Classic American Rimfires?

Winchester 1890, 1906 pumps, 69, 52 Bolt actions.
Marlin 39 lever.
Remington, 121 pump, 510, 511, 512. Bolt actions.
Ruger 10/22
ALL pre 70's Mossberg Bolt actions.

My 1933 vintage Rem M34P.

Henry Lever Action

Boxhead said:

My 1933 vintage Rem M34P.

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That Remington is nice!

Chair ain't bad either.

Win 63

Winchester 74, Mossberg 44

The Remington 40X is the king of the US rimfires by a good margin. Nothing has had as much impact on accuracy as the 40X. They built them right and they are still highly sought after and the price is getting higher for examples still in operation. Bench rest shooters rely on them heavily. But they are great squirrel rifles in their original form. They are just incredibly good rifles.

Other rifles are also good but not on the same level IMO. The Winchester 52 among others is a great rifle. Then of course other .22's have made their mark on the world like the Marlin 39.

If you want to talk ubiquitous rifles though the top of the list reads "Marlin 60". It's the top selling rimfire of all time for good reason. It's a great rifle that comes at a great price and does the job right out of the box which is exactly what a lot of people want. The 10/22 is second on that list. With half the sales of the 60 it isn't the "everyman's rifle" that the Marlin is but it certainly is a popular rifle. It can be built into an incredibly good level but it comes out of the box pretty good. It just isn't as good or as cheap as the Marlin as a stock rifle. But if I had my choice between a total bling Ruger and a bone stock Marlin the choice would be simple. The Ruger would be a much better rifle. But personally, if I want accuracy I get a bolt action. It's much cheaper that way. A fully modified Ruger is not a cheap rifle. In fact it's a very expensive rifle and it will never be equal to the top bolt action rifles.

A lot of other rifles are great American rifles too IMO. Savage has created a great rifle in the MkII especially the heavy barrel models. T/C was a great, great rifle. The Remington 597 and several other Remingtons and a long list of Winchesters and a long list of Stevens and Savage rifles have all been classics IMO. Then there's the custom built rifles. Maybe I should have started this list with a Bill Calfee built rifle. That would be the best rifle you could possibly get as far as accuracy goes. He builds rifles from parts of course but no one does it as well as he does. I almost had my mitts on one a few years ago and at an incredibly great price. I should have borrowed the money to get it but I hate borrowing money. It was Christmas and I was low on cash after having bought a lot of presents. By the time I got the cash the rifle was gone. I guess that will always be the one that got away for me.

A vote for the Cooper 57M. The folks who said people would never buy expensive .22 rifles were proven wrong.

"The Model 57, 22LR, was added to the line-up in 1999, eventually evolving into the Model 57M in 2001"

Otoh, I didn't sell my Mountie or 541-S either. That reminds me, I need to see about getting my father's Savage 23AA from my uncle.

Accurate, too. My 57M Custom Classic .22 LR.

Don't forget the Marlin 60.

The Remington 40X is the king of the US rimfires by a good margin. Nothing has had as much impact on accuracy as the 40X.

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I would argue that the Winchester Model 52 has just as much "stature", if not, more.

Agree with SwampWolf, the 52's were the benchmark for nearly 75 years. They held countless Olympic and world records during that time. While the 40X is certainly tops, it doesn't have the pedigree of the 52.

For a generation long dead, their rimfire would be the Stevens Crackshot rimfires. Stevens made a number of variations of single shot rifles, all built around a rolling block type action.

This is the STEVENS "JUNIOR" NO. 11 rifle in .22rf. The first advertisement for it appeared in the Feb. 1924, Hunter, Trader, Trapper magazine for $4.50. Production ceased in 1932. Pretty nice old piece considering that it's AT LEAST 79 years old!

http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/showthread.php?p=711094

The classic American 22 is which ever one your father gave you growing up. If it came to him from his father add 5 points in scoring value. If it came to your grandfather through his father add another 12 points. If it goes back in the family farther than that then it is a beyond points scoring rifle. In my vault is the 22 rifle that passed down through the family an unknown number of generations. I am on the registry of the sons of the American Revolution and a Son of the Confederacy. My family still lives on the 160 acre farm that was a land grant from the King of England. As such, we may be some of the few people in this country living on their own property. Check out this link. You might find this some of the more interesting reading in years. Thus glad we hung on to the deeds going back to pre revolutionary war as to ownership of our property. Bottom line, we may well still be a colony of England. Government schools never seem to present some facts of importance.

http://www.civil-liberties.com/books/colony2.html

My 22 rifle dates back so far we cannot put a date or even a generation on it. There is no makers name on it, no dates, no hallmarks, serial number, etc. It is a turn bolt .22lr and not even stamped with that information. It is not slick, pristine, or even well taken care of. It has never been abused but it has been highly used. If required, I could feed my family with it as it did a couple of generations in the past. In 30+ years of being a firearm affectionado I have yet to show it to an expert that could definitively identify it. Thus I am not sure if it is even American made but it is most definitely an American Classic.

