Ted Williams Model 3T .22 Auto

by Sarge ⌂ @, Central Misery, Sunday, March 17, 2013, 11:47 (4214 days ago)

Hit a local gun show yesterday and picked up a Ted Williams Model 3T .22 automatic rifle. The guy had $175 on it but came down substantially, pretty quick. The 3T is actually a Winchester Model 190, rebranded for Sears. The rifles were produced between 1967-1980 and total production including the Model 290 (nicer wood/stamped checkering) is around 2,150,000.

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I’d been looking for a .22 and with the current ammo stupidity, I wanted something that would shoot Shorts, Longs or Long Rifles interchangeably. The 3T/Model 190 is so marked and says it will handle them all. I’ve shot 190's few over the years and remembered them as good, accurate .22’s designed to fit a grown-up. I was glad to find one at a decent price, in very good condition.

It was about dark when we got home but I gathered about 60 rounds of assorted .22 LR; remnants of Federal 36 HP, Winchester Wildcat, Remington Thunderbolt and Winchester T22. It digested these as fast or slow as you cared to run it. It was shooting low and I replaced the bead with a .375 Marbles 1/16 white bead I had laying around. I eyeballed the sights into the centers of their dovetails and CB longs out the upstairs window were close enough to roll a coke can at 20 steps. If it don’t rain again, serious zeroing commences shortly.

Cabela's here in STL had a High Standard .22 rifle a few

by Andrew @, Bloomington, IN, Sunday, March 17, 2013, 11:53 (4214 days ago) @ Sarge

weeks ago, for a great price. I should go back and see if it's still there this afternoon. Same story with me, want a S,L,LR. I have cooled on the 10-22 scene.

Cool gun

by FOG, Sunday, March 17, 2013, 12:01 (4214 days ago) @ Sarge
edited by FOG, Sunday, March 17, 2013, 14:32

My first .22 was a Winchester Model 270 pump-action, acquired for the princely sum of $25 from the one-and-only local pawn shop (with a parent's signature, of course).

Unfortunately, the parts(s) connecting the handle to the action broke, and the one-and-only local gunsmith told me it couldn't be fixed.

In retrospect, I think the old man probably took advantage of me, as he only gave me $10 for it.

My guess is, he probably did fix it, then sold it for more.

The worst part, though, isn't that.

My other guess is, he probably needed the money, and that thought completely overrules any others, at least in my mind.


(SPG Edit)

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I forgot to mention that I didn't break the gun

by FOG, Sunday, March 17, 2013, 12:09 (4214 days ago) @ FOG

I'd rather not tell who did, just suffice to say, it was a really mean person. :-(

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That also reminds me of another story (OT)

by FOG, Sunday, March 17, 2013, 12:38 (4214 days ago) @ FOG

I really did work in ice cream parlors during a few summers of my teenage years.

At one of them, we had a few regular customers of senior age, and one of those was a nice old man who came in at least weekly during the season.

Fast-forward a few years, and I bump into him again, only this time it's at Taco Bell (which around 1980 really wasn't too bad).

He doesn't recognize me, he just steps up with a beat-up old bathroom scale and asks me if I want to buy it.

For $2.00.

I pretend I don't recognize him, and I turn him down, then I turn and walk away.

I get in my car, and I am crushed with guilt, and I start bawling like a baby.

I get out of my car, catch up to the man, and still crying, babble an offer to buy the scale.

I buy it, then the old man and I have a nice conversation briefly reliving the 'old days' at the ice cream shop.

We part company, my days so much easier than his, my future so much brighter.

Life gives you all kinds of opportunities, if you pay attention to them.

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I ain't quite figgered out....

by Sarge ⌂ @, Central Misery, Sunday, March 17, 2013, 17:17 (4214 days ago) @ FOG

who you are just yet but you're a nice kid. So what are you doing hanging out in this crowd?? ;-) :-D

In '81 I was a boot patrolman at Raytown PD, a little 'burb surrounded by the Metro, East and South Patrol Divisions of KCPD. If you worked dogwatch--and I did--there were two places you could get something to eat, provided you didn't get a call right out of the chute. One of them was 7-11 and the other was Taco Bell. It wasn't Olive Gardens but it beat hell out of the alternative.

