WWJWD? has a post up on the survival virtues of the rimfire rifle. Good reading, but I'd like to make a couple of additions:
1) On the value of ammo:
Jeff Cooper once referred to .22LR ammunition in a future crisis situation as "ballistic wampum". Even in the absence of a world where shirtless guys are running about the desert with colanders strapped to their faces, this description rings true. Ammunition prices are inexorably tied to metals prices, and with metals looking to stay expensive, ammo isn't going to get any cheaper. I make a habit of trying to buy a box of .22 every day. True, I shoot every day at work, but I rarely use the whole box. The remainder gets dumped into ammo cans where it will sit until needed for shooting or as trade fodder. Simply put, you can never have too many .22LR rounds on hand.
2) On useful rifles:
The Ruger 10/22 is, no doubt, an excellent rifle. It has ascended to that plateau of firearms ubiquity (shared only by the M1911, AR-15, and Remington 700) where you can build a complete example of the gun, from the ground up, without using a single part from the original manufacturer. However it is slightly hampered in the versatility department by its box magazine feed. Two equally excellent tube-magazine guns, the semiauto Remington 552 Speedmaster and the lever-action Browning BL-22, will feed shorts, longs, and long rifle cartridges, as well as functioning with colibris, CB's, and shotshells (albeit as a manually-operated straight-pull, in the case of the 552.)
3) The training option:
If you're a user of the 1911 and AR-15, Ciener makes conversion kits for both your pistol and rifle. Cheap training, small game hunting, and pest control with your primary sidearm and long gun.
4) Ssshhhh!
A Gemtech Outback II is less than $600 out-the-door, including TN sales tax and $200 tax stamp.
H/T to SayUncle.
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17 comments:
That Remington sure is pretty. I'd almost feel guilty about hauling something like that out into the bush.
Thanks for the link, it's appreciated!
In the situation described, I'm thinking that semi-autos, after cycling problems caused by (fill in the blank), will be supplanted by good bolt repeaters or single shots by many.
I need to add one to my armory.
Every time I decide I should sell that old 4" Taurus 94 .22lr revolver I have stashed away something like this changes my mind. I never shoot the thing. My 10/22 and my 22/45 are a lot more fun.
Now you have me wanting a BL-22 or a Marlin 39A.
Bryan, if you don't want it, I'll happily take it off your hands.
I can't have too many a).22s, and b) revolvers.
Quick question on the tax stamp. Is it true that if you can legally buy a handgun, you can qualify for the tax stamp on supressors or full-autos?
Brass
Yup.
It has ascended to that plateau of firearms ubiquity (shared only by the M1911, AR-15, and Remington 700) where you can build a complete example of the gun, from the ground up, without using a single part from the original manufacturer.
I don't own a 10/22, but the only reason why is because of the actions of Ruger's founder, the father of the downsized magazine ban. (It's also always nice to see you can buy off any sins in the NRA's eyes with large chunks of cash.)
Compared to mini-14's, the 10/22 is a swell gun, but it has that damn Ruger nameplate. I've seen plenty of accessory parts for the 10/22, but never a receiver. Please, tell me more.
About the linked article, every single AR-7 I've ever seen, Armalite, Charter arms, Surviver arms, 100% of them have a cracked stock right where you screw the receiver into place. I'd love to see what Henry Repeating Arms Co has done about that, but I'm gonna assume they did nothing. It's nice to see them upgrade the finish and the damn (almost a) sight mounting rail.
My AR came from the factory with a crinkle coat paint finish, inside and out. Needless to say, that paint did wonders for the reliability.
Another upgrade might be getting it to work with Marlin or 10/22 magazines
Way off topic, but Holy Crap!.
Brass
The stock on my Henry AR-7 is fine, although I'll now be watching that area just to be sure the bastard doesn't break on me.
Standard,
I believe you can get receivers, albeit through transfer of another "gun", from Volquartsen, maybe Clark Custom, and, if you can find one, AMT made a complete PH stainless receiver for their own match version of the 10/22 that took all of the fancy parts, about 10 years ago. There may be more out there, but I can't think of who they are off the top right now.
The 10/22 is quite simple in design, I find, and parts count is surprisingly low. There must be two dozen companies making titanium whazzits for each part, including crap that the original doesn't have, like last shot bolt hold-open devices. Weird.
Tam's not kidding about building the thing from a bin of aftermarket parts.
+1 on the Ciener conversion kit. I've been using one in my AR for years now. I've gotta say, though, my experiences with their customer service department (I use that term loosely) have been less than stellar. Also, in a 3-pack of 30-round mags, one FTFs every time, and their customer service is so bad that I haven't bothered to deal with replacing/fixing it. If you can put up with little to no customer support, Ciener is the way to go. I'd like to get their Para Ord converter for my 14.45 LDA.
Maybe I'm just a Luddite.
I subscribe to Kurt Saxon's philosophy about the survival battery, especially as regards self- and home-defense:
A pistol for the bedroom,
A shotgun over the door,
For reaching out, a .30-06
You don't need any more
I own an SKS, but it's just a trunk gun. It's always been my belief that if you're going to be in a gunfight, bring enough gun. To me, that means, bring enough bullet.
In my poorer days that meant Mausers. Now, it means a Garand, and unless you're hunting wildebeests in Kenya, .30-06 and 8mm Mauser are "enough bullet."
The "cycling" issue is largely one of maintenance. If you can't be bothered to clean a gun and maintain it properly, by all means stick with bolties, a Mosin-Nagant if you absolutely refuse to clean it. An expert rifleman can put the same number of accurate rounds downrange with a No. 4 Mk I SMLE as I can with my Garand, but he's going to have a much higher learning curve getting there than I have with mine.
I just don't consider 5.56 to be enough bullet. It has a hard time turning cover into concealment, a problem that the Garand and Mauser are relatively untroubled by. My only 5.56 weapon is in my Reserve Center's arms room, and I've always considered it as secondary to the M203 Grenade Launcher slung underneath it (40mm HEDP grenades are UNARGUABLY enough bullet).
I'm in love with my .17 HMR, but I still burn a lot of .22LR rounds through my Winchester 74 and my Ruger 10/22.
I had the distinct pleasure to learn pistol shooting with a Hi Standard HD Military that I still shoot today.
Funny how all my .22's I inherited from my old man, but they're still fine guns today.
I'll buy one more soon - once my sprout is old enough, I'll buy her a Cricket .22
There are several other brands of 1911 to 22lr conversion kits. I like the Advantage Arms because of the slide lock feature. See here
I must say, that those Ruger aluminum receivers scratch awful easily, paint-wise, and a cutout in the back to allow breech-end cleaning would be handy...
That's the main benefit I can imagine of an aftermarket receiver. I was going to ask who made one, but I see I was beaten to the punch.
Stuart, the aftermarket receivers made from stainless steel or titanium are a lot stronger than Ruger's cast aluminum ones. When you give in to the itch to hang a bull barrel on your 10/22 you'll appreciate it. You can not free float such a barrel on the Ruger receiver. It will bend.
Ruger should get smart and sell a forged 4140 chromoly model. People would pay the extra price. The days of a 10/22 being a $99 rifle are long past.
Drew458
I'll take the 10/22 any day over any other .22 rifle. Tube mags bend when you drop the rifle.
I love my MKII .22 pistol, too. Hate the Browning. Trigger pull lighter than a hummingbirds' fart.
And I've got so many bricks of .22 ammo, it's almost too much. Assuming there could be such a thing.
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