The Joy of 10/22s

[m657]

went with buddy to the range for "rimfire rifle" day.......

what a joy the 10/22 is in ANY of the incarnations

Circa 1995 a LGS owner was retiring and gave a great deal on a hammer-barrel target T22. He also led me to a -then horribly expensive- target Tasco 6-24x44AO that doubled the price of the purchase. Have experimented with various scopes in recent years, but this old heavyweight fit perfectly and required only minor adjustments to get 50 yard 10 shot 1-hole targets back on line.

Buddy's econobox loss leader 10/22 from a few years back, with a 3-9 cheapie scope, managed a 50 yard hit on the foam ear plug held up by a tooth pick. I had installed a couple eye-holes in it that resembled 'Casper the ghost' only in orange. His shot broke the tooth pick off. Casper took a tumble.

TD 10/22 with Nikon 3x32 is no slouch either. We had no trouble trading a couple handfuls of 22LR for various pleasing groups in the targets.

Sorry I can't post photos, I've fired all the image host sites.

 

[NixieTube]

^^ +1 to what he said. ^^ They're just a box or backpack full of giggles and they're totally drug-free mood boosters. It's great that the price of .22 LR is starting to come back down where the hoarders/scalpers have done so much damage, because shooting these rifles is just what the doctor ordered. If you work a little in advance on your target selection, you can take someone who has never been to a range before, never held a gun, never wanted to fire a gun, maybe doesn't even like the concept - maybe even actively OPPOSES the concept - and bring them out with a 10/22 and they *will* smile. They will enjoy the experience. 8) They can't help it!

I've done this recently! 8) I recommend it. Find one of your "fence sitting" friends and take them to the range with your 10/22, a brick of ammo. and some fun targets and spend a few hours. I like the nice, spacious outdoor ranges where you can set up your targets at various distances. You get some moderate exercise outdoors, you spend a few hours shooting and by that point you've worked up an appetite and at dusk it's time for dinner. It's a very pleasant, low-stress, fun and relatively inexpensive way to spend an afternoon and get in some quality time with a friend - maybe one who previously never understood your "gun thing."

Bring along your fave. 22 pistol and double the giggles.

 

[cowboy1]

^^ +1 to what he said. ^^ They're just a box or backpack full of giggles and they're totally drug-free mood boosters. It's great that the price of .22 LR is starting to come back down where the hoarders/scalpers have done so much damage, because shooting these rifles is just what the doctor ordered. If you work a little in advance on your target selection, you can take someone who has never been to a range before, never held a gun, never wanted to fire a gun, maybe doesn't even like the concept - maybe even actively OPPOSES the concept - and bring them out with a 10/22 and they *will* smile. They will enjoy the experience. 8) They can't help it!

I've done this recently! 8) I recommend it. Find one of your "fence sitting" friends and take them to the range with your 10/22, a brick of ammo. and some fun targets and spend a few hours. I like the nice, spacious outdoor ranges where you can set up your targets at various distances. You get some moderate exercise outdoors, you spend a few hours shooting and by that point you've worked up an appetite and at dusk it's time for dinner. It's a very pleasant, low-stress, fun and relatively inexpensive way to spend an afternoon and get in some quality time with a friend - maybe one who previously never understood your "gun thing."

Bring along your fave. 22 pistol and double the giggles.

I agree bringing a friend to the range is a good way to get folks into the shooting game, HOWEVER, I haven't been able to buy a brick of any sort of .22s in over 2 years. I get to the store before they open, find 20 or more families lined up already, and the few bricks available got to the first family or two in line. No improvement in availability around here.

 

[NixieTube]

I agree bringing a friend to the range is a good way to get folks into the shooting game, HOWEVER, I haven't been able to buy a brick of any sort of .22s in over 2 years. I get to the store before they open, find 20 or more families lined up already, and the few bricks available got to the first family or two in line. No improvement in availability around here.

Where I live I just saw the first increase in availability in more than 18 months. I'm still paying too much - $65 or so for a 525 round brick of Federal Champion HV 36 copper plated hollow points (12.4 cents per round!) - BUT this is the first time in 18 months where I could even FIND a brick of ammo. available on the shelves. Previously it was just 50 round boxes and 16-18 cents a round, or more. Crazy prices. "New Normal" prices. I did learn a wee secret in the past week: You should call some of your local firearm/ammo. dealers and ask them when they expect to get their next shipment in, then get there when the truck unloads. They may still impose a 1 or 2 brick max. but this was the absolute first time in a long time I've been able to buy 10(50) rounds at a time. BTW if the Wayback machines of the world are right, the ammo. I just mentioned used to cost $35 a brick of 525. 6 to 7 cents per round even where I live. I'm not happy about paying 12.4 cents a round for decent ammo., but it is at least a little better than it was earlier this year - when you just couldn't get any no matter what you wanted to pay.

I mean *NOBODY* could find it, and that includes people in the MA shooting community (there is such a thing :lol: it's just that you don't hear about them a lot) who have been around since the M1 Garand was first issued as a duty rifle. I looked. I called. I had gun shop owners who were getting annoyed with me. You had to buy some from people who already had it through tiny classified ads, and unless they were friends, they were charging a real 200-300% premium. Or more, if they weren't friends.

All of that is perfect textbook panic market scenario dynamics, and that's what the .22 LR rifle ammo. market has been since early 2013.

Jeff Quinn did a nice video on it back in April of 2013 and his recommendations have held up pretty well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wZx2z8bI7A

 

[jimd441]

The joy of 1022's indeed! I have only one, a DSP with a 3-9 Nikon Prostaff. Not only do I enjoy it, but I have introduced several folks to shooting with it and it seems to the gun of mine that they favor. The Beach Boys said it best: Fun, Fun, Fun!

Jim

 

[6mm]

I have a 1989 made 10/22 with a 4x scope and it is a great little shooter. Picked up a 10/22 Take Down recently and it's just as much fun.

My daughter now has her first 10/22, with a pink laminate stock. It's great to have another generation enjoying the 10/22.

 

[Major T]

I refuse to participate in the price gouging. I have kept a fair stock since the Clinton scare. All the semi-autos have been in the safe the last three years. I have been mostly using a Remington 510 Targetmaster single shot, but gave it it granddaughter a while back. I have been using the repeater 511 mostly since then. No plinking. Granddaughter's shooting education mostly.

Jack