.22 Squirrel Pistol

[Chopperdrvr]

I promised Rattlesnake Dan I would post this so here it is. This is my favorite tool for hunting squirrels. I have killed more squirrels with this gun than all my others combined. That is not to say that I have slaughtered the squirrels over the years. I hate to clean squirrels, so if I kill 3 or 4 in a days hunt, I consider it a very successful hunt. Just to see how many gun experts we have, can anyone name this handgun without enlarging the picture? The winner will get an atta-boy!

 

[Brian Shaffer]

I figure it is a Ruger MkI, but I can't figure out which variant it would be.

 

[Ratdog68]

I'm sayin' Ruger Mk 1 as well.

This one's more my speed... (middle one. Top one I bought for dad. Bottom one was my uncle's)

 

[Oso Grande]

Chopper, I'm with the guys, I'm guessing a Ruger Mk1 as well. But I'm digging that trigger guard, I'd not seen that one before nor the whole pistol in stainless. Looking good!

RD, I'm with you on the buckmark. Here's mine:
Buckmark .22 rifle, cut down to SBR with Gemtech OutbackII

 

[Ratdog68]

Love that puppy Oso.

 

[RattlesnakeDan]

Ruger 22/45 I would say. Probably a Volquartsen trigger set up and who knows what else.

 

[RattlesnakeDan]

Here's my MK II, has some trigger work, target grips and a little extra doohickey up front for stealth.
Last year I had Ruger, Buckmark, Beretta and Smith 22 pistols. Shot them and turned them loose but fun shooting them all. Kept this one.

 

[Ratdog68]

Fine lookin' pistola there Dan.

 

[RattlesnakeDan]

Those Beretta's have a carbine kit, wonder if anyone has one. Would like to see a pic of one of those. I waited for one for a year but they stayed on back order too long for me.

 

[Chopperdrvr]

Close, but no cigar yet.

 

[RattlesnakeDan]

Close, but no cigar yet.

Ok Chopper, It's a customized MKII so we want details.......

 

[RattlesnakeDan]

Oh, and I want it, did I mention that?

 

[Chopperdrvr]

OK, I guess ya'll give up. Its a clone of a Ruger MK II from Arcadia Machine and Tool (AMT) Lightining. Its virtually identical to the Ruger, but made before Ruger started making stainless pistols. Its been reliable and very accurate, however the company was plagued by reliability issues and went bankrupt in the late 90's. It does have one issue that I have had to deal with and that is the chamber is what some people call a "target" chamber. The problem is, it won't shoot most high velocity .22's without creating a dangerous condition. The rounds don't seat completely in the chamber, but are far enough in for the gun to fire leaving a portion of the head and casing unsupported. I have had several cases rupture while shooting until I figured out what was going on. It does like Remington Viper's though because of the truncated bullet. Its pretty deadly with that round and a steady hand.

 

[RattlesnakeDan]

The lower looks identical to the Ruger. I figured it was a Volquartsen (sp?) custom. Very unique. I don't want it anymore though. lol

 

[Chopperdrvr]

That's good, 'cause I probably wouldn't part with it anyway. Even with its faults, I love to shoot it.

 

[RattlesnakeDan]

You know, I had one of those 22 cricket rifles. Every few rounds the shell would split and get jammed. I never figured out why.

 

[Chopperdrvr]

These don't split, but blow out the side by the rim or the rim separates. I have never tried to use actual target ammo, but I think I will now. I have a decent supply of standard velocity stuff, and it might work just fine.

 

[Chopperdrvr]

I'm sayin' Ruger Mk 1 as well.

This one's more my speed... (middle one. Top one I bought for dad. Bottom one was my uncle's)

I recently purchased one like the one you bought for your dad. Its very nice, with a lot of steel. I can't find much info on it like approximate time it was offered, but it feels like it was a target model.

 

[Ratdog68]

25 or so years ago, I was at a shooting range in Anchorage with a buddy of mine... to check these new pistols and verify they were "on".

While at the range, a guy next to me was shooting a .44 AutoMag, and didn't want his brass. About the time I'd scrounged up every last piece of it, the R.O. came out and proclaimed that brass scrounging was not allowed, it was the property of the range, and I had to surrender it to him.

Let's just say, the guy came charging back over (later on) to holler in protest when two of his target stands fell over about the same time while we were shooting. I looked at him and while scratching my head, said to him, "I was wondering where these things were hitting. Guess I need to work on tweaking 'em." We packed up and left. His target stands were 1 x 2 uprights, and at 25 yds, we were just cuttin' 'em in two with those two Brownings.

 

[Chopperdrvr]

I love it, there's allways more than one way to get even.