Winchells and Dunkin Donuts were there too, for later in the shift. Never trust a policeman who won't admit to liking a good donut now and then.

No worries

by FOG, Sunday, March 17, 2013, 17:21 (4214 days ago) @ Sarge

I ain't figgered it out neether. :-D

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I've had good luck with Winchesters overall...

by Sarge ⌂ @, Central Misery, Sunday, March 17, 2013, 12:35 (4214 days ago) @ Sarge

including a couple of bolt-action 22s I had, years ago. The Rugers are good and the Marlin 60's are too, but my tastes run toward the old 60s & 70s guns of this type. Call me sentimental.

A short trip out proves I need a taller front sight and I also apparently managed to mismatch the only two pairs of rings I have that fit groovy receivers. Duh. Try again later, chores are calling now.

The rifle has yet to jam... gotta find some 22 Shorts and see if it'll feed those too.

I bet it will (feed .22 Shorts)

by FOG, Sunday, March 17, 2013, 14:11 (4214 days ago) @ Sarge

My Winchester Model 270 ate them like cotton candy.

I remember distinctly because I shot it several times with Shorts just to hear them ricochet off the ground (SAFELY!, as in up against the mountain).

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Resources for T3/190/290 owners:

by Sarge ⌂ @, Central Misery, Sunday, March 17, 2013, 18:12 (4214 days ago) @ Sarge

Ted Williams Model 3T .22 Auto

by Catoosa, Monday, March 18, 2013, 10:43 (4213 days ago) @ Sarge

I neglected .22s for quite a few years, but the last two I have bought were .22s. Last one was a Marlin 989 M2, the one made to look somewhat like an M1 carbine. Dirty and dirt cheap at a local pawnshop, but it cleaned up nicely and so far has been totally reliable when fed decent ammo. Short and light, just what an old man needs for walkin' around in the woods.

I remember the Marlin M1 Carbine look-alikes

by FOG, Monday, March 18, 2013, 12:53 (4213 days ago) @ Catoosa

I wanted one badly when I was a teenager, but I usually spent all my money on sixguns.

When I was about nine, I did get one of these:

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Considering what was to come later, it's perhaps surprising, but it never occurred to me to shoot any birds with it, and I was too chicken to actually shoot a squirrel.

I did like to torment them with it, though, and I was a pretty good shot, so whenever I got the chance, I'd rather boldly plant one right beneath their feet.

That SMACK-on-wood always was most satisfying, and watching the squirrel take off like a bottle rocket was pretty cheap entertainment for a kid. :-D

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I recently acquired a Stevens 87J for similar reasons...

by rob @, Monday, March 18, 2013, 18:34 (4213 days ago) @ Sarge

I've been wanting a good rimfire that will shoot shorts that I could sight in and dedicate to CB Shorts for quite work. This rifle is pretty clean with just some minor scratches in the stock that would refinish easily and nicely if I were interested. The firing pin was broke and I ordered an upgraded version from Numrich and fitted it. Only problem with it now is the chamber is pinged from someone dry firing it and needs a little chamber iron work. I need to buy or borrow one (Brownells has them for around $22 IIRC) and I should be able to clean it up and get it back in service. Neat rifle, long barrel and real nice ballance and the barrel looks brand new except for the firing pin dent. It's semi-auto and when you pull the trigger it fires and captures the bolt and firing pin in the open position. When you release the trigger it releases the bolt capturing the firing pin. With shorts you are supposed to chamber the round manually and push the bolt pin into the receiver to lock it. I suspect if it doesn't cycle all the way back it can chamber another short and machine gun it like an open bolt MG because it has to cycle back all the way to catch the firing pin/hammer. I'm really looking forward to cleaning up the chamber and putting it into service!

