SIGforum
Dig out your old Remington 550- 1 with its Avante-garde designed floating chamber !
June 05, 2025, 08:36 AM
RichardCDig out your old Remington 550- 1 with its Avante-garde designed floating chamber !
https://www.thefirearmblog.com...ing-chamber-44820970"The Remington 550-1 is one of those rare cases where complicated old-school engineering actually delivered something genuinely special.
...The Triple-Threat .22 That Actually Worked
Manufactured from 1941 to 1970, the Remington 550-1 wasn't just another .22 plinker – it was a legitimate engineering marvel that solved a problem most firearms designers don't even bother attempting: true multi-cartridge compatibility. The 550-1 could reliably cycle .22 Short, .22 Long, and .22 Long Rifle ..."
"This wasn't accomplished through simple design – it was achieved through what might be the most over-engineered semi-auto action ever created for a rimfire: the floating chamber."
"The 550-1 occupied a somewhat premium position in the market with its traditional quality construction at a time when manufacturing methods were changing. In 1971, Remington discontinued the 550-1, replacing it with the Model 552 – a similar design that maintained the multi-cartridge capability but used more modern manufacturing techniques and materials. Many collectors and enthusiasts consider the change a downgrade, as the 552 never quite captured the robust quality that made the 550-1 special.
The Last Word
You know what the 550-1 represents? Engineering without compromise. It's what happens when the solution matters more than the production cost."
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Mom(late) found one for me at an estate sale a looong time ago. It worked with shorts, longs and long rifle ammo but the safety was nonfunctional. Took it to a local gunsmith, now the safety works but it won't cycle with any ammo.
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June 05, 2025, 10:31 AM
92fstechThat is pretty cool. And a lot of moving parts! Do you have any idea what your gunsmith did, or if it can be undone?
June 05, 2025, 10:46 AM
Sauer KrautI have a 552 and it reliably shoots .22 Short, Long and Long Rifle. You can even mix them in the magazine.
Quality is ok except for the stock. Really cheap, ugly wood, not walnut. Wish I could find a better stock.
Did not know the history of the 550. Thanks.
June 05, 2025, 06:25 PM
MikeinNCI inherited a 550 from my grandfather. It is stamped that it shoots all 22 ammo, wonder how much it’s different from yours?
"Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” Robert A. Heinlein
“You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020
“A single round of buckshot to the torso almost always results in an immediate change of behavior.” Chris Baker June 06, 2025, 02:45 AM
RichardC92, no, not aware of what the gunsmith did.
I might try my own two thumbs inspect&repair talent this weekend.

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June 07, 2025, 11:55 AM
pbslingerMy mom's dad gave one to my dad. My dad calls me while I was at a gun show and in the process of negotiating for one like was essentially mine when I was a kid. My dad said he'd give it to me next time he saw me, so I didn't complete the sale. I refinished the stock in 9th grade shop class, but my dad broke it after and it has a repair. It is very accurate.
June 07, 2025, 08:54 PM
shoevbThis was my first gun and I got it at the ripe old age of seven. I still have it and shoot it 58 years later. It has virtually no recoil and has never been finicky about ammo. I can remember riding my bike to the Roses store to get ammo and going to the local range to shoot with my brothers. Nobody looked twice at us back then.
June 08, 2025, 06:26 AM
RichardCshoevb, I have similar memories but it was a Marlin-Glenfield tube-feed bolt action and we bought .22's at the 7-ll and rode bikes to the open palmetto and pine tree fields on the other side of the country club.
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Searched up quite a viewing list this morning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbvkAyFF0V4https://www.youtube.com/result...uery=remington+550-1https://www.youtube.com/watch?...cmVtaW5ndG9uIDU1MC0xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?...cmVtaW5ndG9uIDU1MC0xhttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/4DCYRm9fAdg https://www.youtube.com/watch?...cmVtaW5ndG9uIDU1MC0x <-----common problems
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June 15, 2025, 10:52 PM
Black92LXGot mine from my Grandfather. Never had a hiccup and accurate to boot.
There is nothing better than a tube fed .22
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The world's not perfect, but it's not that bad.
If we got each other, and that's all we have.
I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand.
You should know I'll be there for you!
June 16, 2025, 09:00 AM
shovelheadFirst gun shop I worked at mainly dealt in used and mil-slrps. Past of what I did was research the age of firearms and add that to the tags.
Birth year guns were a big deal to the store owner, he collected anything that was 1937 production whether it be foreign or American, his pocket carry was a 1937 Beretta.
So one day going through a group of rimfires that came in there was a 550-1. I figured out that it was my birth year albeit two months younger.
You can guess where this story goes……
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————————--Ignorance is a powerful tool if applied at the right time, even, usually, surpassing knowledge(E.J.Potter, A.K.A. The Michigan Madman)
June 16, 2025, 10:17 PM
lymanI have 2,
one was my great uncles, got it many many years ago, took it to long decease well respected gunshop downtown, where the crusty as fuck old guy that owned the place said,,, boy, you take this apart?,
I lied and said no,
he fixed it, (no idea what was missing or wrong, ) for next to nothing (my father used to deliver his news papers, to give you a hint of his age) and I still have it,
found a weaver side mount that fit most of the holes in the receiver, front sight long gone, but I have a weaver side mount oeg for it, as well as a cheap 22 scope on another mount,
picked up a 90+% one many many years later,
both are very accurate,
but then again, most 500 series rem barrels are very very accurate
https://chandlersfirearms.com/chesterfield-armament/