Some of the ones I consider "classic"...

...and a couple others. Everyone was out for a check-up after our recent rains so I thought I'd snap a photo.
-Remington Speedmaster 552. Semi-auto that feeeds short, long or long rifle in the semi auto mode. Decent sights and scope ring rails.
-Marlin 60. For me THE American semi-auto .22.
-Stevens 66B. Outstanding sights in peep/match and open form with alternative front profiles like any good match gun. Full size feel. Tough to scope without drilling.
-Marlin 39: Hex and round barreled "Golden 39". Micro groove. Smooth action. Full size feel. Easy to scope - drilled and tapped. Bolt action accuracy with boy-appeal cowboy lever.
-Winchester 75. THE BEST!
-Springfield M-2. how rockin' cool is a righteous .22 based completely upon the best bolt action battle rifle ever made?
-Mossberg Model R. I'll withhold assessment on this till after the restoration but it is pushing the right buttons so far.
-Winchester 74. Great action and feel. Tough to scope. Decent factory sights.

I would argue that the Winchester Model 52 has just as much "stature", if not, more.

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The 52 was a classic and had just as much stature as the 40X right up until the time the 40X came along. And some people held onto the notion that they were just as good. But the 40X quickly proved they weren't. You might notice that I didn't mention "stature". What I said was the 40X did more for accuracy than any US rifle and that's true. Yes the 52 with it's beautiful lines and hand crafted quality was a true classic. All I said was the 40X became (and remains) an even bigger classic. And that is true all day long. Remington did to Winchester what Winchester had done to other rifle makers. They made a relatively inexpensive (compared to the super expensive European rifles for example) rifle that could hold it's own with any rifle when it came to accuracy. Well Remington was cheaper and more accurate. They pretty much put the 52 out of business by doing the same things the 52 had done.

Consider the equipment list for the ARA National bench rest competition. There are 116 contestants listed. Of those exactly one person uses a Winchester "54" action. 22 people use a 40X action. There's a reason for that. The 40X is still making a dent in our shooting culture while the 52's and 54's have become collector's items more than top notch shooters. Yes they were classics for a long time. But the 40X became "the" classic US rimfire and it still is.

I'll second JohnBT on the Cooper 57M. Although mine is more utilitarian with its laminated stock and matte blue finish there is nothing cheap, or chintzy about it. I am glad it is still possible to buy an American made rimfire rifle that is made to meet a atandard of excellence, and not just a price point.

I also love my old Kimber M82 Govt' for similar reasons.

I don't think that your personal favorite rimfire should be the definition of classic. A classic rimfire should be a gun that was ahead of it's time. A gun that was copied by many manufacturers because nothing in their line up should match it.

Another forum has two articles written on deer rifles and calibers that changed the game. Most of the calibers were so obscure I have never heard of most of them yet the author skipped guns/calibers that literally changed the way we hunt deer today.

Remington Nylon 66.


My 1961 in Seneca Green



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I hardly think the Browning SA22 could quality as American even though it's designer was. I would pick the 63 Winchester, 39 Marlin, 67 Winchester, 514 Remington, Nylon 66.

IMO, the Marlin 60 is a towering achievement in the category "classic/standard", even though it may not be gorgeous to look at.

One Winchester 9422M is probably the prettiest and most elegant rifle I own. I think it came infused with "The Force" too, because it "hits" way above my class.

Aaron1100us said:

Remington Nylon 66.


My 1961 in Seneca Green

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I remember as a kid how our dads would be Ford/Chevy/Chrysler or moms would be Mary Kay/Avon... whatever.
Amongst us kids, if one was into semi-autos (I didn't really like them) it came down to Nylon/60/10-22.

Even though I never had one I still get a kick outa seeing a pristine vintage Nylon.

Hello friends and neighbors // How about a couple of Military .22cal training rifles and a straight shooting oldster.

1915 Enfield (top) Lucky to find this ,Parker Hale, locally.

**middle-- is a 1939(first year) Remington 510.Non military still functions, going by the carvings and cracks it has definitely been a boys woods rifle.

1943 Remington 513T (bottom) We used these shooting in High school ROTC.
Started my niece rifle shooting, last year, with this old "jewel". She appreciated the Military history almost as much as I do.

Hello friends and neighbors // At one time single shot, takedown .22s were everywhere.

Remington #4 Rolling Block



Stevens #26 "Crackshot"

Hello friends and neighbors // The single shots were soon followed by .22 rifles of every flavor.

Remington Model 12 (1911) Pump action


Winchester 69 (1937), 69A (1943) Bolt Action I first used these in the Boy Scouts at Camp Horseshoe, Pa.

Marlin 39A (1952) Lever action

Remington 552 (1955) Semi auto action

I have an old Marlin 81DL that I would consider a classic. Also an old Stevens single shot that my dad learned to shoot with, he was born in 1919. The old Stevens has taught all of my younger brothers, and both of my boys. Sorry, no daughters in the crew.