Contents:
- Ruger 10/22 Essentials
- Ruger 10/22 “Takedown” Model
- Ammunition Selection
- Accessories
- High Capacity Magazines
- Red Dot Optics
- Magnified Optics
- White Light
- Folding Stocks
- Fixed Stocks
- Maintenance and Cleaning
- Avoid At All Costs
- Ruger Serial Numbers and Years of Production
- What Distance To Zero Your Ruger 10/22
- Conclusion
- Recommendations
Ruger 10/22 Essentials:
When properly equipped and maintained, the Ruger 10/22 is a great survival rifle capable of putting meat on the table, eradicating pests, and even providing security (within 100 yards). 
Police SWAT teams have been known to use suppressed versions of the rifle to take out lights or guard dogs. The Israeli military also employees suppressed versions to take out sentries and dogs (seen right).
The .22LR round packs only a small fraction of the stopping power of a larger 5.56mm or 7.62mm round. While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this caliber as a first line of defense, I don’t know of anyone who wants to be caught in a rain of .22LR rimfire.
Out of the box the Ruger 10/22 is capable of hitting a rabbit at 100 yards. The .22LR is only effective out to around 100-125 yards, and after that the round has pretty much lost of its effective power. Unless you are a hobbiest that wants to see how small of a group that you can shoot at 25 yards, there really isn’t a reason to break the bank to modify the basic rifle (in terms of trigger, barrel, etc.). The rifle is capable of serving you well just as it was manufactured.
Ruger 10/22 “Takedown” Model:
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Ammunition Selection:
Ammunition selection with the Ruger 10/22 rifle (like with all .22 caliber firearms) is absolutely critical with respects to reliability, accuracy, and terminal performance (its effect on the target).
Use Copper Plated Ammunition:
Ruger 10/22 rifles work best with copper plated (or copper washed), high-velocity ammunition. The copper plating is where the bullet is dipped into a copper solution. It leaves the bullet with a shiney copper finish. Like a copper jacket on larger calibler ammunition, the copper plating protects the bullet from deforming as it leaves the magazine and enters the chamber. The soft lead of cheaper bullets can deform and cause the firearm to malfunction. The continued use of unplated bullets can leave lead shavings and filings in the action which can also lead to reliability issues. The unplated bullets will foul the barrel with lead resedue and effect accuracy. Using only copper plated ammunition with help maintain reliability and accuracy.
Use Hollow-Point Ammunition For Hunting / Self-Defense Applications:
Use hollow-point ammunition if the rifle is used for hunting of self defense. As the hollow projectile forces its way through soft tissue, the hydrodynamic forces inside the bullet’s cavity will cause the bullet to expand to a greater size. The now larger projectile produces a larger wound channel, and due to its larger size and increased drag, transfers all of its energy in the target and hopefully won’t exit the target.
Federal’s Value Pack 36-Grain Hollow-Point Ammunition:
Using Ruger’s factory 10-round or 25-round magazines I have had very good luck with Federal’s 550-round bulk-pack box of 36-grain copper plated hollow-points. They are reliable, consistant, and accurate. They can usually be found at Walmart, Cabella’s, and Bass Pro Shop.
Remington’s Value Pack 36-Grain Hollow-Point Ammunition:
I have also had great luck with Remington’s 525-round bulk pack of 36-grain copper plated hollow-points. Given a choice I would first pick the Federal ammunition shown above, but if it is not available the Remington ammuntion should serve you as well. Like the Federal, the Remington can be found at Walmart, Cabella’s, and Bass Pro Shop.
Avoid Remington Thunderbolt Ammunition:
Stay away from Remington’s Thunderbolt economy line of ammunition. The bullets are not copper plated. Even worse, the bullets are coated with some type of waxy material. The soft lead projectiles are easily deformed when the round loads into the chamber, and the lead and waxy residue builds up in the chamber and barrel. It is both dirty and unreliable. Also stay away from Winchester Wildcat and American Eage ammunition as it is also dirty and unreliable.
