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I like twenty-twos. I like twenty-two pistols,
revolvers, and rifles. The .22 Long Rifle cartridge doesn’t
look like much compared to centerfire cartridges, but the little
thing has power all out of proportion to its diminutive size. My
first memory of the .22 cartridge as a kid was that of the old Remington
Model 510 that my Dad owned. He didn’t hunt much, as he was
always working trying to raise us boys, but when he did hunt, it
was either squirrels or rabbits, and he always took that old
twenty-two Remington. He was pretty good with it. I remember
once asking him where to shoot a squirrel, and he stated
"Just anywhere in the eye." Didn’t waste a lot of
meat that way. We also used that old Remington at hog killin’
time. Didn’t matter how big the hog was, one shot high between
the eyes, and he never squealed. Just dropped like the batteries
had been jerked out of him. As Dad didn’t hunt deer, he never
saw the need for a bigger rifle. The old twenty-two did
everything asked of it. I now own several twenty-two rifles, and
if I had to pare down to just one rifle, I suppose that I would
keep a twenty-two. It is just the most versatile cartridge that
we have.
I recently received in for review a new
Remington bolt action twenty-two; the Model Five. The Five
continues in the long Remington tradition of magazine-fed bolt
action rifles. It has a five-shot detachable magazine, twin
extractors, and a very sturdy but simple trigger that yields a
nice crisp trigger pull. The pull on the sample rifle measured
just two pounds, eleven ounces after I turned a couple of
adjustment screws.
One thing that I really like about the Model
five is that it is made of wood and blued steel. The internal
parts, bottom metal, trigger guard, and magazine are all made of
steel. Even the magazine follower is steel. The only plastic
parts on the rifle are the buttplate and pistol grip cap. The
brown laminated wood stock is fitted with sling swivel studs, as
every hunting rifle should be. The stock has cut checkering on
the pistol grip and forend. The Model Five wears a good set of
rugged adjustable barrel sights, with a steel hood protecting
the front, and the receiver is grooved for tip-off scope mounts.
The barrel measures twenty-two inches in length, measures 1.025
inches at the receiver, and quickly tapers to .554 inch at the
muzzle. The bolt locks into the receiver by a lug at the base of
the bolt handle, and the bolt lift is only about sixty degrees.
The Model Five has a length of pull of thirteen and
three-quarters inches, and an overall length of forty and
one-half inches. It is a full-sized rifle, without being too
large and heavy. The empty weight of the sample Model Five is
six pounds, eleven and one-half ounces.
For shooting the Model Five I mounted a Leupold
2 to 7 power compact rimfire scope in Leupold Rifleman rings.
Feeding from the five-shot magazine was flawless, and single
rounds could also be dropped into the ejection port and fed
smoothly into the chamber without a problem. I tried several
different brands of hunting and match ammo in the Model Five,
but bulk Federal hollowpoint ammo displayed even better
accuracy than did the standard-velocity match ammunition. All
accuracy testing was done at fifty yards, with five shot groups
being fired. Accuracy varied from between five-eighths of an
inch to just over one inch, which is pretty good for a rimfire
sporter. This Model Five should make a dandy squirrel gun, or
just a good all-around twenty-two for plinking, informal target
shooting, and small game and varmint hunting. It is also
available chambered for the .22 Magnum cartridge for use on
heavier vermin at longer ranges.
Remington has gone global with some of its
firearms production, and the Model Five is made in Serbia, which
keeps the cost affordable while still using genuine blued steel
and excellent craftsmanship. It is a good-looking rifle that
reminds me of their centerfire Model 700. You can check out the
entire line of Remington products online at: www.remington.com.
For more information on the Leupold Rimfire
scope, go to: www.leupold.com.
Jeff Quinn
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Click pictures for a larger version.
Remington Model Five .22 LR Bolt Action Rifle.
The Model Five's action is all steel, as it should be.
The trigger is a very simple and reliable design.
The bolt handle's base serves as a locking lug for the
bolt.
The bolt face has dual extractors. Feeding, extraction
and ejection were flawless.
Laminated wood stock is cleanly inletted (top), and
features a barrel bedding pad in the forend.
For accuracy testing, Jeff mounted a 2-7x Leupold
compact rimfire scope.
The Model Five proved to be very accurate with a variety
of ammunition, and preferred Federal's bulk-pack fodder to the
more expensive match types.
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