55 years ago, Bill Ruger collaborated with Harry Siefried and Doug McClenahan to develop what has become unquestionably one of the most popular .22 rifles of all time. At the 2019 SHOT Show, UmarexUSA announced the licensed copy of this famous firearm as a CO2 pellet rifle.
A soft and very pleasant shooter, it is powered by two CO2 cartridges installed into the stock via an ingenious arrangement. To prepare this little carbine for a shooting session the buttplate is removed by pressing in on a button in the center and rotating it counter-clockwise one-quarter of a turn. The buttplate can now be removed, exposing the piercing screw and the built-in allen wrench. The CO2 cartridges are loaded butt-to-butt and the piercing screw turned very snugly to make certain both cartridges are pierced.
The magazine is made to exactly resemble the rotary magazine used in the firearm and is actually a housing, referred to as a “clip” in the User’s Guide. It holds the red 10-round rotary pellet magazine and is removed from the air carbine in the same fashion as the real .22. The rotary magazine can be loaded in place or removed to load and two magazines are included with the gun. Extras are available for order to facilitate quicker loading while at the firing line. It is so much fun to shoot, just like its powder-burning big brother, that 10 rounds fly downrange pretty darn quick, so having extra rotary mags loaded gets you back to shooting almost as fast.
The curved metal trigger is non-adjustable and works as both double-action and single-action. The bolt is non-reciprocating, so it must be retracted to cock the internal hammer for each single-action shot. In single-action mode the trigger pull was light and crisp at slightly less than four pounds. In double-action mode the pull weight increased to approximately ten pounds and stacked toward the end of travel, so it might be tougher for young shooters without a lot of hand strength. Possibly, it will break-in with use and may alleviate much of the problem.
The dimensions closely mimic the actual 10/22 with the exception of weight. Housed in a polymer stock, it tips the scales at only 4.5 pounds. The light weight, plus the fact that dry-firing is perfectly acceptable for this little carbine, make it ideal for training youth or introducing someone unfamiliar with firearms to the shooting sports. After mastering the necessary safety and shooting skills with the 10/22 Air, it is an easy transition to the actual firearm. As a bonus, the receiver is drilled and tapped for after-market scope rails, adding another possible training dimension by installing a scope.
The 10/22 Air did well with a varied selection of pellets and seemed to really like the light alloy pellets such as the Predator GTOs and SIG Ballistic Match. The 18.75-inch rifled steel barrel provided excellent accuracy at plinking ranges and the use of two cartridges gives this carbine a bit more punch. Testing at a mile above sea level showed velocities of 660fps for alloys and 575fps for lead pellets. The average number of shots was between 70 and 80 before gas pressure dropped and the cartridges needed replacing.
I’m a fan of both the firearm and this accurate replica, and believe you may be as well once you’ve shot it. UmarexUSA is able to offer this little gem at an MSRP of $140 with a one-year limited warranty. While not currently listed under the Umarex brands on the AofA website, contact them if you’d like to own this bit of 10/22 history.