  The Ruger American Rimfire is a leapfrog over every other rimfire bolt gun in the market. It has a wish list of cool and useful features, and it shoots great.  The niftiest feature is the replaceable stock cap. It allows you to change the comb height from low, for using iron sights, to high for a proper cheek weld with a scope. You have to try it to understand how much it improves your shooting to have that cheek weld.  You change the stock insert by unscewing the rear sling stud. That’s it. It pops on and off.  You can shoot the gun with open sights, and itt has a machined 3/8 rail for rimfire rings as well as screw holes for #18 Weaver bases for full size scope mounts. The American Rimfire is on the right and the original American centerfire in .30-06 from our review two years ago is on the left.  Despite its smaller hardware, the Rimfire, top, is virtually indistinguishable from its big brother below.  The American Rimfire takes 10/22 mags and has the extended easy to use magazine release. The 10 round mag is flush and the 25 works in the gun as well. The .22WMR will use the rotary 9 round magazine.  There are four models coming out initially, an “adult” and a “kid,” or smaller shooter one. The full size gun will have a 22” barrel and come with both high and low comb stock inserts in a 13.75” length of pull. The smaller gun has an 18” barrel and comes with these other two, shorter inserts. Addtional inserts are available from shopruger.com for $19.95.  Our best groups with the gun at 50 yards were with that Federal ammo on the bottom right and CCI Stingers on the top left. The were both around .75” consistently. The worst was the 32 grain Federal Spitfire. All five types of ammo we tried were consistent with each other target to target for the same brand, which is very telling of what we can expect with high end Hornady ammo in the .22WMR and eventually the .17HMR versions. My guess is that these will be well into sub-MOA territory with good ammo.  Rob Gramer, who handles new business development for GunsAmerica, went to a special Ruger event at GunSite Academy last week to try the new gun and learn a whole lot about hunting safety and shooting. He is going to write an article about it for us soon.  Rob is writing us an article about his experience at GunSite with Ruger.  Burris supplied the scopes for the Ruger event, and we also used a Burris Rimfire 3-9 scope on our test rifle. |
Ruger Firearms
https://www.ruger.com/AmericanRimfire
What is the best 22LR rifle? Every gun nut gets that question several times a year, and the answer always is a question. “Do you want a semi-auto or a bolt action?” If the answer is semi-auto, most people will suggest the Ruger 10/22. But until now, if they answered a bolt action, very few if any people would suggest a Ruger. Their 77/22 is a little known rifle and carries a price of about $700. Today Ruger changed that by releasing what is arguably the coolest and most investment worthy rimfire bolt action in the world. It is called the Ruger American Rimfire, and we got to shoot and test it extensively over the last couple weeks. It features a unique system to change the comb height and length of pull on the gun, and the receiver has both a machined rail for 3/8” rimfire rings as well as being drilled and tapped for regular rings. All this rides on Ruger’s patent pending Power Bedding (R) system, where the polymer stock has metal fittings embedded in it, just like a polymer pistol. This makes the rifle as solid as a rock for accuracy, and our testing of the .22LR model showed that the rifle has great potential to be a tack driver. It takes 10/22 mags, and the suggested retail price all four of the 4 models coming out now in both .22LR and .22WMR are $329. Your local gunshop will either have them on the shelf this week, or can order them through their distributors.
The American Rimfire is based on the Ruger American Rifle, which we reviewed almost two years ago for SHOT Show of 2012. The rifle division of Ruger is located in New Hampshire and if you talk to the guys who run the operation, they are passionate not just about guns, but also about Ruger. They realized that in order to keep Ruger strong, Ruger had to come up with a new design that took advantage of newer computerized manufacturing, to bring down costs and consumer prices, while boosting performance. There are a lot of new shooters in the market, but their pockets aren’t deep for shooting yet, and with internet reviews only a click away, any new product in the entry level shooter market had better not only be priced competitively. It also has to be darn good. The result was the Ruger American, and it is in fact darn good. It is a ton of gun for a very low price. Now this Ruger American Rimfire appears to be the same high quality gun, plus a whole wishlist of things Ruger came up with to make the rifle more usable and practical for a lifetime of shooting. Here are the features that make the American Rimfire stand out among other bolt rifles in its entry level price range, and even beyond that:
- Modular Stock System – The modular stock system on the Ruger American Rimfire provides you with two inserts when you buy the gun. One is for using the integral iron sights and the other has a higher comb for use with a scope so that you can get a proper cheek weld for good long range shooting with optics. The 22” barrel versions of the gun (both .22LR and .22WMR), weigh 6 lbs and come with two full length inserts that have a 13 3/4” length of pull. The 5.38 lbs 18” barreled compact versions both come with two inserts that are a 12 1/2” length of pull for smaller shooters. One of the big problems with buying a kid a “kid” .22 is that in a few years the thing is too small for them. It ends up getting thrown in the back of a closet with its lock on it, only to be discovered a decade later covered with rust and dust bunnies. Because the inserts are replaceable from shopruger.com for only $19.95, they could be cut down even further, and Ruger will probably offer a super small version down the road. When the kid gets bigger you just put in the bigger insert. It’s awesome. You just unscrew the sling stud and it comes right off. Being able to switch between the iron sights and the scope, both with a good cheek weld that feels “right” is really cool when you actually swap them out. It is a well balanced and good feeling gun and the solid cheek weld really helps the overall feel when shooting it.
