Your favorite good ole 22 lr

Man, what a good thread. It's bringin' back memories for me too. I'm trying to stay busy makin' new ones by squirrel hunting every chance I get but time is not unlimited so I'm still callin' predators right now. I have been squirrel hunting two or three evenings this year /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif. Only for a few hours total. But to the real topic....

I have owned only a few 22's myself but like you guys I've fired so many. My uncle started me on some old Remingtons like the 550 and I remember loving it. I also remember the Nylon 66. I learned to shoot with those rifles. Shooting in the trash piles on the side of the road down from my grandmas house. I wish we still had those.

Nowadays I have three 22LR's of my own.
First is a great 10/22 with a worked trigger including overtravel stop and recrown - very accurate and I shoot it all over between SC and VA. It's all taped up with camo and a cheap scope but it sees most of the action.

Second is a Kimber of Oregon Super America. I've never owned a nicer rifle period. This one shoots tiny ragged one holers at 50 yds with match ammo. The sight is a Leup 2x7 compact in the original Warne rings. The AAA walnut and conditon of this rifle requires me to handle it with care so I only hunt with it behind the house. It sees more action on the range than anywhere else.

The third rifle is another Kimber of Oregon - AAA Mini-Classic. This one was a very limited run. It has nearly all the upgrades as the old Super America but it's a mini with the schnabel forend, 18.5" barrel, steel butte and grip-caps. The walnut on this one is as good or better than the SA but I still hunt with it regularly. It's got the original Warne split rings and also a Leup 2x7 compact. Perfect! This rifle is so sweet I can hardly put it down when I take it out. I tell you the fit and finish of the old Kimber of Oregon 82's will scare you /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. The blueing, checkering, triggers, everything is perfect. Of course.......you gotta pay /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif.

Hey, I'm a single man and I figured I'd grab these little babies while I could. One day I may be supporting a family and putting away for college tuitions and all I'll be able to buy at the gun shows will be bullets and cleaning patches /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. I think I did the right thing. Hopefully I'll pass 'em down one day to someone that will appreciate them. There's gotta be another generation coming that can learn how good it feels to know you can shoot a squirrel in the head a 40 plus yards with the right equipment and skill. I hope so anyway /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif. For now it's just us guys.

Thanks for starting this thread. I enjoy reading everything y'all wrote. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowingsmilie.gif

God bless,
JB
 
The most favorite of my 22lr's would have to be my single shot bolt action winchester model04A from 1898. My second favortie would have to be my Remington model 550-1 semi automatic rifle. The old Win is not as fast Shooting as the Rem but more accurate, or atleast I shoot the Win better. The Rem was the first gun I ever got many years ago. I got it for my birthday from an old man named Dutch who lived nextstore to us in Montana.
 
My favorite, won't sell for any reason .22 is my Browning BL22 grade II. It's accurate, reliable and fun to shoot. Light weight and easy to carry. I've shot many a squirrel and rabbit with that gun. I don't hunt those much anymore, and have better squirrel guns, but still love to shoot that gun.
 
Winchester model 60A. First 22 my Dad had (around 1944) and the first 22 I had. Sear is so worn down that it has about a 1/4 pound pull and is unsafe to give to my son.. Have had no luck finding a replacement sear from any parts supplier. Thinking about having the part welded and reshaped. It was my best buddy growing up.
 
Ruger Single Six 6.5" stainless. This gun has saved my butt several times loaded with either shot shells or stingers. I like to fish for smallmouth bass in SE OK and the cottonmouths used to be pretty bad. It's not fun to beat them off with fishin rods or rocks. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif You would not believe how accurate this gun is with CCI Stingers. Pretty good squirrel gun when my eyes were better. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif I have an old Remmy bolt gun that my grandpa gave me, don't remember the model#, it's at my dad's. It's racked up a whole pile of squirrels. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
These days I will take a sentimental choice as my favorite. A little Chipmunk 22lr that I got for my son is now my new favorite. Out of all the 22's I have owned and shot I get a bigger kick out of watching the little guy pack that Chipmunk to a coyote stand with his little camo sling even though he knows he will not get to shoot. That and the first time he ever shot a can and knocked it over was just priceless. I will probably never sell it.
 
