Anybody tried the T/C .22 ?

 

That's one I was considering, but the only review I've seen was a typical fluff-piece in a gunrag, so the jury is still out. For the price, they'd better be pretty good!

Shel's giving me a dirty look...............I think he knows how much they cost. I don't want to spend a fortune, but this will likely be the LAST semiauto 22 I ever buy, and I want quality. He'll have to get over it.

 

With T/C being T/C, I say that will make some happy shooting. Best shooting .22 semi I ever had was a Interarms copy of the Browning .22 Auto, A cheap imported gun you can find for around $125 used, It would shoot the same hole, 7 or 8 shots a dime could cover, you had to pull a rod out of the back of the stock and feed the ammo through the side of the stock. It was a slim lightweight gun, had it had a lil more size to it and a clip It would of been the perfect .22

 

john;
don't give up on the marlin 60's series. ive got a 1998 marlin 60 that had some extraction problems in the beggining. after sending the rifle back to marlin it has shot, fed and extracted perfectly. i might also say that it is as accurate, if not more so, that any of my brownings. savages and other marlin auto's. my 60 is the go to gun on my property and has accurately taken many rabbits, squirrels and fox. i have shot close to 12,000 rounds through this rifle and all that it asks of me is to clean the receiver every 250 rounds!

good luck in your search
mike

 

Thanks, Mike. I haven't written off the Marlins, but I'm going to look around a good bit before I decide. I don't feel the NEED to pay $300-400 for an accurate gun, but that sure does increase the odds of getting one, doesn't it? ;D

DT, you just reminded me that I DO still have a semi-auto, one I never shoot anymore. It's a CBC GR-8, a Brazillian knock-off of the Remington Nylon 66. Ugly as hell, it looks like a black whale harpoon with that goofy front sight, but that gun shoots better than a $60 rifle has any right to. Or at least it used to. The only time I ever benched it, I had a cheesy $20 4-power scope on it, in $3 stamped-steel see-through mounts and yet, it did this. 25 yards, 5 shots, with cheap Remington ammo.

The story I heard was that when Remington discontinued the Nylon 66, they sold all the molds and tooling to CBC, who continued to produce the guns for the foreign market. The one I found in '85 was languishing in a grungy Hardware store in a dark corner. I was introducing a young lady to shooting that day, and needed an extra gun, so it came with us. A few of my kids, plus some nieces and nephews also learned to shoot with it. Maybe I'll dig up a scope and some real mounts for it, and see what the old girl can do........

 

I'm sure this news pleases Shel, Looks like you already have what you were wanting. Slap a scope on it and feed it some CCI ammo and tell us how Ol' Ugly does, let em snicker at your ugly gun at the range and then shoot em a tight group ;D

 

The GR-8 (a great gun.....get it? :) will keep me happy until I find something serious, but it's not the end of the quest. Just something to play with until I find what I want. Still looking for suggestions.

And I'm not totally averse to a 10/22, no gun on the planet has as many aftermarket goodies available for it. I've had four, and should have kept the first one, it was scary-accurate. I gave it to my oldest daughter, and she said she regularly shoots starlings off the fenceline at a measured 110 yards, with boring regularity. I won several local 22 matches with that gun, often beating guys with $900 rebuilt Rugers, with the .920 stainless barrels and $200 triggers. The three I've had since have all been disappointments, mostly because the first one set the bar so high.

Does anyone (besides Volquartsen) make a bull-barreled, accurized 22 semiauto? I don't think Shel would ever let me out of the house again if I bought one of those.

 

It is a foreign made gun.

 

PJ, what not get the ruger charger? Based on the 10/22 action, put a scope on it, set up on its bipod and fire away. I know, it's not a rifle, is uglier than all get out, but does look like it would be fun.

