10/22 advice for a novice

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  • JeepDriver

    Self confessed gun snob
    Aug 28, 2006
    5,193
    White Marsh
    Buy a doner rifle and do it all yourself. It's much more satisifying.

    I just built my suppressed 10/22.

    I bought the suppressed barrel, a new 10/22 (only $167), Hougue Over Molded stock, all the Volquartsen trigger parts and assembled it my self. The trigger group stuff is easy. In fact there really isn't anything on a 10/22 that is all that hard.
     

    E.Shell

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 5, 2007
    10,245
    Mid-Merlind
    I agree w/Jeep, do it yourself, pick and choose your options, save a couple bucks and enjoy yourself.

    IMHO, the action you have listed is a marginal value, since some of those "upgrades" may or may not contribute to better accuracy or reliability.

    I would suggest a well-used rifle as a donor, often available relatively cheap, and plenty easy to work on. If you can find one beat up and a little rusty and priced accordingly, so much the better, since the stock and barrel go anyway.

    I'd suggest putting the $40 Volquartsen Target Hammer Kit in it, which already contains three or four of the line items listed for the custom action upgrades and drops the trigger pull to pretty decent 2-3/4# all by itself. Just the fact that they padded the description of upgrades by itemizing kit parts disturbs me some . . .

    The extractor upgrade IS a good idea, since many/most aftermarket barrels will have tight and/or short chambers and there can be difficulty extracting a live round with some. Don't go shooting w/o a pocketknife . . .

    I have an extended mag release that came with one rifle when I bought it and I personally don't like it. In fact, I would trade it for an OEM version. It is located just behind the balance point of the rifle, and the edge of my hand touches it while I'm carrying one-handed. It is easy to hit unintentionally and I have used mine to lose several magazines, and it's very easy to drop a mag while manipulating the bolt release. Once one gets the feel for the OEM release, it works just fine and IMHO, the extended release cures a non-existent problem and creates a new one.

    I don't see a big deal with polishing the bolt, and the four 10/22s I have work OK "as is", even with sub-sonics. If it runs slow, it needs cleaning and/or lube. . .

    A 10/22's headspace is controlled by the depth of the bolt face recess, and the single biggest improvement one can do to the bolt is to carefully mill the face of it to get to minimum headspace and thus achieve best and most consistent ignition. This can be easily done at home with simple supplies, reasonable care and decent measuring tools. Odd that they skipped this step, considering what they're trying to accomplish . . .

    The $11 polyurethane buffer is good to have if you're trying to keep your action noise/bolt slap down in a suppressed rifle, but a gazillion regular rifles out there work just fine forever with the plain steel pin that comes stock.

    http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=9
     

    bowtiebandit

    Active Member
    Feb 24, 2007
    549
    Columbia
    Thanks everyone

    E.Shell..thank you for the input

    I joined rimfire the other night...think it confused me more..

    Are there any books of value worth reading? I saw a few on Amazon but if there like the aftermarket Manuals for vehicles I wont bother.
     

    E.Shell

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 5, 2007
    10,245
    Mid-Merlind
    . . . I joined rimfire the other night...think it confused me more..

    LOL, for the price of versatility . . . :sad20:

    Are there any books of value worth reading? I saw a few on Amazon but if there like the aftermarket Manuals for vehicles I wont bother.

    With so many relatively recent developments and so much good info online, I've never read a 10/22 book that really contained any revelations.

    IMHO, you'll need to decide what you'd like to accomplish, and then simply take it one step at a time and focus on the task at hand.

    Do you plan to compete with it? Do you want a heavy barreled tack driver that might weight as much as a full-size deer rifle? A lightweight but accurate squirrel rifle? A position rifle or rimfire silhouette gun? Do you want traditional styling, or do you like the crazy laminated colors and shapes or even the space gun look? FWIW, don't feel too bad if you can't make up your mind, I never could, and over the years wound up with a small pile of them for different uses. :o

    Some things will be common to any version . . .

    Your action work would be a safe place to start, since you'll likely want reliability and accuracy in any package configuration. As with many things in life, like horsepower for example, the "first 90%" comes pretty cheap and easy, the "next 5%" improvement will cost a bit more, and that "last 5%" of exploited potential may well run you broke. . . .:shocked2:

    I've taken several standard 10/22s and installed the Volquartsen target hammer kits and achieved a decent trigger pull of about 2-3/4#. For my use, this is GTG, but if you want a crisp(er) match-grade trigger, you'll want to invest in a few more parts. If you want the ultimate in a crisp trigger, ZERO creep and minimal over-travel, you may find yourself buying a complete, professionally done trigger group for a couple hundred bucks. This stuff can be done in phases, as you determine what is working for you; i.e.: a target hammer now, the whole trigger kit later if needed, even the complete fire control group by one of the big names if you find your trigger is costing you match points.

    Replacing the extractor is recommended for any upgraded barrel and is one of the easier steps, way less complicated than rebuilding a manual Warn hub. This can be done in conjunction with adjusting your headspace, since you'll want the projecting extractor out of the way at that time anyway. Good instructions may be had at the Rimfire Central site for all of this, and the Volq. parts come w/passable instructions.

