My very first .22 rifle was a Remington 550-1 which I got for a Christmas present in about 1956. I put a huge number of .22 Shorts through it in my younger days. Back then, .22 Shorts were considerably cheaper than .22 LRs so that's what I used. As time passed, I quit shooting a .22, and the 550 just gathered dust. For reasons I don't remember, I sold it in about 1992 for $100, but eventually regretted it. For the last year or so, I have been on the lookout for another 550 as I have rediscovered the joys of shooting .22 rifles and handguns as the ammunition prices have dropped back to an affordable range. But every 550 I have seen has been in well-used condition and/or the price was more than I thought was reasonable.

Until yesterday. At the local gun show, I found a 550-1 in near-new condition with a $300 price tag. I offered $250 and the seller accepted. It has a few minor wood finish scratches, but a cleaning with solvent and a fresh coat of stock oil will take care of that in short order. The barrel date stamp says it was made in January 1956, about the same time as the one I originally had. I fired a few dozen rounds of both shorts (standard velocity, no less) and LRs onto the ground in my back yard, and functioning was perfect. The standard velocity shorts are nearly silent.

My feeling has always been that there has never been a better .22 semiautomatic rifle made than the 550. Not only will it shoot shorts, longs, and long rifle cartridges interchangeably (try doing that with any other semiautomatic .22 rifle), it is extremely good when it comes to accuracy. I remember that my first rifle had no problem in producing 1" 50 yard groups. It is an old-school gun made with real walnut and steel and the highest quality workmanship, made for heavy use by adults, not kids, and its reliability is perfect. Or at least my original rifle was.

I won't be able to shoot it for the next two weeks, but I plan to burn through several hundred rounds as soon as I can. I can hardly wait. Am I happy to have an old friend back in the stable.