Maybe be they don’t make them like they used to, but when I was a kid (late 80s early 90s) I would take my 10/22 and a brick of ammo out into our little piece of property and generally didn’t return until I was out of ammo. I remember going to Walmart for ammo and my dad buying a single 50 round box of cartridges. My thoughts? “What am I supposed to do with that?” I’d shoot until I couldn’t hold it, then walk around until it cooled off a bit. If the feds ever found out how much 22 ammo I shot on that 10 acres, they’d probably declare it superfund site.
That barrel was precise enough to earn my rifle merit badge when I was in the Boy Scouts. The only time I ever remember it getting cleaned was when I dropped if from a pier into a stock pond. And, the only malfunctions that I can remember were ammo related.
When I moved out, it lived a neglected life. It sat next to the clothes dryer, with a loaded mag in the mag well, just waiting for my dad to spy a squirrel in one of the massive oak trees behind the house. It also took on a layer of surface rust across the entire exterior surface of the barrel. I never put a bore scope down the barrel, but I imagine that the interior looked like a sewer pipe, but dad never complained that he couldn’t hit a squirrel when needed, so it was still good enough. Maybe be bullet lube and neglect spared it the worst of sitting next to the dryer?
When I brought it back from my parents’ house, the bolt would seem to stop on the backstroke, then sort of kerr…chunk into battery, but it cycled. I was actually surprised by how quickly it cycled after a thorough cleaning.
It now wears a TacSol barrel, a Magpul stock, and has a Kidd trigger. I’ve had a few malfs associated with the 25 round BX mags, and Remington Golden bullet is best used as a malfunction clearance drill, but the Ruger factory 10 round rotary magazines are very reliable. Enough rounds through it and the action will get sluggish, but it must get VERY sluggish not to cycle.
I also have a Kidd Supergrade. When new, it would not reliably extract unfired cartridges when dirty, but that seems to have corrected itself- or running a bore snake through the barrel every couple 100 rounds is sufficient to remedy the problem. Regardless, the only malfunctions that I’ve had with it (since finding a bore snake) are related to Rem Golden bullet. And, it is precise enough to be competitive against Vudoos in competition.
