I love .22 rifles

B

beagle

Well-Known Member
Over the years, I have owned a host of .22 rifles and shot smallbore competition for the Army.
Nothing more accurate than a M52C Winchester.
But it’s heavy.
Other .22s came and went.
There was a Remington M550A that decimated piles of rats at the city dump when that was allowed.
There was a Winchester 62A pump that digested thousands of .22 Short HPs on frogs.
There was my buddy’s Marlin 39A that was also a frog getter.
Then a Springfield M1922A2 that was my squirrel rifle. Amazingly accurate.
All of these served me well.
In the safe right now are two .22s. A M62A Winchester pump and a M39C Marlin lever. They aren’t fired much but they’re ready, willing and able if I need them.
.22 shorts in the compact 500 round brick are hard to find but there’s a couple of bricks in there too.
When I grew up, there was not a house within 10 miles that didn’t have a 12 gauge shotgun and a .22 rifle behind the kitchen door.
May it always be so./beagle
 
Has a Ruger MIII but gave it to the Gkids. Tired of getting pinched fingers from the bolt. Got a Marlin 60 that just won't quit - never had a jam and is accurate. Couple of junk bolt SS when I was a kid. Trash guns. You pulled the cocking knob and hope it caught the 'sear' - which was a groove on the long firing pin.
 
beagle said:
When I grew up, there was not a house within 10 miles that didn’t have a 12 gauge shotgun and a .22 rifle behind the kitchen door.
Click to expand...
I knew a lot of people that were really not "gun people" or even hunters but lived in rural areasa that had that exact set up. Those guns were just tools like a shovel and a hammer.

But getting back to .22 rimfire rifles - YES, they are amazing !

First gun I shot and the one my father taught me how to shoot was a .22 rifle. I suspect I was not alone in that experience.

I've had some awesome .22 rimfire rifles over the years, still have a few. Wish I had some that got away.
As a young adult, a friend and I would pool our money and buy a brick of .22 LR ammo - that would equal a fun weekend with a box or two left over for each of us.
I shot countless .22 shorts when I was a kid, my father and grandfather didn't believe in using .22 LR to punch holes in paper or tin cans. .22 LR was held in reserve for groundhogs, rabbits, etc. A Marlin 39A would cycle those shorts just as well as the LR cartridges, something I think is lost on the younger generations.
 
Half a dozen firearms chambered for 22 LR cartridge. Three semi-automatic pistols, one revolver (9-shot snubbie), and two carbines. Ruger 10-22 and Winchester 9422.

Could have owned an early 22 LR Kimber bolt in LH. When we lived in Michigan, we spent three weeks up in the Northern part of the mitten, fishing for walleye. I subscribed to Shotgun News before the internet. Gun shop in Traverse City had an advertisement for LH Kimber 22's for around $550, IIRC. Figured, I would go there and hand-pick one. Well, I had the cash, but they wouldn't give me the advertised price in Shotgun News, claiming they had to keep the lights on in the store. So, I told them to pound sand.
 
Winelover said:
Well, I had the cash, but they wouldn't give me the advertised price in Shotgun News, claiming they had to keep the lights on in the store. So, I told them to pound sand.
Click to expand...
Sounds like the old "bait & switch". They use the low price to draw in potential customers and when they get there, Oh look, it costs more but since you're already here...........

You were right to walk away.
 
My parents bought me at Christmas time, either 1984 or '85, a Marlin m25 with a real cheap 4x. It was and is one of my best Christmas presents ever. I don't know how many rounds I shot over the years, but it is north of 50,000 rounds. I even say 70,000 rounds, I shot it alot. It remained my only rimfire till about 6 or 7 years ago. Then I bought a Ruger 10/22, just because. Its round count is near 3000 rounds. The 10/22 is behind my side door and waiting for crows, groundhogs, coyotes and feral cats to show up. I also got my dad's RIP 10/22 and a commemorative Remington m572 pump gun. I gave both of my sons 10 or so years ago, 10/22s.
 
Do you regret not getting the Kimber John? I have one and love the thing. Traded a Benelli shotgun and $100 for it.
 
I sure like the 22 rifles. I shot a Ruger 77/22 in League and my buddy shot a CZ452 Lux, I could always outshoot him. The CZ's back then were fairly inexpensive, so I never thought that much of them...but it was probably just a favorable exchange rate between us and them in the 1990s???
.
While still shooting in league, I came into a CZ 452 American for a great price, but it didn't shoot well enough in my hands, I never knew why, but it sure didn't improve my option of CZ...also it burned me that my friend could shoot mosquitos with it when he shot it, so I knew it wasn't the rifle.
.
CZ became more favorable to me, when I got a 457 in 223, then another one in 222...those things are tack drivers.
Fastforward to 3 years ago, someone was carrying this CZ452 Lux around my local gunshow. I was surprised no other dealer scooped this up, because the fellow was asking a fairly low price for it, with 3 mags. AND, my table is about as far from main entrance of the building, as it gets, so most all dealers should have seen it before me. I bought it so quick, the seller's head was spinning, It hits as good as my old eyes can see with the iron sites, Maybe the Lux stock just fits me better?



