Some rifles seem to fade into oblivion
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I was talking with Tom Bloom at a recent gun show at the Washington County Fairgrounds when we began to wonder why certain rifle models were seldom seen at such events.
The gun show usually has hundreds of different firearms for sale, but Bloom brought up the fact that you seldom see the well-made Huskvarna bolt-action rifle available.
We reflected a bit on this high-quality rifle for a moment and realized they are seldom seen at gun shows. For that matter, I haven’t seen one for sale at any of the sports shops in the area.
I purchased a 725 Remington .270 from Paul Wolfe, who worked for Moris Weber at the Honus Wager store in Washington. That was my first .270 and for at least 20 years, I didn’t see one for sale.
The 725, like the Huskvarna, disappeared from stores.
For those who don’t know, a 725 is a dressed up 721 Remington with a 3-position safety, checkering and a hinged floor plate. It was the first Remington with a hinged floor plate.
Have you seen an FN Supreme lately?
Remember, this rifle was built by the same corporation that manufactured the ever-popular Browning safari grade. Actually, the FN was almost identical to the Browning.
While I do see the Browning for sale, I can’t remember when I last laid eyes on the FN.
The Winchester Model 54 was the predecessor to the Model 70 and is rare. But does the Model 270 Remington really exist?
I have never seen one, and I have been around guns for almost 60 years.
I have held exactly three Remington 513 NS rifles in my hands. This was a sporter model of the commonly seen 513 target rifle from Remington. It’s a .22 with sling swivels, steel butt plate, checkered stock and adjustable trigger.
One of the three I have ever seen is in my gun room. One of the others belonged to a friend’s father. Only the third one I saw was for sale.
You can’t mention the .22 rimfire without thinking of Mossberg. Back in the 1950s, Mossberg dominated the rimfire field with various models.
One model held 26 rounds, while another had a forearm that could be dropped and used as a rest.
Another gun not often seen is the Marlin Sporting Carbine. This was a 336 model with a shortened magazine.
I can understand why there are few Mannlichers for sale. They were expensive and not many were sold.
By why would the 336 Sporting Carbine be scarce? It was inexpensive and was a fine deer rifle.
In fact, my son, Pat, used one when he bagged his first deer.
The Winchester 1910 in the 401 wasn’t very popular among hunters, but it was used quite a bit by prison guards. I must admit that I don’t think I’ve ever seen one.
Wouldn’t you think this little auto-loader would show up now and then?
I think a similar path was followed by the later model, the 100. The 100 was at least offered in more modern chamberings, the .243, .284 amd .308.
In Pennsylvania, the 1910 and 100 are not legal hunting rifles.
Another rifle I have never actually seen by know exists is the 51 Remington. Big, bulky and ugly, it was at least chambered for a few adequate cartridges.
The biggest chambering was the 300 Savage.
While the 100 is a good-looking rifle, the Remington is a weird one.
Ruger’s little semi-auto that shot a .44 mag is another rifle I just don’t see.
George H. Block writes a Sunday Outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.