There seems to be a small revival of interest in the .22HP I'm
thinking ofassembling one from a melange of parts. First, I have a new 24" Massachusetts barrel, probably early 1960s, square breech threads, same contour as the usual EG or R barrel, made as a spare part and obtained a few years ago from the gent who used to sell Savage parts on the Savage Collectors forum on 24 Hours. For an action I have a straight grip .22HP from a solid frame featherweight. Serial number is about 260,000 or 266,000 when the heat treaatment changed - I forge6 which it is.
Stocks woould be fromn a Brush Gun - I don't care from the finger grooves but have to use the forend for something.
Sght would be a Kollmorgen BearCub 4x in a Stith mount, all from the 1950s. These old scopes are quite decent optically albeit they do not have a self centering reticle. This is a comparatively heavy barrel for a .22HP. I have only seem one, a FWTD sold at Amoskeag several years ao that had been back to the factory in the '20s for an extra 26" .303 contour barrel in .22HP. The gun was mint but I dropped out of the bidding around 2g. I wonder who has it and whether he has shot it. I also vaguely remember an article by Allyn Tedmon in the
Rifleman in the 30s or 40s about a long barrel 99 with a MAlcolm scope -there waz a picture of it. The FWs TDs had a terrible reputation for accuracy- probably the TD, and when Whelen had G&H make him a .250 he had the barrel soldered in place. It wax the first rifle Whelen got a 1" ten shot group from. We in th Rifled Arms HIstorical Assn own it today and it s6ill shoots lt wonderfully well.
