Elegance is such an ethereal concept. Certainly, it should be expressed in steel and walnut, and to my mind it should be a design that is older than I am. Probably a prejudiced concept, and possibly, in the eyes of the progressives amongst us, racist. In any case, I shall wear that mantle proudly.
My first nominee is my Marlin 39A made in 1955. It has the factory holes in the barrel for a side scope mount, indicating that it was made for Sears & Roebuck. Mine carries an elderly Lyman tang sight, and in concession to my tuckered out eyeballs, it has a fibre-op front sight. It can be quickly restored to the original front sight. If it came with a plastic white spacer by the butt plate, it would have been deposited in the dustbin within 20 minutes of crossing my home's threshold. While it has a plastic butt plate, I have learned to live with it. I try to be accommodating. The Marlin has been in production for almost 130 years, yet they don't come up for sale very often. They are truly iconic.
My next selection is an Uberti Low Wall .22 LR with a 30 inch barrel. It has an elegantly machined rear sight base that accepts a Parker - Hale 7A target sight meant for the BSA small frame Martini. The base was originally fabricated for a 94 Winchester, but it's a perfect fit for the Low Wall.
My local gun magician modified the cocking mechanism so manual cocking is no longer required. It's just like the originals now. It's my "stand on my hind legs" rifle when I feel cocky enough to try a few offhand shots.
Finally, I present a BSA Long Lee that was made from the start as a .22. Mostly you see ones converted from military .303's. This is a commercial model built from scratch by BSA with no military marks. The rear sight is windage and elevation click adjustable, and exhibits a very high level of machining skills. According to Ms. Edna Parker, this sight was made in Guildford ca. 1947, and due to its lack of adjustment in the aperture hole size, this sight "is not for discerning riflemen." Damning with faint praise perhaps.
Other submissions to the Elegance Fair are welcome, as are comments, complaints and (gentle) criticisms.
My first nominee is my Marlin 39A made in 1955. It has the factory holes in the barrel for a side scope mount, indicating that it was made for Sears & Roebuck. Mine carries an elderly Lyman tang sight, and in concession to my tuckered out eyeballs, it has a fibre-op front sight. It can be quickly restored to the original front sight. If it came with a plastic white spacer by the butt plate, it would have been deposited in the dustbin within 20 minutes of crossing my home's threshold. While it has a plastic butt plate, I have learned to live with it. I try to be accommodating. The Marlin has been in production for almost 130 years, yet they don't come up for sale very often. They are truly iconic.
My next selection is an Uberti Low Wall .22 LR with a 30 inch barrel. It has an elegantly machined rear sight base that accepts a Parker - Hale 7A target sight meant for the BSA small frame Martini. The base was originally fabricated for a 94 Winchester, but it's a perfect fit for the Low Wall.
My local gun magician modified the cocking mechanism so manual cocking is no longer required. It's just like the originals now. It's my "stand on my hind legs" rifle when I feel cocky enough to try a few offhand shots.
Finally, I present a BSA Long Lee that was made from the start as a .22. Mostly you see ones converted from military .303's. This is a commercial model built from scratch by BSA with no military marks. The rear sight is windage and elevation click adjustable, and exhibits a very high level of machining skills. According to Ms. Edna Parker, this sight was made in Guildford ca. 1947, and due to its lack of adjustment in the aperture hole size, this sight "is not for discerning riflemen." Damning with faint praise perhaps.
Other submissions to the Elegance Fair are welcome, as are comments, complaints and (gentle) criticisms.
Attachments
Last edited:
