Driftwood Johnson
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No discussion of tube fed rimfire rifles would be complete without mentioning the granddaddy of them all, the Winchester Model 1890. Patented by John Browning in 1887, Winchester tinkered with the design for a while before finally beginning to produce it in 1890. The Model 1890 was the first of what were called Gallery Rifles, immensely popular in shooting galleries at carnivals and boardwalks. I can remember shooting one at a shooting gallery at Jones Beach on Long Island as a little boy visiting my grandparents.
The Model 1890 had a 24" full octagon barrel. The crescent butt stock was standard. The Model 1890 was chambered for 22 Short, 22 Long, 22 Long Rifle, or 22WRF. But the Model 1890 was caliber specific; each one would only chamber and fire one version of the 22 Rimfire, it could not feed anything else. Because they were so popular at shooting galleries, and they were popular with young boys, the great majority were chambered for 22 Shorts. Indeed, I can remember the carny who operated the shooting gallery where I fired one would load them up from a tube of 10 22 Shorts. Next in popularity were the 22 WRF, then 22 Longs. The 1890 was not chambered for 22 Long Rifle until 1919.
This particular one was made in 1908 and it was chambered for 22 Longs. Try finding any 22 Longs today!
In 1906 Winchester offered an 'economy version' of the Model 1890 called the Model 1906. My grandfather bought this Model '06 for my Dad around 1930 at the Abercrombie and Fitch store on Madison Avenue in New York City. Imagine that!
The Model 1906 had a 20" round barrel and the stock was made of a less expensive wood than walnut, probably birch. But the Model 1906 had the advantage that you could shoot 22 Shorts, 22 Longs, or 22 Long Rifle out of it, it did not care. I used to ride my bike up to a sporting goods store in Ho-Ho-Kus NJ, near where we lived and buy one box of 22 shorts at a time. I set up a little 'impromptu' shooting range in the basement or our house and used to shoot it when my parents were not around.
By this time lots of companies were offering pump 22 rimfire rifles. But I was always a Winchester man. I picked up this nice Model 61 few years ago. It was made in 1946. The 'hammerless' design of the Model 61 was meant to imitate the 'hammerless' shape of the Winchester Model 12 shotgun. They were not really hammerless, they had an internal hammer.
I also have a nice Marlin Model 39A from the pre-microgoove days, but apparently I don't have a photo of it. Must remedy that.
Incidentally, that old Model '06 of my Dad's is still just as accurate as the day it left the factory. I was kicking tin cans around with it at the 25 yard berm the other day, the limiting factor was my eyesight, not the accuracy of the rifle.
No discussion of tube fed rimfire rifles would be complete without mentioning the granddaddy of them all, the Winchester Model 1890. Patented by John Browning in 1887, Winchester tinkered with the design for a while before finally beginning to produce it in 1890. The Model 1890 was the first of what were called Gallery Rifles, immensely popular in shooting galleries at carnivals and boardwalks. I can remember shooting one at a shooting gallery at Jones Beach on Long Island as a little boy visiting my grandparents.
The Model 1890 had a 24" full octagon barrel. The crescent butt stock was standard. The Model 1890 was chambered for 22 Short, 22 Long, 22 Long Rifle, or 22WRF. But the Model 1890 was caliber specific; each one would only chamber and fire one version of the 22 Rimfire, it could not feed anything else. Because they were so popular at shooting galleries, and they were popular with young boys, the great majority were chambered for 22 Shorts. Indeed, I can remember the carny who operated the shooting gallery where I fired one would load them up from a tube of 10 22 Shorts. Next in popularity were the 22 WRF, then 22 Longs. The 1890 was not chambered for 22 Long Rifle until 1919.
This particular one was made in 1908 and it was chambered for 22 Longs. Try finding any 22 Longs today!
In 1906 Winchester offered an 'economy version' of the Model 1890 called the Model 1906. My grandfather bought this Model '06 for my Dad around 1930 at the Abercrombie and Fitch store on Madison Avenue in New York City. Imagine that!
The Model 1906 had a 20" round barrel and the stock was made of a less expensive wood than walnut, probably birch. But the Model 1906 had the advantage that you could shoot 22 Shorts, 22 Longs, or 22 Long Rifle out of it, it did not care. I used to ride my bike up to a sporting goods store in Ho-Ho-Kus NJ, near where we lived and buy one box of 22 shorts at a time. I set up a little 'impromptu' shooting range in the basement or our house and used to shoot it when my parents were not around.
By this time lots of companies were offering pump 22 rimfire rifles. But I was always a Winchester man. I picked up this nice Model 61 few years ago. It was made in 1946. The 'hammerless' design of the Model 61 was meant to imitate the 'hammerless' shape of the Winchester Model 12 shotgun. They were not really hammerless, they had an internal hammer.
I also have a nice Marlin Model 39A from the pre-microgoove days, but apparently I don't have a photo of it. Must remedy that.
Incidentally, that old Model '06 of my Dad's is still just as accurate as the day it left the factory. I was kicking tin cans around with it at the 25 yard berm the other day, the limiting factor was my eyesight, not the accuracy of the rifle.
