The scouting concept exploded into the American culture after 1907, with a multitude of local, regional, and national organizations setting up in the years before World War One. Among these was the American Boy Scouts, founded by William Randolph Hearst. In 1913 they adopted the Remington 4-S as their official rifle, a .22 Short caliber rolling block. It was initially sold directly and exclusively to Scouts for $5, although it was quickly added to the general Remington catalog.
This rifle was intended to be used for both target shooting and also military style drill. To that end, inhan military style furniture, a stacking swivel, and a bayonet lug with miniature bayonet. About 1500 of these were made in 1913, which was the only year of production. In 1914, probably having failed to make the hoped-for sales numbers, Remington renamed the gun the “Military Model” to expand its sale beyond just the American Boy Scouts.
Oh, and note that this was not the Boy Scouts of America! The ABS would have a series of legal fights with the BSA over naming rights, which he BSA finally won in the early 1920s. The ABS was never a very large organization, and it faded away entirely in the 1920s. The BSA opted not to have an official rifle, as it was shying away from firearms at the time after a couple well-publicized shooting accidents.
“(…)inhan(…)”
What is this?
Probably should be “it had”
I can just imagine the chaos that would have ensued if my sons’ old scout troop had showed up at parents’ night during summer camp with rifles and fixed bayonets.
I know a few places in the Northwest mom ‘n dad would be happy and right ly so.
Boy scouts seem to be similar, all over the world.
We – Polish communist boy scouts in 1980’* – had a “Karabinek sportowy wz. 48”.
Ridiculously heavy for the miserable round it was shooting. Slow to reload; a weird way to put a round into it. No recoil. No fun. Poor sights.
I much preferred the AKM-47, a good few years later, when I was trained as a non-voluntary officer cadet (“podchorąży”).
—————-
*obviously, we all were by then dreaming about another hapless & hopeless Polish uprising against the Russian Bear, perhaps us armed with the said wz. 48. Which at least they trained us how to shoot.
Many have forgotten that Baden-Powell founded Scouting in England to prepare young men with fieldcraft and leadership skills in advance of future military service – the urbanization of society was causing gross preparedness issues in basic training in the British military. Scout leadership today is in denial about all this.
At our camp we had nice Mossberg 144s and a few of the military surplus Springfield 22 trainers, several of which were one-hole shooters at the 50 ft distance,with standard Federal 22 40 gr ammo. I entered the 1974 Postal Match using one of the old Springfields.
No it is NOT cheaper than coffee today. $5 was a couple days wages for most most workers. Price means nothing unless you know wages.
For those interested in the early days of scouting Fred Burnham Lambert’s “Scouting on two continents” is available online in PDF form and it is an enjoyable read.
Five bucks for a Boy Scout rifle in 1913? That’s cheaper than a fancy coffee today! The article almost reads like a “fun fact of history” highlight reel — a custom Remington for kids, complete with stacking swivel and tiny bayonet vibes. You can imagine some proud scout shouldering his little .22 like it’s the Springfield of the day. The author sprinkles in the legal squabbles and commercial realities, but it’s hard not to grin at the idea of a rifle being pitched as both a badge of honor and a marketing gimmick. Entertaining, quirky, and just the right mix of history and humor.
Heh, heard of a story few months ago of a local tennis organisation and an ongoing legal “battle” between 2 organisations that have a variation on a name, completely like this ABS – BSA case. So naming feuds are always relevant