Bought a Winchester 9422...

[silversport]

...got the bug for a nice .22 lever gun...choices are somewhat limited but after doing a search on the errornet I came up with The Winchester 9422, Marlin 39A as the front runners along with the various Henry offerings...

...after trips all over to area gun shops and retail outlets I added the Browning BL-22 (late entry for me...no real chance to do research)...after going to these places and actually handling them myself (along with my own biases of 48 years ) but not being able to actually shoot any of them, I came up with the following:

Winchester 9422...discontinued but seemingly well liked by every owner...I found one used but in 95% condition and appearing never to have been shot, with the 20 inch barrel, straight stock (what I wanted), checkering (what I wanted), nicely built and decently priced (especially when taken in the context of what I had seen for sale on the internet......definitely a front runner for me...shoulders well and just feels right to me (maybe because I have a Winchester 9410 in a similar configuration)

New Marlin 39A...about $100 more than the Winchester...20 inch barrel but pistol grip stock (not a deal breaker but I wanted a straight stock), nice checkering but felt thick...again, not a deal breaker but...shoulders nice, I didn't care for the squared hooded front sight but yet again, not a deal breaker...

Henry (blue steel, Golden Boy, Octangular Barrel, several configurations)...felt cheaper to me but the lock up seemed tight...nicer looking stocks but no checkering...squared hooded front sight...for me, the Marlin and winchester seemed a step up...

Browning BL-22 one brand new with a used one right next to it...the new was right in the middle of the New Marlin and the used Winnie...the used which was clean and looked unfired inside, at least little to no wear, undercut them all and was a whopping $200 less than the new Browning...made in Japan (in an of itself, not a deal breaker but shouldn't a Western style lever action be made in USA???...but it was nice)...short throw on the lever...nice change of pace...shiny stock, not my favorite...no checkering (I see now Browning makes other models that have it)...seemed a bit smaller than the others...the used one went to the head of the class in my search for a nice plinker...

Back to look over the Winchester as it was the rifle that started my quest for a .22 when I saw it in the used firearm section but hadn't looked it over with a buyers eye...hmmm, the asking price is $50 less than I remembered last week...hey, waitaminit...there are at least two other people talking about this Winchester...I ask my brother to look this over with a critical eye in case I missed anything...nope...three even scratched on one side of the receiver that don't go through the nice blue steel...more like what might happen if someone was careless putting this out...couple of minor chip/dinks in the dull real Walnut stocks...no deal breaker...I have my brother "guard" it while I try to get a sales guy...this place is busy...keep seeing the same two other couples milling about waiting for the 9422 to get put down...my brother holds on to it (feeling he told me later like the guy trying to be the last person touching the car in a whacky radio stunt)...FINALLY a sales guy...

I tell him I'm interested...tell him I'm looking at another rifle (the Browning) at another store and ask, are you married to that asking price because if you can come down a bit you'll take me off the market for a lever action .22 right now...he checks, checks again and then asks the manager...comes back and says, I can drop it $50.00...heck if I open a credit card, I'll get a $20.00 gift card when the bill comes...write her up I said...I got a new Winchester rifle...a 9422...

...now I have to wait 24 hours before I can bring it home or take it to the range...sorry to you other two, this one's mine...

Bill

 

[silversport]

...I picked it up 10 minutes before they closed...sales guy thanked me for buying his 9422...I thanked him for not buying my 9422...looking nearly as nice as the day she was made...



Bill

 

[Kernel]

Nice rifle. Does it have a stanless or brass mag tube?

 

[silversport]

brass...and thanks...
Bill

 

[silversport]

I just got off the phone with Winchester customer service...very helpful which is rare in this day and age...my 9422 was made in 1989...
Bill

 

[bpl]

Very nice! I was very tempted to buy a nice used 9422 last year, but it was on consignment and they would not/could not drop the price. I think they wanted $550 or $600 for it, if I recall. I was looking for less than $500 at the time. Anyway, I'd really like to get one at some point.

 

[silversport]

Thanks...everywhere I looked, the best deal I could find was $650 for a used 9422...this was quite a bit less than that...almost bought the used Browning BL-22 till they dealt on this Winchester...
Bill

 

[DWH]

Got to love the 9422!

 

[444]

Nice rifle.

I have a 9422 Trapper (16") that I have carried around a lot and shot quite a bit. I bought it to carry around when I was walking my dog. I liked the short barrel so I could carry it in one hand with the muzzle toward the ground without the barrel coming close to the ground. I bought it new about 10 years ago or so.

Several years later I had a chance to buy a couple used lever action .22s when a buddy of mine died. I picked up a Marlin 39A and a Browning BL22 from his widow.

