A handgunner decides to buy a rifle

[Joewisc]

I've been shooting revolvers all my life and never owned a rifle. I'm old now but never too late to try something new so I decided to buy a .22 rifle -- a Ruger 10/22 to be precise.

Believe it or not, although there are millions of 10-22's out there they are becoming hard to find lately. Three of four area LGS are out of 10/22's especially the new "Takedown" which was my first choice. Can't find them anywhere. LGS had three predecessor 10/22's left -- the green (shown), a red laminate and a French walnut, which was 60 bucks more, all I believe produced in 2009.

However, I settled for this one with a Simmons scope going on it. Added three Banana mags and can't wait to sight 'er in and shoot.

Post your experiences and pics of arguably America's favorite .22 rifle.

 

[kamloops67]

pretty groovy ,far out stock man.
they are nice guns and they are scarce up here too ,im thinking sold out from christmas maybe? i looked all over for a takedown model but found nothing... except a nice browning lever action for my son , the 10-22 is still on my list though . happy shooting!
i own lots of hand guns but no "serious" rifles so youre not alone there haha

 

[frdfandc]

I have a 10/22 in the Carbine version. Black syn stock with Stainless barrel/receiver.

Love it. I'm going to put on a Simmons .22 MAG scope that's on my .22 WMR and buy another one.

Even with just the iron sights, it was pretty accurate at 100 yards.

 

[carpriver]

I have been thinking of adding another 22lr to the safe, I have a Henry Golden boy it weights a ton and after shooting for a while I gets heavy. I have been thinking about a 10-22. I am going to be stopping by Cabals Monday on my way back to Michigan I am hoping they have one.

 

[Joewisc]

BTW, I was told by the LGS owner that the 10-22's sold at Wal-Mart at "seconds" or factory-flawed. Dunno if there's any truth to this. But I'm happy with the purchase so far even though I have yet to fire the gun.

 

[A10]

Well Joe, knowing the Ruger company and their aversion to lawsuits my guess is your LGS is prevaricating a bit. Wally World sells their firearms cheaper because they buy in volume and your LGS probably can't buy them for what the sell them for.

 

[M29since14]

...Post your experiences and pics of arguably America's favorite .22 rifle.

I don't own a Winchester 52, so no pictures from me - sorry.

Just kidding, Joe. I don't know what took you so long to buy a .22 but congratulations on your purchase. I would bet you will want another .22 rifle of some kind before you know it.

My own favorite .22 rifle is neither a 52 nor a 10-22 but an old Savage-Anschutz 54 Sporter. I am also fond of the various Browning .22 rifles, particularly the .22 Automatic and the BLR.

A couple weeks ago I saw a tricked out T-Bolt that appealed to me, but the price was... I had to pass on it. I have enough .22 rifles to last a while, but I still think of that slick little T-Bolt. Maybe some day I will stumble on a nice used example, or catch one on sale.

Congrats on your purchase. It's about time!

 

[Joewisc]

Well Joe, knowing the Ruger company and their aversion to lawsuits my guess is your LGS is prevaricating a bit. Wally World sells their firearms cheaper because they buy in volume and your LGS probably can't buy them for what the sell them for.

Perhaps you're right. He's priced higher than Wally but has better stuff. You get what you pay for.

 

[HotRoderX]

Grats on the 10/22 I am kicking my self I had a chance to get one about 3 weeks ago for 215. I passed it up thinking I will wait tell after Christmas. There are none to be found now. I like that particular talo edition.

 

[Joewisc]

I don't own a Winchester 52, so no pictures from me - sorry.

Just kidding, Joe. I don't know what took you so long to buy a .22 but congratulations on your purchase. I would bet you will want another .22 rifle of some kind before you know it.

My own favorite .22 rifle is neither a 52 nor a 10-22 but an old Savage-Anschutz 54 Sporter. I am also fond of the various Browning .22 rifles, particularly the .22 Automatic and the BLR.

A couple weeks ago I saw a tricked out T-Bolt that appealed to me, but the price was... I had to pass on it. I have enough .22 rifles to last a while, but I still think of that slick little T-Bolt. Maybe some day I will stumble on a nice used example, or catch one on sale.

Congrats on your purchase. It's about time!

