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

I have an early (70s) 10/22 that also got the gundoc treatment on the trigger and threading (I bought it used, I'm not that old!). It's also a good shooter. A mate had a early 90s one and that too shot very well (same trigger job). Another guy had a "deluxe" of the same era and found his was a total dog which annoyed him no end when he shot with us. Seems the later production have gone downhill?

I also stripped the polyurethane off the stock and oiled it. Looks like a different rifle now.

I wonder how many of these things gundoc touched up over the years!

Originally Posted by 7x64

I wonder how many of these things gundoc touched up over the years!

I probably averaged 5 a week for more than 40 years. Sometimes I did them in case lots for retailers. I also made a good number of fully suppressed bolt-action .22's (mostly JW15's) that my customers named 'click-pops' (the click of the firing pin and the pop of the rabbit). I would buy 10 rifle case lots of JW15's, tune the bolt and trigger, shorten the barrel to 13" and turn in down in diameter, port the barrel with 12 holes about 2.5" back from the muzzle, thread the barrel just in front of the receiver and fit a full length overbarrel suppressor, and modify the stock barrel channel to suit. They were very quiet and stunningly accurate with Winchester subsonics (1/2" or better at 50 metres). Back to point of 10/22's, the factory barrels are perfectly accurate when properly fitted (just like the Norinco JW15's). Ultimitsu's post above is a real good example of how to waste money. My earlier post in this thread tells how to achieve the same results for well under $100. Go figure!

I only just seen this post and read your comments with interest gundoc as until you mentioned the push fit barrels l had forgotten about them.Back in 85 l was shooting rabbits professionally in oz and the mob we were shooting for had a deal where once you proved your worth you could purchase through them at dealer rates customized Brno Model 2's and also custom 10/22's which had the following done to them-trigger job set at 2lbs-barrel permanently fitted (l thought they were silver soldered but they may well have been loc-tited as you said)-Cleaning hole drilled and tapped-weaver bases with a 2x loopy fitted these were guaranteed to shoot 1/2 inch at 50 mtrs at most and all came with the test target. l got my boss to rummage through them at the office and got one that shot just over 3/8 with the plain wrap bulk winchester solids we used (everything had to be head shot).These were what we used to shoot in the sun set hours from the ute as we drove to our spotlighting block, the rabbits were that thick on the edge of the salt bush desert country where we shot a lot of the rabbits did not burrow but would just push up the salt bush into little hutches and squat there thinking they were safe,the 10/22's were easier to use than a bolt for the bulk shooting involved,we would then swap over to the Brno's for the spotlighting later we had to average 200 pair a night to make a good quid and we shot 250-300 pair a lot of the time.Those little rugers spent their whole working life covered in the fine talcum like desert dust and would only hiccup when maintenance was not kept up .All the work was done by a Gunsmith in Sydney named Heimo Petzl who also set up our Fox and roo Rem 700's in .222, l put that much lead through the ruger l could hit quail flying with it and head shooting rabbits on the run was no problem,l much later went on to represent my state in Skeet shooting and shot on invitation internationally and l really believe it was my time behind the butt on that Ruger that got me to that level.

Originally Posted by gundoc

Back to point of 10/22's, the factory barrels are perfectly accurate when properly fitted (just like the Norinco JW15's). Ultimitsu's post above is a real good example of how to waste money. My earlier post in this thread tells how to achieve the same results for well under $100. Go figure!

Well, good sir, your post puzzle me incredibly. I do not know you and I do not think you know me. What is with the hostility?

I have read all your posts in this thread, the only mod you are suggesting that would affect accuracy of the barrel is "permanently fix the barrel to the receiver". You appear to be saying both that - 1. this is the only cause of 10/22's reputed inaccuracy; and 2. if this is done the rifle should have very good accuracy.

That simply is not true.

There are a number of rifles that has similar quick barrel removal set ups, CZ455 and Sako Quad for example. Yet both are reputed to have accuracy on the other end of the spectrum as the 10/22. In fact, if you put ANY aftermarket slide-in barrel on a factory 10/22 you will notice an instant accuracy improvement. That proves that the problem is not the slide-in fitting but the 10/22 barrel itself.

As for the idea of "waste money". I am not sure what you mean. 10/22's aftermarket stocks and barrels are about the same price as any other guns' (and 10/22 needs them more than most). Are you suggesting that everyone who changes stock and barrel for any gun is wasting money?

The only expensive part that stands out for 10/22 is trigger upgrades. A top end trigger (KIDD 2 stage) cost 600 bucks, that is more than a base rifle. However because the way the factory trigger is designed and the semi-auto nature of the rifle, there is no cheaper way to achieve the same result. If you want to spend less, a drop-in kit cost about 40% that and gives you very good result.

