High-end .22LR rifles

[farmerboy78]

Well i shot my valmet today with the diopter sights. Only my second time ever using diopters. All 10 shot groups at 50yds. SK pistol and federal um22 did the best... both groups were similar with 5 of 10 um22 in the same hole. I really wish I had a no drill scope mount to see what she can really do.
Does those two groups seem acceptable for diopters and a greenhorn?

 

[johnnydollar]

SAKO Model M-78 “Mannlicher”-style fullstock .22 LR
Factory prototype. This rifle is the only known full-stock M-78. Circa 1979.
View attachment 775079

Very nice, me wants!

Odd Job, as the only one of its kind, Mr. robinpeck probably doesn't want to part with his SAKO M-78.

His post, though, reminds me of the story of a another "one-off" factory prototype. People have posted pics of their H&R M12 target rifles here, and many of you are familiar with the civilian version, the M5200 target rifle. But some twenty years ago, H&R announced plans for a sleek little 5200 sporter. Like the Winchester 52 sporter, the 5200 sporter had a target-grade action and barrel configured as a magazine-fed repeater, and was wrapped in a classic walnut stock. One prototype was apparently completed, and pictures appeared in a few different publications at the time, but, for some reason the project was dropped. The world's only factory H&R 5200 sporter apparently belongs to a man with some past connection to the company.

 

[johnnydollar]

Well i shot my valmet today with the diopter sights. Only my second time ever using diopters. All 10 shot groups at 50yds. SK pistol and federal um22 did the best... both groups were similar with 5 of 10 um22 in the same hole. I really wish I had a no drill scope mount to see what she can really do.
Does those two groups seem acceptable for diopters and a greenhorn?

I'm too far along in years to shoot well with iron sights, so I'm really not one to ask.... Practice will help, but so will a scope!

 

[Saleen322]

Well i shot my valmet today with the diopter sights. Only my second time ever using diopters. All 10 shot groups at 50yds. SK pistol and federal um22 did the best... both groups were similar with 5 of 10 um22 in the same hole. I really wish I had a no drill scope mount to see what she can really do.
Does those two groups seem acceptable for diopters and a greenhorn?

I am in my 60s so I understand the challenge older eyes have.That said, technique goes a long way to help shoot decent groups with "irons." Next time you take the rifle out, keep repeating to yourself, perfect sight alignment-perfect sight alignment-perfect sight alignment, etc. Do everything you can to make certain the front aperture is EXACTLY centered in the rear aperture before, during and after the shot. That one fundamental makes a big difference on the target. Below are a couple of 50 yard targets shot using irons on a US Government Kimber. Hope this helps.

 

[farmerboy78]

That helps, I see another problem too... your target was big enough to line up with your sights. The black dot on mine seemed to float a bit

 

[Saleen322]

That helps, I see another problem too... your target was big enough to line up with your sights. The black dot on mine seemed to float a bit

That is a standard 50 yard small bore rifle target. It does frame well in the sights @ 50 yards. I think you will find it easier to see and it is worth trying.

 

[johnnydollar]

I don't do much iron sight shooting any more, but I agree that you need a target with a prominent bullseye if you want to hit from 50 yards away.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I have a couple of peep sight guns. Once you find the front insert and aperatue setting that works for you, you can shoot groups as tight as a scoped gun when using a 50 yard small bore target....Those groups above are great.

 

[bhk]

Yep, I am 68 and can use peep sights accurately when the lighting is good and (as other posters have mentioned) the target and apertures are of the correct size. The official NRA 50-yard small-bore rifle target shot at 50 yards works best for me (go figure). It is easy to find aperature openings, both front and rear, correctly sized to work well with this target. The below 1922 M2 shoots nice groups with this combo. The shown 5-shot group is nowhere near the smallest this rifle has shot at 50 yards. BTW, I wear strong Verilux lenses in my classes and the bulleye often looks like it has a "comet tail" when shoot peeps, but small groups still happen!

 

[johnnydollar]

Some fine groups you've shot with peep sights, gentlemen. I'm afraid I'll have to stick to my target scopes, 24 or 25X for my most accurate rifles, 18X for the next most accurate. Congratulations on your iron sight groups!

