The Ruger was previously sporting a UTG/Leapers “Bug-Buster” compact 3-9 x 32 variable scope. This fit, when the gun was taken down, into the Ruger bag, but I didn’t like the scope, and it had almost no eye-relief (you have to be on top of it to see through it clearly).
So, I decided to use a pair of quick-detachable UTG scope rings and mount a BSA “Sweet 22” scope on it instead.
Here’s the Ruger gun bag the 10/22 TD comes in:
Mounting the scope was a breeze, as one would imagine. Here are the bag contents, on the bag:
And out of the bag while the gun is still broken down:
Assembling the 10/22 TD is more than easy. Simply drop the magazine and lock back the bolt. Insert the barrel assembly into the receiver, and make a quarter-ish turn clockwise. It snaps right into place.
Here is what the gun looks like assembled, without the scope:
And here it is with the scope attached:
If you are familiar with this gun, you may think the picture looks off – specifically, the barrel looks short. You’d be correct! I recently got the barrel back from Jim Pixley at JP Grips. He cut the barrel down to 16 inches for me (the shortest legal length without a tax stamp for a SBR), and threaded the barrel end. The picture above shows the thread cap in place.
I specifically got this gun with the intention of having it threaded for use with the suppressor I was waiting on (or, more accurately, the tax stamp I was waiting on). Well, as many of you know, that came in, and I got the YHM “22 Mite” suppressor several months ago.
Here is the 10/22 TD with the YHM 22 Mite on it:
Looks well-balanced now, huh? Feels it too!
So, having mounted the scope, I wanted to zero it in as best I could in my basement “range”. No problem with my target box – it will stop a .44 Magnum, though I am sure my neighbors would protest. With the suppressor, the set-up is quieter than my pellet gun! So I loaded up 10 rounds of CCI’s “Quiet-22” .22 Long Rifle ammo. 710 fps nominal speed with a 40-grain LRN bullet. Unlike the Aguila Colibri stuff, the CCI ammunition does have a powder charge (the Coilbri, which I like, is only powered by a Eley primer). As warned, the CCI will not function a .22 semi-automatic, so I had to manually work the bolt. No big deal. Took a few shots to walk the rounds into the bullseye, but once there, everything kept going into one ragged hole. Of course, at 30 feet (the limit of my basement range), one would expect this of any decent gun and ammunition combination (the Colibri, incidentally, never exhibits this kind of consistency).
Here’s a picture of the target:
And here’s the ammo:
The silver ring is the thread-protector for the 10/22 TD barrel that JP made for me.
Then came the real test. I took the scope off. Broke down the gun, then reassembled it and put the scope back on. The results?
All of the rounds in the next magazine went right back into the same hole – no adjustments needed!
Now, I just need to get this out to a field so I can zero the scope at 50 yards. With the Sweet 22 scope, switching turrets for other bullets weights should be a snap. I’m looking forward to testing it out in full!
Oh – and I almost forgot – one last picture of the gun ready to “rock n’ roll” with my bona fides, just in case some of you don’t believe it’s me!