Avoid Remington Yellow Jack Hyper-Velocity Ammunition:
Avoid Remington Yellow Jacket or any other type of truncated bullets out of your Ruger. Ruger 10/22’s like round tip bullets. The pointy truncated hollow-point rounds are reliable, accurate, and devastating when fired from some rifles, but in Ruger these rounds feed miserably.
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Accessories:
While there really isn’t any need to modify the basic rifle, there are several accessories that increase its effectiveness for hunting and self-defense, such as high-capacity magazines, magnified or 1x red-dot optics, white light, and a folding stock (for ease of storage and portability).
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High Capacity Magazines:
Ruger BX-25 and BX-15 Magazines:
Ruger 10/22 rifles are extremely sensitive to the type of magazine that they can reliably use. There are many aftermarket high-capacity Ruger 10/22 magazines, and all but a few are complete junk. 
They are unreliable, and will easily break or wear out. Only use the 10-round rotary magazine that is shipped with the rifle, or Ruger’s new factory “BX-25” 25-round magazine. The BX-25 is getting fantastic reviews. They are made of a very strong polymer, have steel feed lips for long life and reliable function, and can be disassembled with an Allen wrench for proper cleaning. I have five that function flawlessly (when using quality ammunition in a properly maintained rifle). CDNN Investments usually sells these for $24.95, but every few weeks has them on sale for $19.95. Check in periodically for when they are on sale and stock up.
Warning: Avoid Ramline magazines, Shooter’s Ridge magazines, Promag magazines, Butler Creek magazines, and Eagle brand magazines. They all suck. Stick with the Ruger BX-25 25-round magazine.
Avoid MGW 50-Round Teardrop Magazines:
Avoid MGW brand 50-round teardrop magazines (pictured right). They are a pain to load, the plastic parts are brittle and prone to crack, they require a plastic loading key that is very fragile, and operation is very unreliable.
Avoid Promag’s 50-Round Drum:
Avoid Promag’s 50-round drum (pictured right). Stick with the Ruger BX-25 25-round magazine. While the Ruger factory magazines may only offer half of the ammunition capacity, they offer 10 times the reliablility.
Other Magazines To Avoid:
Avoid Ramline magazines, Shooter’s Ridge magazines, Promag magazines, Butler Creek magazines, and Eagle brand magazines. They all suck.
Stick with the Ruger BX-25 25-round magazine.
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Red Dot Optics:
Red-Dots: Non-magnified red-dot optics are great when you need to quickly acquire and fire at targets. They are especially effective when shooting at moving targets, such as when hunting. They are designed to be used with both eyes open and focused on the target. They red-dot appears as an illusion on the target. Although the red-dot is only a few inches from your eye, the dot appears as if it is floating on the target many meters away. Simply place the red-dot on the target (or lead a moving target if necessary) and press the trigger.
Bushnell TRS-25:
If you buy a cheap red-dot optic you will usually end up with junk that can not produce a bright enough reticle to be seen in bright sunlight, and probably will not be able to handle the constant abuse of firearm recoil. The Bushnell TRS-25 (pictured right), while not cheap, is still reasonably priced from around $80 – $120 (depending on where you purchase it, and whether it is on sale or not). 
The TRS-25 has been tested on .375 H&H Magnum rifles. If it can survive that massive recoil, it certainly can handle the almost non-existent recoil of a .22LR rifle. The TRS-25 has 11 brightness setting.
I have two of the red-dot sights and I have never needed to use the brightest settings, even on the sunniest of days. It has a 3 MOA red-dot reticle. I zero the red-dot at 20 yards. Bullet impact at 50 yards is still within the upper third of the dot. Point-of-sight and point-of-impact are the same again at 66 yards. At 100 yards the bullet will impact just to bottom of the dot. With the 20 yard zero you will hit what ever you put the dot on out past 66 yards, and will only require slight holdover as your near 100 yards. My two children can routinely hit spent shotgun shells with impunity all the way out past 30 yards, and tennis balls past 60 yards. I have several friends that have these same sights on their Ruger 10/22 rifles and absolutely love them.
