Click-Clack, the great Gill Gun of Baton Rouge

[sigp220.45]

My nephew asked me to check on a Remington .22 pump rifle at a local pawnshop. It was ok, but not $700 ok.

Parked next to it was this homely beast. A Stevens 87A. I love a weird rifle, especially a $200 one.

Why weird, you ask?

First, when you shoot it if you hold the trigger back the bolt stays back until you let go, then the bolt goes forward. Pretty cool, and hence the click-clack sobriquet.

Second, if you push the charging handle in the bolt locks and the gun will function as a bolt action. This is supposedly the way to shoot shorts and longs, or have a kid use it, if you’re teaching a kid on a man-sized rifle.

Why Gill Gun? Here you go:

It has gills.

Somehow, this sticker on the stock has survived the ages.

Apparently Steinbergs of Baton Rouge has become Lipseys, known to us all.

These are supposed to have a propensity for spontaneous full auto fire. Mine doesn’t.

I like it.

 

[Valmet]

That rifle is cool on multiple levels...

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Have seen a mundane 22 ‘Auto’ Shoot Full Auto.
Don’t recall if it was that Model or not.
Where? Saw it in Colorado!

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I have 2 of them, good shooters, disassembly a little tricky.

 

[bulletslap]

I owned one, foolishly sold it.

It was a good old 22 auto.

 

[DWalt]

There was also a box magazine version of the same rifle. I had one of those many years ago. It had been used for a long time in a slaughterhouse. It was in beyond terrible condition but it still functioned OK.

 

[Paul in Nevada]

I have one. Mine is an 87A marked with the "Ward's Western Field" house brand. It's my favorite 22, and I have quite a few. I limit mine to standard velocity ammunition, since that's all there was when it was made. Mid to late 1930's, if I recall. The "bolt action" feature does work, but who shoots shorts or CB's any more. Mine has never gone full auto.

There was also a box magazine version of the same rifle.

The Model 86. It shares the same magazine as the Model 84, which is a bolt action. The tube fed bolt action being the model 85.

 

[bishopm14]

A variant of that, a Savage made, Springfield branded 187S was my first .22. I think Dad gave $48 for it with a Weaver variable on it from a pawn shop several decades ago. It lacked the bolt lock feature, had a tang safety and fewer gills. Never went full auto, it often wouldn’t even work as a semi auto for a full magazine without hassles. Shot it enough as a kid I broke the firing pin and had to replace that.
Still in the back of my safe, but not a huge fan of the type.

 

[alwslate]

The Winchester model 74 semi auto is a bit unique in design. Definitely an oddball. It can be assembled incorrectly and will go full auto when fired. I have a pair in .22 Short and found this out from personal experience.

 

[Inusuit]

This may be of interest to owners of this model rifle.

On March 28, 1953, Clay "Tricky" Riggle used a Springfield Model 87A to kill his girlfriend and her male companion at a cafe in Wheatland, Wyoming.

Riggle was rodeo performer specializing in trick roping, hence the nickname. He encountered the couple in a bar, engaged in a shouting match, went home to get his rifle and found them at the Angle Cafe.

He fired several times at each person and the victims died at the scene. He pled not guilty by reason of insanity due to concussions during his rodeo career. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted by the Governor who claimed that action resulted in losing his bid for reelection.

State v. Riggle, No. 2666 - Wyoming - Case Law - VLEX 890119915

 

[Nevada Ed]

That is like the one that my brother and I used at my fathers duck club
when we were around fourteen years old.
It would only fire as a single shot but it was very accurate !

"Critters" on the road side levies that went for miles on the way to where the duck ponds were, in the summer time,
were not too safe, for those, 30-40 yard shots from the jeep or truck.

Thanks for the memories.

 

[mikerjf]

This Stevens is probably the first gun I ever shot. I well remember the bolt sitting back and not returning forward until the trigger was released. Don’t know where dad got it.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Now that I think about it, pretty sure the Full Auto 22 I saw in CO was a Savage.
And it fired open bolt.

 

[BB57]

Have seen a mundane 22 ‘Auto’ Shoot Full Auto.
Don’t recall if it was that Model or not.
Where? Saw it in Colorado!

