I recently more or less finished building my own target 10/22, so I feel like I should be able to answer your questions pretty well. I love THR, but as others have said,
www.rimfirecentral.com is the place to be for .22 questions in general and 10/22 questions in particular...
Has anyone built their own 10/22 and is it diificult???
Can anyone give me some good site to purchase 10/22 parts at a reasonable price???
Would it better better to just purchase one at the local wall mart for $150 and build as I go???
By building your own, can you really see a difference from just the standard model as far as accuracy goes???
Lastly, can any of you show me some pics of your 10/22???
In order..
1. Yes! Customizing is very easy, with most parts being "drop-in". Very, very easy.
2. There are a lot of different sites around for 10/22 parts, but from personal experience, I really like Hornet Products.
www.hornetproducts.com. I have ordered from them a few times and have been very satisfied with the service and the products. Rimfirecentral can also help you find stuff...
3. It's a matter of taste: My roommate has a 10/22T and he loves it. It shoots very well and looks nice. I built mine because I wanted to be able to choose parts and be able to say "I built this". Shooting wise, we are about even. Money wise, my gun has cost me more, but I have also been able to choose the exact parts that I want. I didn't buy everything all at once, so it doesn't feel like my gun is more expensive, but it is.
4. Absolutely I can. If I really nerded out, I know I could tune it to shoot super tiny groups, but as it is, I can put 10 shots into a dime at 50 yards (off the bench). My standard 10/22, while accurate enough for hunting and plinking, is probably more like a 10 shots into a quarter (off the bench) with the right ammo. I am not the most expert guy around, but the main accuracy enhancement basically boils down to barrel choice. I happen to have bought a Green Mountain barrel, and it happens to be a very, very good barrel. There are plenty of other very, very good barrels out there, Green Mountain just happens to be who I chose.
Sadly, I cannot because I am too lazy to go take a pic of it. However, I have a stainless receiver with a stainless 18' fluted GM barrel, and my stock is a Fajen Legacy stock (which I personally recommend). Look at that stuff, and you will get a good idea of what my gun looks like.
Also, keep in mind that you can build a gun to whatever budget. If you want all Volquartsen parts, you can look forward to spending many hundreds of dollars. If you pick and choose your parts, you can probably come pretty close to what I Ruger factory target model will cost. As a matter of fact, you can buy Ruger factory target barrels for cheaper than what I paid for my GM barrel. Also, really all you are going to need is the reciever, so look for bargains in pawnshops. 10/22's are very commonplace, so it shouldn't be hard to find one that you can use as a fixer upper somewhere in the neighborhood of $100.00