Mossberg 151Mb. Older than I am. My dad bought it with trading stamps in the mid-fifties. Gave it to me when I went to the U. of Ga. in '76. My first firearm and one of my first loves. Sweet shooter. Very accurate. Feels like a part of me when I handle it. Not for sale at any price.

Also quite partial to my tricked-out Ruger 10-22. There is nothing in this world quite like an accurate rifle!
 
I still love my Remington 511 Scoremaster and Nylon 66 that I got as a kid that my dad bought used. Althought the 10-22 and the Marlin model 60 seem to be the ones my kids and I plink with the most. The 511 just isnt fast enough for the kids.
 
This is a great thread! I don't think there is any such thing as a bad 22. I grew up with a Nylon 66 too and thought the world of it. Later on when I got serious about shooting I sold it when it wouldn't group. Big mistake..... Those guns were waaaaaaaay ahead of their time and it took lots of game before I got too wacked out about accuracy.

Speaking of accuracy, my favorite 22 now is a CZ 452 Silhouette model. It just plain shoots exactly where it is aimed, every time.....

I do want one of those TC Classics though. Better buy one soon because I hear they have discontinued the orignal model which have had many great reports.
 
I like my Remington 541-S sporter. It has an adjustable trigger like the 700s do. It's a tack driver and squirrel getting machine. I think whatever you use is fine - squirrel hunting with a 22 is special, at least to me, and it's good to use different guns. That's a big part of the enjoyment I get from it.


My daughter and me on a morning squirrel hunt with
the 541-S. She loves to shoot it too. A 22 is nice
for kids.

Squirrelhunt1.jpg


Picture taken back in the early 80's (I still have this little rifle and it still takes it's toll on squirrels.
One morning's hunt.

Squirrelhunt2.jpg
 
OK Gents, here's my vote;
A. Remington 541-S, took me five years to trade it out of a good friend and that was fifteen years ago. When I'm serious about putting a hole, right there, it is the one.
B. Winchester Model 63, with factory grooved receiver. Took me a long, long time to find it and it was used. Re-blued, refinished, and a compact 4X scope on top. It is a jim-dandy, fun-to-shoot, and accurate. Doesn't have the trigger of the 541-S but everytime I shoot it I remember my Dad and his 1953 original model 63 in pristine condition sitting in my safe.
C. Ruger 10/22, heavy barrel, Hoge stock, Volquartsen trigger group, 2-7X Leupold. Doesn't evryone have one?

How Sweet It Is!
 
Here's mine, Ruger 10-22 Stainless/synthetic. Simmons cheapo scope, its a factory naildriver.

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DSCF0053.jpg


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Maybe its my favorite because its mine! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Navy Gunner,

That's a nice looking rifle. Did you do the camo yourself? If so, how did you go about that? I have a 10/22 that I've had for years - got it way back in the 70's. Used to hunt "squaks" with it but I guess the 541-S kind-of took over. The 10/22s are nice though.
 
I made some plastic stencils from blank sheets(craft section at wally world). Just drew some lines and went to cutting with an exacto knife. Made the coyote outline and bobcat outline and the tracks and did the same. Primed, and base coated with Krylon camo OD green. And then hit the lines all over with varying colors. Just went by eye, no real rhyme or reason to my method. Made a post on it if you are interested in more details, or pm me
 
Great thread!!

Mine is a Win. Model 340, "my first" firearm, Dad gave it to me for Christmas when I was 5 or 6 (30 yrs ago), Mom didn't know I was getting it and I'll never forget her reaction, she was cool with it, just surprised.
Still have it and hunt bushy tails with it, will never part with it, until I pass to my boy.

Tack driver it is.
 
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