be everything, but it obviously important to those who are not knowledgeable about shooting sports.
We who love (a word that is appropriate for this author who has used rimfire rifles for 60 years) sport shooting can help give a positive image to the shooting sports. The “study” cited above did not mention the fine work done by Daisy Outdoor Products in conducting the National BB Gun Competition because the intent was to emphasize how “dangerous“ airguns are. Shooting sports in the Olympics are virtually never even mentioned in the TV coverage. We cannot expect balanced coverage of our sports in the mainstream media. A great deal of what is written in this section shows the personality, interest, and concerns of the writer. Almost all writing always does. It remains, however, that we can go a long way toward preserving the shooting sports by the image we present. In this book, the intent is going to be to present an image of shooting as a skill, a sport, and a science to be enjoyed safely by an enormous number of people.
Chapter 3 THE RIMFIRE RIFLES
This book was written to serve as a user’s guide to rimfire rifles and pistols. Some readers are perhaps old hands in the rimfire game, but others may be newcomers. If you are a member of the former group, you may already have rimfire firearms and need this chapter only for reference. If you are a member of the latter group, this chapter will give you some insight into the factors to consider when you start evaluating the enormous number of rimfire firearms that are available in order to select the equipment for your own use or perhaps for use by another member of your family.
To operate a bolt-action, the handle must be lifted and the bolt withdrawn then pushed forward. Shown here is the famous Anschutz Model 64 action.
A pump-action like this Winchester Model 90 can be operated very quickly since only motion backward and forward is required.
Operating a lever-action like this Henry requires the lever to be pulled downward then raised in order to cycle the action.
Before you select a rimfire firearm, it is necessary to decide what you intend to do with it. It is not unreasonable for a rimfire shooter who is buying a new rifle for serious varmint hunting or competition to spend a great deal of money. For these shooters, equipment at the cutting edge of performance is worth the investment. The rifles and pistols in this category are not made by the millions as are some of the low-end models. By the same token, it is not necessary to spend a great deal of money if all you are going to do is to take a youngster out to hunt squirrels or shoot pop cans. Rifles that perform well enough for this type of shooting do not cost a great deal of money.
In this chapter, a survey of the different types of rifles will be presented to give a general introduction to the rimfire field. Rifles are available with lever, pump, bolt, single-shot, and semiautomatic types of actions. Within certain limits, rifles having any of these types of actions may meet the performance requirements for the intended uses. However, you are not likely to find many lever-action or pump rifles that deliver tack-driving accuracy, but there are exceptions. Target rifles generally have boltactions although there are some very accurate semiautomatics. One of the first decisions to be made is that of the caliber of the rimfire rifle to be chosen. For many years, the only choice was 22 LR, but that is not the case today.
Types of Actions
In order to fire a series of shots, some means must be available for reloading. The empty case must be removed and a loaded round placed in the chamber for the next shot. Sounds elementary, doesn’t it? In principle it is, but how it is done often involves some sophisticated engineering and the fabrication of intricate mechanisms. As with most forms of human endeavor, approaches to solving the problem have been many and varied. Some of the earliest breech loading rifles had some sort of block that moved upward behind the cartridge to hold it in place and at the same time placed the firing pin directly between the cartridge and the hammer. The hammer could be drawn back so that the sear engaged a notch to hold it in place. When the trigger was pulled, the sear disengaged letting the spring-driven hammer go forward to strike the firing pin that in turn struck the primer and fired the shot.
The Ruger 10/22 autoloader requires only pulling the trigger to fire successive shots.
Most of the single-shot rifles that incorporate a moving locking block (either falling block or rolling block) have long since disappeared from the marketplace. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, there were numerous models of such rimfire rifles that were generally of a small-scale design. Replacing them were single-shot bolt-actions in which the bolt handle could be lifted out of its retaining notch and drawn back to open the chamber with the extractor pulling out the empty case. After a cartridge was placed in the chamber, pushing the bolt forward and turning the handle down into its locking notch closed the action. In some models, a cam moved the firing pin back to cock the action as the action was opened while in others the firing pin was held back by the sear as the action was closed. The first type is known as “cocks-on-opening” while the other is the “cocks-on-closing” type. In still other rifles, neither opening nor closing the bolt cocked the rifle. That was done after the action was closed by pulling back on a knob at the rear end of the bolt (the cocking piece).
Because most shooters would rather load several rounds at one time and then fire them without any further handling of ammunition, the “repeating rifle” was designed. In rimfire calibers, there are two common ways in which the cartridges are held. The first type of reservoir, located in front of the trigger, is a box in which the rounds are stacked vertically. When the bolt is drawn back, a cartridge moves upward so that when the bolt is pushed forward it takes the top round out of the magazine and moves it into the chamber. A variation of this type of magazine is one in which the cartridges are held in a box that allows them to stack around a spindle. The rotary magazines employed by many of the popular Ruger rimfire rifles are of this type. The second type of reservoir for cartridges is a long tube that is located under the barrel or less commonly inside the stock. Inside the tube is a spring-loaded follower that pushes the cartridges to the rear so that as the bolt is opened, a cartridge is moved into a position that allows the bolt carry it into the chamber as it is closed. Both of these types of magazines have been popular for many years.
Rather closely related to the bolt-action with a tubular magazine is the slide or pump-action. In this type of action, moving a handle located below and in front of the action backward causes the action to open and the empty case to be ejected then moving the handle forward pushes cartridge into the chamber. Because the magazine tube lies below the barrel, the cartridge must be moved upward by a carrier as the pump handle nears its rearmost position. Pump-action rifles having both external and internal hammers have been produced for many years.
Not too far removed from the pump-action is the lever-action in which the cartridges are also usually held in a tubular magazine. In this case, the cartridges are moved from the magazine to the chamber by operating a lever located behind the trigger. Pulling the lever down opens and cocks the action as the empty case is ejected. Pulling the lever back up pushes a cartridge into the chamber as the action is closed. The vast majority of lever-action rifles have external hammers.
In terms of the number of units sold, the most popular type of action for rimfire rifles is that known as the semiautomatic, self-loading, or auto-loading type. The bolt is held in the forward position by a strong spring known as the recoil spring. When the rifle is fired, the impulse transferred from the cartridge head to the bolt forces the bolt to the rear, which cocks the action.