Upgrading parts is expensive for any rifle. The appeal of 10/22 is that most of the upgraded stuff are very easy to install at home and little experience, tools, and hands-on-skill is required.

Originally Posted by Ultimitsu

Well, good sir, your post puzzle me incredibly. I do not know you and I do not think you know me. What is with the hostility?

I have read all your posts in this thread, the only mod you are suggesting that would affect accuracy of the barrel is "permanently fix the barrel to the receiver". You appear to be saying both that - 1. this is the only cause of 10/22's reputed inaccuracy; and 2. if this is done the rifle should have very good accuracy.

That simply is not true.

There are a number of rifles that has similar quick barrel removal set ups, CZ455 and Sako Quad for example. Yet both are reputed to have accuracy on the other end of the spectrum as the 10/22. In fact, if you put ANY aftermarket slide-in barrel on a factory 10/22 you will notice an instant accuracy improvement. That proves that the problem is not the slide-in fitting but the 10/22 barrel itself.

As for the idea of "waste money". I am not sure what you mean. 10/22's aftermarket stocks and barrels are about the same price as any other guns' (and 10/22 needs them more than most). Are you suggesting that everyone who changes stock and barrel for any gun is wasting money?

The only expensive part that stands out for 10/22 is trigger upgrades. A top end trigger (KIDD 2 stage) cost 600 bucks, that is more than a base rifle. However because the way the factory trigger is designed and the semi-auto nature of the rifle, there is no cheaper way to achieve the same result. If you want to spend less, a drop-in kit cost about 40% that and gives you very good result.

Upgrading parts is expensive for any rifle. The appeal of 10/22 is that most of the upgraded stuff are very easy to install at home and little experience, tools, and hands-on-skill is required.

I do not know you and intend no personal disrespect. I was simply pointing out that it is not neccesary to spend a large amount of money on aftermarket parts for the 10/22 when the same result (ie; MOA or better grouping) can be achieved with the factory components and some skilled handwork for less than $100. I will happily concede that a bad batch of 10/22 barrels did come through a few years ago over a period of a few months until the production problem was corrected (and a large number of barrels were replaced under warranty) but apart from that batch, all other Ruger 10/22 factory barrels have been capable of MOA or better accuracy. Getting that accuracy potential out of them required the steps I have mentioned (trigger job, barrel refit, better scope base). The buffer pin replacement protects the telescopic sights from damage (many of the 'scopes have reticules that are made by a metal printing process that is quite fragile to the 'double tap' that occurs when the bolt contacts the steel pin under recoil) and the tuned recoil spring make the rifle reliable with subsonic ammo. Other than the 'scope protection offered by the buffer pin, these last two items have no bearing on accuracy. The trigger job is an essential thing to bring out the best in all Rugers (and most other rifles) as they are usually set quite heavy at the factory for product liability protection in the USA. The standard 10/22 trigger mechanism can be tuned to a crisp and reliable 2lbs by a person with the required skills and a thorough understanding of the many nuances of trigger mechanisms. I can do such trigger jobs in 15 minutes, but then I have the benefit of having worked on thousands of 10/22's since my first one in 1966. Over the years I did a large number of full custom 10/22's incorporating all of the ideas that are now touted by various aftermarket manufacturers as being the best thing since sliced bread, and they turned out very good but at a fairly high price. I could tune the factory 10/22's to the same level of performance and did a vast number of them at $40 a pop. If I could do them for that (and make good money at it) as recently as 4 years ago, then I am assuming that a suitably skilled young gunsmith today could achieve the same results for under $100 (or am I expecting too much to get under that price for 40 minutes work?). Regarding the take-down barrel systems on the Sako Quad and the CZ455, they are both mechanically superior to the Ruger 10/22 system (subject to being correctly fitted by the shooter). Rest assured that you, and your fellow enthusiasts that subscribe to the aftermarket parts syndrome, will continue to put a smile on retailers faces for years to come! More power to your elbow! In conclusion I must point out that the greatest contributing factor to the accurate performance of any rifle lies with the shooter. I don't know of any rifle available new on the NZ market that is not capable of better performance (for its intended purpose) than most shooters are capable of achieving under normal conditions. With the exception of specialised target rifles, .22 rimfire rifles are manufactured for the hunting of small game out to a maximum range of 100 metres (although most small game is taken at shorter ranges). A rifle capable of MOA performance will kill any small game at 100 metres in the right hands, and a tuned, but otherwise standard, 10/22 will certainly do that. But hey, what do I know? Now that I am retired from a successful 50 year career as a gunsmith and have managed to save a shilling, I buy aftermarket bits for my Corvette just because I like the look! I am not able to drive it to its full potential.