Did you miss he fact that tomorrow, October 22, is 10/22? Ruger certainly didn’t. They’ve christened it Ruger Day for obvious reasons and tomorrow will be the fifth Ruger Day since they launched the annual celebrations.

As Ruger says . . .

On October 22, 2017, Ruger celebrated the inaugural “Ruger Day,” a day created to celebrate all things Ruger, and celebrated on 10/22 because of our ubiquitous 10/22 rifle. Since then, Ruger has adopted 10/22 as a day for Ruger fans to share their favorite Ruger stories, take their Ruger firearms out to the range, and visit their retailers to buy new Ruger firearms and accessories. Ruger Day is a celebration not only of the legacy of Ruger, but also the firearms industry.

We say that’s as good a reason as any.

And we reckon the best way to observe this hallowed occasion is to get yourself outside on a beautiful fall Saturday and send some lead downrange. And doing it using a 10/22 rifle is about the best way to make that happen on Ruger Day.

The image at the top shows my 10/22 being shot by my better half. These days, it’s looking a little different.

TiTech Arms 1022 Chassis Rail For Ruger 10/22 rifle custom
Dan Z. for TTAG

That’s the beauty of the 10/22. The much-loved, ubiquitous rimfire is so widely owned, so affordable, and so fun and easy to shoot that it’s become its own platform. There’s a wold of aftermarket options available and gun owners love to use the 10/22 as the basis to customize it, creating just about whatever they want it to be. Its modularity and versatility is almost on par with the AR platform.

Ruger 10/22 Midwest Industries Folding Stock
A stock stainless Ruger 10/22 rifle in a TiTech Arms 1022 Chassis Rail with a Midwest Industries side-folding stock. (Dan Z. for TTAG)

So the best way to observe 10/22 tomorrow is to take your rifle — or other Ruger…or hell, any other gun — out to the range and, you know, shoot it. Better yet, take someone else with you. Preferably someone who’s never shot a gun before. The 10/22 is a great way to put a gun in a newbie’s hands and generate that new-shooter grin.

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56 COMMENTS

  1. My Fajen stocked, fat barrel, tack driving blinged 10/22 was sold to a relative who has never shot it. No celebration planned.

  2. I cold go buy a Rulin Guide Gun in .45-70, but it seems no one has any in stock. IO guess they only built enough to send them to gun writers. No celebration planned. Heck, I don’t even own a Ruger.

    • I own a few. Working firearms that are reasonably priced and do the job. No bbq guns but who needs those?

        • That Superedhawak in .44 mag that I used to have would have made a dandy BBQ gun.

          I guess I could wear my tiny non-Ruger NAA mini-revolver on my neck holster as a joke… 😉

  3. By telling myself I don’t need a revolver right now even if redhawks gp100 and sp101 are in stock.

    • But you do need a revolver.

      Pro tip – if you get a GP100 spend the extra $10 for a Wolff or Wilson Combat trigger spring kit. After function testing the revolver, put in the 10# hammer spring and the 8# trigger return spring.

      • Noted and I would want a revolver and would need only the die set/primers but got other things higher on the budget/wish list.

      • I love Ruger revolvers, but I’ve found steady diet of 125gr .357 magnum rounds damages the forcing cone. I’ve sent two back to Ruger to get fixed, and to their credit they only charged shipping, but I’m gonna stick to mostly shooting 158 gr.

        Curiously, the same thing does not happen to the Ruger Redhawk when shooting a lot of 180 gr. 44 magnum as opposed to heavier loads.

        • I’ve heard you should never hot load 110gr. bullets because the flame jumps around the bullet and heats the forcing cone. Longer bullets don’t do that because they keep the case sealed until they plug the forcing cone. But maybe the 125s do that to a lesser extent. Probably wouldn’t matter what make of revolver you have if that’s the case.

          Also, you must shoot more than I do.

    • Prices can vary a little by location. Here in CA I paid about 500 for a g19. My Ruger gp100-7 was just about double that. That’s a big commitment when the economy is in the toilet and you have other priorities.

      Revolvers are great. I love mine. But they tend to be pricier than auto’s. And no, you do not need one. They’re just nice to have.

