Any love for old bolt action 22's?

[truckjohn]

Hey guys,

I have noticed a significant change over the last 20 years of 22 shooting.

Bolt actions - especially single shots - are all but gone and semi-autos seem to have won the day.

So.... Any love with you guys for vintage 22 bolt actions?

I ended up picking up a scoped Springfield Savage 84c pawn shop special to teach the kids shooting. They love the thing and so do I.

Subsequently, I traded a CZ I didn't shoot on an old Winchester 69 repeater bolt action and then added an old Winchester 67a single shot.

I have been happy with these. They aren't nearly as finnicky with ammo as my CZ, their long barrels don't make nearly as much racket as semi-autos, and their long barrels are easy to shoot with iron sights, and they just have really cool vintage mojo that the new guns just don't have.

But it's kinda sad to notice the rimfire market.... Bolt actions have almost disappeared. Neither Winchester nor Remington have a bolt action 22 in their standard lineup... There are basically no "Mid price" American bolt action 22's that would compete with somebody like CZ anymore... And try to find a single shot that's not a wee little kid gun.

What about you guys? Do you still shoot your old long barrel 22 bolt guns or have you traded all of them for custom 10/22's?

[Winger Ed.]

My bolt action, tube feed Marlin is still very effective on the over population of turtles here.

With CCI CB shorts, its about as loud as clapping your hands.

[tazman]

I grew up with an old Winchester 72A bolt action tube feed. I still have it and it still shoots minute of squirrel head at 50 yards. It has been with me for 55 years now.

[Froogal]

I received a single shot, bolt action .22 for my 13th birthday. It was used, not new. I am now 68, and that old .22 is still a lot of fun to shoot. I added a Tasco scope a few years ago. My son and I had a great time picking walnuts out of the tree.

[dverna]

My bolt action .22's include an Anschutz and Browning 52. I find the bolt action .22 very nostalgic and enjoy them. Many younger and new shooters have never shot a high quality .22 bolt action and do not know what they are missing.

[frkelly74]

I got a remington 521 when I was 13 and I can shoot it better now than I could then. I put a dayglow orange fiberoptic front sight on it and just about can't miss. I have a 513 heavy barrel 22 that I put a bi-pod and a 3 to 9 scope on and have had a little fun with it.... Not enough though. I have had a couple of other 22 rifles that have gone on to other owners over the years also.. but not my bolt guns.


I do tend to use these as single shot rifles. Just set the box of shells down and bang away, one shot at a time. I find it tedious to load the magazine every 5 shots.

[Outpost75]

My most used .22 is my father's old Remington 34 tube-magazine, takedown boltgun. Original backpack survival gun.

Attachment 240075

[Bazoo]

I don't have a bolt action currently but I love them all the way around. When my house burnt 4 years ago I lost a Remington 41 targetmaster. I have owned several others including a winchester 67, marlin 15, Marlin 925, Marlin 925M and a Stevens 66.

A single shot 22 bolt is on my want list. As is a Marlin 881 which is the tube fed bolt. Heck a Ruger 77/22 is a fine looking and feeling gun but they are high priced.

I had a different Rem 41 years ago, and that thing would shoot! I used to hit empty 22 casings at 25 yards and shotgun shells well past 50. Loved it, but I got in a dunce and traded it off.

[Ozark mike]

My first 22 a rem targetmaster single shot I carried through the southern Missouri woods from about age 7 on up still have that gun. Got a homemade stock on it never seen the original. I remember when I was still a kid can't remember what age had a few adult hotshots come down and we would set a soda can down by the creek and dad would watch me put them to shame with there scoped guns. And of course I had iron sights. wish I kept up with how many shots I made with that thing

[georgerkahn]

My very first firearm -- maybe, 1961 or '62 -- was my Great Uncle's Mossberg Model 42C bolt action .22. It came with a magazine with a screw in it for loading/shooting shorts, which he had in it. Bion, IN New York City, not a bad way to recreate was the shooting of rabbits off the 3rd Avenue El (elevator railway: subway). However, the city passed an ordnance making this illegal -- and I was gifted Uncle Vincent's Mossberg. I loved and shot it as a kid, and still love and shoot it! It has a Weaver 4x scope on it, too.
geo

[rking22]

Oh yes, I really like the vintage 22 bolts, especially the single shots. A 67 and 67A, Remington M33, Winchester 47 and its repeater version the M69. Then the Rem 41, and my favotite a first yeat M69 Winchester. They are slim and not the least picky of ammo like the modern chambered guns. Also have a repro 52 Sporter, a tack driver but just not the same. 60s T bolts are special, my 1969 T1 has probably accounted for enough squirrels to fill a truck bed! I like most all steel and walnut 22s, but the old bolts hold a special fascination. I even built up a walnut sporter 1022 with a 28 inch barrel inspired by the long barreled bolt action sporters. Know what they say about imitation...

[beechbum444]

marlin 25n , it"s a great one

[Harter66]

Dad had a Win 63 and a 67A along with a Mossberg target model the number escapes me at the moment . Great single shots , especially for the kids and those 3.5 cal "bull" barrels make them real shooters and as long as the case stays in one piece there's just not anything to go wrong with them . We had a couple of Winchester autos and Glenfield auto too but we always seemed to get the old singles out when it was time to get serious for quarters and dimes and stuff . Dad bought his 63 brand new in 50 or 51' . When he bought the 67A about 6-7 yr ago he was doing some research to find out exactly what was different between the 2 , he suddenly realized just how much like the 03' those rifles were . Imagine that ........
Anyway the greatgrands will get to enjoy these 3 for another 60-70 years I expect and I expect to be around to tell Coke bottle cap and cottontail stories for another 25-30 years too .

[justashooter]

first rifle was dad's win 67. brother has it now. finger groove stock meant pre 1940.

[marlin39a]

Oh, yeah. I keep a Remington 510 by the back door loaded with CB rounds. Ultra quiet on pests.

[pworley1]

I got a hand me down Winchester 67 as a kid. There is no telling how many 1000's of rounds I have put through that old rifle in the last 60 years, but it is still good for many 1000's more.

[TNsailorman]

I have a Model 67A Winchester also and it is my go to .22lr. I paid a whole $8.00 for it in like new condition way back in the day. Best $8.00 I have spent. It will go to the grandkids soon. james

[Silvercreek Farmer]

I like CCI Quiets for dispatching garden pests, won't cycle a semi.

[spfd1903]

Two Mossberg M44's. Purchased from the CMP for $75 each.
Savage Rascal for my Grandson.

[Texas by God]

I’m headed out the back door for a walk right now. It’s going to take a minute to decide between the 510 or 581 Remington to accompany me. I learned to shoot with a Remington 511 of my Dads- on the farm BB guns were for training dogs��