Thread: Ruger 10/22 - Tricks, tips and modifications

Let's start with what ruger has done right - the mag. The factory mags, black, clear, 10 shots, 25 shots, are all very good and the most reliable ones you can buy. There exists a aftermarket version that opens the bolt automatically after the mag is empty, I never try it and it is quite expensive, but if reliable then it is quite an interesting upgrade.

Now let's discuss everything else:

Barrel

Factory barrel is sub par compared to all other rifles of the same price range (or slightly below). But it is very reliably. Ruger makes them tolerant to all different sorts of ammos but in the process made them inaccurate. decent enough for plinking but not good enough for hunting and worse for target shooting. There are several good options:
1. KIDD ultralite. Possibly the best value that you can buy in NZ. Good enough for target shooting and great for hunting.
2. Whistlepig. Cheaper than KIDD but harder to get, very similar in quality and accuracy. Very very light.
3, KIDD bullbarrel. Very accurate and reliable, reasonably priced. If you fancy yourself as tough guy then take it out to hunting too. I do not think it offers enough accuracy advantage over the ultralight version, but is about twice as heavy.
4, Magnum Research carbon fibre. The only carbon fibre covered 10/22 barrel that is actually ultra light and ultra accurate. Very hard to buy and possibly very expensive.

Screw on barrel/action sets are slightly more accurate, but not enough to compensate for the loss of convenience. KIDD used to make them as their supergrade, but now dropped this design in favour of a new slot in design (which is different and superior to ruger's factual v-block design).

VERY IMPORTANT: unless you only shoot off bench rest, do not upgrade barrel until you have upgraded the trigger.

TRIGGER

Factory trigger is super bad. Super heavy, long travel, and uncertain break. Home modding can only lighten the weight but not fixing these other problems and make the rifle unsafe. There are a number of reports on the net where people's home trigger job turned the rifle into fully auto. I recommend you do it just for the kicks. But if you want real improvement you have to spend money. The cheaper best option is to buy KIDD drop in kit. The more expensive but even better option is to buy a 2-stage from Darrin.

Receiver and Bolt
Factory receiver is stamped, but oddly enough it works quite well. The factory bolt is also pretty good, I cannot feel any difference between it and hgih end stuff when shooting. So for these two items I think you can stick to the ruger stuff if you dont want to spend money. The skinny 3/8 inch factory scope rail works fine. the 10/22 does not have enough recoil to cause any issues so I dont see any point in replacing it - unless you want a rail with built in MOA compensation. Ruger factory barrels often have barrel drooping (barrel pointing downwards) so your scope may run out of adjustments. However you should an after market barrel then you will not have this problem. Rugger barrels's action end have narrower diameter to ensure quick and easy assemble, the looseness is what introduces the drooping. Aftermarket barrels all have much tighter tolerance (so much so you usually have to sand down it a little to fit it into the receiver) so you will not have drooping. The polymer buffer is a cheap mod, it may cause subs have cycle problems because there is not enough bang for the bolt to push thick, wax coated rounds all the way into the chamber. but on a whole it is probably a worthwhile trade off.

Stock

If you changed the barrel, chances are the factory stock will not fit, because almost all aftermarket barrels are 0.920 inch. Hogue is very light and offers good grip, but some may find it too soft. if you attach any accessories they may affect the stock that the barrel may no longer free float. Boyd stock is an excellent choice - if you can still manage to get them directly from the US.

What to Buy
If you just want a 10/22 for plinking, buy the cheapest one on trademe, it is as good as the new ones in the shops. Basic 10/22 are very reliable and will always be inaccurate.
If you want a highly accurate semi-auto for target shooting, do not buy a 10/22 and then buy upgrade parts, it is inefficient. Just buy a KIDD from Darrin or a Magnum Research.
If you have your mind set on upgrading your existing 10/22 then in order of importance and benefit, you should upgrade in this order - buffer, trigger, scope, barrel, stock.


Why do people bother with accurasing 10/22?
A lot of people ask this question. high end or highly modded 10/22s are easily $2000+, that is Annie 17xx territory. The first question is, how accurate can they be? If you buy a KIDD or Magnum research, it can be very accurate. while it will never be as accurate as a single shot annie Match 54 but it is not far off. The high end 10/22s have very tight chamber, but the problem is that every round is always slightly deformed as it was forced into the chamber. Most of the time it is only the wax coating that is affected but sometimes the lead must also be slightly affected. Also the triggers, even the mighty KIDD 2-stage, can only go down to 12 ounces ( 6+6). You can never have a annie class hair trigger.

The second question then is, why bother with such expensive 22LR that is never as good as a bolt action? The appeal in an highly accurate semi-auto is the fact that you do not have to re-position yourself after every shot, which you must do with a bolt-action. With a single shot bolt action, you have to move a lot to reload the round and work the bolt; with a repeater bolt action, you move less but still do have to move one arm a lot. That mean after each shot you have to position yourself again. it takes time and your may not get into the perfect position every time. If you are olympics class pro shooter who trains 4 hours a day, every day, then it is not an issue. You will always get into the right position every time. But if you are full time working weekend shooting hobbyist, you probably will not be that good. every time you reload and work the bolt, it lowers your overall consistency and therefore lowers your overall accuracy. For an average hobbyist, 95% consistency of 90% accuracy is much better than 70% consistency of 95% accuracy.

If you are hunting one shot animals, there is not much use for an accurate semi-auto. But if you are shooting possums for example, if you missed the first shot you often have a chance for a follow up shot, then semi-auto is excellent. An accurate semi-auto means you can pull off these 70 meter shots free hand kneeling, which you cannot do (reliably) with a factory grade semi-auto.