A couple of truly vintage plinkers
Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2024 8:13 pm
Yeah, I've been in the plinker mode of late. Picked up this pair of vintage 22 LR plinkers today for $500 total.
The bottom gun, of course is a 10/22, but it's an early 1968 vintage carbine with the original Overton stock. A previous owner messed up the stock a bit (see pic), otherwise I would have payed more. Amazingly, I actually found another Overton carbine stock in much better shape on e-bay this morning at a bargain price, so this will be every nice 10/22 carbide when I'm done. Will be a nice companion to my 10/22 finger groove Sporter of similar vintage.
Now, the top gun is one you don't often see. In fact, this is the first one I've ever seen. Let's take another look, then.
Nope, not a Winchester or a Remington or a Savage. It's a Marlin, a Model 38 pump 22. These were made from 1921 to roughly the end of 1929 with a production run of only about 20,000. It was Marlin's attempt to get into the all steel and walnut pump 22 game and compete with Winchester, Remington and Savage. The Marlin was a bit more expensive, so it never caught on, but there are some experts who consider the Model 38 a cut above the much more famous legendary Winchester 61 pump, thanks to the Model 38s amazing machining and features.
This one also has a bad butt stock, actually much worse shape (see pic), but I took a chance and bought the Marlin, anyway. Believe it or not, got home and was shocked to find a new replacement stock for it at a very reasonable price, too. Must be on a roll.
I'll need a long post to explain how the Marlin is so unique, but more on that later. I did take it out and shot some CCI quiets with it in the backyard and it shot great. More on this one, later.
The bottom gun, of course is a 10/22, but it's an early 1968 vintage carbine with the original Overton stock. A previous owner messed up the stock a bit (see pic), otherwise I would have payed more. Amazingly, I actually found another Overton carbine stock in much better shape on e-bay this morning at a bargain price, so this will be every nice 10/22 carbide when I'm done. Will be a nice companion to my 10/22 finger groove Sporter of similar vintage.
Now, the top gun is one you don't often see. In fact, this is the first one I've ever seen. Let's take another look, then.
Nope, not a Winchester or a Remington or a Savage. It's a Marlin, a Model 38 pump 22. These were made from 1921 to roughly the end of 1929 with a production run of only about 20,000. It was Marlin's attempt to get into the all steel and walnut pump 22 game and compete with Winchester, Remington and Savage. The Marlin was a bit more expensive, so it never caught on, but there are some experts who consider the Model 38 a cut above the much more famous legendary Winchester 61 pump, thanks to the Model 38s amazing machining and features.
This one also has a bad butt stock, actually much worse shape (see pic), but I took a chance and bought the Marlin, anyway. Believe it or not, got home and was shocked to find a new replacement stock for it at a very reasonable price, too. Must be on a roll.
I'll need a long post to explain how the Marlin is so unique, but more on that later. I did take it out and shot some CCI quiets with it in the backyard and it shot great. More on this one, later.
I'll try and remember that... 