Springfield Armory Museum - Collection Record



Home | Advanced Collection Search | Advanced Archival Search | Rate Your Search


Send us your own comments about this object.

Title:RIFLE/SHOTGUN -  U.S. RIFLE-SHOTGUN M6 SURVIVAL .22/.410 SN# 147238
Maker/Manufacturer:ITHACA GUN CO.
Date of Manufacture:1951-1953
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:SPAR 2044
Measurements:OL: 71.1CM 28" BL: 36.1CM 14 1/4" 3 3/4 lbs.

Object Description:

U.S. RIFLE-SHOTGUN M6 SURVIVAL .22/.410 SN# 147238
Manufactured by Ithaca Gun Co., Ithaca, N.Y. - Standard M6 over/under single-shot survival rifle. Folding top break with magazine in skeleton butt. Parkerized finish. Weapon used by Air Force personnel for procurement of food when such personnel are forced down in uninhabitated or hostile territory. It is a single-shot weapon of the 'over and under' type. The top barrel is chambered for the caliber .22 Hornet cartridge: the lower barrel will accept the .410 shotgun shell or the .410 rifle slug. A spring actuated extractor is provided. The weapon is equipped with a sheet metal stock having a provision for storing ammunition (9 Hornet rounds and 4 shotguns shells). A bar type trigger is used; no applied safety is provided. The rear sight is a 'flip over' type containing a peep for the rifle barrel and an open sight for the shotgun barrel. The front sight is a blade type sight adjusted at manufacture. This sight is secured to the top barrel and constructed to provide clearance around the bottom barrel. The floating feature allows either barrel to elongate independently of the other when expansion occurs due to heat produced by firing. An eyelet is provided in the front sight for attaching one end of a sling. Muzzle velocity (.22 caliber Hornet ctg.) 2690 fps. Average velocity over 25-yard range (.410 gage, 8-in., No. 7 1/2 chilled shot) 950 fps. Weapon weighs approximately 3 3/4 lbs.

Markings:
Receiver: U.S.A.F. PROPERTY/147238/RIFLE-SHOTGUN, SURVIVAL/CAL..22/.410 M6.

Weapon transferred to the Museum on 18 April 1961. At that time weapon was appraised at $36.30.

Notes: "The 22 Hornet, based on the blackpowder 22 WCF, was developed during the late 1920s by a group of experimenters at Springfield Armory - Col. Townsend Whelen, Captain G.L Wotkyns, and others. Winchester produced the first commercial ammunition in 1930. Within a few years the Hornet had been standardized by all American manufacturers. The original rifles were based on Springfield M1903 military and Martini single shot actions. Winchester announced its Model 54 bolt action in 22 Hornet caliber in 1932, but rifles did not actually reach the market until early 1933. Savage Model 23-D bolt-action rifles were available in 22 Hornet by August, 1932. The Stevens single shot Model 417 'Walnut Hill' target and 417 1/2 sporting rifles were advertised in 22 Hornet caliber in 1933. During WWII, military survival rifles were made for the Hornet. At the present time, Anschutz, Ruger and Ultra Light Arms chamber rifles for the Hornet and Thompson/Center has their TCR and Contender in the caliber. In Europe, the Hornet is known by the metric designation 5.6x35Rmm." - Barnes

References:
Barnes, Fred C. & M.L. McPherson, Ed. CARTRIDGES OF THE WORLD, 8th Ed. DBI Books. Northbrook, Il. 1997.

See, SA-MR15-1701 - Test of the M6 Survival Weapon, 11 October 1951.
SA-MR15-1702 - Caliber .22/.410 Gage Survival Rifle-Shotgun, M6 (T39).

SNL B-45; TB ORD 409.
SA-

Rate Your Search


Searching provided by:
 Re:discovery Software Logo, and link to go to www.RedsicoverySoftware.com