The Ruger 10/22 is a popular .22 LR caliber semi automatic rifle sold everywhere in the USA. Large numbers of them have been sold. It has an Aluminum receiver, a steel barrel and bolt, a hardwood stock and polymer trigger housing with steel parts inside it. Taking down a Ruger 10/22 can be done with a screwdriver and an Allen wrench. The simple way all the assemblies fit together has much to do with its popularity. Anyone can disassemble and reassemble it in a matter of minutes, even relatively mechanically challenged shooters. A huge aftermarket industry exists to sell parts and assemblies that you can install by yourself.
Of all the guns that a person owns, .22 LR rifles and pistols tend to get shot the most. With the soft lead bullet and the relatively low pressures and velocities generated by the cartridge, it is hard to wear out a .22 LR rifle. Ruger is rather unique in that it offers no written or implied warranty on the rifle. However, I have yet to hear of Ruger refusing to fix a damaged 10/22. Not surprisingly, many older 10/22's exist today in perfect condition but Ruger continues to move the little rifle into the hands of shooters. Maybe the incredible value (less than $200 for the carbine) for the dollar contributes to the continued success of the 10/22.
In 1984, I transferred to a small midwestern university to complete my Engineering degree.. There I met a bunch of guys, all of whom were from the same small town.. They grew up hunting and shooting together and they befriended me and took me along with them. I owe them a debt of gratitude because they started me on the path to a lifetime of enjoyment. For Christmas that year, someone who meant a lot to me, presented me with a brand new Ruger 10/22. It was love at first sight. That little college town had a free public firing range and there were many acres set aside around the area for public hunting. American's are a very giving, caring people and everywhere I went I was treated very well. In between people on my floor taking me home with them to hunt and the amenities available, I was able to pack a to of hunting and shooting into those years.
My 10/22 went with me everywhere and it always performed well. I kept it scrupulously clean and treated it with a lot of care. Consequently, twenty eight years later, it still looks good, except for a few small scratches on the stock.. It has always been very accurate, more so than the average .22 LR rifle. I can safely say that it is one of my favorite rifles and one that I shoot the most.
Recently, while preparing for an Appleseed meet, I found that it started shooting all over the place. On taking it apart to clean it, I found that the receiver had cracked. There are millions of 10/22's out there and it is not often that you hear of a cracked receiver. In dismay, I emailed Ruger to see about getting it fixed and they advised me to send the receiver in. To my surprise, they offered to replace it with a brand new receiver. at no charge to me. In the meantime, I bought another 10/22 for the Appleseed meet and found it was just as accurate as my old one.. Even though brand new out of the box, it performed flawlessly throughout the Appleseed weekend. I never cleaned it but it never jammed or malfunctioned once while firing over six hundred rounds. To say that I feel affection towards the little rifles is an understatement.
History
Ruger first made the 10/22 rifle in 1964. The basic carbine has remained practically unchanged all these years. Since then Ruger has sold over six million of the various incarnations of the 10/22. Today, Ruger offers the 10/22 in many different models but the basic carbine is the mainstay of the line.
10/22 current versions
http://ruger.com/products/1022/index.html
Military Users
As far as i know only the Israeli army has used the 10/22. A integrally supressed version was used by them as a way to take out dogs and lights, among other things.
An Israeli Army integrally supressed 10/22
image from HERE
More info on the supressed Israeli version
Another integrally supressed 10/22. This one belongs to Oleg.
Manufacturing the 10/22
Jeff from Gunblast.com did a great job explaining how the 10/22 is made. It would be rather redundant to repeat what he said so if you're interested, here is his article. It does make interesting reading.
http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-1022.htm
Accuracy
Firing the older rifle with the stock iron sights and standard ammo, I was able to get this group at 25 yards with the new receiver.
(These are all five shot groups)
This 50 yard group was achieved with a cheap Tasco scope. This was with the older rifle and the old receiver.
This hundred yard group was with the older rifle (old receiver) and a Tasco 3 X9 AO airgun scope.
Here are some 25 yard groups with the new rifle and the Tasco 3 X9 AO scope and average ammo.
I have not been able to locate any Wolf Match Target ammo since I ran out, so I have not seriously attempted to shoot 50 yard and greater groups with the newer rifle. I'm sure that there are some 10/22 that don't shoot very well but all of them that I have fired have been exemplary performers.
The magazine and controls
Ruger makes two different magazines for the 10/22. One is the standard 10 round, flush mount, rotary magazine and the other is a 25 round banana magazine (Ruger BX-25). Both perform flawlessly and definitely contribute the reliability of the rifle. To charge the rifle, a magazine is inserted and the charging handle is pulled back and released.
The magazines
The controls
The magazine well. Notice how clean the inletting is around the trigger assembly
The magazine fits flush with the bottom of the stock. This really helps with carry in the field.
Sights and Optics
The 10/22 comes with a folding leaf rear sight and a blade front sight. They are both drift adjustable for windage and the rear is also adjustable for elevation. There are four holes drilled and tapped n the top of the receiver. Four little filler screws normally reside in the holes. Every 10/22 comes with a machined metal scope mounting rail that can be held in place on top of the receiver using those four screw holes. The mount is grooved to accept tip-off mounts but there are also slots cut into it to accept Weaver scope rings. It takes about three minutes to attach the little rail on top of the receiver and then you are ready to mount the rings. Surprisingly, even though the barrel and receiver are two seperate pieces held together mechanically, there is no shift in zero once the scope is secured properly.
The scope mount rails and mounted scope
The rear sights are driftable to adjust for windage and the blade can be moved up and down (by loosening the two screws) to adjust for elevation.
The front sights are drift adjustable for windage.
Disassembly
The take down screw is located on the underside of the stock, in front of the magazine well. This single screw hold the entire assembly in the stock. While it might seem inadequate, it is perfectly capable of doing the job. Once the takedown screw is loosened, the entire receiver, barrel and trigger assembly can be removed from the stock. The barrel is held onto the receiver by a takedown block and two screws. The block fits in a cutout at the bottom of the barrel. Tightening the two bolts snugs the barrel tight into the receiver. The trigger assembly is held in place at the bottom of the receiver by two pins that go through holes in the receiver.
The bolt is held in place in the receiver by the charging handle. Removing the steel pin at the back of the receiver (that the bolt recoils against) and pulling the charging handle all the way back, allows you to pop out the bolt. The bolt holds the firing pin and the extractor.
The entire rifle reduced to its assemblies.
Here you can see the chamber and the cutout for the extractor. Notice the slight chamfer on the end of the chamber to allow for easier chambering.
Accessories
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the 10/22 straight out of the box but a huge cottage industry has sprung up around the Ruger 10/22. Barrels, stocks, triggers, extended magazine releases, scope mounting rails, replacement iron sights, etc. The reason for this cornucopia of replacement parts is because it so easy to take apart and swap out parts that anyone can do it. While both mine are totally stock, I can see the fun one could have making it more accurate or making it fit better or just making it look cooler.
The rifle can be accessorized to look like practically anything.
image from HERE
image from HERE
Open above images in a new window to see the full size image
Conclusion:
Ruger is know for making well built, reliable products that are good value for the money. They have also proved that they don't take a back seat to anyone as far as customer service is concerned. My personal experience with the Ruger 10/22 is that is an extremely reliable, accurate and well balanced rifle. If not abused, it will last any shooter a lifetime and can be handed down to the grandchildren. I think of mine as an old trusted friend who won't let me down when I need him/her.
I have fired it n the blazing heat of summer and at minus 20 deg F and it has never failed to perform. With the 10/22 carbine's current price of $199, it is an exceptional value for the money.
