Ruger 10/22 Take-Down Rifle

Back in the days of my youth there were a number of guns that I longed for, but never had the opportunity... well cash... to buy. Two of them were take-down models... the Armalite AR-7... made famous in the hands of James Bond in From Russia with Love... later manufactured by Charter Arms... and an updated version is currently offered by Henry Repeating Arms as the U. S. Survival AR-7. The other take-down that caught my fancy was the Marlin Papoose... originally offered with blued barrel and wood stock in a floating, red case and currently offered with a stainless steel barrel in a floating, blue case.

Well, my favorite firearms company (yeah, I love all guns, but I'm just a bit of a Ruger fan - first understatement of 2013) decided to surprise everyone last year with the introduction of a take-down version of what I consider the most ubiquitous (how ya'll like that word) .22 rifle ever designed and manufactured. The gals and I found some of these new Rugers under the Christmas tree this year... a trio of Ruger 10/22 Take-Down rifles. Two were the standard-fare, but my daughter was excited to find the special addition USA Shooting Sports model in a bright red/orange back with a blue stock.  The blue stock was a big hit as it's her favorite color and she's not too excited about anything pink, especially gun-related.

There are already dozens of good, thorough reviews out there for this gun, but I thought that you'd like to hear from someone who has had a week to put so lead down-range and actually has three to shoot and compare.  The first thing I'll mention is the case.  It's very well made, has some MOLLE webbing on the lower outside pocke, and it is compact, but not too compact so you can actually use it as a rifle and gear bag instead of just holding the gun by itself.

It has a padded grab handle at the one end and D-rings on both the front and back at the top of the case and on the back at the bottom of the case.  Ruger includes one strap with a shoulder pad to sling the case over your shoulder, but Santa when ahead ordered a second strap for each case from ShopRuger.com so it can be worn as a backpack if that suits your fancy.

The zippers have pull tabs and also holes for a luggage lock.  It won't keep a determined two-legged varmint from getting to the gun, but it will deter youngin's from getting to it.

The outer pockets each have a zipper closure. The upper pocket works well to hold the instruction manual and a Hoppe's Universal Field Cleaning Kit. The lower pocket has to internal packets to hold a pair of Ruger BX-25 magazines - which I previously reviewed -  for those that prefer a Kalifornia Assault Rifle per Commissar Feinstein.  Oh, by the way... if you're not a member of the NRA, join now... and support the GOA, the SAF, and/or other groups that work to protect our second amendment rights... plus, take the time to call and write your congress-critters immediately.

The case has extensive padding and inside there are three sewn-in compartments.  The one side holds the stock and receiver and has plenty of room for the mounted red-dot, but not enough length for a longer scope or optic that hangs off the front of the receiver.  As far as the other two slots on the other side, one is used for the barrel and forestock while the gals and I found the last compartment or "sleeve" works great to hold three, 100-round boxes of CCI Mini-Mags slid in end-to-end.

A Ruger video about the new take-down rifle also mentions the case doubling as a sand-bag or bench rest.  I guess it works for that, but the bottom line is that you are getting a very versatile case for your rifle.  Well, I guess you think I'm overly infatuated with the case... no, not really... but there are a lot of reviews out there about the rifle, but I think the complete package with the case and accessories is what makes this rifle and case a terrific addition to your shooting coral.

The rifle comes with the standard Ruger 10/22 optic and/or accessory rail.  We usually use a little bit of blue, medium strength lock-tight when tightening down the screws... but don't over-tighten them as the receiver is aluminum.  We mounted some Bushnell TRS-25 Red-Dot sights on the guns.  We've had good luck with these red-dot sights in the past.

You can also see the knurled ring that allows the shooter to adjust the fit or "tolerance" of the detachable barrel when it is twisted and "cams" into position.  Make sure you read the directions as I've seen several reviews where the shooter doesn't really understand the mechanics and incredible design Ruger has developed to allow the barrel to be attached and detached multiple times while maintaining "zero" with the optic on the receiver. Just realize that this IS NOT a drill chuck, where the knurled ring is used to tighten jaws down on the barrel like a drill-bit... so be careful and follow the directions provided with the gun.

As far as maintaining "zero", well I could show you a bunch of pictures of targets... but the bottom line is all three rifles had the red-dot optics "zeroed" and I shot ten-round groups with each rifle... removed the barrels... reattached the barrels... then shot another set of ten-round groups... and all three guns maintained "zero".  Maybe over time this might change, but Ruger's provided the ability to adjust the fit in such a manner that the faces, or surfaces, that lock together to maintain the zero really don't wear.  If all else fails, the standard iron sights Ruger provides on the barrel will still do nicely.  Our iron sights were all dead-on right from the factory.

The quality and reliability should be the same for these rifles as most have come to expect from Ruger 10/22s even though we only have a few hundred rounds through these.  We didn't experience any failures in operation so far, but we've been shootin' CCI Mini-Mags through them so far... although I can't vouch for how an old box of dirty Thunderbolts will work as I don't waste my time with cheap ammo in semi-autos.  What I can vouch for is that this take-down rifle rig will make anybody's Christmas... or birthday... or Saturday... a hit... so make your day and pick up a... Ruger 10/22 Take-Down Rifle.