I was in Cabelas looking at overpriced used guns when I spotted a long barreled .22 rifle in the rack. It was a Winchester Model 74 semi-auto, circa 1948. They were made from the late thirties til 1955, though the design is actually from about 1903. It is kind of an odd duck, and I left it there but came back the next day. It was $135.



Its a full-sized gun with a 24" barrel.



It loads through the stock, like a Browning. It looks like someone made the stock hole with a potato peeler.





The thing above the trigger is the cocking handle. The bolt and ejection port are far out in front.





I don't think there are many safeties like this around. It sits on top of the action and moves grudgingly from side to side.



I cleaned it up and took it to the range today. Uh-oh, the first round won't go in. I fiddle with it, and finally figure out if I load the first round by itself, then load the tube with 14 more it works fine. I only had two kinds of ammo with me, so I'll try it with some others. Definitely odd, though.

I popped off the first 15 without a lot of care, looking more for function than accuracy. It still did pretty well at 25 yards.



My right eye isn't really up to iron sights anymore, so I figured I would teach myself to shoot this one lefty. The weird forward ejection worked out great for that, and I was able to get some decent groups.



These things actually have a little history, too. We lend-leased a few hundred to the Brits, set up with silencers and scopes, for their home guard to shoot invading Krauts without disturbing the neighbors. I bet there are still some squirreled away in the English countryside.



Anybody else have one of these old timers?

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Rule of law, not a man.

Cannot add anything about your Winchester but I will say I do enjoy the older .22 LR rifles. My favorite ones are those wild and sometimes wacky Mossbergs. To my mind a lot of the newer ones have no "soul" so to speak. Enjoy that one!

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Stay safe people!

What a beauty!! If I had room for another safe, I'd start collecting old 22 rifles like that. I took 2 far newer 22 rifles to the range today, a Remington Speedmaster and a Browning semi-automatic takedown model, both from the 70's to 80's era. Had a ball!

Neat old Winchester.
Should be the 'Late' version by the yr/mfg and the smooth faced bolt handle. Many parts for these come in both 'Early' and 'Late' style versions so you need to get the correct version when repairing /replacing.
..added..they made these rifles in both 22LR only and 22short only, So some of the parts are caliber specific, Know what you need and want for the caliber of rifle you have.

The only thing I can think of about the first round not manually feeding from the tube to the chamber when the bolt is operated is that the Safety may have been in the Safe mode.
Seems to me there was something about the Safety,, that it had to be in Fire mode when the bolt was manually operated to feed the first cartridge into the chamber,,,,but maybe I'm remembering wrong again.
Try it and see,,,doesn't cost nuthin'.

The bolt has to go back far enough to trip the cartridge cut-offs (2 of them,,right and left) to release the round from the tube into the feed throat.

Love the old 22's, I spend way too many hours on them tinkering with them.

The model 74 is a dandy little .22 and quite underrated.

While you can load from the stock, you can also use the magazine tube located in the butt plate. It is best to use standard velocity in your 74.

Whilst shooting, please count your rounds to avoid dry firing as the 74 has a delicate firing pin.

An older gentleman I knew when I was just a lad, had one of these. He worked out of Jal, New Mexico on oil leases. I would go with him as he visited each battery of tanks. He had a model 74 on the dash of his truck at all times. He would shoot quail off the telephone lines for supper. Wish I had both his gun and him back.

I would like to have one of the .22 short versions.

What is impressive is the real walnut wood used in the stocks of the older
.22 rifles

With Mossberg the purchaser got a lot of gun for his dollars.

When I was young there was a neighbor that had a M74 in .22 short. He said it was the best .22 ever made and it was the only gun I ever knew him to own. Thanks for the memory. Larry

For $135 not bad at all. Like the build quality of these vintage rifles and would love to find something like this one. Thanks for sharing with us.

