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What's your favorite .22 rifle ??

174K views 359 replies 255 participants last post by  mogunner 
#1 · (Edited)
shooter45 us
Senior Chief Moderator Staff
Posts: 121
(3/23/01 12:06:52 am)
Reply What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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For hunting ? For target shooting ?
Mine are for hunting - Remington 541 S Custom Sporter. For Targets - Ruger 10/22 T with lots of work.

Edited by: shooter45 us at: 3/25/01 6:57:51 am

Bob In St Louis
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Posts: 93
(3/23/01 8:12:25 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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I kinda like the Calico with the 100 round helical drum mag. I had the rifle in 22, and had the 9mm pistol version. Awesome weapons. Sold em both to buy more old Spanish steel. Dummy me.

Actually, I still have the Remingtom Speedmaster 552 semiauto I got when I was 12. Still my most dependable 22.
Support the Dead Party, vote Harry S. Truman for Missouri Senate in 2002!

AntiqueDr
Moderator
Posts: 31
(3/23/01 9:14:44 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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In bolt action, for hunting, Winchester 75 Sporter or Kimber 82. For target, Winchester 52 - nuff said.

In slide action, Winchester 1890.

In semiauto, Winchester 63.

Hey, is there a pattern here?


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TallTLynn
Senior Chief Moderator Staff
Posts: 80
(3/23/01 9:27:51 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Hmmmm a pattern???

Maybe you like Winchesters just a bit?

AntiqueDr
Moderator
Posts: 32
(3/23/01 11:35:24 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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I've been accused of it, yes...

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shooter45 us
Senior Chief Moderator Staff
Posts: 124
(3/23/01 11:54:20 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Soon, there will be a Winchester shortage in Texas.

Tac401
Administrator
Posts: 368
(3/24/01 2:20:23 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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My favorite .22-rifles are #1. My Pre-ban Feather
AT-22 and my Ruger 10/22 stainless on a Butler Creek
folder.

Tac
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Zigzag2
Senior Chief Moderator Staff
Posts: 115
(3/25/01 6:50:17 am)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Sure like my Browning grade 2 lever action =)

Xracer
Moderator
Posts: 57
(3/25/01 10:24:46 am)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Ah......nostalgia time! When I was a kid in a small town in Maine, a family friend used to loan me his Winchester Model 1903 .22 Auto to go shoot rats at the Town Dump. (Try doing that at your local "Sanitary Landfill" nowadays!!!!)

It took a special Winchester .22 Auto cartridge (made only for the '03), which, strangely enough, the local hardware store kept in stock.

What a sweet shooting little honey that was!

shooter45 us
Senior Chief Moderator Staff
Posts: 130
(3/25/01 10:34:52 am)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Xracer, my father-in-law has a win.1903. He has never fired it.I've been to a "rat killin'",sure was fun. It has been brought up at our town council meeting. We don't have an answer yet.

Xracer
Moderator
Posts: 59
(3/25/01 10:45:58 am)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Shooter.....yeah, what a sweetie that '03 is. Too bad he never shot it.....and now he never will! Winchester .22 Auto is now a collector cartridge.......hasn't been made for years.

It was brought out when .22LR was available in both black and smokeless powder. Winchester didn't want blackpowder .22 LR rounds used ('cause they would gum up the works) so they brought a special cartridge for this gun, their first .22 auto.

Too bad it's just a wallhanger now........take my word for it, it really was a beautiful shooting little piece!

AntiqueDr
Moderator
Posts: 35
(3/25/01 10:55:07 am)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Occasionally someone will make a run of .22 WRF and/or .22 Rem Spl. I remember that Olin made some about 10 years ago...


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Xracer
Moderator
Posts: 60
(3/25/01 10:56:01 am)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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BTW, Shooter.......please tell your father-in-law not to try shooting .22LR through it!!! If it feeds and fires, it will blow the case!

