Why ruger 10/22.....

I still have not become used to the sights on my 1022 takedown. Took me a while to realize the rotating ring goes forward instead of back
Accuracy went from broad side of the barn to about the size of an orange at 50m. One day I will take out the screws and try a red dot or scope to see if I can shoot better. I really bought this gun as a nice light shooter for my daughter when she is ready.
The gun has been very reliable with only standard velocity, Remington thunderbolt and wildcat being the only rounds to ever give trouble. I have used 10rd ruger mags and blackcreek aftermarket 10rd mags have worked perfectly so far also.

Personally the GSG15 is more fun and accurate I'd pick that over the 10/22 for the same money. There are other options avail mainly for me it's the iron sights which I find difficult as I'm not sure exactly where the pin should go given the set up of the rear sight. This gun desperately screams red dot or scope.
 
I have bought and sold 3 10/22's over the last 20 years. I too love the flush magazine. This year I bought the 4th. I always end up coming back to them because they are so fun, and you can shoot so much more 22lr because of the lower cost. I like being able to tweak each one to make it your own.

This time I chose a Deluxe sporter stock model. ( no barrel band and a rubber butt pad instead of plastic )
I took a piece of wooden dowel and sand paper, and I got to work. When to channel was enlarged enough, a friend and I Installed a 20 inch Kidd heavy barrel, and trigger kit. The rifle is incredibly reliable and shoots tiny 1 hole groups at 20 yards. I am certain the gun will be able to do the half inch challenge. I'll just have to do my part, and get some practice. The rifle is a keeper.

People will tell you to get a bolt gun, I agree with them too. I got a CZ 452 Varmint this year, and it is an excellent rifle. I was looking pretty hard at them when they first came out. I don't know why I did not end up getting one then, but I should have. I probably fell for something else that I thought I had to have more, Darn Home Theater, and Car Stereo. I think the only 22lr that could end up in the cabinet instead of the 452 might be an Anschutz 54 Model 1710 Heavy Barrel. The Annie is a distant dream, and who knows when it finally becomes a reality, I may end up keeping both bolt guns.

Because I am a Gun nut I never stop looking even though I have a few examples of the Rimfire family.
The 452 American is also beautiful. It would be great for someone who wanted the quality of a 452 Varmint without the weight of the heavy barrel. I also find myself looking at the Kriss Defiance DMK22C LVOA. It is a new AR Variant made of Aluminium. It will accept 10/22 Barrels and many AR-15 accessories.
 
Last edited:
Redblack said:
The 10/22’s I had were always reliable, too bad we can’t use the 25 round mags anymore. I recently ran across a savage A22 semi auto and notice butler creek made 25round mags for them. I wonder if the savage is reliable and accurate.
Click to expand...


The 25 round magazine never worked reliably anyway, stick with the factory ten rounder.
 
Lots of guys recommend the 10/22 to justify their tolerance of the modern stock 10/22's shortcomings. It's rationalization and projection.

It's like my friend who laughed at me when I bought a Dodge Shadow and he bought a Honda Civic. "You bought a piece of junk", he told me. He was still telling me that two years later after he'd replaced a bad-from-the factory tranny, two leaky windows, and most of his upholstery and headliner that had been destroyed by water let in from the leaks. His was obviously the better car and he would not even consider otherwise. He had to justify his perceptions and his purchase.

Now instead of Dodge Shadow and Honda Civic, think Savage 64 and Ruger 10/22. I take my 64 to the range and shoot all afternoon. The 10/22 guy at the bench beside me has spent the afternoon dealing with failures to feed, failures to extract, light strikes, and stovepipes. There's a good chance he's field stripped at least once and may even be poking at a partially disassembled magazine with a tiny electronics technician's type of screw driver. I'll probably even have overheard him say something like "Nothing that a new Volquartson bolt and extractor and springs and buffer and a Dlask heavy stainless fluted competition target barrel won't fix!"

Then he'll look down his nose at me and my 64 and my pile of empty brass and say something like "I don't know how you guys can stand that little POS Savage! It's a toy!"

Projection. Rationalization. Justification of his own poor choices. And more often than not, absolutely marinated in Axe body wash.

Don't be that guy. Don't become that guy.

Marlin 795. Marlin 60. Savage 64. Or better yet, a vintage Savage 6 or Stevens 87.

Spend your time shooting instead of making a list of all the parts you need to upgrade.

Humph!
 
The Ruger 10/22 is a good reliable 22 semi-automatic rifle, I do have one. I think the Marlin Model 60 is a better 22 semi-automatic rifle, yes I have one of these too. Here in Oklahoma the Marlin, depending on version, can be found for bought for 20% to 50% less.
 
MDF said:
Lots of guys recommend the 10/22 to justify their tolerance of the modern stock 10/22's shortcomings. It's rationalization and projection.

It's like my friend who laughed at me when I bought a Dodge Shadow and he bought a Honda Civic. "You bought a piece of junk", he told me. He was still telling me that two years later after he'd replaced a bad-from-the factory tranny, two leaky windows, and most of his upholstery and headliner that had been destroyed by water let in from the leaks. His was obviously the better car and he would not even consider otherwise. He had to justify his perceptions and his purchase.

