15 Little-Known Facts About the Ruger 10/22

Above, my 1983 Ruger 10/22. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of the most successful guns ever made is the Ruger 10/22.

I bought one around 1984 after trying out a friend's and liked it. It is still being made, although some changes were made (some say "cheapened") with different versions.

MSN has posted a slideshow article of 15 little-known facts about the Ruger 10/22.

It begins with:

The Ruger 10/22 is one of those rifles that gets treated like it was always just “that handy little .22 everybody has.” That sells it short. The 10/22 was introduced in 1964, and over the decades it turned into one of the most successful rimfire rifles ever built. Ruger said in 2003 that more than 4 million had been produced by the rifle’s 40th anniversary, and later NRA coverage said sales had passed 6 million.

What makes the 10/22 interesting is that its success was not just about being cheap or familiar. The rifle won because several design ideas came together in a way that was unusually smart for a mass-market rimfire: the rotary magazine, the barrel attachment system, and the bolt setup all helped make it compact, reliable, and easy to build. American Rifleman flat-out says the “magic” of the 10/22 comes from three creative innovations: the barrel block, the rotary magazine, and the anti-bounce bolt.

To read more, go here.