My New Book on Vintage .22 Rifles

[WalnutBill22]

This is my first post on The Firing Line, so I hope no one is offended if I shamelessly promote my new book about Vintage .22 Rifles, but I thought it might be of interest to many of you. I cover 20 classic and vintage rifles in the book, and it's not just a rehash of previously published stuff. It's not primarily targeted to collectors so much as actual users. I talk about things like history, availability, accuracy, handling characteristics, current value, light gunsmithing, proper care and maintenance, and suitability for hunting. These rifles have always been fascinating to me, and I hope this book answers many of the questions you may have. It's available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Booksamillion. The title is "Walnut and Steel: Vintage .22 Rifles". If you want to know more about it, you can visit my website: Walnutandsteel.com. Thanks for your interest. The book is also available at the publisher's website: Authorhouse.com

[Erno86]

Does it have any information on the Martini Henry BSA 22 rifle? The one I have, is a real shooter.

[WalnutBill22]

No, Sorry, but the only foreign made rifle I cover is the Savage/Anschutz 164 Sporter. I mainly cover the really popular ones from Stevens, Savage, Marlin, Remington, and Winchester. Thanks for asking!

[Rembrandt]

Checked out the web site, good luck on your book. Rim fires make up about half of my collection, they are addicting. Got stuck on Winchester 52's.....are they featured?

[WalnutBill22]

Yes, I did include the Winchester 52 Sporter. Mine is one of the excellent Miroku-made reproductions. I would love to have an original sporter, but my wife wouldn't let me mortgage the house (She's great, but just doesn't totally understand us gun nuts). At any rate, I've been very pleased with the repro. It's one of my most accurate .22s. I do include a lot of background information on the excellent Model 52 (its history and development and the different variations of the sporter). If you can find a copy at a halfway reasonable price, an excellent book is The Winchester Model 52: Perfection in Design by Herbert Houze. Nearly all the rifles I cover are sporter types, the only target rifle being the Stevens 44. Thanks for your interest.

[Unlicensed Dremel]

www.walnutandsteel.com

http://www.amazon.com/Walnut-Steel-V...lnut+and+steel

How's about a working hyperlink for everyone? Very nice - Thanks. Love old wood and steel .22s - so much higher quality than today's rifles.

[WalnutBill22]

Thanks Unlicensed dremel. I wouldn't know a hyperlink from a chain link. I appreciate everyone's interest. Amazon's website will let you read about the first 15 pages of the book to see how you like it. I did a great deal of research while writing the book, and I'm still a bit surprised that there are no other books on vintage .22 rifles out there. I sincerely hope everyone likes it.

[WalnutBill22]

For those who are interested, here is a list of the rifles covered in my book: Stevens Favorite and M44, Savage M1909, M1912, M29, M4, and the Savage/Anschutz M164 sporter, Marlin M20 and M39A, Remington M12, M121, and M24, Winchester M61, M62A, M52 Sporter, M75 Sporter, M74, M77, and M9422. Actually, I talk about quite a few of the others, but these are the ones that were actually tested for the book.

[WalnutBill22]

There are a number of other excellent books about .22 rifles. One of the very best is Sam Fadala's "Book of the .22". Also good is "The Complete Book of the .22" by Wayne Van Zwoll and "The Gun Digest Book of the .22" by James House. I really like the Guns and Ammo periodicals that come out every few years, starting in about 1970 (John Lachuk). Unfortunately, most of these are out of print, but can often be found on Amazon or through Bookfinder.com. While these are all very informative, I think my book is the only one that covers only the vintage and classic .22s that we all know and love (www.walnutandsteel.com). Thanks everyone for your interest.

[WalnutBill22]

Hi again everyone and thanks for the interest in the book. If anyone has any constructive criticism, please let me know. It has received excellent reviews so far, but I'm sure there is always room for improvement. I would have loved to have some color photos, but that would have probably doubled the price of the book, and I wanted to keep it affordable. I hope to follow with a Volume II in the not too distant future, and I plan to cover an additional 15 to 20 more rifles, so if yours wasn't included in my original book, hopefully it will be in the new one. Thanks again and God bless you all.

[Picher]

Beautiful pictures!! Loved seeing the insides of some of those old pumps and lever guns.

Many of the guns pictured were seen new in gun shops during the fifties, when I was too young to buy any. Today, I love to see them and bought a couple of old Winchesters, a 52C and 69A. (Unfortunately, the 52 had a chopped, then pieced-back buttstock, but it made a pretty good benchrest rifle, especially with a new McMillan stock.)

[WalnutBill22]

Thanks Picher, I guess you're talking about the pictures on my website. The pictures in the book are OK, but I wish they had turned out a little better. Like you I am fascinated by the different approaches the designers took in tackling the functioning of the rifles. The most amazing one to me is the Marlin lever action series (M1891, 1892, 1897, m39 and m39a) which has remained basically unchanged for over 120 years, and is still among the best of all designs (not talking about current quality issues, however). Like you, I was a kid in the 1950's and 60's, and I had to admire a lot of these rifles from a respectable distance, so I guess I'm making up for that now.