    The barrel would be the next/biggest choice you'd need to make, and your barrel selection will drive your choice of an appropriate stock. There are quite a few barrels out there, good, bad and mediocre, and looking through the commentary at RFC will educate you on the choices. Almost ANY aftermarket barrel is going to be better than the average OEM barrel, except the "10/22 Target" guns have the hammer forged heavy barrel that often shoots well as is. As with any precision rifle, your rimfire accuracy will be determined mainly by your barrel, so this is not the place to cut corners if max accuracy is part of your goal. Once you pick a barrel profile and length (which is far less important to accuracy than bore quality), you'll only have a stock and optics to mess with.

    The main difference in stocks will be the barrel channel, either fitting the standard profile, or the .920" bull barrel. The typical stock designed for the OEM barrel will be a sporter style, and bull barrel stocks run the whole range from Schnabel tipped sporters to psychedelic laminates, and from nice wood to laminates in a million shapes/colors to synthetics.

    "Rigidity" would be my watchword in selecting a 10/22 stock, since, due to the cantilever forces and weight, the barrel should be bedded vs the action. Some of the synthetics I've seen are worse than poor in this respect and will cause wandering zeros and groups enlarged by varying stock pressure and rest positions.

    For optics, while better quality is always better, one would mainly want to make sure the parallax is adjustable down into the ".22 rimfire range" of 10-15 yards out a little beyond 100. Normal rifle scopes are typically factory preset to 100 yards, and the close range focus and parallax correction is lacking. There are a large number of appropriate scopes around, and choosing a price range and intended function will help narrow that choice down.

    To give you an idea of possibilities; I have a Leupold Vari-X III 4.5-14x40 on my heavy target rifle, which has adjustable parallax down to less than 25 yards. At 4.5x, it has a good field of view and is comfortable to shoot at closer ranges, and at 14x, one can see to shoot quite well beyond 100 yards. The only thing really lacking with this rig as a target-style elevation turret, so I can dial in precisely at longer ranges, vs holding over approximately. My main "go to" gun with the suppressed heavy barrel has a Leupold 3-9x32 EFR (Extended Focus Range), which adjusts down to a little less than 10 yards. My "rabbit gun" is a very light, short rifle with the factory sporter stock and a lightweight barrel shortened to 16-1/4", and I had a Leupold Vari-X II 1-4x parallax corrected by Premier Reticle to be focused at 50 yards for it, vs the OEM 100 yard setting. At 1x, this rifle can be quickly brought up and fired with both eyes open, making it very fast. At 4x, it has enough magnification for head-shooting squirrels at 50 and beyond.

    It IS a lot to decide, and not unlike outfitting an AR-15, with all the possible "bells & whistles", but, just like the AR-15, not every rifle has to have every accessory and every possible "upgrade" to be functional and it just becomes a matter of finding out what you really need for YOUR application.
     

    Adams74Chevy

    Hits broadsides of barns
    Oct 3, 2007
    2,699
    Carroll Co.
    Ok fellas my question can fit right in here with this thread. I have been looking about at the 10/22 's and don't know which is the best way to go. I doubt I'll do a supressed one simple because $200 for the tax stamp I could use else where. I was wondering for range and accuracy is it better to get the carbine or rifle and switch out the barrel for a target barrel or is it better to get the Original target barreled version and just tweak everything else. For me I guess bang for my buck is #1. I am not much on the stocks that look like they came out of a sci fi movie, so I am just as happy with an old wooden stock or a simple standard looking composite. I just want to have a fun accurate plinker.
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
    Moderator
    May 22, 2005
    122,856
    One of the things you might consider would be to go ahead and get the aftermarket barrel that's already threaded. That way should you later decide to go the suppressed route, you'll be good to go.
     

    h2u

    Village Idiot
    Jul 8, 2007
    6,694
    South County
    Ok fellas my question can fit right in here with this thread. I have been looking about at the 10/22 's and don't know which is the best way to go. I doubt I'll do a supressed one simple because $200 for the tax stamp I could use else where. I was wondering for range and accuracy is it better to get the carbine or rifle and switch out the barrel for a target barrel or is it better to get the Original target barreled version and just tweak everything else. For me I guess bang for my buck is #1. I am not much on the stocks that look like they came out of a sci fi movie, so I am just as happy with an old wooden stock or a simple standard looking composite. I just want to have a fun accurate plinker.

    For a fun, accurate plinker- just buy one and shoot it. No need to do anything. Add an optic to increase accuracy. You probably will find it's accurate enough without buying a stock or barrel or trigger group or......

    10-22's are just FUN.
     

    3rdRcn

    RIP
    Industry Partner
    Sep 9, 2007
    8,961
    Harford County
    I agree with h2u, they are fun right out of the box. No need to do anything but buy some glass for it and some decent ammo, bada bing, it's a tack driver. My CZ452 does shoot better groups but it is a bolt action and not as fun as shooting my daughters 10/22.
     

    E.Shell

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 5, 2007
    10,245
    Mid-Merlind
    Yeah, a standard model is GTG, but with one qualification: The factory trigger pull is usually akin to dragging one metric ton across a gravel road with your index finger . . . I've seen them almost 8#, which exceeds the weight of the entire rifle.

    The Volquartsen "Target Hammer" kit rocks and is an upgrade well worth the (reasonable) price of admission.
     

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