Thread: Interesting rimfire models: your reviews, pics, comments

Have been a rimfire hobbyist for alot of years. Have bought, tested alot of makes/models - and done lots of reviews etc. But there are plenty of interesting rifles of which I know very little. Be great if people could take some pics and talk about their interesting rifles. They may be the well regarded but less known models like the Remington 552 Speedmaster semiauto (never managed to buy one), the little Unique semiauto 22LR, the BSA Gold Medallion (saw Sarvo's one recently - beautiful wee firearm), various Annies, Marlin 39A lever etc etc. Or could be modified and built up rugers..

This does not displace Danny's excellent rimfire hunting rig thread. This thread is more for exploring in greater depth some perhaps less mainstream rifle options. A good opportunity for owners to talk about and explain their firearms - be it 22LR, WMR, 17 etc - and a good opportunity for us all to learn more.

One of the most interesting things you can do in a shooting career is from time to time walk the road less travelled. Try that lever, try that 30-30 or old school black bear 45-70, try several old 303s (Tertle), try an old Remmy 511 22LR etc. You will learn heaps and it can be alot of fun. Yes have the day to day worker rifles, then explore some different makes and calibers - new and old..

Sarvo - some pics and details on that BSA Gold medallion please....

Sorry mudgripz, ive only got an old wooden stock Norinco JW-15.......but i love it

It seems absurd to some people but a chopped, polished JW is one of my favourite hunters. Deadly and effective wee units with often surprisingly good barrels - even if off centre. Can make very good worker 22s.. We bought a JW27 originally which woke me up to their hunter potential, esp when given the QA they missed in the factory.

Other 22LRs you'll see on offer from time to time are Remington 511 Scoremaster with 5 shot? mags (1939-63), Remmy 512 Sportsmaster (tube), earlier Mossbergs, the Lithgow model 12. Any of these in good condition can be fine little shooters. Less common recent models also good wee hunters eg Toz 78 - also known as Winchester Wildcat.

My JW 15 is a nice shooter, someone did a nice trigger job on it before it ended up with me.

The bolt safety thing never worked well (just copied for the looks it seems from the Brno) but as I only treat an open bolt as safe that's no loss.

I have a Thompson Center Hot Shot .22LR single shot.
This is a miniaturised youth version of the Contender. Its a cool little gun that shoots well.
The discontinued them in 2013.

Not my photo but this is the same as the one I have.

Owned a Remington Viper once. Used to jam like crazy. Broke a bit off it then seemed to function flawlessly. Gave to my brother to use. ....think it got stolen...

If I could get another one for the right price I’d certainly want to own another one.


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I did like you said and tried that lever action.
Henry golden boy. mostly for the novelty, but short range around the house. I figured 100 yards is easy for 17hmr.
I got 17hmr because I have one already, same ammo flat shooting which should help being iron sights.
there are plenty of "they are not accurate" comments on this forum.
this is not my typical type of rifle I choose, I like big scopes bipods etc, I like to win.

so first thing I notice is, I didnt expect iron sights to be such hard work...mostly down to my aging eyes. but to be fair it grouped fairly well when I used a sand bag and close enough for my eyes to cope.
I figured this is hard I will get a mount and put a scope on it...

in the mean time I done my best on target, then tried on rabbits. first too shots, two dead rabbits, it worked fairly well.
I put this down to close range, flat shooting cartridge.

the scope mount turned up... but the stock is going to be too low for a scope in an ideal world.
I came to the conclusion a scope would be bulky, and the idea was not to be bulky but handy, somewhat light, it works well at short distance, and the whole concept of the rifle makes me smile, so its staying how it is. it does the job it was designed for, no issues. if I want better I will take another rifle out.

Originally Posted by mudgripz

It seems absurd to some people but a chopped, polished JW is one of my favourite hunters. Deadly and effective wee units with often surprisingly good barrels - even if off centre. Can make very good worker 22s.. We bought a JW27 originally which woke me up to their hunter potential, esp when given the QA they missed in the factory.

Other 22LRs you'll see on offer from time to time are Remington 511 Scoremaster with 5 shot? mags (1939-63), Remmy 512 Sportsmaster (tube), earlier Mossbergs, the Lithgow model 12. Any of these in good condition can be fine little shooters. Less common recent models also good wee hunters eg Toz 78 - also known as Winchester Wildcat.

