Bolt Action Rifle

Ghery said:
Not remotely as bad as the trigger on my .22 that I got when I was a kid. Single shot bolt action Springfield that you cock manually after closing the bolt. The trigger mechanism is really crude and I'd hate to even guess how many pounds the pull is. But I nailed a lot of ground squirrels with it when I was younger. Really made me appreciate the Winchester 52D I had on the ROTC rifle team. :D
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Was it a .22 short? And was the cocking mechanism a circular "thing" that you pulled directly behind the bolt? If so, I grew up with one of them, too!

I think it was made in about 1905...and I never knew the brand because I hated shooting the thing. My dad made me learn with it before he would let me move up into the semiautomatic world. :)
 
Frank Browne said:
Mine was a Stevens. Single shot, bolt action. I wish I still had it. :(
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You know how some kids block out memories of traumatic events?

Well, I hadn't thought about that rifle until I saw the post above regarding the single shot bolt. My dad let me get a taste of the semi-auto, but I started spraying around bullets like it was an M-60, so he made go back to the bolt to learn to control my "twitchy" index finger.

I'm going to have issues tonight :).
 
Obi Heed Kenobi said:
Out of curiousity, what do you mean by "lawyerized?" I assume there have been product liability suits in the past regarding trigger pull?

Don't worry - I'm not offended or anything, but am just curious. I haven't heard the term used in relation to triggers before!

As far as triggers and stock firearms, I agree with you. I've had a Ruger 22 for a long time (can't remember the model no., but it's a semi and not a bolt). It's great for shooting coke cans, but I wouldn't use it for real target shooting - the trigger requires too heavy of a pull.

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Tony, as far as your "gun hunt" is going, if your daughter is consider doing any competitive shooting, try to find a rifle that has a light trigger pull. It makes a huge difference in accuracy. Not in terms of the rifle's capability, but in terms of not jerking the trigger (and therefore the gun) - the lighter the pull, the less apt the shooter is to move the rifle when pulling the trigger.

Also, you might want to consider getting your daughter a rifle with peep sights. If you're not familiar with what those are, the basic idea is that they are highly precise open sights - google the term and I'm sure you'll find something.

The reason I suggest that is because it's my personal opinion that anybody can shoot with a scope and a rest at 100 yards. It's a point of pride, and I think a mark of distinction, to be able to do with open sights what everyone else uses a scope for.
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I may have made up that term myself, I don't know, but yes, I understand that there were product liability cases accusing at least one firearm manufacturer of having too light of a trigger. It may have been a pistol instead of a rifle, but the results are the same. I'm sure having a gunsmith do an after-market trigger job will void the warranty on any production firearm.

It's been about 8 years since I competitively shot my Anschutz, and I could be way off on this, but I recall the trigger pull being something like 1.7 lbs on a target trigger - probably lighter than that.

Excellent advice on the peep sites, David. Even experienced shooters can get very frustrated with trying to lock a scope's crosshairs on a target. Breathing and even your heartbeat will make the crosshairs travel up, down, and across the target. Iron sites will prevent that frustration.
 
Tony if laws weren't what they are I would say you could buy my Winchester for cheap.
7 Shot clip and scope included - alas :(
 
Ron Levy said:
Target shooting for a beginner? Definitely a .22 cal rimfire rifle (there are also .22 cal centerfire rifles, but those are high powered varmint hunting weapons unsuitable for the average indoor target range or beginning marksmanship training). Anschutz ("Sporter"), Kimber (Model 82), Marlin (Model 2000L), Sako (Rimfire Hunter -- and yes, it's a target rifle), and Savage (Model 900TR) all make rifles in this class -- see their web sites for details, but expect to spend upwards of $500 for a new rifle in this class. However, if you can find a good, used Winchester Model 52 (no longer in production, but we used them on my high school rifle team 40 years ago) that fits her, buy it. Other older models available on the used market include the Remington 540X and 541T.
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Excellent choices, but the new ones have gotten SO expensive...! I used to own a Remington 541S. Same action as the 541T but a slightly lighter barrel and placed onto a lighter sportster type stock. Might be better if your kid Sister is somewhat smaller of frame. It was deadly accurate, capable of knocking out tacs at 25 yards, and cutting very small groups at 50 yards. Not an easy gun to find tho, not many of them around.

