Ruger’s “Super Charger”

The pistol Version Of The ICONIC 10/22 Is Now
Stylish As Well As Practical.

By Holt Bodinson

A Charger is: (A) A knight’s trusty steed, (B) 707 horsepower under a Dodge hood, (C) The coolest pistol in Ruger’s rimfire line.

Yes, the coolest pistol in Ruger’s rimfire lineup is back with some new bells and whistles to swing right into the 21st century rimfire scene. If there ever were a “sleeper” in the Ruger line, it’s been the Charger. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I have seen a Charger on the range, and it’s been around since 2007. Built on the 10/22 chassis, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014, it was the perfect time to polish up the Charger design and reintroduce it the shooting public. Frankly, it’s one of the greatest fun guns ever to arrive on the rimfire scene, and it’s one of the most accurate rimfire pistols ever made.

For 2015, there are actually two, new Chargers. There’s the traditional solid frame model and for 2015, a takedown model utilizing the same quick disconnect system developed originally for the 10/22 Takedown rifle.

Both models are really snazzy-looking, decked out in their redesigned laminate stocks. The solid frame model is in brown laminate while the takedown version is in an attractive green. One of the surprising upgraded features was both models are fitted with AR/A-2 style pistol grips, giving their owners the option to substitute an A-2 style grip of their own choosing.

The Charger comes with a 15-round magazine combining high round
count with a length perfect for use at the bench or afield.

Takedown Chargers come in their own compact, rugged,
range-ready, hard cases.

Another attractive styling touch is the fore-ends are accented with six, slashing, milling cuts, providing some dramatic eye appeal and a very tactile grip for offhand shooting.

Neither model is sighted, but both are factory mounted with a 4-5/8-inch Picatinny rail featuring 11 slots for positioning scopes, red dots and other optical options. The Picatinny rail couldn’t be a more flexible platform, but I strongly recommend you give the factory mounting screws a dash of Loctite No. 242 blue thread locker to assure that Picatinny rail never loosens up under use.

The Charger is fitted with a stout, 10-inch barrel and being a very contemporary model, the Charger features a threaded muzzle protected by a knurled muzzle nut. The thread form is 1/2-inch-28, just right for a nice rimfire suppressor or other muzzle accessory. Again, my recommendation is to apply some Loctite to the muzzle nut and tighten it down if you don’t plan on adding an accessory in the immediate future.

These being factory test guns, I didn’t and I lived to regret it during the testing phase when a muzzle nut loosened up and opened up the test groups dramatically. So dramatically, I stopped shooting immediately to analyze the problem. That darn little nut had loosened up just one thread and that’s all it took to send accuracy south.

Speaking of barrels, there’s a very interesting National Firearms Act (NFA) warning on page 13 of the owner’s manual, and it’s worth repeating: “Unauthorized installation of the .22 Charger pistol’s barrel assembly onto a 10/22 Takedown rifle receiver is a felony under the NFA and can lead to substantial criminal penalties.” I don’t know why anyone would want to, but there you have it. Don’t.

The Chargers come with factory-supplied bipods. Two different brands and designs came with the test guns. The takedown model was furnished with a Harris-type knockoff that extended from 5.75 to 8.375 inches and the solid frame model came with a UTG bipod with extension from 5.5 to 5.875 inches. I liked the extended reach of the Harris-type bipod, which was also easier and quicker to mount on the front swivel post.

Ruger’s new Chargers are the coolest looking pistols in their rimfire
line and are available as a takedown (above, left) or solid frame. Solid
frame Chargers (below) are boxed with deluxe padded carrying case.

The bipods make the Chargers. With a solid, 3-point platform of support off the bench or from a prone position, the Chargers shoot like rifles, not handguns. They’re in a league all by themselves as production guns, and won’t flip your credit card, yet deliver sensational accuracy out as far as you want to shoot a rimfire.

The magazine supplied with the Charger is the new 15-round, BX-15 model. A nice compromise height, it clears the top of a bench. It’s the utterly dependable Ruger rotary design that just feeds and feeds flawlessly.

For wringing out the Chargers, I selected two different optics packages: Majestic Arms’ Bushnell Trophy 1x28mm Red/Green Dot platform featuring lapped-in Leupold quick-detachable rings and a proven B&L 2-6X pistol scope also mounted in QD Leupold rings. For cross-slot Picatinny-style bases, nothing is as handy as Leupold quick-detachable rings. They’re made for each other and allow you to swap out optics in mere seconds.

Going into the test, I was curious whether the takedown model would prove less accurate than the solid frame Charger. ’Twas not to be. With either model, the shooting results at 25 yards off the little bipods were outstanding with a variety of ammunition. One pattern emerged almost consistently though. There was one flyer out of an otherwise very tight 4-shot group, so in reporting the results I eliminated the flyer while measuring the 4-shot groups, hopefully giving a better picture of the inherent accuracy potential of the guns.

The Chargers are really neat pistols—distinctly different, racy looking and superbly accurate. It’s good to see Ruger giving them a 21st century facelift and bringing them prominently back in the line.

.22 LR Factory Ammo Performance

Notes: *Solid frame, **Takedown. Groups the best 4 of 5 shots at 25 yards.

Offered as an accessory, the BX-Trigger offers a light, crisp, 2.5- to 3-pound
pull weight. It is one of the best accessories arriving for 10/22 users in decades!

The New Ruger BX Trigger Module

At the same time the new Chargers were released, Ruger surprised us all with the announcement of their revolutionary BX-Trigger assembly. At this time, the BX-Trigger is being offered only as a factory accessory, but what an accessory it is. The BX-Trigger reduces the pull weight of the typical 10/22 trigger from 6 pounds to 2.5 to 3 pounds, and it’s crisp with minimum overtravel and a positive reset. Best yet, it’s a consumer friendly, drop-in module for any existing 10/22 rifle or Charger pistol. The price is $89.95, and there’s an instructional video of the simple installation process at www.ruger.com/BX-Trigger.

During the testing, I also switched out the trigger module of the solid frame Charger with the new BX-Trigger assembly. The switch is simple and fast (Note: you must remove the pistol grip first.) The inletting is tight, and the judicious use of a rubber hammer to unseat and reseat the barreled action will prove helpful. Driving out two cross pins drops out the existing trigger module, and then it’s just a matter of inserting the new trigger module, reinserting the two pins, function testing, and you’re in business. It’s taken 50 years to get a good factory trigger on the 10/22, but the BX has been worth the wait. It will improve your shooting.

Read More Rimfire Articles

Download A PDF Of The GUNS Magazine May 2015 Issue Now!