My 8-year-old son Owen is becoming quite the firearms aficionado and enjoys watching the videos Ruger includes on its website. He has learned a lot about Ruger firearms and was particularly interested in the Ruger 22 Charger. It’s never too early for kids to learn about firearm safety. Being a quick study, he asked if I could get test one for my reviews. Though I didn’t have much interest in the Charger, I was impressed by the maneuver and requested one.

About the Ruger 22 Charger

The .22-Long-Rifle-chambered 22 Charger arrived in short order. As soon as I got it out of its box, I realized the 22 Charger had great fun and utility potential.

The 22 Charger is basically a Ruger 10/22, which is the most popular semi-automatic .22 rifle in history. But it’s cut down to modern pistol size and fitted with a 10-inch cold hammer-forged ½-inch, 28-threaded barrel and black synthetic pistol grip stock. There is a mounting stud up front for the high-quality bipod that is included and has adjustable feet for cant. And the gun includes a strip of Picatinny railing mounted atop the receiver for optics. However, no provisions are made for iron backup sights.

Ruger 22 Charger Specs:

Caliber: .22LR high velocity
Overall length: 19.25 inches
Barrel Length: 10 inches/alloy steel matte finish
Weight: 50 ounces/3.125 lbs.
Magazine: Ships with one 15-round polymer BX-15 magazine
MSRP: $379

I mounted a Crimson Trace CTS-1250 red-dot reflex sight for pistols that I had on hand. This kept the weight down for Owen and proved to be a good choice. The Charger’s operating controls are the same as any 10/22. Mounted on the front of the trigger guard is the safety is a push-button crossbolt. There is a bolt-open lever located just ahead of the manual safety.

Ruger uses the same magazine catch system on the 10/22s as on the Mini-14. This system is unlikely to result in an accidental release or improperly seated magazine of the type encountered on AR-15s. To load the 22 Charger, insert the BX-15 magazine into the magazine well and rock it back toward the rear to lock it in place. You will hear and feel a positive “click” when the magazine is properly seated. To remove the magazine, push and hold the paddle lever located behind the trigger guard, pushing it forward with the support-hand thumb. Then pull the magazine clear.

As I showed Owen the manual of arms for the Charger, I realized the shape and size of the BX-15 magazine allow it to serve as a comfortable vertical foregrip when firing. While I hadn’t initially been interested in this Ruger, it was certainly growing on me. The trigger pull measured a very crisp 3 pounds, 9 ounces, which was impressive in a sporting .22.

Shooting the Charger

We headed out on a beautiful Ohio fall day to a friend’s outdoor range. The BX-15 Ruger magazine loaded easily to capacity due to Ruger’s rotary magazine design. You won’t find a smoother loading .22 LR magazine on the planet. My friend and I tested the Charger using a two-handed standing position at 21 feet. It was loaded with a mix of CCI Mini-Mag 36-grain .22LR hollow-points and Winchester 40-grain .22 LR Copper Plated Round Nose solids. The CCI travel at a velocity of 1,260 feet per second, while the Winchester has a hotter muzzle velocity of 1,300 feet per second.

Our first shots from the 22 Charger were striking high and to the left, but the groups were still tight. Unfortunately, I had neglected to bring the box that the CTS-1250 came in, which also contained the sight adjustment wrench. None of the Allen wrenches I had in my range bag fit the sight. But it did offer a great lesson for Owen about shooting for group size.

I set him up on my shooting mat for prone position firing from 50 feet using the bipod. I explained to him that he needed to aim at the orange center dot of the bright yellow Thompson Target Center Fire Defender silhouette target — though the shots would land high left — so he would attain the tightest group.

Owen listened well. His first 15-shot group measured 2 ½ inches. Then he tightened his second 15-shot group down to 1 ¾ inches! After my son’s turn, we also tried shooting from prone. Loading up 10 rounds each, my friend fired a 1 ½-inch group, while I fired a 1 ¼-inch group. We were quite satisfied with the accuracy potential.

The 22 Charger ran flawlessly out of the box, feeding and ejecting both loads with aplomb.

Should You Buy a Ruger 22 Charger

We all liked the Ruger 22 Charger a lot. It would be a fun gun for plinking or target practice. Although I favor teaching kids to shoot on manually operated repeaters with iron sights, the 22 Charger can serve as a great starting point for youngsters who are too small to effectively use a shoulder stock or shoot a rifle from traditional positions. And a red dot sight is easy to understand. The charger is easily carried in one hand even with the bipod mounted. My son actually talked me into purchasing the 22 Charger.

Sources:

Ruger: Ruger.com
Winchester: Winchester.com
CCI: CCI-Ammunition.com