If only I could buy one at that price today.
The Perfect Rimfire Rifle
Resolved: The Winchester Model 52 is the first premium .22 rifle, the first rimfire rifle “for grown-ups,” and the gold standard by which all other rimfire rifles must be measured. It represents the first of its kind, combining fit, finish, adaptability, and accuracy into a premium package. Now that that’s established, let’s take a closer look at this finest of all rimfire rifles.
The Forerunners
While Winchester produced several slide-action and semi-auto rimfires prior to the introduction of the Model 52, for the purposes of this piece we’ll just look at (rimfire) bolt guns. Of these, Winchester had developed and marketed two.
The first one was a real oddball – a single-shot bolt-action rimfire rifle without a conventional trigger.
Between 1904 and 1923, Winchester produced an oddity called the “Thumb Trigger” rifle. This was a single-shot bolt gun that was fired by depressing a trigger with the firing hand’s thumb; the trigger was part of the sear and extractor at the rear of the bolt. The “Model 99,” as Winchester called the Thumb Trigger rifle, was originally chambered in the .22 Short and .22 Long, with the .22 Extra Long (a sort-of forerunner to the .22 WRF) being added in 1914.
The Thumb Trigger rifle had the advantage of being cheap to manufacture and sell, and sales were not insubstantial, with about 76,000 rifles built and sold during the piece’s nineteen-year run. But the Model 99 was a cheap, insubstantial thing, intended for beginners and casual plinkers.
Overlapping with the Model 99 was a (slightly) more substantial piece, the John Browning-designed Model 1900. This single-shot bolt gun was only a little more complex to manufacture than the Thumb Trigger rifle. While at least having a conventional trigger, the Model 1900 was still a very elementary design. Unlike more modern bolt guns this piece required manual cocking for each shot by pulling rearward on the exposed firing pin head. The stock was made of the cheapest of woods and lacked even a buttplate, instead having some patterning rolled into the butt of the stock. The Model 1900 proved to be a lasting success for Winchester, and lasted longer than the Thumb Trigger rifle; almost a million and a half of the several variants of this rifle were made between 1900 and 1946, when it was quietly dropped. Clearly there was a market for a budget .22. But for a premium gun?
The Model 1900
Up to this point Winchester seemed to be not taking the rimfire rifle market very seriously. In 1918, Winchester engineer T.C. Johnson decided to change that.
The New Rifle
If the name T.C. Johnson rings a bell, it’s because we have talked about him in a previous entry as the designer of the famous Model 12 shotgun. Johnson was, as such, one of the few people in history to actually improve on a John Browning design. He also designed the Model 21 side-by-side and the Model 54 center-fire bolt gun, which was later refined into the famous Model 70. It was from the mind of this engineer that sprang the design of the first premium rimfire rifle.
It’s important to remember that in 1918 Winchester was still a lever-gun company. While the 1897 and Model 12 pump-guns were selling well, the company’s centerfire rifle sales were dominated by the 1886, 1892, 1894 and 1895 lever guns. Winchester had a few rimfire lever guns; the Model 1873 was offered in .22 caliber, but only a few were made.
But in 1918 the Great War was showing some light at the end of the tunnel, and Winchester was starting to think about the commercial market. In February of that year, T.C. Johnson and another Winchester engineer, Frank Burton, were assigned to work on a new rimfire match rifle. Johnson was well prepared for this, having overseen wartime production of the Pattern 14 and 17 Enfield rifles for the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively.
Originally intended as a match rifle and (hopefully) a military trainer, the new rifle was designed from the ground up for accuracy. Johnson and Burton designed the new rifle on a solid forged tubular receiver and a heavy barrel adapted from the Model 1885 falling-block single-shot.
Original patent drawings.
Johnson and Burton each built their own prototypes of the rimfire bolt gun. Initially both prototypes were designed as single-shots, but late in 1918 Winchester added the requirement that the new gun should include a 5-round box magazine, so the engineers adapted their designs. In April 1919, the new rifle’s design was complete and a new prototype of the repeater was sent to be evaluated by Lieutenant Colonel Townsend Whelen, who was then serving in Washington on the U.S. Army General Staff; also in on the evaluation were Major Richard LaGarde, Director of Civilian Marksmanship, and General Fred Phillips of the National Rifle Association. Never had such an august group of reviewers been involved in the evaluation of a rimfire rifle.
All three reviewers were enthusiastic about the new rifle, although all were evasive about the prospects of the Army taking it on as a training rifle. Colonel Whelen recommended that some pre-production samples be sent to the National Matches that August; Winchester rushed six examples to the event, and in the end five event winners were equipped with what Winchester was calling the “G22R” rifle.
A Winchester 52 target gun.
In April of 1920 Winchester began production of the new Model 52 bolt-action rimfire repeater. The production model featured a cylindrical receiver forged from a solid billet of steel, dual rear locking lugs and a bolt that rode smoothly on polished flats. This was an action engineered to the same exacting standards as a centerfire bolt gun; the only somewhat jarring item was the awkward stock, initially based on the design used on the Lee-Navy rifles, with a steel buttplate and a barrel band.
Several refinements were made over the years:
- In 1930, the original two-stage trigger was replaced with a Frank Burton-designed refinement, an adjustable design with a much shorter pull, yielding significantly faster lock times. These guns were known as the “Speed Lock” rifles.
- In 1935, the Model 52A was introduced, with an improved safety and a slightly modified receiver to accommodate that safety. Also in 1935, a single-shot adapter was introduced for sale.
- In 1937 an improvement on the “Speed Lock” design, replacing the left-mounted bolt-head safety with a sliding plate trigger safety. This design was brought out that year as the Model 52B.
- In 1951, Winchester incorporated some lessons learned from wartime production into the premium rimfire rifle. The Model 52C had a better trigger and an even faster lock-time. The 52C is generally regarded by collectors as the best representation of the original design.
- In 1956, the U.S. Olympic team commissioned the building of ten custom Model 52s for the upcoming Melbourne Games. In response, Winchester completely redesigned the rifle as a single-shot, dedicated match rifle, offered commercially in 1961 as the Model 52D.
- Finally, in 1969, the Model 52E added an aluminum bedding block in the stock and a receiver drilled and tapped for scope mounts.
Because of its genesis as a match rifle/military trainer, the Model 52 rifles were never offered with open sights. Iron sights were always a receiver-mounted aperture sight and a variety of blade or globe front sights; many rifles bore barrel-mounted blocks for the big Unertl and similar scope designs.
A Model 52 with Unertl scope.
But while the Model 52 was intended as a serious target rifle, there was still a gap in the market for a premium rimfire sporter.
The Sporter
In the early 1930s, John Olin had just taken over as President of the Winchester Repeating Arms company. He had a close friend, an Army officer named Major John W. Hessian, who had a private gunsmith customize his Model 52 rifle as a sporter. The custom gun was mounted in a slim, lightweight sporter stock. When Olin saw the custom rifle, he ordered Winchester engineers to come up with a sporter version of the Model 52 for sale.
The Model 52 Sporter was a study in elegance. It featured a figured walnut sporter stock with a thin, tapered fore-end, a lightweight 24-inch barrel, a round receiver top and fancy checkering. The sporter also eschewed the big target-style sights for a Lyman aperture rear and a hooded blade front.
A study in elegance – the Model 52 Sporter.
The result was a beautiful piece. The Sporter was produced from 1934 to 1959, incorporating along the way many of the action design changes described above. Field & Stream magazine described the Model 52 Sporter as one of the “Fifty Best Guns Ever Made.”
Today Model 52 Sporters command a fancy price in online auctions, but caution! Fakes abound. Many “sporters” are offered but with flat-top receivers, revealing their conversion from the much more common target versions.
Sadly, Winchester discontinued the Sporter in 1959, as rising labor and production costs made this fine, hand-fitted arm too expensive to produce; Winchester had been selling the piece as a fancy loss-leader for several years already, and in the run-up to the disastrous 1964 re-organization, Winchester finally pulled the plug on the Model 52 Sporter.
The Competition
Beginning in the post-Great War era, many American and European manufacturers began producing a bewildering variety of rimfire bolt guns. A substantial book could be written on the rimfire bolt guns of this era, but I’ll name a few significant manufacturers:
Remington produced the 511/512/513 series of rimfire bolt guns. These guns were produced from the late Thirties through the Sixties, with the 513 coming closest to approaching the Model 52 as a premium rifle. Later, Big Green brought out the 580 series, including a new chambering, the 5mm Remington Magnum, a neat little round that was perhaps too far ahead of its time.
Mossberg likewise produced a variety of bolt-action .22s, both box-magazine and tubular-magazine fed. In accordance with Mossberg’s ownership of the “quality on a budget” market, most of these guns were solid, reliable, and accurate, but not especially fancy. The company did produce some fine target rifles nonetheless; the Model 144LSA, for example, is a fine and accurate arm, if a bit plain.
Marlin was later into the game of rimfire bolt guns, as was Winchester they were primarily a lever-gun company, but in 1960 they introduced the Model 20, a plain .22LR bolt gun with a box magazine and a plain hardwood stock; a decent enough piece, but it wasn’t blowing up any skirts in the premium gun market, which was not Marlin’s intent in any case.
Many more models were offered, including some fine pieces from such European manufacturers as Mauser, but few of them gained much of a foothold in the American market.
The End
After the 1964 event and another cheapening of the Model 52, Winchester quietly dropped the Model 53 altogether. Some replica pieces were made by Mikoru in Japan and sold under the Winchester and Browning brands, but the originals were done. The Mikoru guns are like the rest of the Japanese-built offerings by Browning, good enough guns, but somehow just not quite the same. Mikoru builds some fine guns – my own Citori, for example – but they are plainly modern, mass-produced guns without the tangible feel of craftsmanship offered by the pre-64 Winchesters.
Today
The Model 52, in introducing the concept of a premium rimfire rifle, was the inspiration (if unwitting) of many fine rifles. The Cooper, Anschutz, and Kimber offerings, among others, have shown that there is a market for such pieces.
But the Winchester 52 was the first premium production rimfire. With this piece Winchester proved there was a market for a “Cadillac” rimfire rifle for competition as well as for hunters. There have been many since, but the Model 52 was the first, establishing it forever as the Gold Standard for rimfire bolt guns.
Post-script: Readers will note that I strongly favor the original Winchester arms. Any interested in learning more about original Winchesters (when Winchester was still Winchester) are encouraged to obtain a copy of George Madis’s The Winchester Book. Madis was the Winchester company historian for many years, and there is no better authority for Winchester firearms; I rely on my copy heavily for the information that goes into these articles.
What about Browning? I had a .22 A-bolt. I Think they also made a T-bolt?
They are still making the T-bolt and I want one.
Is there anything particularly great about it? The A-bolt was very accurate, but unnecessarily fancy.
Notice my list runs the whole price range. I don’t find any of them perform especially better than the others. One standout by only a little bit is the Kimber. I think it is built around the trigger which is unbeleivably smooth and crisp at the same time. When my eyes were better and my hands steadier my brother and I would compete with each other using that gun to shoot pennies taped to a board at 25 yards. It was almost hard to miss in those days.
