RUGER 10-22 barrels ?

[Harve Curry]

What is wrong with Ruger 10-22 barrels that most shooters replace them to get accuracy?
Is it the chamber? Rifling? Headspace?
Can the Ruger 10-22 barrel be fixed?

 

[CRITGIT]

Nothing! They're just not designed to be target quality. The replacement barrels are .920 bull (heavy) barrels which produce better groups but don't lend themselves to the field very well!

CRITGIT

 

[Cesiumsponge]

The bull barrels are more consistent, tighter tolerances, less flex, rifled better, better materials, etc. The same reason people shooting centerfire get bull barrels!

If you want to "fix" a factory Ruger 10/22 barrel, get the 10/22 with the upgraded factory barrel and there is nothing to fix It is quite a bit heavier though, especially for a dinky rimfire. Otherwise the basic 10/22 barrel is anemic and pretty flexy, but it's not meant to compete with larger, stiffer barrels. The base model is meant to be a fun plinker, not a serious target rifle.

 

[pgeleven]

we replace them because we can. a stock 10/22 will give you more fun than you could ever want in an affordable plinker, but with the rediculous amount of aftermarket products, to include barrels, some of us want to see just how far we can push the envelope in 'longer range' accuracy (yes i know its a 22lr.).

 

[CH47gunner]

Most of the aftermarket barrels have "match" or Bentz chambers. These have closer tolerances and fit cartridges tighter then the stock Ruger barrels. This allows for better consistancy.
And it's nice to be able to choose barrel length, thickness, color, & flute pattern.

Bruce

 

[Seafarer12]

The factory barrels tend to have a looser chamber. I know of people that shave a litlle off the factory barrel and rechamber and get great accuracy.

 

[Jon Reremy]

Nothing! They're just not designed to be target quality. The replacement barrels are .920 bull (heavy) barrels which produce better groups but don't lend themselves to the field very well!

Oh yeh?

http://www.wpgbc.com

Mine is aluminum, groups better than the factory "T" barrel, and is shorter than the factory barrel. It's actually very comfortable to hunt with. Some companies like Magnum Research and Volquartsen even make carbon fiber barrels.

 

[CB900F]

Harve;

It's a kind of urban legend thing combined with equal amounts of lazy & one-upsmanship.

In point of fact, if you're willing to put the money & effort into doing some extensive ammo testing, your stock Ruger barrel can be surprisingly accurate. Not every one of them, but more than most folks give Ruger credit for making.

But the ammo testing takes money, time & effort. The stock Ruger barrel just doesn't have the ooooo effect at the range. And geeze mom!! All the other guys have bull barrels!!

See what I mean?

900F

 

[686S&W]

I guess the heavy barrel does count for something on a little .22. Some guys may just like the sniper rifle look of a bull barrel.

Personally I just think it's fun to lug around a semi-tacticool .22. To each his own I guess.

My Marlin 980V has the factory heavy barrel and that thing pulls dimes out past 50 yards. I dropped a Jarvis stainless barrel into my Rem 597 and channeled the stock myself, there's another nail driver right there.

 

[Cesiumsponge]

Jon Reremy, you are correct. I forgot about composite barrels when making my post!

I was considering Whistlepig for my 10/22 back in January but ultimately I went with a traditional fluted steel barrel from MRM instead because I was iffy about a composite barrel using two metals with vastly different coefficients of thermal expansion, which is 12x10^-6in./in.*/F for Al vs 8x10 ^-6in./in.*/F for stainless namely. Thats a fairly sizeable linear expansion difference on a 20"+ barrel but in practice I think the higher expansion of Al puts the steel core in tension axially and in compression radially. . Its an interesting design concept that seems to work on 22's. I don't think I've seen this used on higher powered calibers though (correct me if I am wrong). I also didn't need the weight savings since my build wasn't a field gun.

What groups are you getting at 50 and 100 yards with it? I'd be interested to know for a possible future buil. I read nothing but good reviews on Whistlepig.

The stock barrel has less mass so if you're doing a LOT of firing and heating the barrel up, you're going to get vertical stringing a bit sooner than a barrel with more mass.

 

[dispatch55126]

The 10/22 is the Jeep of the gun world. Its fine in stock form but no one can leave it alone. Due to its design, the barrel can be easily swapped out without worry of headspacing.

Pick up several "decent" types of ammo and find what yours likes best -or- buy a brick or two, blast away at the range and laugh at those who spent the same amount on 50 bullets.

 

[Jon Reremy]

Cesiumsponge, it's been a while since I have shot the rifle, but as I remember, I was getting the regular 1/2" 5 shot groups at 50 yards, which from what I hear is just as good as the Green Mountain steel barrels tend to be. 100 yards, I do not know. However, out to 150 yards, my friends and I shot beer cans all day long with some very, very seldom misses. Without a doubt the rifle is more accurate than the rest of us are.

 

[aka108]

I think all Rugers regardless of caliber are a hit or miss thing. I have a 77/22 that is great in the accuracy dept. The 10/22 was improved vastly by changing the barrel. The others have been sold or will be sold shortly simply because of poor accuracy. Ruger won't see any more purchases by me.

 

[Jon Reremy]

What are rifles were they? Possibly a Mini-14? They have always lacked in the accuracy department. The older ones, anyway.

 

[aka108]

One was a Mini 30, a 77 MkII and a real POS SP101 in 9mm. Gave a 22 cal Govt Model 22 pistol to my Son. He wanted it, I didn't. Guy I shot with had a Mini-14 that he ended up getting rid of for accuracy problems.