Who doesn’t love the feisty 22lr, the first cartridge most of us ever shot in a “real” gun. Who can forget that first whiff of gunsmoke?
22lr is cheap, produces virtually no recoil, and easy on the ears. No other cartridge offers you a full afternoon of shooting (300 rounds) for about twenty bucks. It is the ideal cartridge to teach children, it is the utility gun on many farms, and perhaps the most popular for aging shooters who love the sport, but just don’t need the noise or recoil anymore.
22lr may be the pipsqueak of cartridges, but it is the most popular, by far, accounting for 25% of ALL ammo sold in the US. Americans shoot about 2.5 billion (with a B) rounds of 22lr annually.
My reintroduction to 22 came later in life when I was looking for a rifle to teach my wife and son to shoot. I was shopping around for a bolt action in 2013 (post Newtown) when rimfire ammo was unobtanium. Gun stores were not restocking 22 rifles because nobody was buying them. Who wants a rifle they can’t get ammo for (Thank you, ammo scalpers). That is when I unwittingly came across the deal of a lifetime.
A small LGS in south Jersey had a Marlin 39D lever action, just in from an estate. Not exactly what I was looking for (not even close), but the price was right, $250.00.
This has become my favorite 22 for two reasons. The first is that is is a joy to shoot with open sights. I am terrible with open sights but not with the 39D. I do not attempt .10 moa groups with it, this rifle was made for plinking and hunting. It is the one rifle I enjoy shooting off-hand at reactive targets like clay targets and shaving cream cans.
The second reason is its value. I bought it for $250 at a time when they were selling for about $500, if you could find one for sale. It turns out the 39D is somewhat rare and sought after by Marlin collectors. Today it is worth at least $1,250.00, much too valuable to let my wife and son shoot 
, so I ended up getting a bolt action 22 for them.
The 39D is mine mine mine, all mine…
Tell us about your favorite rimfire rifle. I’d like this to be a running topic, so feel free to jump in whenever.
Fairly accurate using CCI SV.
