10/22 Improvement

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Was wanting to drop my GM Heavy Taper 19" bbl action into a synthetic sporter stock.
Fajen used to make one. Guess EABCO had them on closeout a couple yrs ago.
Just my luck.
Maybe find an AMT synth stock and try that.
The Titan is a good stock, just don't like vertical grip. Bench its no big deal, hunting.....irks me.
Reg 10/22 stocks (wood) are thick at wrist and I dislike bbl band.
The old fingergroove dims are just a little different.........best stock for a 10/22 IMHO.
Shame they never did a synth version of it.
 
Kid at the LGS has the newer target 10/22............and has had others.
I informed him of the FG a while back, and he was "yeah right".
Then I bought one at a gunshow and brought it in.........and he finally held one.
It too is his favorite.
 
I can recommend a few little things. Remove the stock barrel and install a Green Mountain, Find a decent sized and shaped stock, glass bed the action and free float the barrel, replace the trigger with a BX or a Brimstone modified one and you will have very accurate 10/22 after finding it's like in ammo. Of course you are going to have twice the money or more in it as it originally costs now.
 
I've used the BX trigger, a Volquartsen trigger and I've "cut the spring" and done my own, plus done the "bolt-hold-open" mod. I'll never buy another BX or Volquartsen trigger after learning to lighten the trigger on my own; can't tell the difference! Add in an extended mag release (I used the Cross-Fire one because I picked up several on clearance). The Magpul Backpacker stock is great for a take-down 10/22. Warne Quick Detach rings if you don't want to leave a scope on it.
 
I put a gemtech mist on mine and we know how much those cost plus a leupold scope that cost almost as much as a basic 10/22.

I would have to say one of my favorite improvements is just replacing the steel bolt stop pin with a solid neoprene one or a pice of vaccum line with steel insert.
No special tools and anyone can do it.
 
The Five(5) essential improvements to the RUGER 10/22 field carbine:

1. Tech-Sights aperture sights (TSR100 dual leaf flip aperture).
2. Remove the Bbl. band and add a small bedding pad. (Might as well bed the receiver while you're at it.)
3. Cut and square the stock butt down to 13" LOP (including the 1/2" rubber butt pad)
4. 1-1/4" sling swivels/web sling.
5. Volquartsen Automatic Bolt Release.

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GR
 
I bought my 10/22 about 31 years ago. Installed a Volquartsen hammer and a Burris 3-9 compact scope that cost way more than the rifle did. Haven't touched a thing on it since.
 
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kBob said:
Keep 'em coming guys!

-kBob
Click to expand...

You want us to dig the money pit deeper? No problemo.

An extended charging handle is nice, especially if you plan to mount a scope. Kidd and JWH Custom make good ones.

There are all kinds of aftermarket extended magazine release levers as well.

For some scopes and applications, an extended Picatinny rail that is machined and tapped to fit the 10/22 is needed. Evolution Gun Works makes a good one.

Some 10/22's suffer extraction issues. An inexpensive part swap is a Volquartsen Exact Edge extractor.

If you are not happy with the accuracy, you can send the barrelled action to Randy at Connecticut Precision Chambering. He will re-ream the chamber, machine the bolt for proper headspace, radius the bolt edges for easier installation and removal, pin the firing pin, and crown the barrel. He also does trigger jobs.

Or maybe just go ahead and replace the barrel, the receiver, the bolt, the trigger group, and the stock with high quality, aftermarket parts. Then take all of the parts you have removed and reassemble them into a stock Ruger 10/22. Now you have two rifles and can start the process all over!
 
I just went through a spate of 10/22 madness in January, after seeing the Brownell video on their own new receiver with or without an integral Pic rail. I've been down this road before, with my first 10/22 from AMT and an actual Ruger product I got from my brother. I swapped components a couple times, which left me with almost enough parts left over for another gun. Looking at the discounted Brownell receiver prices, I did some mental math, factoring in the 10/22 components I didn't need to buy, and decided I could assemble two new rifles for under $250 out-of-pocket apiece. Now I've a total of four 10/22s -- I donated any leftover bits to my gunshop to prevent any further relapses. I had thought about either selling or giving one of the completed rifles to my nephew, but I'm having too much fun with them for the moment. AMT1022.jpg BRN22.jpg BRN22R.jpg Ruger1022.jpg
 
I bought one about 30 years ago. It was very accurate out of the box. I sold my US 44 because I didn't need it anymore. About 10 years later I put a green Mountain barrel on it and it was even better. Then I found out about CZ's.
 
$181.87 out the door for the carbine. $74.87 after tax got me a useable Nikon Prostaff Rimfire 3-9x scope and $26.72, again after 7% State tax, was the cost of Burris Zee Low rings. Add $5.95 in aftermarket part (yes singular) for a KIDD buffer (plus a couple bucks shipping) and $290 is my all-in price.

“Modifications”, or what any honest shooting enthusiast would call improvements include:

1. Auto bolt release. Free with a file and a few minutes work.
2. Corrected hammer hook angle. Free using stones I already owned.
3. Sear and disco polishing. Stones again and a few sheets of sandpaper.
4. Re-contoured return spring plunger. Chucked it in my drill and sanded it.
5. Bolt lightening. Powered up my belt sander for this one. Reduced a bit of mass at the rear to allow a bit more leeway in reliably cycling subsonic ammo.
6. Polished the bolt, the receiver’s interior, and the recoil spring guide to 800 grit. Again a combination of stones plus a few pieces of sandpaper.

It’s a near carbon copy of dad’s, I did the same work on his, with the exception of the scope and rings. My daughter’s SS got equal treatment as did my son’s TD and most recently my wife’s Sporter.

