What to do with old .22 rifle

[Fronka]

I have a Marlin .22 rifle that belonged to my father. The gun is probably 50 years old with thousands of rounds through it. Being so old and used, it has developed significant problems. The magazine is difficult to insert, sometimes the magazine drops out of the gun after a shot, and the last time I fired it backfired, blowing the bullet casing open.

I brought the gun to two smiths. The first was not able to locate parts for such an old gun. The second made repairs to the extractor and magazine. He tried a newer Marlin magazine, but it apparently would not fit. He made repairs to the old magazine as best as he could.

Bottom line, I have spent $60 attempting to repair this gun. Instead of spending good money after bad, I am going to buy a new .22 rifle. My question is what should I do with the old rifle. It has sentimental value being that it was my father's, but I don't just want to store it in the cabinet for sentimental reasons.

Any ideas?

 

[George S.]

I would have thought a good 'smith could find parts (you didn't say what model Marlin it was) at Numrich Gun Parts. http://www.gunpartscorp.com/ They have a tremendous supply of parts for older rifles and lots of Marlin stuff.

It does sound somewhat dangerous to fire so you should definately get a smith to make the repairs if you intend to keep shooting it. IMHO, if it has a lot of sentimental value and is repairable at a reasonable cost, then by all means, fix it and shoot it.

I still have my first .22 rifle my dad bought me a little over 40 years ago. It's a J.C. Higgins (Sears) .22 single shot bolt action, which is really a Marlin Model 100. Not very accurate, but it still goes to the range with me.

 

[another okie]

I also have an old .22 rifle my father bought in the early 1930s, when he was a young boy. (He was a minor and bought it legally through the mail. Oh how times have changed.) It has sentimental value for me, because he used it to help feed his family during the rough times of the Depression. But I can tell the lockwork is getting old and tired, so I bought a Ruger 10-22 for plinking and hunting. Now I only shoot my dad's .22 once a year or so and I use very mild .22 loads, such as sub-sonic rounds or even the Colibris, which are very gentle on an old gun.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Sounds like a wall hanger to me. I'd clean it thoroughly, oil it liberally, and treat it to an honorable retirement.