Is the Ruger 10/22 all it's cracked up to be?

The question was; "Is the Ruger 10/22 all it is cracked up to be?"

Since the gun was introduced as a fun, little plinker, rhetoric aside, I think it is definitely that... so I would say, "Yes."

I think most of the bum rap comes from unreasonable expectations, and most of those expectations come from the reports and results of people who have spent time and money on tweaking the platform.

I did a couple rebuilds and then realized it is better to start from the ground up, with zero original parts and save the cost of the project rifle... but even in doing so, you have to give kudos to Ruger for the design as it has spawned a massive aftermarket industry.
 
They can be easily modified to shoot well, but sadly they are not very good in stock format. The aftermarket is full of quality parts, because the Ruger parts are not very good. Try to buy some aftermarket parts for a CZ semi auto and you won't find any, because the CZ is high quality in the first place.
 
purchased one recently but only had it out briefly twice due to weather/cold. Runs like a champ, impressive but not very exciting. For what it is I’m happy with it. No ragrets
 
TCR22 (ThompsonCen/Smith&Wesson) best out of box no upgrades needed option. (Off the Shelf Warranty Product)
<Integrated Rail/Fibre Optic Ghost Ring Sights/Upgraded Stock, Charging Handle & Trigger (Barely)/17” Threaded Barrel
*This rifle has Last Round Bolt Hold Open but the magazine is super annoying and is as easy to find in store as the unicorn my niece wanted for Xmas. Luckily All Other Ruger 10/22 Mags will work.

Ruger 10/22 Optics Ready a close second in my opinion(Off the Shelf Warranty Product). Most folks don’t use Irons anyway so Ruger was smart with this model. They chopped the useless barrel band which is about damn time.
<Standard Ruger 10/22 Receiver w. Rail Included/Updated Stock/18.5” Barrel (Profile Seems Slightly Larger)

Hope this Information was Useful.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWUnaGTl73g&list=PLFVkJ1KrFaH_GbAsSKd_zvosjOpP8WI12

heres my .22LR shooting vids. i cover a few different rifles, ammos and other related things.

I've owned a few, they work and work well. The better grade you get the better return you get. I've got a standard grade one now dropped into a plastic pistol gripped stock, and this one. The standard grade wont fire sub sonic rounds accurately, where the upper end one does.
 
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Isn't the 10/22 like a Jeep?
- Fun as is... Most people can't let good enough along and start to mod them

yall-got-anymore-of-them-jeep-parts.jpg
 
Lead hammer said:
I just looked up Volquartsen. $12.50 USA for an Exact Edge Extractor. Funny, they have them for the MK II, III, and MKIV, and of course the 10/22.
If you are happy putting time and money taking your new car to the shop for repairs under warranty..................., or Fridge........ make sure you don't put grippier tires on your truck either......................
I get it though, I wish things would just flipping work new. I have had way too many new things not work, it drives me nuts.
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Have you seen the aftermarket parts and custom shops for the auto market??? Things don't have to be broken for people to want to tweak them... you just have to tell them it can be better and they will run through their wallet... human nature being what it is.
 
rubberdonuts said:
TCR22 (ThompsonCen/Smith&Wesson) best out of box no upgrades needed option. (Off the Shelf Warranty Product)
<Integrated Rail/Fibre Optic Ghost Ring Sights/Upgraded Stock, Charging Handle & Trigger (Barely)/17” Threaded Barrel
*This rifle has Last Round Bolt Hold Open but the magazine is super annoying and is as easy to find in store as the unicorn my niece wanted for Xmas. Luckily All Other Ruger 10/22 Mags will work.

Ruger 10/22 Optics Ready a close second in my opinion(Off the Shelf Warranty Product). Most folks don’t use Irons anyway so Ruger was smart with this model. They chopped the useless barrel band which is about damn time.
<Standard Ruger 10/22 Receiver w. Rail Included/Updated Stock/18.5” Barrel (Profile Seems Slightly Larger)

Hope this Information was Useful.
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TC R22 are no longer in production, may never be again. I had a TCR target the rifle was ok, shot as good as Ruger target did not function well with the stock magazine with the last round hold open feature. Functioned flawless with 1022 magazines.
 
Meroh said:
The older ones certainly were more accurate, and reliable... enough compared to the new ones.

True story, my cousin could afford a new ruger 1022 back in the mid '70s, I could not, so I bought a tube fed Nylon 66. At 50 yards, his groups were about a 1/4" smaller (regardless of who was shooting it), but the Nylon was way more reliable.

There are so many who pay $300-500 for a new Ruger 1022, then spend $1000-1500 on it to turn it into something it is not, and then give up the sport because they were too busy f***ing with their rifle, and had not time or money left to actually practice shooting.

Lots of guys at our club have gone down this road, and own them, but when we have our open shoots, there are almost no 1022 showing up. Lots of bolt actions though, and a good portion of those are CZs and Savage Mk IIs; a goodly number of older BRNOs, mossberg, CILs and Cooeys continue to show up and often win.
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Lots of truth in this post. I was pretty happy with my Volquartsen-ed 1990's 10/22. Still am for the fun factor, and playing rifle Barbie. But then I bought my Anschutz 1710 and dumped 10 rounds into a little hole at 50m. They both have foibles (occasional weak ejection on some Annies), but if you forced me to choose, it would be the bolt gun without hesitation. Two action screws, better trigger, no-excuses accuracy, excellent scope ergonomics, and all steel.