      • Add 50 to 100 and same ballpark to prices before tax. And about my assessment as well. Fun but not fundamental at the moment. With that said the magnums are calling.

  4. Sounds like a good reason to Mcivor shooting facility. Bring my pc9, pc40,and,sr9 do some practicing. See how far I can reach out and touch someone with my carbines. Love me some Ruger.

    • I SO want a pair of P90s with carry rigs that completely conceal them in my sleeves and automatically eject them into my palms with a flick of my wrists. Then I could finally go after Bucho.

  6. Ruger certainly designed a winner when he invented the 10/22. The 10/22’s rotary magazine made it into a very reliable .22 rifle even if it did result in a somewhat fat stock to accommodate the rotary magazine.

    The Ruger 10/22 was one of the few .22 rifles that had an easily removable barrel which also led to its popularity for customizing.

    The 10/22 heavy barrel models have been popular at our club for various match shooting.

    One could make a hobby of collecting the more rare models of this gun.
    The Canadian centennial had better blueing and a nicely figured walnut stock and the early model mannlicher stock model is also a desirable collectors model. I am still on the lookout for an early model Mannlicher but I managed to find a mint Canadian Centennial 10/22.

    The newer model .22 auto pistol now breaks open like a shotgun so one can easily remove the bolt as compared with the original model which was a pain in the ass to take down and clean. Both models are very reliable making them very popular with the public. And of course Rugers have always been very affordable although somewhat crudely made.

    The Mini 14 has always been popular and back in the 80’s it was cheaper and easier to find for sale than the Colt AR 15. Of course this was decades before everyone and their brother started making AR 15 clones, even Ruger, but their model AR is really, really crude. I had an opportunity to examine one at our gun club and the owner was not pleased with the very crude workmanship in it. I will stick with Colt when it comes to the AR 15.

    I do regret not getting the original .44 magnum auto loader known as the Deer Stalker. I would have if I had known that in the far future my state would legalize it for deer hunting because its a straight wall cartridge.

    I have learned one thing and that is where it is safe and legal to do so you cannot beat a .22 autoloader for squirrels or an autoloader centerfire in the deep woods for deer hunting.

    I might add that Ruger after decades in the gun business finally broke down and bought their own barrel making machinery and started making their own barrels. This was why previously one bolt action Model 77 would shoot great and 10 others would not hit the broadside of barn door because Ruger used to contract out to the cheapest barrel maker for all of their barrels.

    I usually shoot my .22 pistols and plinker rifles in the winter time because I have access to our clubs indoor range and only .22’s are allowed. I shoot my match grade .22 rifles year round.

    • Duncian, I recently bought a mint Ruger 10/22 International. Mallard’s in Crystal River, FL. Very nice local gun store. They carry Wilson, Nighthawk, Christianson Arms, etc. I’d sell it if offered enough cash. To anyone, except you.

      • And by the way Flag Waver your desire to own an original Winchester 52 sporter shows how little you know about firearms. If you had bothered to look at the bore of that gun with a quality borescope you would not be buying one ever as the rifling in all the model 52’s including the target grade heavy barrel models was so rough it looks like they rifled them with a hammer and a chisel. Contrast this to a period or even new model Anschutz or Walther and there is simply no comparison.

        I do not include the Japanese made reproduction Model 52 sporter as its bore was light years better.

        And I do not want your Ruger International 10/22 since you own it.

  8. I have a 10/22 and a take down ruger charger. I can’t decide which one I’ll install my franklin armory echo trigger in???

  9. I’ll celebrate Ruger Day by taking by new self made PCC and my Glocks and Sigs to the range.

    😁

  10. So… it’s like any other Hallmark Holiday but more expensive and entirely self-serving.

    I’ll pass on that, thanks. I also won’t be celebrating Pfizer day with a jab on 1/6 nor Boeing day on 7/27.