 

I was in a gunshop today and saw one of those Browning Auto .22 new, I didn't know they still sold them, might want to have you a look at one of those, there it is in Swanys picture. Although the one I had wasn't Browning it was a copy marketed by Interarms (Brazil)

 

Many years ago I had owned a couple 10/22's and though they were fun to shoot, accuracy was terrible and the trigger was simply horrible. Couple years ago during a cold winter day I was in a gun shop and they had a used 10/22 on the shelf. Gun was in perfect shape, price was right and I was bored with not being able to get out and hunt. So I bought the gun and ordered a trigger assemble and teflon bolt buffer from Hornet Products ( http://www.hornetproducts.com/ViewProduct.asp?ModelNumber=BBT ). Except for the trigger assemble and buffer the gun is completely stock. From the bench it will shoot 1/2 inch groups at 50 yards all day with most any ammo. Trigger pull is 2.75 pounds and crisp. I always thought people were wacky for spending so much money on a 10/22 by changing the barrel, stock, triggers, and everything else except the name Ruger, and I still do but just these two simple items at a cost of about $90 turned this Ruger into a real shooter. Hornet Products will also pay you $30 for your old trigger assemble so the cost is really only about $60. Something to think about.

 

I've got 3 Model 60 Varients...

2005 Model 60 that I just tricked out with a gold trigger guar (new post on it)
1980 Model 60 long mag tube
1960 Marlin-Glenfield Model 99-G

After the trigger mods...I've made it possible to run straight up against CZ shooters. They get SHOCKED that an El Cheapo Grande Marlin can shoot nice tight groups

Marlin Micro-groove barrels WORK!! all ya gotta do is futz with the trigger a little and you are SET!

(of course, the 99-G is a Ballard...but Marlin always did make VERY precise barrels )

 

After the trigger mods

What mods did you do to the trigger? I've looked at my model 60 trigger assemble and it looks like a nightmare just sitting there waiting for me to screw up.

 

There are several.
Read THIS thread...http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143780
But remember to read it all the way thru to the end before doing anything...some mods have been proven not-so-good with time.

My mains are these two.

One, take the trigger assembly, and look at the part that looks like a "P" on the top.

Sand until the paint is off, then polish it clean on the front of the "P". Oil it. Put it back. Tends to drop the percieved weight of the pull by making it smoother. However, it does give you a hair more creep.

The other involves taking a Drill Press, putting the "P" part in a vise, and drilling & tapping a hole for a 6-32 setscrew.

It's a dark pic, but you can see the little DOT that the screw makes on the front part of the "P".
Here's a better pic.

Hope that helps.

I just got in an order of 4 of those Allen Head 6-32 x 3/16" screws, I've got two Model 60's & 1 Marlin Model 99-G that I'm going to do the second mod with. I'll post pics when I get around to doing it

 

PJ:

Your Brazillian Nylon 66 knock-off suits your requirement to a "T", IMO.

There are a couple other older 22 semi-auto rifles that have been "forgotten", but can be had for way cheap:

Mossberg 151 -- mag tube is in the buttstock, very reliable and accurate, but prices have been climbing because of collector interest. The 151K has a 24" barrel and a conventional sporting stock, and the 151M has a 20" barrel and military-appearing Mannlicher stock. I own both models and they are reliable and accurate.


