Questions on Dads Vietnam Remington 22 short long or long rifle - The Firearms Forum

l7y · 11-24-2008, 01:04 PM

#109816.

Hi I have my dads 22 Rifle issued to him in vietnam. He and I never talked about vietnam - it was very hard for him. I do know he was in Monkey Mountain and DaNang and that he was a forward air controller for the airforce. Seem like an odd weapon for that job. Maybe light weight sniper gear?

So 3 Questions? (and thanks ahead of time for the info)

1. Why a 22 Bolt action for that position?

2. What does "short long or long rifle" mean. Its written on the barrell/

2. I'd like to clean and preserve it. No restoration just clean and maintain. It does however have some light rust spots and I figured I'd better consult the pro's before I take the 440 sandpaper to it and ruin it.

Thanks again. I know dad says thanks too.

David

Alpo · 11-24-2008, 07:33 PM

Short, Long, and Long Rifle are three different types of .22 Rimfire ammo. Some guns will only work with one of the three, and it is marked on the barrel which one. I have a Winchester pump that is a 22 Short. I have several autoloaders, rifle and pistol both, that are 22LR only. They will fire the other two, but will not feed them from the magazine, so they have to be single-loaded. Some guns will feed any of the three types, and so are marked 22 S, L, LR, or something similar to that. I have a Remington pump and a Marlin lever that will work with all three. The long rifle is so popular now that it is the cheapest. Shorts are more expensive, and longs are virtually non-existent.

Get you some 4-ought steel wool (package should be marked 0000). The lower the number, the finer it is. When the get to zero, and want to make it finer, they add zeroes. 00, 000 or 0000. Anyhow, get some 4-ought steel wool and some light machine oil (3-in-1, or something like that). Put oil on rust. Let it set for a little while, and then start rubbing it with the steel wool, in a circular motion. The oil will start to turn rusty/cruddy. Wipe it off with a paper towel, put on more oil and do it again. This method will remove the rust without stripping the bluing. Don't use the sandpaper.

I have no idea about why they would issue him a 22 bolt gun.

l7y · 11-25-2008, 09:43 PM

Thanks Alpo.

RunningOnMT · 11-26-2008, 07:26 PM

17y,
I have nothing to add to anything Alpo said regarding rust removal but just some quick comments re. Vietnam. I can say with almost total certainty that .22's were not issued to our military in Vietnam and there is no such thing as "light" sniping. FAC's as your dad were generally issued .45's with the option of an M16 if they wanted one. A very few carried .38's or .357 magnums.

Here's what might explain the confusion. Was it someone else, like your mother or a sibling that told you it was his issued weapon? Often times the military and firearms are so totally foreign to civilians that they might get confused on some fact such as this. Perhaps your dad might have just purchased it while in the service and someone assumed it was issued. Another fact is that you don't get to keep issued firearms. There were a few people that did steal them but not many got away with it. We were allowed to keep captured weapons as long as they were not fully automatic. While it's not likely that charlie would have carried a .22 as an offensive weapon that doesnm't necessarily mean there were no .22's in the country. This piece may have somehow ended up in a captured weapons cache and he was allowed to return home with it.

armedandsafe · 11-26-2008, 08:09 PM

When my cousin was USMC in 'Nam, he was a tunnnel rat for awhile. He carried a .22 pistol as backup. When he wasn't on patrol, his 1st handed him a .22 rifle and told him to go on "rat patrol." Apparently the rats in 'Nam were bigger than the cats.

Pops

Pistolenschutze · 11-26-2008, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by armedandsafe

Apparently the rats in 'Nam were bigger than the cats.

Pops

They were, Pops, and a hell of a lot meaner.

Why, I remember one ol' poppa rat who was so large the FO took him for a tank and called in the fast movers for a strike.

armedandsafe · 11-29-2008, 08:37 PM

I can see this sequence, because I've seen and heard it about WWII, also.

1970 - "I got this in 'Nam."
1980 - "I used this in 'Nam"
1990 - "This is from when I was in 'Nam"
2000 - "Your Dad brought this back from when he was in Viet Nam."
2008 - "This was issued to my Dad when he was in Viet Nam."

