Ultimate rook rifle

[mjackson]

What would make the ultimate rook rifle to you guys? For those unfamiliar with the term, it would be a lightweight rifle chambered in a smaller caliber (think .32 Long) for dispatching small game. Anything from a custom job to a one-off creation, let's hear about them.

 

[ugaarguy]

I've cobbled one together recently. It's a T/C Contender in the old Choate side folding stock with a 16 1/4" T/C factory .22 Mag bbl with standard taper & bluing.

 

[Chuck Dye]

I suppose it depends on what you mean by ultimate. If money is no object, I might opt of one of the original Holland & Holland rook rifles, or an original Farquharson falling block rifle. A new falling block rifle from the likes of Ballard or Soroka will do nicely, thank you very much.

Oh, dear, I just discovered the Farquharson double. Must go buy a lottery ticket...

 

[ugaarguy]

I suppose the Hofer Waffen Hummingbird in .17 HMR might be the ultimate rook rifle if beauty & money are the concern.

In retrospect, my T/C setup is just a cheap redneck rook rifle.

 

[JFrame]

I suppose the Hofer Waffen Hummingbird in .17 HMR might be the ultimate rook rifle if beauty & money are the concern.

In retrospect, my T/C setup is just a cheap redneck rook rifle.

You disappointed me -- I liked your choice the first time around!

FWIW -- one of my favorite guns to shoot is a T/C Contender in pistol configuration with a 14" match .22LR barrel, Harris bipod, and Nikon 4x scope. I'd love to get a carbine barrel to go along with it (already have the Choate folding stock, which normally pairs up with a 16 1/4" blued .44 mag barrel).


.

 

[451 Detonics]

I built one once as well, a very nice Winchester 37 410 rebarreled to 256 Winchester mag. It could be loaded light for squirrels and such, yet heavy loads would handle coyotes easily. I mounted an older Weaver K2.5 on it and it was great. Sadly I sold it when i was offered way too much money for it...I had a greedy moment.

 

[oneounceload]

Another voter for Peter's Hummingbird - only 2.2# and a double rifle.........what's not to like?

 

[JFrame]

I built one once as well, a very nice Winchester 37 410 rebarreled to 256 Winchester mag. It could be loaded light for squirrels and such, yet heavy loads would handle coyotes easily. I mounted an older Weaver K2.5 on it and it was great. Sadly I sold it when i was offered way too much money for it...I had a greedy moment.

...Sounds like it was a great gun!


.

 

[ball3006]

I have a Ruger government model auto pistol that fits the bill. It will shoot one ragged hole at 25 yards. Besides, a pistol is easier to carry than a rifle.....chris3

 

[mjackson]

The Hofer Waffen double guns are pretty close to the top. I think that rifles built on scaled down actions are in a class all their own.

Didn't Connecticut Shotgun make a scaled down Winchester model 21 in .22lr? Keep 'em coming guys.

 

[DM~]

Bailey Bradshaws makes a really nice break open DR, including one in 22LR or WMR. I believe the 21's in LR are still being made too.

DM

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Rook rifles were meant for hunting rooks (crows.) My Kimber M82 in .22 Hornet does quite well in that category.

 

[Remo223]

I've got a marlin 22WMR bolt action. The only thing special about mine is the old fasioned leather military style sling and the 20 power scope. I like to zoom in on their eyeball. As mel gibson said in "the patriot"...aim small miss small

 

[Jim Watson]

Greener showed the top of the line rabbit and rook rifle as a Hollands top break, top lever single shot. Hammer guns were a step down and the Martini was the low end of the market. However a friend's Martini is a nicer looking little rifle than many of the side lever hammer break actions. His was Parkerrifled (relined) to .22 from some larger rook calibre.

Greener said the .22 was not well suited for rook and rabbit, that it paradoxically had too light a bullet and too long a danger space. He said that ideally a rook rifle should shoot accurately for 100 yards and the bullet then drop straight to the ground. Not physically possible, but something to think about when shooting at a rook on a limb or a rabbit in a flat field where a miss could go a long way.
Typical rook rifle calibers ran from .25 to .30. Greener said his .310 Cadet round was probably more than necessary and would probably rate the .300 Sherwood the same.
There was the .360 Rook and some rifles for the .360 No 5 revolver cartridge. Again bigger than necessary but people would shoot deer with them and the Cadet.
Modern rook rifle collectors and shooters are always on the lookout for a .360; it is so close to .38 Long Colt as to make no difference. I think C.E. Harris shoots his with .38 Special wadcutters.

