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The plinker went to war: The IDF's Ruger 10/22 (Palestinian Terrorist Plinker)
Rugertalk.com ^ | September 27, 2015 | Christopher Eger

Posted on 10/19/2015 9:38:32 AM PDT by Perseverando

Ever since their beginnings in 1948, the Israeli Defense Force has had to think outside the box to come up with weapon's systems, therefore it shouldn't surprise you that for the past 20 years the Israelis have used a (much-modified) 10/22 for use in both special operations and in security operations.


(A gently modded 10/22 with IDF forces in 2000)

The background

Going back to 1987, the IDF purchased a quantity of Ruger 10/22s for use by security forces in the Palestinian Intifada, a violent uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that led to a number of deaths on both sides. Hallmarked by rock throwing, molotov cocktails, and slingshots by the Palestinians (backed by the PLO, Fatah, the Popular Front, the Democratic Front and the Palestine Communist Party), no less than 60 Israeli military and police were killed by 1993.

This led the Israelis to go a bit harder from rubber bullets and tear gas-- the traditional less-lethal tools of the age, and use .22LR rifle fire aimed at the legs of armed intifada participants, as a next step. It seems it's hard to keep your motivation to throw rocks with a 40-grain round in your shin.

The guns used by the IDF at the time were standard wooden-stocked 10/22s modified by the Italian firm of Sabatti with a heavy bull barrel encased by an integral suppressor that looks all the world like a 6 D-Cell Maglite. Drilled and tapped for a full-sized Weaver base, the gun was given a 4x optic of various manufacture and a Harris-style adjustable bipod forward.


(Use of the 10/22 always seems to be in conjunction with other soldiers armed with M16, Tavor or Galil rifles)

It's not known just how many of these guns the Israelis picked up, but they have been widely seen in the West Bank and Gaza for the past two decades.

Their use, however, was controversial an in 2001 they were ordered restricted from use as a "less lethal" weapon.


(AP Photo)

"The mistake was that the Ruger came to be seen as a means of dispersing demonstrations, in contrast to its original purpose as a weapon in every respect," said a senior IDF officer at the time. "The ballistics of the bullet are different from those of regular bullets, and as a result, it is liable to cause excessive damage when used indiscriminately."

Then in 2008, the guns were brought back online and have been used extensively since then with a different set of rules of engagement that restrict the use of them in circumstances where lethal force is authorized.


An Israeli border guard aims his 10/22 during clashes with Palestinian protesters following an anti-Israeli protest after the weekly Friday prayers on September 18, 2015 in the Israeli-controlled area called H2, in the West Bank town of Hebron. Note the BX-25, well-worn stock and receiver, and improvised cheek pad. Image by Hazem Bader/AFP


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 1022; 22lr; banglist; idf; plinker; ruger
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Ruger 10/22, IMHO, for the price, probably the best .22LR semiauto rifle in America.
1 posted on 10/19/2015 9:38:33 AM PDT by Perseverando
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To: Perseverando

I have a 10/22 stainless with a suppressor and a Leupold FXII handgun scope (long focal point) mounted in a guide forward position and with a TAPCO tactical stock. GREAT gun.

That said, the 25 and 50 round (a double 25) Ruger magazine are a little wieldy. I also have a Marlin 60 tube-fed magazine that functions just as well but isn’t threaded for a suppressor. To tell you the truth, both have their uses and both stack up equally in most accounts, IMO


2 posted on 10/19/2015 9:44:31 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: Perseverando

Subsonic but deadly rounds. And, it can be suppressed to almost silent. With the noise of an uprising, people just seem to fall down until the medics get to them.


3 posted on 10/19/2015 9:46:22 AM PDT by anton
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To: Perseverando
It seems it's hard to keep your motivation to throw rocks with a 40-grain round in your shin.

I can see where that might be a significant stumbling block for your average rock-throwing "protester"...

4 posted on 10/19/2015 9:47:28 AM PDT by WayneS (Yeah, it's probably sarcasm...)
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To: Gaffer

Where do you purchase that kind of thing?


