Old 22's At The Range

[oldironsights]

Absolutely Beautiful weather today!
So I put off sleeping to head to the range with some old 22's.
I am suffering from a head cold with frequent bouts of sneezing & coughing, but the cold medicine helped relieve me of a few symptoms.
Problem is now I can't focus my eyes on the front sight! Front sight is always fuzzy, target & rear sight are crisp, & I cannot adjust my eyes.
I also tried a different type of target ammo which the pistols did not like, but the rifles did better.
After sighting in, I took these photos.
I will attempt to post respectable targets in the future.
First off is a Mossberg 46B. It sports no serial number, but has some early features that lead me to believe it was made in 1938 or 1939.
It sports a fifteen round tubular magazine & a receiver that is not cut for a sliding breech cover, yet the bolt has the threaded holes for the sliding breech cover. The magazine & receiver appear to be identical to my 46A.
My Wards Westernfield has the later twenty round magazine & the receiver is cut for a sliding breech cover.






I just received this Mossberg from another collector in New Hampshire. Ireally admire the hand checkering of the pistol grip area. A true craftsman.



Here is my nearly identical Wards Westernfield that was made in 1940 (notice the 04M prefix. A WWF model made in 1939 would have a prefix of 93M, & a 1941-14M)
Notice the longer magazine & receiver cutout for the breech cover.
Also, the Wards model 10 scope mount is exactly the same as a Mossberg model 6 scope mount.
Both scopes are 4x & are made of brass.







For more information on these great old 22 rifles, follow this link;
http://home.epix.net/~damguy/index.html

[Krull]

Nice,I have one old .22 that's been in the family since the fifties,don't have it on hand but I believe it's a Plainfield and my granddad got it from a kid in pieces,cracked stock no blue Etc.

His friend at the time was a gunsmith so they took it and put it back together,rebuled it and put a Lyman peep on it.

It's a bit rough after all these years and I don't shoot it much but it was the gun I first really shot as a kid,amazing I could hit anything as the Lyman is bent!

I see those old Mossies out here in the local shop from time to time,always seems to be well used,guess that means they work!

[oldironsights]

I see those old Mossies out here in the local shop from time to time,always seems to be well used,guess that means they work!

Check out the epix.net sight link in the post above yours for what to look for when you find some old Mossies.
There is a very large collecting community for these fine old 22's of yesteryear.
If you can get them cheap, you can either enjoy them or use them for trade bait.
Someone is always looking for an old Mossie.

[Candyman]

You know Clay, as soon as the weather is good and I have some time off, I am going to bring a bunch of my 22s over to your house to do a wee bit of shooting.