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Title: The Village Rifle
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Published: Nov 17, 2016
Author: Dean Weingarten:
Post Date: 2016-11-17 20:24:07 by tpaine
Keywords: None
Views: 5416
Comments: 14
Northern Wisconsin is gun culture country. When I was growing up in the 50's and 60's, everybody had a gun or three in every house. It wasn't always so. The Depression was a hard time for a lot of people. My father managed to snag the Springfield model 84-C during the 1930's. He paid $5 for the rifle and $2.50 for the scope. The rifle will feed Shorts, Longs, and .22 Long Rifle interchangeably through the detachable 5 shot magazine. The scope was an old straight tube 3/4 inch 2 3/4 power. It was state of the art in the 30's. It was a Weaver. As I recall, it was a model 329. Those sold in 1934 for $4.75, with a choice of mounts. The rifle was advertised for $9.70 in 1939, so the pricing ratio was about right. Somehow the scope had acquired hole in the tube, just ahead of the adjustments. I never changed the adjustments, and it always was right on. The hole was sealed with a couple of wraps of ordinary transparent tape, probably Scotch. It was a farm boy repair. It was in that condition when I first became aware of it about 1960. The tape grew more and more yellowed with age, and the scope grew dimmer and dirtier. By 2010, the inside had gathered enough grime that it was becoming unusable. I replaced it. I considered having it refurbished, but could not justify it. I reasoned that no one but me would have an attachment to that old scope. My father said that a deer shot through the lungs with a .22 acted the same as if it were shot in the same spot with a .300 Savage. It ran a hundred yards and died. He told me an excess of 200 deer had been harvested with the 84-C. Most of them were taken illegally. They were much appreciated in those hard times. Meat was expensive, even on the farm. During WWII, it was rationed. He shot a lot of the deer himself, but he wasn't the only one. In those times, not everyone had a rifle. Or maybe not everyone had a rifle and ammunition. The rifle was a favorite of the neighbors to borrow when they wanted to get some venison. If the hunt was successful, the rifle would be returned with a front quarter. Besides being quiet and cheap, the village gun destroyed little meat. I never shot a deer with the rifle, but hundreds, probably thousands, of squirrels, grouse, rabbits, and various pests from crows to ground squirrels and the occasional raccoon or fox were accounted for. I went to Panama in the 1980's. I left the rifle in Wisconsin. I didn't want to risk it overseas, through import and export. While in Panama, I visited the San Blas Islands. Americans were popular there, even with an ongoing "cold war" with the Noriega regime, just before the invasion of Panama in 1989. Little handmade American flags were on top of most of the houses. An American missionary group had brought running fresh water to the main island. It was a small, flat, corral island. It sat a couple of hundred yards off the coast, in the Caribbean. Houses covered the Island, because there were no mosquitoes. Mosquitoes cannot live in salt water. The addition of running fresh water improved the quality of life enormously. I encountered the same village gun system on the Island. Guns were relatively expensive. The old rules applied. Borrow the gun. If successful, a share of the game went to the owner. Basic capitalism at work. As a poacher's gun, the .22 has few equals. It is quiet, powerful enough, and inexpensive. Food is cheap in the modern United States. Poaching in Northern Wisconsin is rare. If it is done, hunger is seldom the reason. That is a good thing. Many memories are attached to the village gun. I learned to shoot and to hunt with it. I don't have a problem with my father and his neighbors feeding their families, even though game was scarce. The game recovered with modern management practices. Poaching to eat was never the problem, market hunting and loss of habitat were. I hope to pass the village gun to my grandson. Perhaps he will find an interest in the old, obsolete, bolt action. It works fine and shoots straight. I have been wondering if I should refinish the stock, maybe have the rifle reblued. But the stock dings and wear have been honestly earned with thousands of miles of carry in the field. I will consider it. Maybe there is time for my grandson to make the choice. ©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included Poster Comment: Great story about 22 rimfire rifles. I've been collecting them for more than 60 years... Mostly single shot Stevens Favorites.
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#1. To: tpaine, GrandIsland (#0)
I used to buy bricks (500 rnds) of .22 LR for not much money, say 20 bucks. But can't find delivery anymore at any price; I understand the US Government is buying everything there is within the supply chain. Any truth? Maybe GI can help us, here. GI, do you reload your rimfire ammo?
Reloading rimfire is not possible, that I know of. The best you'll do is collect your spent casings until you have a few hundreds of pounds. Then turn that into a recycle business that buys metal or brass. Take those proceeds and buy another brick of rimfire. Cheapo I'm the infidel... Allah warned you about. كافر المسلح
I just finished restoring a 100-year-old, Stevens Model 70 Visible Loader. Not for a profit, I assure you, since I put more money into parts than the gun is worth. But it was fun to work on such a unique rifle.