    • Pfizer day with a jab on 1/6

      Totally useless 1/6 committee just requested an additional 54 million dollars, that’s a lot of money for a committee that will be shut down in a couple of months when Republicans move back into the majority. Guess they want to pad their bank accounts since most of them will be out of a job after Nov. 8th…

  11. I followed the link. Under ‘How To Participate’ it says ‘Visit Your Local Retailer to Buy New Ruger Firearms.’ lol

    • Exactly.
      I go to my local indoor range Mon-Wed, usually have one of the four range rooms to myself.

      Never any additional fees if I spend a few hours shooting either. Ammo is expensive enough.

  14. I’d like to celebrate with some target practice with the Ruger .357 revolver I bought back in June….

    June of 2021, that is!

    But the Oregon State Police are taking their own sweet time to decide whether my passing the NICS check is good enough for them to release my property to me.

    So maybe instead I’ll “celebrate” by calling them and nagging them about their unfounded delay.*

    * from what I’ve been able to find out, they’re putting holds on guns bought by anyone with an arrest going back to juvenile records — obviously trying to find SOMETHING to hand a denial on.

  15. How could I celebrate? Like any non Canadian U.S. citizen I could buy a handgun if I wanted to as long as I did not live in certain states.

    Thread
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    Conversation
    Justin Trudeau
    @JustinTrudeau
    Officiel du gouvernement – Canada
    Update: People can no longer buy, sell, or transfer handguns within Canada – and they cannot bring newly acquired handguns into the country.
    12:56 PM · Oct 21, 2022

  17. Bought everything before I retired, maybe go looking and get an actual count of what’s here. More Rugers than anything else though.

  20. I supposed I could pick up my SR22 and look at it for moment then set it down.
    That would suffice wouldn’t it??

  21. I suppose it would be a good day to burn an effigy of one of the earliest supporters of bans on so-called “High Capacity” magazines… Bill Ruger.

  22. Well did mine a day early. Started working in my SFAR 16”. Shot targets at 318yd and 467yds in the hay pasture. The wind was a serious challenge towards the end running 17mph with 25mph gust. Today we started at 21mph before daylight and are going to 30+.
    I found there was a significant POI difference between the SIG 150-165s and the Federal Terminal Ascent 175s at the 467.
    I had the rifle and scope woodland camo cerakoted
    and it’s a winning combination in the bush.
    Watching my buddy shoot a medium distance the first time ever was enjoyable.

  23. I’m carrying my .480 Ruger Super Blackhawk Bisley in the woods with me today (archery season). Unfortunately that’s all I’ve got today, I didn’t know this was a thing.

  24. I have an LCP that I got from the Poulin auction house where it was hob nobbing with a large portion of Elmer Keiths guns. Maybe I’ll put a few rounds through it but even though I’ve added a Hogue grip extension and a 15 round mag I’m still likely to get my fat hand nicked by the slide and that does take much of the joy out of shooting it.

  25. “Day” implies a reverence or celebration of some kind. Here in Maine if nobody sacrifices a moose your day isn’t taken seriously.

  26. The first pistol I ever bought (on my 21st b-day many moons ago) was a Ruger P95. Paid 495 for it. It doesn’t get as much action as it used to, but it still has a special place in the locker.

  27. Picked up a stainless SR-45 the same day I had to ship out for work again, but soon we’ll be home to put some slugs through her.

    Yes, very soon, my Precious…

  28. I own a lot of Rugers, including three 10/22s — an All Weather, a carbine, and a Takedown.

    I’m going to celebrate Ruger day by carrying a Smith and Wesson.

  29. Just got back from local gun store and bought new Ruger 10/22 with poly stock for $239 plus sales tax. I like the light wieght and so did the wife while handling it. My beloved 55 year old Marlin 99 is not working well with lots of FTE due to old style ejector being peened up. Still will look for parts on Ebay though to try and get it running well again.

    We have plenty of 22 ammo and will be trying out the new 10/22 next week as we have 72 hour wating period in our commie state even though I also have CCW license.

  30. Hating on traditions, even one started to promote shooting by a private ($$$) company. Telling people they should not participate, or telling people that it’s a waste of time that they participate, is the mark of a miserable person. Someone who tries to spread their own self-loathing to other people. They are not about improving Society. They are about tearing Society down.

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