Squires Bingham rifles ..... ever heard of them?
bullshot
Member Posts: 14,706 ✭✭✭✭
I picked up a Squires Bingham model 20 recently, got it on the cheap and refinished the stock which looked like it was dipped in caramel sauce when I got it, it was so thick that the nicks and bumps never made through to the wood and required stripping four times.
They were made in the Philippines and sold at Kmart (among others) for 49.00
The company went on to become Arms-cor.
This rifle is in new condition for a .22 rifle made in 1981. the first set of pictures is what the stock looked like before I refinished it.
This is how it turned out.
I have no idea what kind of wood the stock is made from but it's like a hologram, if you look at it from the opposite angle, the stripes go away. This is the natural wood, I did not stain it and I hand rubbed it with BLO.
Anyone have any experience with these?
Comments
Yea, had a few in the years. They made an AR-15"copy" that was a 22 caliber. it actually shot ok. Yours looks great now but it is still a cheap 22 and no appreciation other than making it look better than it did. My gunshop gets one in once in a while and gets about $125 out of them. $ 100 with a "no come back" to shop.
Nice job, very nice !!
Now, I’ve got something you need. Looks like the receiver is grooved for scope mounts.
I’ve got a Weaver K4-F that I bought in the 60’s. Had it on my Browning Sarfari since then. Its looks 99.5 % ,,,, if you would want it, send me your addy via of PM and I’ll mail it.
Are you serious? Heck yeah, I'd love that.
They also made a 32acp copy of the m16
Nice job on the finish looks good
The first gun I actually bought was the dressed up AR looking version
I Bought at westerauto I think it was 69 or 79.00 they let me pay 10.00 a week or something like that The factory magazine had a larger aluminum box pined to make it look like a ar magazine
I had my first part time job 1.25 a hr
woo hoo that was 1974 -75 time frame
The stock was painted black I think it was mahogany I stripped the black paint off after a few scratches it looked better to me .but I resprayed it black and traded it
It slightly resembled a ar15 with a little imagination added in worked ok then one day
It fired off a round out of battery once and piece of brass hit my face that was the end of it I kept every gun spotless not sure why it misfired
The store I worked at was in a small shopping area and westerauto had moved into a newer building next door after being in a old 3 or 4 story building down town for years
Got to know the family who owned the franchise very well Good memories
found one some one else had striped the finish off of
and the way it was in black'
Nice work on the stock. Looks great! Hope it's a good shooter for you.
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
A friend bought one about 45 years ago. It shot fine. I remember, I killed a squirrel with it. He ended up trading it off.
All cause of that squirrel? Don
I remember them well - nice find and refinishing job. They were from the good old days when you could walk into most major department store chains and buy a gun. Sears, Montgomery Ward, KMart, and even J.C.Penney as well as most hardware stores all sold guns and ammo. A lot of them sold enough to have guns under their own name like Sears Ted Williams and Wards Westernfield. If you find one on the used gun rack, give it a second look because it was probably made by someone like Winchester, Remington or High Standard. Same quality but usually at a fraction of the price of the manufacturers labeled models today. Bob
Had the AR .22 they made when I was a kid. Was pretty cheaply made and the stock was easily nicked. While shooting at a range the sear broke on it and it unloaded a full mag which was scary for a kid. After sending it back for repair I kept it til the mid 2000’s and got rid of it.
bullshot........
The wood appears to be some form of artic birch.
Many older Sako 22lrs had such wood.
Hope this helps.
Does that grow in the Philippines?
This wood has a grain similar in appearance to Palm. I have been told that they sometimes use Rubber wood (from rubber trees) in the Philippines for furniture and such but I have no idea if it was ever used for gun stocks or what Rubber Wood looks like anyway.
Another interesting thing about this wood on the rifle is that it's hard as heck and wood like Palm is porous and soft ...... so, it's mystery wood I guess
yep got one as a present from my brother back in 1980 and I still have it. Pretty decent .22