My new-to-me Cooey Model 60

mh434

mh434

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My Dad decided he isn't likely to go out shooting anymore (he's 81 now, and getting a bit frail), so he decided to give me all his firearms at Christmas time.

One that I thought would be of interest here is his (now, my) Cooey Model 60 .22 rifle.

Dad bought the rifle, new, in the early 1950's, when I was just a gaffer. I'd be surprised if it had 50 rounds through it since then (it appears unfired), and it's been clean & safe-kept ever since. As these are getting a bit rare (and the few still out there tend to be really beat-up, as they were built to be on-the-farm working rifles, not safe queens), this is probably one of the nicer ones in existence. It is completely unrestored, and still has its original box.

Funny - I've always wanted a Cooey repeater (me being a hard-core Canuck, and all), and seen quite a few for sale over the years, but they were mostly pretty rough/missing parts/way too expensive. I'd pretty much given up on finding a truly nice one at an affordable price (much less free!). This one, as it was my Dad's, has enormous sentimental value as well, so it's really special to me.

Being a non-molested example (it almost hasn't a mark on it, as visible in the photos), I thought might be of interest to those here. Here's a few pics - hope you enjoy them.

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She's a beauty! Take as good care of her as your father did, but take her out shooting! A beautiful woman doesn't like to be neglected!
 
Yep, she'll be going out to the range, alright! I may be wearing kid gloves, but she'll see some rounds down the pipe. As a friend of mine used to say, "Many a fine tune's been played on an old fiddle!" (he was referring to older women, but the saying stands. NAA knows who I'm talking about!)
 
Curious about the lines on the stock?
The finger channels in the fore wood and the
vertical indents behind the pistol grip?
Were these done at the factory level?

Purrrrrrrrdy she is.

Thanks for the photos.
 
That is in awesome shape. I fire a few rounds from my Model 60 and Model 39 almost every day, and they look the part. Actually, after seeing your photos, I stepped out onto the front porch in the freezing rain and fired off a few rounds. Very nice indeed.
 
mh434 said:
As a friend of mine used to say, "Many a fine tune's been played on an old fiddle!" (he was referring to older women, but the saying stands. NAA knows who I'm talking about!)
Click to expand...

Yes, but can we still 'go east' my friend? :p

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Looking forward to shooting your 'new to you' Cooey one day up at Juan [when the damn weather improves].....lol.... ;)

I'll even bring up my refurbed Cooey 600 for comparison purposes .... :cool:

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My Dad won that same rifle in a contest his company was running back in 1957...He wouldn't let me shoot it that year...lol....cause I was only 3....Mean old bugger made me wait till I was all the age of 4, before letting shoot with it....1st rifle I ever shot....thanks for the memories.

Jim
 
Very nice. There is something unusual about the stock though with the finger channel and pronounced line behind the pistol grip. Model 60's didn't have that. Did your dad perhaps request this from the factory?
 
It is a different stock. As suggested the finger grooves are not common to a 60. The original repeater had finger grooves for a couple of years, but the extended further back than what the pictured 60 shows, and still carried the original's pistol grip shape. (very rounded) Large bolt knob w/2 grooves puts it out of that date range, so I wouldn't even guess transitional period. The pistol grip's definition is unlike any I've encountered.

I like the 'ol Cooeys, and keeping a beauty like that in the family only adds to it's proud heritage.
 
It does seem unusual, which I like. I know it is as-built by Cooey, and has never been tinkered with.

I talked to my Dad. He bought the gun, brand new, at Robinson's Sporting Goods in Victoria, in 1958. He never modified it (or even shot it more than once, for that matter, to the best of his recollection), and kept it in its original cardboard box, which it was in when he gave it to me. The box has "COOEY MODEL 60 REPEATER .22" stamped in ink, in large letters on one end of the box. The box itself is in rough shape, as it's gone through almost 60 years of house moves, and has been taped closed several times for the moves. It does have the 1/2 thickness cardboard divider inside, as the rifle came broken-down when new, with the action & barrel below, and the stock above.

As others have mentioned, the stock does seem different from other Model 60's I've seen. Aside from stock shape, it appears to be exceptionally nice wood for a Cooey! It's almost like a factory one-off. If it was a highly sought-after brand, it would probably be worth a googlepoopillion dollars but, as it's a Cooey, it's basically just a neat curiosity. On the plus side, it won't hurt its value to shoot it!
 
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