By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
It’s “National Ruger Day,” Oct. 22—10/22—and no better day of the year to celebrate a semiautomatic rimfire rifle produced by Sturm, Ruger that has become famous, and may be the most popular smallbore on the landscape.
Introduced back in 1964, the Ruger 10/22 was one of Bill Ruger’s greatest achievements. Unveiled with an affordable price tag, the little rifle has a rotary 10-round detachable magazine, hardwood stock, adjustable rear sight, and a two-screw V-block design which allows for barrel replacement and opened the door to so many customizations and design variations it’s nearly impossible to keep track of them all.
For example, my own 10/22 has worn either the original hardwood stock or a folding synthetic stock, at times been fitted with a curved 25-round aftermarket magazine, and now wears a Bushnell 1.75-4X scope with which it is incredibly accurate.
Once several years ago, I was given an assignment on plinking for a national magazine, and with the scope installed, I was able to repeatedly shoot the heads off of wooden strike-anywhere kitchen matches at 25 yards.
Over the years, Ruger has introduced several variations, including one model chambered for the .22 WMR (in production from 1998 to 2006) and another chambered for the .17 HMR cartridge introduced in 2004 but it was, according to Wikipedia, “only listed in the catalog for two years.”
There are now target versions, a compact version, a competition model, a takedown version and more. I have seen customized guns with bull barrels, radically-designed laminated stocks, barrels threaded for suppressors; the number of aftermarket variations is simply staggering.
Ruger said more than 7 million had been produced, and that was as of 2015. One can only imagine the number is much higher now.
My late friend Dick Burnett once called the 10/22 a “lead hose,” referring to the way many shooters have suddenly found themselves having so much fun with the little Ruger they soon went through a 500-round brick of rimfires without noticing how many cartridges had been burned through until suddenly there was no more ammunition.
I shot a blue grouse out of a tree with my own 10/22, and as a small game gun, it’s a superb choice for rearing a young hunter, and for teaching firearms safety to anyone of any age.
To celebrate its 75th anniversary this year, Ruger introduced four special edition gun models and two of them were 10/22s. This tells you everything you need to know about the popularity of the 10/22. It truly has achieved legendary status, and over all the years I’ve been shooting various 10/22 rifles, including my own, I’ve honestly never heard of a serious malfunction involving one of them.
A few years ago, when Ruger introduced the BX Trigger for the 10/22, I installed one and never looked back.
The 10/22 has a crossbolt safety ahead of the trigger guard, and a few years ago improved the magazine release, which is also located ahead of the trigger guard.
Another thing about the 10/22 I have noticed over the years is that it’s a cinch to clean, especially if one uses any of the good aerosols now available which pretty much preclude complete disassembly to remove gunk from the action.
Even today, one can find certain .22-caliber rimfire ammunition which seems to shoot dirty, leaving more powder residue than one might expect. If you stick with quality brand name ammunition from Winchester, Remington, CCI, Federal or Eley, for example, it is hard to imagine the little gun failing.
On many occasions, I’ve hiked the trails with my 10/22 looking for small game. With a couple of magazines and a box of ammunition, one might easily be on the trail for days during the fall, which brings me around to noting how the little Ruger has also been popular at times as a survival rifle. I’m pretty certain I could handle various emergencies with as 10/22 in hand long enough to make it out of a bad situation and get back to civilization.
The little Ruger weighs about 6 pounds in its standard presentation, but with a synthetic stock, it scales even less. Throw on a scope, it still carries well at about 7 pounds with a wood stock, and maybe 5 ½ pounds with a synthetic stock. As noted earlier, there are a lot of variations.
One thing which never varies about the 10/22 is its reliability, and its durability is also proven. The Ruger 10/22 is a rifle worth having, and that is the highest compliment I can pay.