I bet that would have been fun. How long did it take you, and how does it shoot now? Congrats. Si vis pacem, para bellum Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God. There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."Theodore Roosevelt-1907. I am concerned for the security of our great nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within." -- General Douglas MacArthur
Owners call it the "Miserable Loader" beause it's a bear to work on. And it is. You have to completely assemble the rifle to observe the operation and clearances, then completely disassemble it to make adjustments. Rinse and repeat. I think it took me a total of three months to rebuild it, primariy due to the time lag in ordering parts from all over the country. Also, the documentation was scarce. You can find the rifle online for about $100-$150, so it's not some rare collectible or anything like that. It's just different.
You are a fuckin' nutcase EVEN replying to the post. I was making phun of you.
You are a fuckin' nutcase EVEN replying to the post. I was making phun of you. It's kinda difficult knowing if you're acting like a dumb fuck or just being normal Bucky. lol I'm the infidel... Allah warned you about. كافر المسلح
That is a unique action. I like old bare bones no nonsense Stevens guns. I stumbled upon a Stevens 59A bolt action .410 that was banging around a friend's garage. There was a chunk missing out of the stock and the lifter pin was missing. I replaced the lifter pin with the shank of a twist drill bit, and I planed out the stock and glued up and formed a piece of walnut to fix the cracked stock. It's just a great useful antique and sometime snake killer and the kids have a ball with it.
Thanks for the photo. That is an interesting action. Never seen one before,and I was a gunsmith for about 10 years in the 70's and early 80's. I suspect "Failure to feed" was a common complaint. BOYCOTT PAYPAL AND CLOSE YOUR PP ACCOUNTS NOW! ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO SO,TOO! ISLAM MEANS SUBMISSION! Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) American Indians had open borders. Look at how well that worked out for them.
I can't believe it. Grand Island made the very first sane-sounding post I have ever seen him make,and you jump all down his throat for posting it. Hell,I started to reply myself to tell you that while it IS possible to reload rimfires,I have never heard of anybody doing it in my lifetime. Then I saw it for what it was,a trap you were trying to spring on him ,hoping he would say he does it all the time. So I held off to see what happened. He then makes a post sounding like a human being that wants to be helpful,and you jump on him for that? BOYCOTT PAYPAL AND CLOSE YOUR PP ACCOUNTS NOW! ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO SO,TOO! ISLAM MEANS SUBMISSION! Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) American Indians had open borders. Look at how well that worked out for them.
I am attempting to unscramble the poster's mind. I have to agree with you though, it was one of GI's saner moments.
Never heard either, until recently I was on a rimfire forum where quite a group are doing it, ===_even trading recipes for the priming fluids. Crazy dangerous... Me too. The grandiose one disappointed me by being a bit to sane, --- but his post was still a little funny, no? Glad to see you back posting.
My posting is going to be rare,here and everywhere else. Somehow or another I regained some of my health,and I have a LOT of stuff to do that is a LOT more important to me than posting on web boards. The only reason I got started was because I was too sick and injured to do anything else,and was bored out of my mind. It went on for so long it damn near became an obsession,and I would end up getting mad at myself for not being able to stop responding in the daytime when I had other things I needed to be doing. Right now I am in the process of replacing pretty much everything related to the brakes in my 37 Dodge 1 ton 4x4. It sits on a 72 Ford F-250 4X4 chassis and still has the modified 390 FE Ford engine in it. Brakes went bad several years ago and I was unable to fix them,so there is sat. Now I have to pull the gas tank to flush it out and coat it,and rebuild the carb. Probably going to have to replace the fuel pump,too. Ethanol is some nasty stuff. Since the truck is sitting outside right now and can't be moved,I'm trying to get it mobile before the weather changes. Maybe even clear out enough room to drive it into my shop to do some bodywork to it. BOYCOTT PAYPAL AND CLOSE YOUR PP ACCOUNTS NOW! ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO SO,TOO! ISLAM MEANS SUBMISSION! Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) American Indians had open borders. Look at how well that worked out for them.
Your Dodge sounds like an interesting vehicle. I wasn't aware they were building a 4×4 back in '37. --- Does it look anything like the old WWII dodge mi!itary trucks? Good luck with it, and keep us all posted...
#2. To: buckeroo (#1)
GI, do you reload your rimfire ammo?
#3. To: GrandIsland (#2)
#4. To: misterwhite (#3)
" But it was fun to work on such a unique rifle. "
#5. To: Stoner (#4)
#6. To: GrandIsland (#2)
#7. To: buckeroo (#6)
#8. To: misterwhite (#3)
(Edited)
#9. To: misterwhite (#3)
I just finished restoring a 100-year-old, Stevens Model 70 Visible Loader.
#10. To: buckeroo, Grand Island (#6)
(Edited)
You are a fuckin' nutcase EVEN replying to the post. I was making phun of you.
#11. To: sneakypete, GrandIsland (#10)
#12. To: sneakypete, buckaroo, yall (#10)
Hell,I started to reply myself to tell you that while it IS possible to reload rimfires,I have never heard of anybody doing it in my lifetime.
Then I saw it for what it was,a trap you were trying to spring on him ,hoping he would say he does it all the time. So I held off to see what happened.I
#13. To: tpaine (#12)
Glad to see you back posting.
#14. To: sneakypete (#13)
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