5 posted on 10/19/2015 9:48:17 AM PDT by aMorePerfectUnion ( "Forward lies the crown, and onward is the goal.")
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To: Gaffer
Ruger 10/22, IMHO, for the price, probably the best .22LR semiauto rifle in America.

I agree. My ONLY complaint about mine (and the weapon in general) is that the action does not remain open after firing the final from a magazine.

6 posted on 10/19/2015 9:48:57 AM PDT by WayneS (Yeah, it's probably sarcasm...)
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To: Perseverando

I wonder if I can get one of those barrels for mine.


7 posted on 10/19/2015 9:52:31 AM PDT by WayneS (Yeah, it's probably sarcasm...)
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To: Perseverando

hard to keep your motivation to throw rocks with a 40-grain round in your shin

Same can be said for a 1/4 inch hex nut fired from a wrist rocket. A little harder to aim though.


8 posted on 10/19/2015 9:55:10 AM PDT by rfreedom4u (Rick Chollett for President!)
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To: Perseverando
Whatever works.....

Personally a 22 cal to the shin will keep them from throwing rocks for a few weeks but I think a 223/5.56 at 28K-30K fps to the chin, oops I meant shin will keep them out of the fight for a long time if not for ever. Oh how political correctness has taken over warfare. Oh, I forgot, that depends on whose side you are on doesn't it.

9 posted on 10/19/2015 9:55:52 AM PDT by mosaicwolf (Strength and Honor)
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To: WayneS
I wonder if I can get one of those barrels for mine.

Mash here to find out!

10 posted on 10/19/2015 9:58:28 AM PDT by Disambiguator (Cis-American)
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To: Perseverando

We used them to shoot out street lights and mirrors in hostage/barricaded situations.


11 posted on 10/19/2015 10:00:18 AM PDT by Resolute Conservative
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To: Gaffer

The model 60 tends to be slightly more accurate than the 10/22 and is cheaper.

The 10/22 has a huge number of accessories, I guess more than anything except maybe the AR-15.


12 posted on 10/19/2015 10:01:02 AM PDT by yarddog (Romans 8:38-39, For I am persuaded.)
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To: Perseverando

Perfect weapon for destroying groundhogs and other vermin ...


13 posted on 10/19/2015 10:01:05 AM PDT by NorthMountain ("The time has come", the Walrus said, "to talk of many things")
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To: Perseverando

.30 to the head will keep them out of action even longer.


14 posted on 10/19/2015 10:01:17 AM PDT by Snickering Hound
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To: Perseverando

I have a Magnum Research .22 Mag 10/22 style rifle with a Leupold 3X9 and it is one of the best rimfire rifles I have ever shot.
My two oldest boys wore there 10/22’s completely out when they were practicing for competition but it must have taken 20-30K rounds.
The suppressed barrels on the Israeli rifles are very very quiet. I am not familiar with that Italian brand but I have heard several others and they all worked great.


15 posted on 10/19/2015 10:02:35 AM PDT by Romans Nine
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To: WayneS

**** “I wonder if I can get one of those barrels for mine” ****

Me Too


16 posted on 10/19/2015 10:05:12 AM PDT by TexasTransplant (Idiocracy used to just be a Movie... Live every day as your last...one day you will be right)
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To: mosaicwolf

If you could hit them in the shin, couldn’t you hit them in the knee?

wouldn’t a knee shot be forever?


17 posted on 10/19/2015 10:07:22 AM PDT by bert ((K.E.; N.P.; GOPc.;+12, 73, ....carson is the kinder gentler trump)
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To: WayneS

I can see where that might be a significant stumbling block for your average rock-throwing “protester”....The .223 was designed to cause lots of wounds to tie up the enemy to serve the wounds, which ties up lots of people, and not kill outright.


18 posted on 10/19/2015 10:08:24 AM PDT by Safetgiver ( Islam makes barbarism look genteel.)
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To: yarddog

That’s true.....I’ve looked into getting the barrel threaded but that’s not a simple thing to get done, IMO.


19 posted on 10/19/2015 10:09:30 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: anton

“And, it can be suppressed to almost silent.”

All you hear is the wailing of the widows in the morning.


20 posted on 10/19/2015 10:11:12 AM PDT by IMR 4350
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