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New to me M36 Custom Classic

907 Views 7 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  flatlander
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Or at least, that's what it was advertised as - didn't come with the box or any paperwork. This is my first Cooper; had been looking online for something with nice wood, this one works for me - as far as the wood goes. I've taken it out shooting only once so far this winter, and wasn't pleased, as the magazine won't feed the first couple of rounds at all, and I see no wear or anything wrong with it. The accuracy wasn't at all impressive either, and examining the bore with a Hawkeye borescope revealed zip for any fouling or other defects. The stock is touching the left side of the bbl, and only takes a little pressure to move enough to give clearance, so maybe some light sanding on the bbl channel will be all it takes to get it floated. The s/n is 382, and it looks for all the world to be ANIB, with no wear or scratches on the stock or metal. While I appreciate collectable rifles, I won't buy anything that I don't intend to shoot, and since I've got several very accurate 22RF rifles that I've barreled with various brands of quality custom blanks, this one's going to have to shape up, or I'll probably not keep it around, even though I'm very taken with its appearance.

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That's a nice looking rifle all right but like all mass produced offerings, Cooper have been known to produce the occasional dud...Myself and Pump22's can vouch for that. My factory mag never worked from day one and is sitting in the Cooper parts box "as new" - I use the all steel Wisners and have never had an issue with them.
Flatlander, many of us here know and appreciate your gunsmithing skills and I'm sure you could make an excellent shooter out of that should you be so inclined.
Thanks for the feedback on Cooper magazines - I've also used a Wisner or two in repro 52C sporters with good results - may try one in this M36.

I've sort of fallen into the deep end of the pool when it comes to 22RF rifles - bought several 52D & 40XB target rifles when the CMP was selling them, and greatly enjoyed being able to experience those fine old American smallbore target rifles at an affordable price. After seeing what was advertised as the "Ultimate 22RF Trainer" based on a Stiller 2500XR action that either EuroOptic or Sport Optic was selling back around 2014-15, I decided to build one myself on the same action - that was the first 22RF rifle I'd ever built, and I enjoyed shooting it quite a lot. Then had Jonathan Elrod convert CMP 40X & 40XB rifles into repeaters using the V22 magazines, and barreled those actions after Jonathan finished the conversions. Then just had to have a V22 repeater action to build on, and sold the 40X repeater to fund that project. Now there are six V22s in the safe, along with a Zermatt RimX, a Browning marked 52C repro, a Kimber Super America, and this Cooper. I wrote about the issues I had with a very poor factory barrel on the repro 52C a month or two ago; the replacement match grade Krieger I bought for that rifle is in the lathe, fitted to the repro action, just need to get it chambered, cut the extractor slots, part it to length & crowned. Now that I've finished the last major fall farm work, I'll get focused on finishing that project, then see what can be done to hopefully get this Cooper to shoot as good as it looks...
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I've sort of fallen into the deep end of the pool when it comes to 22RF rifles -
LOL....I think plenty of others on this forum have that problem! Sorry for the hi-jack but I'd appreciate your opinion on the Rim X if you have the time. I had Primal Rights/TS Customs build me one last year - Shipped in late August but I'm not sure that it has even made it to Australia yet!

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I've been very satisfied with every one of the Vudoo actions I've bought and the finished rifles I've built on those actions - I'd think that would be obvious to anyone reading that I have accumulated six of them, including a couple of the V22S single shot actions. I bought a RimX action because I was curious, and have five CF tactical rifles built on Bighorn/Zermatt actions and have had very good experiences with first Bighorn, and then Zermatt. The quality of the RimX action was nothing less than what I expected after having built rifles on the CF actions that I own myself, plus several others I've built for customers. I do wish that Zermatt had put some detailed documentation in the box with the action concerning the headspace gauge they shipped with mine, and I certainly wish I'd have called Zermatt before starting to fit & chamber a Bartlein blank for the RimX action. Suffice to say that my failure to ask questions resulted in some issues. But once I got the rifle up & running, I was very impressed with how smoothly it feeds, how easy it is to load the magazine, and how smooth the action runs. The RimX magazine is purely simple to load, with no need to concern yourself about rim-lock. It's been several years now since the release of the RimX action, and I'd think that nearly everyone who's working with these actions would have things sorted out. IOW, if you've had someone with experience fitting & chambering barrels for the RimX, I'd be willing to bet that you'll be pleased with yours when it finally arrives - and the company that built your RimX certainly qualifies as one of the best that deals with these actions. I really admire the Foundation stocks - have seen several of them on both RF & CF rifles at local matches.
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If you could get that one to shoot as good as it looks, you'd have something, because that one is a looker.(y)
That's a nice looking rifle all right but like all mass produced offerings, Cooper have been known to produce the occasional dud...Myself and Pump22's can vouch for that. My factory mag never worked from day one and is sitting in the Cooper parts box "as new" - I use the all steel Wisners and have never had an issue with them.
Flatlander, many of us here know and appreciate your gunsmithing skills and I'm sure you could make an excellent shooter out of that should you be so inclined.
Amen to that....one of few true examples of a lemon that I have gotten. :confused:

To the OP, that is a beautiful rifle and I do sincerely hope that you get it all straightened out. 👍
I appreciate the replies guys - at least now I know that the Cooper magazines can be an issue; will look for a Wisner online later today. I do really appreciate how attractive this rifle is, and will put some effort into getting it up & running to the point where it's in no danger of being 'sent down the road'.
I don't think it's reasonable to expect it to shoot as good as the Browning 52C repro does since I finished a Krieger barrel for it, but it's got to at least put five shots of a good lot of SK Std+ into some semblance of a group at 50yds, and function as well as that 52C, or it's gone....
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