Winchester 1897 Black Diamond Trap

[Bill Zachow]

All in all, .22s are my favorite guns, even more than Parkers, truth be told. Winchester made the finest, in my opinion. I have a large number of their guns and have never found one that was innaccurate. All are deadly, from the little bolt actions to their semi auto model 63, and all the pumps in between. Charlie, Winchester made the model 1890 in .22 long, but they are hard to find--.22short and .22WRF are more commob--.22 Long Rifle are scarce, too. My finest for pure accuracy is a 1935 model 52 with a Unertl 12 power scope. I have shot bugs on my target butt with it--off a bench, of course. Before I got as old as I now am, I would walk my farm with a .22 almost every day.

[Stepmac]

Originally Posted by Bill Zachow

All in all, .22s are my favorite guns, even more than Parkers, truth be told. Winchester made the finest, in my opinion. I have a large number of their guns and have never found one that was innaccurate. All are deadly, from the little bolt actions to their semi auto model 63, and all the pumps in between. Charlie, Winchester made the model 1890 in .22 long, but they are hard to find--.22short and .22WRF are more commob--.22 Long Rifle are scarce, too. My finest for pure accuracy is a 1935 model 52 with a Unertl 12 power scope. I have shot bugs on my target butt with it--off a bench, of course. Before I got as old as I now am, I would walk my farm with a .22 almost every day.

As a gun collector I have gone through several phases. First I collected only muskets, then Civil War carbines (most stolen), a few '73's and then I hit on 22's and I must have bought a dozen. One of my faves is that little Win. model 67 single shot. You load it and have to cock the striker. Pretty bad safety; using it makes the gun less safe! But a kick to shoot and it shoots fine! The safety is - don't pull back the striker. I've got a minty 9422 and have only shot it a few times. I like the 39A best when shooting a lever .22.

Shooting rats at the dump with a .22 just may have been my favorite big game hunting of all time. Prairie dogs too. My grandson loves to shoot and is 'into' airsoft. I am looking forward to handing him a .22. Doing so allows one to kind of relive one's youth.