October 22nd, a.k.a. 10/22 in American date notation, is here. Well, if you live in a day/month/year area, it's probably already the 23rd, but I stand by the year/month/day order as the superior method despite the stupidity of month/day/year in common use, but regardless, it is still the evening of the 22nd here as I write this post. But that tangent aside, this is just an excuse to show something neat about a cool rifle. I also wrote about it last year in the context of survival rifles, but I have a new spin this year.
The Sturm, Ruger & Co. 10/22 is nearly 60 years old, and it's a fine little carbine. The original 10-round magazine fits flush with the stock, making it remarkably handy. Simple blowback operation is about as reliable as you could ask for a semi-auto.
Customization options abound, and now there are variants designed as takedown rifles or target pistols as well. I have a 2006 book from Brownells (pictured here) listing all kinds of options from barrels to stocks to triggers and more. The market has exploded since then. You can build an entire rifle with zero Ruger parts if you so desire. It is one of the most versatile and customizable rifles whether you want a plinker, small game rifle, survival carbine, or target gun.
The .22 Long Rifle is the oldest round still in common use today, and the only rimfire cartridge with any real market share at all. This older style of cartridge has a flared rim filled with primer compound. When any part of that rim is struck, it should crush the priming compound and spark the main powder charge. This powder burns very rapidly, and the gasses produced by combustion push the little bullet out the end very, very fast. Since every action has an equal and opposite reaction according to basic Newtonian physics, the cartridge case is pushed the other way as well. However, it meets the resistance of a much more massive bolt under spring tension, so it accelerates backward relatively slowly. Long before the bolt opens enough to vent that gas, the bullet has left the barrel and pressure has dropped to a safe level for whoever is holding the rifle.
The two downsides to the .22LR are that the primer is not always evenly distributed, or otherwise unreliable; and the bullet is not the most effective option on the market. It isn't particularly speedy, and carries low mass at those speeds. It's more than enough for small game, vermin, and basic marksmanship though. Low power means low recoil, so it is not intimidating to novice shooters. Since so much of the combustion gas is used to spit that bullet down a rifle barrel, report is also relatively low. Wear hearing protection anyway though, OK?
The really neat part of this rifle is the magazine. When it was released, most competing rifles had a tubular fixed magazine under the barrel or inside the stock, and those that did have a detachable magazine usually had a single-column box magazine. This elegant little rotary magazine has good capacity and relatively easy reloads without adding a snag point on the firearm. This end view shows how they curl around that fluted red drum.
Of course, aftermarket and factory magazines soon added capacity. There are other magazines available too, including drums if you really want a 10/22 Tommy Gun look, and don't live in a state with stupid capacity restriction laws. The "banana clip" (ugh...) is an older Butler Creek model, also made of clear polycarbonate. It has the same geometry at the top to fit the wider magazine well, and keeps the magazine spring beside the cartridge column instead of under the follower like typical magazines. Unfortunately, it cannot be disassembled for cleaning. It has metal feed lips, so it is reasonably reliable. Newer Ruger BX-25 magazines have metal feed lips and can be disassembled for maintenance.
Note that plastic feed lips on cheap mags get chewed up by the mechanisms of most semi-auto firearms, and can even flex enough to prevent reliable feeding. Don't use those if it can be avoided, unless it's something like an AR15 that plays nice with its mag system. Cheap magazines that don't work are a bad investment, not smart savings.
Have you ever fired a Ruger 10/22, or other .22LR rifles? Share a story, a target photo, or the like in a comment!
Great post. These are fine weapons on their own and lend to a lot of easy modifications that even beginning gunsmiths (or wannabes) can perform. I'm a huge fan. They were first made in 1964, and could be bought for $54 U.S. They really came into popularity in the 70's-80's here in the U.S. and I know nearly all my friends and family had at least one. I remember paying about $75 for my first one back in the mid 70's. Now they are commonly going for $280-$350 for base models... I've got a bit more than that into my custom version. I did a few detailed posts on it, wow hard to believe it was 2 years ago!
https://ecency.com/hive-139358/@ksteem/journey-from-stock-ruger-10-22-to-custom
I do love still getting it out to play now and again, and really love the tri-mag holder, that holds three of the stock 10 round magazines, allowing for quick change. I've found these much more reliable and compact than the banana mags.
I used to run a rimfire (.22LR) practical rifle shooting event that incorporated some longer range shooting and run and gun shooting on interesting targetry: Static, dynamic, falling plates and poppers, and loads of cool props. It was run at various gun clubs with some 70-110 entrants each time and entry fees went to the club/range to support it. The organising group took a little to cover running costs but we always ran at a loss. It was about supporting new shooters and the ranges primarily.
It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun seeing people start off and then improve over time. The team I worked with were great folks and we had a great time.
I wrote about it several times on Hive with images and stuff.
Anyway, I'm not much of a .22 shooter as I prefer long range shooting and but I've had a lot of fun with .22's over the years.
Thanks for your great post. ✅
I know some shooters who argue the "thousand inch range" with a .22 is ideal practice for long range marksmanship with full-power rifles. If you can do all the fundamental necessities for precision at 100 yards with a .22, you're ready to step up to 1000 yards with a hunting rifle.
In the event I ran we'd always have a 100m stage and the targets weren't large. It was designed to be a challenge. It was interesting to see how people approached it. The same principles apply that on would use to shoot at 1500m with a centrefire rifle.
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I had a stock 10/22 I put a 1st gen Russian night vision scope on. It was for raccoons that were after my chickens at night. Very feeble night vision, and an even more feeble mount, but I didn't need to bungle it through the jungle.
Thanks!
Haven't touched my 10/22 in a while. I've shot the M&P 15-22 a bit though. It's more reliable and the mags load much easier with the Lightnin' Grip. Sacrilege on 10/22 day, I know. At least the 10/22 feels like a real gun.
In my experience, a 10/22 can be very finicky about its ammunition. One brand makes it a jam-o-matic, another feeds flawlessly. Some reliably fire, some have a failure every mag.
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