My late Granddad gave me a Stevens Walnut Hill .22 on my 9th Birthday- still have it- what a 'dinger'- Also have two .22 pumps with open sights- a Remington 12A and a Winchester M61- My "pet" woodchcuk, raccoon and barnyard rat "duster" is a Ruger M77 with a Leupold 2x7 x40mm scope in the ruger factory rings- I call it my "lil' M70" as the safety and stock fit are similar to my M70 SG 30-06 (with Leupold 3.5 to 10 Vari-X 11 scope in Buehler two pc. mounts) Dad bought that classic new in 1948- had a Weaver on it, he gave it to me in 1980 and I added the Leupold later--
Reason for this 'wind in the willows" is- "To be a good deer hunter, first be a good squirrel hunter" so the Ruger knocks tree rats for a loop and I get the same sniper hunting techniques with that in Oct- as I do with our firearm deer season starting Mid-Nov--
I can feed that M70 anything from 150 grain SilverTips to 165 grain Federal premiums to 180 grain Core-Lokt and same POA at 200 yards= a real dinger!!
The "piece de resistance" of my .22 battery- a 1948 Model 63 from the custom shop with 23" barrel- engine turned bolt, bolt op rod and also mag tube- checkered- made for WRA sales rep Aubrey Brennan- when I bought it in 1970 it had a Weaver 4x 3/4" dia scope in Weaver mounts- Now it has a Leupold 6x by 33mm 1" scope--what a sweetheart-
Handguns for .22 plinking- I have my Dad's old Match Target .22 Woodsman- with Eliason sights and the wood "elephant ears" grips-- Great fun--