The Win. .22 Auto cartridge had a longer & wider case (.665 x .250) than .22LR (.595 x .224).

Xracer
Moderator
Posts: 61
(3/25/01 11:06:37 am)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Hi Doc.......yep, but WRF was originally made for the early Winchester & Remington .22 pump rifles, it's not the same as .22 Winchester Auto, which was made ONLY for the Model '03.

And, of course, nobody should try to use .22LR in any gun chambered for either .22 WRF or .22 Win. Auto.

shooter45 us
Senior Chief Moderator Staff
Posts: 132
(3/25/01 1:50:10 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Xracer, he has just over a box of ammo. Good thing , huh?

AntiqueDr
Moderator
Posts: 36
(3/25/01 2:15:48 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Absolutely right, X.

By the way, Old Western Scrounger advertises .22 Win Auto at around $12.95 / 50.

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Xracer
Moderator
Posts: 63
(3/25/01 5:45:43 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Boy, I'd love to see Rossi (or somebody else) bring out a reproduction of the '03 in .22LR.....the way they did with that pretty little Winchester pump.

Kdubya
Moderator
Posts: 42
(3/26/01 5:32:19 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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My favorite is my old original Marlin model 39
My classy rifle is a Kimber Classic Model 82 stainless (barrel)
My messing around and hunting rifle is a Ruger 10/22 with switch barrels/stocks.
Keep off the Ridgeline!!

polishshooter
Moderator
Posts: 40
(3/26/01 10:08:21 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Don't laugh, I've owned alot, including Mossberg 1942 targets, a slew of 10/22s, an AR7...a bunch more, not counting pistols....

My all time favorite is the Marlin 25 BA with the el-cheapo Tasco 4-power I got for Xmas when I was 12...I was heck on starlings and grackles! Traded my Dad for the AR-7 when I was in college, cause he used to yank the scope off all the time and use it anyway(he hated scopes). I had and still have no clue why or when he got the AR7! The AR-7 is long gone, but that Model 25 is still behind my Mom's bedroom door. She had me show her again how to use it after Dad died, seems her and Dad used to go out back and shoot it now and again for fun, even though he was in a wheelchair. He even bought an extra clip for it...She likes having a gun around the house now that she's alone, but never liked to handle Dad's shotgun.

The only one I own now? A Glenfield 75C tube-fed semi-auto carbine with an el-cheapo Tasco 4-power...

Bought it used for $55 at Friendship not long ago just to have one to teach the kids, now is my favorite squirrel gun. Those old Marlins just last and last, and shoot pretty well too...as long as I keep it clean.

warpig883
Registered User
Posts: 7
(3/30/01 7:54:00 am)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Love the old Stevens. The Stevens Visible Loader is the coolest pump gun ever. The Crackshot and Favorite are good uns to.
I fear we have awaked a sleeping giant and filled it with a terrible resolve. Jap. Admiral Yamamota directly after Pearl Harbor

wundudnee
Registered User
Posts: 2
(3/30/01 9:03:53 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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My favorite is the model 1890 winchester. But 1906, 61, 62a, and my latest a factory scoped model 63 could be my favorites. Of course the old 1902 winchester is still fun. And yes I think I may see a pattern starting here too. Not all of the pretty little 22's have migrated south.



remingtongeo
Registered User
Posts: 3
(4/11/01 8:12:38 am)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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I've got a pattern too.

Pump: Remington Mod. 12CS, that's in 22 Rem. Special (WRF), and you can still get ammo.

Semiauto: Remington Mod. 550-2

Single shot plinker: Remington Mod. 4

Bolt repeater: Remington Mod. 541X

Bolt single shot: Mauser Mod. 51

Target: Anschutz Mod. 54 1413

Tac401
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Posts: 621
(4/11/01 8:50:19 pm)
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ezSupporter
Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Welcome aboard Remingtongeo!

