10/22 mods...bargain?

[Indy_Guy_77]

Question:

I'm a veritable "new guy" when it comes to things rifle, and especially things 10/22. I was basically thrown into the fire when I offered to clean up/restore my grandfather-in-law's OLD 10/22.

And now I have one of my own. Yes, sadly, a new one with plastic parts.

So, in y'alls opinion, which 10/22 modification and/or updgrade (besides a good scope) will provide the best bang for the buck?

And if a barrel upgrade is decided upon...does that automatically mean that a new stock has to be purchased (because the thing would look pretty goofy without the barrel band on it)...

-J-

[42769vette]

great question i was getting ready to ask it myself

[DRob]

There are several options which will immediately enhance your 10/22 shooting experience. Some you can do yourself easily. Some need an experienced professional. If you want to retain the stock appearance and iron sights, there are several guys hanging at rimfire central.com who will rechamber your factory barrel. This improves accuracy greatly, I'm told. I've never had one done. Another option is a Green Mountain sporter barrel. Near factory contour. Requires a bit of stock relief about the first 2" in front of the reciever. If you switch to a .920 (bull) barrel you will need to replace the stock. I think you can still get a Hogue OM stock for well under $100. You can easily modify the factory bolt release to make it release the bolt by simply pulling back on the charging hande. As for that plastic trigger group, I've only had one (Charger) and it didn't respond to the normal hammer swap which usually drops the trigger pull down to about 2.5 lbs.

The number 1 bit of advice I would give is start lurking on rimfire central. If you can't find how to do something to a 10/22 there, it can't be done.

The best bang for your accuracy dollar is modding or replacing the factory barrel.

Let me know if I can help.

[Simon6101]

I own 10 Ruger 10/22's and 4 Chargers. The very first thing that I do to mine is replace the Bolt buffer. It quiets the action and takes out a lot of vibration going toward the scope. The second thing I do is install an extended magazine release. I then go shoot them to see what else might need to be done. If you are just looking to informal target shoot, plink or hunt the factory setup will do great. If you want to improve just the stock barrel go to Rimfirecentral and talk to Nemohunter or some of the other guys. They can rechamber the factory barrel fairly cheap and you should be ready to go. If you look around on Rimfirecentral you will find guys that have well over $1000 in their 10-22 from all of the modifications. You first need to decide exactly what the intended purpose of the firearm is. I have done some mods to several of mine but I had decided that I do not wish to spend the money it normally requires to shoot a 1/4 inch group at 25 yards with 5 shots. I prefer to shoot steel targets, paintablls, neco wafers and such. Provides more fun and keeps my kids and wife interested.

[dman65]

Beware of that Simon6101 guy! He has the mystical power of the 10/22… he will lure you in and the next thing you know you will own several of the 10/22 toys and you will love them all! You will find yourself out shooting all day for $7.00 and smiling uncontrollably. I know this to be true… He got me J

[DRob]

The little Ruger rifle can sure be addictive and it looks like the Charger may also hook some folks. I've gone through ten of the rifles (still have 8) but only one Charger. It has been modified internally (same as the rifles) and there is a .17 HM2 barrel on the way. Wait until you see some of the custom painted stocks, especially those painted by "Tuck"!

The bolt buffer change is also a great bit of advice.

[kirkorner]

I think the best 2 additions would be a BMF activator and a 25 round hot lips magazine. Many magazines I have used on the 10/22's don't like to feed at the high rate of speed with the BMF on the gun. All my hot lips and steel lips magazines feed excellent. You can get a BMF activator from cheaperthandirt.com for about $20

[G McBride]

I am still waiting on my barrel to finish my 10/22 build. I have done the following: Purchased Yukon Extreme Stock, sanded it down and put multiple coats of Tru-Oil on the stock to give it a nice wet and shiny look. Sent my trigger out to Swampfox from Rimfirecentral and had it reworked, now it is very smooth, light and no extra travel. Swithched to 4.5-14 x 40 Mueller APV scope. Soon as the Rimfire Technologies Quantum Barrel comes in, I will complete this rifle and tell you how it shoots.

I must admit that this is not a cheap way to improve the accuracy of your 10/22. I think the best thing you can do for a stock rifle would be to have that trigger group reworked or do the work yourself if you are capable. You can have this done for around $70.

[obijohn]

the 10-22 is a quite capable rifle out of the box, but any factory rifle can stand a bit of trigger work. you can spend many dollars should you care to do so, however the trigger and the barrel band will get you the most bang for the buck.

[indyjoe]

Take out the Bolt Holdback piece and spend 5 minutes on it with a Dremel and a 1/8" diamond bit. Then to release the bolt, all you have to do is pull back on the bolt handle. Nice inexpensive or free mod (if you already have the Dremel.)