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36 vs 57M

5.8K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  jkp9194  
#1 ·
Would anyone be able to tell me the differences, plus or minus of each model 22 ?
Thank you
jay
 
#4 ·
I may be typical of Cooper owners here. I own one, a 57, which is all I could afford. It is a beautiful, functional sporter. I'd recommend one in a heartbeat. What I can't do is make a comparison that would be useful to anyone as I have never owned an older model. I will say that mine is great shooting, and I like the idea of a high quality American product doing what it was designed to do.

Hey, Doug! I didn't know we were a clique, but I'd be happy to be part of any clique you care to form. Check is in the mail for my decoder ring and diagram showing the secret handshake.
 
#3 ·
Not "cliquey" at all. This forum is lightly traveled (compared to many others on RFC) and while many folks here may have an interest in Coopers, most don't own one as they are pricey. Further, the Model 36 hasn't been made since the late 90s and I expect the number made was modest. So I expect many have heard of them, but haven't ever seen or handled one, or know much about them. The 36 was produced by Cooper during the early to late 90s, was replaced for a short while by the Model 57, which soon evolved into the current Model 57M. The biggest apparent difference between the 36 and 57M is the two-piece bolt found in the 36. There are other minor differences but that two-piece bolt was, I believe, the source of some issues in some of the 36 rifles. Another REALLY big difference for quite a few years is that Cooper no longer supports the Model 36.

I bought my first Cooper -- a new Model 36 Featherweight with McMillan stock in the early 90s. It was a sweet handling and very accurate rifle. My experience with the Model 36 differed from some others, who had problems. I eventually sold my 36 to a good friend who lusted after it. I replaced it with a Model 57M, and currently have four 57Ms. While you may find a good Model 36 out there, if you're considering a Cooper, I would recommend the 57M over the 36, primarily due to the lack of support from Cooper.

A resident Cooper guru, Camster, might add some comments here.

Doug
 
#5 ·
I owned a couple of 36s, one 57, two 57Ms,a 38, and a 21, plus dozens of guns of other brands.
The 36s were two of the worst gun owning experiences I've had,(the third being a Kimber 82C) and much of that was due to poor customer service.(not to mention poor design)
Of the other Cooper models, I only fired the 21.
I would feel ok about owning a Model 57M, but it's become kinda ridiculous in my mind that they want as much as they do for plastic stocked examples, which have become a large percentage of their output. Their strength was as a producer of quality wood stocks, so?
 
#6 ·
Cam, you are correct about current Cooper pricing. Even their wood "upgrades" don't compare with what they used to offer, unless the price is way up there (e.g., >$4,000 to $5,000). The best bet is to find one in the "used" market.

Haven't yet decided on the design of the decoder ring, Ben.

Doug
 
#9 ·
I think about 15-18 years ago, was the sweet spot for wood and gun value.

For the OP, a long one piece bolt, as found on the 57M,(loosely copied from the Anschutz 54 action) is simply superior to the short three piece segmented version found on the 36. The 36 was actually produced by a different Cooper entity than now exists.
 
#10 ·
Have to rebut some negatives regarding the Model 36. I own a number them all of which are wood stocked and have never experienced any thing close to being problematic except for one that had a firing pin spring break. The bolt was sent to Cooper, promptly repaired and sent back minimal charges incurred. Great customer service!! All fire & eject consistently and are highly accurate. And yes I do also own a Cooper-Anschutz.

I'm not new here but do like to read the numerous posts. Have gained quite a bit of knowledge. My thanks to the many who make it happen.
 
#12 ·
Have to rebut some negatives regarding the Model 36. I own a number them all of which are wood stocked and have never experienced any thing close to being problematic except for one that had a firing pin spring break. The bolt was sent to Cooper, promptly repaired and sent back minimal charges incurred. Great customer service!! All fire & eject consistently and are highly accurate.
I diddo this, My Cooper 36's are great rifles with only one minor issue. I had one that was weard to feed initially after about 100 rounds and a different magazine it cleared up. I have owned or currently owned 20 plus different rifles. Just my 2 cents.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Never said mine weren't accurate or beautiful.(though I only fired the first one)
They were a roll of the dice, and I didn't even get into extraction,ejection,igntion issues that others had.

The first one went back, because early 36s had the ejector held in by just a small allen screw.One day, it fell out of the magazine well. Cooper updated the gun with a pin whereby it couldn't work loose. When one looked down the exterior of the barrel, it almost looked like it had steps.The turning left a lot to be desired.I lived with that. Ok, things could be worse,and they did get worse.
The second one had the Cooper name applied very crooked.(who deemed that saleable at Cooper?) They were less than accommodating with dealing with that. Dan Cooper was no sweetheart to deal with(they just wanted to polish it out and restamp it, but it was so deep on one end, that would have meant excessive polishing to remove it, so I resisted that.)They eventually replaced the receiver, but given the variances in their production tolerances, the original bolt didn't function as smoothly as it did with the first receiver. (Out of curiosity, I tried that bolt the first 36, even worse functionality,which also says something about their manufacturing.)
( ps: The segments of the second gun's bolt were floppy. Not the snug assemblage as found on the first one. Cooper wouldn't address that issue.)
To add insult to injury, when it came back after the second trip, there was a very noticeable scratch on the stock next to an action screw. Someone had slipped with the screwdriver, and shipped it out anyway. One more trip to Montana...A lot of travel points for that gun.
I replaced these two guns with Cooper Anschutz rifles. One of my best gun decisions. ..also eventually one my most expensive. Since I liked those two rifles so much, I had LeRoy Barry, their former head stock maker, build stocks for ten new Anschutz actions.
Over time, all other sporter rifle brands left the nest.
 
#15 ·
As I said in my first post here, my early-90s Model 36 Featherweight was a really nice rifle, with a sweet trigger, and very accurate. I never had any problems with it, and in fact, bought a nice walnut stock to swap with the McMillan it came with. I sold it for only two reasons -- my buddy bugged me about selling it to him, and I was a bit concerned about Cooper's lack of support (I advised him of that and he didn't care). Are most 36s likely to be fine? I expect so. Is the 57M a better design? I think so. If you buy a used 36 you may get a gem (many have), or you may get a problem child, That's less likely, but if you do, Cooper probably won't be of any help. Just sayin...

Doug
 
#17 ·
My 36 Varmint Extreme that shipped with a Jewell trigger has been great.

The screw on the back of the bolt came loose once and I panicked until I tightened the screw. I'm not the only one that experienced that.

I find the mag release on the 36 (and early 57Ms) to be a treat to use compared to the Anschutz release on most 57Ms.

My favorites are the early 57Ms....Tom

36 Varmint Extreme:

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