Tac
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timberbeast
Registered User
Posts: 6
(4/19/01 12:28:04 am)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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My favorite is a Winchester 62 pump I picked up from a buddy for 200 bucks, so clean, so tight. I picked up a Rossi copy for my daughter. Most accurate I've fired is a BRNO a buddy of mine has. Second place for accuracy is my dad's old Remington 41 Targetmaster single shot. An unsung hero is the venerable Rem. Nylon 66. Hits where you aim, keeps shooting no matter what. Have to have a 10/22 also. No reason not to! I always wanted a Browning Autoloader, the sleek little guy that loads through the side of the stock, but didn't have the funds, so I got a Norinco copy. It's a nice little rifle.

reedbuster
Member
Posts: 6
(6/23/01 1:19:04 am)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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I'm in with polishshooter, nothing fancy a Marlin model 60 I bought when in the service. I mounted a cheap bushnel 3x9 and have shot alot of rabbit and prarie dog with it.

ibtrukn
Member
Posts: 40
(6/23/01 10:00:41 am)
Reply whats your favorite 22 rifle
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.22's and pearl handled knives, bud lite and black jack. livin large!
love them all, but my own 2 favorites are my Haenel KK Sport(3 different rear sites and a palm rest) that shoots better than i ever will and my preWW2 Savage mod29, equal or better(in my not so humble opinion) than any big W . runner up probably Rem 541s that i stupidly sold and cannot bring myself to part with 4-5 hunnert for another. GOOD THREAD!!!

Different name
V.I.P. Member
Posts: 136
(7/14/01 2:39:42 pm)
Reply
ezSupporter
Re: whats your favorite 22 rifle
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Its really my best and most favorite 22. A Remington 541T rifle, heavy barrel w/ Weaver 3x9x38.
Very very used to accurate performance. A tack driver.
Also, I'm fond of Weatherby's XXII Mark 22. They are getting rare.
Charlie D
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Makes those 500 yd. rapid fire targets jump for joy.
Of course thats, using a mirror shooting backwards
in high winds. No sweat!

Any comments on a "1450 Anschutz 22 Target???

the real fredneck
V.I.P. Member
Posts: 138
(7/14/01 4:10:43 pm)
Reply Re: whats your favorite 22 rifle
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Stevens Little Scout my grandfather got as a kid and cut his initals (same as mine) in the bottom of the barrel with a file

ghoti thumper
Member
Posts: 5
(7/16/01 2:39:31 am)
Reply Re: whats your favorite 22 rifle
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I bought my first ruger, a 77/22 stainless with the heavy barrel, put a 3x9 leupold on it, told the wife it was "for the kids", so they'd shoot their hunting rifles better. I'm starting to really like that little rifle. Also have an old mossberg model 402 lever thats pretty neat, I've got a Glenfield/marlin model 60 that I've had for a little better than 20 years. Many rounds on the 60 have taken their toll. A lot of memories in that one though.

Chuck from arkansaw
Member
Posts: 1
(8/6/01 2:33:16 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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My favorite .22 rifle is my C.Z. 452 American Clasic. It looks and shoots like center fire rifle. If you are looking for a man sized, all steel and wood .22 rifle and can't afford a Kimber, by all means check out the C.Z. Mine will shoot 5/8" 50 yard
groups with CCI Mini-mags and 3/8" with target ammo. It has an adjustable model 70 style trigger, a hand checkered walnut stock, and a forged and machined steel reciever. I got it for $290 including tax. This is the ideal squirrel and small game rifle.

Tac401
Administrator
Posts: 1860
(8/6/01 3:18:30 pm)
Reply
ezSupporter
Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Welcome Aboard Chuck from arkansaw!

