Back in 2018 I authored a Featured Gun post on the Remington 500 series bolt action rimfire rifles, today we will add to that list with the semi-auto 550 and its variants.
David "Carbine" Williams along with Kenneth Lowe get the credit for the design. The barrel is even stamped with "Williams Patents" which included a "floating chamber" allowing the gun to fire .22 Shorts and .22 Long Rifles with zero adjustments between shots.
Production was limited as the war raged in Europe and precious machine tools were being used for the war effort. Only 34,577 model 550 (A) rifles were built between 1941 and 1946, when it was replaced by a slightly improved version known as the 550-1.
Included in the production numbers was a rare model, the 550-P, "P" standing for peep site, it is not known how many were built, but they are considered quite rare as they were only made in '41 and '42.
The 550-1P was introduced in 1946 and is more common than the earlier version, but it too had a short life as it was discontinued in 1952.
The first two years of production had no dash between the numbers, after 1948 the dash appeared.
In 1950 Remington introduced a gallery gun version, the 550-2G, included was a ring under the mag tube in which to tether the rifle to the bench. The barrel was shortened to 22" and the internals were specifically designed to shoot .22 shorts only.
The 550 series rifles used the same extruded rectangular/round receiver, same stock (with some slight modifications) same trigger and trigger guard, same safety and other parts as they bolt-action cousins.
The receiver from the 500 series bolt action
The receiver from the 550 series semi-auto
Just as it's bolt action cousins, the 550 rifles were designed to shoot 22 short, 22 Long and 22 Long Rifle cartridges, a first for auto-loading rifles.
The 550 featured a tubular, under barrel magazine, just like the 512 Sportmaster (they may even be interchangeable), that held 15 rounds of 22 Long Rifle, considerably more if you load it with shorts.
Specs:
Action: Semi-Automatic, blow back
Caliber: .22 Short, .22 Long & .22 Long Rifle
Barrel Length: 24"
Overall Length: 43.5"
Length of Pull: 13.5"
Weight: 6.25lbs (empty)
Magazine Capacity: 22 (.22 Short), 17 (.22 Long), 15 (.22 LR)
Years of production: 1941-1971
Number Produced: 764,573
In 1971 the gun was replaced by the 552 Speedmaster, which used a different receiver, styled after the model 870 Wingmaster shotgun.
With nearly three-quarters of a million rifles made, it is not uncommon to run into one, but when compared to the 8 million 10/22s or 11 million Marlin model 60s they seem rare by comparison.
This post was inspired by a project gifted to me by a retired gunsmith. It came to me in a group of guns that could not be returned to their original owners for a variety of reasons (people moved, died, changed phone numbers etc.). I need to secure a few parts to get it working again.
The bluing is in great shape, but the stock has the ugly varnish, which has darkened with time. I will refinish the stock with a hand rubbed oil finish.
In addition, I own two other 500 series guns, one a 513-S Matchmaster, which is on the list for restoration.
And this beautiful 511 Scoremaster, that I reblued a few years ago