- Scope Versatility – When you first buy a .22, you most always buy a cheap scope for it, usually a $40 Wal-Mart special, that is marked “Rimfire” on it. Rimfire scopes use special rings that are smaller, and they require a 3/8th “ base, much smaller than your standard Weaver or Picatinny sized base. The American Rimfire comes with a 3/8” rimfire base machined into the receiver, but it is also drilled and tapped for #18 Weaver bases (not included). So if you want to shoot a higher quality centerfire scope, you can easily. Once the .17HMR version of this comes out this option will really matter. The bolt is also only a 60 degree throw, so it clears even a low scope. The only issue we encountered with the system is that the bell of a 40mm rimfire scope almost hits the fold down rear open sight when you use standard low Weaver rimfire rings. We had to mount the scope a little further forward than was perfect. And if you want to start out with iron sights, the rear is a functional fold down standard 10/22 sight with a fiber optic Williams front blade/bead.
- Accuracy & Shootability – When the original American came out one of the outlandishly advanced features in a low cost rifle was the Ruger Marksman trigger. It is adjustable from 3-5 lbs., and it has the safety paddle. This allows you to carry the gun in the field with a fairly light trigger pull without the worry of banging the gun or dropping it and having it go off. Our trigger on the test gun was just under 3 lbs, and crisp and clean. The paddle was a little sticky at the beginning of it’s travel, but it got less sticky as we shot it more. The other accuracy component is of course the Power Bedding ® system. A metal to metal fit between the receiver and the stock makes great accuracy possible. The barrrels on these guns are hammer forged like the centerfire rifles, and they have a clean crown to protect the end of the rifling. Our test rifle shot into just under an inch at 50 yards with the two best performing ammo, Federal Lightning and CCI Stingers. When we get the .22WMR and eventually the .17HMR, we’ll be able to use high end Hornady ammo to see what the gun can really do.
- 10/22 Mags – This mostly applies to the .22LR versions of the gun, but it is a very big deal. Magazines are the point of failure for most multiple shot guns. The 10 round 10/22 mag is the most tried and true rimfire magazine in the world, and the 25 rounder works perfectly as well. For the other guns out now, the .22WMR ones, they will use a 9 round magnum version of the same magazine, and the .17HMR will probably use that magazine as well. We have only used that magazine on one test gun over the years and it worked fine. The only issue with the magazine on our test gun was that at first, the first round out of every magazine was a flyer. It was like the first shot was settling the magazine in. Later we tried jiggling the magazine a bit after seating it, and the problem went away. So if you experience this, just jiggle the mag a bit.
- Safety – File this one under you learn something new every day. Besides the paddle on the trigger and the tang mounted manual safety, The American Rimfire has a feature that is unique to this rifle. You don’t have to pull the trigger in order to remove the bolt. This may not seem like much, but there are two important things. One is that rimfire firing pins are notorious for not being ok to dry fire. It work hardens the pin, which makes it brittle, and they can break. Don’t dry fire your rimfire! The other thing is habit. If you are in the habit of having to fire your rifle before you remove the bolt for cleaning, it is really easy to forget to check the chamber before doing so down the road. If, after a long day of squirrel hunting with no luck, your phone rings with some otherworldly family emergency just as you get back to your scooter, it is foreseeable that you could forget to eject the live round from the chamber before slinging your rifle for the ride home. Absentmindedly pulling the trigger without checking the chamber is a Murphy’s law moment, and those moments happen to the best of us. This is a good feature and apparently the first of its kind.
With this one new rifle Ruger has propelled itself to the front of the pack of the bolt action rimfire market, so it can sit right beside itself as the leader in the semi-auto rimfire market with the 10/22. While there are other great rimfire bolt guns out there at affordable prices, nobody is going to dispute that the Ruger American Rimfire has leapfrogged the entire market. The rifle is superb, and missing really nothing. These guns are going to fly off the shelves, so get your order in for them, as Ruger is already behind in orders and working feverishly to fill what they can. The kids are back in school this week and retail season is starting to heat up. If you want a Ruger American Rimfire for Christmas, fair warning, get the order in now with your local dealer. By Black Friday they will most likely already be back ordered,.
