I felt like a fifteen year old kid this afternoon walking up to my rifle range! I had my “new” 1885 Winchester Low Wall Deluxe 22 Short finally cleaned and ready to shoot. I don’t think I’ve shot an iron sighted 22 rimfire rifle since my early teen years before venturing out for an afternoon of Fox Squirrel hunting. I was actually a little nervous today and really didn’t expect the rifle to shoot good at all. I had spent the past week soaking the bore with Kroil and Montana Cowboy lead and powder solvent (this stuff really works well). In between I was polishing the bore with USP Paste. I could slowly feel and see the bore improving with each cleaning session. Even today I could still see just a little glazed lead or carbon on the patches but I was just ready to try the old girl out. I spent a long time on this bore. There was really no sign of rust or corrosion (maybe just a little right inside the crown)  but it had accumulated years of lead, powder and carbon fouling. 

At lunch time I slipped down to the little Amish sport shop as they had set aside two boxes of CCI Short Hollow Point (copper coated ammo 1105 fps) for me. Once back home I SPL coated the ammo and set my large target up at 25 yards. I used a very large target not really expecting to hit a smaller target…oh ye of little faith! As you can see my very first shot was high close to the number 7 line. Then I adjusted the old Lyman sight down two more times you can see the shots at 9 and 10. Then I made one final adjustment and decided to shoot a three shot group. All three were in the red bull’s-eye and just a little over ½”!!! When I walked up the  target I was thrilled to say the least. The wind is blowing pretty hard from the right so I’m thinking the front sight may be right on. I would still like for someone to help touch up the crown. 

The next quiet evening I will shoot the rifle again at 25 yards and move on out to fifty yards just for fun. My goal with this old classic rifle is to take it out on a beautiful fall evening and hunt some Fox Squirrels like I did 43 years ago.

This rifle built in 1890 with the old Lyman rear sight and Lyman ivory front sight just has soul and I can't wait until the CCI Target ammo arrives. 

I had shared this with my very good friends Dennis Hrusosky, Keith Meyers and Jeff Ehrlich who I had just meet through Dennis and thought you all might like a sneak peak. I'm planning a nice article for the ASSRA magazine if they accept it. 

High Noon

What a great 'toy'! 

LG

That is one sweet Winchester. I have a Winder Musket Low wall I .22 Short. Not near as pretty but fun to shoot. I have several Stevens in .22 Short as well as a few other short only guns. I have managed to accumulate a good supply of various short ammo over the years but it has always been high priced in recent times. When I was a kid it was cheaper than long rifle. Accuracy looks good with yours. Have fun squirrel hunting with it.

That's a VERY nice low wall. All the low walls I've owned have been ridden hard and put away wet. 

I actually bought this rifle to rebarrel it to a 22 LR Match but Dennis Hrusosky was telling me one day how the old timers actually liked the 22 Short for Squirrel hunting and it got me to thinking I wonder how it would shoot as is. So like I said above I started working on the bore. I teach all my customers about polishing and maintaining their bores with USP Bore Paste. 

It has been a real pleasure to return to a vintage classic rifle with iron sights. I'm so excited.. it's a peaceful shooting experience compared to what I normally test, develop and write about. Back to the basics has been great for me. Thanks Dennis! 

If anyone has any Match 22 Shorts laying around for sale please let me know. I do have some CCI Target Shorts on the way. Here is the corrected first target that I posted sideways and my very first five shot group at 25 yards! 

Thanks everyone! 
High Noon

I like it!   There was a nice article in the ASSRA journal recently that had a lot in it about the .22 short.   

Chris.

Marlinguy,

You also have a beautiful rifle there! These are just the coolest and petite rifles I've ever handled. I have really bonded to mine now and consider it one of my favorite rifles and that's saying something! 

You mentioned the checkering and stock. When I saw the photos of this rifle and beautiful figure I actually contacted the seller and asked him who made the custom stock on the rifle? He answered "this is an all original rifle!"  To think Winchester was building such beautiful rifles in 1890 blows my mind! 

Here are a couple photos of the wood and checkering I thought you might like. Thanks for showing us yours and I might get the courage to remove the stock to check for numbers on the frame. They are running a research on the rifle. 

Thanks again everyone!

High Noon

High Noon, I think better wood may have been available in the old days.  My original 1885's have much better wood than most of my reproductions.   The exception is my new CPA with fancy English Walnut stocks.

Chris.