As said, a new gun in .32 S&W long or maybe low end loads in a .32 H&R would do.

The teeny little doubles are cute; but I doubt a crow or rabbit will sit around long enough for the second barrel.

 

[ugaarguy]

There was the .360 Rook and some rifles for the .360 No 5 revolver cartridge. Again bigger than necessary but people would shoot deer with them and the Cadet. Modern rook rifle collectors and shooters are always on the lookout for a .360; it is so close to .38 Long Colt as to make no difference. I think C.E. Harris shoots his with .38 Special wadcutters.

T/C offers Contender bbls in 9mm (9x19), and 38 Special. Bullberry offers a host of interesting calibers. The one most in line with the above quoted, I think, is .380 ACP though. I wonder what the old 9mm Browning Short would do from a 16" bbl?

ETA: Thanks to BBTI there is .380 ACP rifle length bbl. data. http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/380auto.html . It keeps picking up velocity all the way out to the 18" they tested. Interesting.

 

[hardluk1]

When saying an ULTIMATE take a look at KIDD UMTIMATE in .22lr or maybe build your own

 

[Chuck Dye]

*sigh*

I must be aging faster than I realized.

A sidebar question for the readers: Can 21st century thechnowhiz semi-autos qualify as rook rifles? I am kind of hung upon the concept of a short, light (think splinter forearm), limited range, single shot or double. Bolt actions are iffy, semi-autos beyond the pale. But then, I have been practicing to be an anachronistic old curmudgeon for years and may be stuck in a rut. What say you? (about the rifles, not anachronistic old curmudgeons, please!)

 

[whetrock]

I think a Stevens Favorite in 22 Mag would be more than ideal.

 

[Haxby]

I like the Stevens Favorite idea. Closest I can come is a short 308 bolt, walnut and blue, loaded with a 110gr RN and Unique.

 

[natman]

Greener said the .22 was not well suited for rook and rabbit, that it paradoxically had too light a bullet and too long a danger space. He said that ideally a rook rifle should shoot accurately for 100 yards and the bullet then drop straight to the ground. Not physically possible, but something to think about when shooting at a rook on a limb or a rabbit in a flat field where a miss could go a long way.

Exactly. All this talk of 22 Hornet and 17 HMR misses the point that a rook rifle has some specialized requirements that a varmint rifle doesn't. It's a short range proposition. You want a bullet that's relatively slow and not particularly aerodynamic.

I load my 310 with Hornady .314 HBWCs. They hit like a hammer at close range, but lose velocity rapidly.

http://www.hornady.com/store/32-Cal-.314-90-gr-HBWC/

 

[Geckgo]

Start with a 10/22 action, either off the shelf or get a custom stainless or aluminum, modify as you see fit. 22lr is my go-to round.

 

[cluttonfred]

If money IS an object, then I'd suggest the H&R CR45LC carbine. You could easily hand load some light subsonic loads for short range hunting. The .45 is a bit big for that, of course, but the factory can fit s new barrel in .38/.357, .22 Hornet, etc.

 

[Ro1911]

Ar15 in 5.7X28 or a p90 sbr

 

[Gordon]

I had the breech block of my Stevens Favorite converted to centerfire and the perfect condition .32Rimfire barrel rechambered to .32S&W Long. It has nice globe and Tang sights. It was my bull frog rifle with .32 S&W (shorts) which sound like a .22 CB. The .32 S&W with full on flat point loads is nothing to sneeze at!

 

[Cosmoline]

He said that ideally a rook rifle should shoot accurately for 100 yards and the bullet then drop straight to the ground. Not physically possible, but something to think about when shooting at a rook on a limb or a rabbit in a flat field where a miss could go a long way.

The closest I can think of to filling that bill would be a light weight muzzleloader, maybe an underhammer coach gun style, shooting a .32 to .36 cal roundball. Not exactly perfectly flat shooting, but it does loose most of its velocity quickly while keeping the good killing power of soft lead.

That sort of rifle would be something you could make from a kit. I wonder if anyone has done it? Maybe a take-down model!