Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Well...Crap! Rifles found, money blown

You guys all have a 'list' right? A list of guns you keep an eye out for, in hope that they will show up at some point. I had the fortune (or misfortune, depending on your financial fortitude) of finding 4 in the past few weeks! I travel a fair bit for work and have several gun shops I frequent when on the road. 90% of the time I don't take anything home. A couple of weeks ago I found a Browning Gold Medallion .22 and bought it right then. I'd been actively looking for one for a few years but hadn't even seen one for sale that I could put my hands on since 2013 or so. I was happy as could be and didn't plan on buying anything for a while...but then I stopped at a little shop I hadn't been to in several months. I looked at 5 guns that I was very interested in, and the owner stated that they all came from the same owner. An older gentleman had passed away, the son inherited the guns, and had sold a batch off due to financial issues. 3 of them were on 'the list' and I couldn't say no. He made me a solid deal and they all came home.

So now I've added 4 rifles in the past few weeks. Sure, the list shorter, but the wallet is certainly thinner.

Browning Gold Medallion .22 dated as a 1991
Ruger 77/22 from 1986
Marlin 39M from 1982
Marlin 39 TDS from 2001

Very nice. Like the lever guns.

nice wood on that 77/22. i didnt realize how scarce the brownings were gonna become when i used to see them everywhere 25 yrs ago ...

CONGRATS there sock. Great finds.

I was in that situation some years back and wound up w/three I’d been drooling over.
Feels Good>>>don’t it.

Enjoy.

Jerry

Beautiful rifles. You have good taste.

Jealous....

I wanted for a 77/22 for some time.

That Ruger looks really nice. Good find

Nice! The A-Bolt 22's are great handling guns.

Nice job Sock! I love my 90’s Abolt 22 LR. Those Marlins are cool. Sorry about your thinned pocket leather. 😎

You hit the mother lode...congrat's. All rifles are in excellent condition especially the Marlins.

Well done. The A Bolt Medallions are getting tougher to find. Even as a lefty, I would seriously consider one. As was said above, you have good tastes.

Thanks, gents, I appreciate the kind words! The Browning is nearly perfect, the others have some handling marks which is fine with me.

OSU Sig, I believe I purchase my Win 9422M XTR from you a few years ago. I still love that little rifle! I added a 9422 (non-XTR) last year to go with it. I snapped a pic with the new ones last night but there is a bit of glare:

Nice!

I don't think it ever stops. I found this Winchester low wall at the gun show last weekend. I didn't even know they existed in 22 long, but when I saw it I had to get it. Having no bucket list isn't cheap either...

I like that one, Shrap. I haven't hit a gun show in a year or two because of the ammo and black gun craze, but that's obviously settled down. I may go to the next one and see what's changed.

It's like picking corn out of a turd, but there is still a hidden treasure out there.This was from a guy that was too old to go to shows and sent them with a friend and it wasn't obvious, but with help from a few friends, I found it. I am heading to Arizona tomorrow, and I will look at their gun show down in Phoenix and Tucson, but don't expect much there either. The good thing is, if you trip and fall down, you won't freeze there, it is -24 here this morning...

Nice find. My list consist of inexpensive quality actions that I can do the next build on.

Yes you did! Thanks for the reminder. Since then, I had an opportunity to buy another one, this one without checkering and did so. They are great lever guns.

Thanks for the shout out.

I need to post photos of my lever guns.

Mighty fine!


ya!

GWB

What do Browning A Bolt .22s go for these days?

The little 16" 39 TDS will make you forget you own the M, and the 9422..... as well as any other .22 with a barrel longer than 16". Ask me how I know.

Seriously, you did really good. You indeed have fine taste.

Would love to see them!

There is one on Gunbroker starting at ~$1100 and one recently sold in the classifieds for somewhere around that. That may be the new norm, but I was thankfully able to snag mine for somewhere south of that.

Thanks again to all for the compliments. I'm anxious to shoot the little TDS! I'm sure it will be fun but don't think my other levers will go anywhere.

Dang, I have 2, might need to lighten the safe!!











P

I'm betting you'll get some PM if you're serious, Pharm. Interesting wood on that one.

Sock Puppet: What a cool trove of new Rifles for you!
I say forget the slim wallet and enjoy the pride of owning and using such cool Rifles!
The wood on that Ruger 77/22 is especially appealing.
Again good for you and in a moment of solitude and tranquility ask yourself a sobering question (like I have done MANY times!) - how many times do you live!
I know the answer to that profound and direct question - YOU, only live, ONCE!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

SockPuppet: I just now read some of the other posts regarding your "new" Rifles.
In reference to your Marlin Model 39 TDS I have one of those that I bought MANY moons ago and it sits in its takedown case "unfired" - just like the day I bought it new.
I have been debating shooting that tiny Rifle for years now but have resisted - maybe you will sell me yours?
At one time I had found and bought another Marlin marked takedown gun case for the 39 TDS's - I can not remember if I sold that or not?
Might go through my gunshow stuff and see if I still have it (its tough to get old - memory diminishes somewhat).
Let me know if that particular 22 (Marlin 39 TDS) comes onto the market.
TIA
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Great finds you got there, but can you really say the money is blown if you got something you've really been looking high and low for? To me, that is money well spent.

