Manual

14
TO LOAD AND FIRE (WITH MAGAZINE)
Practice this important aspect of gun handling (with an unloaded rifle) until you
can perform each of the steps described below with skill and confidence. But
before you do anything with the rifle, please first read completely through this
manual.
1. Keep the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction. (See Rule 2, p. 39).
2. Put the safety “on” (fully protruding from the right side of the lever housing
assembly). (See Figure 1, p. 9).
3. Open the lever. Check the chamber to be certain it is empty.
4. Note that the lever must be at least 1/2” open in order to either remove or
insert a magazine. To remove the magazine, use thumb to depress magazine
latch and at the same time grasp the magazine between thumb and forefinger
of the same hand to draw it out of the magazine well. (See Figure 3).
Figure 3. The lever should be open
and the safety should be “on” when
the magazine is being removed or
inserted. When the forward section
of the magazine latch is pushed in
(pivoted upward), the magazine is
released. Depress the latch with
the thumb and at the same time
grasp the magazine between the
thumb and forefinger and draw it
out of the rifle.
Removing Magazine
(Safety “On”)
5. Load the magazine by sliding cartridges (up to 10 in the .22 LR magazine, 9
in the .22 WMR or .17 HMR magazine, or 4 in the .44 magnum magazine)
into the magazine throat-opening. (See Figure 4, p. 15). The Ruger Model 96
is designed to function properly only with standard Ruger rotary magazines
loaded with cartridges of the correct type and caliber.