Thanks for the info on the rifle, glad you have
joined us, hope you jump in often!
The Firearms Forum Vietnam Memories Bulletin Board Contact Administrator

Alphamale
Senior Chief Moderator Staff
Posts: 597
(8/6/01 8:49:36 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Welcome to the board Chuck
To run from trouble is foolish, to look for it... even more so

Bagoosh
Member
Posts: 5
(8/6/01 10:40:44 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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I shot my friends Marlin 22mag in stainless. The smoothest, best balanced 22 ive held (keep in mind i have not held them all), very very accurate and flat as a high power rifle. For fun and plinking i like my Marlin Papoose breakdown 22 semi/auto in stainless. I put a red dot scope on it, and have a lot of 10rd mags. I can shoot it all day and still be having fun.

Paladin6
Member
Posts: 1
(8/12/01 6:11:04 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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My early AT-22 for burning up rounds(LOTS of rounds, blisters on the thumb)
Ruger 10/22 (with lots of work) for hunting and paper punching with many stocks(hogues me fav)
Ruger MKI&II's for pistolas
Though I have gone through some nice Marlins and Savage/Stevens and a Henry
A
As long as there is life there is hope, as long as there is hope for a better life it will be better. If you want to take my guns I HOPE you won't mind them bullets first.

Roger Patterson
Member
Posts: 1
(8/12/01 11:30:04 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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It's got to be Winchester's revamped '03, the Model 63. It's the neatest little autoloader around. Mine never misses a beat with whatever high speed ammo I feed it. While it's no target rifle, it's accurate enough for plinking and hunting purposes. It looks nice, handles nice and shoots nice. What more can a guy ask?

I've also got a soft spot for a Savage Model 1903 pump rifle. It's got a 24" octagon barrel, and a 7-shot clip magazine instead of the ususal under-barrel tube other pumps have. For some funny reason, Remington Sub-Sonics clock about 150 fps faster through it than through my 23" barrelled Rossi Gallery pump. I wonder why?

Xzec.

Xracer
Moderator
Posts: 776
(8/13/01 7:17:49 am)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Welcome Roger! Hope ya stay a while.

Seems like a bunch of us have a love affair with those old turn-of-the-century Winchesters.

bigH
Member
Posts: 3
(9/2/01 7:20:13 am)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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Remington 541-S,why did remington stop making these,great looking rifle ,and as accurate as some of the high dollar imports

9638
Member
Posts: 3
(9/27/01 1:10:49 pm)
Reply Re: What's your favorite .22 rifle ??
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I have a Winchester Model 67 bolt action single shot with the finger grooves that my father gave me. I use it for serious .22 hunting work.

My target/fun gun is the Mitchell Jager M16 look alike that I picked up about a year ago. It shoots great, draws attention, and is a hoot to shoot.

David.
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in Government".....Thomas Jefferson
 
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#104 ·
My favorite .22 rifle is the one Ive had for years that I bag squirells with and shoot nothing but CCI Stingers out of with never one problem. I have a standard blue Ruger 1022 with a Choate folding stock and a cheapo Simmons Scope and basic sling. Absolute tac driver. When it goes, i'll get another Ruger 1022 with a stainless barrel. I also have a Winchester lever action mdl 9422 that I keep aprilla short 22rounds in that are as quiet as a BB gun for varmits I take without disturbing the neighbors.
 
#105 ·
I've added a few since I posted here last. (2 Yrs ago)

I now have 2 Rem. 12C's in 22 Rem. Special and 3 Rem. 12C's in 22 LR. & 6 JC Higgins autoloaders in different model numbers, and 1 Mossy bolt action, a 46B(b)
 
#107 ·
Golly, reading all these posts reminds me of all the nice .22's I've shot over the years. Once I learned on a pump-up Sheridan pellet gun, I shot Dad's Model 63: very accurate, nice loading port in stock, the one I compare everything else to. Marlin 39A: accurate Micro-Groove barrel, loved Viper ammo for some reason, well built. Remington 74: accurate, "man-sized", not as nice loading port in stock as M-63, it's my beater. I have my girls shoot the 10-22 with a banana clip so I don't have to reload it so much. The longer I have it, the less I like it. Rem. M-74Short: great for head-shooting rabbits in town. Win M61: accurate, feeding problems at ramp. Colt Lightning 22mag w/scope: For shooting pigeons off the top of grain elevators. Knocks the wings right off, if you could hit em since it wasn't very accurate. I know I'm forgetting some remington's Ican't remember the models. But every one I had, including my Mk-1 and 2 rugers and Victor pistols, I would shoot at least 5 different brands of ammo to see which one it liked best, and believe it or not it could make quite a difference in accuracy. And once I knew what it liked, I'd buy a brick at a time. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
 
