When I was a kid, I wanted a BB gun. My genetic parents discussed it a little bit, and my father proclaimed that I'd "respect a firearm more than a BB gun," and I received a .22 rifle as a birthday gift (probably for my fourteenth birthday, but it could have been my fifteenth--and soon after my fifteenth, my mother decided that it was time to divorce his butt--another story). Of course, my father offered exactly zero instruction to go with the rifle.

The rifle in question was a Mossberg--not sure the model, but recent review of historic Mossberg model numbers indicates that it might have been a 340K--and I had a box or two of 100 rounds of .22LR (the rifle had a seven-round [IIRC] magazine that had a way to select S, L, or LR rounds). There was a wooded area behind our house, and I nearly got in trouble because I didn't know crap about where bullets would go after they went through Poke stalks. This is but one of the things I haven't forgiven my father for--his failure that he didn't teach me the Fourth Rule of Firearm Safety.

Anyway, after getting chewed out by someone across the ravine (rightly so), I quit firing that rifle. It languished in a variety of not-very-good storage solutions for a couple decades, and I even considered using the stock to support my film cameras to help steady the camera for long-lens work. I got rid of the rifle fifteen years or so ago, sadly, or it was lost in a move--I don't really remember which.

When I decided I wanted to have a firearm or two around, I realized the folly of my prior decision. I kind of wish I still had that rifle, just to have it. I have a Rossi lever-action .22LR for a "plinking" piece, but I wonder whether that bolt-action rifle I had forty years ago would be more satisfying in some way.

Maybe I'll buy a 340K and see.

Looks like they're no longer made, but used/pre-owned ones are out there.
https://www.proxibid.com/Firearms-Milit ... n/43789778

highdesert wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 8:11 am Looks like they're no longer made, but used/pre-owned ones are out there.
https://www.proxibid.com/Firearms-Milit ... n/43789778

Yeah...

I've looked at some on offer, and that bit under the trigger guard isn't like what I remember (okay, it's been years since I looked at the gun I had, but still...). I don't remember the black scalloped finger guides on mine. I've seen an image purported to be of a 340KC, and the grip area is the smooth wood I remember.

Otherwise, yeah, the one you linked looked a LOT like the one I had.

And I found a 340KC on GunJoker for not much money. I may have to get it, if the bidding doesn't go too high.

BearPaws wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 8:05 pm
And I found a 340KC on GunJoker for not much money. I may have to get it, if the bidding doesn't go too high.

The auction on this ended Fried-day evening. I had forgotten about it what with other discussions (and that I was tired from having done a "clopen" shift--got home after 11PM Thursday and was at work at 8AM Friday); woke up this morning wondering whether I won.

To my pleasant surprise, it will soon be mine.

Pictures once I have the thing.

FWIW, nine days and a few failed attempts at checkout through the GunJoker payment portal later, I called the seller and paid over the phone.

The portal sent failure notices to the seller (and alerted me) indicating an address conflict--suggesting that some combination of my shipping address and my address in the GunJoker files and my billing address didn't match. I checked all three, and all three were correct. It's possible that my bank doesn't like GunJoker--my bank refuses to get involved with a couple of the trendy payment apps because those apps have reputations for security flaws--even though I've made a couple of purchases through there before.

And I'm also wondering whether my former rifle was a 340KC, or a 341. The one difference I have seen in online pictures is that the 341 has checkering in the grip areas of the stock. The production dates on the 340KC that I've found in a cursory online search are pre-1972, and the 341 is a post-1972 model. I suspect my father bought mine new in 1975 or '76, so it may well have been a 341.

The 340KC will be close enough. If I find a 341 at a similar price, I might go to the trouble of selling this one to buy a 341.

Rant mode = OFF

BearPaws wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 10:12 pm When I was a kid, I wanted a BB gun. My genetic parents discussed it a little bit, and my father proclaimed that I'd "respect a firearm more than a BB gun," and I received a .22 rifle as a birthday gift (probably for my fourteenth birthday, but it could have been my fifteenth--and soon after my fifteenth, my mother decided that it was time to divorce his butt--another story). Of course, my father offered exactly zero instruction to go with the rifle.