 

[johnnydollar]

A different kind of high-end .22--serial # 1,000,000 from Henry, in .22LR of course, currently on auction, with a bid of $55,000 just a few minutes ago.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

High dollar? Maybe...I don't know about highend...lol

 

[johnnydollar]

High dollar? Maybe...I don't know about highend...lol

I don't know...I looked at all the auction pictures, and the wood is first-rate, the engraving is very well done, the metal finish is first class, and the fitting of wood to metal is excellent. It is factory-made to be sure, but a lot of time and effort went into making the rifle. It is kind of like an effort from Remington's Custom Shop, IMO, where a factory rifle is massaged into something unique and special.

 

[johnnydollar]

One more really high-end .22 rifle--the exquisite Hofer Hummingbird. Billed as the world's smallest double rifle at 2.2 pounds, this beautiful rifle can be ordered in a .22/.22 Hornet or .17/17HMR chambering.

 

[johnnydollar]

More pics of the magnificent Hofer Hummingbird:

 

[johnnydollar]

And a few more, including one of the Hummingbird shown next to one of Peter Hofer's full-size double rifle masterpieces:

 

[Offfhand]

Here are snapshots I took of Peter and a couple of his "hummingbird" doubles I've seen at IWA over past years. I especially like the hummingbird front sight on one of them.

 

[Art Eatman]

A couple of years ago he quoted $120,000 for a plain-vanilla Hummingbird with a one-year wait.

Kevin's of Tallahassee said they'd done a resale of a Hummingbird for over a million bucks.

 

[johnnydollar]

A couple of years ago he quoted $120,000 for a plain-vanilla Hummingbird with a one-year wait.

Kevin's of Tallahassee said they'd done a resale of a Hummingbird for over a million bucks.

Well, we were talking about really high-end .22s! Seriously, they are priced so far beyond my budget that it is not funny, but I do appreciate the exquisite workmanship and the tremendous detail work that go into such a rifle.

 

[johnnydollar]

Here are snapshots I took of Peter and a couple of his "hummingbird" doubles I've seen at IWA over past years. I especially View attachment 776362 View attachment 776363 View attachment 776364 View attachment 776365 like the hummingbird front sight on one of them.

Offfhand, when I posted those pics of the Hummingbird, I had already imagined that you might own one. What a pleasure it must have been to see one in the flesh.

 

[redneck2]

Well, we were talking about really high-end .22s! Seriously, they are priced so far beyond my budget that it is not funny, but I do appreciate the exquisite workmanship and the tremendous detail work that go into such a rifle.

A couple of years ago he quoted $120,000 for a plain-vanilla Hummingbird with a one-year wait.

Kevin's of Tallahassee said they'd done a resale of a Hummingbird for over a million bucks.

Yeah. But will it shoot good groups? Ought to get one of those for squirrel huntin’

 

[johnnydollar]

Yeah. But will it shoot good groups?

Probably not, but people don't buy Ferraris because they get great gas mileage, they buy them to impress their friends.

 

[Offfhand]

Offfhand, when I posted those pics of the Hummingbird, I had already imagined that you might own one. What a pleasure it must have been to see one in the flesh.

Peter is quite a character and fun to be with. He can be a wild man at times but highly imaginative and encourages his craftsmen and artists to also be creative. Some of which sometimes goes over the top , as shown in attached photo of rifle action. (I kid him about bring the European version of Tony Galazan, but also kid Galazan about being the American Hofer.) Also attached is shot of fantastic engraving on double rifle Peter told me had been in the works for over two years and still not finished.

 

[Kookla]

That Hummingbird is amazing.... thank you for posting that.

 

[johnnydollar]

Peter is quite a character and fun to be with. He can be a wild man at times but highly imaginative and encourages his craftsmen and artists to also be creative. Some of which sometimes goes over the topView attachment 776521View attachment 776522 , as shown in attached photo of rifle action. (I kid him about bring the European version of Tony Galazan, but also kid Galazan about being the American Hofer.) Also attached is shot of fantastic engraving on double rifle Peter told me had been in the works for over two years and still not finished.

Yes, the detail work on that bolt action is a bit over the top, but that African game scene on the double rifle is outstanding. I'm not a shotgunner and had never really heard of Tony Galazan, but thanks to your mention of him, I've now looked at some of his work. Like Peter Hofer, he seems to be a real craftsman, in the very best sense of the word.

Edited to add: I found mention online of a likely one-off A.H. Fox .22LR double rifle, made by CSMC, but could find no pictures of same. Anyone have any pics of that one?