22 Almost

[KCSO]

Had a fellow come in the other day and his 22 was spitting back at him and didn't go off all the time. The gun was his grandfather's and he said it worked just fine for gramps. Took a look and then another look and lo and behold a Remington Model 16 with a mint bore in good working condition... chambered for Remington 22 Auto round that hasn't been made since before WWII! He asked about getting some ammo and I found him a box for $65. and that was 47 rounds in a torn up box. I'll bet I get this one in trade cheap.

[KCSO]

Well it just came back in and I am now the proud owner of an unshootable gun!

[pietro]

They're really nice-looking classic-type rifles.

I passed on a pristine one @ $200 last Spring, because I wanted to do more than just look at it.

The dealer that took it in was unaware that it wasn't a .22LR auto.


.

[oneokie]

Wall hanger or safe queen?

[skeettx]

Says he has ammo for $65.00 a box

http://www.sportingcollectibles.com/22_ammunition.html

[starmac]

I see them come up for sale once in a while, haven't been interested in owning one so far.

[KCSO]

Well... Since this one is not pristine and since I am curious I first ried the feed system and it feeds regular LR shells fine. Now I checked the ballistics of the old 22 Rem auto and it's just about the same as the regular 22 LR ammo except a 45 grain bullet a little slower. Now I can reline the rifle to 22 lr easy enough but the only problem would be making sure there was enough recoil energy to function the action. I don't know if this has ever been tried and I might end up with a mighty expensive single shot but I am sure tempted to give it a try.

[jhrosier]

I would be tempted to try lining the chamber with a shortened .22 mag case with the head removed.
Loctite might hold it in place well enough for casual use.
If that works out, the recoil spring might be shortened a couple of turns to help with functioning.

Jack

[Mk42gunner]

No personal knowledge, but I have read of someone (I think it was John Taylor, but I'm not sure) converting these or the Winchester 03's to .22 Long Rifle.

Like you say the ballistics are pretty close, so I think I would give it a try; as long as you don't have a lot of money in it.

Robert

[KCSO]

IF I ever did a quicky job i would reline the chamber area with a screwed in locktited chamber and cut it right. BUT the problem is that the bores on ther=se are just a little oversize also so I will reline the whole bore and do it right if I do it. My problem here is that a total production run of just over 17,000 makes this a pretty rare gun, useless but rare, and I hate to convert the last of anything. I remember catching heck here for shortening a magazine from my junk pile that somebody thought was priceless... "nope you can sell them in Dallas". I have been working out the logistics and have doped out changing the eztractor to grab a slightly smaller case and trimming what springs where to adjust the recoil but I am still hanging on a fence about doing the whole job.

[gnoahhh]

I vote to go ahead and do it. If the gun isn't pristine then it has limited collectors value. Re-lining the barrel won't make it worth any the less than what it is now, and will certainly improve its 'useability' and may actually increase its value.

If I remember correctly, Remington cataloged the .22 Remington Special through the 1960's.

[Bent Ramrod]

As I recall, the .22 Rem Autoloader shell was a shortened .22 WRF (or in this case, a .22 Rem Spl.), whereas the .22 Winchester Automatic was an extra fat, absolutely unique shell. With enough determination it might be possible to unload, cut off and reload WRF or even WRM shells with reduced powder charges, but I imagine that $65 a box price would start looking pretty reasonable after a while.

Could the feed mechanism be lengthened so the rifle could be rechambered to .22 WRF/Spl? Winchester keeps making runs of this cartridge, and CCI made a run of them once.

[1Shirt]

No matter how ya hack it, ya did good!
1Shirt!

[I'll Make Mine]

As I recall, the .22 Rem Autoloader shell was a shortened .22 WRF (or in this case, a .22 Rem Spl.), whereas the .22 Winchester Automatic was an extra fat, absolutely unique shell.

The .22 Rem Auto has a smaller rim than .22 Win Auto, and slightly smaller case diameter than .22 WRF/.22 Rem Spl. Based on case dimensions, bore size, and ballistics, sleeving to .22 LR and lightening the springs seems the most sensible conversion (and unquestionably the most shootable).

[troy_mclure]

My grandfather has a pump gun chambered in .22 rem auto. He also has around a case of ammo he bought for $7 a box 10 years ago.

[KCSO]

Well the experts were wrong! It is possible to make these into a 22 lr gun and it wasn't that much work. The relined barrel fed and functioned just fine and the only hitch was getting the hammer spring tension right so the gun would cock the hammer. It makes a neat little 22 and now it's a shooter.

[uscra112]

I would be tempted to try lining the chamber with a shortened .22 mag case with the head removed.
Loctite might hold it in place well enough for casual use.
If that works out, the recoil spring might be shortened a couple of turns to help with functioning.

Jack

Shortening a coil spring reduces the preload, but also makes it stiffer.

[camaro1st]

can we get a picture of it?

[KCSO]

All right the almost is a working 22. I relined the barrel and chambered the rifle for regular 22 lr. And ordered spare springs for the hammer and recoil spring. When the spares came in I started working and for this gun 3 coils from the hammer spring and 1 1/2 coil from the recoil spring were just right and the gun shoots semi auto and feeds just fine. It is now a dandy working 22 and is just as accurate as any Iron sighted 22 I have. I may have kept this one as is but a customer came in and bought the gun and then paid me to try and convert it so I came out ok and now the customer will be happy.