10/22 experts - ESSENTIAL upgrades, prices, sources, opinions

[helotaxi]

^^^Details please. Specifically sights, barrel and stock.

 

[CraigC]

Marbles front ramp with a Tech Sights front tower and shorter national match front post. Nodak receiver with their proprietary rear sight, with a Tech Sights TSR200 elevation adjustable module. The first stock is a Relevation, the second a Boyd's Tacticool. The barrel is a Clark mid-weight, matte blued, 21.5".

 

[Magoo]

Those look like Tech Sights and a Boyd's Tacticool stock to me. No guess on the barrel.

CraigC- do you still have that wooden stock? I've got a barreled action in need of a home.

 

[35 Whelen]

Because a stock 10/22 doesn't shoot quarter inch groups at 50yds?

True, but I guess I see the use of the rifle a little differently than others. I just returned from the bench (I have a range at my house) and my scoped Ruger shot about 1" groups, maybe a shade less at 25 yds. with one of the three brands of ammo I tried. (Conversely, my old Mossberg 42B(a), with aperture sights, shot 1/2" at the same distance!)
But the way I figure, a 22 LR realistically is a 50 yd. cartridge. So 1" @ 25 means 2" or so at 50 yds. Plenty good for general hunting and plinking.

You took the works right outta my mouth...I'd accept the 10/22 as it is for what it is and spend the upgrade money on a new bolt gun like a CZ if I wanted to punch bullseyes.

Yep! In fact almost any old quality bolt action .22 such as Mossberg, Remington, Winchester, etc., as-produced, will shoot extremely well with no modifications. Also, since they're not "cool", as in they won't accept folding stocks and hi-cap magazines that hang out of the stock like a packmules johnson, they can be had relatively inexpensively.

But, will all that said, to each his own!
35W

 

[CraigC]

But the way I figure, a 22 LR realistically is a 50 yd. cartridge.

Conversely, I assess an accurate .22LR as a viable 125yd gun on small game. The above-pictured rifle shoots 3/4MOA at 100yds, half-MOA at 50yds. Inanimate objects and targets may be lobbed-at out to 300yds. Luckily, we can all find (or build) a rifle to meet our individual needs and desires.

CraigC- do you still have that wooden stock?

I put it to work on another rifle.

 

[35 Whelen]

Conversely, I assess an accurate .22LR as a viable 125yd gun on small game. The above-pictured rifle shoots 3/4MOA at 100yds, half-MOA at 50yds.

You're talking about the rifle. I'm talking about the cartridge. I have a 6" swinging metal disc at my 100 yd target stand. With the Mossberg I mentioned previously, I can consistently hit it shooting offhand with no support. BUT, factor in a 10 mph cross-breeze and all bets are off because the typical 40 gr roundnose bullet will drift over 6" at 100 yds....well over 9" at 125.
So, if you're indeed shooting small game out to 125 yds., you damn well better be a good judge of wind! And with a 50 yd. zero, the difference in drop from 100 to 125 yds. is about 7" so you'd better be really good at estimating range or have a rangefinder handy at all times.
Regards,
35W

 

[CraigC]

I'm not speaking of hypotheticals based on range work. I'm talking about small game hunting out to 125yds, maybe a mite further. A function of rifle, cartridge and shooter.

 

[Red Cent]

Cheap build. $100.00 E. R. Shaw barrel. $15.00 rear pin kit and action screw bed kit. $35.00 adjustable sear. $10.00 for pillar bedding pieces. "Tweaked" factory stock. Will do 1/2" @ 50 yards CCI MiniMags. Bunch of enjoyable hours.

 

[Motega]

Help me out here....why would anyone buy any rifle with the sole intent of changing out the barrel and every moving part on the rifle? What's wrong with 10/22's just as they are? They've been around for 45+ years for a reason. If a 10/22 isn't accurate enough as-is, why not buy a different rifle that meets your accuracy criteria?
It almost seems like I WOULD be better off buying a barrel, action, sights, and stock - at what point does it stop being a 10/22? So a decent semi-auto 10/22 "style" rifle might be:

Hornet action
GM or Whistlepig barrel
stock/iron sights of choice

what else am I missing? If I'm going to change everything BUT the stock it DOES make sense just to build a whole new rifle.

 

[highlander 5]

It's like handloading your own ammo,some people just have this urge to tinker and squeeze as much accuracy as they can and improve the ergonomics to make the rifle easier to use. Or to quote an oft used phrase "It's a mall ninja thing,you wouldn't understand"

 

[aka108]

If I wanted a very accurate 10/22 I wouldn't buy it. Instead I'd buy a full Volquartsen built rifle that has similar appearance to 10/22 but is not Ruger junk.

 

[goon]

CraigC - thanks for the info on the stocks. I'm planning to add Tech Sights to mine eventually. Or to leave the one I have alone and get another to experiement with.

 

[Spec ops Grunt]

Ammo and trigger time.

 

[CraigC]

If I'm going to change everything BUT the stock it DOES make sense just to build a whole new rifle.

Building from an existing rifle is the only way to do it. Ruger doesn't sell receivers and the aftermarket receivers, like my Nodak/Spud, can cost almost as much as a used carbine. The advantage is that it's all CNC machined, has a flat top that utilizes Marlin 336 scope mounts with 8-40 screws and has a real anodized hardcoat finish.

 

[Motega]

I forgot about the receiver DUH... I'm going to drop in the Hornet and look for a new barrel. At 25 yards I can put them all in a 1" as is with iron sights (maybe an occasional flyer) but I was thinking of putting a detachable scope on top for messing around at 100 yards.

 

[Motega]

Did I understand correctly that simply removing the metal band definitely won't hurt and might actually improve performance?!

 

[Magoo]

Yes you did. And you can reinstall it in all of a minute if/when you want it back on there.

Oh, and there are currently 10 different 10/22 barrels for sale in the RFC classifieds.

 

[benzy2]

It may hurt group size, it has happened occasionally, but for the majority it either doesn't change much or shows a bit of an improvement. Only find out when you try it.

 

[Motega]

Cool... I'll give it a go. I'm working on doing my homework on tghe various barrels out there... 16" twist seems to be what all the top barrelsl from the top names I've seen do far are promoting. That seems odd to me I woulda though more like 1/9.

 

[LKB3rd]

Lighten the trigger any number of ways and either get a scope or good iron sights like Tech Sights.
Mine has a Volquartsen hammer and Tech Sights. I don't compete with it, but it shoots great for what I do, which is just shoot it for fun and practice.
I think you get into diminishing returns pretty fast after that as far as bang for the buck.
eta: Forgot to add that I bedded the barrel and receiver in epoxy and removed the barrel band. 5$ for the epoxy, and my time, which is fine because I like projects like that.