LINEAGE OF THE ROYAL FAMILY
Standing in the snow as a young man, I’d leveled the brass bead into the fine “U” of the rear sight, gently squeezing the trigger of my new, first—and only—rifle. Today, despite owning a healthy number of centerfire rifles, that Ruger Model 77/22 is my only rimfire rifle. Chambered in .22 Long Rifle, that gun has served the literal “kid on Christmas morning” for over 35 years now, and though others may come, that one holds a special place in my heart. My dad presented it to me on Christmas in 1985, and as I had pored over every firearms catalog that I could get my hands on, I knew that .22 Long Rifle was, far and away, the most popular of the rimfire cartridges.
Dad had several rimfires—his favorite being a Bicentennial Ruger 10/22—and used to explain how he and his childhood buddies would save their lawn-mowing money for ammunition.
“Wayne Raymond and I would split a box of .22 Longs, because they were cheaper than the .22 Long Rifles. We had to get a bit closer to the woodchucks, but we
