!
It's the most popular .22 rifle in the world, and has been for decades. Just get one, you won't regret it.
True words!
I have one. I couldn't rest until I had one in my battery. Yet I DISLIKE the 10/22 and here's why:
I don't like the ill fitting, clunky stocks... PERIOD. I think they're bulky, oversized, over weight, lacking sling swivel posts, etc. Of course the "bulk" is the result of making the piece wide enough to accommodate the superb Ruger rotary magazine.
OTOH: the 10/22 is reliable to a fault. Mine eats anything I feed it with no failures to feed, fire or extract. And it's more accurate than I can hold it... so what's for me to dislike? :banghead:
My 10/22 is stainless with the boat paddle stock. It wears a Williams peep sight and is darn close to indestructible.
Sadly, it's a safe queen.
I have other 22 rifles that are easier for me to stash in my gear and take along because 99.9% of the time, 22s are for fun on my ranch and when I'm out in the high desert. That means that I have a serious long gun with me and the 22 has to be stowed in amongst my gear.
Four of the five 22s I use are "take-down" models: Browning 22 SA, Marlin 1897 Cowboy, and Taurus M62 & M72. All of these readily stow inside my ATV bag (or in a knapsack). And because I'm a lever gunner, my favorite 22 rifle is the Browning BLR with the short lever throw.
As well, there are probably more aftermarket parts and accessories available for the 10/22 than most of all the other 22 rifles
combined. That didn't happen because the 10/22 was anything other than a superb rifle to begin with.
So what's wrong with my 10/22? Not a darn thing, except that the others fit my personal needs and sense of esthetics better --- and the 10/22 quietly sits in my safe awaiting the day I might need it.
IMO, every man needs a GOOD 22 rifle. The 10/22 will fill that niche beautifully and if it were the only one I owned, I'd be glad to have it.