Now instead of Dodge Shadow and Honda Civic, think Savage 64 and Ruger 10/22. I take my 64 to the range and shoot all afternoon. The 10/22 guy at the bench beside me has spent the afternoon dealing with failures to feed, failures to extract, light strikes, and stovepipes. There's a good chance he's field stripped at least once and may even be poking at a partially disassembled magazine with a tiny electronics technician's type of screw driver. I'll probably even have overheard him say something like "Nothing that a new Volquartson bolt and extractor and springs and buffer and a Dlask heavy stainless fluted competition target barrel won't fix!"

Then he'll look down his nose at me and my 64 and my pile of empty brass and say something like "I don't know how you guys can stand that little POS Savage! It's a toy!"

Projection. Rationalization. Justification of his own poor choices. And more often than not, absolutely marinated in Axe body wash.

Don't be that guy. Don't become that guy.

Marlin 795. Marlin 60. Savage 64. Or better yet, a vintage Savage 6 or Stevens 87.

Spend your time shooting instead of making a list of all the parts you need to upgrade.

Humph!
Click to expand...

Are you sure you are not that guy trying to justify your savage purchase?
 
shms said:
Are you sure you are not that guy trying to justify your savage purchase?
Click to expand...

Yup. Like I said, I spend my time shooting, not farting around with problems.

Now, if your goal is to fart around with problems, then by all means get a 10/22!

When I feel like farting around with problems, I buy a fifty dollar as-is parts gun from somewhere and try to get it running. I don't buy a three or four hundred dollar 10/22 and then replace half its parts.

I wonder, though, if the older 10/22's were better. The only one I've owned was current production.

For those guys who know, here's a question: has quality and reliability dropped off? And if so, when?
 
I think in my immediate shooter group we own a dozen or so 10/22s. I think I have 3 at this point.

Honestly, I have never heard or seen any of the issues that are being discussed here, and we own many generations of Rugers. I know that's a small sample group but they have been absolutely reliable. No broken parts, no feeding issues.

I hate the Ruger sights and can't use them, but that's just me. I replace them with peeps or put scopes on them.

They are fun shooters and they design is dead simple. You can replace all the parts, even if you're not especially handy. You can customize every part of the rifle to the point, as others have mentioned, that you can have no Ruger parts in your 'Ruger' rifle. (Like a Glock.)

They are a little less fun with the 10 round rotary mags than the 100 round drums and 25 round mags, but I solved that by buying a dozen or so rotary mags.
 
shms said:
Are you sure you are not that guy trying to justify your savage purchase?
Click to expand...

Or maybe he just needs some friends that are not stupid.

I have a 10/22 that I bought because I had the money in my pocket, and it was on sale at a good price, cheaper than the owner of the Sporting goods shop in my home town, could get them for from his distributor, at that time.

I have read that the barrels get subbed out to various suppliers, some, obviously, better at it than others. But mine shoots well enough that I never did go out and buy the heavy barrel I thought I was going to put on it.

Meh. Die hard Haters gonna hate, fan-boi's gonna preach their gospel, and both can GTFO and argue elsewhere than in my earshot. It's all good. I have had my 10/22 for over 30 years now, I figure that makes it a keeper. It's ugly, dented, scratched, worn, dirty, has had unknown thousands of rounds through it, and it still keeps keeping on. Sorta like all those other reliable guns out there.
I went the big mags route early on, got tired of clearing jams, and stayed with the factory mags since. Works for me, but won't tell anyone else not to use the big ones.
 
I am really surprised that so many people had issues with the larger magazines. I have had Eagle plastic lips, Butler plastic lips, Butler steel lips and then some expensive all metal ones from Wanstalls and have never had one issue.

I have run all kinds of cheap ammo in them; Wildcats, Thunderbolts, 555, 333, CCI, mixed shells given to me, all without a problem.

Maybe my rifles were just made on the right day.
 
trevj said:
Meh. Die hard Haters gonna hate, fan-boi's gonna preach their gospel, and both can GTFO and argue elsewhere than in my earshot. It's all good. I have had my 10/22 for over 30 years now, I figure that makes it a keeper.
Click to expand...

That might be the issue right there. Are the 10/22's from 30 years ago better than current production?

And if they are, what differences make them better? Materials? Tolerances? Small design changes?

My hate on for 10/22's comes from the $350+ current production model that I had and that was a huge disappointment. Did not really lose anything on the deal when I sold it so I really should not complain. But it was disappointing. I wanted to like it. I really did. But its function and fit and finish were really disappointing for its price.

The guys I see with problems are probably all running current production models as well. To be honest, I don't ask them as they tend to be kinda grumpy.

I'd love to know what the design and manufacturing differences are that make the older ones so beloved and the new ones a crapshoot.
 
MDF said:
Lots of guys recommend the 10/22 to justify their tolerance of the modern stock 10/22's shortcomings. It's rationalization and projection.

