Ruger SR-22 Rifle Review: Part 3 - External Features

This part of the review covers all of the externally visible features of the Ruger SR-22 rifle.  You can see other parts of the review by going to the Review Summary page.

The photo below shows the Ruger SR-22 rifle.  I have installed a Shooters Ridge bipod to assist with supporting the rifle during photos.  The Ruger SR-22 does not come with a bipod.  Also, throughout this review, you can click on any photo to bring up a higher resolution photo.

The flash suppressor on the Ruger SR-22 rifle is the same one that Ruger uses on their SR-556 and Mini- 14 rifles.  The suppressor is attached to the barrel using a 1/2" - 28 sized thread.  The flash suppressor is manufactured from a chrome-molly alloy steel using an investment casting method at Pine Tree Castings, a division of Ruger.

The 16.12" barrel is an alloy steel, precision rifled, cold-hammer forged barrel that is made in-house at Ruger.  In the photo below, you can see that there is a barrel support block between the barrel and hand guard tube.  This block can be removed if you choose to replace your barrel with an aftermarket barrel.

Another item to note about the barrel is that it is not in the center of the hand guard tube.  The center of the barrel is about .10" higher than the center of the tube where the barrel exits the tube.

The hand guard is an aluminum alloy tube with the tube portion measuring 9.00" (mid length).  The hand guard is mounted on a standard-thread AR-style barrel nut.  The outside diameter of the tube measures 2.00" and has a 0.125" wall thickness.  The tube is drilled and tapped at 17 locations (5 on the top and 4 on each other side) with a 10-32 thread for mounting accessory rails.

The top of the hand guard has 5 holes located 1.75" apart (center to center hole spacing).  This hole pattern starts 0.75" from the front of the hand guard tube.

Both the left and right side of the hand guard are the same with 4 holes located 2.00" apart (center to center hole spacing).

The bottom of the hand guard has 4 holes located 2.00" apart (center to center hole spacing) and also has the hole for the swivel stud.  Also notice that the hole pattern for the sides and bottom begin at the same distance back on the hand guard tube (0.50").

 

The receiver of this rifle has a unique look.  It is a combination of AR-styling along with a compact rugged look that gives an impression of compact durability.  Basically, Ruger took a 10/22 receiver and put it inside an all aluminum chassis that is manufactured by Nordic Components, Inc.™.  The chassis is made up of three primary pieces; main body (kind of like the lower receiver), scope mount base, and forearm adapter.  If you go to the Nordic website, you can see that it is possible to turn any Ruger 10/22 into a tactical version like the SR-22 by purchasing the conversion parts from Nordic.

In the photo above and the one below, you can see portions of the actual 10/22 receiver inside the aluminum chassis.  You can also see that it is the Ruger receiver that carries the serial number of the rifle.

The scope mount base is elevated to give you the same ergonomics as that of the Ruger SR-556 and other AR-style rifles on the market.  The scope mount base is a 17 slot Picatinny rail measuring 8.00".

From the bottom of the receiver, you can see the standard Ruger 10/22 trigger group with cross-button safety, bolt lock, extended magazine release and the Ruger 10-shot rotary magazine.

The pistol grip Ruger selected is the Hogue® Monogrip® which has a very nice feel and texture.  These grips are made special for Ruger and include the Ruger symbol on both sides.  To maintain the look and feel of an AR-style rifle, a rubber trigger guard filler is added between the pistol grip and trigger guard.

The rifle comes with a six position mil-spec diameter buffer tube.  This tube can accept a wide range of aftermarket buttstocks.

The buttstock is a very simple collapsible M-4 style buttstock that includes toe-mounted sling swivel and integral slot to allow attachment of a variety of sling types.  As with nearly all buttstocks of this simple type, there is rattle of the stock on the buffer tube.

The last several photos in this part of the review are to give you some overall perspectives of the Ruger SR-22 Rifle.  As you can see in the photos, the rifle does not come with any sights.

I'm pleased with the quality of the components of the SR-22 rifle.  This platform offers an extensive amount of customization with the addition of accessory rails and the potential for other AR type accessories like buttstocks, grips, hand guards, and flash suppressors.  I would be surprised if most people who purchase this rifle don't get accessory rails at least for the hand guard to allow mounting a light, laser or front grip.

You can find links to all parts of this review by going to the Review Summary page.

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