#109 · (Edited)
Banger, for what?
I have a bunch of bolt guns, in the caliber, Remington 40-x's, Win 52's, 75's, and Anschutz, Brno, Suhl, and others. They all shoot well, but are kinda boring. After all, they are just 'Bolt guns'.
I LIKE single shot rifles, a lot, and own several Win 1885's, Martini Cadets, and a Stevens or two, you begin a long list, because they are the heart and soul of classic accuracy rifles, back in the days when a rifle match, on Sunday, was at least as 'Socially Acceptable' as a Church Picnic!
When one considers that I buy and shoot four to five cases of ammo, every year, the magnitude of my involvement with the caliber starts to become evident.
The Marlin 39 is without a doubt the most accurate rifle of it's Genre, on the market, yet compared to some of the above, it fares somewhat poorly, in numbers on the scorecard, beaten soundly by rifle designs which were old, when it first came to market.
If I re-phrase the question, into "What is the last one you would part with", the answer is stilll not easy, but, for me, would boil down to a Model 44 1/2 Stevens, a falling block, single shot, "switch barrel", rifle, competent to the extreme, as a .22; It becomes a .17 Mach IV, or .17 Hornet, if I also change the Breech block, and lever!
This one is obviously a 'custom rifle', and, less than obviously, built, one caliber at a time, over a period of twelve years, or so, while in service as my 'offhand rifle', for the Sheutzen Club, where the rule is "Iron sights,until you are over 70, or legally blind", and has given good results, every time it is shot, against Win 52's, and Rem 40-X's, at the line.
The only 'downside', is that were I today, to attempt to duplicate the rifle, in a 'commercial environment', it would likely cost more to do, than a good late model used car!
It will be the last one sold, if ever, things get that tough, because it is already willed to a grandson, who is starting to shoot it, and well!
 
#113 · (Edited)
My sweet little Browning .22 auto. It's just a Grade I, but I marvel at the precision each time I take it down for cleaning. And it shoots as well as I need it to for punching paper, shooting silhouettes, or dispatching, when absolutely necessary, skunks, possums, and racoons.

Edited to add that I've had it for over 30 years now, making it my "senior" firearm.
 
#116 ·
I wanna pick me up a 10/22, they are nice shooters. Just shot a couple of them the other day and I just couldn't miss. Had to do a little Kentucky windage though cause of the fact that my friend and I shoot so different, but after I figured it out I was shooting his own gun better than he could. I could probably pick up a "jacking special" in the uncle henry's (local swap/sell/trade book) for around 100 bucks. Can't beat that with a stick.

I currently have a little Davey Cricket that I picked up at Wal-mart, for like 110 bucks. Bought it for my daughter, What a tiny little rifle, it's a single shot bolt action. The smallest little rifle I have ever seen, and I have seen some small ones. Has a set of peep sights on it, it is pretty cool and a good shooter...
 
#117 ·
Re: not so sure it's a minority...

Is the 597 a bolt action target rifle? I am in the market for getting my own, as I have been using my father's old winchester. I like shooting the remingtion mastertarget (513?) that another lady uses at our range, but have been told they are no longer made...Got any suggestions? I have been reading everyone's post in hopes that I may get a better idea of which rifles are better for accuracy and longevity.
annieo_lol
 
#118 ·
The 597 is a semi-auto .22 calibre.
 
