I wandered into Academy Sport this morning, looking for .22LR ammo. I found it, then wandered over tot he gun case. This weekend is the opener for the gun deer season, and the shelves were petty much picked clean. The counter guy asked me what I was looking for.
"I'm looking at a 22" I told him. "Don't really need one, but I'm always in the market." I could see a forlorn Ruger 10/22 on the rack behind him. "Let me look at that 10/22."
A fellow behind me said, "Best get it if you can. Those things are hard to find lately."
The counter guy asked, "What do you intend to use it for?"
I smiled my most gracious old fudd smile, "Something to dissuade possums from the cat food."
"It's perfect for that". he replied.
It's the standard carbine in the birch stock. Probably the most rare of Ruger 10/22s. It is totally unmodified. Which I will remedy soon. It needs a carry strap and optics I'm thinking a nice little variable on low rings. Another magazine or two. And,I'm in no rush to get it done.
I've owned a lot of .22s during my life. Marlins and Savage, and even some unmarked single shots. By and large, the kids or grandkids have them now. This might be the last .22 I buy. Then again, it might not be.
6 comments:
10/22s are fine guns, but from what I've read at a rimfire specific web page, the newer ones sometimes have issues. Back in the day, a 10/22 was extremely reliable and usually accurate. Nowadays, it sometimes isn't that reliable. I would definitely test it out while you are able to find ammunition for it. A few spare magazines for just in case those get confiscated too.
My advice is to immediately Take it to the range for a shake down. I bought one from Academy and was a long time at trying it out. It had a problem with a trigger. It would fire one round and not fire another one until I removed the magazine and cycle the bolt for one more. I have a friend who is a part time FFL/gunsmith full time sheriff's deputy. he worked with it a few days and got it to work occasionally. It worked a short time after I got it back but then started doing it again. I noticed that if I pulled the trigger to the right it would click and be ready to fire. I have a suspicion something was up with the reset. I considered just leaving it at that but I thought that was unsafe. I noticed Ruger was selling a trigger upgrade unit that was easy to replace myself. I did that and that fixed it as for as the upgrade there is only a slight improvement in pull. The upgrade unit if I remember correctly cost around $70.00 but it works like a charm now. BTW the best Up grade I have gotten for it was bolt damper. The 10/22 has A metal rod across the back of the receiver that the bolt slams into when fully rearward. When the part arrived I was skeptical it looked like A short piece of black glue stick which takes the place of the metal rod. It noticeably increased comfort and follow up accuracy. Bob in B.R.
Change the stock bolt release to something like the Volquartsen so you can load once the bolt is locked bac by simply pulling the bolt handle and letting go, and maybe install the Ruger BX trigger if you'd like a lighter, crisper trigger. That a sling and a scope may be all you need. Be careful though, it's easy to get lost in the world of 10/22 modification
Yep, nice little plinker!
I recently added another Ruger to the fold, a Mini14. Put an Eotech on it, finally got to try it last night! Mag was a little fussy, but boy does that ring the steel at 50 yds! Can't imagine what it would do to a varmint.
Just need a sealed storage case, and it's ready for it's new home in the barn.
If this one is used from years ago , remember that these things used to cost $99 new, for many many years.
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