Unusual or old Rimfires

[Lost River]

Friends,

I did not want to muddy up the other thread that was in progress about choosing a new .22 rifle.

That said, it got me thinking about a couple old rimfires I have picked up over the course of time that are not what you typically see.

When most people think .22 rifles, they normally think Ruger 10-22, Marlin Model 60, or even the old (and my favorite ) Marlin Model 39 lever actions.

However, how many guys have old Remington Target Master single shots sitting tucked back, or oddball Mossbergs or Winchesters?

I figured we could start a thread and do an adult "show and tell".

Even Colt made .22s back in the day.


Here is a Remington Model 41 Target Master from the 30s.

Google-Fu says that they made them from 1936 to 1939. It is a single shot, and this one has been totally restored and is a real gem. A bit tough to do any real accuracy work with due to the sights but a fun little gun no matter. Mostly it gets taken out of its protective gun sock every couple of years and fondled, that is really about it.

[Lost River]

Winchester made Model 190s semi autos which were pretty similar in looks and function to the Marlin Model 60.

The 290 was a pretty fancy upgrade with a walnut stock, complete with a Monte Carlo comb. I found one years back on the rack at a Cabelas that looked like it had never even been fired. It is a gorgeous rifle. In fact for "Just a .22" I am rather impressed.

There is no way you could produce this gun today a decent asking price and expect it to sell, when everyone wants to see how cheap they can make things. In the world of Ruger American Rifles where the name of the game is make things as cheaply as possible, a .22 like this is fun to handle.


Winchester 290:

Sorry for the garbage pics.













To me that is "Cowboy Cool"!

[ASH556]

Oh boy! Old .22’s and shotguns are my weakness! I’ve got some old .22 goodness to share. Will try to get some pics in a bit!

[SeriousStudent]

That is the .22 rifle I grew up shooting - sigh.

i was supposed to end up with that rifle and a 1903 Springfield, but a former family member decided to make off with both.

I loved that Remington. When I was a wee lad, it was a challenge to pull the cocking knob on the bolt (I was 5 or 6). But it was really fun to shoot laid over a low fence post.

When I turned 8 I got my own single-shot .22, I think it was a used Stevens?

I'll ask my sister if we have any saved photos of them.

[ACP230]

I don't own one but have handled an old Savage pump .22 rifle that
fed from a box magazine. The magazine was missing, unfortunately.

Strange looking setup but one I'd buy if I ran across one and had some
uncommitted gun money.

[Joe in PNG]

I've got an old U.S. Property marked Mossberg Model 44US.

[LOKNLOD]

It'll take some work to dig mine out of the back of the safe, for a picture, but I have an old J.C. Higgins Model 30 that is my favorite old gun.

At first glance it's just another old tube-fed .22 rifle. But man is it a good shooting little gun. One of the coolest features is something I've never seen on any other rifle - it has a retractable sling built into the buttstock. A little red nylon strap that pulls out and hooks on a lug on the barrel, and zips back into the stock under spring power. Its better in theory than practice and the lack of wear on the sling itself shows that. Still, that's a neat idea.

It was my grandpa's. It was his constant companion on the farm and running down the creek back in the day. When I was little, dad had a mechanic shop/2-pump full-service gas station. Grandpa worked for him pumping gas. I hung out down there all the time, and he of course regaled me with stories of all manner of shooting tricks. His thing was always to shoot his game in the left eye. He apparently also shot at a bi-plane with it once, too (dick move, I know). As an adult, I know a lot about his faults and he wasn't a great father or grandfather, to be honest. But back then I thought he was pretty awesome and despite being full of crap about a lot of things, he was a damn good shooter back in his day. The gun represents all the good stuff about him to me, and none of the bad. Grandpa is still kicking, though hopefully not for too much longer, as he's a cantankerous old peckerhead and Grandma deserves a moment of peace or two before she dies. December 3rd will mark their 68th wedding anniversary.

[vaspence]

Winchester Model 75 Sporter made in 1948

[Lost River]

That is the .22 rifle I grew up shooting - sigh.

i was supposed to end up with that rifle and a 1903 Springfield, but a former family member decided to make off with both.

I loved that Remington. When I was a wee lad, it was a challenge to pull the cocking knob on the bolt (I was 5 or 6). But it was really fun to shoot laid over a low fence post.

When I turned 8 I got my own single-shot .22, I think it was a used Stevens?

I'll ask my sister if we have any saved photos of them.

I grew up shooting an old used Stevens .22 single shot that my dad (or was it my Grandpa, I can't recall now, I was pretty young) got for a whopping $15.00 at a garage sale due to the fact that it was missing the front sight. My grandpa made a front sight out of a thin piece of wire and it is still on there. My dad eventually had it drilled and tapped for a scope, and later threaded for a suppressor. I don't know how many magpies that thing has dropped.

One time my wife was FURIOUS with me, as I had just had a pretty involved back surgery, with a number of disks fused. I was supposed to be in bed, but it was deer season and I did not want to miss out. Long story sort of short, I snuck out and found one, and it took all my effort to even get my heavy .308 target rifle up onto the hood of the truck, and lined up. I almost passed out when I squeezed the trigger.

Then it took all day to kick the thing down the hill to the truck and loaded into the truck. It was only maybe a 350 yard shot. I was whacked out of my gourd on pain killers and had no business doing any of what I was doing. I ended up calling a detective friend who took care of the deer. Both of our wives were furious with us actually.

Anyways, by this time I was so messed up I could not even get out of my chair or bed, so she packed my bags and drove me to my dads and dumped me off there for about a week and a half.

I was pretty messed up, so I would just manage to get myself out to the back porch where I would sit in the sun for hours wrapped in a blanket, with that old Stevens across my lap, hoping for a coyote, fox, or magpie to come strolling by.

Fun times, at least what little I actually remember..

The wife still fumes at me over that.

[Lost River]

Winchester Model 75 Sporter made in 1948

That is like an old Cadillac in a thread talking about the Ford Falcons we drove in high school!