I have shot thousands of rounds through all of them.

I would rank them like this:
For carrying around: 9422 (It is the rifle I leave in my pickup all the time FWIW). If I am taking a walk, hiking around in the mountains or something like that, I take the Winchester.
For pure accuracy: Marlin 39A however.....................
For practical accuracy and general fun: Browning This is for one big reason. On the 9422 and the Marlin 39A the front sight is a huge round blob. I find that it is very difficult for me to shoot accurately. For example, I have a spinner target that I like to shoot from as far away as I can. Much past 25 yards and their front sights completely cover the target. With the Browning, it has a very nice sized brass bead front sight that gives me much better practical accuracy. I live in a place where you can still go out and plink. There is an area set aside for shooting just outside of town and people dump all kinds of junk out there: I know this is a shame but it is fun to shoot there. I frequently take my .22s out there and plink at junk trying to really challenge myself. For example I might shoot at a water bottle but instead of shooting the bottle, I try to shoot the cap off of it. The front sight on my 9422 and 39A is just too big for this kind of accuracy and the round shape doesn't help any.
I guess I am getting old. Just got an eye exam and have to get bifocals. I didn't even wear glasses 7 years ago and now I am wearing bifocals. So, sights are a big issue for me.
The short lever throw of the Browning is also a nice feature.

You can't go wrong with any of them. I really enjoy all of them.


FWIW: I had the Marlin 39A threaded for a suppressor which is also a nice addition.

 

[Leadhead]

That's a beauty for sure! I've got one I bought cheap a while back that has seen lot's of use and it's the smooooothest lever action in my collection!
I put a NECG peep sight on the grooved receiver and replaced the front sight with a higher fiber optic shoots great.

 

[silversport]

thanks for the feedback guys...DWH...nice!...may have to get one of each
Bill

 

[johnmcl]

444,

*blink blink*, rub glasses, you said a suppressor on a 39A?

1) That's almost heresy

2) Got a photo?

 

[batmann]

Great purchase. My wife bought a 9422M (22 Mag) for me 10 years ago and it has been a great little rifle, it matches up well with my Ruger Super Single Six and the mag cyl.

 

[444]

I don't have any pictures of the threaded 39A. Just picture a 39A with a small section (maybe 1/2" long) at the end of the barrel, that is knurled. When you want to use the suppressor, unscrew this thread protector and expose the threads. It doesn't look bad at all. In fact it looks good. Most people have no idea what they are looking at and pay no attention to it.

As far as threading a lever action rifle, why not ? Why should suppressors be limited to only certain guns. What would you base this on ? If you research the early days of firearm suppressors (Maxim for example) Lever Action rifles were what they were using. I also have a Marlin 1894C in .357 threaded. It is a wonderful suppressed firearm. I use my 9mm suppressor and shoot subsonic .38 Special loads in it. It is probably the quietest firearm I have ever heard. Yet it packs a serious punch. I only recently started playing around with this rifle so I haven't had a chance to really check it out yet. My intention was to shoot 180 grain bullets out of it (which I haven't done yet). This would provide a very quiet, yet seriously potent combination. Think about the old British military .38-200. The British military was using, as a standard issue sidearm, a .38 S&W with a 200 grain bullet which had a muzzle velocity of less than 700 fps. I can easily load up these 180 grain bullets to just below the speed of sound and have a modern hollowpoint bullet of 180 grains going 1100 fps. and yet, it will be about as quiet as a suppressed .22LR rifle. I told a shooting buddy of mine about threaded the 1894C and he had the same reaction: You threaded a lever action ? I can't believe you ruined a gun like that.................. A couple months later I brought the rifle out to the range and he didn't even notice the thread protector. He didn't even know it was there. I had to point it out to him. He completely changed his tune. When I fired it, it was an instant convert.

Why the Marlin 39A ?
Well, to start with, there was plenty of meat at the end of the barrel to thread without having to shorten the magazine tube and without having to move the front sight. Second, it has a fairly long barrel which in a .22 seriously reduces the report even without a suppressor; making the suppressor all the more effective. Then the rifle is very accurate and fun to shoot. The suppressor makes it even more fun to shoot because you don't need hearing protectors etc. The rifle fires from a closed breach unlike an autoloader making it quieter. And, it has a higher rate of fire being a lever action, than a bolt action (which also has a closed breach).

One big drawback to threading a 39A and using a suppressor: you have to removed the suppressor every time you need to load the gun. You can't take the magazine tube follower out of the gun with the suppressor attached. So, this doesn't work out so well for plinking but it is doable if you want to. For small game hunting, pest elimination and things like that where you are using the rifle and not going through a large volume of ammo, the 39A is an excellent platform suppressed.