Ruger 96/22 22 long rifle

I went thru a few pages here, and tried using the search feature with no luck, so I'm asking for general information. Bought a 96/22 in 22 LR at a gun show this weekend, and like I said just looking for general info on it.
When and how long were they made?
Why did they stop making them?
Is the gun persnickety about feeding, extracting, ejecting?
Accuracy and reliability?
Just general stuff like that. I can find approximate value on gunbroker etc, but can't find out much else.
Thanks!

Mine shoots much like a 10/22, except for what you have to do between shots. :wink:

Never had a feeding issue, the trigger is about average, it's just a matter of
remembering to give a tug on the lever.

I would venture to say they were discontinued because they weren't a good seller.

The 96 was made from 95-04 . I read they were built to be a substitute for 10/22 s in the event they were banned . They are really hard to find, and not cheap ! I have one in .22 and .22wmr , still looking for a 17hmr.

The 22 LR is the hardest to find...scott

I had one I sold several years ago. Odd sale. Gun brought way more than I thought it should,800 bucks on gunbroker. Guy in Texas bought it. He wanted it shipped to a FFL in Washington. Found this odd. Called the ATF told no problem. They did not care who paid me as long as a FFL received it. Still felt odd. So I called the FFL. They gave me the whole story.

Seems the "buyer" was a agent of a Australian gun importer. Receiving FFL in Washington was a export approved FFL. The 96/22 is very desirable down under. They cannot have the 10/22. Lever guns are legal but the trouble is your traditional tube fed lever action 22 have too high of a magazine capacity.

Cannot imagine wanted a 22 lever action that bad. 800 bucks for the gun, think I charged 30 for shipping. Export FFL charges 250. So over a grand on this end. God only knows what got tacked on on the other end.

Quickly realize how good we have it and what we stand to lose when it comes to gun rights.

Thank ya fellas! I didn't realize they were made for that long a time, I'd been told only 3 or 4 years. Had also been told there was all sorts of problems with em. I've shot this one a little bit, so far, and didn't have any problems with it. Got it scoped this morning (66 year old eyeballs) and I'll see what it can do in the next few days.
Thank y'all for all the info!

I had a 96/22 in .22WMR. Bought it to resell, as I found a great deal on it. Sold it locally for $600, last year. GB might have brought more, but didn't want to monkey w/shipping, etc.

I never shot it, but the action felt very smooth when working the lever.

Had it been in .22LR, I likely would have kept it. Just didn't have a need for a .22WMR...

AR_hillbilly said:

Thank ya fellas! I didn't realize they were made for that long a time, I'd been told only 3 or 4 years. Had also been told there was all sorts of problems with em. I've shot this one a little bit, so far, and didn't have any problems with it. Got it scoped this morning (66 year old eyeballs) and I'll see what it can do in the next few days.
Thank y'all for all the info!

Click to expand...

I bought both of mine used, and have shot the .22 most ,no problems . they also use the same mags as the 10/22 .

The Ruger website says the 96/22 production years were 1996 - 2009.

https://www.ruger.com/service/productHistory/RI-96-22.html

I think they're a bit of an oddity and seem to bring really good money if you're a seller.

There's a super nice 96/44 in the Classifieds here I'm thinking hard about. Think it also was made only about 10 years and production around 20,000 total.

You just don't see any of them very often, regardless of caliber.

JohnFLand said:

The Ruger website says the 96/22 production years were 1996 - 2009.

https://www.ruger.com/service/productHistory/RI-96-22.html

Click to expand...

I have all the Ruger printed catalogues from 72 until 2010 which was the last year for them (catalogue ). my catalogues disagree with the website on years produced :roll:

The 22 mag and 17 hmr were produced for a few years longer than the 22. Seen a lot of "new" guns in both those calibers long after the catalogs or Rugers website listed them. Think there was a long cleanup after the " stopped" making them.

mike7mm08 said:

The 22 mag and 17 hmr were produced for a few years longer than the 22. Seen a lot of "new" guns in both those calibers long after the catalogs or Rugers website listed them. Think there was a long cleanup after the " stopped" making them.

Click to expand...

I have read that here on other models
as well