Note: Make sure that you use LocTite on the screw when you mount the sight to your rifle. Keep an extra CR-2032 battery with your rifle. If you leave the TRS-25 turned on it will not automatically shut off and the battery will probably be dead when you go to use it again.
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Magnified Optics:
Coming soon!
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White Light:
Coming soon!
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Folding Stock:
Folding Stock = Ease of Transportation and Storage:
A folding stock does not necessarily make the rifle more accurate or easy to shoot, but it does make it more compact to store or transport, and it does look super cool.
Choate Brand Folding Stocks — Savannah Arsenal Recommended:
Choate makes high-quality rifle and shotgun stocks. I have owned a couple of their side-folding stocks for Ruger 10/22 rifles (shown below). They look and balance great. They lock open and closed and are solid and tight. Mounting some type of tactical light on the forend may be problematic as its width tapers down as it reaches the end, not leaving very much surface that is parallel to the barrel to attach any type of Pictinanny rail to.
Butler Creek Brand Folding Stocks:
There are a number of folding stock manufacturers, but like most firearms accessories, 95% of their products are cheesy junk. I have owned a Butler Creek brand side-folding stock (shown right). It looked and felt cheesy. It rattled when locked open or closed. While the price is attractive, you will get what you pay for.
Ramline Brand Folding Stocks:
The folding mechanism is made entirely of plastic and the stock rattles whether it is locked open or closed. Also, when mounted to the rifle there is a very unaesthetic gap between the front of the pistol grip and the rear of the trigger guard.
ATI Brand Folding Stocks:
The M4 carbine style stock is adjustable for length of pull, however the bulky folding mechanism is made entirely of plastic and IMHO adds a clumsy look and feel to the rifle.
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Fixed Stocks:
Magpul X-22 Hunter:
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Trigger Improvements:
Ruger BX22 Drop-In Trigger Group Replacement — Savannah Arsenal Recommended:
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Maintenance and Cleaning:
Cleaning:
.22LR ammunition is dirty shooting and leaves behind lots of burnt powder residue in the action and lead fouling in the chamber and barrel. The stricter your gun cleaning discipline, the more reliability you can expect from your Ruger.
After disassembling the rifle, use a good CLP (cleaner, lubricant, protector) such as Break-Free and scrub out the barrel and chamber with a rod, brush, and patches until the patches come out clean. A clean barrel is important for accuracy, but the chamber is very important for reliability.
Use an old toothbrush and CLP to scrub the inside of the receiver, the bolt, and all the other inside parts. Using the toothbrush and Q-tips, pay particular attention to the extractor claw and make sure that there isn’t any residue under it. If there is, the rifle may have trouble extracting the empty shell casing.
Use Q-tips to clean any residue out of the trigger group LIGHTLY oil any moving parts inside it. Wipe all of the parts of the rifle BONE DRY (including the inside of the chamber and barrel). On a molecular level the metal will be protected from rust and corrosion, but there won’t be enough oil left to collect gunshot residue and cause the firearm to malfunction.
If you have an air compressor in your shop, try blowing out all of the parts to remove any gunshot residue or oil that you have missed, especially in the bolt, around the chamber, and in the trigger group.
Now it is time to lube.
Lube:
While the Ruger doesn’t like to be excessively oiled, it still needs its moving parts to be slick so as to provide easy movement and protection from premature wear. I have had a lot of luck by simply placing a VERY THIN film of gun grease or high temperature wheel bearing grease inside the top of the receiver where the bolt slides back and forth. You can look for any wear marks on the bolt and inside the receiver and place a very light film of grease there too. Only apply grease where there is rubbing, and be sure not to put too much.
