Email a copy of 'Start With a .22 Rifle– Part 1, by behind-the-counter' to a friend
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Who doesnt have an affection for the Ruger 10/22 ? time tested and a solid reputation. I have two, One dates back to the 60’s.
Love them both.
You have to admire Bill Ruger’s genius. Thoughtful, safe, reliable, inexpensive, and a lot of fun. It’s hard to stop with only two.
Great article! I love .22s and somehow over time I have ended up with 10 total with which half are rifles. Two of the rifles are the 10/22s with one being a sporterized carbine with a camo laminated stock and a fluted/threaded bull barrel that I put together. The other is a stock take down in black synthetic and stainless barrel. I’ve added a scope to it, but other than that it is all stock. It does not have the threaded barrel and I wish it did as I already have the .22 suppressor that I use on some pistols and the other 10/22. I bought the takedown specifically to have a good solid get out of Dodge pack rifle. I enjoyed the article about these guns and look forward to the next installment. Thanks.
Straight out of the box and in the Ruger supplied range bag, the 10/22 Takedown (especially with a threaded barrel for the reasons you mention) is an absolute bargain for a get out of Dodge rifle. With some of the modifications, suggested in Part 2 and Part 3, it becomes even more effective.
Nice piece on entry-level marksmanship.
I couldn’t agree more on the merits of a .22LR rifle, but there are a few models I like more than the Ruger 10/22 take down.
I would prefer to see a clean bolt-gun with iron sights as a trainer. It allows parents to teach the littler ones without the added risk of ADs. The bolt gun slows down follow-on rounds, allowing parents to talk through operations and discuss accuracy.
I agree completely with your comment on the value of a single shot bolt action as a training rifle for youngsters. My birthday present when I turned 6 was a short barrel Remington Model 514. For Rimfire Challenge, a semi-auto is essential because of the time clock. After working with and on a number of different semi-autos, we prefer the 10/22. For Appleseed, the time pressure is much relaxed and many folks have earned their Rifleman Patch with a good bolt action, usually magazine fed. Add the prepper value, and in our view, the 10/22 Takedown is the best choice at a reasonable price.
I have both – A ruger 10/22 (which I love) and a Montgomery Wards single shot bolt action (as best I can tell, I’m pretty sure it was made by savage, but it’s close to 100 years old, maybe older). I learned to shoot on the bolt action and have loved it ever since. Being single shot, you learn to make every shot count, but having that quick follow up shot on the 10/22 sure is nice.
Both are important in a prepper’s tool kit, and either one could be a great first gun. For the keen shopper, one of those older single shot rifles can occasionally be found at a gun store or a pawn shop for as little as $30 to $40 — and negotiable even at that price.
I am a strong believer in “Two is one; one is none.” Having two .22LR rifles is a great common sense solution particularly if you already have a supply of .22LR ammo set aside. If something happens to your completely upgraded 10/22 so that it cannot be repaired, the single shot as a backup keeps the ammo in play.
Even if you do nothing else, you might consider adding an aperture sight to the old bolt gun. Does it already swivel studs for a sling?
I took an Appleseed course with my daughter last weekend. We were both shooting unmodified Ruger 10/22s. Both rifles gave us trouble. The sights on her rifle were extremely off. The rifle I used demonstrated increasing difficulty in manipulation of the bolt release as mentioned in his article. We both had to use loaner rifles to complete the course. Right out of the box, the 10/22 is NOT acceptable IMO, for a course or match. I strongly suggest that if you are to use the 10/22 for a class, then the modifications mentioned in the article are a must. Yes, in theory it might be possible to shoot the AQT with an out of the box 10/22 but not very likely. The shooter is much more likely to get very frustrated as we were. Most of those at the match that were passing the AQT were shooting either scoped ARs or high end scoped .22s. Having equipment issues during a class can ruin the whole experience; especially for a young shooter. I will also add, that I was told by an instructor that the Takedown was not recommended for Appleseed shoots.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Helping shooters avoid your experience is why I submitted this 4-part article. I would love to hear about your next Appleseed weekend after making the upgrades and installing a good rimfire scope.
As you now know, the two things Appleseed recommends to turn the 10/22 into a “Liberty Training Rife” are swivel studs and a sling plus an aperture rear sight. There are essentially 3 ways to follow their aperture sight recommendation – TechSights on the receiver, a Skinner Sight mounted on the receiver or especially for a Takedown mounted on the barrel. We go one step further and recommend shooting at least several hundred rounds with the new sights in order to get to know the rifle/sight combo and make any necessary adjustments before heading off to an Appleseed weekend.
Our four critical upgrades are recommended for any 10/22 but especially for an Appleseed weekend. Your problem with the bolt release would have been eliminated completely. The other common issue happens when the charging handle gets sticky in the middle of a course of fire. The super slick and polished guide rod and spring from Kidd make a huge difference in function and avoiding the frustrations especially when you are trying to do the best you can.
With my eyes and bifocals, I have no choice but to use a scope, and we encourage customers to spend the money upfront. We encourage scopes for Appleseed and a reflex (our choice is C-More) or red dot (UltraDot) for Rimfire Challenge.
Some parents have the notion that children can learn on anything and spend less money on upgrades or quality sights for their kids. We recommend just the opposite – give the younger shooter every opportunity to succeed.
It is important to understand the trade-offs with a Takedown, and some are less accurate than a carbine as I mention in the article. Adjusting the barrel tension ring helps a lot. For the best accuracy, say at an Appleseed weekend, we recommend getting the rifle zeroed and not taking it apart for the whole weekend. In our experience, the most that the zero will be impacted by disassembly/re-assembly is about an inch or inch and a half, which is plenty good for plinking – but not for Appleseed. For the smallest group size in a particular event or match, don’t take it apart until you are done and packing to go home. When we go to a match, we take our 10/22s fully assembled in a full-length soft case.