Boy, the admins on this site sure are Aholes. Get paid by Ruger much?
Just purchased a RAR in .17 HMR. The rifle shoots well. Tiny groups at 50 yds. and ground squirrels out at 150 yrds in Idaho. The only problem with this rifle is that it won’t extract about 10% of the time. I’ve tried 3 different types of ammo in it and cleaned it meticulously. Sill the same and I refuse to tweek on it. Sending it back to Ruger. Very disappointed. I bought this as a replacement for a Savage that wouldn’t feed. Does anyone build a bolt action rimfire at this price point that WORKS? My Ruger 77 .17HMR functions flawlessly but it’s more than twice the money. My kid is shooting the 77 while we wait for RAR to return. Sad.
I’m disappointed as well. I’ve got this thing shooting tight groups at 100 yards BUT it won’t eject nearly 30% of the rounds. I’m waiting to hear back from Ruger.
Correction….the Ruger American Rimfire is tapped and drilled for a #12 Weaver base.
I have had a Ruger American 308 for going on three years now, it is hands down the best all around rifle I have ever owned. My Ruger is quiet in the field, both action and safety operate very quiet, a big plus, I don’t have to worry about dings in the wood, the action is smooth, the trigger is easily adjustable to how I want it set, and I love the Tang Safety which is one of the smoothest on the market. I own far more expensive rifles Weatherby Remington, Browning, and CZ, being a few of them, but my Ruger American feels better, is lighter, has a better trigger, and quite frankly is evenly or just a bit better at 100 to 500 yard shots than any of them! The action was a bit tight to lock at first, but after a few rounds and some good cleaning and lube it has become my hunting rifle of choice!!! I have owned lot of Ruger pistols and have never, ever had a problem with any of them.
I looked at the new Ruger American 22LR just yesterday and was just comparing the rifle to others, but after my pleasure of owning the 308 I am sure all three of my children will end up owning a Ruger American 22lr. Future hunters are all three of them, their adoption to the 308 will be flawless when they are ready for it!
We should be focused on what our future holds for our children and ourselves. Three things that are most important to me that I never learned in school; 1) stand up for yourself and your beliefs 2) know how to defend and feed yourself and family 3) When all else fails knowing 1 and 2 will keep you and your loved ones alive!
I just bought a Ruger American compact in 22lr put center point 4/16 scope on it shoots 3/8 or less at 50 yards great gun. This is what Ruger is all about. awesome gun hunting 17 HMR compact next. thanks RUGER TEAM awesome work.
I wish they make some in army green or tan–black gets too hot to touch here in the Texas sun.
I HAVE TO REPLY TO “KOKOMO” WHO CALLED SOMEBODY BRAIN DEAD. WHAT A SAD THING TO SEE, THIS FOOL CALLS SOMEBODY BRAIN DEAD BECAUSE HE THINKS THE LIBERALS GAVE US FREE MEDICARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY.
WELL, BRAINDEAD KOKOMO, I HAVE SAD NEWS FOR YOU, YOUR COMMUNIST DEMOCRATS GAVE US N O T H I N G. I AND WE PAID FOR OUR SOCIAL SECURITY, ALSO WE PAID FOR OUR MEDICARE. NOW IF YOU SAY I AM GOING TO GET BACK MORE THAN I PAID IN, IT’S YOU FOOLS THAT DID THE MATH.
ALSO WHAT ABOUT THE THOUSANDS AND THAOUSANDS WHO DIE BEFOR THEY CAN COLLECT ON ANY OF WHAT THEY CONTRIBUTED. WHERE IS THAT MONEY??
NO, KOKOMO, YOU ARE THE BRAINDEAD FOOL, NOT THE RECIPIENT OF YOUR FOOLISH BULLCRAP……..TM
I just read your comments concerning the magazines for the ruger american rimfire. You state that the rifle accepts
the 10/22 magazines. I just read in a major publication that the 10/22 mags would not work in the american. They
state that the american mags are a little bit narrower than the 10/22 mags therefore preventing their use in the
rimfire american.
When it come’s to rifles (no the case for pistol shooting) eye domination is far more important than hand domination. Being left handed but right eye dominant I couldn’t even consider shooting a rifle comfortably left handed. Pistol on the other hand (pun not intended), I have to shoot with an ackward left hand right eye stance.
My wife gave me a ruger American in 22 mag for xmas. I immediately put a scope on it and went outside to my rifle range. It shot 1/2 inch moa at 50 yds. Can’t wait to give the crows heck!
I simply do not care to own any firearm with the owners manual on the barrel.