Unlike oil, the grease won’t trap and hold gunshot residue, but will make the bolt slide back and forth like butter. Also, the hotter the gun gets and the more viscous the grease becomes, the smoother the rifle will run. Using this cleaning and lube technique I was able to fire 525 rounds of Remington Golden Bullets out of Ruger BX-25 magazines with only ONE malfunction.
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Avoid At All Costs:
Avoid Butler Creek and Ramline folding stocks. They are cheap and rattle when both folded and deployed.
Avoid American Eagle, Winchester Wildcat, and Remington Thunderbolt ammunition. The bullets are not copper-washed and the lead is very soft. The lead bullets may bend as they are stripped out of the magazine and will fail to feed in the chamber, or if they feed there will be tiny slivers of lead shave off and eventually foul up the action. Also, while all .22LR ammunition is dirty shooting, these cheaper brands are excessively dirty. Their burnt powder residue and lead fouling will quickly cause you reliability issues. You will have miserable results shooting any of this ammunition.
Also, avoid Remington Yellow Jacket or any other type of truncated bullets out of your Ruger. Ruger 10/22’s like round tip bullets. The pointy truncated hollow-point rounds are reliable, accurate, and devastating when fired from some rifles, but in Ruger these rounds feed miserably.
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Ruger 10/22 Serial Numbers and Years of Production:
The chart below shows the approximate first serial number shipped for the indicated year. This number should be used as a point of reference only. It is not necessarily the very first serial number shipped, but it can be used to determine the approximate year your Ruger firearm was shipped.
Ruger does not produce firearms in serial number order. There are occasions when blocks of serial numbers have been manufactured out of sequence, sometimes years later. Also, within a model family the same serial number prefix may be used to produce a variety of different models, all in the same block of serial numbers. And in some cases, models may be stored for a length of time before they are shipped.
| Beginning Serial Number: | Year(s) of Production: |
| 1 | 1964 |
| 453 | 1965 |
| 22906 | 1966 |
| 77384 | 1967 |
| 131304 | 1968 |
| 186076 | 1969 |
| 110-20100 | 1970 |
| 110-64595 | 1971 |
| 111-16200 | 1972 |
| 111-95550 | 1973 |
| 113-04149 | 1974 |
| 114-17146 | 1975 |
| 115-32735 | 1976 |
| 116-25017 | 1977 |
| 117-36100 | 1978 |
| 118-42599 | 1979 |
| 119-59923 | 1980 |
| 121-03969 | 1981 |
| 112-74713 | 1982 |
| 123-72025 | 1983 |
| 124-80623 | 1984 |
| 126-47192 | 1985 |
| 127-68583 | 1986 |
| 128-38014 | 1987 |
| 129-20927 | 1988 |
| 230-25136 | 1989 |
| 232-10200 | 1990 |
| 233-58183 | 1991 |
| 234-83684 | 1992 |
| 236-75045 | 1993 |
| 238-72514 | 1994 |
| 240-92928 | 1995 |
| 243-44458 | 1996 |
| 245-74954 | 1997 |
| 247-34572 | 1998 |
| 249-06699 | 1999 |
| 251-04888 | 2000 |
| 251-99500 | 2001 |
| 253-29539 | 2002 |
| 253-94026 | 2003 |
| 255-00301 | 2004 |
| 257-03392 | 2005 |
| 258-91827 | 2006 |
| 259-99957 | 2007 |
| 351-45548 | 2008 |
| 353-24238 | 2009 |
| 355-57739 | 2010 |
| 357-11866 | 2011 |
| 359-35112 | 2012 |
| 822-42506 | 2013 |
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What Distance To Zero Your Ruger 10/22:
We all know that bullets do not travel in a straight line with relation to the earth. If it were possible to fire a rifle from a perfect level attitude the bullet would start falling the moment that it left the barrel. In order to get the farthest range out of the rifle we set up the sites so that the bullet will fly in a parabolic arch (like throwing a football). 