#120 ·
I like shooting the remingtion mastertarget (513?) that another lady uses at our range, but have been told they are no longer made...Got any suggestions?
Is 'Used', out of the question?
At my age, there are no 'virgns' so far as I can see, but the Rem 513-T is still available, as 'pre owned'
The other alternative, like my Stevens model 54, on a 44 1/2 action, is to build it yourself, from parts, either commercial, or custom (Made here)!
When the bug for a 'High Grade' Stevens crawled up my butt, I scouted the market, and all I saw were 3K plus prices, for collector, not shooter, rifles. (Read that, there MAY be visible rifling, in the bore!), So, I kept looking, and found a really sound, but low end, M-45 'Range Rifle', in a pawn shop, a hundred miles away.
Bought it, re-barreled it, re-stocked it, replaced all the parts inside, and now I have my model 54!
I have less than 900 dollars, in the whole deal, though a huge amount of time, as I am lucky enough to be able to do all my own machine work.
But, the satisfaction of knowing I can 'head shoot' a squirrel, well past 100 yds, with a rifle far older than me, makes all the time and money worth the effort; I shoot this rifle, as my 'offhand' gun, twice a month at the Alamo Sheutzenverein, in San Antonio, and seldom, without an offer, to buy it!
Collector value, none, as all the mods took the identity away. But, it is what I wanted, and want, so that is a 'non issue'; funcionality, 100%, it shoots where it looks, Irons, or scope, within 1/2 ", at a hundred yards.
Don't be afraid of a 'used' rifle; a target rifle has usually seen the best of care. Shop 'Estate sales', and such, when you hear of a local shooter passing on; there are bargains to be had!
I bought a Remington 40-X out of an estate, some years ago, for exactly the asking price, $200, with a set of Redfield International Mk 8 sights, on the rifle; "Buy the sights, get the gun free", it seemed to me!
Dunno; don't care; fine rifle, I still shoot it, a lot, and when I die, it may again come on the market, too cheap!
Survey your local 'used rifle ' market; you may be missing some of the best deals going!
 
#121 · (Edited)
Well..this thread got me going. After I typed the above post, I thought 'quit wishing and go get one!' So, I did. I went to Cabella's..looked around, and they had Ruger .17hmr's on sale, the synthetic, blued sporter barrel version for 369.00. I bought one and when they rang it up it said 349.00, the cashier said "well, the cash registers always right", the 22/17 were on sale 'till 6pm, and they were then going up to 499.00.This will strictly be a target rifle so the .17 hmr should be great for that. I can't wait to shoot it! When I get a scope that is. No iron sights, which is fine, it means I get to buy more stuff. :)
 
#124 ·
Springfield 86C J, Stevens Arms Company 22 short, long, or long rifle

Had since it was tall as me. Best guess it was made in the 1940's. I think of it as a 'baby 1903'. An ol' timer back home once told me they were used post-WWII to train youth marksman etc.

When I was 11? or 12? me and a kid on my street decided our .22's stocks were in bad need of refinish, which was true since the rifles were hand-me-downs. I figured mine was old as my dad and probably several years older than my mom, which back then seemed really ancient...lol So we fully disassembled our rifles and using commandeered stuff from my grandfather's barn and his dad's motor shed, we went to work. We got kicked out of the kitchen really quick, but in the garage nobody noticed us. The only thing in there was a racecar resting after the season. Days of scratching away with sandpaper at the bench and painting with woodstain and drying/restaining and a final coat of aerosol polyurethane to seal it...and we had the most amateur looking stocks in smallbore history...but they were our own gunsmithing so we were really proud.

In addition to the amateur stock job, the metal finish had long lost its luster. It was, still is, sort of a black shade of steel with a permanent reddish hint that no oil or solvent could kill...the perpetual look of having been born from a piece of railroad...lol

But the bolt handle was gleaming chrome and I knew the bore inside was smoother than glass and bright as a mirror. I remember that .22 leaning in the corner of the log walls beside the gun cabinet full of shiney rifles and sparkling gold-triggered Brownings...and it was in a class of its own to me.