I guess you rule out Benelli as well. A warning is hardly the “owners manual” but the truth doesn’t sound quite as outrageous, does it?
What timing and what a shame. I am very actively looking for a quality rimfire rifle in 22. BUT, I love wood, I will buy a gun because of it’s known shooting ability along with GOOD wood finish and figure. It appears as if Ruger is not marketing this gun to a buyer of wood. It is a shame for me. I will continue to pursue my want of a Winchester or Browning 52 sporter. Dang.
It will mature into having wood finishes most likely. Click on the CZ article that was also on the year in review digest.
I would buy a lefty immediately! Wonder if you can order one for the same price?
I have a 10/22 and like it, with the exception of the trigger. You’d think they could put a better trigger in their anchor .22 auto. You have to throw almost as much as the price of the rifle at it to fix it, and from aftermarket folks at that. At least give us an upgrade option, huh.
I like the idea of the American .22 LR, with one exception. The stock may be innovative, but it is butt ugly. Go with a nice wood stock with Monte Carlo comb as an option. I’m capable of sawing off the stock if it’s too long and refitting the shoulder pad.
I love Ruger products. This sounds like a nice rifle…I would like to own one. Too bad .22 shells are scarcer than hens teeth. If you find them online they’re going for about $75 per box of Remington 525 count copper JHP…outrageous!
“While there are other great rimfire bolt guns out there at affordable prices, nobody is going to dispute that the Ruger American Rimfire has leapfrogged the entire market.” Nobody will dispute it until they shoot a CZ ,my CZs will shoot those groups and better @ 100 yds I’m no hot shot but on an average day my CZ Ultralux will beat those grps @ 50 yds with open sites.
“My guess is that these will be well into sub-MOA territory with good ammo” stupid remark and review ,why did you not test it with some ammo that would show it’s accuracy ,most of what you used is not accurate ammo to start with. instead of CCI stingers you could have used the std vel CCI
Waiting for the American 17 hmr or the 17 wsm. But am def intrigued by the 30.06 and the 22lr. Just would rather have the 17 ….
You sold me when you told us that we don’t have to pull the trigger in order to remove the bolt! Genius!
I notice some folks commented on needing more firearms in left-handed models;
all us lefties learned on right-handed firearms, and now that computerized manufacturing
processes exist; we desire more left-handed firearms.
Thank You Ruger for listening~
I’d like a compact model in 5.56 don’t know why there isn’t
What about bx 25 mag in 22 magnum.I have a American mag and 10/22 mag and no hi cap mags.
Gud morning guns America I hope you can help me to my problem I want to b buy ruger 22lr rifle bolt action, I am a Filipino citizen how can I buy that one I hope you can send me a answer of my question and how much the price of that rifle thank you very much..
I like it a lot, but i’m going to wait for them to make the barrels interchangeable with the 10/22 so I can get a target barrel and put it on the american rimfire, or if they just made a full blown target version. That, or they could make a takedown model, i might even buy both
its not really a matter of price, its preference. My 10/22 was my first rifle years ago, I went to Bi-Mart, and there was a blued synthetic stock version and a blued walnut stock version for the same price, $200. I got the walnut stock version because i liked the way it looked, and i knew from my woodworking experience that you can seal wood without too much work. if they can sell those for the same price, i doubt there’s a reason why they couldnt make and sell a wood stocked american rimfire for the same price.
Could hardly ever find a lefty so learned to be a righty with a weapon , not that difficult just practice.
Try it and have the best of both worlds.
I haven’t bought a new .22 for quite a few years, so maybe things have changed, but not having to pull the trigger to remove the bolt is not unique to the Ruger. My old Remington 540x is set up so that rocking the safety back toward the butt allows the bolt to pull free. My ’77 Walther KKM has a similar feature and I think the Anschutz guns maybe did, too. I absolutely agree that it is an excellent feature for any gun.
I own one of the stainless Ruger All-Weather 77/22. It has to be one of the best rifles Ruger has ever produced. It will put kill shots on squirrels even if all you see is an eye! It is a shame they quit producing it. I wouldn’t trade this rifle for two of the new American Rimfires. I have owned a Ruger 77 in a 22-250. It was accurate for the first two or three shots. Then the barrel heated up and it was all over the place. Ruger pistols are great, dependable, and easy to tune. The only bad one I have owned recently is the LC-9. Probably one of the worst pistols I have owned due to the weird trigger. Spent another $100 and got the Galloway transfer bar and it is much better. Would not own another LC-9. I have the SR9-C and it is great.
