Rugers new 10/22 Takedown - a quick look

[xl_target]

My buddy, Dave, just picked up a new 10/22 take-down rifle so after firing it and playing with it for a little while, I thought I'd share my observations with our IFG members.

The new Ruger 10/22 takedown is a semi-automatic 10 shot synthetic-stocked carbine. It has an 18.5 inch tapered barrel. The standard barrel mounted factory sights are a folding leaf (adjustable) rear sight and a front sight with a brass bead (that is adjustable for windage only).Both sights are dovetail mounted and can be removed and replaced easily.
A combination weaver/dovetail scope/rail mount is provided with the rifle. The scope rail mount is attached to the receiver with four screws (provided) that go into pre-drilled and tapped holes on top of the receiver.
The receiver itself is the standard Ruger 10/22 receiver which is cast Aluminum. One ten round rotary magazine is provided with the rifle. No sling swivels are provided with the rifle. The rifle comes disassembled and packed in a black cordura nylon bag emblazoned with the Ruger logo in red (embroidery).


The provided Ruger bag



The bag unzipped and opened, showing the compartments that the components are packed in.
The flaps on the pockets are closed with Velcro



The components removed from the pockets.



The two halves of the rifle


To assemble the rifle, the bolt is locked back and the barrel/handguard assembly is turned to fortyfive degrees in relation to the receiver/stock assembly.


Pushing the two halves towards each other will lock them together. The bolt should then be released and pulled back and released several times (using the charging handle). Now the magazine can be inserted and the rifle is ready to fire.


To disassemble the rifle, the latch on the right hand side must be pushed towards the muzzle and the bolt must be pulled all the way back and held in place with the bolt hold open lever. Then the barrel/handguard assembly is twisted in a counter-clockwise (looking from the front) direction for about 45 degrees and the two halves are pulled apart.



Here you can see the mating surfaces of the two halves.


This is a "tech sight" rear sight assembly which is a fully adjustable two position peep sight.(These are not the stock sights



The front post on the tech sights are adjustable and are protected by ears.(These are not the stock sights)

Personal observations:
The rifle felt very solid when assembled. There was absolutely no slop in the assembly. I fired it with the iron sights at 50 yards. My group was about half an inch wide but it was strung out vertically for about three inches. The target we were using had a tiny bullseye and was wider thatn the front sight post at 50 yards. So while I was apparently very careful to center the front sight on the bull, I wasn't very careful with my vertical hold. I think with a scope, this rifle would be close to MOA at 50 yards.There isn't much room in the bag for the receiver/stock assembly and a large scope so a smaller scope would have to be chosen.
The trigger was the usual creepy 12 lb Ruger trigger. It went together easily and came apart easily too. There didn't seem to be a POI shift after repeated disassembly and reassembly. There was no failures to feed, fire and eject even with different types of .22 ammo. The synthetic stock and stailless finish on the gun should make it impervious to the weather. This will make a great backpack gun or truck gun.



Basic disassembly instructions from the Ruger website (HERE)

References:
Tech Sights
The 10/22 takedown instruction manual
A gunblast review

[Bhargav]

xl_target,

I have seen this rifle and didn't quite like it. Well accuracy wise Ruger 10/22 is great but the breakdown feature ? why? according to me the only good it will do is instead of full rifle case now you can have a smaller case but that's about it. If you ask me, the standard 10/22 itself is expensive may be because it offers a huge possibility of mods...

I am planning to buy the Marlin XT-22R 22 bolt action .. the price is right and its very accurate for recreational plinking.

[xl_target]

Bhargav,

Both the Marlin and the Savage are decent rifles and both have a better trigger pull than the Ruger. They are also cheaper than the Ruger (at least the basic models). The basic wood stocked Ruger carbine is $199, so its anywhere from $25 to $50 more than either of those. The take-down version is quite a bit more but Ruger offers the 10/22 in many different versions.

However, I have had a Ruger 10/22 since 1984, so I am a little prejudiced. This is one rifle that I have really shot a lot. Tens of thousands of rounds before I had any issues and even then Ruger fixed to problem at no cost to me (after 28 years of service)!

The advantages of the Ruger 10/22:

1. It is smaller in size than either the Marlin or Savage bolt action rifles. So it is quite a bit more handy in the woods. It is just as accurate. At least the two that I have are very accurate. Under an inch at 100 yards with the proper ammo.

2. The largest aftermarket support segment of almost any firearm out there. You can buy pretty much any part on the gun in an enhanced or improved version. Stocks, barrels, trigger assemblies, bolts, mag releases, magazines, you name it. The reason all this is available is not because there is something wrong with the gun but that it is so easy to take apart and put together. Anyone can do it. It's like a Lego set.

3. The 10 round rotary magazines are exceptionally well engineered. I finally took one of mine apart after 28 years, not because it needed it but just because I was curious. I was able to clean it and reassemble it and it worked without any issues. The magazine also does not protrude from the stock, it fits flush. That is really nice when you are carrying it in the woods.

4. Rugers exceptional customer service. I read on Rimfire Central where a guys sent a 50 year old 10/22 to Ruger and they put on a new stock, a new trigger assembly and re-blued it for him with no charge. My own experience with their CS has been exceptional too.

