The Accurate Reloading Forums
TRADEWINDS Rifles (Redone Mausers) any info??
09 October 2010, 07:01
groundhog devastationTRADEWINDS Rifles (Redone Mausers) any info??
Had a guy call today and said he had a rifle I tried to buy from his FIL 15-20 years ago. It's a boltaction in 222Magnum. I honestly do not remember it but he's going to bring it to me on Tuesday to look at. I cannot find any info much on them and what I do find doesn't list them in 222Mag. Anybody know anything about them? If it's decent even though ammo is scarce, not a problem! I only have about 1200 pieces of brass for the chambering being that I have one in 40XBR configuration that i the most accurate rifle I own, just a bit awkward to use as a walking varminter!!
Your experiences and info would be appreciated. GHD
Groundhog Devastation(GHD)
11 October 2010, 22:12
ClassicAlGD:
The 1971 Guns Illustrated shows the .222 Mag. as one of the standard calibres in the Tradewinds 600 Varmint Rifle (the others were .222, .223, .22-250, .243, and .308). According to de Haas (Bolt Action Rifles), these rifles were made in Germany by Kriegeskorte & Co. (Krico). He considered it an excellent action. From his photo, the front of the bolt looks similar to that of the push-feed Win. M70.
Cheers, Al
12 October 2010, 07:27
260remguyI have owned a couple Tradewinds/Kricos and liked everything about them except the plastic bolt plug/end-cap and the the triangular shape of the forearm. The 22-250 that I sold awhile back was very accurate, particularly so for a sporter weight rifle, but the 1 in 14" ROT limited it to bullets under 60 grains.
Jeff
13 October 2010, 00:24
StonecreekTradewinds was just a marketer and some of their products were better than others. However, the little Krico, which was earlier sold under its own name, was a classy little rifle of very high quality.
It seems as if the problem for marketing Kricos under their own (abbreviated) name was that "Krico" sounded like some Asian-made toy or game rather than the serious Old World-quality rifle that it was. That's too bad -- perhaps the excellent rifle would still be in production today if it had had better marketing.
13 October 2010, 05:36
JpatTradewinds was a cheaper store brand.
13 October 2010, 22:08
260remguyTradewinds WAS NOT a store brand. Tradewinds was the importer in Washington that handled Husqvarnas before S&W became the importer and Kricos after that. They were not a large importer with a large marketing/sales staff, so Tradewinds rifles aren't evenly distributed across the whole U.S. There seem to be lots more Tradewinds rifle in the northwestern U.S. then anywhere east of the Mississippi River.
Jeff
13 October 2010, 23:42
StonecreekAgreed, Tradewinds imported and marketed some very high quality guns. I think they did have a line of shotguns that were probably Spanish-made (and maybe a Japanese autoloader?) that were of entry level quality, but their Husqvarnas and Kricos were top notch.
14 October 2010, 05:27
Jpatquote:
Originally posted by Jpat:
quote:
Originally posted by 260remguy:
Tradewinds WAS NOT a store brand. Tradewinds was the importer in Washington that handled Husqvarnas before S&W became the importer and Kricos after that. They were not a large importer with a large marketing/sales staff, so Tradewinds rifles aren't evenly distributed across the whole U.S. There seem to be lots more Tradewinds rifle in the northwestern U.S. then anywhere east of the Mississippi River.
Jeff
Sorry, The Montgomery Wards near me carried them in the 1960's. I grew up in NY, NY.
"Tradewinds imported a similar rifle with a more modern safety system in the late 1960's. The rifle is very similar to the modern CZ Model 550 Safari Magnum. CZ currently offers an American style Model 550 chambered in 9.3X62."
14 October 2010, 22:01
StonecreekJpat: The Montgomery Wards store brands for firearms and ammunition were "Western Field", "Hawthorne", and "Hiawatha". If they ever used "Tradewinds" I haven't run across it, though it is certainly possible.
14 October 2010, 22:15
260remguyStonecreek is correct. Wards "house brand" guns were ALWAYS branded with the "Western Field", "Hawthorne", and "Hiawatha" brands. If Wards sold Tradewinds firearms, they weren't special order "house brand" firearms, just firearms from Tradewinds' standard inventory products. Tradewinds was no more a "house brand" then High-Standard, Marlin, Mossberg, Remington, Savage, or Winchester were.
Jeff
15 October 2010, 02:07
airgun1OK, Now I know Tradewinds was a name brand import, and I know that Monty Wards used Western Field, Hawthorne, and Hiawatha on their store brand guns back in the good old days when you could order them straight through the wishbook. But I also seem to recall Tradewinds being a Monty Wards brand; although not sure if it applied to firearms or not? Perhaps bikes, tents etc?
PA Bear Hunter, NRA Benefactor
15 October 2010, 02:22
buffalobreathi had one in 22-250 i purchased for 125$. a friend wanted it bad so i sold it. Later when i sighted in I was not happy for selling such and accurate little gun. It was the Krico. I believe it said made in W.Germany. Very nice trigger and clip fed. Do not loose the clip. We found one at the gunshow but it took a few yrs.Wish i had it back. ive seen a few of the Huskies in the larger calibers. they were def around back in the late 60,early 70s in the Pac.N.W.