Old 22 Rim Fires

People, including myself, just gravitate to the old 22 rifles. My first rifle was a Remington Model 510P given to me used in 1958 when I was 8 years old. I still have it and likely a dozen other old 22 rifles. A good Winchester 52 remains on my want list. Just something about how many of those old rifles shoot. Those old 22s just have a certain lure to them which is likely why you have one you haven't shot in 30 years.

Ron

My first .22 was a Remington 510A Targetmaster single shot bolt action, not unlike the previous poster's 510P. My great uncle in Riverside CA sent it to me in the mail (much prior to the GCA 68 laws). It had a broken extractor on the right side (it had two extractor "claws" L&R) and my Dad ordered a new one from Numrich (I believe) and it functioned flawlessly after that.

The thing that always aggravated me (as a kid) was that upon pulling back the bolt and ejecting the spent shell, the safety was automatically engaged even when a new round was introduced into the chamber. We had a 50' shooting range into a 1/4" steel truncated bullet trap in the basement and we almost always shot from a rest (usually a sleeping bag !) from the basement bar my grandfather built (long story). I would chamber a round and get my breathing right when only to pull the trigger I forgot that the safety was on. My Dad would just chuckle.

Frustrating, but a very good trainer rifle to instill safe conditions, unlike the 514 where one would have to pull a cocking mechanism at the rear of the bolt.

It had a 26" barrel and was a real tack driver. When we left Alaska, I sold it to a relative along with a Nylon 66 copy. Both were excellent rifles.



I have no idea what happened to the scope adjustment screw covers. Their call.

Jim

I bought my nylon 66 a few years ago because I always wanted one since I was a kid. I found one at the right price and snatched it up, even though I have a perfectly good 10-22.

The Nylon 66 is an excellent rifle, even if I only had a Brazilian CBC GR8 copy. Light to carry all day (4 lbs. loaded), shoots like a dream with iron sights, and you don't have to think about cleaning it for at least 1,000+ rounds or more.

Still have my first .22, a Ruger 10/22, purchased new nearly 40 years ago. Thought about getting a pump action, like the Remington Fieldmaster .22 I use to borrow to go hunting with, but really liked the 10 round rotary magazine that the 10/22 had to offer. First rifle I ever mounted a scope (a Weaver K2.5), on as I knew from the first time out that it was more accuracy potential than I could get from the iron sights.

Still a favorite all these years later.

joed said:

Well, I put a few pictures up to see how nostalgia goes over.

An old Springfield single shot from 1930s.

Click to expand...

Wow Thanks

My father learned to shoot with this rifle & I learned to shoot when I was younger & when he passed it was handed down to me ......some 80 + years old & still shoots just fine

Thanks again

Old .22 rimfires have always been where it's at. You are just late to the party.


There are literally truckloads of good .22 rifles out there. If you are willing to consider single shot, that opens things up even more.



With the ammo shortage, a lot of things have shown up on the used market over the past 3 or 4 years. I happen to be a sucker for a nice tube fed .22, and they have all been pretty accurate. I handled a modern-day 10/22 not too long ago, and it felt very light and plasticky. I would much rather have one of those older .22 rimfires.

Howdy

Funny you should ask.

Here is my Winchester Model 1906. Shoots 22 Shorts, Longs, or Long Rifles interchangeably. Typical early 20th Century Gallery rifle.





One day when I was a kid I was poking around in the basement and came across a box I had never seen before. I reached inside and pulled out this little rifle. I went upstairs and asked my Dad what it was. I will never forget his answer, he said 'Well, I guess that's yours now'. Seems my Dad had wanted a target rifle when he was a kid. His father did not know anything about guns, but he worked in New York City every day, and he went into Abercrombie and Fitch and bought this rifle and brought it home to my Dad. It may sound strange, but in those days Abercrombie and Fitch was a full service sporting goods store, not the present yuppie clothing store. They had a 12 story building on Madison Avenue in the heart of Manhattan, filled to the brim with sporting goods. Anyway, it was the mid-1930s, my Dad was still in High School, and my Grandfather brought this little 22 home to him.

Here is a photo of my Dad shooting the little rifle on the shore of Lake Katahadin in Maine in 1933. Dig those nickers!





The sad part of the story is my Dad wanted a target rifle, and my Grandfather probably had no clue what a target rifle was, so he bought this nice little Winchester. You can see it is really too small for Dad. I don't think he ever had the heart to tell his Dad that it wasn't really what he wanted.

So I would ride my bike up to the local sports shop and buy a box of 22 Shorts. I set up a little target range in the basement with a slanted piece of steel plate over a box of sand. Worked pretty good. The 22 Shorts were very quiet so none of the neighbors knew what I was up to.

Except Mr. Presco. He lived across the street and one Saturday while I was mowing the lawn he motioned me over to his house. My Dad must have told Mr. Presco about my new rifle. He took me into his workshop and showed me a beautiful blue Winchester kind of like mine. It was a Model 1890, the model the 1906 was based on. 24" octagon barrel. Mr Presco had his 1890 mounted on a nice hardwood rifle rack.

About a week later, Mr Presco called me over again and handed me a nice oak rifle rack just like his. He had made it for me. Dad's Model '06 hung on my bedroom wall all the years I was in High School.

But I always wanted a nice Model 1890 like Mr. Presco's.

Model 1890s go for a lot of money these days. But I kept watching and eventually I found one that wasn't too pricy. Not much blue left on it, not as pretty as Mr. Presco's, but it was a real Model 1890. The Model 1890 did not fire all lengths of 22s, they were specific as to which length they could feed. Since these were gallery rifles, more of them were chambered for 22 Short than any other 22 cartridge. This one is no exception. It is chambered for 22 Short. It was made in 1906. And the truth is, it has probably had many thousands of rounds through it and the bore is a bit tired. The little Model '06 still shoots as good as the day it left the factory. The 1890 doesn't shoot quite so good, but I don't care because I'm sure Mr. Presco is smiling down on me.