The rifle in question was a Mossberg--not sure the model, but recent review of historic Mossberg model numbers indicates that it might have been a 340K--and I had a box or two of 100 rounds of .22LR (the rifle had a seven-round [IIRC] magazine that had a way to select S, L, or LR rounds). There was a wooded area behind our house, and I nearly got in trouble because I didn't know crap about where bullets would go after they went through Poke stalks. This is but one of the things I haven't forgiven my father for--his failure that he didn't teach me the Fourth Rule of Firearm Safety.

Anyway, after getting chewed out by someone across the ravine (rightly so), I quit firing that rifle. It languished in a variety of not-very-good storage solutions for a couple decades, and I even considered using the stock to support my film cameras to help steady the camera for long-lens work. I got rid of the rifle fifteen years or so ago, sadly.

When I decided I wanted to have a firearm or two around, I realized the folly of my prior decision. I kind of wish I still had that rifle, just to have it. I have a Rossi lever-action .22LR for a "plinking" piece, but I wonder whether that bolt-action rifle I had forty years ago would be more satisfying in some w
Maybe I'll buy a 340K and see.

I didn't get my first .22 until I was 18. My dad wanted me to respect firearms, so when I asked for a .22 when I was 8, for five bucks at Western Auto he got me a WWI 8mm battle rifle, an M95 Budapest Mannlicher straight-pull carbine with the side sling swivel for on horseback in 8x50r from the Austro-Hungarian Empire--there's a name we've not heard in quite some time.. I still have it. Weighs five pounds, so just imagine a 220gr bullet out that thing at around 2500fps. I still have the bruise I imagine. I certainly learned to respect The Rifle. I might suppose that that's the reason I never misused my Marlin 80A I got for my 18th birthday in 1971. Has a great and well-worn trigger.

Now that I'm old and can buy anything I want, I really like the guns with great triggers that fit me. I may be done with new guns and would concentrate on several projects.

CDFingers

I’m glad you landed the auction! Looking forward to some pics.

I fortunately, still have my first firearm from my youth: a Ruger 10/22. Dad got it for us when I was 10 & thankfully, he did teach us the safety rules & make us attend hunter’s safety class & marksmanship training through boy scouts. Our next firearm was a Remington 870 express 12 ga and my brother has that.

I think I’m going to put it back into the original wood stock after changing it out into an ugly ATI folding stock, about 15 years ago. I haven’t shot it since my oldest son learned on it 10 years ago.


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INVICTVS138 wrote: Mon Feb 27, 2023 8:00 pm I’m glad you landed the auction! Looking forward to some pics.

I fortunately, still have my first firearm from my youth: a Ruger 10/22. Dad got it for us when I was 10 & thankfully, he did teach us the safety rules & make us attend hunter’s safety class & marksmanship training through boy scouts. Our next firearm was a Remington 870 express 12 ga and my brother has that.

I think I’m going to put it back into the original wood stock after changing it out into an ugly ATI folding stock, about 15 years ago. I haven’t shot it since my oldest son learned on it 10 years ago.


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I think I have the stock off my old one if you want it. No charge just shipping.

tonguengroover wrote:

INVICTVS138 wrote: Mon Feb 27, 2023 8:00 pm I’m glad you landed the auction! Looking forward to some pics.

I fortunately, still have my first firearm from my youth: a Ruger 10/22. Dad got it for us when I was 10 & thankfully, he did teach us the safety rules & make us attend hunter’s safety class & marksmanship training through boy scouts. Our next firearm was a Remington 870 express 12 ga and my brother has that.

I think I’m going to put it back into the original wood stock after changing it out into an ugly ATI folding stock, about 15 years ago. I haven’t shot it since my oldest son learned on it 10 years ago.


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I think I have the stock off my old one if you want it. No charge just shipping.

I still have the original stock, but thanks anyways—- dragging it around for 4 moves now.


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I have a tracking number on the new-to-me rifle!

I might even have the thing by Fried-day!

I managed to get my hands on this rifle on Friday, but as I was on my way home, the electricity went out due to a storm that took out power lines and trees and a couple hundred utility poles in the local service area.