Note that on its parabolic flight the bullet will cross the point-of-aim two times. Once on the way up, and once on its way back down. This means that two times during the bullet’s flight the point-of-aim and point-of-impact are the same (bullet hits where you are aiming). It will hit above or below your aiming point at other distances.
For shooting at varying distances you will have to aim high (“holdover”) or low (“holdunder”) to compensate for the bullet’s parabolic flight in order to put the bullet exactly where you want it. This means that you will have to practice enough at various distances to learn how much holdover you will need (this information is called your “dope”). Long range rifle shooter create range cards with the rifle’s dope recorded so that they can reference it and know how much to holdover at various distances.
Like any firearm, you can zero your .22LR rifle to any distance you like. The distance that you choose to zero your rifle will determine how high or how flat of an arch the bullet flies. In order to minimize the necessary holdover efforts you will want to zero the rifle at a distance that will give your bullet the flattest trajectory. Zeroed at the right distance you be able to simply aim the rifle at your target and hit with a minimum of variation out to a given distance.
Note that the height of the sights, cross-hairs, or reticle above the bore of the rifle will affect the what distance that you should zero your rifle to achieve the flattest trajectory. If you are using a scope mounted 2″ above the bore, the best zero distance for the flattest trajectory is going to be different that using the factory iron sights that sit .6″ above the center of the bore. Also, you will get different performance from different brands of ammunition and different weights of bullets.
My goal was to figure out a best “set it and forget it” zero setting on my Ruger 10/22 that would allow me to get the best accuracy at varying distances without worrying about holdover. I used an iPad/iPhone app called Ballistic v5.0.6 to analyze different trajectories for different ammunition loads and different zero settings at various distances to see which trajectory is the flattest. The data that I have provided below is for Federal “Bulk Pack” 36 grain hollow-point ammunition and CCI Mini-Mag 36 grain hollow-point ammunition. I chose these rounds because that is what works most reliably in my Ruger 10/22, and that’s what I have plenty of. I can’t guarantee reliability with these two loads of ammunition in any other semi-automatic rifle besides a Ruger 10/22, but if your rifle will shoot these loads then these are the ballistic results that you should expect. 
Also, I have provided data for shooting with the factory sights that sit 6/10″ above the center of the bore, and also for optics with a reticle that sits 1.5 inches above the center of the bore (such as the Bushnell TRS-25, seen right). There will be data on Federal ammunition used with factory sights sitting 6/10″ above the bore as well as optics with the reticle sitting 1.5″ above the bore, and data on the CCI Mini-Mag with sights sitting 6/10″ above the bore and optics with the reticle sitting 1.5″ above the bore. I have only analyzed trajectories through 100 yards as the performance of the .22LR is anemic at best beyond that distance.
Pick your rifle configuration (with or without an optic), pick your ammunition, and then pick the best (flattest) shooting zero for your rifle.
Factory Iron Sights 6/10″ Above Bore: Federal “Bulk Pack” 36 Grain Hollow-Point
The chart above assumes that you are using the factory “iron sights” with a 6/10″ height over bore.
The chart shows three different trajectories from three different zero settings.
The 10-yard zero trajectory is represented by the green arc. The bullet’s arc rises up through point-of-aim at 10 yards and back down at approximately 52 yards. It has the highest rise above point-of-aim (.52″ at 30 yards). The 10-yard zero will suffer the least in the long run, falling to 3.38″ at 75 yards and to 6.15″ below point-of-aim at 100 yards. You will be able to hit within a 1″ circle from just a few feet from the muzzle out to approximately 59 yards.
The 12-yard zero is represented by the red arc. The bullet’s arc rises up through point-of-aim at 12 yards, should apogee .27″ above point-of-aim between 25 and 30 yards, and then descends back through point-of-aim at approximately 42 yards. With the 12-yard zero you have the opportunity to hit within a 1″ diameter circle around the aiming point starting at the muzzle and traveling out to around 52 yards. After that the trajectory drops rapidly and hits 7.33″ below point-of-aim at 100 yards.