There is just a cool factor that goes with old .22 rifles. We all, or most, started with one and most probably still have the very rifle in the safe.

At this point, I have five .22 rifles. wouldn't turn loose of even one of them...yet.One day my sons and grand children will be drawing straws to see who get what. That should be interesting. Let the trading begin!

Mark

Driftwood Johnson

Great story and photos too! Thanks for sharing a nice bit of personal history and nostalgia.

Awesome thread. Even now, the .22LR is my favorite cartridge.

That 1890 was my very first rifle,,,

That 1890 was my very first rifle,,,
I bought it at a farm auction in the early 60's.

I paid a whopping $5.00 for it.

I was sure it had the tube rod when I looked at it before bidding,,,
But when Dad went up to get it for me,,,
It didn't have the rod.

Just a few years before Pop passed,,,
He finally told me that he took the rod and tossed it.
He was adamant about me not having a repeater of any kind.

Shorts were loaded one shot at a time,,,
Pop actually did me a favor making me shoot single shot,,,
But I do wish he would have just hidden the rod rather than tossing it.

Pop was not a gun guy.

I gave the rifle to my baby brother when I went into military service,,,
That was back in 1970 and he did keep the rifle for a few years,,,
Later on he admitted he traded it for a bag of weed.

It was a supremely accurate rifle though,,,
Many a rat at the old county dump met his maker from her muzzle.

I had a chance to replace it with one that was in very good condition,,,
This was about four years ago and I did have the cash,,,
I just couldn't make myself spend $700.00 on it.

But to address the original question,,,
I have several single-shot rifles from the 40's, 50's, & 60's,,,
Most of them have the same level of precision that my newer rifles have.

I just find it to be very satisfying to match the performance of modern rifles,,,
With something that is at least as old (if not older) than I am.

Aarond

.

I have an 1890 in 22 short from my great grandfather. mfg date is 1906 as well.
Also have what I believe is a Remington #2 Rolling Block in 22 short from him as well. Both were cleaned thoroughly and with no issues found taken to the deer camp for a quick trip down memory lane. they shot minute of coffee can at 100 paces so I was happy. cleaned them both up and now reside on a wall gunrack with my dads 30-30 and a few of the old antique ammo boxes.

The continued perceived ammo shortage has indeed been putting some decent values in .22 caliber guns in the used-gun cases, and I've been picking them up. The two oldest I now have are a Glenfield 75 and a Marlin 99M1, both made sometime before serial numbers were required. In addition, I've picked up another Marlin 99M1 and a Model 25 (the date on the 25 puts it as 1985; I haven't dated the second 99M1.)

I also have my 10/22, purchased new in 1986, as well as as several newer .22 firearms, both rifles and handguns.

It's my favorite and, to me, my most versatile cartridge.

EDIT: I did go fetch that second 99M1 from lockup and check it. According to the "subtract-first-two-serial-digits-from-100 rule", that gun was made in 1973.

Well, "they don't make 'em like they used to."

I got my first gun on Christmas Eve in 1957 when I was fourteen years old, a Winchester Model 67 single-shot rifle. I'm sure my dad paid less than twenty bucks for that fine little .22 and I kept it and used it all these many years. Until this year, when I gave it to my oldest daughter. My grandchildren will appreciate the gift, I'm sure.

Love my Savage 29, made in 1929.

22s are just fun!
My first, given to me by my dad, was a Marlin mdl 780. Countless chipmunks met their end by that thing.
Since then I've acquired a Stevens crackshot 26 1/2 (22 shot), the obligatory Ruger 10-22, and my dads first rifle when he was a kid, a 1909 Remington mdl 12.

On the lure of old 22's: As those of my generation age, we think back to the toys that we have had and lost, or toys that we wish we had when we were young a half a century ago. A number of us have taken this further by seeking out those things and buying them.

At least, that is how a number of things have ended up in my safe.

Growing up in the country, I spent many, many hours wandering around the ranch with a 22 disposing of vermin and using prickly pear leaves for target practice. It is much less convenient to do so now, but an afternoon at the range in a target berm plinking at plastic targets is still a sweet pleasure.

I love old .22 rimfires. This is my oldest:

If I am not mistaken, that is a Martini-Henry .22 target rifle.

Very nice!

Here's an old one for you. A Stevens Favorite, 1915 model. A classic if there ever was one, Near new, with unblemished wood and a pristine butt plate. And an interesting history.

Bought in 1916 by a man who promptly shot his son in the head. (accident, minor wound.) He put it in the closet and never touched it again. When he passed, his son got it and shot it a little. When he passed the grandson didn't want it so he asked my brother in law if he knew anyone who might want it. I met the owner and got a big surprise. It came with a hand made wooden case and three boxes of antique ammo. One was marked "semi-smokeless". I told him that the ammo might be worth more than the gun. He wanted $400 for the lot which I quickly accepted.

Ill post pics of the ammo in a minute. Apologies in advance for my psychotic computer. It will no doubt post pics every which way but up.

Here are the three boxes of ammo. The box of shorts is half full, the other two are full.....but the seals are broken, which it too bad. That greatly reduces their value.

I have a Winchester 67, and 68. a couple of remingtons, I believe 314's, a Mossberg 552, a Mossberg 341, Marlin 25M, and 2 nylon 66's, one somebody gave me that is in pieces. The other 66 I bought at a pawn shop for $15, it had a broken stock. Took it to a repair station and got it replaced free. also have a couple of 10-22's but they aren't old. I think the 67 is post war, and the 68's were made til 1942. Both are good shooters if you can get past the trigger pulls.