Jim G
 
Obi Heed Kenobi said:
Was it a .22 short? And was the cocking mechanism a circular "thing" that you pulled directly behind the bolt? If so, I grew up with one of them, too!

I think it was made in about 1905...and I never knew the brand because I hated shooting the thing. My dad made me learn with it before he would let me move up into the semiautomatic world. :)
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Short, Long or Long Rifle. It will take whatever you shove in the chamber.

Round knob on the back of the bolt. Floating firing pin, so unless it's cocked there's no way to discharge it. No safety when cocked, either. Bought it new in the mid 1960s. Took me a year and a half of pulling weeds and other yard work to earn the $20 it cost. Still have it, too.
 
CapeCodJay said:
Tony if laws weren't what they are I would say you could buy my Winchester for cheap.
7 Shot clip and scope included - alas :(
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That's why my father-in-law got out of gunsmithing. He really loved the work, and was really good at it (I have a couple of his works as prime examples - 6.5x55 Swe, .303 Brit), but the whole 'liability' of people using his guns later (even years later) was more than he could handle so he got out of the business.
 
CJones said:
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That's why my father-in-law got out of gunsmithing. He really loved the work, and was really good at it (I have a couple of his works as prime examples - 6.5x55 Swe, .303 Brit), but the whole 'liability' of people using his guns later (even years later) was more than he could handle so he got out of the business.
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That's exactly why I don't hand load for others.
 
nddons said:
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Excellent advice on the peep sites, David. Even experienced shooters can get very frustrated with trying to lock a scope's crosshairs on a target. Breathing and even your heartbeat will make the crosshairs travel up, down, and across the target. Iron sites will prevent that frustration.
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I've only shot a few times with peep sights - but I was amazed with how much of a difference they made. And I remember the first time I did us them, I think I was 8-10, it amazed me that you could even see through that little tiny hole. :)

And I've got nothing against scopes. My disdain for them is from the urban cowboys coming out of the city during deer season who shoot the deer, who's been lured in via corn and scent, with a scoped high-powered rifle from a tree stand at 100 yards or less and then brag about what good shots they are. For some reason, that always disgusted me, so I made it a point when I was younger to master shooting with open sights.

But that's nothing against scopes...I didn't mean to imply that scopes are sub-human. :)

So to Tony - it's my sincere suggestion that your sister master the fundamentals of open sights. It's always good to know the fundamentals before moving into the wells and bistles. I mean, bells and whistles. I actually typed it like that, and thought it would be funny to leave. :)
 
Obi Heed Kenobi said:
So to Tony - it's my sincere suggestion that your sister master the fundamentals of open sights. It's always good to know the fundamentals before moving into the wells and bistles. I mean, bells and whistles. I actually typed it like that, and thought it would be funny to leave. :)
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point taken and duly noted.
 
peep sights are amazing ... my first introduction to long range shooting was with a National Match M-1 Garand in .308 Win. - ok - 7.62 NATO to be more precise :) The coach took me out the to 1,000 yard firing line and said "see that target?" ... yeah, right ... I'm thinking "this is a classic snipe hunt joke. There's NO WAY you (I) can hit that! I can hardly see the black, to say nothing of the bullseye."

Settled down in prone position, he gave me the sighting dope (something like 36 clicks of elevation, IIRC?) , floated the little tiny black dot of the target in the center of the peep, right on top the post and squeezed one off. I'll be danged! A hit! And I was hooked on long range shooting - what a rush!
 
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ha ha pete. sister actually scored a .22 from Grandpa over thanksgiving. He had a bunch of them and I think Grandma was happy to get rid of one. So I will probably just buy her shells or something for christmas.
 
haha no worries there Tom. I had actually put the bug in Grandma/Grandpa's ears as i knew he had a bunch of guns and never used any, and it would be a great way for them to get her a nice christmas present that she wanted. I wouldnt say that me buying her a gun would've been a surprise, I had been talking with her quite a bit about the subject.
 
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