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New Ruger 22 Charger Review In 2007, Ruger introduced their original Ruger 22 Charger. Soon after, my son and I were at a gun show when we got our first close look at the 22 Charger and we thought it was a great looking pistol and it could be a very fun shooting platform. We purchased the 22 Charger and in 2010 I finally took the time to do a simplistic review of this pistol. One of the great and very important features of the original Ruger 22 Charger was that it was a tack driver. The stout 10" barrel proved to be very accurate and I was a little surprised to see Ruger discontinue the 22 Charger after a few years. Sure, a bench style pistol is not for everyone, but I thought it's uniqueness might have a chance at placing it long term in the Ruger lineup. Perhaps my thoughts were right because Ruger recently reintroduced the New Ruger 22 Charger Pistol with some new features and improvements. Hopefully these changes will be just what the 22 Charger needed to make it appeal towards a larger group of shooters.
On December 25, 2014, Ruger released their Press Release introducing their New 22 Charger Pistols (yes plural). Ruger introduced the two new versions of the 22 Charger Pistol shown below. Some of the new features are a threaded barrel, A2 style pistol grip, factory installed Picatinny rail and BX-15 (15-round) Magazine. The main difference between the two new 22 Charger pistols is that one is a takedown version similar to the 10/22 Takedown Rifle and the other is not. The takedown version is the one shown below with the green laminated stock. MSRP on these two pistols is $309 for the brown laminate stock Standard version and $409 for the green mountain laminate stock Takedown version. When doing a quick online search for pricing, I found these two pistols at around $255 for the Standard and $325 for the Takedown versions.
Figure 1 - Standard Version
Figure 2 - Takedown Version For this review, I chose to get the Takedown version because I really like the green laminated stock and reviewing this model also gave me a good chance to study and show the Takedown features on this pistol. This next photo shows my original 22 Charger along with my new 22 Charger Takedown. I already stated some of the main differences between the original and new models, and the list below is everything different I noticed when studying the two pistols and ignoring that one was a takedown version.
One of the differences that I didn't fully appreciate until I held and compared both pistols was the feel of the grip. I immediately liked the slim A2 style grip compared to the original. Ruger switching from the large integral wooden grip to a grip that is replaceable/customizable allows the shooter the ability to give this pistol the right feel for their hand. I'm already deciding which one of the many AR style grips on the market that I want to eventually put on this pistol. Maybe I'm a sucker for interesting firearms, but I believe the looks of Ruger's New 22 Charger Takedown should turn a few heads (in a positive way) at the range. The style of the pistol along with the beautiful green laminated stock makes this pistol take on a near artistic appearance. It being built around the legendary 10/22 platform also gives this pistol industry recognized reliability and the potential for many different style magazines ranging from the standard 10-shot rotary magazine up to 50-round drum magazines. During my reviews I like to compare my results to the manufacturer's claims where possible so the following text in colored italics was taken directly from the Ruger website on 2/14/15 and gives the Key Features and Specifications for the new Ruger 22 Charger Pistols. The , and are my way to keep up with details that I have covered in this review with either photos, commentary or both. I may also add commentary after these marks as necessary to explain some items if needed. Key Features
Specifications
This review is broken down into multiple parts with this page providing links to each part along with an overall summary of the specifications, pros and cons, and my final "bottom line" comments. Make sure you take time to checkout the other parts of the review because they contain many photos and lots of commentary. Also, there is an extreme amount of detail in those parts which is not covered on this page.
As you read these Pros and Cons below, keep in mind that it is hard to keep my particular preferences from creeping in the equation. Therefore, it is important that you take the time to look at the other parts of this review so you can decide yourself on items which may be more of a personal preference. Pros:
Pro/Con/Comment (you decide)?:
Cons:
Bottom Line: The new Ruger 22 Charger proved to be accurate and reliable and the takedown feature proved to hold zero. I feel the design features such as A2 pistol grip, Picatinny rail, threaded barrel and 15-round magazine are features that will be attractive to many consumers. If the takedown feature is not something that interests you or if you need to save some money, Ruger's non-takedown version would probably be a better choice for you. Both versions of the Ruger 22 Charger are very attractive and should give you many years of shooting pleasure. I did have an issue with two screws being slightly long which was easy to fix and most likely Ruger is already looking into this on their future pistols. If you are in the market for this style of pistol or if you are just wanting something outside the norm, I highly recommend taking a close look at the new Ruger 22 Chargers when deciding on what to buy. Or If you would like to be notified about future Gunsumer Reports reviews via Facebook, make sure "You Like This" by clicking the Facebook "Like" button at the bottom or top of this page. If it already says "You Like This" beside the button, clicking it again will uncheck the "Like" status and you will not be notified.
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