Pops

11-24-2008, 07:33 PM	#2
Alpo Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: NW Florida Posts: 8,661	Re: Questions on Dads Vietnam Remington 22 short long or long rifle Short, Long, and Long Rifle are three different types of .22 Rimfire ammo. Some guns will only work with one of the three, and it is marked on the barrel which one. I have a Winchester pump that is a 22 Short. I have several autoloaders, rifle and pistol both, that are 22LR only. They will fire the other two, but will not feed them from the magazine, so they have to be single-loaded. Some guns will feed any of the three types, and so are marked 22 S, L, LR, or something similar to that. I have a Remington pump and a Marlin lever that will work with all three. The long rifle is so popular now that it is the cheapest. Shorts are more expensive, and longs are virtually non-existent. Get you some 4-ought steel wool (package should be marked 0000). The lower the number, the finer it is. When the get to zero, and want to make it finer, they add zeroes. 00, 000 or 0000. Anyhow, get some 4-ought steel wool and some light machine oil (3-in-1, or something like that). Put oil on rust. Let it set for a little while, and then start rubbing it with the steel wool, in a circular motion. The oil will start to turn rusty/cruddy. Wipe it off with a paper towel, put on more oil and do it again. This method will remove the rust without stripping the bluing. Don't use the sandpaper. I have no idea about why they would issue him a 22 bolt gun. Last edited by Alpo; 11-24-2008 at 07:34 PM..

11-25-2008, 09:43 PM	#3
l7y Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 2	Re: Questions on Dads Vietnam Remington 22 short long or long rifle Thanks Alpo.

11-26-2008, 07:26 PM	#4
RunningOnMT Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Akron, Ohio Contributor Posts: 4,720	Re: Questions on Dads Vietnam Remington 22 short long or long rifle 17y, I have nothing to add to anything Alpo said regarding rust removal but just some quick comments re. Vietnam. I can say with almost total certainty that .22's were not issued to our military in Vietnam and there is no such thing as "light" sniping. FAC's as your dad were generally issued .45's with the option of an M16 if they wanted one. A very few carried .38's or .357 magnums. Here's what might explain the confusion. Was it someone else, like your mother or a sibling that told you it was his issued weapon? Often times the military and firearms are so totally foreign to civilians that they might get confused on some fact such as this. Perhaps your dad might have just purchased it while in the service and someone assumed it was issued. Another fact is that you don't get to keep issued firearms. There were a few people that did steal them but not many got away with it. We were allowed to keep captured weapons as long as they were not fully automatic. While it's not likely that charlie would have carried a .22 as an offensive weapon that doesnm't necessarily mean there were no .22's in the country. This piece may have somehow ended up in a captured weapons cache and he was allowed to return home with it.

11-26-2008, 08:09 PM	#5
armedandsafe Former Guest Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Moses Lake, WA Posts: 10,344	Re: Questions on Dads Vietnam Remington 22 short long or long rifle When my cousin was USMC in 'Nam, he was a tunnnel rat for awhile. He carried a .22 pistol as backup. When he wasn't on patrol, his 1st handed him a .22 rifle and told him to go on "rat patrol." Apparently the rats in 'Nam were bigger than the cats. Pops

11-29-2008, 08:37 PM	#7
armedandsafe Former Guest Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Moses Lake, WA Posts: 10,344	Re: Questions on Dads Vietnam Remington 22 short long or long rifle I can see this sequence, because I've seen and heard it about WWII, also. 1970 - "I got this in 'Nam." 1980 - "I used this in 'Nam" 1990 - "This is from when I was in 'Nam" 2000 - "Your Dad brought this back from when he was in Viet Nam." 2008 - "This was issued to my Dad when he was in Viet Nam." Pops

11-24-2008, 01:04 PM	#1
l7y Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 2	Questions on Dads Vietnam Remington 22 short long or long rifle #109816. Hi I have my dads 22 Rifle issued to him in vietnam. He and I never talked about vietnam - it was very hard for him. I do know he was in Monkey Mountain and DaNang and that he was a forward air controller for the airforce. Seem like an odd weapon for that job. Maybe light weight sniper gear? So 3 Questions? (and thanks ahead of time for the info) 1. Why a 22 Bolt action for that position? 2. What does "short long or long rifle" mean. Its written on the barrell/ 2. I'd like to clean and preserve it. No restoration just clean and maintain. It does however have some light rust spots and I figured I'd better consult the pro's before I take the 440 sandpaper to it and ruin it. Thanks again. I know dad says thanks too. David -->