Stevens / Springfield 87 / Savage 6
High Standard 102 Sport King Carbine
High Standard 1041 Rifle
Sears / JC Higgins 25 (made by HS) -- These are all of a kind, and carry the nicknames "Gill Gun" or "Click-Clack" due to two design features. The "Gill Gun" name refers to vent slots or a "grille" of sorts on the left side of the receiver just behind the chamber, reminiscent of "gills" on a fish. Its purpose is to vent gas and partially burned 22LR lubricant schmutz. These guns are also called "Click-Clacks" due to the lockwork design -- pull the trigger and the rifle fires, the bolt is driven back, and if you hold the trigger back, the bolt stays to the rear until the trigger is released. At that time, the bolt travels forward under recoil spring force, strips a new round from the feed block and pushes it into the chamber. The sound the action makes is descriptive -- "click-clack", and your trigger finger has control over the time betw. the "click" and the "clack."
But sounds do not a successful 22 rifle make. I have a Springfield 87, a Sears 25, and two High Standards and all of them have been remarkably reliable and accurate as well. The most I paid was $160 for the Sears 25, and it is virtually as-new with a Japanese-made Bushnell scope from the 70s. I gave $110 for the HS 102 Sport King Carbine, and $85 for the Springfield 87. The High Standards have a really cool feature -- the cartridge loading port in the underbarrel tube is on the side of the mag instead of at the bottom. This was a patented feature that allows the shooter to load rounds by placing them in the gap between the barrel and the mag tube with the rifle tilted butt-down. The rounds slide down the barrel and mag tube and disappear into the feed port slick as mucous on door security hardware.
Accuracy is more than acceptable. I've only papered the High/Standard Sears 25 and the Springfield 87 and I get dime-sized ORH accuracy at 25 yds off the bench. Busting claybirds on edge at 100 yds is boring -- 9/10 or 10/10. Shotgun hulls at 25-35 yds? No problem. And using either Mini-Mags or Wildcats, they are all 100% functional.

Sears 25:

High Standard 102A Sport King Carbine:

Remington 552 Speedmaster -- I bought an older, used 552 some months ago and it's been equally fun. There's some finish wear on the anodized alloy receiver, dents in the stock and forend, and a little rust freckle here and there on the barrel, but for $175 OTD I cannot throw any rocks. Internally, the 552 was the FILTHIEST used rifle I've ever purchased. I scraped a little mountain of debris from that action, and what I could scrape together formed a pile about 1.25" in diameter and nearly 3/8" high. What's amazing about this 552 is that I fired 100 rds of Mini-Mags from the rifle before I bought it, filth and all, and there were no hiccups whatsoever. The bolt was actually "sticky" if moved by hand, yet when cleaned and very sparingly lubricated the bolt slides as if on ball bearings. Dirty or clean, the 552 Speedmaster is another amazing 100%-functional semi-auto 22LR rifle.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! -- The 552 Speedmaster will feed and function reliably with 22 Shorts, the "High Speed" kind. It won't function reliably with CB Shorts, but mine will feed most if not all of a magazine of std vel 22 Shorts without a blip, or maybe one FTF/FTE per magfull. If shooting HS 22 Shorts, it's like shooting regular 22LR cartridges, only more of them per mag.


SUMMARY -- Noah sez there's no need to invest the $$$ into a new 22 semi-auto or yet another 10/22. IMO and experience, there's a GOLD MINE of older, used, and near-forgotten great 22 semi-autos out there to be rediscovered, and for not much $$$. There's plenty of aged, time-proven "gems in the rough" to be rediscovered at shops, shows, and on the auction sites for less than $200, and in many cases WAY less. Some of these older designs may have played a part in your own childhood, like they did mine. Prices are higher everywhere these days on anything to do with firearms, but the local dealers here are all lamenting the end of the Obama-inspired feeding frenzy of 2009, and they are willing to move on prices a bit.

Noah

 

PJ just to put Shel in shock(poetic dont ya think ? ) , tell him you can pick this one up for the 1200.00 bucks I have in it . We shoot golf balls at a hundred yards just for fun with cheap bulk federal ammo ! And look out when we get the good stuff out .

 

Noah, I've got a Springfield model 87 that belonged to my Mom. If I'm not mistaken I believe mine has Springfield-Stevens stamped into it and it has the gills on the left side as you mentioned. I've taken many a rabbits and squirrels with that 22 and you are right, they are reliable and great shooters despite being a little on the heavy side. Since they have no way for a scope, at least mine didn't, I had the gun re-blued with a deep luster blue, drilled and tapped for a scope back in the early 70's. Refinished the stock a couple years ago and I think it probable looks better now than when new as Mom got it back in the late 40's. Didn't know you could hold the trigger back like you mentioned but I know it has the locking knob on the bolt, so that it can be locked open or closed and used as a single shot if desired. I don't shoot it any more.......actually I have it oiled down and vacuum packed for safe keeping as I want to pass it on to my granddaughter. Done the same thing to Dad's old 870 shotgun he got back in 1957. Great little guns if one can find one.

