Ruger reads TTAG. But I bet we weren’t the only gun guys disappointed by the lackluster quality of the 10 finalists for their design a 10/22 contest. Why else would the company send an email blast linking to three non-entries with the words “vote for me” underneath the pics? “Your feedback could influence another future Ruger product” the email teases. So it’s a contest within a contest without a prize. Go figure. Checking out the three also-rans, I reckon they’re at least as good if not better than the ones Ruger chose for the final vote. Orville from Texas’s modded 10/22 [above] uses after-market parts to create a “tack driver” of a rifle with which he “nailed a Tom at 80 yards.” Now for Dick and Harry . . .
Actually, Robert from Vermont and Mark from Texas (go Lone Star!). Bobby Boy’s ballistic bauble mimics the G1/M1 carbine. Apparently this modded 10/22 can “foster historic significance for youth and adult as well.” That doesn’t mean what Bob-o thinks it means but I think I know what he means.
Mark from Texas takes the cake. His very carefully modded 10/22 looks perfectly balanced and finely wrought. Mark says he named it the “Slade Special Safari Grade” after a hunting classic. The rifle’s workmanship, simplicity and utility put all the other entries to shame, although I still like the red race gun.
