Howdy
My sentimental all time favorite 22 is the little Winchester Model '06 at the bottom of this photo. My Grandfather bought it in Abercrombie and Fitch in Manhattan in the 1930s as a present for my Dad. My Dad had mentioned he wanted a 22 target rifle. His Dad knew nothing about firearms, but worked in Manhattan. Abercrombie and Fitch used to be a huge sporting goods company on Madison Avenue with an entire floor devoted to firearms. There was even a shooting range in the basement. So Pop went in one day and bought the little '06, a classic gallery rifle, for my Dad. When I was about 15 I was poking around in our basement one day and came across the little '06 stashed away in a box. I pulled it out and asked my Dad what it was. He said, 'Well, I guess that's yours now.' It shoots Shorts, Longs, and Long Rifles interchangeably. I used to ride my bike up to the local sport shop and buy 22 shorts for it. I was supposed to be 18 to buy them, but the owner looked the other way. Ah, the good old days. I even set up a secret target range in the basement and used to shoot it when my parents were not home. Years later I found out my Dad had done the same thing. The sad part about the story is the little '06 was not what my Dad wanted, he wanted a target rifle. But Pop did not know anything about firearms and that's what he came home with. I don't think my Dad ever had the heart to tell his Dad it was not really what he wanted.
The bigger rifle is a Winchester Model 1890, made in 1906. Another classic gallery rifle, this one only chambers and shoots 22 Shorts. Just try to find 22 Shorts today.
The Model 1890 has probably had a bazillion rounds put through it over the years and is not very accurate any more, but the little '06 is still as accurate as the day it left the Winchester factory.
I found this Savage Sporter when I was in college in upstate New York back in the late 1960s. Probably more along the lines of what my Dad had wanted. It has a removable 5 round magazine. I had a local gunsmith drill and tap it for a scope mount and he put a nice little 3-6 power scope on it. The trigger is probably not quite as crisp as a modern rifle, but I still have no trouble kicking around tin cans with it at the 50 yard berm. I should see if I can find out when it was made.
I found this nice used Marlin Model 39A locally about 15 years ago. This one has regular Ballard rifling, not the more recent micro-groove rifling. Another tack driver.
This Winchester Model 61 was made in 1946. I found it in a local shop a few years ago. I shot it for a couple of years in 22 plate matches where I had to get off 8 aimed shots in 15 seconds. I was shooting against guys with 10/22s, and they had no problem shooting that fast. With this pump I was able to get off the 8 shots fast enough, faster than I could with a lever gun.
I found this Remington Model 341P Sportmaster last year in a local shop. The P stands for Peep Sight, there was another model that came with an open rear sight. This model was only made from 1936 to 1940. It was in very nice shape, and the bore was perfect. It features an interesting carrier that was designed to lift a cartridge from the tubular magazine to the chamber without tilting the round or touching the bullet at all, contributing to accuracy. I had a lot of fun last fall zeroing in the peep sight to 50 yards. I was even hitting tin cans at 100 yards, not bad for an old rifle and an old guy with bad eyes.
I wonder if this is the rifle my Dad really wanted? I wish I could ask him.