Sportsmen are deeply attached to certain firearms, and several shared testimonials about their favorite .22-caliber pistols in response to a Christmas column about my Ruger Mk. II.
A frequent and always welcome correspondent --I'll call him Doc -- shared his recollections of his own favorite .22 pistol.
"Got to your article this morning and had a major attack of nostalgia," Doc wrote. "In 1986, [I] was married barely two years, had no money, and was teaching high school making about $10K a year. But wanted a quality pistol so bad I could taste it.
"In the summer of '86 I was offered the chance to teach a summer term for Pulaski County. Six weeks all day long for $400. The day I got my check -- June 30, 1986 -- I went to see Marty at Gene Lockwoods to pick up my [Smith & Wesson] Model 41. The pistol, a left-handed shoulder holster and tax decimated my $400, but left me with $6 to buy a brick of shells.
"I remember it like it was yesterday. It has given me hours of enjoyment, and after now half a lifetime ago it remains one of the best purchases I've ever made.
"After conservatively 15,000+ rounds, countless squirrels, cans, floating shotgun shells, you name it, it's never failed me and is always close. To this day I can't pick it up without being reminded of how blessed I have been with family, friends, and life.
"Your article took me there again. I even went to the safe, got it out and took the pic. Still have receipt too. They've gone up a little in almost thirty years, but wouldn't sell it for ten times that amount."
Another reader, Mr. Short, shared his own story.
"I first learned how to take apart my RST-4 at the tender age of 18," he wrote. "I got lucky, because one of the other guys in the barracks had one. He showed me how to lay it on its side and look into the mechanism, where you could see what I called the hammer spring tongue. Then it was just a matter of moving it into center position on its travel, and then latching up the mechanism.
"I've gone through many guns, but I keep returning to the Ruger. Why? In a word, strength. They are built like a rock. This includes the .22 autos, as well as the double-action revolvers and, of course, the single-action revolvers. I was particularly fond of the .357 Security-Six, due to the way the trigger broke in the double-action mode.
"My new [to me] .22 auto pistol is the RST-6, the six-inch barrel version of the original gun. It was made in 1968. It sports the original factory checkered walnut grips, and one factory magazine."
Mr. Short followed up with a real, honest-to-goodness letter via the U.S. Mail cautioning about buying second-hand firearms. He said he bought a Taurus .22 double-action semi-automatic from a pawn shop. It looked almost new, but it required major repairs.
Taurus replaced the spring, slide and firing pin at no charge. Mr. Short said he persuaded the shop to pay half the cost of shipping the gun to Taurus.
NEW STUFF
Ruger has long had a distinctive line of .45 ACP semi-autos, but it recently introduced its own version of John Browning's timeless 1911 platform. Its reviews glow, and it seems to be an exceptional value.
Also, at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas last week, Ruger introduced a Model 77 bolt-action chambered for the new 17 WSM. Until then, Savage made the only bolt-action rifle chambered for the hot little rimfire.
Franklin Armory makes a semi-auto version on an AR-15 platform that costs $2,000.
REWARD OFFERED
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission are looking for anyone responsible for shooting and wounding a bald eagle recently in Logan County.
The eagle was found Dec. 19 on an island on the Arkansas River near Paris Bottoms. The animal was shot in the wing and leg. A bullet was in its body. It was taken to a rehabilitation center and will be released when it recovers.
Bald eagles are federally protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Anyone with information can call Special Agent Glenn Pye with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at (501) 772-8010, or the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission at (800) 482-9262.
A $7,500 reward is being offered by The Humane Society of the United States, the Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Sports on 01/29/2015