For any of the gun people....

[RaWarrior]

Wonder if you could tell me anything about this rifle I inherited. I kind of enjoy going out and "plinking" every so often, and I know how to disassemble and clean this rifle, but that's about the extent of my gun knowledge. I'm hardly what you'd call a gun enthusiast.

The barrel is stamped near the rear sight with "Springfield Model 56" .22. Bolt-action with a five round clip. The safety is a knob on the back side of the "bolt"(the thing that slides back and forth, idk if it has a different name). You rotate it until a pin drops into the outer shell of the bolt, and that pin then jams against the back of the receiver, preventing you from closing the bolt. The trigger still pulls freely.

The rear sight is the kind where it's a bendy piece of steel with just a notched wedge shoved under it, adjusted by prying up on the sight and moving the wedge. The front is just a metal point, in a small "track" carved into the end of the barrel. With light tapping it moves back and forth.

It does shoot OK, but either I'm a really lousy shot or the sights aren't set right. The bolt cycles smoothly, but sometimes the clip falls out when cycling the bolt.

I know it's quite old, was my grandfathers "varmint rifle", and my mom remembers that he had it long before she was born, so it's at least 40's or older.

Is it worth anything? Any interesting history? I recognize Springfield but beyond that it's greek to me, I don't know squat about guns.

 

[a113ycat]

Im no expert, what I know about this gun is that it was a department store type rifle that was sold by JC Penny's or Gibsons something along those lines. They were inexpensive just plane shooting rifles. They were intended to either learn to shoot on or have on the farm/ranch for snakes coons and squirrels. You can probably get a new clip for it at either a gun show or at www.cheaperthandirt.com it is a gun site. Several gun manufacturers had and still have this type of gun being made. I bought my sun a savage arms 22 very much like this gun not as old but basically the same model. Nice gun you should restore it back to a reliable shooter and pass it on down to your kids some day.

 

[SpecOps13]

Ditto to the above.

Examples of the Model 56

http://www.armslist.com/posts/235210/la-salle-illinois-rifles-for-sale--springfield-model-56-22-cal

http://www.gunrunnerauctions.com/listings/details/index.cfm?itemnum=924213320

http://www.northwestfirearms.com/ri...gfield-model-56-22-cal-bolt-action-rifle.html

 

[RaWarrior]

Tore it all apart the other day and gave it a thorough cleaning, mostly with the help of one of my buddies that's really into guns. The little notches in the clip were just rounded off from wear, 30 seconds with a file and bending the retainer clip in a bit solved the issue of it falling out, and just cleaning/lubing the clip fixed the problem with the last round sometimes not popping up enough to be grabbed by the bolt.

Pledge'd the wood.....shined it without taking the patina of wear off it...the wood is darker in the spots it was held all the time...front of the wood under the barrel, around the trigger, ect. Looks good and shoots like new now after a little tune up.

 

[dinkydau444]

Glad to see you got it shooting well! I second passing it on. If you have a son, very few things are more manly and badass than getting your dad's rifle...

 

[RaWarrior]

I'm only 21 bro....no kids....haha....barely have money to support myself and my habit for motorized toys....if I'm not dumping cash into the vmax(or it's gas tank), it's my snowmobile, my Odyssey, or whatever "project" I happen to be dicking around with. Currently that's a '77 Polaris Colt 250.

Stuff like that gun are so simple and so reliable they'll essentially never wear out. More modern weapons can be more complex, have a lot more parts, and if not cleaned diligently can be damaged. Not saying they couldn't last, but somehow I don't think time will be as kind to a modern assault rifle as it is to a simple .22 bolt rifle, and they're definitely not as tolerant of "lazy" maintenance. My buddy who's into all sorts of handguns, rifles, ARs, ect couldn't believe it even fired with how crapped up the bolt mechanism was when we tore into it....decades of powder gunk, dirt, sand, general nastiness.

Cleaning and adjusting things certianly smoothed out the action, but it was still functional as I found it.

Also...did guns have serial #'s back then? Or is that just on modern handguns? I can't find any sort of identifying number on it...just the "model 56" on the barrel. Trying to figure out how old it actually is.

 

[KJShover]

I know that model. I got one for my birthday. I sold it a few years back. I kept my first rifle though.

They quit making the Springfield/Stevens 56 in the 1940's, You can find them starting at about $35 and go up from there. I've seen many a decent one go for around $100.

Serial numbers weren't required until the passing of the gun control act of 1968.
Prior to the gun control act, dealers and manufacturers would stamp a serial number on the gun for their own needs. This could be for inventory and sales.
There is a good chance that your rifle won't have a serial number.

 

[FREERIDER]

Cool shooter.
That thing looks very similar to the "Iver Arms and Cycle Works" .22 LR I inherited from my Grandad. Mine is a Jr. size single shot. Same type of safety on the bolt.
Nothing passes down better than Guns and Jewelery.
Pass it down.

Glad to see you got it shooting well! I second passing it on. If you have a son, very few things are more manly and badass than getting your dad's rifle...