The Remmy

I had mentioned earlier that I had put on lay-a-way at the pawn shop I work at, a Remington. I had stated that it was the pump but I misspoke. It is the semi-auto 552 Speedmaster. I brought it home last night. I contacted Remington with the barrel code to determine the date. These guns did not have serial numbers until later in life. They used a complex code system stamped on the left side of the barrel. My particular one was made in 1959, two years into the production run. This rifle has been abused in the most horrendous manner. Some dimwit took a nail or similar implement of torture and scratched on the side of the receiver the transfer of ownership from him to another person. Blankety blank blank To some dude. Emblazoned right on the side of this gun in the best moronic hand scratching for all to see. Sigh. I'll fix this outrage. And since it has a pretty cool tiger stripe butt, I'll also do the wood to bring our this effect. Here she is...

Here's a look at that striped buttstock...

I think the wood will turn out great. With the amount of filing I need to do on the receiver, I'll be lucky to salvage the Remington logo. Take a look at this travesty for yourself.

 

 

 

Here is the information I could find out about this neat old rifle.

 

In 1957 Remington brought to the firearms market a remarkable new auto loading .22 rifle. They designated this creation as the 552 Speedmaster.  As of now, according to Remington, this is the only American made autoloader that can handle .22 short, long and long rifle cartridges interchangeably.
   You can still get this fine small bore rifle today in the upscale BDL version with deluxe sights, checkered stocks and a high polish finish.
   Here are the specs:

   Barrel…22 inches

   Overall length…40 inches

   Weight…5.8 pounds

   Safety…cross bolt style

 

   Designed by L.R Crittendon and E.W. Hailston, this rifle employees a floating chamber to handle the different size ammo it will feed.
    Remington offered this gun in several different configurations. The most popular being the standard rifle. It also came in the Deluxe BDL, Gallery Special in 22 short only, the carbine and finally the 150th anniversary edition.
    Other than it’s feeding abilities the most notable feature of this rifle is the left side charging knob. That’s correct, the charging handle is on the left side. The ejection port however is on the right side.

   Take down is very unique in that you must remove the barrel to clean the chamber. It is set up to do this and is very simple. If the barrel gets loose you simply install a new barrel bushing. Parts are readily available too. Here's a video of the take down and reassembly procedure.