10/22 Archives

The Ruger 10/22

Few firearms enjoy so much use as those chambered in the time-honored .22 long rifle. Inexpensive and fun shooting can be had, and every fundamental part of shooting can be applied and practiced save only perhaps recoil management. The Ruger 10/22 is one of the many firearms thus chambered, and over many decades it has become one a many stalwarts setting a bar for others to be measured against. The natural progression of design and advancement have created many different variants, and today’s subject is one of those.

The Ruger 10/22 Charger Pistol

The Ruger Charger pistol is a 10/22 variant, some of which incorporates Ruger’s takedown technology, among others. The Charger was designed as a pistol, likely to take advantage of the pistol brace craze that is determined to rewrite the SBR tenet held by everyone’s favorite three letter agency. The pistol utilizes a polymer chassis, much like the rifle versions of the 10/22. The differences include using a pic rail at the back for installing any kind of implement akin to, but without being a buttstock. It also has a sling stud up front for utilizing a bipod or other support device.
The model I tested is the 22 Charger Lite, I assume this is achieved with the lighter barrel contour and vented shroud. The muzzle of the ten-inch barrel is threaded 1/2-28 which is an excellent thing to do nowadays. The overall length of the pistol is nineteen-inches, and weighs in at 57 ounces. A picatinny scope mount is also included with the Charger for the bargain price of $719.00 MSRP.

the scope was mounted in a Zro Delta scope mount

Upon opening the case of the Charger, I started thinking and evaluating just what such a gun would be used for. The takedown feature made it extremely easy to store in a backpack, which would make it an obvious choice for a camping gun. The threaded barrel made it a good choice for a suppressor host, which I intended to do a few minutes later. I decided I would reserve my judgement until further experience with the Charger deemed it worthy of my praise.
The Charger came in a handy soft carrying case, which was handy for heading to the range, but I avoid that place like a TSA checkpoint. After mounting a scope on top of the rifle, I disassembled the rifle using the takedown feature. I was quite impressed with the simplicity of the mechanism, simply lock the bolt back and use the thumb of one hand to depress the takedown release, and twist the two halves of the gun a part. And just as quickly it went right back together, “pretty slick” I mumbled to myself as I finished prepping some ancillary equipment for my shooting trip.

Range Testing

With a few boxes of ammo, I made my way into the mountains above my house to see what the Charger could do. With a full magazine I set to zeroing the scope, which turned out to be a little tougher than I expected. This is likely due to using a riflescope on a pistol with no stock or brace to stabilize it with, something that would show up again later.
My initial impression of the gun was quite positive, it was easy to get on targets and functioned as good as one would expect with a 10/22. I installed my Yankee Hill Machine Phantom 22 suppressor, which is a must-have if you are a serious rimfire shooter. You can read more about the suppressor here.

the Charger with a US Optics TS6X riflescope

With the report of the little Charger now suppressed, it became even more fun. Once I figured out how to hold it steady the Charger made for brilliant fun, plinking at targets all over the hillside. It chewed through a very expensive pile of cartridges, most of which seemed to work great. I did have a couple malfunctions using some Federal ammunition, but I’m not entirely sure that was the ammunitions fault. I believe it had more to do with the gun resting on magazine while shooting, it seemed to create additional friction that reduced bolt inertia and caused it to stovepipe or something similar. Obviously using a bipod will eliminate this issue, or using shorter magazines.

WHY I LIKE IT

The takedown feature is very handy when your main mode of transport is on foot. It allows you to easily stow the Charger in whatever space you may have available in your pack. It’s so quick to reassemble that you can even get the drop on a squirrel if needed.

The Charger was accurate enough for a rifle of this size, shooting small game and cans was predictable. I can only assume the trigger is a standard 10/22 trigger set, but here is an easy BX Upgrade. It’s nothing fancy but very serviceable. Little things like the extended mag release and an included scope mount make this pistol a very user-friendly and range-ready option. That’s a common trait for the 10/22 family of firearms in general.

Shop Ruger at Firearm Depot

Also shop Ruger products at Brownells

Palmetto State Armory also has Ruger products

DOWNSIDES?

There are only a few things about the Charger I didn’t like, and they may or may not be of concern to you. First of all, I hate the ridiculous rules around SBRs. But we will have to deal with it until brighter minds are installed. That said, I find the Charger a little awkward to align and shoot without a rear support like a brace or buttstock.

Ruger Charger Lite .22 LR Pistol — I rather despise the rules around SBRs, but the little charger does have the ability to add on other features like a brace or bipod.

It is very easy to misalign your shooting eye with a scope when you don’t have anything to keep your face centered behind it. So, as much as I don’t like the idea of an arm brace, I would recommend getting one as it will likely improve both your accuracy and shooting experience. Or, if you choose to be a victim of the ATF, go ahead and register this little fella as an SBR and mount a stock.

The other thing I didn’t like was the slight wobble between the front and rear pieces of the rifle when assembled. This is obviously a result of the takedown feature of the rifle. I have no idea how much this wiggle affected the accuracy capability of the Charger, but I must think it had some effect.

