Anyone familiar with the old CIL model 111??

[GearaDoga]

I just picked up an old CIL 111, built by Anschutz in 1964, and I was wondering if anyone around here was familiar with them?

I'm quite pleased with it so far, and I haven't even shot it yet - it's in remarkable condition for a 50 year old rifle. Near-perfect bluing, not even a hint of rust, spotless action and easily the most perfect bore I've ever seen. The stock has seen better days, but it's 99% cosmetic scrapes and dings. The actual wood is in great shape.

Honestly, if it wasn't such a ridiculous concept, I could definitely be convinced it's somehow remained unfired for 50 years...

So, anything I ought to know about it? Tips/tricks/warnings? Any and all info is very welcome !

(And before anyone mentions it, yes, I know. I'll post pictures. Just tomorrow. Not right now, at 2:30 AM...)

 

[grelmar]

Don't lose the mag, it'll cost you $70 to replace it with a Weatherby mag... At least, that was the case with my CIL/Anschutz 125...

Problem is, it was worth it. For a fairly short barrelled little carbine, it's very accurate. Have an old 3x Japanese scope on it (came with it when I picked it up second hand), and very much minute of gopher out past 75 yards without trying hard.

Strip the bolt right down and give it a good cleaning, make sure the striker and firing pin are really free... The bore on the rifle itself when I got mine was fantastic, but some crud had accumulated in the striker channel, so I was getting light strikes (1 in 5 on cheap ammo, 1 in 10 on CCI). The Anschutz actions are all made so you can dry fire without the firing pin impacting and peening, so if you get light strikes that can't be solved by a good cleaning, the only thing you should probably need to replace is the striker spring.

I keep telling my wife that "it's for sale" - and it is, kinda sorta, if anyone feels like paying twice the going rate for it , which is to say I like it as a shooter far more than the money/trade I could get for it.

 

[Waba]

You are not likely to lose the mag on your Model 111.

I still have mine that I received as my 12th birthday gift. I had been saving my pennies for a rifle and liked the 111, even though at $17.75 it was $0.50 more expensive than the Cooey Model 39. A good, simple , solid little entry level Anschutz.

Watch that half moon ejector. It is made from a stamping and there is a folded over tab on its under side that prevents it from falling out when the bolt is removed. I haven't seen one yet that hasn't been broken off due to the sharp upward kick applied to the ejector at the rearmost bolt travel. I see on forums from time to time people looking for ejectors. Good luck, although if a fellow was handy one could be made.
Since the extractor pretty much has to be pushed forward manually you can stop it at a point where it serves as a nifty loading platform for shorts or even BB Caps.
It has a long trigger let-off. I wouldn't try to make a match trigger out of it but the sear is simple to service, and benefits from a careful polishing. Don't mess with it unless you are used to it, and the rifle will work fine as is.
The stock attachment is pretty micky mouse, only a single skinny screw and no under receiver lugs to limit travel, so often the action has some fore and aft play. One of these days I'll take a good look at mine and come up with a solution.

I got mine in 1965, I still use it, and I taught my kids to shoot with it. I hope you'll enjoy yours.

 

[GearaDoga]

Don't lose the mag, it'll cost you $70 to replace it with a Weatherby mag... At least, that was the case with my CIL/Anschutz 125...

Problem is, it was worth it. For a fairly short barrelled little carbine, it's very accurate. Have an old 3x Japanese scope on it (came with it when I picked it up second hand), and very much minute of gopher out past 75 yards without trying hard.

Strip the bolt right down and give it a good cleaning, make sure the striker and firing pin are really free... The bore on the rifle itself when I got mine was fantastic, but some crud had accumulated in the striker channel, so I was getting light strikes (1 in 5 on cheap ammo, 1 in 10 on CCI). The Anschutz actions are all made so you can dry fire without the firing pin impacting and peening, so if you get light strikes that can't be solved by a good cleaning, the only thing you should probably need to replace is the striker spring.

I keep telling my wife that "it's for sale" - and it is, kinda sorta, if anyone feels like paying twice the going rate for it , which is to say I like it as a shooter far more than the money/trade I could get for it.

You are not likely to lose the mag on your Model 111.

I still have mine that I received as my 12th birthday gift. I had been saving my pennies for a rifle and liked the 111, even though at $17.75 it was $0.50 more expensive than the Cooey Model 39. A good, simple , solid little entry level Anschutz.

Watch that half moon ejector. It is made from a stamping and there is a folded over tab on its under side that prevents it from falling out when the bolt is removed. I haven't seen one yet that hasn't been broken off due to the sharp upward kick applied to the ejector at the rearmost bolt travel. I see on forums from time to time people looking for ejectors. Good luck, although if a fellow was handy one could be made.
Since the extractor pretty much has to be pushed forward manually you can stop it at a point where it serves as a nifty loading platform for shorts or even BB Caps.
It has a long trigger let-off. I wouldn't try to make a match trigger out of it but the sear is simple to service, and benefits from a careful polishing. Don't mess with it unless you are used to it, and the rifle will work fine as is.
The stock attachment is pretty micky mouse, only a single skinny screw and no under receiver lugs to limit travel, so often the action has some fore and aft play. One of these days I'll take a good look at mine and come up with a solution.

I got mine in 1965, I still use it, and I taught my kids to shoot with it. I hope you'll enjoy yours.

I should certainly hope I don't lose the Mag off of this rifle... Seeing as how the 111 is a single-shot gun! (apologies, grelmar - didn't mention that!)

Glad to hear they're good guns - I figured they'd have to be, coming from Anschutz. I'll take a closer look at the firing pin area, but I doubt I'll find anything - the gun is clean... Like, REALLY FREAKING CLEAN. I don't think there's any dirt on or around the bolt at all.

I am really curious to see how this great big firing "pin" performs, versus the little things I've seen on my modern .22's. Seems just massively overbuilt, not that that's a bad thing, mind you.

I was looking at that neat extractor setup, as well. seems like the obvious failure point, though mine's in great shape. Something to keep an eye on, I guess.

 

[grelmar]

OK... Totally different from the 125 then, not even the same bolt, by the look of things.

Neat rifle, though. I would guess, that there's nothing much to expect trouble from it, and it looks like a medium profile barrel... You should be able to get some great accuracy out of it, for sure.

CIL brought in a bunch of stuff back in the day... Wonder why there isn't more of a following. There are some real gems.