New .22 rifle daydreams

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Returning to the title of this forum:".22 Rifle Daydreams", and stepping back a half century to the daydreams of a gun-obsessed boy, the fount of nearly all my daydreams was a 1960 Shooters Bible. The pages of which had been turned and returned until guns and their prices and pictures were embedded in my daily consciousness. The page most often returned to contained the description of a bolt action .22 rifle with a staggering price. It was Winchester's Sporting Model 52, the .22 rifle daydream to eclipse all daydreams. But with a price of nearly two hundred 1960 dollars it not only exceeded my 12 year old financial prospects, but would disintegrate my entire life's savings account beyond any possible redemption. But daydreams are worth keeping, even the impossible ones, so as time went buy I returned to the now ragged edged catalog with he 52 Sporter and..promised myself..someday.. DSC_0222.jpg DSC_0111.JPG
 
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Offfhand said:
Returning to the title of this forum:".22 Rifle Daydreams", and stepping back a half century to the daydreams of a gun-obsessed boy, the fount of nearly all my daydreams was a 1960 Shooters Bible. The pages of which had been turned and returned until guns and their prices and pictures contained therein were embedded in my consciousness. The page most often returned to contained the description of a bolt action .22 rifle with a staggering price. It was Winchester's Sporting Model 52, the .22 rifle daydream to eclipse all daydreams. But with a price of nearly two hundred 1960 dollars it not exceeded my 12 year old financial prospects, but would disintegrate my entire life's savings account beyond any possible redemption. But daydreams are worth keeping, even the impossible ones, so as time went buy I returned to the now ragged edged catalog with he 52 Sporter and..promised myself..someday..View attachment 925754 View attachment 925755
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Great story and beautiful rifle. Gald you were able to fulfill your wish. I grew up dirt poor and drooled over something much less ostentatious. Loved JC Penny and Sears catalogues. Didn't allow myself to wish for much more than a single shot 22, which I co-owned with my brother. Now I buy what I want and have several really fine rifles.
 
Another .22 rifle daydream for a sub-teen boy was this exotic Steyr rimfire from makers of the legendary Mannlicher rifles. It was the stuff that boyhood dreams are made of, but with a 1950's price as far away as the stars..But someday.. DSC_0320.JPG DSC_0281.JPG .
 

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Sniper66 said:
Great story and beautiful rifle. Gald you were able to fulfill your wish. I grew up dirt poor and drooled over something much less ostentatious. Loved JC Penny and Sears catalogues. Didn't allow myself to wish for much more than a single shot 22, which I co-owned with my brother. Now I buy what I want and have several really fine rifles.
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I was similar in that I didn't long for high-end things when I was a kid, though most things might as well have been high-end because they were out of my reach. I generally didn't dream beyond a dilapidated mini-bike or nearly worn-out go-kart that was in good enough shape that I could repair it and ride. Or, gun wise, good used single-barrel break-open shotguns in .410 or .20 gauge with slightly above-average build quality that just felt a little better than the cheap stuff when you open the action, pull back the hammer, or pull the trigger. And especially a barrel (they were all ribless) that didn't remind me of a banana with a bead on the far end due to the way they tapered from the chamber area. I always hated that look, and .410s were of course the worst at taking that shape.

My dad (and therefore I) had the Remington 121 shown below (the exact one), so I was all set with a 22 up until the time I got my 1966 model 10/22 (used) at the ripe old age of about 12. By that time I was trading guns at the local Trading Post every month or two. A great old guy ran the little shop and would basically just trade guns with me with little or no money involved. I recall that when I was 13 years old I counted up that I'd had 19 different guns (only had about 3 at any given time). I don't know why that has stuck with me all these years, but I thought it was a lot at the time.

It hit me a few days ago, now that I'm getting towards the other end of life, I'm back to the same hobby that I started out with. Somehow that's a bit of justification in my mind, or something along those lines.

G6cYfzm.jpg
 
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I had under 500 in my 1022 that did sib .5 at 50 yards ( 5 shots).
GM heavy taper 29", Titan stock. Volq hammer and an '85 action like new....that had no issues LOL.

Liked it on the bench, grip angle I didnt care for in field usage. Was also a little heavier than planned.

Had to run it w match ammo
 
So a hunter gun quest continues.
Have a beater 1022 sporter, the stock feels great. Might have to get a match bolt and GM sporter bbl for it.

Of course no blued sporter bbls in stock.
Can get stainless and cerakote later i reckon
 
What has to be the ultimate .22 dream rifle of all time is the property my snooty neighbor Chuck. He's a southpaw and has a collection of rifles like this Winchester Model 52 that has been converted to left hand operation plus elegant engraving with gold inlays, folding leaf "express" sights, exotic wood and fantastic stockwork. DSC_0147a.JPG DSC_0170.JPG DSC_0175.JPG DSC_0178.JPG
 
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Offfhand said:
What has to be the ultimate .22 dream rifle of all time is the property my snooty neighbor Chuck. He's a southpaw and has a collection of rifles like this Winchester Model 52 that has been converted to left hand operation plus elegant engraving with gold inlays, folding leaf "express" sights, exotic wood and fantastic stockwork.View attachment 930714 View attachment 930716 View attachment 930717 View attachment 930718
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Tell snooty ol' chuck he has some beautiful rifles.
It was awfully kind of him to let you take those pics your.....*er*.. I mean....his, rifles.


You too @Rembrandt
That 52 Sporter is a dream rifle. Very nice!
 
I always wanted the Schnabel Anschutz w rollover cheek....was that a 1422?

Have had a couple lesser models that did fine.
 
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