I've been itching for sometime...

[pipmaster1971]

...to buy a new gun after a long, dark, cold winter. It's been some 6 months since my last purchase of a firearm. I am however thinking of getting into rifle shooting (I'm a handgun owner, lover and shooter at the moment) and am considering a Ruger 10/22 .22LR as a first rifle purchase. I've heard nothing but good things about them: reasonable price, cheap to use, fun, reliable and lots of after-market mods. My only worry is that I have a Ruger 22/45 Mk III pistol. I love the gun, except it's a royal PIA to clean (to the point where I tend to lube and bore snake only). Is the 10/22 rifle anything like this to clean?

Of course, perhaps I should just go head first and get that nice AR15 before they're banned again [sad2]

 

[Scrivener]

The carbine is a little simpler and doesn't need cleaning as much as the more finicky pistol does.

 

[Another_David]

Consider where you shoot and what calibers are permitted in different areas. The nice thing about a .22 is you can often shoot it indoors at some places or use it in the plinking area. The .22 ammo is so cheap of course.

If your range has a long outdoor range then I think the AR makes more sense. I haven't shot the .22 in a while but the AR recoil is so easy going so I don't really see a need to start small and work up in caliber like with pistols.

 

[joemcg]

Bought one of these CZ 452 Military Trainers from Northeast Trading in N. Attleboro for $315 cash. Great .22lr and shoots very well. Also, much easier to clean than a Ruger 10/22 (which I also own) and much more accurate. I have pretty much hung up the big bore rifles with the ammo $$$ situation being what it is for now and love shooting this CZ. Makes spending a day at the range fun and inexpensive again.

http://www.cz-usa.com/product_detail.php?id=4

 

[strangenh]

Well, you know I think the 10/22 is the .22 for anyone who doesn't know what they might want to do with it in X years. It's like LEGOs for rifles with all the aftermarket joy out there.

But if you are considering an AR - you can always get an AR and a good .22LR upper for plinking fun. That'll run a wee bit more than the 10/22, though.

 

[jar]

If you're just getting into rifles, I can't recommend building a 10/22 into a "Liberty Training Rifle" configuration highly enough. Take a basic 10/22 and add tech sights, a GI Web Sling, extended mag release, auto bolt release, and target hammer. To get some great rifle instruction, come out to an Appleseed shoot.

 

[packingungal]

First off, I was relieved that this thread was not about some personal itching situation...

I, too, have been considering the same, so appreciate the information as well. I just purchased a present for someone - a Mossberg 350 shotgun - and just looking at it has kinda brought forth a desire to shoot "longer". I shall be reading this thread as it progresses.

 

[WVBob]

I've had a number of the 10/22's and they are fun shooters. They are a great way to get into rifle shooting. Most of all, every one needs a good .22 and why not get one you can trick out and have bragging rights to. Look at the after market equipment you can get for them. You can swap out the barrel and stock with an allen wrench in a few min.

 

[Nickle]

The info on tweaking a 10/22 to make it an LTR (Liberty Training Rifle) is available on the Appleseedinfo.org forum (for the link, check my sig line), go to General then find the sticky'd thread on Liberty Training Rifles. Read away, especially the bottom of page 6 (parts and sources).

$150 to $250 for the rifle, depending on where, when and which model, plus about $100 in parts to tweak it. Then you have a dedicated platform for learning marksmanship. Besides, they're fun to shoot. Yes, I really do have 6 of them, and No, I don't own stock in Ruger, or the companies that sell the parts.

By the way, there were more 10/22's at the Appleseed at Harvard, than the sum of all other rifles together. Of course, the instructors brought at least 10 of them.

 

[pipmaster1971]

Yes, I'm leaning more and more to getting a 10/22. I had a look at the CZ website, but I think all the after-market mods available for the 10/22 would make it the ideal choice.

 

[Joe R.]

I own a 10/22 and while I like it, I don't find it very " friendly " in its stock configuration. Yes, there are a lot of things that you can do with the rifle but I have lost some of the enthusiasm I had for it when I bought the CZ-452 Trainer. You can take the 10/22 and change things on it to make it suitable for whatever you want it to be but I find the CZ more suited to helping me keep up with the mil-surps I shoot more. I will eventually do something to the Ruger for appearence sake but it won't be to make it a marksmanship learning rifle - I was thinking a Fajen stock with a good scope and a bull barrel.

( By the way, the 10/22 is easier to take down and put back together than a Ruger Mk1 to Mk3 pistol but it still has its own peculiar faults that make it challenging to do. )

Joe R.