If I wanted something in the pattern, would buy a steel receiver Volquartsen, Kidd or the like (Dlask?). Wouldn't consider a 10/22 built in the past 15 years or so.

Wish the companies would learn from Remington's race to the bottom.

hoytcanon said:
I did a couple rebuilds and then realized it is better to start from the ground up, with zero original parts and save the cost of the project rifle... but even in doing so, you have to give kudos to Ruger for the design as it has spawned a massive aftermarket industry.
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This too. The 10/22 was rifle of my dreams when I was an outdoorsy teenager with no money. The ergonomics and aesthetics of the rifle are something special, and the rotary magazine is a work of art. I like the clear ones. A Deluxe Sporter with nice walnut is an elegant rifle.

It just needs a rear action screw and a last shot bolt hold open.

If I were to do it again, I would make a grey laminate Deluxe Sporter with the above improvements, a stainless steel picatinny receiver and a 20" sporter profile match barrel. Swap between an Aimpoint and a Leupold 3-9x33mm EFR.
 
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I bought a Savage A22 instead because I didn't want to be limited to 10 rounds. It's the most reliable semi I own. Frequently goes on sale with a half decent weaver scope at Cabelas for $369.
 
td0g, I have the A & B22s with 5-6 of the 10-round mags and 2x 25rnd. They all are interchangeable and work fine in Both rifles. For the 10s I un-wound the mag spring a bit to lighten the tension to make loading easier, still cycles just fine. And the 25 has a slide-button to simplify loading. I get MOA with the B and close with the A, after working the triggers to around 2#. The A won't cycle properly if I go lower, but the B is down to 1.4# right now, even with the Safety blade intact.
 
Buck1950 said:
td0g, I have the A & B22s with 5-6 of the 10-round mags and 2x 25rnd. They all are interchangeable and work fine in Both rifles. For the 10s I un-wound the mag spring a bit to lighten the tension to make loading easier, still cycles just fine. And the 25 has a slide-button to simplify loading. I get MOA with the B and close with the A, after working the triggers to around 2#. The A won't cycle properly if I go lower, but the B is down to 1.4# right now, even with the Safety blade intact.
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I actually forgot it comes with a rotary mag lol, I don't know what I did with mine, I bought three of the BX25 Butler Creek mags right off the bat. Mine definitely outshoots any stock 10/22 I've tried at the range.
 
I bought a ruger 10/22 for $60.00.
Plus a large magazine and 2 boxes of 22 cartridges.
Bought from a lady that used it once.
I found that the sights were not too good. they are made to use a scope.
Anyways I FIRED ABOUT 300 ROUNDS WITHOUT ANY TROUBLE.
REALIZED THAT THIS RIFLE WAS JUST BURNING UP AMMO.
SOLD IT AT A GOOD PROFIT
I WOULD NOT BUY ANOTHER ONE
 
colombe said:
I bought a ruger 10/22 for $60.00.
Plus a large magazine and 2 boxes of 22 cartridges.
Bought from a lady that used it once.
I found that the sights were not too good. they are made to use a scope.
Anyways I FIRED ABOUT 300 ROUNDS WITHOUT ANY TROUBLE.
REALIZED THAT THIS RIFLE WAS JUST BURNING UP AMMO.
SOLD IT AT A GOOD PROFIT
I WOULD NOT BUY ANOTHER ONE
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LOL!

"Just Burning Up Ammo."

Not "It had problems running!"

And, I'd buy every one that came within sight, at $60 per! Every day, all day long!

As per an earlier post in this thread, I paid $139 for mine, new in the box, at some gun shop along Younge Street in TO. Less than my home town sports shop could get them for at wholesale, I was told.

I fully intended to pimp it out, and other than a beater stock to replace the nice one that came with it, have not done so to date, as it met my needs, ranging from gophers at 1 through 150+yds, and coyotes and the odd larger yard critters.

And, I only bought the beater stock ($3 at the Sally Ann! Stippled in the Grip area by someone's mutt!) because I wanted to hog out the barrel channel to take a larger barrel, which I never did bother to buy...

I you cannot afford to feed a semi-auto, you need to either work on your trigger skills, or work on your earning ones! :)
 
It 's a good gun. Will it drive tacks at 100 yards? Probably not. Is it capable of good practical accuracy and is reliable? Certainly yes. I've made some upgrades to mine, but none of them were necessary. I think some people's expectations are a little off.
 
I've been known to slander the old 10/22, mostly because I considered the one I bought to be a $300 fixer-upper. Ate everything, but even scoped, couldn't reliably hit a pop can @ 50 yards. Trigger was a nightmare, QC issues, etc. I far prefer bolt guns, and everything they do right, right out of the box.

Having said that...

Owning/using almost nothing but for a decade...I now have a 10/22 clone in the safe, waiting for the snow/ice to disappear. (T/CR22) Other than how cheap the stock feels, the ergonomics of this MagPul stock are great, the gun is light, and after some TLC (=Flitz) and an MCARBO spring kit, I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll like shooting the thing. Looks/feels like an improved 10/22, look forward to the first ammo-testing day!
 
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