Winchester '92s and Marlin '94s and various single shot rifles in .25-20 WCF and .25-20 SS were popular varmint rifles that also got used for deer rifles by country folks who only had one rifle. That trend started with the parent cartridge, the .32-20.
Practically nobody but a few Eastern proto-geeks had specialized rifles just for varmints. (Those few rifle loonies gave us many of the shooting improvements that we all consider standard now. And essential. Like sporting scopes and handloading tools.
The first common .22 centerfire, the .22 WCF that was the parent case of the .22 Hornet, just didn't catch on until the Europeans started loading it with smokeless. Most of the original .22 WCFs (which began in 1885) show what happens to blackpowder .22s when they aren't scrupulously cleaned....
