I would try and find a good supply of .22 short ammo while you can, if you want to shoot it.  The ISSF has changed Rapid Fire Pistol to .22 Long Rifle which removes most of the reason RWS, Eley, and Lapua had to make short ammo.  It may become very thin on the ground.

Dwight

that explains why ammo houses are either out,low but all are not back ordering match short ammo 

thanks for the heads up and i will get it where i can

rafter-7

The hardware store here in Del Rio, TX has some Eley Rapid Fire match that has been on the shelves for a long time.  It may be too old (the lube may have gone bad)  One of the main reasons stated by the ISSF for changing Rapid Fire was the scarce ammo supply, as It was the only Olympic disipline using the short. The RF pistols and ammo had a reputation for being very finicky. I do not know of any bullseye, or other matches using the short, almost all .22 bullseye guns are autoloaders chambered in .22 LR.  There are of course exceptions, but most just use the .22 LR and .45 ACP.  I will check the Eley and Lapua sites to see whats, what.

Yours,

Dwight

100 years ago gallery shooting was a staple of schuetzen offhand shooting. Every eastern city had indoor gallery ranges where shooters could keep in practice regardless of the weather. I have a copy of “Shooting and Fishing” from Thursday March 2nd 1906 that lists various indoor gallery matches in the in the New York area. These were 50 ft. offhand matches that drew the best shooters from all over the eastern U.S. and all the competitor’s rifles were caliber 22 short. This is a small portion of an article on the “ Zettler Rifle Club Open Tournament” 

“Arthur Hubalek, finding himself in good form entered the match on Tuesday. His opening string counted 249, and he followed with a 250 for his third score. At the end of 50 shots he had an aggregate of 1236, an average of over 247. It was not his original intention to complete his 100 shots in one day, but after making four consecutive 74s on the ring target, he decided to “get it over with” as he expressed it, and his last 50 shots, finishing with a 248, counted 1232, giving him a grand total of 2468. This score equaling the record for the Zettler contests, made last year by L.P. Ittel, brought forth many congratulations. Mr. Hubalek of Brooklyn, N.Y., the winner of the 100 shot match, is a comparative new recruit to the ranks of the experts. The barrel of Mr. Hubalek’s rifle was made some years ago by the J. Stevens Arms and Tool Co. The barrel is 30 inches in length, is fitted to a Ballard action and mounted with a Stevens 6 power crosshair telescope, he uses Peters 22 short cartridges. As Mr. Hubalek adopts the palm rest, he believes in a heavy rifle, and a bar of metal attached to the underside of the barrel brings the total weight of the arm up to sixteen pounds.”

Other equipment listed;

Dr. W.G. Hudson of New York, a Zischang-Ballard rifle with a Stevens 5 power aperture telescope, and U.M.C. 22 short cartridges.

F.C. Ross of Springfield Mass., a Stevens rifle with a 3 power Stevens crosshair telescope, and Peters 22 short cartridges.

H.D. Muller of New York, a Winchester-Zettler rifle, Stevens 5 power pin-head telescope, and Peters 22 short cartridges.

Bob   

I imagine that the .22 LR cartridge does not need to be as big as it is for it's powder charge.  The short case is probably more than big enough.


Dwight

Hello Rafter,

That is indeed a very nice First Model Schuetzen (and rare)! Congrats on owning it 8).

I read through all of the previous posts talking about the various barrel marks... and most especially the barrel size stamp. It seems that there is some confusion or misunderstanding concerning where the barrel size number stamp is located, so I though that I would take this opportunity to clarify it for those that are interested. 

The number "3" stamped right next to the punch mark (index mark) next to the frame is not the barrel size (weight), but is the frame size (according to John Campbell).  I too believe that to be the case.  The barrel size stamp in most cases is stamped between the flat-spring tenon and the forestock tenon, and in its normal location just forward of the forestock tip.  The caliber stamp (which should appear on all barrels), the "VP" (in an oval, again on all barrels), and other inspector marks are in most cases stamped under the flat-spring.  In some cases, the steel manufacturer's mark is also stamped, but not commonly.  On barrels that have been back to the factory, an order number is sometimes stamped under the forestock, and the intials "J.P.P." may also be present.  On the special order rifles (Special Sporting, Special Single Shot, and Schuetzens) assembly numbers can be found on any one of the lowere three barrel flats (the left lower barrel flat seeming to be the predominant).  I own an early made Special Sporting Rifle in 40-90 Ballard with such a marking (Ser. 7397).

The study of the Winchester Model 1885 has been my passion for a very long time, and I have been conducting dedicated research for several years now.

Regards,
Bert Hartman