Baught one for my wife about 5 months ago for $178

 

Got one from a local shop. Test fire and had a few jams. Stripped it down and found paint over spray in the receiver. Cleaned and polished everything including trigger parts. Added overtravel screw to trigger and replaced the scope rail.
Reasonably accurate and runs well on several types of ammo. I dropped it into an old sporter stock, just because it looks better in wood.

 

[...] I dropped it into an old sporter stock, just because it looks better in wood.

With so many nicer wood stocks already out there, I also figured my money would go further, starting with two of the # 31210's @ $175 ea;

 

I purchased two at two different times. Turned them into something different

 

those two wood stocks did transform those two basic rifles , looking good ,

 

I looked at a base model 10/22 the other day at the LGS. Filler screws protruding above the top of the receiver and glued in place with the sloppy, runny painted finish. No thanks. Better to buy a receiver an assemble a rifle yourself. Also, I recently ordered a nitrided bolt from Brownells. It is a beautifully finished work of art compared to the cast crap that comes on Ruger 10/22 rifles these days, and only about $20 more than a takeoff bolt will cost you online. I don’t understand why they are cheaping out so bad on the 10/22 when the Mark IVs seem to be excellent quality.

 

Great observations. The Ruger receivers I've seen recently are eclipsed in craftsmanship by other options that are not overly pricey. Brownells bolts and receivers are good to go, as are others.

To be fair, Ruger is building 10/22s to a price point and they achieve that goal admirably. I suppose that my standards and expectations are higher in terms of quality and I am willing to pay a little more to get a product that is, in my opinion, a better price/value proposition.