My first ever firearm bought for me at age 12 was a Savage Springfield 187C. It was one of the many later fast back versions of the Gil gun, albeit with fewer gills.

I shot the bejeezus out of it back when Coast to Coast Master Mag ammo was $.99 per box of 100.

After about a decade of high volume use it started doubling and sometimes tripling, and started getting spotty on reliability.

The local gunsmiths verdict was that the stamped steel magazine guide and the stamped steel trigger housing had worn and or relaxed enough they needed to be replaced. It wasn’t real economical to repair given it was a $46 rifle when it was new.

He took it in trade on a used 10/22 - a 1976 model with actual walnut.

——


Fast forward to a couple months ago, I saw a identical except for the roll mark Savage Stevens 887 on the rack in a local gunshop looking like it had spent the last 40 years sitting in a dry, climate controlled closet with a periodic cleaning.

It brought back memories and I decided I wanted to replicate that first rifle. $136 out the door.

Then of course I found a new old stock Stevens 3-7x20 scope and a pair of equally vintage weaver 7/8” puzzle piece rings.

——

The later versions of the Gil gun set the action a bit deeper in the stock and used a fairing on the plug to smooth the transition into the stock. I guess it improved the looks a bit, but it lost the adjustability of the spring pressure that you could do with the older models by unscrewing the plug slightly to reduce the spring pressure for standard velocity ammo.

 

[Rubone]

I have one in my 22 pile, it was in rough shape when I got it, broken firing pin, missing charging handle and rear cover, no rear sight, very little finish. It cleaned up OK, and shoots fine. That same blond stock.

 

[jmace57]

I had two of these acquired in some auctions...cheap. I gave one to each of my two great-nephews. I was amazed at the quality. One had the plastic stock on it. Both were extremely accurate. The action is interesting. Not something you want to casually take apart!

 

[2152hq]

Now that I think about it, pretty sure the Full Auto 22 I saw in CO was a Savage.
And it fired open bolt.

Might have been a Marlin Model 50 / Sears 34A

These were open bolt .22 semiauto rifles made for a short time starting in 1930/31.
They were easily conv to full auto.
They work on the STEN /M3 slam fire principle.
A solid firing pin in the face of the breech.
So there wasn't much to make them FA.

Many were legally converted to FA and registered after NFA went into effect.



The small slide fixture ahead of the chamber on the bbl is a manual extractor to remove live rounds, misfires or stuck fired cases.

..No 'Gills' on the other side though..

 

[DWalt]

The Winchester 55 was a slam fire. But it was a single shot. I have seen several other slam fire .22s, but long ago and I don’t remember anything about them.

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

My older brother had a .22, I think J.C. Higgins, that after a few years
would go full auto for 5-6 rounds. This was in the late 50's.

 

[rockquarry]

My first ever firearm bought for me at age 12 was a Savage Springfield 187C. It was one of the many later fast back versions of the Gil gun, albeit with fewer gills.

I shot the bejeezus out of it back when Coast to Coast Master Mag ammo was $.99 per box of 100.

After about a decade of high volume use it started doubling and sometimes tripling, and started getting spotty on reliability.

The local gunsmiths verdict was that the stamped steel magazine guide and the stamped steel trigger housing had worn and or relaxed enough they needed to be replaced. It wasn’t real economical to repair given it was a $46 rifle when it was new.

He took it in trade on a used 10/22 - a 1976 model with actual walnut.

——


Fast forward to a couple months ago, I saw a identical except for the roll mark Savage Stevens 887 on the rack in a local gunshop looking like it had spent the last 40 years sitting in a dry, climate controlled closet with a periodic cleaning.

It brought back memories and I decided I wanted to replicate that first rifle. $136 out the door.

Then of course I found a new old stock Stevens 3-7x20 scope and a pair of equally vintage weaver 7/8” puzzle piece rings.

——

The later versions of the Gil gun set the action a bit deeper in the stock and used a fairing on the plug to smooth the transition into the stock. I guess it improved the looks a bit, but it lost the adjustability of the spring pressure that you could do with the older models by unscrewing the plug slightly to reduce the spring pressure for standard velocity ammo.

I bought a new 887 (or maybe it was labeled as store brand) at K-Mart in about 1973 or '74. I believe it was around $40.00. Actually a pretty good .22 despite the cardboard-looking stock.