It's like my friend who laughed at me when I bought a Dodge Shadow and he bought a Honda Civic. "You bought a piece of junk", he told me. He was still telling me that two years later after he'd replaced a bad-from-the factory tranny, two leaky windows, and most of his upholstery and headliner that had been destroyed by water let in from the leaks. His was obviously the better car and he would not even consider otherwise. He had to justify his perceptions and his purchase.

Now instead of Dodge Shadow and Honda Civic, think Savage 64 and Ruger 10/22. I take my 64 to the range and shoot all afternoon. The 10/22 guy at the bench beside me has spent the afternoon dealing with failures to feed, failures to extract, light strikes, and stovepipes. There's a good chance he's field stripped at least once and may even be poking at a partially disassembled magazine with a tiny electronics technician's type of screw driver. I'll probably even have overheard him say something like "Nothing that a new Volquartson bolt and extractor and springs and buffer and a Dlask heavy stainless fluted competition target barrel won't fix!"

Then he'll look down his nose at me and my 64 and my pile of empty brass and say something like "I don't know how you guys can stand that little POS Savage! It's a toy!"

Projection. Rationalization. Justification of his own poor choices. And more often than not, absolutely marinated in Axe body wash.

Don't be that guy. Don't become that guy.

Marlin 795. Marlin 60. Savage 64. Or better yet, a vintage Savage 6 or Stevens 87.

Spend your time shooting instead of making a list of all the parts you need to upgrade.

Humph!
Click to expand...

Dodge Shadow... I had a 92 ES in teal with a stick and the 3.0 V6, rocket ship that cornered on rails. My buddy had a CRX Si. My car looked cooler (bumpy hood and all) and ate a steady diet of hondas. LOL

I bought a 10/22. It was fun, but its the gun i shoot the least these days. Im actually wishing id have bought a CZ 455 instead.
 
I’ve had 3 10/22’s, only have one left. I have gone to the Remington 597’s. My son liked mine so much, at 11 years old saved up his money and bought a 597. The triggers are no better on either, not unless you spend the $125 and more on the replacement Ruger one or the few dollars less on the trigger kit for the 597. There are aftermarket parts for both, extractors, hammers, etc, so that’s kind of a wash. The stock feels better on the 597 to me. There are more aftermarket stocks available for the 10/22, my favorite being the Hogue.
I have not had a single issue with my Ruger and had one minor issue with the 597, however it didn’t stop me from shooting, just turned it into a 10/22. The bolt hold open spring failed. This is the one feature I really like with the 597 over the 10/22, the last shot hold open.
Accuracy, at least with mine, there is no comparison. Both rifles equipped with the same scope, the ammo used was found to be the best in each rifle, as well as trying the same ammo. No matter what we did, the 10/22 just couldn’t get the accuracy the 597 did.

All being said, I don’t mind the 10/22 at all. I just don’t think it’s quite the rifle for me.
 
my original 10/22 from 1984 has well over 100,000 rounds through it.
all original parts.
it has self polished its own internals over the years.
the stock is butchered from years of gopher shooting while i was growing up.

over 100,000 rounds.
that right there says all you need to know about reliability.
and i didnt start cleaning it until the late 2000's other then a shot of WD40 into the action until the mud stopped running out.

i have a brand new stock ruger barrel that i have been keeping thinking when the barrel finally shoots itself out ill put that new barrel on it..... and im still waiting for that original barrel to die, but hey its only been 34 years.
 
wayupnorth said:
my original 10/22 from 1984 has well over 100,000 rounds through it.
all original parts.
it has self polished its own internals over the years.
the stock is butchered from years of gopher shooting while i was growing up.

over 100,000 rounds.
that right there says all you need to know about reliability.
and i didnt start cleaning it until the late 2000's other then a shot of WD40 into the action until the mud stopped running out.

i have a brand new stock ruger barrel that i have been keeping thinking when the barrel finally shoots itself out ill put that new barrel on it..... and im still waiting for that original barrel to die, but hey its only been 34 years.
Click to expand...


I have had one for almost that long, it was even in my garage when the garage was majorly damaged by fire, the wood stock is still a little damaged from the heat. I took it apart only oiled it up and still shooting today my go to 22. The only thing I replace was the scope
 
Cause if your like me, you can have tons of fun buying and building your dream rifle rather then just buying a shooter off the shelf. I do have a couple bolts as well and I like em, they shoot well but... It just isn't the same feeling to me shooting a stock factory rifle well then shooting a custom rifle that I picked and choose parts and toiled over tweaking the small details to my satisfaction.

I took the time to build this shooter and it shoots far better then I do and managed to help me hone my skills for an impressive pass on my MQT's at a Mapleseed event a couple months back.

The quick list (Carbon Fiber barrel, 2 stage trigger, Bushnell AR-223 scope bla bla bla bla.)
Q789oka.jpg


10 shot .220" center to center group off a bag at 25m (Mapleseed distance). Still gotta get out for some more distance shooting.
UP5InGa.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom