I like the BRNOs to be honest. I have only shot one of them once but it was a treat. Have a look here.

http://www.brnoguns.co.uk/22rifles.htm.

They are beautiful looking rifles as well.

OK, all the good talk about the Marlin Papoose on this and other forums put me over the edge . . . I bought one today. What a pretty piece.

I grew up with guns in Texas. But it has been years since I’ve shot and all the new ammo options are confusing me.

In anticipation of receiving the gun I bought :
100 rounds of CCI CB Long [Conical Ball 22 L LRN – 29 Grain]
100 rounds of CCI Mini-Mag HP High Velocity [22 LR CHP – 36 grain]
500 rounds of Remington 22 Thunderbolt 22 LR Hi-Speed [40 grain lead round nose]

So I get the gun and read the manual. In part, it says they recommend:
CCI Mini-Mag [no details]
CCI Mini-Mag Hollow Point [ no details ]
Federal Classic Hi Velocity
Remington High Velocity [NOT THUNDERBLT]  Their words!!
Winchester Super X High Velocity

What is it about the Remington Thunderbolt that is a problem? Surely a 40 grain round isn’t too much for this gun?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I just received my papoose. Have not had a chance to fire it yet. Seems like a very nice rifle, but I will refrain from commenting until I take it into the woods.

Is the thunderbolt round a lead (not copper plated)bullet? I understand that lead bullets cause more problems with the action than copper clad ones. I wondered about that when I saw the notice in the documentation.

Hi Nomad,

I think you are right on about the clad rounds vs. the lead rounds in an auto.

I went to the range today with the Papoose and my 195something Savage 15 .22 bolt action rifle. Only the 25 yard range was open but that was OK.

I shot about 75 rounds of the lead nosed rounds in the bolt action gun. First time I’ve shot a rifle in about 20 years. Reminded me of my kid days in Texas when I lived with a similar gun. The last three rounds were much better than the first three!

Then I assembled the Papoose and shoved home a clip of CCI Mini-Mag HP rounds. WOW! What a difference. Three inch patterns with iron sights out of the box. I shot 100 rounds total and every shot was at least close.

At 25 yards the patterns were about 1.5” high which I would guess to be about right for 50 yards. I adjusted the rear ramp some but saw very little difference. But that was prolly due more to my having fun than really trying to sight in the gun.

The papoose ate the Mini-Mag rounds like candy. I need more clips and more ammo!

What a nice piece, what fun!

A 4X scope is next for the 100 yard range. Also some work on the trigger- way too stiff for accuracy.

Hope you enjoy yours as much.

Thanks for the quick range report. Reality has reared its ugly head and it is busy eating all of my spare time. Testing the papoose will have to wait. Drat....

Hi All,

After about 2 months of using the Marlin Papoose, as a plinker/small game collecter I have determined that it fills my need well.

I have harvested 6 ruffed grouse with it (missed a couple but it was not the rifle's fault) using CCI .22 LR Sub-sonic ammo. I added a nylon sling to the rifle and due to the light weight you never know it is on your shoulder. It assembles/disasembles quickly, functions reliably and I like the floating sectional case it comes with.

I have only 2 minor complaints and both involve the sights.

The hood on the front sight protects it well but can catch on brush and be pulled off. This happened twice to me and both times made a "ping" sound, with some searching I was able to find the hood again.

The rear sight is under tension from the sliding notched elevaton bar under it, this causes the face of the open rear sight to fold down slightly. I tried to fuse the sight in the vertical position with some clear nail lacquar but it failed. The next thing to try is some epoxy or J-B Weld.

I should really just replace the rear sight with a peep sight mounted on the reciever rails as I shoot better with this system anyway.

I noticed when I took the butt plate off that the stock is hollow, this winter when I have some free time I am going to construct a mini PSK to store inside there (just the bare basics) and make it easier to access this space.

So after about 300 rounds of shooting over 3 sessions, 5 day hunting hikes and a few grouse in the bag I have concluded that the Marlin Papoose .22 Semi-auto Take-Down rifle was a good purchase for me; I will continue to use it and would reccomended it to others as a small game, casual plinker or BOB rifle.

Mike

Mike that was a great report! I'm glad you like your Papoose, I am rather fond of mine as well. In fact, it has replaced my AR-7 as my "go-to" storable 22. I haven't pulled the buttplate off of mine yet, I might have to do that this weekend!

Any problem with not having a forestock? Does your hand get burned if you touch the barrel? A lot of exposed barrel.

Goodmorning HJ,

I wondered about how it would feel holding a rifle without a forestock before I ordered the rifle. After using it for a while I now find I just ignore it; I either hold the barrel or the end of the stock near the front sling swiwel, no problem.
I have quickly fired a 10 round magazine through the rifle and never noticed the barrel getting overly hot, not like a centrefire rifle would.

I am willing to give up a forestock on this functional type rifle to benefit from the takedown portability.

Later,

Mike

The T/C Contender is used for handgun metallic silhouette shooting. With a good barrel and trigger it is at least as accurate as most .22 target rifles. The handgun metallic silhouette shooters use a 6X rifle scope and hold the gun with two hands, close to their eye. They use a "taco" hold. One hand is on top over the scope, like they were holding a taco. There is no eye danger with the rifle scope close to your eye when shooting a .22. You have the accuracy of a .22 target rifle with the size of a handgun.

Every year there is shooting festival at Ben Avery, here in Phoenix. Many of the clubs have an open house. I tried a .22 target rifle and a .22 Contender at metallic silhouette targets. The 6x Contender was easier to hit with. I has able to hold it steadier and get more consistent hits.

I own a G1 T/C Contender Carbine with 21" .22lr, .223 and 7-30 Waters barrels. Someday I will get pistol barrels for it.