I want one because I don’t have a push-bolt and that one looks like a lot of fun.
OK
Generally, one would think a bolt would be more accurate than a semi, but it might not matter for .22
Win Mod 52, Ruger 10-22, Kimber Super America, Marlin 60, Browning lever, Browning semi-auto…my favorite 22 rifle is….hell I can’t decide. I better go fish them out of the lake and run a few thousand rounds through them again.
I’m saving my shells for the End Times, coming to a neighborhood near you!
I have a Marlin 60. It’s beat up, but still works fine.
mine is a little beat up too but shoots smooth as silk. Fantastic trigger on that thing.
The old Marlins were very reliable. I’ve heard this is no longer the case sadly.
The Marlin 60 is something of a gold standard all on its own. Nothing flashy or fancy about it, but it’s been said that more Marlin 60s have been built than any other single commercial rifle.
I believe it. They weren’t expensive and they work fine.
My Marlin 60 was about half the price of a 10/22 when I bought it.
My 10/22 is a no shit boating accident recovery
CMP had Kimber 82’s in their catalog for years. I always had more pressing wants and then they were gone.
I got two. One in 22lr and one in 22 Hornet. If I had it to do over again I would have waited on the second one for them to start producing it in .223…they weren’t at the time.
The problem with 22 Hornet is that the brass is sooooo thin that it is prone to stick in the chamber. I have two Hornets and they both do it.
Nice article. If I wasn’t cramming for a test, I’d take the Savage MARK II out to the range today.
The club opened up the outdoor ranges for the weekend with volunteers” ensuring everyone follows the bs rules. Then they will be closed again for a while because compliance is simply impossible without that level of effort,.
a
Joe Biden was right about black people and Trump
Donald Trump’s supporters, especially those black conservative racial mercenaries who criticize Democrats for supposed racism while serve as human defense shields and enablers for white conservatives, are bemoaning Biden’s comments.
To watch Trump defenders attack Biden for one clumsy remark — when they themselves are part of a white supremacist, neo-fascist regime — would be comedy gold if the stakes were not in fact so high.
This all-too-common dance of recrimination and apology over “racial slights” is tedious and distracting. Biden’s comments are a non-controversy elevated into something important at a time when American democracy is imperiled by Donald Trump and his forces.
Thou shall not leave the plantation.
Yes, there certainly are some black people who have internalized anti-black racism and other self-hating malice, and many of them support Donald Trump. They are free to do so in a democratic society — and also free to be judged and criticized for their decision.
Excluding such pitiable people from the equation, Biden was for all intents and purposes correct in his comments about black people and Donald Trump. To complain about his inartful language is to sidestep the core truth of what he expressed.
“This all-too-common dance of recrimination and apology over “racial slights” is tedious and distracting. ”
Much like your own bigotry.
“black conservative racial mercenaries”
“they themselves are part of a white supremacist, neo-fascist regime”
I don’t see the word ‘Nazi’ being thrown around like confetti anymore. What happened to that?
The blacks who fled the Dem plantation are Jewish Nazis!!!
“Racism” has been supplanted by “white supremacy”, too.
“when they themselves are part of a white supremacist, neo-fascist regime”
Yeah, OK, sure.
The Model 52 Sporter looks suspiciously like the rifle we shot in gun club in the basement of the community center of the town I grew up in. Almost every kid that grew up there went through that stage of life when the instructor would cinch your arm so tight in the strap while laying prone it is still talked about over four decades later. I wish I had cared enough to learn what rifle we shot but I was a dumb kid.
Come to think of it there are only three more I want: Remington Speedmaster ( I actually have one but don’t like the old floating chamber design), Winchester 9422 and the Henry with the brass receiver. That is all, just three more.
just three more.
for now
There are other calibers I also want. I wouldn’t mind adding another 6 or 8 to the Winchester 94 collection.
Don’t even get me started on revolvers.
Something I haven’t seen anyone call the media out on – the constant repeating of the claim that America has more covid deaths than anyone else. We know China’s numbers are absolute bullshit. We know their population is exponentially larger. Yet we all just pretend not to realize that when it’s time to repeat that claim.
The media spins narratives that have as little relationship to reality as possible. It is by design.
Part of the reason the media here covers for China is that China has them by the balls. The other part is that China is a totalitarian state where there are genocidal death camps, zero civil rights and power is wielded with an iron fist. They are envious. They are fellow travelers.
We know China’s numbers are absolute bullshit.
We also know the numbers the CDC puts out are bullshit. If what I hear that China stopped all domestic flights from Wuhan is true they may have really made a big step to contain it there and not spread it throughout mainland china. What would have happened if the US had done the same for all domestic flights departing NYC?
The problem with China is the same as anyone who has lost credibility. Some numbers might be true, or close to true, but there’s no way to tell. Once credibility is gone, it takes a lot of work to restore it, somewhat. Something the climate change idiots still don’t seem to grasp.
Thanks for all these articles Animal.
Seconded. The knowledge of all things firearms is truly impressive. As is the knowledge of many of the commenters here.
Always enjoy your articles, Animal. Sometimes more depth that I need but the onus is on me to learn more. Thanks
Bringing my disconnected thoughts over from the dead thread (also, thanks, whiz!):
Anybody who prioritizes “being safe” and “social distancing” and screaming at people for going out at all are, IMO, “the elite” regardless of their income status. I have 3 people on FB who are poor as church mice, but they are old and retired who are screaming at people that they’re evil if they go out, or at least, go out without masks. They have no idea what is happening to people down the financial food chain. If they did know, I’m not sure they’d care. No, I take that back. I think the regular old Karens might care if they were shown explicitly what is happening and they started to understand, but they would argue with themselves which was worse: millions of people suffering and children going without proper medical care (my particular point of rage) or old people dying.
