The shooting sports industry is quietly dominated by the enjoyment of affordably priced, multi-purpose .22 LR carbines. Regardless of age or shooting experience, just about any trigger tripper you ask has picked up one of these handy little semi-automatics at some point in their shooting experience. For casual plinking, target shooting, training, small game hunting and pest control, they represent a rifle that the whole family can use. There are plenty of .22-caliber carbines to choose from these days. But it doesn't hurt my feelings a bit when a reputable company expands their selection with new offerings. In September of 2025, Savage Arms released the RXR22. And now that I'm on the other side of the evaluation, my only regret is that I did not shoot it sooner!
The RXR22 is made in Turkey for Savage Arms.
Although the RXR22 shares certain dimensions, features and component compatibility with the Ruger 10/22, this gun is not a clone of that platform. Instead, Savage took the RXR22 in some fresh directions which allow for features that are not common to the 10/22 and its numerous copies. It is also less expensive than its primary competition. With a suggested retail price of $259, it is about $80 less than the least expensive factory fresh Ruger 10/22.
The RXR22 is not a Ruger 10/22 clone but does share some component compatibility.
The Savage RXR22 is a straight-blowback-operated semi-automatic carbine manufactured by Adler Arms in Turkey for importation by Savage Arms. This model is outfitted with a tapered 16.5" barrel with a recessed target crown to improve accuracy. Treated with a matte black finish, this carbon steel barrel is button rifled and features a ½"x28 TPI threaded muzzle for popular accessories including compensators and sound suppressors.
The stock features an interchangeable grip with three insert sizes.
It should be noted here that the RXR22 is designed to be compatible with a wide variety of aftermarket barrels sized for the 10/22 and its clones. This includes the tapered and competition style 0.920" diameter bull barrels. Just remove the polymer stock shim to make room for a bull barrel if you choose to install one.
The receiver is made from a durable, lightweight polymer with an integral optics rail molded into the top. The reciprocating charging handle is located to the right side of the receiver inside of the ejection port. The trigger guard is also made of black polymer. The external controls situated in and around the trigger guard include the cross-bolt safety button, an extended magazine release lever in front of the guard and a metallic bolt-catch lever to the left side of the magazine release.
The polymer receiver features an integral optics rail.
The designers missed out on an opportunity to make the magazine release ambidextrous. There is just one grooved extension on the right side that can be engaged with the trigger finger. Perhaps they were concerned that a left-side extension would interfere with the bolt release, but it looks like they could have worked around that.
The trigger is supported by an overtravel detent.
However, the bolt catch on this gun is a notable improvement over the 10/22. When the bolt is drawn back manually, it automatically locks open with an empty magazine in place or with the magazine removed. This catch is then pressed forward, towards the muzzle, to release the bolt.
The black 10-round rotary magazine provided with this carbine is similar to, but not exactly the same as, Ruger factory magazines. On the top left corner of the polymer housing is a tiny, spring-loaded pin, or detent. This interacts with the carbine's bolt catch lever so as to lock the bolt open when the last round is fired. Although this carbine is compatible with Ruger factory 10/22 magazines, and most of the myriad aftermarket magazines, they do not lock the bolt open with the last shot since they do not have the Savage detent.
The Savage magazine is designed to lock the bolt back when the last shot is fired.
The single-stage trigger is deeply curved and made from black polymer. It is supported by a spring-loaded over travel detent set into the rear of the trigger housing. The trigger pull for this particular gun was a bit heavy. It weighed in at 6-lbs. 7-oz. according to a Lyman Products digital trigger gauge. However, the arc of travel was just 0.10". The trigger breaking cleanly at such a short distance made the slightly heavy trigger pull weight nearly unnoticeable.
The RXR22 ships with a polymer stock that contributes to a handy unloaded weight of 4 lbs. 10 oz. with the empty factory magazine installed. Available in gray or a flat dark earth (shown) the stock's forend features a molded in 1.6" long, 4-slot accessory rail for mounting lights or bipods. Front and rear sling swivel studs are installed at the factory. The forend and the vertical grip are lightly textured for improved purchase.
The RXR22 proved to be reliable with all ammunition and magazines tested.
A nice touch with the stock that I have not seen on other commercial .22 LR carbines in this class is the interchangeable grip. The carbine arrives with three inserts of different sizes to adapt the grip shape to the shooter's hand. Providing a fixed 13.75" length of pull, the shoulder stock is capped off with a hard rubber butt pad.
A Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph was used to measure bullet velocities.
At the range the RXR22 proved to be fun to shoot and reliable to boot. Test ammunition ranged from bulk box plinking fodder to premium small game hunting loads. The magazines used for this evaluation included the 10-rounder provided with the gun along with 10-, 15- and 25-round Ruger factory RX series magazines. A Tandemkross fully-assembled DoubleKross 20-round magazine was thrown into the mix to keep things interesting. Other than two faulty primers that failed to fire, both in bulk box loads, the rifle, ammunition and magazines all operated reliably and properly throughout the course of testing.
The best individual 3-shot group of 0.59” was fired using the CCI Clean-22 load.
The formal benchrested performance testing consisted of firing three 3-shot groups using three different loads. The carbine was outfitted with a Bushnell Rimfire 3-9x40 Rifle Scope featuring a DZ22 Dropzone 22 reticle using a Weaver One-Piece SPR (48377) scope mount. A Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph was on hand to measure the average bullet muzzle velocities for 10-shot strings. With the paper targets posted at a distance of 50 yards, the .22 LR ammunition used included CCI Clean-22 Target, Tippmann Arms High Velocity and Winchester Wildcat Super loads.
Although some of the .22 LR loads were not quite as consistent as others, six of nine measured 3-shot groups were under 1" in size. Not bad at all for a production gun like this one. Here are the results:
The RXR22 is a smart little carbine design. It is, without a doubt, a Savage rifle with all the good things that implies. It is an enjoyable, reliable semi-automatic that is loaded with features at an affordable price. But in making the RXR22 a unique offering, the designers wisely embraced two of the most prolific aftermarket components available, namely, the magazines and barrels configured for the Ruger 10/22 platform.
The 10-round rotary 10/22 magazine is one of the most reliable rimfire designs yet developed. It would be a good thing if it became an industry standard. And extended 10/22 magazines that hold more ammunition are plentiful and easy to find. As for the barrel, being able to swap it out for one of the multitude of standard, light weight or competition-grade barrels makes the RXR22 an attractive option among its not so modular competitors. For more information, visit savagearms.com.
