Refl ecting On Rimfi res For Varminting:
A Rifl eman’s Retrospective On Five Decades John Markwell
lots of varying interests, it seems to me to be pretty amazing that as my involvement in some shooting activities has changed over the years, one thing has remained constant … and that is shooting rimfires. I shot small bore through college, dabbled in handgun metallic sil- houette shooting, and still compete in IDPA. I seldom shoot three-gun anymore, except on the local level, but continue to chase whitetails each fall. I don’t hunt upland game like I used to, yet still compete in the occa- sional long-range tacti- cal rifle match. Through- out the past five plus decades, the constant in all of this, and possibly my initial downfall, has been varmint shooting, and just plain old plink- ing, with rimfire rifles. It’s a habit I just can’t seem to shake. Follow- ing is a look at some of the rimfire rifles that I have had the good fortune to be associated with over the last 55 or so years. Some of these rifles are notable since they have served as life markers. Some of the others are just guns. All are significant in that they are part of an unbroken pattern that continues to this day. BEGINNINGS
A Like many readers of The Varmint
Hunter Magazine, I have had a long and mostly joyous association with the rimfire cartridges (mostly 22s) and an
s a gun guy who has had
butt to muzzle and has a flat, checkered, small bolt handle. The rear sight is adjust- able for elevation, but I can’t remember ever adjusting it. Given to me by my great uncle Henry when I was about 8 years old, the Savage has a repaired crack in the stock at the wrist. While still a kid, I refinished the stock with varnish and gave the metal parts a not too pretty coat of cold blue. It’s a good thing this rifle has absolutely no col- lector’s value, as it has been used long and hard and, even with its scars touched up, looks to be exactly what it is: a boy’s first real gun. My great uncle
17 Mach 2 rifles can become an obsession. Shown here from left: Cooper Custom Classic, Cooper Jackson Hunter, two Kimber Classic Varmint rifles, and Anschutz 1503 Sporter.
assortment of arms from which to shoot same. Unlike many shooters who let their first “real” gun slip away, I still have mine. This rifle is a classic “boy’s” rifle of times past. Chambered for the 22 Short cartridge, the rifle is a Savage Model 1911 bolt action repeater that has a tubular magazine in the butt stock, much like the famous Spencer of the Civ- il War era. It measures 35½ inches from
Henry lived in Min- ster, Ohio, and, since my grandmother lived with him for many years, we visited there often. The remains of an old canal (the Mi- ami-Erie Canal, I be- lieve) ran through the area. This abandoned waterway was about a quarter mile walk
from Uncle Henry’s house and was filled with tempting “varmints” of the aquatic kind. With the old Savage and a pocketful of 22 shorts, I dispatched countless frogs, turtles and the occa- sional water snake while prowling the banks of the old canal. Making head shots on turtles as they came up for air was extremely challenging with the Savage’s iron sights, but my eyes were
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