Why Ruger’s 10/22 Is for You, You, and You Too

The Ruger 10/22 is iconic—legendary, even.

It’s one of the most recognizable models of firearm on the market, and one of the most popular .22 caliber rifles in the United States since its introduction. An early pioneer of modern firearms design, it’s been in continuous production since 1964. It’s estimated that there are over 7 million Ruger 10/22s that have been manufactured, and that does not count aftermarket versions! Arguably one of the most popular .22LR rifles ever produced, the history of the 10/22 is synonymous with American culture. For countless shooters it was a 10/22 that would ignite the shooting passion as a first introduction to shooting.

What it is

The 10/22 in its basic form is a blowback-action firearm. After that it is hard to pin down the definition of exactly what a 10/22 is, because that depends on the configuration. The 10/22 is a chameleon that can adapt to whatever the user or manufacturer wants it to be—available in different calibers, as pistols, or rifles, with heavy or lightweight barrels, and every stock you can imagine.

Let’s take a step back to pre-1964 and what the landscape looked like at the time. The 22LR was introduced way back in 1887, between then and 1964 basically most firearms were handmade. Don’t get me wrong; there was an industry set up and firearms were machined in great numbers. But those still needed the skilled hands of gunsmiths to fit the parts together to make them function. This was especially true of the .22LR, with its rimmed cartridge that to this day has a reputation of being finicky. More often than not, .22LR guns of the era ran like clockwork … specifically, clocks that would go out of time and require frequent tuning.

What made the 10/22 different?

The 10/22 was one of the first modular firearms available. The way the 10/22 is manufactured and put together meant that anyone could easily disassemble the rifle for things like maintenance, which is critical for a dirty lil’ cartridge like the .22LR. As a gunsmith I have worked on plenty of vintage .22LR firearms, and it always amazes me what hoops designers made people go through just to disassemble a particular firearm. The modularity of the 10/22 was forward thinking and revolutionary.

Modularity

Barrel Block: To cut down on manufacturing costs, the barrel of the 10/22 is a simple hand-tight friction fit that is slid into the front of the receiver. The barrel is then held in place with a barrel block, a simple V-shaped retainer block that mates with both the barrel and receiver. Two amply-sized screws hold the block into the receiver.

Tools: To completely disassemble a 10/22, a user only needs a couple screwdrivers and Allen key set. Maybe (and a big maybe) sometimes a punch and small hammer is necessary to help get a stubborn pin out.

Modularity: The 10/22 is several smaller components that are held together by simple pins and a few screws. Two hand-tight screws will release the barrel band and stock. Once you remove the barrel and action from the stock, with most 10/22s you have to be careful because pins can just start falling out, separating the lower trigger pack from the upper. Everything in the lower trigger pack is held in with straight pins, no screws. After that you just use your fingers, holding the bolt back to remove the charging handle, and the bolt is easily removed…no tools required. Anyone with a moderate level of common sense could easily maintain a 10/22.

Manufacture

Bill Ruger was a pioneer when it came to investment casting and firearms. Ever seen the cartoon where a whole tree is brought into the manufacturing plant, goes through a bunch of different steps slowly making the wood smaller, until the factory produces one toothpick? That’s kind of like what manufacturing guns used to look like.

Instead of having a block of metal and machining out all of the intricate shapes, removing metal until the final part, Ruger uses investment casting. The investment cast process uses a mold that produces a piece that is mostly finished. Molten metal is poured into the mold and is then cleaned up with a few machine processes like pin holes to finalize the part. This efficiency is passed onto the customer, giving a quality product and a bargain of the price.

Magazines

Part of the reason that a .22LR firearm can be finicky is due to the tolerances of different .22LR ammo, especially with the rim. With a straight-stacked magazine the rim on each case makes the bullets want to feed awkwardly, mostly with a downward attitude. Things like magazine spring pressure, feed ramps, feed lips and bolt speed all have to work in harmony. That’s where the brilliance of the 10/22’s rotary magazine shines. The way the rotary magazine works is that each round fits in its own channel around a rotary screw. Each round has a “cradle” that optimizes for feeding, presenting one round at a time for the bolt to push it in place.

What makes the 10/22 so special is that, since it has been in production since 1964, we have generations of shooters in the same family that have used a 10/22. Because they are so easily tailored to the shooter, a 10/22 can easily be a young shooter’s first experience with firearms. It can also be an adult shooting-competition, space-age version with carbon fiber and laminated stocks. Young, old, experienced, or totally green, the Ruger 10/22 is for everyone.

—James the “XDMAN” Nicholas Mr. UnPewFessional Himself!