2024MAR30 LT side full view 1Kpx.jpg
 
Winchester 9422 or Marlin 39A? I have both so I have no dog in this discussion. I inherited the 9422 from my dad and have not shot it much yet. Very nicely made and an elegant design. Pre-safety 39A is what I use for lever action silhouette; Williams Foolproof and blade front sight. The 9422 has a Williams sight that clamps on the receiver dovetail, clunky but it works just fine. Maybe Ruger will put the 39 back into production.
 
smokeywolf said:
How can anyone not love a good 22 pistol or rifle? First gun I shot was a Winchester model 67; a bolt action single shot 22. I was 2 years old. I still have that rifle.
Click to expand...
I have been away 2 years from the range!
Tidying up the bedroom for Karen's stay after operation on her knee and I found 3 Ruger 22's stashed around the room -Loaded-
Can't have enough weapons at your disposal! ( of course the were some 32 acps, 40 auto and 45 1911 pus Karen own stash of 38's
Well just culled out the 22 Rugers so I may just run them up to the range! Love those guns - Dependable and still cheap to shoo and most are accurate!
 
JWFilips said:
I have been away 2 years from the range!
Tidying up the bedroom for Karen's stay after operation on her knee and I found 3 Ruger 22's stashed around the room -Loaded-
Can't have enough weapons at your disposal! ( of course the were some 32 acps, 40 auto and 45 1911 pus Karen own stash of 38's
Well just culled out the 22 Rugers so I may just run them up to the range! Love those guns - Dependable and still cheap to shoo and most are accurate!
Click to expand...
Two years? Jeez Jim.
 
Just picked up a marlin golden 39a... 1962 dob. Has some surface speckling... looks like it was not shot often and put away in a closet. Bore and insides are immaculate. Owner swapped out the stock for a glenfield 30a "deer" stock. It fits, but isn't the greatest... I bought it as a shooter and not for a collection. Still has the front sight good on there. Might have to throw a few rounds downrange after I finish inspecting it.
 
I still have the Remington 512P that I bought from the Leighton Barracks PX in 1958. I had to get dad to go with to pick it up as I was only 12. In high school I added a Weaver 6X scope. That rifle has always been a tack driver. Last use was to help a friend eliminate some prairie dogs that had invaded his strawberry patch. With one of us spotting with binoculars, we got hits as far out as 200 yards. Felt like an artillery spotter. The local coyotes dined well that night.
 
A friend brought over a Hopkins&Allen 922 last Saturday while Charlie the gunsmith was here. Mike and Charlie go back farther than Charlie and I do. The 922 has been re-blued, and the wood refinished. There has been a skosh of wood edge rounding but no dishing of screw holes in the metal. The bead on the front sight had been broken off. I dug through my parts box and came up with a Lyman front sight with a 1/16" red plastic bead. Charlie did the dovetail fitting right at the shooting bench and we soon had it zeroed at 80 yards. Action is tight, bore is good and prairie dogs were knocked down. I even shot a couple offhand. The rear sight needs to be tightened up before it is declared fully repaired. The rear sight appears to be 3 pieces. The dovetail, the elevator, and the what, leaf spring? That is riveted to the male dovetail and is loose. Pushing it all the way to the left and holding off the left edge of the dogs resulted in a hit every time. If you tried to position it in the middle it wiggled around.
 
JonB said:
I sure like the 22 rifles. I shot a Ruger 77/22 in League and my buddy shot a CZ452 Lux, I could always outshoot him. The CZ's back then were fairly inexpensive, so I never thought that much of them...but it was probably just a favorable exchange rate between us and them in the 1990s???
.
While still shooting in league, I came into a CZ 452 American for a great price, but it didn't shoot well enough in my hands, I never knew why, but it sure didn't improve my option of CZ...also it burned me that my friend could shoot mosquitos with it when he shot it, so I knew it wasn't the rifle.
.
CZ became more favorable to me, when I got a 457 in 223, then another one in 222...those things are tack drivers.
Fastforward to 3 years ago, someone was carrying this CZ452 Lux around my local gunshow. I was surprised no other dealer scooped this up, because the fellow was asking a fairly low price for it, with 3 mags. AND, my table is about as far from main entrance of the building, as it gets, so most all dealers should have seen it before me. I bought it so quick, the seller's head was spinning, It hits as good as my old eyes can see with the iron sites, Maybe the Lux stock just fits me better?