The underlying cause of the reaction is the fear of death and the seeming disconnect people have between the reality of being really really really old and…dying. People who are really really really old…die. It’s almost like they truly believe that if you wish it hard enough, they will live forever. Never mind maybe those really really really old people don’t WANT to live in misery. They hang onto people because they don’t want to let them go, not because the dying want to live.
I do actually believe that the happenstance of putting all those sick people in nursing homes, which is killing off the old people exponentially, will be very happily used in preparation for socialized medicine. Do I think they did it on purpose? No, because I think it took everybody by such surprise they didn’t know what to do, but realized it soon enough to CONTINUE to do it.
Lastly, I am sick of the language of “economic damage the pandemic has done”. No, the “pandemic” didn’t do it. The reaction of “the elites” did it. “The officer’s gun discharged.” “The family was run over by the SUV.” “See what you made me do to you!” Passive voice is the gold standard of propaganda.
Bringing my comment over from the dead thread 🙂
Passive voice is the gold standard of propaganda.
That one’s going into my quote bank.
☺️
I find it fascinating that I have acquaintances who buy the propaganda that if we hadn’t done anything, hundreds of thousands of people in Canada would have died, and thus our politicians “did the right thing,” but don’t seem to care that the UN has estimated that, because of our responses to COVID-19, 190 million people might die of starvation, a worldwide catastrophe almost three orders of magnitude larger than the sum total of estimated deaths due to COVID-19 worldwide to date.
The “fear and loathing” model from ten weeks ago was absolutely solid, but the UN’s model of potential starvation victims is wacky. Got it.
I’m no utilitarian, but if the UN’s even within an order of magnitude, it is appalling that we’re OK with trading off a crap-tonne of brown lives “over there” to save Grandma and Grandpa over here.
Speaking of manly shit like guns, and stuff; here is a nice little diversion I came across. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a32643833/concrete-stairway-construction-video/
Figured some folks here would appreciate it.
That was a work of art. I love watching crafts/tradesmen work.
That is impressive. I wonder if that drain will be wayyyyy to small on occasion though. That does not look like the best spot for a house.
You wont have to wonder for long.
The shop/residence I am sitting in at the moment is at the bottom of a hill. I built it away/toward the hill and away from the spot I hope to build an actual house one day. We get under 10 inches of precipitation a year and I still have problems on the hill side of the building because I did not plan for drainage well enough. (Actually I didn’t plan at all and my Dad built the place for me using my money while I was out of the country so he had a place to park his boat. Long story) I could fix that but it is not much of a problem and the water always goes away when the sun comes out.
I’m near the top of a hill, but not quite at the top, so after prolonged heavy rain the garage has been known to get an inch of water or so.
The contractor said this was the third stairway he installed on the property. I bet he’s got it figured pretty good.
When I lived in Playa del Rey, there were some very cool houses in the neighborhood that were one-story facing the road, then went down 4 or 5 stories as they were built into a cliff. You just assume the whole thing will be a pile of rubble at the bottom if there is ever a really big quake.
West Coast Custom Concrete and Odell Complete Concrete make some nice YouTube videos.
I have a soft spot for Winchesters (lever action) and also for .22’s but not the budget for the tweaky-boutique-y ones. A pre lawyer safety 1894 and a tricked out target 10/22 are the best I can do. The rimfire forums I drop in on occasionally seem to all be gaga over the CZ line. They were kind of conspicuous by their absence in the article.
1894
yup
The CZ 455 and 457 are probably the best .22LR bolt gun you can buy right this minute, at least until you get up into the real boutique stuff like Vudoo and Anschutz.
I have a particular craving for one of these: https://www.area419.com/product/cz-457-manners-elite-package/
The new narrative is Trump isn’t manly.
“Donald Trump – a vain, cowardly, lying, vulgar, jabbering blowhard – is not a real “man” your father and grandfather would have respected. Nor should any man, but as I write in @TheAtlantic: especially not the ones who claim to support him the most.”
https://twitter.com/RadioFreeTom/status/1264867488883527681
“”Why do working-class white men—the most reliable component of Donald Trump’s base—support someone who is, by their own standards, the least masculine man ever to hold the modern presidency?””
https://twitter.com/JeffreyGoldberg/status/1264876993537019904
Less masculine than Obama?
Less masculine than Obama’s *wife*!
Michelle or Barack?
Is that possible?
https://rasica.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/obama-queer-barackgaydar.jpg
He should take the test.
Jeffrey Goldberg is giving opinions and advise on manliness? What a bizarre timeline.
To the manly-man readership of The Atlantic, no less.
And note the projection. These are the sort of people who have disdained the white working-class man and the traditional notions of masculinity for decade, especially in public education, where it’s led to disastrous consequences.
I thought we weren’t supposed to attribute traditionl male characteristics…I am so confused now.
Wait…wrote too soon “Toughness and dominance become bullying and abuse; self-reliance becomes isolation; silence becomes internalized rage. “
Huh… I just assumed the gun store would be open today.
There goes my plans today 🙁
“In many situations, “The accuser may well be telling the truth but the evidence is so inconclusive we’ll never know” is an appropriate stance.
But IMO, #TaraReade, like UVA’s Jackie of Rolling Stone fame, is now in “proven [or at least extremely likely] hoax” territory.
