I wish I could answer that question but there really doesn't seem to be an answer. Every time I see one, new or old, beaten up or pristine, with a fair to excellent price on it - I want it. of course, I don't buy all of em that I want, far from it, but I am more likely to buy a 22 than just about any other gun I might see at a firearms auction, an estate sale, a garage sale, or even at a gun show. It's not only because the are usually relatively inexpensive compared to larger caliber guns - I mean, I am not always cheap but that they have an allure for me with which no other gun has sung to me its Siren's song. That charm, the appeal they hold for me, is probably due to the fact that the first firearms I got to shoot were 22 rifles at summer camp. But it's beyond memories, more than nostalgia, at least for me.
22 Rimfire guns are pretty versatile. You can have a lot of fun with them hunting, target shooting, and plinking. The reasons for that is because the ammo is inexpensive compared to larger calibers so you can shoot a lot of it because they are affordable and so is the ammo for them. So it's easy to have a lot of them because they are relatively inexpensive and also to have a lot of ammo for them because that too is pretty cheap. Then there is what they don't have that makes them fun to shoot a lot and that is harsh recoil. They are easy not only on old muscles, joints and bones but also on young ones making them fun to shoot for youngsters and oldsters alike. I am not a grand-dad yet, not by a long shot, but you can bet that when I am, I will be teaching my grand kids to shoot with a 22 rimfire. I recently took my nephew out to a local range to teach him and used an Armscor 14 for his first lessons - a bolt action, box magazine fed, 22 repeater. He had a blast and wants to go again and now that I think of it I have been tardy and better get him back to the range again soon.
Now getting back to how many 22 rimfires are enough, as I said, I don't know. Right now, and mind you I am taking a shot in the dark here because I am not checking the gun safe, I figure I have four (4) .22 handguns and about 9 rifles in .22LR and .22WMR. Nah, there has got to be another one or three more of them around here somewhere. Then again, maybe not, although I know for sure I have had several others and sold them off at one time or another. Let me see if I can figure it a little better by trying to remember which ones I have right now (note all shoot .22LR unless otherwise noted):
Beretta 70S pistol
High Standard Duramatic pistol
Ruger MKII pistol
Smith & Wesson Model 17K revolver
Armscor 14Y bolt action rifle
Henry Survival Rifle semi-auto rifle
Marlin 25MN bolt action rifle in .22WMR
Mossberg M44 bolt action rifle (22LR, 22L
Polish WZ-48
Remington 241 Speedmaster
Ruger 10/22
22 Rimfire guns are pretty versatile. You can have a lot of fun with them hunting, target shooting, and plinking. The reasons for that is because the ammo is inexpensive compared to larger calibers so you can shoot a lot of it because they are affordable and so is the ammo for them. So it's easy to have a lot of them because they are relatively inexpensive and also to have a lot of ammo for them because that too is pretty cheap. Then there is what they don't have that makes them fun to shoot a lot and that is harsh recoil. They are easy not only on old muscles, joints and bones but also on young ones making them fun to shoot for youngsters and oldsters alike. I am not a grand-dad yet, not by a long shot, but you can bet that when I am, I will be teaching my grand kids to shoot with a 22 rimfire. I recently took my nephew out to a local range to teach him and used an Armscor 14 for his first lessons - a bolt action, box magazine fed, 22 repeater. He had a blast and wants to go again and now that I think of it I have been tardy and better get him back to the range again soon.
Now getting back to how many 22 rimfires are enough, as I said, I don't know. Right now, and mind you I am taking a shot in the dark here because I am not checking the gun safe, I figure I have four (4) .22 handguns and about 9 rifles in .22LR and .22WMR. Nah, there has got to be another one or three more of them around here somewhere. Then again, maybe not, although I know for sure I have had several others and sold them off at one time or another. Let me see if I can figure it a little better by trying to remember which ones I have right now (note all shoot .22LR unless otherwise noted):
Beretta 70S pistol
High Standard Duramatic pistol
Ruger MKII pistol
Smith & Wesson Model 17K revolver
Armscor 14Y bolt action rifle
Henry Survival Rifle semi-auto rifle
Marlin 25MN bolt action rifle in .22WMR
Mossberg M44 bolt action rifle (22LR, 22L
Polish WZ-48
Remington 241 Speedmaster
Remington 513T Matchmaster
Ruger 10/22
Stevens 66-B (.22LR, 22L, 22S)
Nope, can't think of any others right now. So thee are 13 in all that I have right now. I think I need another to make it the lucky number - 14. I could call it Barrel Rider! (Do you know my reference?) Yep, having 14 of them would be a good number to have but it still does not answer the question of: "How many 22 rimfires are enough?". There may not be an answer to that until they cremate what's left of me and spread my ashes out of a 12 gauge barrel (just thought of that and must tell the son, he'll do it for me) and then count how many rimfires I had before I croaked. While I am none to sure of how many are enough, I am certain that if they ever figure out the key to immortality, and give it to me, there will never be enough 22 rimfires (or rimfire ammo) out there for me.
All the best,
Glenn B
