Review of the Ruger 10/22 50th Anniversary Design Contest Rifle
By henschman
The 10/22 and Appleseed
The goal of Appleseed’s shooting curriculum has always been to teach shooters everything necessary to hit man-sized targets out to 500 yards with center fire rifles. In the very early days, entire Appleseed firing lines were made up of M1As, M1s, FALs, SMLEs, and the like. However, it was quickly realized that the cost of a weekend’s worth of center fire ammunition was preventing many shooters from attending. It wasn’t long before Appleseed instructors came up with the concept of the Liberty Training Rifle (LTR) – a .22 LR rifle modified with features simulating a center fire battle rifle, suited for the Appleseed program of instruction and the 25m Army Qualification Test – allowing participants to save money by shooting center fire rifles less, while still developing and practicing the fundamentals of marksmanship. The Ruger 10/22 was always by far the most popular basis for homemade LTRs, and for years, Appleseed volunteers have been trying to persuade Ruger to produce a factory 10/22 LTR. These efforts continually proved fruitless – until 2014, when the 50th Anniversary of the 10/22 presented the perfect opportunity to make it a reality.
The Ruger 10/22 Design Contest
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of their most loved product, Ruger asked shooters to submit designs for their ideal customized 10/22. Ruger planned to pick 10 of the designs as finalists, and to hold a contest in which shooters could vote for their favorite, with the winning design to be put into production as a special anniversary edition rifle. Appleseed instructor “Gary from Michigan,” screen name mac66 on the Appleseed forum, saw this as an opportunity to realize Appleseed’s goal of a factory 10/22 LTR. Gary understood that a winning design would need to have useful features and be aesthetically pleasing, but that Ruger would only choose rifles as finalists which were actually feasible for them to put into production. With this in mind, he came up with a design that utilized existing factory Ruger parts to make the 10/22 into a more suitable “Rifleman’s rifle.” His design started with a stainless steel-barreled 10/22 and added a stock with modular buttstock inserts from the American Rimfire Rifle, sights from the Mini 14/Gunsite Scout Rifle, and a threaded muzzle with a Mini 14 flash hider.
Gary's design, as shown on Ruger's website during the contest
After being chosen as a finalist, Gary’s design was put up for vote against nine others, with designs ranging from bench rest rifles to sporting rifles to “tacticool” plinkers, including several takedown designs. Shooters all over the world could vote for their favorite design on Ruger’s website, with the ability to cast one vote per day. In Appleseed circles, it has long been realized that Appleseed shooters make up a sizeable percentage of 10/22 buyers, and that a factory 10/22 would be a popular seller. Ruger never agreed, believing that the extra features on a 10/22 LTR would price the rifle out of the market. Appleseed participants across the U.S. saw Gary’s entry in the design contest as the perfect opportunity to show Ruger just how much demand there really was for a factory LTR, and flocked to the contest to vote for his rifle. At the end of the contest, Gary’s LTR had a sizeable lead over the other finalists, and he was announced the winner. In a matter of months, Ruger’s production version of the rifle, dubbed the Ruger 10/22 50th Anniversary Design Contest Rifle, began hitting gun store shelves. I obtained one of the rifles the week after they were released in June 2014 for $318.00 plus tax. The following review contains details about the rifle and its features, my impressions of the rifle, including range testing, and my impressions on the rifle’s suitability as an Appleseed LTR. I will also discuss the unavoidable comparison between this rifle and the other factory LTR – the Marlin 795 LTR (which I reviewed in an earlier article here:
http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=38982.0), and my views on how they stack up to one another.
Initial Impressions
The 10/22 Design Contest Rifle is visually striking, with its contrasting silver metal and black furniture, and unique features that do not appear on any other 10/22 variant. It is immediately obvious that it is not your average factory 10/22. I was glad to see that the receiver does not have a cheap painted-on silver finish like some 10/22 variants I have seen, like the old “Wal-Mart Special” 10/22s – it is a raw aluminum finish that does not appear to have a coating of any kind. Tool marks are visible in the finish. This finish seems to show scratches easily – the receiver was marred in a couple spots right out of the box. The receiver’s finish matches nicely with the polished hammer forged stainless steel barrel. In my experience on the Appleseed firing line, factory Ruger barrels are capable of excellent accuracy (which of course requires the shooter doing his part). All 2014 production 10/22s have special 50th Anniversary markings on the bolt, but the Design Contest rifle also has a special receiver engraving that is unique to it.