Base prices varied from my $169.97 carbine to $349.97 for the TD.

I had intended to go RDS but got a great deal on the scope.
FC163B3B-F255-4451-9416-21368D34E8C0.jpeg

A few minutes with the belt sander, a few minutes with 220-600 grit.
4A712B76-1E89-4FCE-A9AF-773E6F76ACB5.jpeg

The SS/synthetic ready for minor surgery.
08031581-276B-414F-90B5-811D3F39887A.jpeg

The wife’s new Sporter. $267.50 after tax. She’s opted to shoot open sights.
321069A2-A1F1-4FFA-95D7-B8715859925A.jpeg

At some point I may need a dedicated cabinet just for 10/22s.
438A9492-4E71-4188-A481-B163F1C6B5E2.jpeg

10 at 25 yards from my 12 year old using my carbine. Good enough for bagging squirrels.
ED992409-D62F-44DE-8DEF-271AEDB8DD62.jpeg
 
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I have a standard carbine with a few budget mods that has embarrassed more than one person shooting a full custom. Original barrel set back to target chamber specs, VQ hammer with the rest of the trigger engagement surfaces polished, stock and barrel band relieved to be full floating, squared bolt face, auto bolt release, and a Leupold VX-3 that cost more than the whole rifle. It looks absolutely boring stock, but will put 10 shots of CCI Blazer into .5" at 50 yards, and a little better with Eley match.
 
A 10/22 LVT contains most reasonable improvements assuming a good optic and sling are mounted. If I were going to go much farther than that, I'd be looking at a way to screw down the back of the action for starters.

At the end of the day autos really can't compete with bolts for accuracy, and that's true of the 10/22 as well.
 
My first two only got sling swivels, other than that they were bone-stock and I was happy with them. My last one ended up with a Hogue overmolded rubber stick and see through scope mounts (in case I was charged by a wounded bull squirrel, eyes red with rage).
All that did was totally kill it's character. Sure, it would put all 10 through a dime-sized hole at 50 yards, but that got boring and it gained too much weight for my taste. 6 pounds is my personal top end for a field .22 and I prefer one weighing less.
Should I ever succumb to the siren call again, I'll drive the guys at my club nuts by leaving it as-issued.
 
I worked my BIL's Stainless 10-22 over, doing most of the things I did to mine and it still didn't shoot worth a darn. We then put a new Stainless bull-barrel from Cabela's on it and suddenly, was fantastic! It wasn't one of the best name barrel brands, but I can't remember what it was. It shot about as well as my Shilen-barreled rifle.

A couple of mods that yielded great improvement were:
1. Filing the sides/bottom of the operating handle and smoothing them so it moves easily in the bolt slot. Years ago, I discovered that this prevents first-shot flyers!!!

2. If the firing point is flat and not making deep dents in rims, narrow it up and make take a little off the top, so it impacts below the "fold" of the rim because there's no priming compound there and it's taking away from the energy needed to adequately dent the shell. The upper portion of the rim that hits the priming compound area of the rim should be slightly longer than the bottom and the pin nose shaped to fan the flame out to the sides. Caution: Don't make the nose of the firing pin sharp...but the edges rounded. You may want to a Google search on Calfee's firing pin modifications.
 
IMO the single best modification to a 10/22 is to take some coarse sandpaper and scuff up the top of the receiver and underside of a Weaver scope base. Degrease well, then add a thin bead of JB Weld before tightening the screws.

I’ve owned a 10/22 since 1987 and have never needed to remove the scope base. Why not make sure it is attached well from the start? And why use rimfire rings if you don’t have to?
 
The best tip that I can think of for newer production 10-22 rifles is to take them apart and inspect them.
My current carbine had feed issues and accuracy issues. Turned out that the barrel screws were not tightened properly. One was actually loose.
There was some material in the receiver near the chamber that should have been removed from the receiver casting, but wasn't.
Loosen off the magazine spring and wind it to the spec number of turns. Mine was way too tight.
Polish the inside of the magazine lips if they seem to need it.
Stone and polish the edges of the bolt if they seem sharp-edged so it slides easier and reduces wear on the receiver surfaces.
I rounded over the bottom corner of the bolt slightly where it over-rides the hammer to reduce friction.
Wipe off all of the anti-rust coatings on new gun internals. Lubricate the recoil spring with moly graphite grease and the bolt with gun oil.
Check the edge of the chamber for burrs or a sharp edge and polish it slightly with 600 grit emery paper if so. (Careful, just a bit of polishing)
Before torquing down the barrel screws, make sure that the extractor is well centered in the extractor groove in the barrel.
 
Thanks guys, so far he has let me install a Voq bolt release and extended mag release and install Tech Sights for his up coming Appleseed class. He already had sling studs and got a Canvas GI sling and correct swivels.

I plan to reshape the hammer hook on my daughter's rifle this week end in front of him (like I did mine thanks to the blessed Cletus, may he rest in peace, some years ago) and see if he wants that, will use the 1/8 drill bit, Vise, razer blade and stones method. May drop in a nylon screw for a bolt buffer and see if he notices a difference in the sound.

He plans to add a section of bicycle inner tube to the butt plate like I have on mine to make that glossy, slippery spoon of a butt plate hold still on his shoulder. I had a flat bike tire I sort of wanted to make a sling shot out of (didn't work worth a darn) in the shop and I cut about a two inch section that had the friction stripe on it and slipped it over a removed butt plate and screwed it back down. No more sliding around even on a nylon wind breaker and has lasted four years so far.

I am currently missing 4 BX1 magazines and can not seem to find them anywhere....yes, I looked there already! those puppies are getting expensive.

-kBob
 
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