[JSP88]

This is gun #4 in what is amounting to a daily series, of guns that my wife inherited. Guns 1-3 were the KAR98, Remington 03-A3, and Browning SA 22.

Today's gun is an O F Mossberg 22LR. It has a tiny magazine which looks like it holds 5 rounds and what appears to be a Bushnell Banner 22 scope.

I believe this is the world's heaviest 22 rifle! Interstingly, it has a small, red F inset next to where another similar one would be but is missing (photo below of that and more). My assumption was F for F and a missing S for Safety but maybe it is a monogram?

Anyway, it has sling swivels and that's about all I know.

Photos below. As always, let me know if you'd like a few more photos.

More to come...

 

[Coalcracker]

Yep red is fire. I have some old stevens/savage/springfield rifles from the 50's with long barrels. They are heavy.

 

[Popeye]

As World War Two expanded to encompass the whole US economy, it became clear to the Army that some cost cutting measures would be required. One place that was a clear choice was in rimfire .22 caliber training rifles. Since the 1920s, the US had used training and competition rifles from Springfield Armory, built on 1903 rifle receivers and made to the highest quality. These M1922 rifles were very high quality – too high to justify continued use during wartime. Something much cheaper and simpler would be just as good for the abbreviated marksmanship training that was the wartime standard.

The Mossberg company already made and sold the Model 44B rifle, which fit the new US Army needs more closely. It was a simple bolt action rifle with a nice aperture sight, but costing far less than the M1922. After discussion, Mossberg created a new model specifically for the military; the Model 44US. This had a plain birch stock (instead of the commercial walnut), a plastic trigger guard, and a simplified rear sight assembly (although the first batch delivered would use more expensive Lyman sights, until Mossberg was able to put their new model into full scale production).

The Mossberg 44US would remain in production until 1949, successfully serving as a training aid for new recruits and a simple but accurate rifle for shooters after the war.



https://www.forgottenweapons.com/mossberg-44us-a-cheaper-training-rifle-for-world-war-two/

 

[JSP88]

Very cool, Coalcracker. So you shift the switch, for lack of a better term, to the left under the red F for Fire and to the right under the missing S for Safe or Safety. Awesome and thank you.

 

[JSP88]

Amazing, Popeye! Having that bit of history makes this gun much more interesting than it being just a really heavy 22. If soldiers possibly trained with it before heading into theater, it has a place in WWII history. Just told to my wife and she was impressed.