Years back when I was night shooting a lot for the Pest Board I bought a Remington 511 Scoremaster which had been shortened and silenced , it was a very accurate rifle and functioned flawlessly. It was a nice weight and being shortened sat nicely in the scabbard on the motor bike. The only problem was the 5 shot mag wasn't big enough, we were shooting thousands of pests back then and I found I needed to load every time I fired it as you never new when you would require the full mag when several pests were encountered . The Ruger 10/22 came into is own for night shooting reliable ,accurate enough, and user friendly in the situations I used mine in.

Very nice little rifles there... the Thompson looks a cute little unit - that really is a pistol grip!! Remmy Viper not so well known here - the model 597 semiauto was, but not a great success for them.
Had no idea on Colt 22LRs esp that wee pump. Plenty of Winchester pumps in that era - the model 1906 and 62 etc. Worth keeping..

Re Henry levers, I saved my pennies few years back and bought a new lever H001 in 22LR - and it was a shocker. Very smooth action but skinny wee barrel which heated quick and sprayed ammo everywhere after first few rounds. It went back to shop. But as a lever buff have always had a hankering for one of the Golden Boys with heavier - usually octagonal - barrel. Figured you wouldn't get the heating problem. Good to hear its a reasonable open sight shooter. VERY sweet looking unit.. As you will know levers are great fun actions - everyone should have one go through the closet at some time.

Rifles like the little Colt above and the Remington Scoremaster etc are more specialty shooters these days - you bring them out on special occasions. Parts eg spare mags can be an issue but outfits like Western Gun Parts in Canada hold alot of spares for American models. Might be a real problem getting bits into NZ after recent legislation changes though..

My two are a gevarm and a unique. I've owned the unique since paper registration days and will never part with it. Beautifully made with a silly long 25 inch barrel accurate as any 22 I've owned. Currently scoped but the rear sight which is graduated to an optimistic 150 yards is safely stored still have the silencer and thread protector as well.
The gevarm is a bit beat up, got it from a farmer who used it for killing dog tucker rams he had no idea where it came from as it was in the killing shed when he brought the place.
I'll dig them out and put up some pics as both are interesting actions.
Viper has a unique as well I've seen a few photos on the other thread of it

Re Unique. I have a Unique Audax which is the bolt gun brother of the X51 semi. I am trying to find a fore sight protector for it. It is the same as fitted to the semi. I contacted FMR Unique in France but they were of no assistance.

Anyone able to assist?

Oh, and a factory suppressor would be nice.

My oldest would be either the Winchester single shot 1902..? Or Winchester 1906 trombone. Lord knows what the stories these two could tell. I’ve bought them 2nd,3rd 4th hand...who knows.

The 1902 I bought as a memory of my grandad. My uncle has it now, I wanted my own. Both have been used in anger. I don’t have safe queens. All mine are there to be used.


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Be great to see pics of Uniques - esp that semi - and more comments on them.

Yes alot of us used the wee Winchester pumps back in the day - great wee hunters. Surprised really that the pump action largely disappeared - Remington 572 Fieldmaster still available.

Yes its true alot of the early WW2 era worker 22s were built to last. Very simple but durable eg early Remington 510/511/512, Winnies etc. My main shottie is a 1930s Savage Stevens sbs - brutal old girl but built like a tractor and a deadly killer. Will never part with it.

The question with these old rifles is always do we leave them with open sights or try to scope them with side mounts etc to accommodate their high lift top bolt actions. People do both...

@Southcity.

Originally Posted by Tech

@Southcity.

Yes well .22’s are hard to resist. My favourites.

1. Cooper Custom Classic
2. Mauser 201 ( .22 mag)
4. Kimber 82 Super America ( Clackamas made)
5. Unique X51 bis (in my opinion and I see others agree a top grade semi)
6. Winchester 52 ( Miroku made) Looking for a spare magazine for this if anyone knows of one.
8. Remington 541 S
9. Brnos 1,2 and 5
12. Marlin 39A
14. Volquartson

That’s a start.

Which one would I want to be buried with? Probably the Cooper Custom Classic. I don’t have many photo at my finger tips but here’s three photos

Unique X51
Brno model 5
Custom Classic Cooper