The Ruger 22 Charger comes with a Rock Mount Bipod
and scope mount base.

Ruger started making .22s nearly 60 years ago beginning with the Standard Model semiauto which sold for $37.50 in 1949. It was soon joined by the Mark I Target Model and then in 1953 by the .22 Single-Six which resurrected the single action sixgun. The .22 I was using 50 years ago was the Ruger Single-Six along with a companion Marlin Mountie. I wish I could bottle all the pleasure given me by those two .22s during my teenage years, then the added pleasure shooting them with my kids and then with their kids. Selling it would make me a multi-millionaire and also cure most of society’s ills.

Ruger still offers their original .22s, however the Mark I has evolved into the Mark II and Mark III while the .22 Single-Six is now in New Model form. Ruger’s 10/22 rifle arrived in 1964 and five million have now been sold. This year to commemorate this milestone not only is a very ornate #5 million to be auctioned off, we also have the arrival of a mini-version of the 10/22."

Using the basic 10/22 action, Ruger has come up with a radical change to their .22 handgun line up by adding the 22 Charger to the Mark III and New Model .22s being offered. The 22 Charger is basically a Mini-Varminter version of the 10/22 Rifle. The action and 10" barrel are set in a laminated stock with a rear pistol grip. There are no sights on the Charger, however the scope base is already mounted, and it also comes with a Rock Mount Bipod which attaches easily and quickly to the front sling swivel stud in the laminated stock. This bipod adjusts from 6" to 9" and folds forward when not in use.

The defining era for “Cool” was the 1950s. I am a product of those Happy Days, having graduated from high school in 1956. I’m not sure that I truly understood exactly what Cool was in those days or if I have even learned much more since, however I do know enough to say without fear of contradiction this new Ruger is Cool, Way Cool. The only reason for Ruger to offer such a handgun is the Coolness of the Fun Factor. It won’t fit in a holster, it doesn’t conceal very easily, it’s not as easy to shoot as its counterpart rifle, however for pure shooting enjoyment it has no peer. The bipod provides a very steady rest off the hood of a 4X4, or in my case, the locking metal cover on the bed of the Chevy PU.

Here in Idaho the major shooting activity for many folks in the spring is shooting varmints, and our #1 target is the relatively small ground squirrels we call picket-pins or squeakies. They take over the desert, sagebrush, and foothills by the millions every spring and no matter how hard they are hunted they seem to be able to procreate much faster than we can eradicate them.

The .22 is the number one selection for hunting picket-pins and over the years my friend Joe Penner and I have fired thousands upon thousands of .22s through Ruger 10/22 and 77/22 rifles as well as virtually every semiauto and Single-Six Ruger has ever offered. Right now we are covered in “Global Warming,” however spring will soon be here and the .22 Ruger Charger will be used by my grandson and I as we challenge the picket-pins.

Most .22 shooters know, at least those with real experience, how picky .22s can be about ammunition. It is not simply a matter of buying a box of .22s and then going shooting, at least not for those who want the best results. I only know one way to break in a firearm and that’s by shooting it. My initial results with the Charger were good but not  spectacular, however after about 300 rounds groups improved dramatically with many 10-shot groups at 25 yards shot indoors getting very close to .5". My groups were limited to this range as it has been simply too cold, wet and windy to do any serious shooting outdoors. More of that Global Warming trend I guess.

A superb Mini-Varminter

An extreme example of what can happen after a barrel is broken in and also conditioned to a certain ammunition is found with Winchester’s T-22 Target ammunition. The first 10 shots when the barrel had hardly been conditioned gave a group of 23⁄4"; after several hundred rounds and then several magazines of T-22 I started getting 1" groups. Had I gone by the initial results I would’ve felt the ammunition and/or the Ruger Charger were faulty. The results in the accompanying table show the Charger to be quite versatile as to its appetite for ammunition. The Charger has a MRSP of $369, which equates to an awful lot of fun for a minimum expenditure.

For more info: www.ruger-firearms.com.

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