The 15-yard zero, represented by the blue arc, has the least rise over point-of-aim (only .08″… for practical purposes we will go ahead and say that it doesn’t rise over point-of-aim), and at 100 yards the bullet falls 8″ below point-of-aim.
Recommendation: If the farthest distance that you ever plan of shooting your rifle is 50 yards then you might entertain the idea of the 12-yard or 15-yard zero. If you plan on shooting past 50 yards and out towards 100 yards I would recommend the 10-yard zero, then memorize the dope or make a range card, and practice at various distances to learn where the rifle will shoot. Plan on a 6″ drop at 100 yards.
Factory Iron Sights 6/10″ Above Bore: CCI Mini-Mag 36 Grain Hollow-Point
The chart above assumes that you are using the factory “iron sights” with a 6/10″ height over bore.
The chart shows three different trajectories from three different zero settings.
The trajectories of the CCI ammunition are almost identical to that of the Federal (close enough that you won’t be able to tell a difference). Be sure to take a look at the above analysis of the Federal ammunition with the factory sights. With the CCI ammunition it looks as if you will not have any improvement with trajectory over the Federal ammunition. CCI may offer better reliability as it is a little cleaner burning and takes longer to foul the rifle. Also, you may find CCI ammunition to have better terminal effects on target. Your results may very.
Recommendation: Like with the Federal ammunition, if the farthest distance that you ever plan of shooting your rifle is 50 yards then you might entertain the idea of the 12-yard or 15-yard zero. If you plan on shooting past 50 yards and out towards 100 yards I would recommend the 10-yard zero, then memorize the dope or make a range card, and practice at various distances to learn where the rifle will shoot. Plan on a 6″ drop at 100 yards.
Optic Mounted 1.5″ Over Bore: Federal “Bulk Pack” 36 Grain Hollow-Point
The chart above assumes that you are using an optic with a 1.5″ height over bore, such as the Bushnell TRS-25 red-dot (notice that the bullet leave the barrel 1.5″ below line of sight).
The chart shows three different trajectories from three different zero settings. The 20 yard zero (blue line) provides the least drop at long distance with only minimal flight over the point of aim. The 25 yard zero (red line) and 30 yard zero (green line) have very little (if any) rise over the point of aim, but their trajectories suffer significantly at longer ranges, dropping as much as 5.75″ at 100 yards.
Assuming a 20-yard zero, the bullet will have point-of-impact at the same spot as point-of-aim at 20 yards, and again at approximately 59 yards. Between 20 yards to 59 yards there is maximum rise of approximately 1/2″ over the point-of-aim (which will occur at 49 yards). Keep in mind that technically you would have to aim 1/2″ low to hit exactly where you are aiming at 49-50 yards, but the red-dot in the TRS-25 (and most similar optics) is 3 MOA. This means that at 50 yards the dot appears 1.5″ wide. Without any holdover the bullet will still hit within the red-dot.
At approximately 78 yards the bullet will drop down the same distance below your point-of-aim as when it left the barrel (1.5″). This means that from the muzzle out to 78 yards you will get a trajectory that never rises more than 1/2″ above where you are hitting, and never more than 1.5″ below your point of aim. After 78 yards the bullet’s trajectory will continue to drop down and impact approximately 4.36″ below your point of aim. Keep in mind that your red-dot (assuming a 3 MOA dot) will appear 3″ wide at 100 yards. This means that the bullet will impact just below the dot. If you simply rest the dot so that it is resting right on top of the target (like a crown) you bullet will drop down right where you want it.
With the 20-yard zero you can expect hits within a 1″ circle of your point of aim from the 12 yards all the way out to 67 yards without having to worry about adding any holdover to your aim. This makes it easy to hit a target the size of a tennis ball or a squirrel out to 67 yards simply by placing the red-dot where you want to hit and then applying the seven principles of marksmanship.
Recommendation: When using a rifle with an optic mounted so that the reticle is 1.5″ over the bore, and shooting Federal “Bulk Pack” ammunition, use a 20-yard zero setting.