Forty-eight hours and change later, I have electricity in the house! By ironic coincidence, we are in the midst of a solar panel and emergency battery installation--the panels and battery are mounted, but not wired up just yet.

Anyway, here are the first two pictures of the new-to-me old rifle:

It's beautiful! Nice find.

When I was 7 pop gifted me a Savage 29B .22 pump.

I still have it, altho it is getting complete refinish with Duracoat "Gun Blue" color.

I'm tired of it just rusting up a bit between outings. The odd steel used just won't be protected by any oils.

Beautiful stock on that rifle!


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INVICTVS138 wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:23 am Beautiful stock on that rifle!


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I was quite pleased when I first saw it. The stock is in very good shape. The only rust I've noticed so far is deep in the lettering atop the barrel, and that's pretty small. I figure this rifle to be at least fifty years old, based on the production charts I've seen, but I could be wrong. The action is nice and smooth, although I haven't put any snap caps or ammo through it yet. I have contractors at my house today and tomorrow, and don't feel like I can get away long enough for a range visit. Hopefully later this week...

Is that a straight pull bolt action?

tonguengroover wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 1:00 pm Is that a straight pull bolt action?

Not familiar with that expression, but I doubt it. The lever has to be moved upward before it comes back, which is what I thought most if not all bolt actions do.

The Schmidt-Ruben rifle is that.

SubRosa wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 5:23 pm The Schmidt-Rubin rifle is that.

I saw a cavalry version of that on GunJoker. That thing is gorgeous. I don't have the scratch to be a collector of antique firearms, though.

Straight pull versus turn bolt.

CDFingers

BearPaws wrote: Thu Mar 09, 2023 10:24 am

SubRosa wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 5:23 pm The Schmidt-Rubin rifle is that.

I saw a cavalry version of that on GunJoker. That thing is gorgeous. I don't have the scratch to be a collector of antique firearms, though.

I don't think they're that expensive.
https://www.classicfirearms.com/swiss-k ... condition/

tonguengroover wrote: Thu Mar 09, 2023 12:33 pm

BearPaws wrote: Thu Mar 09, 2023 10:24 am

SubRosa wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 5:23 pm The Schmidt-Rubin rifle is that.

I saw a cavalry version of that on GunJoker. That thing is gorgeous. I don't have the scratch to be a collector of antique firearms, though.

I don't think they're that expensive.
https://www.classicfirearms.com/swiss-k ... condition/

Fair enough. The one I saw was probably in somewhat better shape. These are listed as potentially incomplete, which may only mean a period-correct screw has gone away.

Finally got to shoot this thing today! I need to zero it in--the windage is off a good three to four centimeters at twenty-five meters. I'll see if I can find a clamp to gently nudge the front sight over a quarter-millimeter at a time.

The action is smooth, but not quite buttery. After shooting AR-platform rifles and 9mm pistols for a while, the seven-round box magazine seems a cute little thing.

This is going to be a nice long-range (up to hundred meters) plinker!

Six months and several trips to the range later, I'm still pleased with this 340KC. As noted above, the rifle I had so many years ago was most likely a 341, the key difference being the checkering on the stock. Out of curiosity, I've looked to see whether one was on offer on occasion, and was surprised to see one on that auction site today--two of them, in fact. One had a minimum bid of a couple pictures of Benjamin Franklin, the other for almost twice that much.

To my extended surprise, the auction period for the one for less money ended today, about eight hours after I placed my bid. I might even have it by the end of next week, if all goes well.

I haven't decided whether to sell the 340KC, or keep it stashed in a different spot in the house. I don't have enough land to consider myself as having a varmint problem, and even shooting targets in my yard is frowned upon by the local constabulary, so it might find a different home in a month or two.

Pictures when I have the thing...

So, after what seemed a too-long wait, I have my Mossberg 341. Within an hour or two of first laying hands on it, I was at the firing range (I had to source an Allen key to fit the scope mount).

The rifle shoots as I would expect, since I have a couple hundred rounds through my 340KC that is all but identical. It took a few dozen rounds to get the scope zeroed in, but that's part of the fun of getting a new-to-me rifle, right?