Thought I would share a picture of my Christmas present that I received in 1958. I was 10 years old and this was my first rifle. It’s a Winchester Model 55 22 rimfire. It was called an automatic single shot rifle. Top loading, bottom ejecting, and fired from an open bolt. Assuming the rifle is already cocked, you load one round via a loading gate on top. Pushing the gate down automatically places the gun on safe. Slide the tang safety forward and pull the trigger. The bolt returns to the read and recooks the action. The spent round is extracted and falls out the bottom of the action. It’s now ready for another round.

Other than the sling, it’s just as I got it in 1958 and has killed many a squirrel and rabbit and a variety of other critters. Don’t have the box, but I do have the original red hang tag.

Well I will be dipped in sheep dip! Had not heard of this interesting little Winchester. Glad you still have, Uncle G.

Funny thing is I went to the Winchester display at the Buffalo Bill Cody Center in Cody Wyoming a number of years ago and dud not see my model on display. When I asked about it they checked and said the only model 55 they had was a take down lever action.

It interesting that Winchester has two distinctly different rifles with the same model number.

I'm a couple of years younger than you, but I remember the "Single Shot Automatic", which always sounded like something of a paradox -- or at least an oxymoron. I'm sure you've treasured it for all of these years, as well you should. My first .22 was a Marlin Model 57, a lever action holding 17 long rifles, which, with the sharp eye and the steady nerve of a 12 year-old, rarely missed when trained on a bird, rodent, or reptile around the farmstead.

With an infinite number of "numbers" available it would seem ironic that Winchester gave two entirely different models the same number. I can't recall the exact models at the moment, but I believe that Remington also did the same thing.

I'm glad you hung onto it + so are you. You can't buy memories. I have an old friend that helped me set up a match shoot eons ago + his criterion was to "bring the rifle your father gave you." I don't think that needs deep interpretation. Separate the wheat from the chaff right away.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
With an infinite number of "numbers" available it would seem ironic that Winchester gave two entirely different models the same number. I can't recall the exact models at the moment, but I believe that Remington also did the same thing.

Remington did it with the model 6
Originally it was a single shot takedown body rifle in .22LR, .22 Rutledge and .32RF

Then in the 80's they came out with the Model Six pump centerfire rifle.


Winchester made a lot of interesting small run .22's. The 55 is simplicity itself being essentially a slam fire with a fixed firing pin and the trigger being the catch for the bolt.
I really like pulling my Winchester Thumb Trigger out of the case and watching the crowd it draws at a range.