Old .22's & the joy of shooting them!

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Bill B.

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Just got back from the range with my old Mossberg 146 which is pushing 60 years old. I shot what many say is some of the worst .22 ammo around; Remington Golden Bullet Bulk. Range was 25 yards and I just used the peep sight on the Mossberg. I shot 4 groups of 20 shots each with the old Mossy.

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I will have to say it brought a smile to my face! :D I have "better .22's" that may or may not be true :eek: anyway they cost more, some with very good glass, and .22 ammo that is target grade but I will have to say I enjoyed this outing! :D If you have an old .22 rifle get it out, shoot it, let a kid shoot it but get it back in action! There are too many of these old rifles with a lot of life left in them sitting in the back of closets and safe's. They may not be the latest and greatest but they can still perform! :)
 
My favorite to shoot is still the old Sears/High Standard that I found in the closet of my Great-grandfather's farm house. It looked like he shot it a lot, and I know it hadn't been cleaned in 25 years...but it still shot a few without jamming, and once it was cleaned up it was a perfect little shooter
 
Anyone feel free to post pictures of their old .22 rifles rifles & groups shot in this thread!
 
I have a Browning auto made before 1918 that I found behind a cupboard in a old house.It was in two peices and being so small I fgured t wasn't all there untll put it back together. It shoots well still but haveing iron sights on a fellow wth trifocals dosn't help much. I reblued and finished the stock on it and 35 years later I am stll not afraid to shoot it except that I learnt the hard way to not cup my hand under the action when fireing it.
 
I once had a Marlin Model 60 from 1971 that would print ragged one-hole groups at 50 yards. I now have a Ruger 10/22. How I wish I could go back in time....the Ruger isn't half the gun the Marlin is.
 
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I have my dad's Remington Model 41 single shot. He got it when he was confirmed. I haven't shot it in years and the trifocals don't help now. I also shoot a Winchester Model '06 for fun. My dad found it in a grainery about 40 years ago, split stock, charred forearm, no blueing but fun.
 
Rubber_Duck said:
I once had a Marlin Model 60 from 1971 that would print ragged one-hole groups at 50 yards. I know have a Ruger 10/22. How I wish I could go back in time....the Ruger isn't half the gun the Marlin is.
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I had one of them model 60's that my wife got for me when the Walmart in Pratt, KS opened up in the early 80's. For giggles, I put a 4-12 X 50 varmint scope on it with see-through rings.

One afternoon when the wind was dead calm (don't happen often in Kansas), a friend and I spent a couple hours and a brick of ammo driving those decorative upholstery tacks at 75 yards. We went through several boxes of tacks and didn't miss many.

I regret selling it to another friend, but I still get to shoot it once in a while and it will still do the ragged 1 hole groups at 75 yards even after 10,000 plus rounds through it.

I don't think anyone makes better .22 barrels than Marlin does.
 
I have my dad's Remington Model 41 single shot.
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Same here except mine was my grandfather's. He bought it used in the early 60's at a pawn shop for $13...and I got it sometime in the mid-80's. Love that rifle. It's not much for looks anymore, but it still shoots very well.
 
It shoots well still but haveing iron sights on a fellow wth trifocals dosn't help much.
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I am almost in the same boat! After I got bifocals I thought my iron sight shooting was about done for. Getting several old .22's that has the peeps has helped roll time back. You may want to look into putting a set of peeps on some of those old rifles you own and put them back into use. I am actually having as much fun with the peeps as I do with a scope these days. Getting the correct target to use with the peep sight is the key!
 
Peep sights will outshoot open barrel mounted sights day in and day out. Why do you think they're on about every match rifle ever used in events that require iron sights.

Not only are they more accurate they are also easir to use because as long as you're looking at the front sight through the peephole your sights are automatically aligned.
They put peep sights on military rifles for a reason too - easier to get new recruits, who may or may not have ever fired a rifle before in their lives, up to speed and making their required 'marksman' scores with only a few days of training.

I have a lot of rifles and of those that are not scoped the only one that has open sights on it is my Nylon 66 and that only because I'm afraid to try to mount a tang sight into it's plastic stock.

Someplace there are diopter screw-in peep sights to correct for old eyes in most tang or target type rear sights. I haven't found where to buy them yet but when I do I'm getting the whole set!
 
My Rem. Mod. 121 "Fieldmaster" is pre-war, (70 years old) and is a dream to shoot, shoots one hole groups at 50 feet, and has perfect balance. It is the most accurate pump action rifle I have ever shot.
 
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I was given this rifle 50 or so years ago. I took a file to it to try to get it to shine, the scratches are still on the receiver. I don't shoot it very much, my eyes don't do open sights well enough to not make it frustrating.
 
Those old Winchester pumps are a true classic! I always wanted one of those in .22LR. The WRF ammo is tough to find and expensive!
 
I have four .22...all of them are old. Only one is semi auto. I always have a great time shooting these little guns. They are capable of better accuracy that I am...but I still have fun!

I guess I could mention the guns...a Marlin/Glenfield, ( the semi auto), a Remington mod 510 (bolt single shot), a Savage mod 24...22/410 over/ under, and a Savage mod 72 under lever (falling block). I will not hesitate to add to my group of .22s if the chance comes along. I think even my sons are trying to pick up a few. They are just fun.

Mark
 
nice shooting bill b, yep just somethin about them old rifles, its absolutley a joy to shoot. heres my remington 12-c, just recently made a scope mount to see how she really shoots

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not bad considering they stop producing this model in 1929
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not bad considering they stop producing this model in 1929
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I would say not bad! I love those old .22's with that metal butt plate. I saw a Remington rolling block in .22 LR about 4 years ago that looked like it might not have been fired. Case colors were like new and just beautiful! I still regret not making that purchase but I know I didn't need it! It did not keep me from wanting it!
 
Mine is not as old as some of the rifles here, but it is 45 or so years old. I always get a kick out of it when at the range and some people say..."hey...that is a pretty nice Browning Semi.....looks new......" When I tell them it is the Belgian model and its 45.....the jaws begin to drop....my dad bought it at Sears in 1964 for 86 dollars!!! Still a joy to shoot.
 
Ifit, Please tell me that you did not drill any new holes, non factory holes, into the receiver of your Remington Model 12 to install that 'mount'..
 
when i purchased the rifle used, it had the holes already there, drilled and tapped. what do you mean "non factory holes"? did some of these rifles come already d/t from the factory? or they just never came d/t
 
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