5. This rifle has been made for so long that there are very few bugs in it. It is dead reliable whether fired slow or fast. I'm perfectly willing to admit though that my 10/22's have spent more time at the range than in the woods. There is something neat about rapping off ten rounds really fast at the range and hitting your target every time. Ok, That's the kid in me talking

I'm not trying to talk you out of buying a Marlin, I'm just extolling the virtues of the 10/22. if you buy the Marlin, please post a review here including some target photos.

[Baljit]

XL, guy work with me he also picked up last weekend.i ask him a few questions but he did not shoot this gun yet so i can't comment on this but i like to shoot this gun as well .

one thing forsure Ruger 10/22 is one of the best .22 in the market.you know i have a 10/22 and SR22 but still i like to shoot this, who knows if i like it then maybe i am going to have other one.


Baljit

[Bhargav]

Bhargav,

Both the Marlin and the Savage are decent rifles and both have a better trigger pull than the Ruger. They are also cheaper than the Ruger (at least the basic models). The basic wood stocked carbine is $199, so its anywhere from $25 to $50 more than either of those. The take-down version is quite a bit more but Ruger offers the 10/22 in many different versions.

However, I have had a Ruger 10/22 since 1984, so I am a little prejudiced. This is one rifle that I have really shot a lot. Tens of thousands of rounds before I had any issues and even then Ruger fixed to problem at no cost to me (after 28 years of service)!

The advantages of the Ruger 10/22:

1. It is smaller in size than either the Marlin or Savage bolt action rifles. So it is quite a bit more handy in the woods. It is just as accurate. At least the two that I have are very accurate. Under an inch at 100 yards with the proper ammo.

2. The largest aftermarket support segment of almost any firearm out there. You can buy pretty much any part on the gun in an enhanced or improved version. Stocks, barrels, trigger assemblies, bolts, mag releases, magazines, you name it. The reason all this is available is not because there is something wrong with the gun but that it is so easy to take apart and put together. Anyone can do it. It's like a Lego set.

3. The 10 round rotary magazines are exceptionally well engineered. I finally took one of mine apart after 28 years, not because it needed it but just because I was curious. I was able to clean it and reassemble it and it worked without any issues. The magazine also does not protrude from the stock, it fits flush. That is really nice when you are carrying it in the woods.

4. Rugers exceptional customer service. I read on Rimfire Central where a guys sent a 50 year old 10/22 to Ruger and they put on a new stock, a new trigger assembly and re-blued it for him with no charge. My own experience with their CS has been exceptional too.

5. This rifle has been made for so long that there are very few bugs in it. It is dead reliable whether fired slow or fast. I'm perfectly willing to admit though that my 10/22's have spent more time at the range than in the woods. There is something neat about rapping off ten rounds really fast at the range and hitting your target every time. Ok, That's the kid in me talking

I'm not trying to talk you out of buying a Marlin, I'm just extolling the virtues of the 10/22. if you buy the Marlin, please post a review here including some target photos.

I am not saying that the rifle is bad as in bad quality or the customer service is bad. It is very famous and a good product gets famous.

When i was doing my research for my first 22lr, I was leaning towards the semi auto. But then I am more of a precision shooter and always loved bolt actions so started looking into a Ruger 77 and started comparing the prices. I started thinking, well the gun is famous and pretty much everybody has it or would like to have one then why it is so expensive? Just because there are number of mods available in the market... waaaaaaa... this is a -ve point for a first time firearm buyer like me. I don't even know whether plinking is for me or not especially when I don't hunt so no varmints for me.

Then i started looking at the Savages and the CZs but again CZs were on the expensive side and didn't like the Savages much. Then somebody on some other forum suggested Marlin XT-22 series which is their new line. The price looked right so I went to Cabela's and held couple of them in hand and shouldered them and alas I was in love

I personally feel that there should be some heft to a rifle or any firearm, I really like the weight of those smallbore bull barrel competition rifles but then again .. its the price.. so I will hold my horses. I don't mean to bad mouth about Rugers but its just that I like Marlins better . I am reading about Marlins since past 3 months now and at this point I am so desperate to get it and i may get it anytime but I will be taking trap lessons this weekend so I also have a shotgun in mind. I might end up getting a used Remington 870 express 12 ga pump action for the trap but lets see..

Thanks for posting the pics, Btw hicock45 has done a good review on the rifle just in case if anybody wants to see it, herez the youtube link:


I will post a detail range report once I get my Marlin bolt action, Till then Happy Shooting.

so many guns and so less money

[Vikram]

Nice piece on the rifle,XL. Thanks for sharing. It must be a fun plinking gun.


Best-
Vikram

[xl_target]

Vikram,
If you watch the Hickok45 video that Bhargav posted, it very hard not to do that all the time.
Of course, hickok45 seems to have fun with whatever he shoots but that rattling off of entire magazines is usually what happens with the 10/22.
It takes discipline to sit down and try to shoot for groups. LOL

[Bhargav]

Vikram,
If you watch the Hickok45 video that Bhargav posted, it very hard not to do that all the time.
Of course, hickok45 seems to have fun with whatever he shoots but that rattling off of entire magazines is usually what happens with the 10/22.
It takes discipline to sit down and try to shoot for groups. LOL

Thats the reason I decided to go with bolt action one at a time, making the shots count.

Here in Seattle the ranges do not have steel targets otherwise steel is fun to shoot.