Like most gun owners right now, I'm getting bit by the cost of ammunition, sure I reload in most of the calibers I shoot, but the way things are with component availability, let alone cost, I've decided that I need to fall back on the old standby .22lr for plinking and some practice.
On Memorial Day weekend, I was digging in the safe and decided I should clean up my Dad's old .22 squirrel gun, so I pulled it from the dark recesses of the safe and headed to the garage. My dad's old gun, a Marlin Model 99 .22lr semi-auto was (as I later found out), only made for 3 years, from 1959 to 1961 and was the predecessor to the ubiquitous Marlin Model 60, the main differences are that the Model 60s generally have provisions for mounting a scope and Marlin went from Walnut on the 99 to Birch on the 60. I'm sure there are minor internal differences, but the actions are essentially the same.
I always remembered Dad as being a fairly good shot, at least in my estimation, I remember he, my brother and I putting a dime on a post about 20-30 yards away and trying to pick it off between us. I also remember being so entirely proud of myself for hitting it and spending a half hour looking for said dime, I carried it in my pocket for a year or more. I suspected he was sand bagging, but I didn't care much, I still hit that dime! I also recall Dad going out in the morning and coming back before noon with several squirrels for dinner that evening and how good a cook my mom was/is. A lot of family history is stowed away in the lustrous walnut stock and when I look down the barrel at the the brass bead front sight, I can imagine Dad zeroing in on the next meal.
Oh, did I mention you could hit a dime with it at 20 yards? Yeah, that too.
On Memorial Day weekend, I was digging in the safe and decided I should clean up my Dad's old .22 squirrel gun, so I pulled it from the dark recesses of the safe and headed to the garage. My dad's old gun, a Marlin Model 99 .22lr semi-auto was (as I later found out), only made for 3 years, from 1959 to 1961 and was the predecessor to the ubiquitous Marlin Model 60, the main differences are that the Model 60s generally have provisions for mounting a scope and Marlin went from Walnut on the 99 to Birch on the 60. I'm sure there are minor internal differences, but the actions are essentially the same.
I always remembered Dad as being a fairly good shot, at least in my estimation, I remember he, my brother and I putting a dime on a post about 20-30 yards away and trying to pick it off between us. I also remember being so entirely proud of myself for hitting it and spending a half hour looking for said dime, I carried it in my pocket for a year or more. I suspected he was sand bagging, but I didn't care much, I still hit that dime! I also recall Dad going out in the morning and coming back before noon with several squirrels for dinner that evening and how good a cook my mom was/is. A lot of family history is stowed away in the lustrous walnut stock and when I look down the barrel at the the brass bead front sight, I can imagine Dad zeroing in on the next meal.
My Dad's Model 99 isn't worth a whole lot of money, it's got a lot of wear and has seen it's fair share of rust, but I'll fight you for it and It'll be a damned cold day in hell before I sell it. This is an old family friend that's taught several men and a couple of women how to shoot, provided meals for a poor country family of seven kids and various other family members and until I dug it out that weekend, I didn't realize just how much it meant to me or my family.
Oh, did I mention you could hit a dime with it at 20 yards? Yeah, that too.
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