It has been my experience with bolt action Ruger centerfires (77’s) that they either shoot well or shoot horribly–nothing in the middle. I’ve had friends spend large sums of money from gunsmiths trying to get their beautiful M77’s to shoot without success. They either shoot or they don’t. If you get one that doesn’t shoot either try to take it back, trade, or sell it. Don’t rely on Ruger Customer Service to straighten it out either. I bought a Ruger Scout when they first came out, sent it to Ruger after phoning them for permission, with a note requesting the take-down tools that failed to make it in the box from the factory, repair or replace the bolt which hung/hangs up and to free-float the stock as advertised (I was anxious for one and I bought it too quickly without thoroughly checking it out). It returned in a new free-floated stock, with the same bolt problem without take down tools but with an extra mag. I haven’t taken it out of the stock yet but the gun shop I bought it from told me that instead of free-floating the stock that Ruger was placing a fender washer between the stock and action. Maybe that’s why they aren’t sending the tools with the guns. I should have waited for the Savage. Savages may be ugly but I’ve never seen one that wouldn’t shoot.
I boughht one of the new Ruger American Rimfire 22LR with 22″ barrel. Immediate major problem- It takes a lot of force (a lot for a bolt 22) so, as the rounds are loaded into the chamber, the edge of the chamber shears off a piece of the bullet. It appears the magazine to chamber alignment is off. Also, I tried using a standard ruger 10 round magazine from one of my 10/22’s and the it will not even go into the receiver. I emailed Ruger yesterday, and I am waiting for their response. Very disappointed in the poor quality of this brand new and innovative design 22 bolt gun…..
You didn’t by any chance take apart the gun before you shot it did you? Ours showed none of that at all. I wouldn’t have posted this until Ruger answers you to begin with. It isn’t like they hand fitted a magazine to your gun. Unless you took it apart and put it back together wrong one magazine is no different from another.
We all know that Ruger has been making one of the best 22 LR ever. Whether semi auto or bolt action. Their many different types of 22 LR rifles are fantastic. the 10/22 the 22mag, The 17 hornet are all great for target and at some speeds reaching 3,000 fps that’s a great little killer if need be. The newer Winchester super mag looks like a great round. Now all of these higher velocity rounds are shot from a bolt action as far as I know. But better the gun you know…Now as far as the problem with the new pistols, Ruger will take care of it post hast. it sounds like very close tolerances to me but I am far from any expert on these matters I can only repeat what I read. OK the slide retracts, slides into battery the the firing pin hits the round? Is that what their saying? The smaller they make pistols the more troubles they’ll have. I like all of Rugers products and own them. However I tend to stay with SA/DA with a hammer. I also feel very safe when carrying a revolver. You’ve all seen John Wane movies, Well I think it was the shootest where he told Ron Howard that keeping the main chamber empty was safer the having all six. Now that was back before DA was available and I cannot understand that statement. Any comments?
Single action revolver with no transfer bar – load one, skip one, load the next four, bring the hammer back to full cock, hold the hammer back while pulling the trigger, and lower the hammer on the empty chamber. Any other type of firearm other than a single action revolver is a different loading procedure. A single action or double action or double action only (DAO) semi auto is far, far, different than a single action revolver. I may have jumped to a conclusion, but it’s the only excercise i get. I believe you are mixing action types.
steve
For over $700 I think the new Ruger should shot better than it did dissapoitment
It is $329
I’ve been looking for a .22 bolt action that doesn’t have an ugly magazine sticking out. I think I’m in love.
Savage already has an awesome left hand bolt action rimfire, the model 93. I have one in .17 HMR, with a bull barrel, and it’s a real tack driver: 1″ groups at 100 yds. (benchrest). It comes with the accu-trigger, which is something Ruger should take a hard look at.
That’s why Ruger came out with this rifle, you can bet. Savage was selling a ton of their bolt action rimfires for half the price Ruger was selling them for and they are better rifles. And despite what our fan boy author suggests, the 60 outsells the 10/22 by double. The figures are widely known. 11 million Marlins sold and 6 million Rugers sold. If you want to tinker with your rifle and make it into a $1000 semi-auto then by all means get a Ruger. They have a tremendous aftermarket parts selection. But if you want a rifle that works right out of the box buy a Marlin. They cost less and they’re more accurate. Fan boy might think 10/22’s better but a whole lot of people don’t. Remember these people care about selling stuff. I care about the truth. Yes there is a big market for Rugers. But there is a bigger market for Marlins. These people basically get paid to write positive stuff about rifles. They even suggest that a gun that hasn’t hit the market will be more accurate. Earth to fan boy. .22 magnums rarely shoot as accurate as a good .22 LR. The main reason is the lack of ammo choices. You seem to overlook the fact that there is a world of LR ammo around including target ammo used for Olympic competitions. Hornady does not make ammo as good as that ammo. They make good ammo but every rifle works with different ammo. Every real shooter knows that. Apparently fan boys don’t.