She's still deadly accurate on squirrels, rabbits, smaller pigs, coyotes, and soup cans out to 100 steps. When I was 14, I once shot the cherry off the tip of a cigarrette in the hand of a smartmouth kid standing beside our campfire. He relit it with a twig and finished it sitting down.

In dollar value she ain't worth a tank of unleaded gas...but I'm gonna pass her along anyways to my oldest...along with some stories just a few country kids would know anything first-hand about.
 
#125 · (Edited)
Delta, you have obviously got your ducks in a row; having five grand kids makes 'Estate planning' all the more difficult, because I love them all!
Blessedly, I have a daughter, who is a shooter, and pretty knowledgeable, about arms, and their worth.
My 'Net worth' at my death, will likely favor the arms I have accumulated, over the years, more than real estate, or cash; I am not a 'collector', per se, but rather an 'accumulator', of odd, or interesting, arms.
My daughter, Jen, used to ask why I 'set up', at gunshows, and never sold a gun, and paid $40 for the table.
She shoots a Remington 40X, and quite well, that came from such a show!
I love the 'little smiths', the J frames, and if they bear a 3" barrel, I will do what I must,to possess them; that I already have a dozen, is a 'non issue', for me, as I would buy another if it's nice, tomorow!
Same same, with accuracy .22 rifles; I own more than many shooting clubs,all , that perform, or go 'down the road'.
I have, and suggest that you prepare, a 'list of arms' and their aproximate worth, in a separate document, from your will, so whomever administrates your estate, has guidance, but 'room', to operate.
I've always beena little bit 'queer' for 3", J frame, smith revolvers, several of which have unique history, and features, enhancing their value, substantially, to those that appreciate such things; ditto, for the dozen or so M-52 Winchesters, living in one or the other, of my safes.
Having 'squandered' my paychecks, for many years, buying firearms,instead of stocks, or bonds, I've done quite well, relative to the securities market, as to 'appreciation', but the kids need to know, accurately, what this stuff is worth, to 'come out' OK, upon my death.
They are heirs to well over a half a million dollar arms accumulation, upon my death, with the list they now have, as to description, and value; some, marketable, a few, that never will be sold. My hand built Stevens, and all it's barrels, will go, without question, to grandson #3, Giovanni, because he liked it, before it ever was; we 'built it', with him at my ankle, when he was but four years old; today, he's a fourth grader, but still loves that rifle, and shoots it quite well!
Delta, there are no guarantees, in this world, and had you my medical records, you might better understand this advice; I've been shot, stabbed, run over, and 'blown up', multple times, in every column, but then, i was working in a 'high risk' environment.
Today, I have grandkids, little guys I care about greatly, and have changed my lifestyle, and job, to compliment these little rascals.
This is way afield of the original post; I understand: for the record, my 'Favorite .22' will always be the Stevens 44 1/2, built with a grandson, in mind; it's always been his gun, I am but it's temporary caretaker.
Excuse the excursion, from the spirit of the post, if you will, but give serious thought, to what I have said; a few notes could double the value of your estate, to your heirs!
 
#126 ·
Hi Everyone,

My first post!

"Favorite .22" is a hard question. Each one on the rack is special in its own way!

But, here goes. A Winchester 52D

Action sleeved & stocked by Johnny Chapman (built guns for the olimpics)
Barreled by Robert Findley (renowned Texas small bore shooter & gunsmith)
2 oz. Trigger by Karl Kenyon (need I say more)

Came w/ Redfield Olimpic front & rear sights

I rescued it from a gun shop where it had been gathering dust on a back rack, all but forgotten. They had no idea what it was, or anything about the men who had built it (Most likely constructed in the middle 70's). The shop was glad to be rid of it.

I attatched a 36X scope to the barrel monted scope blocks, and won a match on Sunday. Yep it's one tack driving mamajama! :)

Regards, ultramag44
 
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