The most popular .22 semi-automatic rifle in
the World is the Ruger 10/22. It has been in constant production
for over forty years now, and is more popular than ever, with
several million of them in the possession of shooters. These
days, the hottest-selling centerfire rifle in the US is the
AR-15, in its many variations. Ruger
now has their own AR rifle, the SR-556, just introduced a
few months ago, and it has proven to be a very popular seller,
with its high-quality features and unique gas piston design.
Now, Ruger has blended the style and handling
of an AR with the proven reliability of the legendary 10/22 into
the new SR-22 Rifle. Inside, the rifle is pure 10/22, but the
exterior is a Nordic Components chassis, modified to meet
Ruger’s specifications. The result is an AR-looking,
AR-feeling rifle that shoots like a 10/22, and uses standard
10/22 Ruger or aftermarket magazines. As mentioned,
mechanically, the SR-22 Rifle is a 10/22, and can utilize 10/22
aftermarket barrels and trigger groups, if desired. The hand
guard is a tubular aluminum unit, drilled for accessory rails,
and any AR-15 style hand guard can be used. The buttstock is
also an AR unit, adjustable for length at six positions over a
three and one-quarter inch range, and again, any AR buttstock
can be attached to the SR-22 rifle. The top of the chassis wears
a Picatinny rail, and the rifle is shipped without sights.
Additional sections of Picatinny rail can be purchased at ShopRuger.com,
and aperture or open sights can be added, if desired. Most
shooters will want some type of optical sight, and there are
many good ones from which to choose on the market, from dot
style electronics to traditional scopes. The SR-22 rifle is
supplied with sling attachment points, and has a very
comfortable AR-style pistol grip. Between the pistol grip and
trigger guard is a filler built by Hogue. Being a 10/22 inside,
the rifle has a crossbolt safety, and a manual bolt hold-open at
the front of the trigger guard.
The SR-22 has a steel hammer-forged barrel
that measures 16.12 inches in length and three-quarters of an
inch in diameter. The barrel has a one-in-sixteen inch
right-hand twist. Inside the tubular hand guard is a barrel
support block, held in by the front sling swivel stud. The rifle
can be fired with or without the block, so lightweight
aftermarket barrels can be used, if desired. The barrel is
attached to the receiver with a V-block, like on all 10/22
rifles, so any barrel that is made to fit a 10/22 will slide
right in. The barrel is fitted with an AC-556 flash suppressor,
as mentioned above, which has a standard 1/2x28 thread, allowing
the attachment of sound suppressors or other devices to the
muzzle, if desired.
The chassis fits around and fully encloses a
10/22 receiver, but adds only about one-quarter inch to the
width of the rifle. The chassis width measures only one and
one-half inches thick. The rifle weighs in at six and one-half
pounds, with an overall length of between 32.75 and 36 inches.
Ruger’s website list the overall length as between 32.25 and
35.25 inches, but that discrepancy could be due to the
attachment of the buttstock tube, allowing for a variance.
Length of pull varies between 10.125 and 13.375 inches on the
test rifle, allowing the SR-22 rifle to fit most any shooter
well; because of this, the SR-22 would make for an excellent
trainer for a young shooter, and could grow with the shooter. A
rifle with a wooden buttstock just doesn’t offer that kind of
versatility.
The chassis of the SR-22 Rifle is made of
aluminum, finished with a matte black military style exterior.
It has top and bottom halves, and is easy to remove to get to
the 10/22 receiver, if necessary. The pistol grip is attached in
typical AR fashion with a bolt through the hollow bottom.
I fired the SR-22 Rifle for both reliability
and accuracy using a wide variety of ammunition. The Ruger
cycled every brand and type tried with excellent reliability.
There was one failure-to-fire using Federal bulk hollow point
ammunition, but it was no fault of the rifle. The cartridge rim
received a solid strike from the firing pin, just like all the
rest, but the cartridge did not fire. That happens sometimes
with cheap .22 Long Rifle ammo, and again, it was not the
rifle’s fault. Every other cartridge fed into the SR-22 Rifle
performed perfectly. The rifle performed as I would have
expected any 10/22 rifle to perform; that is as reliable as any
machine can be.
Right off the bat I could tell that this was
going to be a very accurate rifle, so I treated it as a target
rifle during testing, instead of a hunting rifle. I usually test
hunting rifles with three or five shot groups, but the five shot
groups proved that this rifle could perform, so I broke out the
match ammo and fired ten shot groups at fifty yards. Range
conditions were pretty damp, with a light rain from time to
time, and typical Tennessee Valley humidity when there was no
rain. Temperatures were in the seventy-five to eighty degree
range, with humidity above ninety percent throughout the range
tests. I mounted a Leopold 8.5 to 25 power Mark 4 scope in an
ArmaLite one-piece mount atop the Ruger’s Picatinny rail, and
left the scope setting at sixteen power throughout the range
sessions. The SR-22 Rifle proved to be amazingly accurate,
shooting ten-shot groups of around the half inch mark at fifty
yards, under less than ideal conditions. Even the bulk Federal
hollow point ammo from Wal-Mart grouped very well, but the PMC
and Wolf match ammo turned in the best performance. This rifle
has plenty of accuracy potential to make it not only a superb
plinker, but a match-grade squirrel rifle as well.
I am glad to see what Ruger has done with the
dandy little 10/22, turning it into a rifle that replicates the
feel and shooting qualities of an AR, combined with the
affordability of .22 LR ammo, without losing any of the
reliability or accuracy of the 10/22 design. This SR-22 Rifle is
a great plinker, hunting rifle, or target gun, can serve as an
excellent trainer for young shooters, and offers lots of
shooting pleasure for very little money. The SR-22 rifle is AR
on the outside, with the heart and soul of the 10/22.
Check out the full line of Ruger products
here.
For the location of a Ruger dealer near you,
click on the DEALER FINDER at www.lipseys.com.
To order the SR-22 Rifle online, go to www.galleryofguns.com.
Jeff
Quinn
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A variety of rails are available from
ShopRuger.com to allow the addition of sights and
accessories.
The only malfunction of any kind was due to a
dud cartridge. This was no fault of the rifle, as the
substantial firing pin impact shows.
50-yard groups.
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