Optic Mounted 1.5″ Over Bore: CCI Mini-Mag 36 Grain Hollow-Point
The chart above assumes that you are using an optic with a 1.5″ height over bore, such as the Bushnell TRS-25 red-dot (notice that the bullet leave the barrel 1.5″ below line of sight).
The chart shows three different trajectories from three different zero settings. The 20 yard zero (blue line) provides the least drop at long distance with only minimal flight over the point of aim. The 25 yard zero (red line) and 30 yard zero (green line) have very little (if any) rise over the point of aim, but their trajectories suffer significantly at longer ranges, dropping as much as 5.79″ at 100 yards.
The CCI Mini-Mag is a slightly hotter round than the Federal. On the graph you will see a slight increase in the apogee of bullet’s flight (measured in 100th of an inch) and only .36″ difference in drop below point-of-aim at 100 yards. I seriously doubt that you will notice a difference when shooting. The only benefit may be the increase terminal performance of the CCI Mini-Mag.
Looking at the data of the 30-yard zero we see that the round barely clears the point-of-aim between 30-45 yards, and then rapidly falls and impacts 5.79″ below point-of-aim at 100 yards. The 25-yard zero climbs over the point-of-aim at 25 yards and only reaches approximately 2/10″ before falling back through point-of-aim again at 50 yards. This is a pretty flat trajectory, but the 30-yard zero looses its attractiveness as it drops down to 5.37″ below point-of-aim at 100 yards. Still, it is a good zero. You can enjoy hits within a 1″ circle (1.2 inch above or below point-of-aim) from 15 yards out through 62 yards. Your penalty will be hitting almost an inch lower at 100 yards than the 20-yard zero.
A 20-yard zero will see the bullet climb through point-of-aim at 20 yards and not drop back through until approximately 62 yards, during which time the bullet will only climb to a maximum of .56″ at 40 yards. This is only .37″ higher than the maximum apogee of the 25-yard zero’s trajectory. This is still very close. Like in our analysis of the Federal ammunition we need to keep in mind that at 50 yards the 3 MOA dot of optic will appear as 1.5″ wide. The bullet will still hit within the red dot with or without holdover. If you are concerned with .37″ at 50 yards then a red-dot optic is not appropriate for your shooting needs. Where you will enjoy the benefits of a 20-yard zero is that the bullet only impacts 4.44″ below point-of-aim at 100 yards. The 3 MOA dot will appear as 3″ wide at 100 yards. As with the Federal ammunition, simply put the red-dot over the intended point-of-impact (like a crown) and the bullet will drop right down where you want it.
Like the Federal ammunition, with the 20-yard zero you can expect hits within a 1″ circle of your point of aim from the 12 yards all the way out to 67 yards without having to worry about adding any holdover to your aim. This makes it easy to hit a target the size of a tennis ball or a squirrel out to 67 yards simply by placing the red-dot where you want to hit and then applying the seven principles of marksmanship.
Recommendation: While the 25-yard zero is very attractive, I would still recommend the 20-yard zero. While there is s a very slight penalty of higher apogee of flight with the 20-yard zero, you get almost one inch less drop at 100 yards.
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Conclusion:
With the right ammunition, magazines, and maintenance the rifle will provide excellent performance. With the wrong ammunition, cheap or broken magazines, and poor cleaning habits the rifle will have spotty performance at best.
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Recommendations:
- Increase your firepower: Stock up on Ruger BX-25 magazines (however many you think you might need to use before reloading).
- Accelerate your target acquisition and increase your hit probability: Attach a quality red-dot site or magnified optic.
- Experiment with several brands of ammunition to see what your rifle prefers. Stock up on that brand.
- Keep the rifle properly cleaned and lubed (as discussed above).
- Increase the rifle’s ergonomic and portability with a lightweight and/or folding stock.
- Shoot often. Practice, practice, practice.
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