Why?”
https://twitter.com/CathyYoung63/status/1264653608525709318
What?
I just assume all of these kinds of accusations are political hit jobs. After what we saw with Kavanaugh I don’t understand how anyone could take any of it seriously.
It certainly is fishy, although the Biden one came from an ardent supporter (at least in the past) as opposed to basically a political enemy.
“ It certainly is fishy,…”
You shoulda smelled Biden’s finger!
ZING!
I make a great straight man, apparently.
Better than Barack (see above,) apparently.
*ba dum tiss*
Tip the veal and try the waitress.
Blind pig and all
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar said she believes the sexual assault claims leveled at former Vice President Joe Biden by former Senate staffer Tara Reade.
“I do believe Reade,” Omar told the Sunday Times of London newspaper. “Justice can be delayed, but should never be denied.”
The report added that Omar said if it were up to her, Biden wouldn’t be the presidential candidate.
Omar would have picked somebody far worse.
Oh shut up Omar. Grampa Gulag is never going to be president.
Heh
https://mobile.twitter.com/ScottPresler/status/1264931034367492096
Is that were they go to the bridge Ted Kennedy killed that girl?
Too soon!
As Teddy was circling the drain toward the end, I enjoyed James Taranto’s daily reference to The Mary Jo Kopechne Memorial Brain Tumor in his WSJ column.
Due to the timing of Teddy’s demise, one wit referred to him as “a shovel-ready project.”
I liked that.
Have I mentioned I’m not a nice person?
“…come sit by me.”
Best reply: “You’re also missing the White House, but we social distanced you back in 2016.”
Overt said, from the last thread:
A-fucking-men.
I generally don’t care what other people do if it doesn’t affect me – and I get puzzled when they care how I live. This whole minding each others’ business thing is out of hand.
A little Hank by way of Taj.
Today I am making this. (with adjustments) I wish I was doing this.
The ground squirrels that have been burrowing under my slab are now yelling at me. I suspect they figured out I murdered some of their cousins. Stay on the hill and out from under my house mother fuckers!
I’m proofreading Cods & Cuntes so I can publish the ebook Friday. I don’t care about this book anymore, but my readers do.
Do you have a way to introduce gopher snakes or king snakes to your yard to keep the ground squirrels (13 Lined Ground Squirrel=Minnesota Golden Gopher, btw)?
Even a cat could do the trick.
I am pondering a cat. The hawks and the neighbors cat did away with the prairie dogs that used to reside on the hill. Now these little fuckers decided to move into the old prairie dog houses and then moved down into my yard and under my slab. I have declared war. We don’t have a lot of snakes here. Especially in the desert type areas. Down in the valley with crops there are some. We are a bit high for rattlers but I have heard they are around. Never seen one.
Appropriate you would mention the squirrels in an article about 22 rifles.
When they were screaming at me I reached for the pistol and then thought more about it. I have about a dozen breakfast drinks in me and I would probably put a hole in the truck so I just yelled back and didn’t take to shooting. It even crossed my mind to get the 22 and shoot through the screen door. 22 makes a small hole was the thought, but again I didn’t. I just yelled back, “fuck you you little hairy fucker, ya I killed them and you are next!” We may have come to an agreement me and the varmints. We are at a declared war. Who will win is yet to be determined.
You need some tannerite.
When my parents bought the house I grew up in, they asked about the holes in the porch screens. “That’s from shooting the woodchucks in the garden ” was the reply.
Love it!
Thanks, Animal.
That thing just looks like a proper rifle.
I can tell you how well they shoot too. When I had the opportunity to buy one, I called my brother and asked him about 52s before I talked the person selling it. I called my brother back and told him who’s gun it was and his next words were “buy it”.
Catching up on some back reading and finished the print version of this:
https://www.ausa.org/articles/brothers-arms-chinese-american-soldiers-fought-heroically-wwii
Yeup.
Mo they are reasonable restrictions….
They aren’t saying you can’t worship as you see fit except when and where and with whom and with how many and in what manner and who can/cannot sing.
Other than that…your freedom to worship is completely intact.
It seems to me that churches could split up their ceremonies into several per week, with appropriate distancing. The exposure could certainly be no worse than the local grocery store or Walmart.
9th circuit shot that down. Religious congregations cannot be trusted to do that…
I mean they (the State) were initially able to get away with fining people for sitting in a car, in a church parking lot.
Religion is not life-sustaining.
In California, it was categorized with entertainment (movie theaters, etc.). I’m not a believer, but I can’t stand the intolerant arrogance of my fellow infidels.
The exposure could certainly be no worse than the local grocery store or Walmart.
This has been my major bitch point about all this idiocy. It applies to everything and points to the stupidity of naming a business as non-essential . It does not make sense. You won’t get the Vid at Walmart or the liquor store but you will at a bar or restaurant. Not that I go to those because I am a social distancing by nature introvert but that is not the point.
Its a smart-bug. It knows when you are less than 6-feet, if you are wearing a mask or not, if you are in an essential store or walking the boardwalk.
Now to think of it…maybe the 5g conspiracy makes more sense.
I was just thinking the other day that I needed a bolt action .22.
I have a Ruger American in .22. It takes standard Ruger mags and it’s kind of heavy with the composite stock. Very fun plinker.
They have one at my local gun shop for $160. That’s a no brainier. Thx.
I have a Savage 93 which I love, but looks like they are only in .22 Mag and .17 HMR
I have a garden box full of red poppies. Seems appropriate for the day.
For those who like snow.
*adds Norway to travel list*
I no longer have a big desire to travel the world but that place looks like a younger me would have loved it. Now it just looks cold.
