To the contrary, it is silly to discount the possibility.

Companies have bought other companies for the sole purpose of squashing competing products countless times through history. And Ruger is far from infailable. Old Bill did enormous damage to the comapny back in the late 80s and early 90s with his political statements and expressed views. So much for market analysis.

If the Model 60 goes bye bye, The 10/22's No1 competitor is gone, and they will sell far more of them (although a lot of companies are selling 10/22 clones nowadays).

Maybe Ruger will keep the model 60 around as a low cost option, but the word on the street on the sites i frequent is that the model 60 could very well be cancelled. Until Ruger makes an official announcement, anyone's guess is as good as your guess. It's downright silly to dismiss the possibility.

I personally like the 60, and would like to see it stick around.