Fun to Shoot Ruger 10/22 Is Also Fun to Customize By Sheila Link, Contributing Editor When Bill Ruger designed a small auto-loading .22 rifle more than 30 years ago, he named it the 10/22 to signify cartridge capacity and caliber. Surely he never dreamed of the tremendous and lasting popularity the rimfire carbine would achieve. Until his death this past year, Ruger's favorite, of all the guns he designed, was the falling-block centerfire rifle designated the "Ruger No. One." Not the 10/22. Yet even today, thirty-seven years after it was introduced in 1964, the 10/22 continues to be the company's most consistent seller. The standard carbine, chambered for the .22 long rifle cartridge, sports an 18-1/2" barrel. It features a 10-round detachable rotary magazine and a folding rear sight. The stock is smooth, uncheckered walnut with a barrel-band and metal buttplate. It's a solid, honest firearm but truly a 'Plain Jane.' Why is it that shooters find this rifle so irresistible? Let me count the 'whys': 1- It's accurate right out of the box. Not accurate enough for Olympic competition, but accurate enough to exceed the ability most shooters possess. 2- It's dependable. Mechanically sound, it feeds smoothly and fires effortlessly, round after round. 3- It's not fussy about ammunition, casually accepting anything from bulk packaged, low-end fodder up to and including Lapua's, Winchester's, Eley's or Federal's top competition rounds. 4-It feels good in your hands. Lightweight, carbine-length, with smooth stock and forend, it's easy for almost anyone to bring comfortably to her shoulder and shoot with ease. What's not to like? Any or all of the above should and would account for great popularity. That's why the 10/22 took off like a rocket when first introduced. And those same reasons account for probably 80% of all sales. But there's still another reason why this rifle has stayed at the top of the sales chart, especially in recent years. That reason is that the 10/22 lends itself so readily to customizing. Ours is a country not only of shooters, but of shade-tree mechanics, backyard inventors and home workbench innovators. It should be no surprise that many of them found trying to improve the Ruger 10/22 an appealing project. Because it was sufficiently inexpensive to buy, they could afford to risk 'tinkering' with it. Because such fellows simply can't keep their hands off anything they believe they can 'improve,' the little rifle fell into almost instant favor. Most shooters recognized that a heavier barrel than the one supplied on most factory rimfire rifles, including 10/22s, would improve accuracy. Therefore, heavy or 'bull' barrels were designed to replace the original. Eventually, recognized gunsmiths and reputable manufacturers of firearm components began making barrels labeled, "to fit Ruger 10/22s." Among the many available are Clark Custom Guns' excellent heavy fluted steel barrel, Majestic Arms' aluminum bull barrel with carbon steel rifled insert and the incredibly light, incredibly accurate AccuLite graphite ported bull barrel with steel insert. Of course, when an original barrel was to be replaced by a bull barrel, the original stock also had to be replaced, to accommodate the larger outside diameter of the new barrel. This meant that stockmakers were soon involved in building stocks to fit the bull barrels being installed on Ruger's 10/22 rifle. Reinhart/Fajen came up with several, including a laminated, thumb-hole model. Hogue makes a synthetic stock using the same material used in their handgun grips. And Butler Creek offers several for bull-barreled 10/22s. During the time these changes were conceived, designed and built, other innovators were devising more after-market parts to replace original equipment. Triggers, such as the one made by Arnold Jewell, of San Marcos, TX, and by Power Custom of Gravois Mills, MO, have found great favor with owners of 10/22s. Both triggers are adjustable down to minus 2 pounds. Power Custom, in fact, now makes about a dozen after-market parts for the sought-after Ruger rimfire. A basic set, which includes hammer and sear, titanium trigger and firing-pin and bolt-buffer, costs $99.99. Many manufacturers of after-market products now offer complete 10/22 customizing packages, which allow a shooter to select exactly which parts she wants to buy and have professionally installed. Right off the shelf, the 10/22 is such a pleasant, dependable rifle that it's fun to shoot. It's reasonably accurate, too. After customizing, however, it becomes downright delightful. The fact that it lends itself to such varied and extensive customizing, has kept Bill Ruger's little rimfire high every year on the list of most popular guns. Not surprisingly, Sturm, Ruger itself now offers the 10/22 in several factory-upgraded varieties. Models are available from the factory with blue or stainless target barrels and with synthetic as well as wood stocks. And as always, the 10/22 continues to be a mainstay among Ruger products. Recently a member of the local gun club where I shoot, decided that he'd customize his old, "off-the-shelf"10/22 Ruger. He'd seen-and shot mine, and was convinced that his would benefit from some up-grading. After doing a bit of catalog shopping, he opted for a Majestic Arms Aluma-Lite 10/22 Target Barrel and a Butler Creek synthetic stock. A retired tool & die maker, Elmer Dragolovich, also made a few modifications to the action. He made and installed an extended bolt-handle and an extended magazine release lever. The scope was replaced not with a new one but with an old Weaver 8-B that Elmer particularly likes. When he called to tell me he was ready to test-fire his "new and improved" rifle, he asked if I'd meet him at the range. I'd photographed a couple of targets he'd shot prior to making those changes on his rifle. Now he wanted me to record groups fired after modifications had been made. Elmer expected to better those earlier scores and it was no contest. The new parts on the action, new barrel and new stock, coupled with his venerable scope, worked wonders to pull his groups into notably smaller patterns. "Wow," he said with a wide smile, "it's like a whole new gun!" Like many shooters, I have a 10/22-in fact, I have two of them-each with a different set of customized after-market parts. One of my 10/22s sports a Reinhart/Fajen thumbhole stock, a Clark fluted bull barrel, Simmons 2.8x-10x-44mm. Aetec scope, Power Custom's titanium trigger/firing pin package, an extended bolt handle and extended magazine release. The extended bolt handle and bolt release makes them easier to grab than the original, more compact parts. The trigger is set to let off at 3/4 of a pound. This rifle is heavy, but it sure is accurate. My other 10/22 is delightfully light-4.62 lbs with a Weaver 4x-16x scope mounted! This one is fitted with a Hogue stock, an AccuLite barrel, a Jewell trigger, Power Custom's hammer and sear, titanium trigger and firing pin, bolt buffer, extended bolt handle and bolt release. The trigger on this rifle is set to break at 7/8-lb. Like the one described above, this 10/22 also provides excellent accuracy.   In my opinion, the factors that contribute to the accuracy of any rifle, include first of all, a perfectly rifled barrel and, second, a smooth, light, crisp, absolutely consistent trigger. Regardless of the skill of a shooter, it's virtually impossible to print tight groups if the barrel, through which the bullet speeds toward the target, hasn't inherently true rifling. It's also improbable that even a noteworthy markswoman can fire tight groups when she's fighting a rough, stiff or inconsistent trigger. I shoot a lot, which is why I'm a pretty fair shooter, but whenever I manage to print a "braggin' size" group, I know darn well that the rifle deserves most of the credit. And that, of course, is why I'm fussy about the rifles I own and shoot. True, I own rifles that were more expensive than the Ruger 10/22, including a couple of very fine custom-built rifles. But none I own are more downright fun to shoot than Mr. Bill Ruger's little masterpiece. And that's one of the most compelling of all the "whys" that this rifle is so continually popular.