Finally a nice clean bolt action rifle. I am just sick of the attitude if its not a semi rifle or pistol it is not a good gun.
Thanks for the review and follow-up on comments.
A 22LR and when available, 17 is on my list.
Love my old Marlin 30-30 lever but my Ruger 10-22 is my favorite pactice-shoot on a budget.
I forgot to mention that Savage invented the trigger system you describe on the Ruger and Marlin has been using it for years now too. And that baloney about not being able to use a centerfire scope on a rimfire is ridiculous. I have a Weaver T-36 on my CZ. I had it on my Savage for a long time. I could easily put it on my Marlin XT too. Ruger has not invented something new here. Far from it. The only thing new is that modular stock. And the trick is to buy the stock you want from the start so you don’t need to fix it later.
Savage didn’t invent that trigger. Iver Johnson revolvers from the 1800s had it. The internals of the Ruger system are completely different from the Savage design.
I see you leave out my responses to your bunk. Marlin has sold twice as many 60’s as Ruger has sold 10/22’s. There’s a reason for that. It’s a more accurate, more dependable rifle that will last just as long. Or have you not noticed the problems with 10/22 mags? Marlin makes a simple rifle to do a simple job. Shoot accurately. I’ve put a lot of 60’s up against 10/22’s and despite what you seem to be thinking the 60’s won every single time. I have nothing against Ruger. I own one of their guns. But it isn’t a 10/22. I bought a better rifle for less money. But you fan boys don’t understand that. Go ahead and censor me again. Next time I’ll post a poll I saw once where the 10/22 was picked as the most overrated gun in history.
If most people say Ruger 10/22 when asked about semi-auto .22’s then why does Marlin sell twice as many Model 60’s? It’s a better gun for less money. Maybe if you get around a bunch of gun nuts who would just as soon spend time modifying their rifles as shooting them you would get that Ruger made the best semi-auto. But I’ve shot Marlins side by side with Rugers with both being brand new and the Marlin was the winner every time. They’re more accurate and more reliable. You just can’t make them look like GI Joe toys. I realize you sell a lot of those GI Joe looking parts but Marlin sells a lot of .22’s, far more than Ruger does. BTW Marlin made a great bolt action .22 long before Ruger did too. It’s a toss up which is better but Ruger is not the clear leader there either. And CZ makes better rifles than either and so does Savage. And that’s just in the lower price ranges. If you want to talk the “best” you have to talk Anschutz.
They don’t sell close to as many, and it isn’t a better gun. Ruger makes over 10,000 of the 10/22 a month I believe. Last year the company sold over 1 million guns and they will better that by half this year. The rest of what you have to say is equally bunk. Different doesn’t equal better.
I love the marllin model 60 and variants. Shoot them until they are dirty or jam, (about a box to a brick). For only$40 I will clean it and make it run again for another box, or brick. Never see the 10/22 in the shop except for modifications. Smitty
I prefer the rim fire models without protruding magazine such as Ruger and Remington for example. Of course the tube fed is Okay except for end-of-day unloading. My favorite every rim fire is the Marlin 39A, received as 12th BD gift. Tube magazine wasn’t a factor in the 40s (1940s that is) as we never unloaded anything any time except for cleaning or repair. Today I enjoy Rem 597, Marlin and the rest, but the 10/22 is the main go-to. For 22 mag it is the Rem 597. As I see it the quality is a wash among the major manufacturers.
I’m looking foreward to the review on the .22 WMR version. I’ve been eyeing a .22 mag for a while now. So far the Savage is looking good to me, but I want to see what you have to say about the Ruger before I lay down the money.
price should be in the savage .22 bolt action range, good 100 $ cheaper sure.
I think to get it $100 cheaper we would have to put Americans out of work,Savage rimfires are made in Canada.
We just got a new Rural King Store and they have all the .22’s. limit to 2 boxes per brand but they have 5 brands. Go every other day, Nice to be me!
I like to quick admin replies! I also need to vote for a lefty version. There are more and more folks who are discovering that left-eye dominance happens in a right handed person all the time. We are underserved in the bolt-action market. Thanks for a great article!
I am almost seventy years old have owned a lot of rugers never had a bad one, for my money best on the market.
It looks like a cheap pellet rifle. I too am too old to play with ugly guns. I want to see American workmanship with an beautiful piece of American Walnut.
Then go buy the 77/22 duh. That’s the whole point of having it in their product line. This is an entry level gun for people who want a plinker for not a lot of money.
