Gone but not forgotten: Winchester's 9422 lever action

Guns Magazine, Sept, 2005 by Dave Anderson

I bought my first deer license at age 12, in 1961. Dad's old Remington-Lee was too heavy, so I worked up my courage, walked over to the neighboring farm and asked to borrow a rifle. It was a 1950s-era Winchester 94.30-30 and to my naive eyes the most beautiful rifle ever made.

Dad never felt right about taking time from farm work for hunting. It was OK to spend an afternoon shooting the gophers. In Dad's mind that was work. But deer hunting was too much like fun. He persuaded a few of his friends to take me with them. Mostly I "pushed bush," befitting my newcomer status. I got a couple of chances the first two seasons and, to my despair, missed high both times.

How I wanted Dad to buy a rifle just like the 94 for himself, and another just like it in .22 LR for me. I could just picture us hunting together with our identical rifles. I wrote for a 1962 Winchester catalog and was amazed to find Winchester didn't even make a lever-action .22. For a while I shifted my dream to a Marlin 336.30-30 and model 39 .22. It didn't make much difference; I knew there was no money for one new rifle, much less two. Dad thought my dream was sentimental nonsense. "We already have a good .22, why would you want another?"

At age 14 I bought a cut-down Lee Enfield and shot my first deer with it. A few years later I started earning my own money and buying rifles, a process which I'm happy to say continues to this day. Before long I fancied myself a highly knowledgeable shooter and handloader, enamored of bolt-action rifles, scopes, flat-shooting cartridges and too sophisticated for old-fashioned saddle rifles.

Struggles

The 1960s was the era in which Winchester dropped many old, labor-intensive models and introduced new models designed for easier manufacture. Although the new models actually sold quite well, Winchester soon realized they had imperiled the reputation of one of America's most respected brand names.

In 1968 improvements were made to some models and in 1972 quality control, fit, finish and appearance of all Winchesters improved considerably. Still, it wasn't enough. What was needed was something dramatic, an unmistakable message to the shooting world that Winchester quality was back. The message came in the form of the rifle thousands of shooters wanted: a .22 looking like the famous model 94.

Winchester knew a lot was riding on this rifle. They spared no effort to get it right. The pictures in the ads were impressive, but at 23 I was already a hardened cynic. Forged steel? Solid walnut? It sounded good, but experience had made me skeptical. It certainly wasn't cheap. Suggested retail was $99.95 in either .22 or .22 Magnum, putting it in the price range of the lovely little Browning automatic, Browning T-bolt, and Marlin 39.

When I finally got the chance to pick a 9422 off a dealer's rack my skepticism got a severe jolt. The rifle exuded quality. The steel receiver was beautifully polished and blued; the handsomely grained walnut stock had a tasteful low-luster finish; overall fit and workmanship was outstanding. Operating the action was pure joy. No play, no slop, just an oily-slick action with a rock solid feel.

I suppose many shooters had the same reaction. Once it became evident Winchester really had done it right, sales of the 9422 took off and remained solid, even through the inflation of the late '70s. The original carbine version with 20 1/2" barrel and uncheckered walnut stock was followed by several variations including the XTR models with higher gloss-finish, pistol-grip stocks with 24" barrels, and a. 17 HMR chambering.

A New Era

The 9422 did what it was intended to do. Winchester quality was back. Without the 9422, we likely wouldn't have gotten the wonderful Model 70 Featherweight in the early '80s, when U.S. Repeating Arms Co. took over. The success of the Featherweight led to the Model 70 Classic and the current excellent lineup of Winchester rifles and shotguns.

So I was shocked and sorry to learn 9422 production is ending. The 2005 catalog lists a series of tribute models in various degrees of engraving and price range, closing out a 33-year run of one of the finest .22s ever made. I expect we'll learn again the truth of the old saying, "You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone." I'm happy to say I got mine.

Best Of The Best

I bought the rifle shown here, a 9422M, in the mid-'70s. Although the .22 versions are great, somehow the 9422 rifle and the .22 Magnum cartridge just go together. For my conservative tastes the originals remain the best-looking of all.

And the Model 94 in the picture? That's an odd story, one I don't really understand even now. About the time I bought my 9422 I was visiting the farm one weekend when Dad said, "By the way, I bought a rifle last week." My dad? Bought a rifle? "Yeah, I bought that .3030 you used to borrow. The neighbor said he wasn't using it any more."

I didn't understand then, and still don't. It couldn't have been sentiment; Dad wasn't the sentimental type. After a bit I said, "Maybe we should go hunting sometime."