The Gun Club

I’d say I have a natural affinity for shooting guns. I’ve handled them since I was a kid…mostly BB guns and pellet guns. But I’ve been out shooting with Pat & Friends a couple times and they had quite an arsenal. I got to try a variety of things.

I’m most comfortable with a rifle. Most handguns are not lefty-friendly although I suppose they make left-handed guns. And if I was in a pinch, I know I can hip-shoot ducks on the wing if I had to with a rifle. It’s a natural feel for me. I never felt comfortable with a handgun.

That Marlin looks like a nice rifle.

The Ruger uses a “Patented detachable 10-round rotary magazine”. One of the staff of one of these sites linked to some other clips:

Ruger Factory Rimfire Magazines. This includes a 25 capacity clips for $34.99. That would seem to be the way to go.

There are also Ruger BX-25 25-Round 22 LR Magazine - Two Pack for $49.99. This looks like a more traditional clip. Is the first style better because it wouldn't hang out so far?

The reality is that I’m not likely to hit much with a handgun. With a more powerful rifle, I certainly could. But the .22 is light, reliable, inexpensive, and can shoot fairly rapidly. Apparently (assuming the assailant isn’t wearing body armor or a particularly thick coat), two shots into anyone is going to stop them or cause them to retreat.

The brick sounds good. Sounds like that is high quality ammo.

I had a great conversation with my gun connection in Portland. He used to be a dealer and he regularly hunts and shoots.

He didn’t laugh at the idea of a .22 and in fact encouraged it, although as with Mr. Shu (sort of like “shoot’ in this context), he likes the idea of a short-barrel pump action shotgun. He prefers the Remington 870 Express but also likes the Mossberg 500 Tactical.

As for the .22, he talked me into considering the Ruger 40107 Mark IV 22/45. At about $340.00 (from what I can find from a list of local prices), it’s a bit more than the Ruger 10/22 Carbine at $229.99. But the pistol has the obvious advantage of being backpackable — as would be the takedown version of the rifle.

But at 34.4 oz. for the pistol verses 4.5 lbs. for the rifle, the pistol has clear advantages as an immediate-defense weapon for out and about.

Another aspect that is interesting (whether talking about the rifle or the pistol), my friend told me about the CB Cap .22 rounds you can get which are relatively quiet — quiet enough probably for an indoor shooting range. The article says it is no louder than a pellet gun. My friend says he has an airsoft gun that is louder. So we’re obviously not talking about a big bang.



I could live with feeding it bullets one at a time for indoor practice.

Yesterday I bought a used Henry Classic Lever Action .22 rifle (Model H001) for $200.00 from a friend. He had heard I was looking for a .22 rifle and mentioned one he had that he didn’t need anymore. It’s from 2012 and has a few scratches on it, but it’s otherwise in excellent condition. Only shot it with his grandma on Sundays. And I don’t think these rifles have changed all the much through years. He even threw in a couple boxes of ammo.

On the way back home from picking it up, I stopped by my brother’s house which is right on the way home. We set up some targets and blasted away. I didn’t get a chance to dial in the sights but it was fairly good already. And with a little practice I started honing in on the target (a tin can at about 75 yards). The misses were good enough that my brother declared my fit and ready to take on Antifa.

I was shooting long rifle rounds. The gun will hold 15. You manually insert them in a tube next to the barrel. This is by no means as convenient or fast as changing clips on a semi-automatic. But it worked well. It didn’t jam while my brother’s .22 (which he got out of the archives) did quickly jam.



A case I’m looking at is the VISM by NcStar. It’s 42” so should be a good size for this 36-1/2” rifle. I’d rather have something like this than carry it around in a cardboard box. Let me know what you think.

I also need to get some gun oil. Someone (the video below) mentioned this Hoppe’s No. Lubricating Oil. Let me know what you recommend.

As for how to clean it and what I should use, I’m really not sure. Henry sells the Henry Otis Rimfire Cleaning System for $43.99. And this online video gives instructions for some minor disassembly so that you can clean the barrel and some of the internal parts. It would appear he’s using the Wheeler Compact Tactical Rifle Cleaning Kit for .22 and .30 Caliber Long Guns for $40.98. Offhand, this looks like a better kit. What do you think? He’s also using Hoppe’s No. 9 Gun Bore Cleaner.

That guy probably puts on the oil a little thick. Someone in the comments sections writes, “Oil attracts dirt. For the magazine tube, a dry lube or wax then excess wiped off will not attract as much grit." Some of the commenters think the rod is a little hard on the barrel and prefer the bore snake. Anyway, let me know what you think.

I ran across this article that recommends the bore snake method, and these products:

• Real Avid Bore Boss

• Hoppe’s 9 Gun Bore Cleaner

• Break Free CLP cleaner/lubricant/preservative

Offhand, from what I’ve found online, this seems a sensible system.

Yes, I love that Original Henry. This Wiki Article has some notes about the cartridge, including that its use in the Winchester 1973 made it. “The gun that won the West.” It was the first metallic centerfire cartridge they made. You could bring down Antifa two at a time with that bullet.

The price on the H011 Model is $2514.00. Their gun is “the rifle you could load on Sunday and shoot all week long” which is included in a little history they give at the Henry site. And apparently you’d be getting a very authentic gun.