If you are whining about a Ruger not having a classic walnut stock, with a cheek piece, and blued steel, just purchase a Kimber Great American Classic. Just bust out a thousand dollar bill, add another $500.00 for a mount, scope rings and scope, and gently squeeze the trigger. I have children that were small for their ages, and wanted to shoot and bought them Winchester Model 42 .410s. I never could bring myself to have the stocks cut down until they were through growing. This is an excellent starter and trainer for younger shooters; the adjustable stock allows Pops to use the rifle for plinking after changing out the stock piece from the short pull to a regular pull. With 30-06 shells at $1.00 each, and .300 Win Mags at $2.00, the Ruger would be a great practice rifle.
The CZ we recently reviewed is very reasonably price and was a great performer.
I agree the CZ is a great rifle. I’m not sure I would drag it out into the mountains and let it get beat up though. That is where this Ruger comes in. After a few miles you will really start to feel the difference in the weight too.
Yup. Got a CZ 452 ultra lux for about the price of this new Ruger and it’s nice, also got a couple CZ 527s in different calibers and love them. Accurate, moderately priced and good looking rifles made out of steel and walnut…
Ruger is only managing to get 2 or 3 of those 4 qualities at a time into any particular one of their gun selection. Wish they could pull off all 4!
I bought one to use for 4-H shooting sports it’s agreat rifle our kids share rifles not every kid in our club parents can aford to buy rifles this little rifle soots my needs .
(Philip burden shooting sports coach Ky.)
All this talk of best .22 is much ado about nothing. It is ignorant of the great Winchester 52’s and a number of good Remingtons that are much more accurate.
Old guns that are hit or miss getting a good one, and not more accurate in general.
Between myself and a friend we have 5 Winchester 52’s. All shoot sub half minute groups. We must be very lucky or is it just that that model is downright very good!
They have always need to make a lefty version. Otherwise we look at CZ or Savage for Southpaw Kit.
I have to agree with george s. There is nothing like a good looking wood stock. “LIFE TOO SHORT FOR A UGLY GUN.”
Then feel free to pay for it.
Left hand model please!
I like blued steel and walnut! All this composition (plastic) is for the cheep Walley world trade.
My wealthy boss has a stable-full of high quality custom guns (blued custom steel, XXXX walnut, custom checkering). He is afraid to take most of them hunting for fear of scratching them. Those he does take to the range shoot very well. Nevertheless, none shoot as well as my guns (match grade Stainless, fiberglass, Kevlar, carbon fiber laminate stocks, custom bedding). It matters not who shoots, my guns outperform the pretty guns – and they go hunting – very often successfully! Please do not equate “”synthetic” with “cheap.
It is mostly a matter “pretty vs performance”.
Wally-world cannot match quality in anything.
I’m waiting for the new B MAG-17. Where is Ruger on this one. Savage has one
I think you’ll see it if the cartridge does well. It is not the same shell size so it is a whole different tooling. See our article on it.
Thanks for the reply. I’m going to get the Savage ,but if Ruger builds one I’ll get it too. I’m partial to Ruger. Great guns.
Another vote for a LH version!
For those left hander’s out there try the Browning T bolt mine will shoot 3/8 in groups all day long with most ammo , it like the CCI target the best
And again, it is a gun that costs twice as much. Nobody said that this was the most accurate .22 in the world. It is just a lot of gun for the money, for the entry level or plinker.
I think what Mal D was commenting on is that the Browning is available in a LH model. Hopefully Ruger will bring out a LH model for our southpaw friends.
I’m sure that a lot of the Anschutz rifles will out shoot it as well. That wasn’t the point of the article or the rifle. Not sure why context is such a hard concept to grasp. I have one and it is what the review stated—a helluva lot of gun for the money.
How about a 17 mach2 version ?
I repeat: check out the new Win .17 Super Mag w/over 3100 fps mv. As far as I know, Savage is the only manufacturer chambering the new round. Others are sure to follow & hopefully Ruger will be there. The round looks a lot like a 22-250 in the pix but it is a rimfire. Since I got too damn’ old, coupled w/arthritis to walk & hunt now, I relegate myself to the Ben Avery Range here in Az & still love to shoot & the .22’s are still the cheapest way to go. I have a brick of Aguila .22 ammo that comes out @ 1750 fps, a hell of a lot faster than the 1100 to 1250 fps others. I haven’t fired a round of it yet & can’t attest to it’s accuracy but will do so as soon as it cools off here in Arizona. Keep them guns ready for what may come down the pike before we can root the obamaliar out of our White House!!!
