The first .22 rifle I ever owned was a Ruger 10/22 I bought brand new in 1995, I had it for awhile, shot some squirrels with it, I even shot a few beavers with it at my grandfather's pond during the summer when trapping them would have been too much effort and their hides were worthless. There was something about the 10/22 I never really liked, so I sold it. I bought another one a few years back when the takedown version came out. I had the same problem though, something about it didn't fit, so I traded it off. I gave it one more shot, I got a really good deal on a 10/22 carbine, but the same issues presented themselves and I bet less than a couple hundred rounds came out of that 10/22 before I sold it.
So when I was trying to decide between a Ruger American rimfire or a 10/22 I decided to really do some research this time and sat down to see what I disliked about the 10/22. The first thing I decided was that the stock needed to go, along with the barrel. I wanted a comfortable stock that would let me snug up to the gun, but also something I can hunt with, not a strict target stock, so I went with the Hogue stock. On to the barrel, I think one of the issues to me with the 10/22 is that the gun is really just too darn light, so while I could have gone with a carbon fiber barrel, I decided to go with the Shaw 16.5 inch heavier barrel, which to me offers just the right amount of weight to the gun without making it too heavy. As far as the scope, where I live, a 200 yard shot is a rarity with the heavy brush and forests so a lot of magnification isn't necessary. The scope isn't the most expensive, it fit right into my budget, the Simmons Whitetail 4x. The scope does a nice job for the money, especially on the Ruger. I've added a few other things not in the photo, an Isle manufacturing extended mag release, a JWH extended charging handle which helps get a better grip and a Caldwell bi-pod. On the way and hopefully here today, a BX trigger to replace the awful factory trigger. Overall I don't have a heck of a lot of money into this gun, which is what I wanted, a custom gun without the hefty price tag. I resold the factory barrel on Ebay and that paid for half the cost towards the BX trigger. I am well under a thousand dollars on a gun that now feels right to me, and my wife has fallen in love with it too.
So when I was trying to decide between a Ruger American rimfire or a 10/22 I decided to really do some research this time and sat down to see what I disliked about the 10/22. The first thing I decided was that the stock needed to go, along with the barrel. I wanted a comfortable stock that would let me snug up to the gun, but also something I can hunt with, not a strict target stock, so I went with the Hogue stock. On to the barrel, I think one of the issues to me with the 10/22 is that the gun is really just too darn light, so while I could have gone with a carbon fiber barrel, I decided to go with the Shaw 16.5 inch heavier barrel, which to me offers just the right amount of weight to the gun without making it too heavy. As far as the scope, where I live, a 200 yard shot is a rarity with the heavy brush and forests so a lot of magnification isn't necessary. The scope isn't the most expensive, it fit right into my budget, the Simmons Whitetail 4x. The scope does a nice job for the money, especially on the Ruger. I've added a few other things not in the photo, an Isle manufacturing extended mag release, a JWH extended charging handle which helps get a better grip and a Caldwell bi-pod. On the way and hopefully here today, a BX trigger to replace the awful factory trigger. Overall I don't have a heck of a lot of money into this gun, which is what I wanted, a custom gun without the hefty price tag. I resold the factory barrel on Ebay and that paid for half the cost towards the BX trigger. I am well under a thousand dollars on a gun that now feels right to me, and my wife has fallen in love with it too.