Norway
I’ve got an older Model 67. It seems to be a cheaper version of the 52. It still has the exposed firing pin head that you have to pull after closing the bolt. It’s good as a first gun for teaching the kids. There’s a lot of steps before you can fire it and it only hold one.
The Babylon Bee strikes again.
I really need to send them some money.
Thats great, especially since they left it vague as “a local state governor”…
They are on fire:
Finally, laugh at these hilarious Babylon Bee headlines from our new best satirist, Joe Biden:
– Biden: ‘Poor Kids Are Just As Bright As White Kids’
– Joe Biden Says All Men And Women Are Created By You Know The Thing
– Presidential Candidate Nibbles On His Wife’s Fingers
– Joe Biden: ‘I’m Going To Beat Joe Biden’
– Go To Joe 30330′ Says Joe
– Biden Tells Campaign Rally ‘We Choose Truth Over Facts’
– Joe Biden Calls Iowa Man ‘Fat’ And A ‘[FLOWERBED] Liar’
Oh, man. That is a perfect skewering of both the statist would-be overlords and of a canned altar call at a revival.
Bravo.
And they have a podcast! Have had for nearly a year.
Not too long ago, I asked for a rub recipe for brisket. So help me, I cant find it.
Anyone want to share one ?
1) buy a brisket
2) rub it
You need to be more specific in 2)
Use your open hand, palm side down, and move in a circular motion.
Go on…
OK, this is where I’m supposed to say “I’ll be in my bunk”.
Informative content like that is why I hang around this place.
I went with this:
2 tablespoons kosher or coarse salt
2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
Gotta get some more sugar in there Tres.
Pork or chicken yes, for brisket, no.
That’s pretty much my standard, though I tend to leave out the cayenne and add in some onion powder. I may add some dry mustard or liquid yellow mustard depending on my mood.
Isn’t this like asking what the score of the Cal game is when your internet is out?
Simplest one? Equal parts salt and pepper. Very Texan. (Although the simplest Texan one would be “let the smoke from the low fire season it, then eat it.”)
More complicated? You could always try Raichlen’s 5-4-3-2-1 rub:
5 parts paprika
4 parts brown sugar
3 parts salt
2 parts black pepper
1 part dry mustard
That works above, either one, either style.
Give it a good wrap for a day in my opinion though.
Yeah, it never hurts to let the rub flavours “soak in” for a bit.
1/4 cup kosher salt.
1 tbsp lemon pepper
1 tbsp cayenne
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp dried mustard
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1 pinch cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
Mix dry and add approx 1/2 cup bee, Dr. Pepper or cola to make it a slurry. Rub meat.
I am now out getting some much-needed vitamin D and proofreading. Cold water, comfy chair, nice breeze, few people. *le sigh*
I slept until noon. I have done nothing today beyond a little laundry. I should change that.
Me too, mostly. Made breakfast and stewed some rhubarb. That was a special dessert when I was growing up.
#METOO…rhubarb pie seemed to always be on Sunday table somewhere in my family.
I went to work and have been making parts with the milling machine.
Supposed to go to neighbors house for pool and BBQ. Not really looking forward to it but yet I am.
I’m on my way to Imperial Beach (way south—almost to Mexico) but just found out the event I was going to attend has been cancelled this morning due to being deemed out of compliance by the local statists.
Still going down there (already have a hotel room booked) and meeting Up with friends.
Enough with the covid theater !! It’s a wonderful day; let us enjoy our freedom and good fortune of being born in the West.
Looking at the Memorial Day pictures and tributes, I feel it’s even more important now that we not squander what they fought for.
… good fortune of being born in the West.
I remember when I really used to believe that.
/jk, sort of
Well so a thunderstorm rolled up right quick and soaked me before I made it to my car.
There is something very sad about being caught in the rain.
So you don’t like pina coladas, either, I take it?
No. I am not into yoga. I’m not into champagne.
But I COULD be into yoga if I had song time and discretionary funds.
some*
Yoga takes some time, but not any money.
I want to go to a class. I had a complementary class just before a surgery and really liked it.
There is plenty of stuff on youtube, online articles, etc.
I could answer any questions you might have.
Thanks, CP. What I really mean to say is that I don’t want to do it at home alone at all. I want to go somewhere peaceful with quiet strangers, an instructor, and Zen music.
I remember always being puzzled by people who loved walking in the rain. Where I live, rain is almost always cold. Then I got caught in a cloudburst in Hilo Hawai’i. No one tried to run indoors or even stay dry. It was warm and soothing.
“Getting caught in the rain” really is a context-specific pleasure.
Thanks Animal.
the only somewhat jarring item was the awkward stock, initially based on the design used on the Lee-Navy rifles,
I’ve seen Lee Navy rifles but never handled them. I remember the curve of the butt being a bit odd.
Good article Animal.
A bolt action rimfire is always fun.
Honest question to you vegetable growers. How often do you water plants in pots? I try year after year and I kill everything I try to grow without ever getting a tomato or a chili. Speaking of chili’s, I drove past my chili dealers fields the other day and he has plants in the ground. I can’t wait!
Not an expert, but every day. Do the pots have drainage holes? Depending on how hot it is and where the pot sits you may need to water a bit in the morning and a bit in the evening.
Not one either, and have only done tomatoes a couple times. It’s generally milder here and usually water heavily and let it start to dry out but not lose moisture completely. Check with a moisture meter. Biggest problem with tomatoes in a pot is keeping the catch pans from going foul or getting the decking gunked up.
