With a plan set in motion and gear piling in to prepare myself and four ladies for our upcoming raccoon hunt, there are some crucial steps to take to get ourselves and our equipment ready for the field. Now that we’ve got most of the equipment needed, it’s time to set up the rifle. The gun we’ll be using for this hunt is the Ruger Carbon Fiber 10/22 (MSRP $649).
I always do an overview of the rifle before deciding it will be sufficient for the task at hand. My first impression of the Ruger Carbon Fiber 10/22 is easy to guess because it’s in the name, Carbon Fiber. It’s extremely light at 3-1/2 pounds and having a light gun for this type of hunt is always a pro, I’ll tell you why shortly. A few other questions I’d ask are the following:
I’ll answer my questions now. Yes, it comes with integrated sling mounts that work with most rifle slings, (I did say most, be sure to double check the compatibility before purchasing.) This Ruger is a multi-shot semi-automatic rifle. It comes with a 10-shot flush rotary magazine with the option to purchase extras. Those are all very important features for this hunt. The multi-shot and semi-auto features allow for quick follow-up shots when needed. Nobody wants to fumble around in the dark with ammo, hoping it loads right, and that they don’t drop it … which, leads us to more reasons to buy extra magazines (MSRP $23.95. We’ll be doing a lot of walking in the dark through thick brush, swamps, as well as crossing canals. If something gets dropped, you might as well say goodbye and press on.
Before mounting an optic or going any further, it’s always a good thing to check all the screws and parts to be sure everything is tight and intact. Next up is the attachment of an optics rail, and the age-old question of whether it will be compatible with the optic I intend to mount on it? The answer is yes; I always use ATN Optics when hunting if the rail is compatible. I have the ATN X-Celsior Day/Night Scope (MSRP $599.00.) I love using these optics because it helps capture the great shots that we’ll get to take with our Ruger Rifles using the night vision and recording capabilities.
Onto the ammunition, it is extremely important to use the correct ammunition in your rifles. Be sure to pay attention when ordering and loading your ammo and don’t be afraid to ask for help. For this Ruger 10/22, I chose some .22 caliber LR, not Magnum, not WMR and not shorts, because those wouldn’t be compatible with my rifle.
I never choose only one brand of ammo; every rifle is different and some like different rounds better. You can narrow it down with the twist rate sometimes, which is 1:16 RH, you can also do some research, or you can wait to see what results you get.
The ammo to be tested included CCI .22 LR Stangers Varmint 32 grain bullets (MSRP $16.99), the CCI Mini Mag .22 LR Segmented HP 40 grain bullets (MSRP $11.99), the Fiocchi Field Dynamic .22 LR Copper Plated HP 38 grain bullets (MSRP $6.99) and Norma Xtreme .22 LR 43 grain bullets (MSRP $23.99.) The lightest grain being 32 grains and the heaviest at 43 grains.
Here comes the answer to the two remaining questions, ease of operation and accuracy. The ladies and I took the Ruger Carbon Fiber to the range and set up. After using the one-shot zero feature on the ATN X-Celsior Scope to get the POI on paper, I performed the ammo test to see which ones the ladies should shoot to get accustomed to the equipment before setting out. I want the rifles and the ladies to perform well and that requires great performance from the ammunition. The most accurate .22 LR bullets turned out to be the Norma Xtremes, and that is what we’ll take in the field.
This is the fun part, introducing some great equipment to these ladies. I did a safety briefing and rundown on operation as well as the functions of the rifle and optic. Leaving the gun on safe, unloaded and the empty magazine on the table, the ladies looked it over and made themselves familiar with it. I set each of them a target up at 40 yards for those first shots; now, it’s time for some grace shots where they’ll get to know the feel of the rifle, safety placement, trigger pull and recoil. When each of them went through a round of practice, I gave them a loaded magazine and let them complete the operation themselves.
Their response when they were asked what they thought of the rifle was all very similar, “Next to no recoil, light, smooth, beautiful, and accurate!” That answers the question about ease of operation and accuracy, but we’re not done.
We’ve learned the equipment and now it’s time to learn shot placement on the game we’re hunting. We also moved raccoon targets to 50 yards, because the professional raccoon hunter of the bunch suggested it. These targets depict raccoons in different positions to know what the best point of aim to take. One-by-one, the ladies stepped up to take their shots at their targets to see if they have what it takes to make ethical shots.
With only one questionable point of impact, on these three targets if we do our parts, the equipment has shown us they’ll do the rest! That’s the kind of confidence we want before our upcoming raccoon hunt! With that said, we’ve all agreed, we are ready.
The ladies and I have had an amazing time getting prepared for our coming adventure with Ruger, but this isn’t the end of the story. Of course, I plan to tell you about the hunt and our success! Needless to say, we’re just getting started!
I am a wife and a mother who loves the outdoors, I also review and test airguns and shooting products for various manufacturers. As Airgun Angie, I get to spend a fair amount of time outdoors hunting and shooting! I love what I do, I get the opportunity to test many different types of shooting and hunting gear. My current adventures can be found on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC764VE4T-i2XihiyISmkJKA You can also follow me on Facebook, @leadlife17 "Airgun Angie." View all posts by Angie Perry
Start the Conversation