An excellent value for what you're getting, which is essentially the Ruger 10/22 tactical model featured on the Ruger site seated into an ATI Strikeforce 10/22 stock (Destroyer Grey variant).
Overview:
The barrel is a Ruger factory taper threaded 1/2 x 28 and comes with the Ruger birdcage AR style FS which can be hard to find on their own. The barrel sits very solidly in the stock and the threads offer the easy addition of a suppressor or other flash hiders should you be inclined.
The stock itself is made out of a strong composite resin which looks and feels rock solid. I would have few qualms taking a hammer to this thing let alone dropping it on a rough trek out in the bush. Their choice to cover the barrel with a closed upper also gives you a lot of grab space on the gun without the worry of hand prints on the barrel. The stock folds and telescopes easily, and can be manipulated one handed, always allowing the user to keep a hand on the pistol grip. Also built into the stock are sling studs and a picatinny rail system. The rails are of the same durable composite as the stock, though ATI offers aluminum rails separately. Being a .22 this tactical package is a excellent starting point for any custom rifle build or a rough and tumble walking gun as is.
Also included is one of the factory made Ruger BX-25 magazines which are some of, if not the best made magazines for the rifle. If you enjoy plinking with a 10/22 buy one, no others compare.
Performance:
The gun shoots like a champ. For my build I added a foregrip and an aftermarket picatinny rail accessory to mount an Eotech EXPS2 sight. With it I was posting decent groups at 50 yrds and easily ringing 10'' steel plates at 100+. I've owned many Ruger rifles and this was as accurate and reliable as any of them. All in all a great gun for youth shooting, hunting, or plinking as an adult.
Many will call a .22 useless for home defense but given this rifle's accuracy and capacity I would disagree. With a foregrip and sight this is a very mean looking rifle and by the time you're hitting a target with round 15 or 16 your point will have been made in most home defense situations.
There are few problems I had with the build but I will mention them. The lower forerail mount is set pretty far forward for a foregrip to feel natural on the gun and I ended up placing mine as far back on the rail as I could. Though this wasn't a major issue for me and will not be one should you choose to mount a bipod or any other accessories in its place. The threaded barrel and flash suppressor also remove the gold bead sight that come with most 10/22s and I've yet to find an iron sight package that will fit the ATI stock. Again, while the option for iron sights is nice this isn't an issue if you have mounted optics. If you care it's also worth noting that the stock is a much darker shade of grey than is depicted in the image here.
Overall a fantastic gun well worth picking up for a custom rifle build or hiking around the woods.
By
CB from
Virginia