10/22 Magnum, what do I have here?

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gareez

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the south coast of Ontario
I recently purchased a Ruger 10/22 WMR on EE.
It is a 1999 serial number 290-17### but it has a 20" tapered barrel and no iron sights.
It does have the Ruger scope mounts machined into the receiver, not the groove, and the
special Ruger scope rings.
I have been all over the internet and cannot find another offered with this 20 " tapered barrel.
The barrel has the usual ruger warning stamped on it, the rear dovetail has been filled with a slug
that appears to have been installed prior to blueing and the muzzle shows no sign that a front sight ever existed.
Shown here with my Ruger .44 Mag 18" barrel for comparison.
Anyone?

2013-09-25210036.jpg
 
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The 10/22 magnum receivers were steel, and had Ruger type scope rings. The only thing peculiar is the barrel, I wonder if it was sourced from a 77/22... Not a stretch of the imagination that someone turned the front sight down, put a slug in the rear dovetail and had it re-blued.

Any idea how many times it has changed hands?
 
The 77/22 barrel requires a shim to fit a 10/22M and I see no evidence of a shim.
I guess the next step is to call Ruger and pay for a cert. of Authenticity.

I do like the look and feel of this with the slim barrel and no front sight. It also has better balance
with the steel receiver and longer barrel. And it is a .22WMR
 
If you check the Ruger website they have dealer exclusives listed under each model they make. There is a possibility that it is such a creature, specially ordered by a retailer with that set-up directly from the factory.
 
gareez said:
The 77/22 barrel requires a shim to fit a 10/22M and I see no evidence of a shim.
I guess the next step is to call Ruger and pay for a cert. of Authenticity.

I do like the look and feel of this with the slim barrel and no front sight. It also has better balance
with the steel receiver and longer barrel. And it is a .22WMR
Click to expand...

Meh. If it works and shoots well, what's it matter?

The 10/22M was not made very long, and there are a fair few guys looking for them. If it looks good and is all Ruger parts, I'd call it a Ruger and be done worrying about it.

Cheers
Trev
 
Just an update on this,,
I spoke to a very helpful person at Ruger who confirmed from the serial number that the rifle was ordered with no sights
and high gloss blueing. It shipped in July 1999 and If I want to send them $10 I will get a letter of authenticity.
I have searched but can find no other offered with no sights and the tapered barrel so I guess I will send them the 10 bucks
and get the letter.
 
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