Of all the guns we own, perhaps the most used is the .22 rifle. It is great for plinking, for hunting small game, for vermin control and on these hot summer afternoons shooting turtles at a favorite spot by the stock tank.

Through the years, I have owned and shot a lot of different .22 rifles -- from single shot to bolt action repeater to pump action to semiautomatic rifles. One little singleshot bolt-action rifle that means a lot to me is one I received from an old friend, now deceased, who brought it back from Germany after World War II.

Another is a Winchester Model 75 target rifle given to me by the brother of a dear friend who had been killed in an accident. He knew we were very close and felt the brother would want me to have it.

I also have a Browning T-Bolt, which is a very top-of-the-line rifle that was out of production for a long time but is now back in production.

In spite of the fact that I own a high-priced Kimber .22, of all the rifles that shoot the .22 Rimfire I would have to say my favorite is the Ruger 22 semi-automatic. Bill Ruger introduced this rifle in 1964 as the Ruger 10/22 autoloading carbine. It is clip-loaded with the rotary design magazine that was influenced by Bill Ruger's early study of the rotary design magazine in the Savage Model 99 rifle.

The 10/22 rifle has been the basic rifle for customizing for several years, since a number of manufacturers made all sorts of parts for specialized uses, including very accurate target shooting, even in highly competitive match shooting.

An attractive feature of the Ruger 10/22 in the basic rifle is the price. Although several models are available to choose from, the basic model is only $261 retail in the 2009 copy of Gun Digest.

The design is very simple, which is characteristic of Bill Ruger's designs. For routine cleaning, the removal of one screw permits the removal of the metal work from the stock, then the push out of two pins allows the drop out of the trigger group, then the removal of the bolt and return spring. All this is sprayed with B12 and an air hose, given a light oiling -- not WD-40! -- reassembled, and you're back in business.

Harold Harton is a veteran outdoorsman and photographer, and a longtime contributor to the Lampasas Dispatch Record.