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Ruger opened its Custom Shop in 2018, and one of the first guns off the line was the 10/22 Competition. If you're thinking about getting into any of the new and extremely popular long-range rimfire challenges, this rifle, with its enhanced features, could give you a competitive edge. American Rifleman’s Joe Kurtenbach was offered an early look at the new Ruger 10/22 Competition, essentially an improved version of Ruger's classic 10/22 with new features such as a 30 MOA Picatinny rail, Ruger BX trigger, fluted barrel, a muzzle brake and an updated chamber, to name a few. For more, check out this 2019 SHOT Show primer.
In 2024, former owner Gregg Ritz purchased Thompson/Center Arms. Now the company has introduced a modern take on its classic Contender/Encore concept: the ENCORE PROHunter.
While it's certainly a saturated marketplace these days, the AR-15 has never been more popular with American firearm enthusiasts, and many manufacturers are continuing to feed the need with new options loaded with new features.
Like any hobby or pastime that is in any way even vaguely related to machines or technology, firearms attract a (possibly) disproportionate number of “right-brained,” STEM-oriented personalities who like numbers.
Slingshots are fun, but they can also be a legitimate backup defensive tool—in 2023, a 13-year-old Michigan boy saved his 8-year-old sister from being kidnapped by using a $3 slingshot to fire a marble and a rock at the assailant, striking him in the chest and head.