I am surprised

not that it is a good rifle,I have had one for decades,

my surprise is that you got a bargain at Cabellas, with a clean shooter around here bringing in the $350 range, I would have expected Cabellas to have wanted $500 for a gun of that quality

great old gun from the hands of old school craftsmen at Winchester of old

A Model 74 was my 1st 22 rifle which unfortunately was stolen while I was in college. I have since acquired others and everyone has been a first class shooter as long as they are cleaned frequently. if you buy one try and find a late example as these are the only ones cut with dovetail slots for a scope mount.
$135 is a heck of a good price for your rifle and they typically bring $300 + at gun shows.
Jim

Here is my model 74 with a model 55 single shot semi auto and a model 77....the 74 is in 22 short. I have two other 74s both in 22 short and one has the peep sight.

I have one. A fine example from the Steel and Walnut Era.

"Here is my model 74 with a model 55 single shot semi auto"

The Model 55 .22 is really not a semi-auto as it is a single shot (load one round at a time into the chamber) with no magazine. It loads from the top and ejects from the bottom. And it fires from an open bolt. But it is faster to reload than a single shot with a bolt action, as there is no bolt to manipulate. It's an odd design, and they are not often seen today. I once had a friend who had one of them, and I have fired it a few times. BTW, there are two Winchester Model 55s - the other one is a modification of the Model 94. I wonder why Winchester did that? I'd think it wouldn't have been difficult for them to come up with another number.

Never owned or fired a Model 74. I passed on buying one of them some years back because I was aware of the firing pin problem.

Do not cock the 74 with the safety engaged. New, it had a hang tag to that effect.

Regards,

Tam 3

An even older Winchester .22 rifle is the Thumb Trigger Model (I don't think it had a Model number), from around the turn of the 20th Century. It was a bolt action single shot. It had no conventional trigger or trigger mechanism at all, you just pressed down on a sear bar just behind the bolt with your thumb. It's about the simplest .22 you could imagine, and the story is that John Browning designed it as an exercise in how simple a useful rifle could be constructed. It had no safety, and therein lies a tale. My wife's cousin had one, and on a visit he let me take it out in his back yard to fire it a few times as I had not seen one before. I had an unintended discharge, but fortunately I didn't hit anyone or anything. I quickly learned that you do not carry around one of these with a cartridge in the chamber. I have understood they were big sellers in Australia, but relatively few were sold in the USA.

I live very close to a Cabelas and I pop in occasionally to see what they have. They do on rare occasions have a bargain, but you have to know what you are looking at. Nice rifle. Have fun with it.

I have two, both in .22 Short and both made in 1939. Neat old rifles
but sort of a weird design. The safety is probably best left in the fire
position and ignored. Keep your finger out of the trigger guard. As
mentioned the firing pin is a bit weak and expensive to replace. If you
take it completely apart to clean it and get a spring back in incorrectly
you will own a full auto .22 rifle. Have fun.

Winchester .22s are my addiction and passion. I do have one model 74, but shamed to say I've never fired it. Like you I got it for $130.00 from a guy walking out of a gun show. I'll put that on my priority list. I have heard many good reviews on the 74s.

I have mostly pumps, bolt actions and single shots. This year I finished getting at least one example of every single shot Winchester made.

It's a never ending quest.

Last night a gent on a local forum listed a Model 74 on the Freecycle subforum saying, "Had this rifle handed down to me. It looks great but I can not get it to fire. Safety seems stuck. I don't feel like messing with it. Could be a simple fix. Parts gun. whatever. Come get it."

I contacted him and arranged to pick it up today, which I did. Some quick internet research tells me these aren't hard to jam up if you don't know how to operate them properly, so I'm thinking it shouldn't be too difficult to get this one straightened out. Even if I might need to replace a part or two to get it working, I'm still ahead on it.

It's a really clean .22LR version that dates to 1950:

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SWHF #448

Interesting this thread came back now. A friend of ours just inherited a safe full of old rifles. As a “gun guy” she wants me to help her with her guns. There is a Winchester 1906 and two Remingtons, a121 and a 572. The Winchester has not much finish. The Remingtons look awesome. She also got a 70’s vintage Ruger Mark 1 and 10-22. Any ideas on the old 22’s as to worth or research would be appreciated. I don’t know much if anything about antique long guns.

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SWCA 3255 SWHF 615

I grew up with a 70s era 572, with a cheap 4x Bushnell Sportsview scope. Heck of a lot of fun, reliable and accurate. Poor fat Ohio squirrels did not stand a chance! However... some of the the internal parts on mine were cheaply stamped metal, and had to be replaced 2 times during my tenure with the gun. If it is in excellent condition it should bring at least $300. I would cash out and put the money towards a more quality gun. A CZ for example, but that's just me and I did love that gun.