The Stock
When first handling the rifle, I was immediately impressed by how good it felt in my hands. On many plastic-stocked .22s, including the base model 10/22 carbines, the stock looks and feels cheap and hollow. There is nothing cheap about the plastic stock on this rifle – it is very ergonomic and very solid-feeling. The stock is derived from the Ruger American Rimfire rifles, which are value-priced bolt action .22 caliber rifles. Ruger already had a real winner with this stock, and simply adapted it to fit the 10/22 for the Design Contest Rifle. The contour of the forearm feels great in the hand, and the rough surface on the grip and forearm allow for a good grip without being too prickly or uncomfortable, the way some checkered grips can be. The forearm is stiff and doesn’t flex, even under snug sling pressure. Unlike base model 10/22s, the stock comes complete with front and rear sling studs.
This would already be a great stock if the features stopped here – but the main feature of the stock that sets it apart from others is its ability to accept modular cheek pieces. The comb and butt portion of the stock are a removable module, which can be swapped out for different units to make the rifle fit the shooter better. Ruger makes four different stock modules – a straight comb in both regular and compact length, and a raised comb in both regular and compact length. The 10/22 Design Contest Rifle comes with the two regular length cheek pieces. The compact length stock modules, which are ideal for shooters of small stature, can be purchased at shopruger.com for $19.95 as of the writing of this article. The stock module is removed by unscrewing the rear sling stud and pulling the module out of the stock. Do not unscrew the stud with a sling swivel installed – it will gouge the stock around the stud. Your best bet is to use a nail, Allen wrench, or other small cylindrical object that fits through the sling stud. Insert the replacement module and re-tighten the sling stud.
Unfortunately, the raised comb stock module that comes with the rifle does not fit me at all, and due to my slightly less-than-average stature, I suspect many other Riflemen will have the same problem with it. The issue is the same as many factory raised cheek rests – it is too far to the rear for use with field positions like Appleseed teaches. Even in the standing position, “turkey-necking” forward and dropping my head onto the stock puts the front edge of the raised comb well behind my cheek bone, where a shooter’s head should rest for a proper cheek weld. Instead, the comb digs uncomfortably into the back of my jaw. This stock module is another example of how rifles and accessories are frequently not designed with the Rifleman in mind; though I’m sure it would work wonderfully for sitting in a chair and shooting the rifle off a bench rest.
The Sights
The biggest deficiency with the standard factory 10/22 on the Appleseed firing line is the factory sights. They are difficult to adjust, particularly with any kind of precision – elevation is adjusted by loosening two tiny screws and moving the notched leaf up or down on the rear sight base. Windage can only be adjusted by drifting the rear sight base in the dovetail on the barrel with a hammer and punch. It is difficult to zero factory 10/22 sights, and it is impossible to use Appleseed’s “Inches, Minutes, Clicks” zeroing technique with them. Also, the short sight radius and fat, round front sight bead are not conducive to precision marksmanship. They may well be the worst factory sights of any current production rifle. On his design, Gary replaced the standard 10/22 sights with the same adjustable peep sights that are used on the Mini 14 and Gunsite Scout Rifle, which allow for easy adjustment and a much longer sight radius.
The sights adjust for both windage and elevation at the rear sight. The front sight is a non-adjustable blade with protective ears which is installed in the dovetail at the muzzle, just like the standard 10/22 front sight. The Ruger’s rear sight works very much like the front sight on a metric pattern FN FAL. The rear sight aperture is threaded, and adjusts for elevation by screwing it either in or out of the rear sight base. Windage is adjusted via push screws on either side of the rear sight base, which also serve to lock the aperture securely in place when the desired sight setting is reached. A 5/64” Allen wrench is required to adjust the sights, and is a must-have for anyone who owns one of these rifles. To adjust elevation, use the Allen wrench loosen one of the push screws to take the pressure off the aperture, and then rotate the aperture either clockwise or counter-clockwise to lower or raise it, respectively. One half rotation of the aperture moves it 2.5 MOA. Note that the rear sight will be somewhat stiff the first time you adjust it, and may require using pliers, or sticking your Allen wrench or something of similar size through the aperture for leverage, in order to get it to rotate. After the first adjustment, the rear sight should become loose enough that you should be able to turn it by hand once the side screw is loosened. Once you have made the desired adjustment, tighten the same screw you earlier loosened until it is secure.
To adjust windage, loosen the push screw on the side you want the sight to move toward – each quarter rotation of the rear sight is equal to 1.25 MOA (a 1/5 rotation, which is harder to eyeball, is 1 MOA). Then tighten the screw on the other side of the sight housing to push the rear sight in the desired direction, until it is tight against the other screw.
The Design Contest Rifle’s sights are not quite as straightforward to adjust as Tech Sights, which adjust by simply rotating a dial the desired number of clicks; and the Ruger’s sights may not adjust with “clicks” per se; but the most important thing is that they allow for repeatable adjustments of both windage and elevation. By substituting clicks with “quarter turns of the windage screws” and “half turns of the aperture,” the Inches/Minutes/Clicks method of sight adjustment can be effectively used with these sights.