I've been on the lookout for a pump action .22 for my son(s) but MAN! they seem to be fetching a premium. When I was a kid (only 38, so not THAT long ago) almost all my friends had 'em. Seems like the price of these little plinkers went thru the roof in the last 10 years.
There are only 2 companies still producing a pump .22. Henry and Remington. They are both a little hard to find with the Remington being the most expensive. The older pump .22's are becoming quite collectable because they were used a lot. They were referred to as Gallery guns back in the day
You are right, the pumps are pretty steep any more. I grew up with them. Am 63, now. I still see one of the Rossi rifles that are a copy of the Winchester model 62 rifles from the past. You can see one or 2 being carried around most any gun show. Original Winchester, Remington or Marlin pumps are starting about $275 in shootable condition. You might find an old Savage model 29 fro maybe $225. I have had about every model ever made and they were all fun to shoot. I am still looking for a nice Savage model 1903 but haven't found one, yet.
I saw a Rossi at the last Napanee show for $175. They are known for feeding problems, though.
I always liked the handling characteristics of pump .22's. Light, quick and held plenty of ammo. Hardly tack drivers, but accurate enough for small game hunting. I have a Winchester model 1890 in .22 LR. Great condition and shooter. Also have a 95% Remington model 12C and a Winchester model 61 and 1906. Recently sold a Winchester model 62 and a Remington model 121.
You can probably pick up late model Remington pump for about $225. I forgot about that model....John
Picked up a lovely little remington last summer from a fellow INGOer, just love it. Drives tacks, and no silencer required for quiet shooting with shorts. Just a little pop. Awesome fun.
Some have questioned the accuracy of slide action .22 rifles,but in my limited experience the 572 Remingtons are as accurate as the average bolt action.Lets face it,unless we are locked down on a bench or sandbag we will never notice a difference between rifles with different action types.
I suppose it's possible that Taurus has put the M62 series back into production, but I haven't seen anything which would confirm that yet. They discontinued it a few years back, much to the regret of many folks.
Another Brazilian firm, Amadeo Rossi, had been manufacturing a copy of the Winchester Model 1900/1906/62/62A design for many years before being acquired by Taurus. For most of that time, the M62 was equipped to use .22 S, L and LR ammo interchangably. A few years before the Taurus take-over that had been changed to .22 LR only, most likely for both economy of maunfacturing and consumer demand reasons.
Taurus added an, IMHO, awkward and redundant manual safety on the breech block mechanism. The MSRP also went up considerably, which served (also just MO) to make it even less competitive in its primary market niche, especially compared to several brands of exisiting semiautomatic designs. Sales volume dropped off and the model was discontinued to convert the manufacturing capacity to more profitable lines.
I own two pre-Taurus Rossi M62's: one with the round barrel and one with the octagonal barrel. Both have exhibited no functional issues whatsoever with any brand of .22 LR ammo. Both are capable of delivering quite respectable 50 yd. groups with their preferred ammo and at least 'minute-of-soda-can' levels with about anything.
The Remington "Fieldmaster" pumps are still in somewhat limited production, albeit for a premium price. They were and are fine weapons: solid, reliable and accurate.
The Henry pumps are basically (like their .22 RF LAs) a continuation of the earlier Erma Werke designs sold here in the US by Interarms and a couple of other importers years back. While the MSRP seems a bit too 'salty' for my taste, the basic design is sound and they are sometimes able to be found offered at a significantly discounted price.
IMHO, with some effort and a bit of patience you ought to be able to locate a nice used pre-Taurus M62 rifle or carbine in the $250 or less range. I know that's a good deal more than they routinely would bring just a few years back, but when it's no longer possible to get a NIB replacement for an item if you want one, folks tend to want more to let go of what they have.
I didn't think anybody had any interest in pump .22s, I have 3, 2 older ones, 1 hex barrel, 1 round barrel and then a 10 year old 572 that has been in the classifieds, what seems like forever, with absolutely no interest in it. The only thing I ever shot in mine was Colibri's, I set out on my patio shooting aluminum cans and clay pigeons off the top of the fence.
I personally think a lot of the older .22s have been set aside and forgotten. I set most of my .22s aside and forgot about the fun I used to have with them.
Saw a fella bring one into Bradis back at Christmas time. He pulled it out of an old, beat up rifle case. It seemed to be in mint condition too. Took everything I had to keep from drooling on it.
My son is still young....4 1/2....I want nothing more than for him to say the same thing you just did when he is a man. Maybe add...."my dad would go out and shoot my little .22 and I still have that ........"
If you're VERY lucky, they'll look forward to shooting with you even after they grow up. Wifey bout threw a fit over the little Thompson supressor I bought last year, but screw it onto a 229 or a 10/22, and the kids'll burn up a box of .22s in record time. PLUS, we can talk and not wear ears while we do so.
So the little pump gun isn't "new tech", it's still fun, and they like it, too. Hey, whatever keeps 'em shooting.
i had one of the rossi pumps years ago, it was accurate but had massive feeding issues. didn't hang on to it for too long, kinda regret it now. may pick one up and work on it a bit if i can find one for the right price