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The .22LR Tactical Rifle: Is it a FAD or Something to Consider?
Just about every major firearm manufacturer has been introducing new .22LR Rimfire "Tactical" rifles recently. Some are from AR/M4 OEM's that already make AR-15 systems and portray their new .22LR versions as a "Training" weapon for their 5.56mm NATO rifles. Others are capitalizing on the fact that centerfire ammunition is getting more and more expensive, and a .22LR version or conversion will be attractive to shooters that might have a problem with the cost of half-a-buck on every trigger pull. Others are making .22LR weapons just because there is a market for them in the shooting community.
Dressing up versions of more expensive 5.56mm NATO and 7.62mm NATO assault and battle rifles that fire .22LR rimfire is not new. I am not sure if it is because ammunition has skyrocketed in cost recently, but there are several new "Tactical" rifles out on the market recently that fire the .22LR, and all seem to be trying to emulate their parent rifles in both weight, function, and maybe especially to some, the "look" of a real rifle.
I own quite a few "assault" and "battle" rifles that are real ones, that fire the real centerfire rounds. So I will review the new Ruger SR-22 with that known.
Why are the big OEM's making them? Simply put, there is a niche.
One fallacy: "If you can't afford our real AR rifles, maybe you can afford this 22.LR version of one..."
The Colt M4 .22LR is not much less expensive than a real AR. Maybe not a Colt, as they don't make civilian AR-15 systems anymore, but you can buy an Olympic or Bushmaster AR-15 for about 800 bucks these days if you shop right.
These are "specialty" rifles, I think. I believe they are being bought for different reasons than a look-a-like version of real AR-15/M4 rifles.
Training? Sure. Some are literal AR-15 designs, with an adapted .22LR recoil system to make them work. All is well, but they don't work very reliably, and their magazine designs to make them fit in to a standard AR/M4 mag well have not been proven, and none work well, yet. Yet! Some day, they may figure that out. But they have not yet, and every OEM besides Ruger has been inventing a new magazine design that does not reliably work yet.
But the Ruger SR-22 system uses the nearly 40-year-old magazine design of the 10/22 system, using tried and trued magazines that feed .22LR ammo reliably.
Bonus design, right there.
Taking Delivery of the SR-22 Weapon
On first inspection, it is a quality forged aluminum receiver, and well crafted. No rough edges.
I mounted a Millett 4-16x50mm TRS-1 Tactical scope on it. It has a Mil-Dot illuminated reticle system, with power settings from 1 to 10, and an infrared night vision mode.
The SR-22 Rifle places a standard 10/22 action inside a top-quality, American-Made, all-aluminum chassis that is custom manufactured to Ruger specs by Nordic Components, Inc.™
I have not had a chance to fire it yet, so I'll write up a review with accuracy tests soon.
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