Bill Ruger's .22 rim fire rifle is without a doubt, one of the more popular rifles used in Mini Rifle the popularity of this carbine was instant In fact, the past few years we have witnessed a renewed interest in this rifle, largely brought on by the demand for custom versions spawned by competitive shooting. 

Many competitors have settled on custom versions of the 10/22 which has brought many gunsmiths to the surface willing to provide custom barrels, trigger jobs, extended magazine releases, compensators and a variety of aftermarket stocks. Several companies specialize in accuracy jobs and parts for this rifle. Clark Custom Guns and Volquartson are two that come to mind. 

 There is also a certain amount of pride in ownership that goes along with having a "custom" 10/22 . A lot of enjoyment can be gained from personalizing your rifle by modifying the stock adding colour and all manor of shiny bits. 

Sights seem to be a very personal choice however most seem to plump for red dot sights in one form or another. Holo-sights seem to be the most popular  followed by  PDP3 and of course not forgetting the essential Lasers!

Ammo, typical high velocity .22 rim fire ammunition generates speeds of between 1200 and 1260 feet per second (fps)  Standard and target .22 ammo is slower at around 1060 to 1180 fps. 

Magazine problems seem to be the result of either a bad or dirty magazine or excessive crud and dirt in the action. These difficulties are easily solved. The standard Ruger rotary magazine can be disassembled, cleaned, lubricated, and re-assembled relatively easily. However, most of the after-market magazines for this rifle cannot. If you find a bad one, throw it away. The best way to lube a magazine is with a dry lubricant. Traditional oils attract dirt and grime and only add to the problem.

Cleaning the action of the 10/22 requires complete disassembly. One slight caution is in order. When lifting the barreled action from the stock make sure the safety is centered from side to side to keep from marring the stock. Although it is relatively simple to separate the barrel from the action, Ruger recommends that the re-assembly be only by a competent gunsmith. Actually, there is no need to separate the action from the barrel in the normal cleaning process anyway.

The 10/22 action has three steel pins through the receiver. The two smaller ones hold the trigger assembly in place while the larger one near the rear acts as the bolt stop. The larger one is easily removed but the smaller ones may need a little nudging with a drift punch. With the trigger assembly and the rear pin removed, the bolt is pulled all the way to the rear and lifted away from the bolt guide and spring. The guide and spring can then be easily lifted out of the receiver.

Several of the firearms cleaning products companies make a degreaser available in an aerosol can. With a small brush and a few squirts of degreaser, the grit and grime are easily removed.

What about cleaning the bore? With the .22 rim fire bullets normally lubed, bore cleaning is not as important as it is with center fire calibers. However, to maintain top accuracy in a 10/22, the bore should be cleaned frequently.