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"Free dirt, you dig."

I feel for you brother.....the guy who said you can't have too many 22's was wrong but like you I'd be owning it.
Never forget your first love.

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Paul
S&WCA #2726

Great Uncle's old Win 74. After his passing,
after years of sitting in his closet (taken care
of by periodically wiped down/oiled) years of
no one showing interest, I just took it.

Every time I looked and cared for it, I can
always see it riding around in one of his
many Farm Pickups through out the years.

I just didn't want the Good Old Win 74 to
"Come up Missing", I just new I was to be the
Guardian and Care Taker of it.

I take the Old Win 74 shooting once in a
while with my Range Rotation of Revolvers.
It has uncanny scary accuracy, no one would
ever guess by its Farming Background.

Sitting beside the 74 is Grandma's Win 67
22lr Single Shot Bolt Action Gopher Rifle.
Years earlier I just took that also, so it wouldn't
"Come Up Missing" from the same closet.
Same uncanny scary accuracy. Rougher
Farming Background than the Win 74.

Thank you for reminding me of my Solid Gounding
in Life and my other "I Just Took It" Guardianships.

Attached Images

WIN_20190922_19_04_27_Pro.jpg (83.7 KB, 59 views)

-db-, what Tam 3 stated is very likely your problem, which you may already suspect from your internet research.

I "locked" one up years ago by doing exactly what Tam 3 warned against............had to disassemble it and fiddle around with it some to get to where it would work properly. Wish I could give you better instructions on how to get it un-jamed but it was too long ago. Also, when disassembling and removing the bolt be sure to keep the "button" on the left/rear of the receiver depressed until the bolt is out or you may scratch the receiver (don't ask how I know this ).

BTW that's a really good looking one you have .... thanks for the pic.

Don

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Laus Deo! <><

Congrats on a classic

My favorite.22 is still the Winchester 77 I received when I was a very young boy.

I also inherited one from a great uncle.I remember shooting it 60 years ago and remembered it as a Browning because it loaded through the stock. Twenty years ago, it became mine. I had not seen it for years and was quite happy it was a Winchester.

It is a man sized rifle and enjoyable to shoot. It is accurate and reliable. I did not see this thread when it first appeared, but glad I did now.

Here's a picture of the hang tag warning these carried:

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SWHF #448

I guess that i got the only jammomatic Model 74 made. I tried different ammo, same results. It was my first rifle that I bought when I got out of the Navy. I bought it at Andy Anderson's Sporting Goods and they took it to their back room and it jammed for them.
They offered to give me a new one and gave me what I paid when I opted for a Remington 121A. A good choice. Still in excellent condition and my grandson now has it.

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Mighty 90's,Trying 4 a 100!

Well hows about a model 62A dad purchased in 1954 or so.
Almost a semi auto as if one holds the trigger it will fire as fast as one can work the action. My absolute favorite 22 rifle and I have 3 others two SA and a single shot that was my forst rifle in 1969.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The consensus on another forum regarding the safety on the 74 is to just
leave it in the fire position all the time and ignore it. As always if you don't
want your gun to fire don't pull the trigger.

Grew up shooting my brother's 74. I never had a problem with the safety, don't remember using it that much. About 15 years ago, I bought a VERY nice one, the only wear was a thinning spot on the bottom of the barrel where the rifle had set in a rifle rack.

Then, a few years ago, I got another...old and with a patina and not blue. It shoots really well. I don't know if it is the old or model, doesn't have a grooved receiver.

Fine guns and I've got good memories of it.

When my grandson was born I started collecting 22 cal. Guns for him. He’s 9 yo now and has a collection of late 1800’s to 1950’s single shot, bolt action, pump action, semi auto, h&r revolvers, pistols, s&w k22, colt officer target model 22’s. He has no clue there his yet. I look for the military training 22 rifles there awesome buys. I want the boy to enjoy the shooting sports like we did growing up.

There is a Winchester 55 (single shot semi auto, bottom ejector) at a local shop for $300.00.