I believe both of these gripes had something to do with the overall accuracy of the pistol. For me, only accurate firearms are interesting. So, even though the Charger was only acceptable in my estimation, it may be more than accurate enough for your purposes.

Continue Reading Here…

CONCLUSION

It’s fair to say I enjoyed shooting the Ruger 22 Charger despite my few complaints. I found it to be a very fun little gun for plinking. If you like to backpack, camp, or anything else that dictates having a compact firearm that is easily taken down and stowed, this one is for you. The 22 Charger Lite gives legendary 10/22 function in a small pistol that the whole family can enjoy.

-CBM

Introduction

Am I the only one that had no idea Magnum Research made a 10/22 clone? I knew they made more than the famous Desert Eagle, but was completely surprised to find out that they also make this handsome copy of the famous Ruger so many have learned to shoot with. I guess I have a bit of an excuse for my ignorance on the subject as I’m not particularly a big rimfire shooter. That said I wasn’t going to turn down an opportunity to shoot something new.

The Magnum Research MLR

The Magnum Research MLR claims to improve on the extremely popular 10/22 design, particularly with a significant focus on accuracy.
The forged receiver and quality barrels are likely to be the basis for this accuracy. The MLR also features an oversized charging handle, as well as an elevated sighting rail. The model I tested also featured a carbon wrapped barrel and a polymer stock reminiscent of some type of AR 15. The stock uses a pistol grip and collapsible butt with various length of pull settings, and in the butt itself there are two holes for storing extra ten-round magazines.
The controls were all very familiar, matching the Ruger models. Mag release, bolt stop, and safety are all in the same spots and retain the same function. The MLR did use an extended magazine release, which I found to be very handy.

Rangetime

I shot the rifle in a couple different configurations, one was with a Trijicon red dot, and the other was using a Crimson Trace 3-12 riflescope. The red dot configuration was obvious a shoot fast and dirty kind of setup, like something I would use hunting jackrabbits out in the desert. For accuracy I knew I would see much better results using the riflescope, I mounted up a Crimson Trace 3-12 scope on the rifle and headed back to the hills to zero it.
Zeroing took a few shots, but once I had it dialed in I was in business. I tried a couple different types of ammo, I didn’t have a huge selection because beggars can’t be choosers nowadays. The rifle seemed to prefer the CCI Mini Mags over the CCI Tactical AR ammunition, which at fifty-yards produced ten shot groups around an inch pattern. With accuracy like that, I found that shooting clay targets out to two-hundred-fifty yards pretty easy. I’d imagine if you used higher quality ammunition it would shoot even better. The MLR was very predictable, and shooting it became very addicting.

I used the rifle for several hikes on the mountain with my dog, the lightweight rifle was a perfect little hiking companion. The collapsible stock made it more compact to carry, and the readily available magazines made quick loading a breeze. Using the rifle for plinking random little targets was a great way to enjoy a sunny afternoon.

Pro’s and Con’s

There are a plethora of benefits to making a clone of a very popular rifle, one of which would be all the aftermarket support you can take advantage of. The 10/22 market is probably the largest rimfire aftermarket, which gives you all kinds of options for stocks/chassis, triggers, barrels and so on. Today’s gun owner is as much a tinkerer as anything, so it’s nice to have so many options for tinker fodder. I could easily see myself swapping out some parts on this rifle, the stock for example was very useful, but not exactly what I would have chosen. The trigger is fine in my opinion, but it never hurts my feelings to have a better trigger, so it wouldn’t hurt to install the best option available. Continue Reading Here…

The 10/22 magazines are perhaps one of the best attributes and options. The capacities range far and wide. This gives the shooter an opportunity to utilize what best fits their purposes.

10/22 mags are abundant in the wild and the MLR does a good job of providing additional storage

The carbon-wrapped barrel on the MLR provides a definite advantage in weight. Rimfire cartridges are rarely known for any recoil, so there is hardly as much advantage to a heavy barrel when shooting .22. But the thick profile of the carbon barrel likely aids in stiffening the barrel and providing better accuracy.

As much as I appreciated the barrel though, I would have traded it out for an equivalent option that was threaded. It is nearly heresy in these modern times to offer an unthreaded barrel on anything other than a very baseline economy-model firearm. Suppressors are the latest craze, and I find shooting loud to be more than just imprudent.

Another small gripe that I’ll admit is very subjective. It’s the sight rail on the MLR receiver. It is a spacious and robust mounting platform for optical sights, but I did find myself wishing it was removable to use the rifle for different configurations and chassis options. Not a big deal, but worth a mention in my book.

CONCLUSION

My overall impression of the MLR was a very positive one. I would happily add another one to my collection of rifles if for nothing more than to have a good .22 handy. The MLR has plenty of options for customization should you choose that route, and it is also just fine the way it is.

It would make a great little plinking rifle for weekend pleasure shooting. Or, if you really wanted to get into the new NRL Rimfire league matches, it would be a good place to put it to work as well. I look forward to terrorizing the local small game scene with this rifle as soon as winter loosens its grip. Until then, I will use it to practice my shooting fundamentals.

-CBM