Yes drainage holes. I have the most pots I have ever had since I scored big in a dumpster last week. Found four nice big ones!
Too many variables to give you an “all-purpose” answer. Do you believe you killed them from too much water, too little, or bad timing?
What kind of veggies? How big the pot, and do you have one (or more) veg/pot? How good is the soil mix (i.e., how well does it retain moisture)? Full sun, or partial shade? Young plants or fully mature? Is your soil fairly neutral in pH, or acidic? Et cetera.
Lemme go a bit further. Your statement “I kill everything I grow” doesn’t sound like just a watering problem.
How long do they live before you kill them? A few days? Weeks? Months?
For all I know, if you’re killing new seedlings, it could be a “hardening-off” problem, rather than a water problem.
I don’t really “kill” them, I just never get fruit.
Probably not enough potassium and phosphorous, or too much nitrogen, or not enough sun.
Ah. Do you get flowers? If not, your night-time temperatures are probably too low, and you may need to cover your plants at night until they flower. If you do get flowers, then there’s a variety of other possible problems.
For tomatoes it’s night-time soil temperature. Watering in morning helps because then there is less evaporation at night.
Plants, like most loving beings, prioritize survival and growth over reproduction when lacking resources. So if you aren’t getting fruit or flowers, it’s not getting something. Nutrients (as CP says), water, and sunlight are the main needs. If it’s getting all those needs met, then what Incentives Matter says is the likely culprit. The conditions aren’t right.
Grapes will kill themselves trying to grow fruit/seeds.
Wild grapes, or the ones we’ve been meddling with for a few thousand years?
Cultivated for sure.
Yes, there are exceptions. That typically means the plant is literally dying and it’s a last ditch effort to procreate. Those seeds tend to be poor quality as well.
Many trees will do the same thing, with a similar result.
We have no lack of sunlight here and the plants have always been in full sun. I always blamed it on bad dirt but now I have all plants in pots. We shall see.
I’ve been giving my fresh pepper seedlings a lil drink in the morning and the same in the afternoon. Emphasis on little. Don’t saturate them. If they’re really thirsty, they’ll let you know by going limp.
So my tomato plant is happy in the pot and with Vegas sun (especially since we are starting to heat up) I check it twice daily. It gets full sun in the morning after the automatic drip gives it water and if soil is dry, Ill give it another inch in the afternoon. Ill move to partial shade to help retain that moisture for the rest of the day.
Don’t know if its right, but I am getting about 10-15 tomatoes right now and they seem to be growing nicely.
Heck even some of my lemons survived the great Antpocolyse of 2020. They will be cherished as they were the strongest.
You need to watch out for the Lemon Stealing Whores
Well, I need to watch out for them for my own purpose now don’t I
Joanna Angel never did it for me.
Perhaps, if you took them out of the closet . . . .
Generally speaking, if you have them in the proper soil and a pot with good drainage, you should be able to water until the soil is saturated and the excess will drain free. It’s best not to let the excess sit in a tray. Let it drain out. Then don’t water again until the top inch or so is dry to the touch. Some plants have different needs though, so like Incentives Matter says, it’s tough to say what exactly you’re doing wrong.
Yep, soils the thing, I use the Square Foot Gardening guy’s mix, equal parts peat moss, vermiculite and compost. He claims with good drainage you can’t over water, he also suggests keeping a bucket of water near the garden and giving each plant a couple cups daily, seems to work but I’ve had to water twice a day if it’s very hot.
OT: NH Taxpayer dollars at work
Whew…I was afraid there was nothing left to cut
Oddly, I’ve been out twice today and didn’t see a single cop. For a holiday, that seemed unusual.
Friday when I went to the post office in the morning and when I went to get take-out in the evening I saw lots of cops out. All local.
I drove to Sunday River Brewing in Maine on Saturday. I saw lots of NH State Troopers on the way north along I-93. I saw a couple local cops while driving through the mountains to get to Goreham. I saw a couple NH State Troopers hanging out in a parking lot in Goreham. I crossed the border into Maine ignoring Gauleiterin Mills’ quarantine order and the sign ordering me to quarantine for 14 days.
I saw not a single police officer while I was in Maine. None whatsoever.
Once back in New Hampshire and heading south, I saw no police officers at all.
Another thing I noticed on Saturday. Except for one sign, Every one of the traffic information signs in New Hampshire said either “STAY LOCAL LIMIT TRAVEL” or “DRIVERS BE AWARE SPEED LIMIT ENFORCED”. The except was at the Maine border which read, “COMING TO NH TO STAY? PLEASE QUARANTINE 14 DAYS”.
There is no gore in Gorham, lol. Which if the tall tales are true was named after some indians yelling “Go Rum” while chasing a barrel rolling down a hill.
DOH’T!
You are correct. I goofed.
The programmable DOT signs in WA now read:
“Minimize Travel”
“Obey the Speed Limit”
“Stay Safe”
The traffic on the streets runs about 10 MPH over the posted limit. I’m waiting for the popo to start writing tickets. The weather is warming up and the motorcycle cops will be out soon.
Obey
And you don’t even need the fancy glasses to see it.
I not only saw more cops than normal, I saw a Sheriff’s Pickup having pulled someone over. I’ve seen sheriff’s SUVs before, but not Pickups.
Suburbans are the most economical vehicles for the state to acquire and operate – this is known.
What’s the matter, 11 mpg not good enough for you?
One of the comments: New Hampshire needs to update it’s [sic] state motto. “Lock Down or Die”
I think people dump on Walmart too much, it’s a good place to get a lot of things, and often cheaper, especially in food and drugs. But the toilet seat I bought there a month ago just broke near the hinge, so I’m off to Lowe’s or Menard’s to find a replacement.