[Picher]

Walnut Bill

I have a relatively new 39A with nice checkered walnut stocks, but it was a train wreck when bought new. I've had to do a lot of work on the extractor and other things, including re-crowning the barrel. The D/T holes for scope mounts were severely misaligned, so had to modify the base for it to shoot straight. The iron sights are mounted off-center and the bore was very rough. It shoots great now.

The first one I had was a Mountie, bought around 1965, and it was wonderfully accurate, but the receiver top was not perpendicular to the sides and always bugged me when I used the receiver sight. It finally got the best of me, so I sold it. Apparently, they had some quality control problems even then.

[WalnutBill22]

Picher, You probably recall that the 1960's weren't exactly the "Golden Age" for quality firearms, particularly for rimfires. I'd have to credit Winchester for turning this around with the excellent M9422, certainly one of the highest quality firearms of the last 40 years. Several other makers took notice, and quality improved for the most part, but now with all the tactical rage and partially plastic guns, it seems they aren't overly concerned with quality control anymore. They don't like to make anything that might involve some true hands-on skill, and this is sad for those of us who enjoy the more traditional models. I think this is why so many folks are turning to guns made over 50 years ago.

[4V50 Gary]

Is the hardcover sewn construction?

[WalnutBill22]

No, it doesn't appear to be. Thanks for your interest.

[zach_]

Very interesting WalnutBill22. I will buy your book if I see it at our local Barnes and Noble. If it is not on the shelf, I might have to order it online. I have a few old 22 rifles. Savage 63, Ithica 49, and a Marlin 25. The savage has a broken firing pin or so says the gunsmith that kept it for 8 MONTHS. I won't mention any names. I don't know if they actually qualify as vintage guns. They were some of the guns my brothers and I shot as a child. Where I lived, it was a 5 minute walk to the woods. We were within the city limits, but nobody complained. Heck, the noise of the wind blowing in the woods was so loud I doubt we were heard most of the time.

[WalnutBill22]

Thanks Zach_. It really doesn't matter which .22 rifles you grew up with, as long as we can remember the "good old days" we had with them. I think just about any rifle over about 25 years old would qualify as vintage. Of course, some were much better than others, and this might qualify them as true "classics". But it 's kind of like the words to the old song "love the one you're with".

[JWT]

Bill, after reading your great little book I've 'had' to buy three more Winchester 'classic' .22 rifles! And another safe....

[WalnutBill22]

JWT, As we in the South say, "Bless your heart". I know what you mean, there's something addictive about these fine old rifles, something you rarely feel with the new stuff they're turning out nowadays. I've managed to acquire several more "classics" myself since I wrote the book, and I hope to do a Volume II someday. It was indeed fascinating doing the research for the book. I learned a great deal about these neat old guns, so I thought I would share what I learned.
Thanks for your kind comment about the book, and just out of curiosity, which Winchesters did you acquire?

[JWT]

Bill, I picked up Winchester Model 61, a Winchester Model 63, and a Winchester 1885 low wall.

The 1885 may not actually be a classic, it's a Miraku produced gun under the Winchester brand. But it sure is an accurate open sight, offhand shooter.

[WalnutBill22]

JWT, Congrats on some very fine rifles. I would be willing to bet that they will all shoot great. Miroku makes some extremely high quality firearms. I own several, including the M52B Sporter, and I am quite happy with them all. Thanks again for your interest in the book.

[WalnutBill22]

Yes, it's quite true that this thread is pretty old, but I just wanted to let everyone know that Volume II is in the works and about ready to send to the publisher. It should be out by November. It will include about 25 more vintage and classic .22s including the Browning SA-22, Remington 513S, 521T and 550-1, the Marlin 39, Savage 1914, Stevens Visible Loader, Winchester 63, 69A, and 72, and several others.
Thanks again for everyone's interest. I am truly grateful.

[Doyle]

Bill, the URL for your website appears to be obsolete. Do you have an updated URL?

[agtman]

* * * I mainly cover the really popular ones from Stevens, Savage, Marlin, Remington, and Winchester. Thanks for asking!

Interesting. Good luck with the new volume of your book.

For my Dad's 12th birthday, Gramp's gifted him with one of the Remington 'Teeners,' ... a 510 'TargetMaster.' It's a single-shot that engages the safety every time you cock it, which is perfect for teaching a young boy about safety and safe gun-handling practices.

I inherited it after he passed. That damn thing shoots right there with my best CZ .22s at 50-yds. It seems to like most modern rimfire stuff, and loves the CCI Mini-Mags.

Dad shot it iron sights only for decades. It's taken an untold number of squirrels, crows, raccoons, possums, ground hogs, ... and about any other critter a southern Illinois farm boy could get in his sights. Possibly a few coyotes too.