Range report- Winchester Model 74 .22LR

I went out to the range the other day and took along Pap's old Winchester 74 .22. I wasn't there to do any serious shooting, but decided to take some photos of the targets and show them to you, my adoring audience.

The Winchester 74 is a semi automatic rifle, chambered in the .22LR rimfire cartridge. It has a 24"round barrel and is loaded from a gate on the right side of the buttstock. The tubular magazine holds 14 cartridges. They were produced from 1939 to 1955 and more than 400,000 were made.

All targets were at 25 yards, all shots from the standing position

Well to be honest, this is all error on the part of yours truly, I think due to the light weight of the rifle, I was holding a little high at first. I realized my error and tried to correct my stance at the end.



Here I corrected my stance and let a little lead fly, with improved results.


Once I got used to the rifle, I was able to put rounds on target in rapid fire from a standing position. Overall, this is a great little rifle and would be wonderful for rabbit or squirrel hunting. You know, if you are hungry. Hopefully I will have a chance to take it to an outdoor range soon and see what it can really do at 100 yards from a sandbag and bench. I expect great things from it.

I would like to thank the Buffalo Bill Museum and Winchester Club of America in Englewood, CO for some help on the specifics of the '74.