The last two winters, I have been able to buy fresh meyer lemons and key limes at Walmart, but not at Target.
WMT is definitely growing on me. So cheap, so practical. And no weirdos the last few times I was there.
WMT online is solid: great prices, solid packaging, decent logistics
I’m not looking for excuses to throw money at them: they earned our business
So no afternoon links?
Anarchy!!!!!!!!
This site is a prison on planet bullshit.
Here’s a link.
I hope no one was in it.
thicc?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8353027/Demi-Rose-leaves-imagination-showcases-curves-black-lingerie.html
I wonder how much she makes a year posing for the Daily Fail?
According to the internet, she has a net worth of $3M.
“This is the horrifying moment a mother appears to push her autistic son into a canal in what police say was her first attempt to kill him.
Patricia Ripley, 45, faked Alejandro Ripley’s abduction after trying to drown him twice, with witnesses rescuing the boy from a Florida canal the first time, and the second attempt ending in the boy’s death, officials said Saturday.
Alejandro was autistic and nonverbal. He was found floating in a Miami canal Friday. Ripley is facing attempted and premeditated murder charges.
Footage obtained by Univision shows as Ripley walks with Alejandro, stroking his head, before appearing to push him into the water. She then runs off screen before returning with neighbors who saved the boy.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8354889/Husband-DEFENDS-wife-faked-autistic-sons-kidnapping-kill-him.html
CWAA
I guess Mrs. Ripley wasn’t very talented.
Thank you, Teds.
“Prankster, 20, is arrested on assault charges after grabbing a reporter around the shoulders during a live broadcast and shouting ‘a profane and disturbing statement’ at the camera”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8355315/Man-20-arrested-grabbing-reporter-shoulders-live-broadcast.html
LOLOL
Oh my God.
I mean that was the crux of the whole story. He had just used PPE then his actions would have been okay.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8355083/Rachel-Zoe-Rodger-Berman-romantic-joy-ride-200K-vintage-Porsche.html
Seems a bit pricey for a 356.
Another great article Animal. My dad got one of those old Mossberg military training rifles from a DNR auction many years ago for almost nothing. It needed some cleanup and he refinished the stock. Thing shoots great.
I would love to find a classic Winchester or Remington bolt 22 for a decent price…
https://thecmp.org/faq/what-smallbore-rifles-are-available/
I shot the 40X in college and highly recommend it. Of course, the sights matter quite a bit.
I keep an eye on the CMP website and I’m on their email list. I believe that is old info. I don’t see any surplus 22 for sale. Only target 22 for sale to clubs.
https://twitter.com/thankuellen/status/1263898159929008128
awwwwww
Someone is getting laid.
’nuff said
Bill
@salamicrow
Replying to
@NuncVideo
and
@thankuellen
i tried it and now i have a restraining order
This is a durian:
“The novel coronavirus seems to be more deadly for men. But in many other ways, women are bearing the brunt of this pandemic.
For instance, the majority of health workers are women, yet they get paid 28% less on average than men, according to the WHO.”
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1264980497849036801
Lol, in an era where shame was something to be avoided, the author would be hiding in their apartment with shades drawn.
I…well…maybe…I got nothing.
https://thedcpatriot.com/36-shot-9-dead-in-chicago-over-memorial-day-weekend/
Technically, using a gun is social distancing.
Oops.
https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/southeastern-pa/fire-truck-tips-over-in-bucks/article_55a7403e-9eb3-11ea-a96d-4b5ddbee1bc4.html
They tried moving it with the ladder extended?
Genius.
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/05/york-diners-still-open-monday-in-defiance-of-covid-19-rules-could-face-10000-fine.html
More civil disobedience. Good for them.
FTA: “Republican State Rep. Mike Jones has publicly urged the diners to remain open regardless of actions by the state.” That is fine and dandy as long has he acts on their behalf when the state brings the hammer and you know they will.
15 more minutes of work, and I wouldn’t call it work at all. Ran some scripts, changed some passwords and looked at the clock 6:15am. Been lurking here all day.
NYPD is representin’ at Rockaway Beach today. More cops out here than I’ve seen since SuperDuperStorm Sandy. they have nowhere near the manpower to keep the beaches closed but they are glaring at everyone and barking about masks and leper length. Riis Park is open; it’s FedGov property so the City has no jurisdiction. The concessionaires are open apart from the bars (which is where they make most of the money). All concessionaires are closed along the length of the City controlled beaches.
Do the city licensed businesses get a pro-rated refund on the time they were ordered to close? Maybe a discount on next year’s licensure?
I know, I know. I will be here all night folks!
The two folk I know who own food purveyors at both Riis Park and the City boardwalk are, shall we say, rethinking their relationship with NYC and the NYC Parks Dept.. The ice cream folk, while killing me for not opening the cart this year, have never operated on the City controlled section of the boardwalk for fears of just this sort of thing. The bar guy is vacillating between weeping and raging. He was barely scraping by on savings and curbside sales at his location here in the neighborhood and was counting on his Riis Park stands to pull him from the brink. Apparently the no booze order was a surprise from the National Park Service that dropped in his lap last week.
Staten Island Karen’s shout at woman who dares to not wear mask.
Heroes. ?
I gave up and bent the knee. I pulled one of my kid’s outgrown t-shirts (I’m a T-Rex now) over my mug at the grocery today just to avoid having to talk to anyone. One more scolding from a stranger and I’m gonna pop off.
These are the same people who would rage against the so-called epidemic of bullying.