10/22 Upgrade Question

[jon lynn]

Are all 10/22's upgradable?

I got my eyeballs on a Ruger 10/22, it is the plain carbine version with the 18 1/2" barrel and has the barrel band.

Can I get this carbine, enjoy it for 6 to 18 months, then decide to upgrade just because I can?

[Tater]

As far as I know all 10/22s are upgradable. And I can guarantee they are a blast to shoot. I got a bull barrel and camo composite stock on mine and it's accurate as hell. Love shooting it

[fabsroman]

Are all 10/22's upgradable?

I got my eyeballs on a Ruger 10/22, it is the plain carbine version with the 18 1/2" barrel and has the barrel band.

Can I get this carbine, enjoy it for 6 to 18 months, then decide to upgrade just because I can?

Ditto on everything that Tater said.

I bought the standard 10/22 with the barrel band and wood stock, and about the only thing remaining from it is the receiver. I replaced the trigger group with a Volquartsen along with the bolt and the spring. The stock was replaced with a Hogue overmolded stock. The barrel was replaced with a Green Mountain Stainless steel, fluted bull barrel. I tried a Butler Creek carbon fiber barrel to start with, but it was terrible for accuracy. I should actually sell that thing.

The next rimfire I get is going to be one of the Volquartsens built on a 10/22 style receiver. Pricey, but nice to look at and shoot.

[Jack]

I believe all 10/22's are upgradeable. The standard carbine with barrel band you're looking at is what everyone upgrades, so no problem there.
Before you sink a buttload of money into upgrades, get a good trigger pull on the standard carbine, put a decent scope on it, and test it. You may find it needs no further upgrading.

[fabsroman]

I believe all 10/22's are upgradeable. The standard carbine with barrel band you're looking at is what everyone upgrades, so no problem there.
Before you sink a buttload of money into upgrades, get a good trigger pull on the standard carbine, put a decent scope on it, and test it. You may find it needs no further upgrading.

Now you are being sensible, what are you thinking. How can we keep these places in business if we don't just throw our hard earned money to them. Plus, what fun is it to buy a gun and keep it stock? All kidding aside, probably some very good sage advice. My spending weaknesses are guns and bicycles. Kind of like a woman with shoes and purses.

[captain2k_ca]

Dont forget the custom dyed 10/22 mags and the gold plated reciever :cool:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g293/captain2k_ca/Ruger%201022/PA073583.jpg

[fabsroman]

Dont forget the custom dyed 10/22 mags and the gold plated reciever :cool:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g293/captain2k_ca/Ruger%201022/PA073583.jpg

Yeah, I was going to bring that up too, but didn't want to overwhelm Jon with the possibilities. I love that gun of yours ..... almost as much as I love mine. LOL

[jon lynn]

What kind of trigger can I expect out of the box?

As for the scope, I am putting the 3-9x Burris Fullfield II that I just got from SWFA, and Weaver rings and base.

Already getting an itchy trigger finger.

[skeet]

Heck I found a Volquartsen Left hand thumbhole stock the other day. I think I will buy a gun and fix it up a bit. See if I can shoot better left handed..LOL. The Stock I found is under a 100 bucks. That company is spensive

[captain2k_ca]

Factory trigger on a 10/22 is crap...I recommed a Volquartsen hammer. Keep the factory spring tho! Its alot crisper and cleaner!

[Jack]

Jon, the factory trigger probably won't be very good on a basic model. There are lots of ways to improve the trigger pull, though.
Improvements can range in price from little to as much as the rifle cost. Captain's recommendation of a Volquartsen hammer is a good start- there are other brands, too. A replacement hammer or sear (or both) is going to be at the low end , price wise. At the high end, Volquartsen and others make an entire replacement trigger assembly, trigger guard and all, that's a drop in- and costs as much as a new rifle.
Consulting your local gunsmith isn't a bad idea- maybe a new sear and a bit of hand fitting would do the job- it did on mine.

[buckhunter]

I've had one for 35 years and have never wanted anything else. Mine is pretty stock except I put a regulas 1" scope on it. I can remember once in an indoor range(25 yards) and sand bagged putting 14 in the x ring and 1 just outside the xring. You could cover the group with a dime. Granted that was a very controlled conditions. Otherwise mine will stay as is. I see no reason to change it.

[GoodOlBoy]

I have had absolutely no issues with my trigger on my stock "wal-mart special" Ruger 10/22 carbine. everything on it works like a dream and over the holidays I used it to shoot a mole that had popped his head up from about 30 yards with iron sights. We are talking about a 3/4 inch diameter target and I nailed him dead center with a remington golden bullet hp (most accurate ammo in my ruger so far). I was using the factor iron sights on it. The only thing I am looking to do at the moment is to get a few more of the clear magazines for it. You can't beat them.

