Lightweight .22 recommendations

[TripleGGG]

I have a 1956 Winchester 61. Talk about a great shooter and pretty light. 

[Choatecav]

7 minutes ago, TripleGGG said:

I have a 1956 Winchester 61. Talk about a great shooter and pretty light. 

Oh my.  That is gorgeous.  So was the Remington that Snaveba showed a couple of post earlier.  Just beautiful.

[Jeb48]

The Chiappa Little Badger weights a little less but my AR7 survival rifle is the lightest I own and weights only about .5lbs more and is a semi with an 8 shot mag.  Kind of a bonus that it breaks down and stores in its stock and floats.  Mine is very accurate and is one built during Henry's ownership and though some people have had feed problems mine has feed perfect.

[gregintenn]

The Browning SA22 is a wonderful little rifle as well.

[Snaveba]

The Remington with the G4 scope weighs about 5lb 7.5oz loaded. 

[Snaveba]

11 hours ago, Choatecav said:

Oh my.  That is gorgeous.  So was the Remington that Snaveba showed a couple of post earlier.  Just beautiful.

It was in rough shape when it got it at auction. I had to fix 5 cracks in the stock and one in the forend. Then I cleaned off rust, etc and cold blued the scope and rifle, and refinished the wood with a hand rubbed oil finish  

(before photos from the auction site)

 

Edited January 5 by Snaveba

[AuEagle]

4 hours ago, TripleGGG said:

I have a 1956 Winchester 61. Talk about a great shooter and pretty light. 

I agree 3G, Win 61's are fantastic.

Here's one from 1939.

 

[Choatecav]

10 hours ago, Snaveba said:

It was in rough shape when it got it at auction. I had to fix 5 cracks in the stock and one in the forend. Then I cleaned off rust, etc and cold blued the scope and rifle, and refinished the wood with a hand rubbed oil finish  

(before photos from the auction site)

 

So much character in an old gun like that.  

Before you started applying the hand rubbed oil, how did you clean the stock?  Did you sand it or maybe use 0000 steel wool or did you just wipe it down and start with the oil?

[Hozzie]

On 1/3/2024 at 6:37 PM, Choatecav said:

Well, what money I have is "stupid" money for sure, ha, ha.  But as I mentioned in my original post, I already have a Winchester 52 and a 75 which is almost on the same par, but those rifles are very heavy and not what I need for long walks and lots of off hand shooting.

I did find something today in a pawn shop.  It is a classic from Remington.  The model 512P Sportsman.  Bolt action and tube fed.  This one was made in 1946 and it fits all of the needs that I have.  While I have run some rounds through it, I have not sighted it in yet so I will need to get some time to do that and dial it in.  

Understood you have a 52, but I was referring to the Sporter model, not the training model. 
 

Something like this.
https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/rifles/winchester-rifles-model-52/winchester-52b-sporter-with-special-order-stock-and-finish.cfm?gun_id=102552640

This is a bit high but probably not as much as you would hope. 

[Snaveba]

1 hour ago, Choatecav said:

So much character in an old gun like that.  

Before you started applying the hand rubbed oil, how did you clean the stock?  Did you sand it or maybe use 0000 steel wool or did you just wipe it down and start with the oil?

It really depends upon the situation. I have developed a process the last couple years. I always start with rubbing the wood down with denatured alcohol. This will get off any grime and kind of let me know what I’m dealing with. Often, someone has added a poly type finish at some point in the life of the rifle. This comes off best with denatured alcohol either scrubbing it with 0000 steel wool, or a combination of steel wool and scraping with a thin plastic scraper (if the finish is really thick). 

I will also use a wipe/scrub with acetone if there is from water or oils, or if I want to get the wood back to a more neutral color. I avoid using sand paper if I can. I don’t like to remove wood. However, I have on a couple rifles (this one included) sanded a fair bit. The Model 12 stock was really wavy and coarse feeling so it got more sanding. 220-400-800-1000 grit. When sanding, you really have to be careful not to sand the edges where the tang and the butt plate interface with the stock. It can be really easy to take off wood and then the metal is proud to the wood and it is pretty obvious the wood has been sanded too much. 
 

I then go back usually with several applications of Danish oil applied by hand and rubbed in. Sometimes I will start with an application or two of Winchester stock oil if I want a a reddish tone. 

[papa61]

I picked up a Rossi rs22. light weight, shoots fine and I don't care if it gets beat up. I did find the mag had some burrs that had to be cleaned up before it would run reliably. Have yet to try the Mossberg mags to see if they are better.

[Choatecav]

4 hours ago, Snaveba said:

It really depends upon the situation. I have developed a process the last couple years. I always start with rubbing the wood down with denatured alcohol. This will get off any grime and kind of let me know what I’m dealing with. Often, someone has added a poly type finish at some point in the life of the rifle. This comes off best with denatured alcohol either scrubbing it with 0000 steel wool, or a combination of steel wool and scraping with a thin plastic scraper (if the finish is really thick). 

I will also use a wipe/scrub with acetone if there is from water or oils, or if I want to get the wood back to a more neutral color. I avoid using sand paper if I can. I don’t like to remove wood. However, I have on a couple rifles (this one included) sanded a fair bit. The Model 12 stock was really wavy and coarse feeling so it got more sanding. 220-400-800-1000 grit. When sanding, you really have to be careful not to sand the edges where the tang and the butt plate interface with the stock. It can be really easy to take off wood and then the metal is proud to the wood and it is pretty obvious the wood has been sanded too much. 
 

I then go back usually with several applications of Danish oil applied by hand and rubbed in. Sometimes I will start with an application or two of Winchester stock oil if I want a a reddish tone. 

Very helpful and thanks for going into the detail.  I personally like the look of boiled linseed oil rubbed into the bare wood.

  I read somewhere that some will add some paint thinner or mineral spirits to the oil for the first application as it thins the oil and helps the wood absorb the first application.  Have you ever tried that??

[Choatecav]

5 hours ago, Hozzie said:

Understood you have a 52, but I was referring to the Sporter model, not the training model. 
 

Something like this.
https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/rifles/winchester-rifles-model-52/winchester-52b-sporter-with-special-order-stock-and-finish.cfm?gun_id=102552640

This is a bit high but probably not as much as you would hope. 

About the time I hit the send key it dawned on me that you may have meant the Sporter model.  Yes, it would reduce the weight a tad, but the cost is pretty high.  Anyway, thanks for clarifying.

[Snaveba]

3 hours ago, Choatecav said:

Very helpful and thanks for going into the detail.  I personally like the look of boiled linseed oil rubbed into the bare wood.

  I read somewhere that some will add some paint thinner or mineral spirits to the oil for the first application as it thins the oil and helps the wood absorb the first application.  Have you ever tried that??

The “Winchester Stock Oil” I use is a product a restorer sells on eBay. It is boiled linseed oil and some tint. Supposedly very close ti what Winchester originally used. I cut it 2-1 with mineral spirits.  The Watco Danish Oil I use straight from the can. It has worked really well on a lot of stocks. I use the natural color  but they have tinted. 
 

 

Edited January 5 by Snaveba