Nice rifle BTW!

by rob @, Monday, March 18, 2013, 18:37 (4213 days ago) @ Sarge

I love old .22's. I like the new ones as well for utility rifles but the old ones just remind me of the days when a little paper box of 50 .22 shells brought so much joy:)

It runs with Shorts...

by Sarge ⌂ @, Central Misery, Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 09:30 (4212 days ago) @ Sarge

Dug in my stash & found an ancient box of Remington Hi-Speed 22 Shorts with the Golden bullet. Not my pic, but-

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The old Ted 3T/Win 190 fed & fired them slick as a whistle. The last 22 automatic rifle I fired, that functioned with Shorts, was an old Remington Model 24 one of my brothers owned.

Excellent!

by FOG, Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 09:35 (4212 days ago) @ Sarge

In the CB Cap sphere, I prefer Longs because they're easier to handle, but real Shorts have an appeal all their own.

Congrats! :-)

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I'm with you on the CB Longs...

by Sarge ⌂ @, Central Misery, Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 10:16 (4212 days ago) @ FOG

and those will even manually feed through my old Ruger 'Standard' pistol if I'm careful about it.

The nature of my business is 'serious' guns and I'd neglected the old 22 rimfire. I'm having a lot of fun with this old Sears gun... and beginning to wish I had stockpiled a bunch of Shorts and LR's a few years ago.

I had a '53-vintage Mark I Target once − or twice

by FOG, Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 11:03 (4212 days ago) @ Sarge

It was one of the most accurate pistols I've ever owned.

For about four or five years during the '80s, I shot nothing but CCI Stingers in it, mostly jacklighting New Mexico jackrabbits.

On one occasion, I was out at the range on the West Mesa near Albuquerque with a friend who was in the testing phase of some load development for his new IHMSA pistol, a Contender in 7 mm TCU (which, as I'm sure everyone knows, is the .223 case necked up to 7, plus possibly some other case mods).

I was mainly there to bear witness to this solemn event, but I also brought along the old Mark I, just in case.

In case of what, I'm not sure, but my friend wasn't having such a good day, so I asked him at one point if I could get into the game.

He was fairly spraying them all over the paper and pretty well fumed about it, but I reminded him my bullet holes would be smaller, so they wouldn't get in the way.

He finally acceeded to my request, and I settled down at the bench, loaded five Stingers in the magazine, and proceeded to shoot my string at a leisurely pace.

BANG . . . . . BANG . . . . . BANG . . . . . BANG . . . . . BANG

Not knowing the exact drop at 100 meters, I just held center.

When we get downrange to examine my friend's most recent 18-inch 'group', at first I don't see any .22 bullet holes. (Either − LOL)

Then, I notice just one of them cutting the very bottom edge of the (LARGE) paper target.

We repair to the firing line, and when I get another turn at the bench, I hold up a smidgen of front sight and let fly again.

BANG . . . . . BANG . . . . . BANG . . . . . BANG . . . . . BANG

Meantime, my friend has just about finished pattern-testing his new shotgun, so we go downrange for one last look.

Clustered nicely in the black and centered therein right at three inches center-to-center are the five grim signatures of the Stingers sent there by me and my Ruger.

My friend sorta looks at me sideways and says, "You really ****!"

I was feeling pretty flush, so I gave him a pass on that one. :-D


Epilogue: I've given away a lot of guns over the years, but the Mark I Target bore the distinction of being the only one I ever gave away twice. It was still a great pistol after 20 years the second time around, but I had plenty of fun with it the first, so I let it go again.

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Try the CCI .22 "Quiet" ammo. It functions in my Rem

by Hobie ⌂ @, Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Wednesday, March 20, 2013, 18:13 (4211 days ago) @ Sarge

241. I think it is because it has a 40 gr. bullet even though it moves it at the same velocity as the CB Longs with the 20 gr. bullet. I think it is quieter too. A HOOT to shoot in my 241.

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Sincerely,

Hobie

..CCI .22 "Quiet"

by Sarge ⌂ @, Central Misery, Thursday, March 21, 2013, 06:49 (4211 days ago) @ Hobie

My PM crew Sgt. needed a hand getting his daughter's 22 rifle zeroed and he had several boxes of that CCI .22 "Quiet" stuff. We ran a few rounds through this rifle & it functioned them fine. I really liked it. Seems to be as quiet or quieter than CB longs and obviously hits harder... need to scrounge a few boxes of that.

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