they want me to buy a Browning T-bolt .22

[MacEntyre]

After my friends at a local gun store sold me a Winchester 9422, they thought of me again when someone brought in a Browning T-bolt .22 rifle. I'm glad they sold me the 9422 first! It's a fascinating little bolt gun, easy to operate with either hand, made in Belgium in 1965 and it comes with a peep sight mounted on the .22 scope rail. They say the peep may be from the factory, as it has no markings. The bore is bright and the trigger is nice. There are a couple of spots of corrosion in the bluing on the barrel. It appears to have been restocked, or refinished, hard to tell which. It says it only shoots long rifle, although I fed a couple of .22 short snap caps through it just fine. It has a 10 round single stack flush magazine. This one is from the first year of production.

I am inclined to pass, but I don't know how rare is a vintage T-bolt. A vintage lefty T-bolt might interest me more. Anyone familiar with these?

[jhrosier]

I've wanted a T-bolt for years. As these things usually go, everytime I find one I don't have the money, and when I have the money there are none to be had.
I wouldn't pass it up if the price is even sort of reasonable.
A pal of mine has one that is very accurate.
The older ones have a steel magazine that works better than the later plastic magazines.

Jack

[geobru]

I shot a friend's in the early 70's. All I can remember for sure is that it was an absolute tack driver! The Belgium Brownings are first rate when it comes to fit and finish. IIRC, it did come from the factory with a peep site on it. In those days, I didn't appreciate the peep site like I do now with aging eyes! If you decide to pop the cap on it, you should have a good rifle IMHO.

[North Country Gal]

You will be paying a premium because it is a Browning and because it is a Belgium made Browning, at that. If that's a part of why you want it, go for it. I've always had a thing for Browning T bolts, but every time I come across one, I can't get by the asking price.

On the other hand, if you're just looking for something to shoot, you can get more accurate bolt 22s, brand new, for less money from Marlin, Savage and CZ or pick up used vintage Remingtons and so on.

[airedaleman]

They DO have a problem. The stocks on these old T-Bolts (I have one - left-hand plain gun with the box, papers, single-shot adapter - that I bought for one of my boys back in '74) were made from blanks that some nameless Browning engineer thought could be quickly dried using a salt treatment. Guess what? The salt impregnated the stocks and the guns rust horibly below the woodline. It's unfixable; check for corrosion.
The gun I have is a great shooter, but it looks like it spent time in a foxhole on Guadalcanal.

[Pete44ru]

.

The Belgian T-Bolts are super-accurate, and are well worth owning (I have a T2 Deluxe, below).

Saltwood is a possibility on guns made fro 1966-70, so DOM check the SN - but after 40+ years, if there were any saltwood issue with a particular rifle, it would certainly have raised it's ugly head by now.



The Browning peep sights are original to the T2 Deluxe - which had a rear bbl sight delete (no rear sight or D/T for one).


.

[airedaleman]

.

The Belgian T-Bolts are super-accurate, and are well worth owning (I have a T2 Deluxe, below).

Saltwood is a possibility on guns made fro 1966-70, so DOM check the SN - but after 40+ years, if there were any saltwood issue with a particular rifle, it would certainly have raised it's ugly head by now.



The Browning peep sights are original to the T2 Deluxe - which had a rear bbl sight delete (no rear sight or D/T for one).


.

Nice gun, Pete. The one I have (a left-hand model) is corroded. Interestingly, it's a plain gun also with the peep sight and no provision for a barrel rear sight.

[2LT Van Cott]

They DO have a problem. The stocks on these old T-Bolts (I have one - left-hand plain gun with the box, papers, single-shot adapter - that I bought for one of my boys back in '74) were made from blanks that some nameless Browning engineer thought could be quickly dried using a salt treatment. Guess what? The salt impregnated the stocks and the guns rust horibly below the woodline. It's unfixable; check for corrosion.
The gun I have is a great shooter, but it looks like it spent time in a foxhole on Guadalcanal.

Not all of them have the "salt" stocks.

A factory peep sighted right-hand Belgium T-bolt... be still my heart.

[retmech]

Here is my "saltwood" T bolt. My wife bought it for a birthday back in the 70's. A few years back I refinished it trying to seal the salt but no luck there. What I did that worked was coat the inside of the stock with silicone dialectric compound, seat the barreled action and wipe off the excess silicone grease. It's been at least 5 yrs now with zero rust. I pull the action out of the stock periodically to check it. I wanted to keep the wood as it's a nice piece of tiger striped walnut. It is a very accurate rifle with a beautiful trigger. With good ammo it's a 1/2" 50 yd gun.

[MacEntyre]

A factory peep sighted right-hand Belgium T-bolt... be still my heart.

I might be there, after I shoot one!

According to what vintage T-bolts have sold for on GB, this one sounds reasonable at the asking price of $425. If I go for it, I'll first remove the stock and look under the barrel. Perhaps the salt history explains why it looks like it was restocked or refinished.

Thanks for the information, folks!

- MacEntyre

[Chuck 100 yd]

Not only Browning used salt to cure stock wood. (bad idea!!)
I had a fancy Remington 3200 trap over and under that rusted a spot under the forearm even though I kept an eye on it and kept oil on that spot. That spot eventually turned into a pit that was growing. I ended up selling that gun to a guy who was going to make an "un gun" out of it so that upper barrel would be sawed off and a high rib installed.

[MacEntyre]

Turns out they checked, and found no evidence of salt on the barrel... so no one has any idea why the stock was refinished. I think I will let this one go.