Just another Faux News kool-aid drinker. It ain’t O’Bama old man and your probably on SS and medicare and who knows what other benefits given to you by the Democratic Party that you probably don’t want anything to do with cause your brain dead!
kokomo, not sure how you can come on here, or any other well informed 2nd ammendment blog/board, and spew that regurgitation out for all the PRO-gunners to see. The Democratic Party and its current leader, and unfortunately OUR current leader, have done as much to hinder and/or remove from gun owners their rights as gun owners, as any 2 or maybe 3 of the worst previous anti-gun administrations combined. And that includes all the things they tried to legally sneak past us and/or lie to us about and were unable to because of the watchful eyes of groups such as the NRA and the FEW remaining political leaders who have the safety of the people of this country as a top priority. They (Dems) have stubbed their toe way too many times and showed the cards they wanted to play, only to try and take ’em back after they realized we pro-gunners weren’t going to let their hand play out as they planned. If we take a look around the world at the examples of places that changed to an unarmed citizenship, and the accompanying change in crime rates for those places, the choice for which side of the line to stand on should be a no-brainer, even for those with political blinders on such as yourself.
KOKOMO MUST BE A BRAINDEAD CALIFORNIAN. NO COMMON SENSE AND SCRAMBLED EGGS FOR BRAINS.
WE PAY FOR ALL OUR MEDICARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY. YOU IDIOTS DID THE MATH. SO IF WE GET MORE THAN WE PAID IN….THANKS DUMMY!!…………TM
WHOA cowboy, sure as hell not the Democrat part that gave you anything, As far as SS and Medicare, WE paid for it, you dumb JACKASS. And its your Damn Democratic Party that is trying to take your gun rights away.
What is this .22LR cartridge of which you speak? I have heard of it, but I think it is mythical. I believe my father used to speak of its existence. 😉
Touche!
Why dont they ever show tests from a vice or led sled or something to show what the rifle is capable of to iliminate varibles in shooting ability. I would like to see the results of the gun without the varibles . How do we know where the .75 inch shotgun pattern instead of one hole varible comes from. I dont want to buy one just to find out how accurate this model is.
All of our tests are from a Led Sled with a bag of shot. We usually have a picture of the gun in the Sled actually, but the pictures for this article were cut short due to weather. This is the best you are going to get with the .22LR brands you see here. There are other CCI types we can’t get right now, and Fiocchi in the can has outperformed other .22LR as well, but we ran out of it recently and impatiently waiting for more.
I don’t get it. What’s new here? I thought they were going to introduce .17 WSM today. Another let down.
I own a 10/77 and the accuracy is perfect. One shot One Deer last Hunting season!
Jeremiah787
“Scuse me, but which state can you hunt deer w/a rimfire .22???? I sure don’t know of any.
Montana has no caliber restrictions for big game–period.
Maybe with a fancy trigger, bedding and roto forged barrel with hyper velocity stuff 1″ @ 50 yds is good. But what’s the accuracy with Std velocity ammo?
Ray, I have several 10-22’s, one of which has an ER Shaw s/s spiral fluted .920 bbl, Nikon 4X, FT Ross laminated thumbhole stock & Volquartsen (sp) trigger guts. Result: 10 rds @ 50 yds I can cover the group w/a dime!!! One other has the “Fun Gun” kit that looks just like a Thompson Mod 1927 sub machine gun complete w/a 50 rd drum! It really blows people away when I tell them it is just a 10-22 in disguise!!! Used to have a Mod 77-22 w/a Leopold gold stripe rimfire 4X & it was deadly on Ruffed Grouse when I lived in Idaho. Shoulda kept that one!!
Hey,it has a top tang safety at least. I’m happy about that,being lefty also.
Another vote for a LH version!
Waiting for the threaded barrel model.
You want to really put a big seller on the market build a semi-auto 22 mag rifle and pistol. As you know Kel-Tek has a 22 mag semi-auto pistol in such demand nobody can even find one,
I would love a 22 Mag. in a semi pistol by Ruger SR-22M ??? perhapsThey have a LCR in Magnum how about a LCP in Magnum…..
The problem is with the 22 mag round itself. Long case & low power is not a good combo for a semi auto. Most have been unreliable…
I would go for a lefty to!
I am with Ed, neednmore lefties from Ruger!!
yeah you would remeber that we shoot too.
Remember to pickup a Volquartsen 10/22 magazine for 22 Shorts. You will be able to shoot Super Colibri’s and 22 Shorts without any issues on your Ruger American Rimfire 22LR.
TO BAD THEY NEVER COME OUT WITH A LEFTY AT THE SAME TIME!!!!
I sure have empathy for you lefties & the slim pickin’s you have when selecting a LH long gun, but you have to consider the fact that you are a small minority & some gun makers cannot justify the tooling costs to build a line of LH firearms. My long time hunting buddy is a lefty & most of his guns (he has a bunch!) are RH due to lack of availability. Good luck, you guys!!!
One of my uncles was a lefty and done a lot of shooting during WW2. He got shot in the right arm, but
wasn’t hurt bad. He was good with a rifle. Used to lay on the ground under a pecan tree, and hit almost
ever one he aimed at.