Thanks, the ones who mentioned sound too rich for my blood. Plus the 10/22 lends itself to so much modification that I just bought a book, "Customize the Ruger," which details all the neat stuff you can add to a 10/22. I hear Savage makes great rifles but never shot one. I think an argument could be made for the Winchester 52 as the best .22 but then it got long in the tooth. Still a classic and, like the Savage-Anschutz real pricey when you can find 'em.

 

[frdfandc]

BTW, I was told by the LGS owner that the 10-22's sold at Wal-Mart at "seconds" or factory-flawed. Dunno if there's any truth to this. But I'm happy with the purchase so far even though I have yet to fire the gun.

There also are firearms specifically made for distributors (Cabelas, Walmart, etc.) that your LGS can't get. Maybe a minor change to a sight or a different stock color combo, etc.

That's why they are cheaper.

 

[armenius]

I bought one probably 10 years ago and haven't used it a whole lot because of problems with the rotary magazines.I bought extras and they didn't function either.The banana magazines work ok.The front sight decided to fly away shortly after I bought it.I have a Remington bolt action ?512? which is about 70 years old which is several times more accurate and a Browning semi auto that is flawless.Maybe I got a lemon..many folks like them.

 

[M29since14]

Yes, I have seen a couple Savages lately that were nice looking rifles. If you might be in the market for a bolt-action on the next go around, by all means have a look at them. Ruger also makes a nice looking .22 bolt-action rifle, but I have never owned one so can't say much about them other than they look nice. If you just want an inexpensive rifle to stand in the corner in case of a piney-squirrel attack, the little Marlin bolt guns are all over the place around here and the two or three I have shot were good, unless you are a trigger-nazi. If you have to have a good trigger, then check into the Savages.

 

[frdfandc]

If you get the 25 round magazines, make sure they are the Ruger BX-25's. I have 2 of these and want to get a couple more. I've only had 2 issues when these mags and it was ammo related, not the mag themselves. 2 rounds had some damage to the nose of the bullet. I ended up shooting them through my SR22 pistol.

Once I those were cleared, I shot almost 400 rounds through those 2 mags without issue.

 

[kwselke]

I bought my 10/22 with a standard birch stock in 1989. I mounted a 4X Tasco scope on it and it became the most used gun I own.

Sometime in the mid-1990s Midway USA put their store brand bull barrel/laminate stock 10/22 kit on special. My old birch stock and pencil barrel were showing there use. With the heavy barrel and longer weather resistant stock the little carbine became more fun to shoot. Somewhere over the years I added a new trigger and swivel studs with sling. I'm in the city and it's in the country, so I cannot take a picture right now.

Stories... do you want squirrel, possum, raccoon, armadillo, snake, crow, feral hog, general plinking, dragonfly, fire ant, or long range unbelievable shot stories?

I will say that I've never found a 10/22 aftermarket magazine that would feed to my reliability standard. When I go out to play I simply take an extra factory 10 round rotary magazine and maybe an extra box or two of .22 LR. I still have the Remington bolt action single shot .22 I was given in 1966 to learn to shoot with, so I'm really not a spray the target person. I use shotguns when I want a spray.

 

[Joewisc]

If you get the 25 round magazines, make sure they are the Ruger BX-25's. I have 2 of these and want to get a couple more. I've only had 2 issues when these mags and it was ammo related, not the mag themselves. 2 rounds had some damage to the nose of the bullet. I ended up shooting them through my SR22 pistol.

Once I those were cleared, I shot almost 400 rounds through those 2 mags without issue.

The BX-25's are out of stock everywhere; I overpaid on eBay for one at 69 bucks. Normally 25 or so. I also have 2 Butler Creek steel lips, 25-capacity mags that are comparable to the Ruger BX-25. I also bought a speed loader from Butler that works pretty good according to reviews. Saves the thumbs.

 

[Black_Sheep]

You can't go wrong with a 10/22

 

[wundudnee]

.22 rifles and S&W revolvers are my addiction. I probably have close to 50 with most of them older Winchesters. I do have a 10-22 green stocked international. It and my Model 63 are my favorite semi autos.

 

[Sprefix]

I work the action and replace most of the trigger group along with the modification to the bolt release. It isn't needed, but they do some real nice things after I make the changes. I might think of getting another one to have a project. I like the "avocado" Ruger......

 

[Texas Star]

I passed on the 10-22 as the inletting on the wooden-stocked ones that I viewed was appalling. Are the synthetic stocks better in that regard?

I've also heard that the accuracy is usually inferior to Marlin .22's unless some accurizing is done. I bought a Marlin M-795SS instead.