View attachment 49004
Click to expand...
Great little rifles, Jon. I was fortunate to pick up a used one about 25 years ago, for $275 as I remember.

It came with one 5 round steel magazine and later I bought the 10 round one, mainly as a spare. Have a Leupold RF scope on mine.

Yours looks really clean!
 
When I was a kid my Father had a High Standard HD Military and when Joe and I were introduced to shooting C R (that’s my Father’s nickname, every one called him C R including Joe and I) picked up a Ruger standard pistol I believe it had w 4&1/2 inch tapered barrel. Fun gun that Joe and I shot all the time. We lived on a channel off Lake Minnetonka in Mound Minnesota. We lived on a pretty good size piece of property with our only neighbor was Mr. Robert’s who happened to be the Vice President of Tonka Toys. Mr. Robert’s was childless so he always had some cool trucks and stuff for Joe and myself.
But Joe and I had tons of targets of opportunity living on the lake and channel, some natural some created.
Next we lived in Littleton Colorado when Joe and I were 9 and 10, CR introduced us to a Remington model 12A slide action that we used every time we went out. While we lived in Littleton C R gifted Joe and I with a bolt action 22, I believe it was a Remington. I do remember at the age of 10 talking it to school for show and tell. My how things have changed in Colorado.
Fast forward to the mid 70’s and my move to Alaska. I had a Remington 241 Speedmaster and managed to find a Remington model 12C with the a 24” octagon barrel. Still have that beautiful rifle and my brother has recently gifted me with a 12A for the old childhood memories.
I got into collecting Winchester levers and with a side interest in 1890 pumps. One was a 22 short which was a real gas to shoot. But also picked up round and octagon barreled in 22 short, long, and Long Rifle. Another in WRF. Fun rifles except the 1890’s were not as smooth as the Remington 12’s. I still have the 12’s but the 1890’s have been history for quite a while.
I’ve also along this road had the Winchester 9422 XTR, which are beautiful but I just didn’t like the feel of them. Picked up a Marlin 39A, same thing as with the Winchester, didn’t feel right.
Picked up like the rest of America a couple 10/22’s which I have and the Rugers and Remington 12’s are permanent fixtures. I love the 10/22 magazines as long as I don’t have to get those Damn 10 round magazines out of the rifle. Always a fight.
I have added a CZ 455 which is a great little rifle, and just added a Ruger American 22 bolt rifle. Both the Ruger and the CZ are shooters. Picked up a couple more high mileage 22 bolt guns trying to be prepared for the grandkids.
But the Remington model 12C remains my favorite.
Pistols I’ve owned a couple HD Military’s on 6” and one 4” models. When I picked up a Smith 63 in the early 80’s the High Standards went down the road.
 
My dad RIP owned a High target Military too. My younger brother now has it. My grandfather RIP owned High Standard.

The original magazine couldn't feed rounds. My dad took it to a gunsmith, or two different gunsmiths, and they couldn't find find the problem. 6 or 7 years ago, I took about a week to find a magazine for him, but I did it and now the Standard has a magazine and it feeds beautifully.

My dad also gave my oldest son a Charles Daily bolt action 22LR and I bought the youngest son a Mossberg Plinkster. That little, ugly black piece of plastic can shoot. I did 1 - 1/4" at 100 yards consistently. Federal 36gr HP, I think. Not sure about the grain. The wind was 0-5mph and I think it was summertime. For fun, my son will take a penny, nickel, dime and quarter and put them on a 50 yard target. Then he will shoot a hole thru each of them. The dime is hard to make a hole, if it lands on the outside of the dime, it will create half of a hole. If it land on the middle of the dime, then its a hole that you could put on your necklace. That little gun is just awesome.

I haven't shot my 22lr for a year now and it was only 3 shots. Two feral cats and a ground hog came into my yards and now they feritzlize my blueberry bushes. A feral cat is one without a collar. If I find a collar up cat in my yard, I will either catch it and find the owner or I will let it go. If I see cat again, then catch or release. If I see it the third time, then it is blueberry food. I haven't had a chance to shoot dogs on my property, after I call the dog and find out its owner and call them, they usually will tie the dog up. I never see the dog again. I have shot dog that are feral and/or chasing deer. I am a dog owner. Out of 52 years, 9 or 10_years I am without dogs. I was 5 years old was when I got my first dog. 21 to 26yo, dogs were not allow in my apartment. Now I am owned by a Yorkshire terrier. She tells me when it is suppertime, she barks repeatedly at 3:45PM till I get her supper.
 
Dad had a Winchester 67A he bought when he was 12 , so 1951/2 . Later he picked up a 67 .
I didn't shoot either of them well , until I found that the sights don't point where I thought they should. Apparently all of the cottontail he killed over 20 years or so with the 67A were taken without the use of the rear sight at all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.