1959 Model 48 at Local Gun Store

bigmoose said:
With the red ramp front sight (very uncommon option back then) and those beautiful diamond target stocks, I'd say get back there tomorrow and buy it. Early model 48s are wicked scarce with the box etc. In other words, I really like that price for that package.

Good luck, and oh by the way, run don't walk back to that gun shop.

Oh, and looking at the photo again I noticed TT and TH. It just gets better and better.
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I didn't realize the red ramp insert was available back then.
 
press-1-for-english said:
Thank you for your positive comments.
Is the .22 Magnum known for its accuracy?
I've never had a .22 magnum and have no experience with them.
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Rpg said:
OP asked about the 22mag. It's plenty accurate, but not the target accuracy you get from a regular old standard velocity 22lr.

Now for the not so great parts.

The ammo is very, very expensive. Although the 22 magnum has better range than the 22lr, there's no practical difference when shot in revolvers. The 22mag comes into its own when used in a rifle.

The 22magnum is incredibly loud in a handgun. It will deafen you. I'm not being facetious. It's painful. You need to wear very good ear protection such as earplugs under electronic ear muffs. Even with that hearing protection, a long shooting session is likely to leave the shooter's tinnitus tuned up for days.
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I'd not have left that gun store without that gun if I'd seen it. I have a M48-4 and gave a grand for it. Looked brand new, not a mark on it, but then it didn't have 3T, and those stocks are worth a few hundred by themselves.

RPG is pretty much right about the downsides, but I might argue about the accuracy. Mine is easily as accurate as my Ruger semiauto target pistol (.22LR) and almost as good as my M41. Of course much of a gun's accuracy is in the hands of the shooter, but I wouldn't let the difference in a dime sized hole and a quarter sized hole in the ten ring put me off buying one of these revolvers. And if you're a good enough shot, there is lots of small game you can take at least to 50 yards with one.

They are piercingly loud. It's not a loud 'boom' like a larger caliber centerfire, it's much higher pitched. The ammo is more expensive.

The ammo is also a cause of one issue I see quite a bit with these revolvers. Most .22RMF ammo is made for rifles, so is relatively slow burning. In these revolvers, not all of it gets burned and you might have issues with unburned powder residue migrating under the extractor star and binding the action, making the cylinder difficult to open. Therefore, the gun needs to be clean to function well, even to the point of wiping under the star every couple of cylinder loads.
 
Rpg said:
OP asked about the 22mag. It's plenty accurate, but not the target accuracy you get from a regular old standard velocity 22lr.

Now for the not so great parts.

The ammo is very, very expensive. Although the 22 magnum has better range than the 22lr, there's no practical difference when shot in revolvers. The 22mag comes into its own when used in a rifle.

The 22magnum is incredibly loud in a handgun. It will deafen you. I'm not being facetious. It's painful. You need to wear very good ear protection such as earplugs under electronic ear muffs. Even with that hearing protection, a long shooting session is likely to leave the shooter's tinnitus tuned up for days.

This relegates the 22mag to the range. It's no good for carrying in the field to pot the occasional grouse or rabbit because I'm not going to carry a gun I have to either deafen myself shooting it without ear protection or I have to get geared up with hearing protection while the grouse flys off.
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I'm glad somebody else said all this. 22 Magnums are really, really fun, but they are really expensive.
I have a 22 Hornet barrel for my Thompson Contender. In all the years I've had it, I shot it one time without hearing protection, and that was with a starting reload. It felt like someone stuck sharpened pencils in my ears.
What hearing I have left is very important to me.
If you're a collector I would say get it but if you want to shoot it I wouldn't. Unless you have money to blow.
 
Last edited:
Even though this is a HTF revolver after some soul searching I have decided it is not my cup of coffee.
If anyone else is interested here is the contact information for the LGS.

Freedom Firearms Unlimited
1800 Double Trouble Rd,
Beachwood, NJ 08722

Phone: (848) 238-7172

I am not affiliated with this shop, I just buy guns there.
 
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