GoodOlBoy

[Seawolf1090]

I've had my WalMart Special 10-22 Rifle since about 2001. It's got the larger 'rifle' stock with NO band, fits my large frame better, and 22" stainless barrel and silver finish receiver. The Ruger stock finish is crap, so I stripped it and refinished in Honey Maple - she's a 'blonde' now! ;)
Topped with a silver Simmons 3-9X32 scope on silver painter rings and rail mount. Painted the trigger guard silver too.
The only real mod is a polished trigger and sear, and a lighter trigger spring - much better! I actually only modded it because the danged trigger pack fell out when the pins slid out as I was working with it out of the stock! Figured I'd best go ahead and take care od the 'lawyer trigger'.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-1/93045/Ruger%20WalMart%20Special%2010_22.jpg

[popplecop]

Have 3 10-22s all with tuned factory triggers. Break cleanly at 3.5 lbs with no creep. Compenet gunsmith can work wonders with them, they clean up well.

[double bogey]

You can buy drop in hammer and sears that can do wonders. You tube has videos of several mods if you are the least bit handy. Also bolt modifications are worthwhile, chamfering will increase reliability and headspacing (best left to a pro) will help with accuracy. There are a couple of guys who will fix your barrel if you don't like the accuracy (set back and rechamber).

[SD Handgunner]

Yep you can modify it to your hearts content. The 10/22 is the Tinker Toy of the Gun World so to speak in that you can make one into almost anything you want it to look like.

The nice thing about the 10/22 is that most of the work can be done by the owner with just a bit of knowledge in mechanical things. To start with the Factory Trigger Group can be polished and tweaked into a decent 2 1/2 to 3 pound trigger pull without too much work involved. There are sites on the net that go into detail (including photos) on how to trigger jobs. If you want to go deeper there are kits by Volquartsen and Power Custom to name just two that range from just a prepped hammer to a prepped hammer & sear to full blown drop in kits to complete trigger housings. I have probably done a dozen trigger jobs on 10/22's using just the factory parts, and the ones with the Aluminum Trigger Housing and Trigger seem to turn out better and are easier to rework than the newer versions with the Plastic Trigger Housing and Trigger.

If you want a really good trigger (better than the Volquartsen TG-2000 complete trigger assembly) for about half the $$$ there is a guy in Modesto California that does a complete precision trigger job for $90.00 ($107.50 if you include the Auto Bolt Modification, Extended Magazine Release and Drilled & Tapped for an Overtravel Screw). I have had this guy do a couple for me, 3 friends have had him do their triggers as did my nephew. All have turned out better than the Volquartsen TG-2000 complete trigger assembly that my son in law has.

As per barrels I personally have had exceptional results with Green Mountain Bull Barrels, as have several members at our Indoor Shooting Range. While I have not had a Factory Carbine Barrel reworked in terms of setting it back and rechambering I have had a factory carbine barrel shortened to 17" (cutting off the front sight in the process) and had it recrowned. This barrel shot good to start with but for some reason shortening it, removing the front sight and recrowning it made it shoot even better.

There are a few guys on the net that do Bolt Work to the 10/22's. Most notablly is setting the headspace. This involves milling the front face of the bolt to the proper dimension so the recess in the bolt face where the head of the cartridge sits is not too deep. Most factory 10/22 bolts have this recess at .050", and in reality the rim of a .22 LR Cartridge is not that thick so the head of the cartridge may or may not be held firmly against the breech face upon firing. I have my local machinist mill the front face of the bolt so the recess for the cartridge head is .043". All that is required is to remove the firing pin and extractor to do this.

I also chamfer (radius) the lower rear surface of the bolt and polish the front face of the hammer where the bolt rides on the hammer during cycling. When doing this I also add a Tuffer Buffer Recoil Buffer. What all this does is to provide for much smoother cycling, especially with Standard Velocity Target Ammo. The recoil buffer actually makes the action quieter as you do not hear the steel bolt stopping against the steel bolt stop pin.

I also have my machinist friend drill and pin the firing pin. What this does is holds the firing pin so it can not ride up when the firing pin strikes the rim of the cartridge. This and the other bolt work (especially setting the headspace) is said to help eliminate fliers. In my 10/22's it has helped and I have also noticed that my velocity strings over the chronograph are more consistant with less extreme spreads.

As per the 10/22 Stocks, only your imagination will limit what you can go with. There are so many different brands and styles available it is mind boggling.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/LarryinSD/BullBarrelNordic10-22.jpg

Above is a Custom Ruger 10/22 with all the modifications listed about. It is set in a Nordic Components AR-22 Receiver Chassis Kit with an AR-15 A2 Buttstock (with DPMS 1" Stock Extension), AR-15 CAA UPG-16 Pistol Grip and Model 1 Sales Rifle Length Free Float Tube.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/LarryinSD/Nordic10-22.jpg

This is a shorter lighter version of the above but uses a Model 1 Sales AR-15 6 Position Collapsable Buttstock and a Carbine Length Free Float Tube.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/LarryinSD/Ruger1022BellCarlsonStock.jpg

This is the same 10/22 as pictured above except I removed it from the Nordic Components AR-22 Stock Kit and put it in a Bell & Carlson Synthetic Classis Stock.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/LarryinSD/Ruger1022Thumbhole.jpg

This is one we put together for a friend of mine a week or so ago.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/LarryinSD/Daves10-22.jpg

This is one I put together for a different friend a couple years ago.

These are just a few examples of what you can turn a basic carbine into.

Larry