an action barreled in Hornet. Winchester responded with a price quote. So he went the Factory and delivered a beautiful Color Cased Wide Spaced Double Set Trigger action. They sent him a post card a couple of weeks later that his Rifle was done. When he went to pick it up they handed him a Barreled Action all in complete Blue with the Winchester W,P, Proof mark on the receiver. He raised all kinds of hell about it. He finally met with the Supervisor of the Custom Shop where the work was done. They guy explained that they were required when Rifles came in to rework. They  needed to meet the latest configuration. And that if he had asked for it to not be done to his Case Hardened action they would have been required to turn the job down. They agreed to re-write the Factory records to show the change had been made at the factory with the Date. It was a beautiful Rifle with a #3 30" barrel and Wide Spaced Set Triggers, Pistol Grip Fancy Wood. No rear sight slot and drilled and tapped for Scope Blocks with the Roll Stamp at 11:00 on the Barrel. I shot it a little bit with a Lyman 5A scope and it was a Tack Driver.
HTH Regards, FITZ.