A pair of old 22 take downs

[part_timer]

I had a chance this weekend to get out some old 22 take downs that I have and shoot them.

The pump is a 1890 winchester in 22 short that was my grandfathers' then my uncle's then my dad's now mine and some day my son's and so on at least I have hopes of that.

The single shot is a modle 27 Hamilton in 22. I'm assuming that it is a 22 short. I haven't tried longs in it yet to see if they would fit but shorts are fun. I recieved it on a trade a few years ago and have the origional bill of sale where some guy bought it with furs from a shop that was about 25 miles from here back in the day.

The Winchester will hold about a 3" group at 20 yards and shoots very high maybe 4"

The Hamilton is just the opposite and shoots about 4" low at 20 yards.

My hope is to be able to get them back into the bush this year and humt some small game this season. No reason to let a couple of old dogs stay on the porch just cause they are old.

Just thought I'd share some pics of a couple of great old rifles.

[69daytona]

Love those old winchesters, Trying to get an old Win 62 pump from a friend. Have fun shooting those nice old rifles.

[WILCO]

I've always loved those old pump rifles.

[square butte]

The Hamilton was one of my first 22's. It was fun - but pretty well shot loose and shot out bore by the time I got it. If I recall correctly it had a bronze bore inside a steel outer sleeve.

[Jack Stanley]

Those old pumps just sorta trip my trigger as well , I really don't know what it is about them but it's a real drawing ain't it ?

Jack

[jh45gun]

Those old pumps just sorta trip my trigger as well , I really don't know what it is about them but it's a real drawing ain't it ?

Jack

Maybe because they were used as gallery guns at the fairs and carnivals? That is where I first shot one.

[Tom-ADC]

My brother just picked up a Savage model 25 dated 1932 says its a delux, I'm now trying to talk him out of it.

[part_timer]

Thanks everyone yes they are a great time, they just have a certain feel to them.

Square butte- yes the Hamilton has a bronze sleeve that you could change out when needed. Mine seems to be in relativly good condition.

Tom-ADC let me know how that works out for ya.

How about some pictures of some of the old rifles if you have any?

[eck0313]

My father had a Hamilton .22 that he got for selling magazines door to door in the late 30's. Imagine that today - Newsweek giving away .22 rifles to young boys to sell their magazines!!

At any rate, he indicated it was a pretty cheaply made rifle, and his didn't shoot well at all.

[Multigunner]

The Hamilton was the first .22 rifle I ever fired. These were also a feed store giveaway item to customers who bought a lot of feed at the store, for keeping rats out of the feed grain.

Don't use high speed shorts, and even some standard velocity shorts can bulge the chamber over time. Probably best to use only CB caps until you can find .22 shorts that you know are suited to the bronze barrel.
Even some steel barreled .22 rifles of pre WW2 can get bulged chambers if modern high speed .22 RF is used in them. Some lower cost rifles used soft steel to make rifling easier and cheaper to do. The Winder Musket type target rifles are also known for soft chambers.

Theres a Japanese made copy of the Hamilton with steel barrel, probably more rare than the originals.

[part_timer]

I had a chance to go on a combo camping trip/squirrel hunt with some friends end of last month and took the old Hamilton out for a run.

We didn't get very many but had a great time none the less. Just thought I'd share a picture of the end result. Minus the gravy and busquits..