Monday, February 12, 2007 Rama: A tale of two Rugers By Karlon N. Rama Stage five
STRAY into the Twin Pines Inc. gunstore and showroom along F. Ramos St. and, unless they did some redecorating over the weekend, one comes face to face with a brace of Ruger rimfire rifles that will simply take your breath away.
Both are 10/22s but the first is an “all-weather” model that comes with a polymer stock and a folding and adjustable rear sight while and the other one is a “target” model featuring a beautifully crafted wooden stock, a scope-ready frame linked to a competition-grade barrel.
The first is lightweight and was designed for the outdoors. Because of its polymer stock, it will take can take all the abuse that field conditions can dish out.
The second is heavy and designed for those needing precision accuracy. It is shipped without the standard factory sights on the assumption that the owner will be installing scopes on them anyway.
Being Rugers, both guns will outlast their owners and survive until the time of their children’s children given a little love and attention.
The Ruger 10/22, probably so named because it comes with a 10-round box magazine that seats flushed in the stock and fires the tiny .22 rimfire cartridge, is one of the most famous rimfire rifles in the world.
It was first introduced by William “Bill” Ruger Sr., of Sturm, Ruger & Co., sometime in 1964 and is now considered to be the standard by which all modern auto loading rimfire rifles are judged.
Skipping the technical details, Ruger 10/22s are short rifles, with barrel lengths ranging from 18 to 20 inches, and operate as a semi-automatic.
To fire one shot, one simply loads a full magazine in place, draws the bolt backwards to ready the firing mechanism, allow it to travel forward to load a cartridge into the chamber, and then fire by pulling on the trigger. Without having to repeat the process, one can continue firing one shot per pull on the trigger until the magazine is empty.
In 2004, the company released a limited 40th anniversary edition that featured a nickel medallion showing the Ruger Eagle stamped into its American beech stock.
A rifle from that fine line is lovingly kept in my home.
Twenty-two. A lot of people don’t get it, and I can’t even explain it myself, but the level of fun one gets in the shooting sport is sometimes inversely proportional to the caliber of the firearm being shot.
So while blasting metal gongs with 12-guage shotguns Southeast Asian Games-style may be loads of fun, tipping tin cans over with a twenty-two, either fired from a pistol or rifle, can be a terrific way to spend an afternoon.
Twenty-two ammunition is also mighty cheap, thanks to our very own Armscor. At less than P200 a box, one gets more pop out of the peso.
But, by far, the best thing about shooting twenty-twos is the chance to share the experience with those who shall soon inherit this earth.
I’ve seen a good number of proud fathers coming to the range with Rugers and tots in tow, intending to share some bond time together and to teach the young ’uns about marksmanship and responsibility.
Because twenty-twos are gentle to shoot, they are best calibers to train children with.
An accurate rifle like the Ruger 10/22s simply heightens the experience exponentially. Try it sometime.
Reactions. Our piece last week about Andy Smith’s Hitia 17 drew some nice comments from people, including Atty. Stephen Ygnacio of the Court of Appeals (CA), who said he had a lot of fun reading. Thank you very much, sir, I had a lot of fun writing about it myself.
Dr. Clive Roland Fermin (kart_501@yahoo.com) also sent us an email telling us that he has long been interested in sailing but was never able to find a provider here in the Visayas. He wants to know how to reach the people behind our featured Hitia 17, Miss Scarlet.
It’s regrettable that in an archipelagic country like the Philippines, with its rich sea-faring history and culture and whose marine transportation graduates are deemed among the best sailors in the world, sailing isn’t considered a mainstream sport.
For those who want to know more about Andy and his all-Filipino Junction Boatworks Crew, Andy has a website at www.andy-smith-boatworks.com. His email address is posted there too.