 

PJ- I have the TC Classic and it has a nice walnut stock and polished bluing. I know they cost a little more but it is a hierloom gun like the 39a. Best part is it will put them in 1/2 inch at fifty and has never jammed once after shooting thousands of rounds. -Locoman

 

But remember to read it all the way thru to the end before doing anything

Read it all the way through...........have you looked at that thing lately? It's 180 posts long. Oh well, good thing I printed it in draft mode or I would have run out of ink.

 

I've read the ENTIRE Model 60 & Marlin Forums over there & 5 other sights.

I wanted to know EVERYTHING about my 25MN, 60's & 99-G, & the rest, and then Everything about Marlins

I just about want to write a book on it...lol

Or at least Rewrite Stoeger's Marlin info in their Gun Trader's Guides.

 

WOW! Lots of great responses, thanks guys, plenty to think about.

Noah, thanks for the ideas, I know there are a lot of good old guns out there, but they can be hard to find. People tend to hold on to the good ones, and sell the crummy ones.

I just became aware Remington STILL makes the 552 Speedmaster, a new one will set you back the paltry little sum of $593, MSRP. As much as I'd love one, That's not gonna make it past Shel without three conniption fits and a brain hemmorhage.

Finding the MSRP on the T/C Classic has also been tough, I'm guessing at this point it's between $350 and $450.

Remington apparently makes (or made) a version of the Model 597 they call the Tech Target......it sounds interesting. I've seen prices for the 597's ranging from $197 to over $400. Still sniffing around that tree.

Model 60's......maybe. I know Marlin makes great barrels. It's the extraction problems that bother me. This gun is going to get shot a LOT.

I have a couple of Savages, and they're pretty accurate, but the magazines are junk, and it's almost easier to single load them than screw around and try to get them to feed without jamming. Can't seem to find any replacements, either.

Will keep you posted. This may take some time.

 

Will keep you posted. This may take some time.

No way would I spend the $$$ asked for a new 552 or a T/C. You have your Brazilian semi to hold you over. Take your time, and you will find some decent older guns from which to choose. When I decided I wanted an older 552, it only took about two months to stumble across the right one.

Noah

 

After you get the spring end pointed the proper way on a model 60/70 Marlin...no more problems.

It ain't rocket science...I'm pumping hundreds of rounds out every week and making CZ shooters wonder how the darn things shoot so well

.31 average groups @ 75 yards kinda tend to make the point.

Slap a sling, good scope & bipod on 'em and enjoy

 

PJ,

The semi auto's that I have, 10-22 and it is very accurate but I bought it in 1975. Marlin 60 and it is very accurate, but I have a Leupold 2x7 on it. ;D and I also have a Marlin 25MN and it is awsome in the accuracy department. ;D I have several extra 10-22 barrels and have tried them on my 10-22 and neither seems to be as good as the original barrel so I have the original on it. I also have a bull barrel for the 10-22 and it shoots very very good but the cases stick in the chamber, sometimes on the way in and sometimes on the way out so I have miss feed problems with it. plus it weighs a lot more and it doesnt fit on the stock that I like. :

Joe

 

While my experience with Marlin autos is not the same as yours, I've had models 7000, 60 and now a 795 and all were/are reliable, but they are obviously designed for high velocity ammo 1220 fps+. Lower power is marginal.
I looked in the CZ website and they don't seem to list their excellent auto...a pity.
Perhaps you would like to take a look at this one http://www.savagearms.com/64g.htm You can probably get one at Wally World for the same or less cost than a used .22 auto elsewhere, and Savage has a good reputation for accuracy.