VG, I think there is an unfired 39 TDS in the box on Gunbroker starting at $1599. I'm not saying it will sell for that, but something to consider. If you come across that case I sure would be interested! Think I'll hang on to these for the foreseeable future and run a bunch of rounds through them. I've gotta get a load of hay this weekend but should have time to go shoot the Marlins a bit.

Good point, Hudge! I imagine these will stay around for a long while, just like the 9422s and a few others. Like most of us, I broke out on a little rimfire and shot the heck out of em' as a kid. I still love to plink away with a good .22.

I grew up shooting squirrels back behind the house with a .22 rimfire. I'll b honest, I hadn't shot a .22lr in a while until Sep. 2017. My wife met her childhood friend and friend's mom in NY that year, I was already off work burning use or lose leave time up, so I got the boys off to school and went grouse hunting with my dad's old .22. Man, I had some fun. I hadn't had that much fun out hunting alone since I was a teenager.

Again, great snag on the guns.

Cleaned the Marlins (not that they really needed it) and my oldest daughter and I took them out for some coke-can killin'. Both of them shot and functioned just fine, and are pretty accurate. No rabbits made an appearance today or they would have been in trouble.

Are the A-Bolt 22 magnums about the same pricing as the 22LR versions? Some nice rifles posted on this thread. Need a marlin 39 someday.

Just stumbled on to this post. Congrats on the new rifles. You don't see many 77/22s with that nice of wood.

I've never actually seen one of the A-Bolts in .22 mag. There are a couple on Gunbroker (one at ~$1K and one at $1.8K) but that's not necessarily what they sell for. I'd be interested in a Mag version if I come across one but not at $1,800....

Which one is the most desirable? The Browning or the Ruger?

Not sure I can answer that with any authority. I can tell you I've seen a lot more Rugers for sale than Brownings. Right now I know of 4 or 5 Rugers in various rimfire calibers within 100 miles of me, and zero Brownings.

Very nice thread!

SockPuppet: I have searched high and low for that black Marlin 39 Takedown gun case and I can not find it.
I have found three similar shaped Ruger 10/22 "Gun Rug" type cases for the Ruger 10/22 long barreled pistols as well as a long black Smith & Wesson "Performance Center" marked gun case but not the aforementioned Marlin takedown case.
I will keep looking, but if I still have it - it is not where it should be.
Thanks for the info on the Gunbroker 39 TDS - that got my attention - I will head over there for a reconnoiter session which may lead to my updating my inventory and evaluations!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

No sweat, VG, thanks for looking!

SockPuppet: I just went down to my gun vault room and took the Marlin TDS "I" have out of one of my gun safes and looked at it.
It differs from the beautiful Rifle you have - it has no checkering and has a solid black plastic buttplate where your Rifle has the very nice checkering and what appears to be a nice rubber Marlin butt pad?
Did they make two "grades" of Marling 39 TDS's?
I forgot to look on my barrel to see if my tiny Rifle has the "39 TDS" marking on it's barrel like the two 39 TDS's I could find under the Marlin Model 39 TDS search I did over on gunbroker.
Any enlightenment on what I am puzzling over would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Interesting. Yours may be an earlier model. Take a look at this thread and the picture toward the bottom: TDS Thread

Yep, the first several years in the 80's they had no checkering

Checkering started in the early 90's.

I know about buyers remorse adding firearms. First up the money won't seem that bad over the years. Some of your new lever actions are taking off price wise. You'll have satisfaction of owning decent well made rifles. We are this way only once. Have at it.

Oh, I don't have buyer's remorse, I'm very pleased with my purchases. I usually keep a set amount of 'gun fun' money so I can pick one up that interests me. I just didn't plan on picking up 4 in such short notice. I'm pretty rigid on where my money goes and don't like to borrow from other accounts for something that isn't truly needed.

I really need to stop 'just looking' at gun shops. Picked up this 1996 Marlin 922M today. Stop if you've heard this one before: "I just couldn't pass it up!"

This might be fun on prairie dogs...

Sweet!

Thanks, it should be fun. We've had a bunch more snow and cold than last year, so it will be interesting to see what the rabbit population is this spring/summer.

We had a decent fall and not so wet winter here. The last wet weather was between Christmas and New Years. Been dry and windy ever since.

Any rimfire is fun,but a semi-auto is even more so!

Indeed! I've never owned one of these and I'm anxious to try it out. I like the 22 Mag round in general, and especially on jack rabbits.

Only .22 Mag I owned was a Winchester M 9422. It shot ok and I did eventually killed a jackrabbit with it. Traded it off for something else a long time ago.

I do like the .17 HMR for rabbits,when I feel like stunt shooting.

Yep, the .17 HMR is a hoot! Didn't have 'em when I was a kid but we killed plenty 'o rabbits with 22s and shotguns.

Yeah,.22's,shotguns and practicing with the rifles we were taking deer hunting. Good times all!