Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires 10/22 to build or to buy?

I know some of you get pizzed when I say you can build a good 10/22 on the cheap, and still end up with a damn fine shooting rifle. I did, and have done this multiple times. You start out by finding a good quality used rifle, if you don't already have one. Then you start in with testing the factory configuration to see how well it shoots. Keeping in mind, that if you want to replace a part, or upgrade a part, that is totally up to you. However, in this thread I am going to be talking about building one on the "cheap", and doing some of the work yourself.

One of the first things I'll do, to start in with the accurizing process is headspacing the bolt. You can read about this on some sites like rimfire central, so I won't go into too much detail. The idea here is to minimize, or reduce the amount of fliers your rifle will produce, but adjusting the headspacing on the face of the bolt (bolt face). Generally most factory Ruger 10/22 rifles come with a sloppy headspacing. This is so you can shoot multiple brands of ammo reliably. However, I've seen some factory bolts measure about .050", which is too sloppy for my taste. I believe the minimum SAAMI spec is .043". Because of this minimum spec, I'll shoot for around .044" when I resurface the bolt face on my 10/22's. The best way to check this is with a depth mic.


However, if you don't have one of those, you can use the tail end of your caliper. The important thing here is to make sure you keep your bolt face as square to the barrel as possible. I always check the mating surfaces with dykem blue. I probably won't show a lot of pictures of some of these processes. I will also show a new rifle that I just bought, and you be the judge, as to which way you may want to go if it were you wanting a good 10/22.

So on to the next thing that I'll generally buy for my 10/22 rifle. A good stock. I like and use the Magpul X-22 stock. They are around $125.00 on ebay right now. A great stock for the price tag. They have a lot of adjustment for length of pull, and you can also change the cheek piece, if you need to. These stocks are very lightweight, and are cool because you can use a factory barrel, or switch the barrel channel inserts around and you can use a .920" heavy barrel. A useful feature for sure.

Next on the list is working over the factory trigger. Keeping in mind, I'm trying to do this on a budget. I really like the Volquartsen trigger parts, such as the target hammer and trigger kit. Those will generally set you back about $60.00, and you get a great trigger, if you want to spend the time doing it.

Talking about spending time doing something, the auto bolt release mod is a great one. Who likes messing with the factory cluster fu ck of a bolt release on these rifles??? Not me. Anyway, to do it right and quick you will need to remove some material on this piece:

It's located inside your trigger housing. It is very easy to get to. Remove 2 pins and its out. This is the tool I like to use:

That carbide bit makes short work of this process:

I know, in another thread I said it only takes 3 seconds: I lied. It took 10 seconds, after I put it in the vise and started grinding away at the material. It's simple, if you have the tools.

Now, if you found that your factory barrel is not shooting dime sized groups, or living up to your accuracy expectations, buy an aftermarket barrel. The choice is up to you. However, I like and use the Kidd barrels because they are guaranteed to shoot 1/2" at 50 yards with match grade ammo. These barrels are not a spin of the roulette wheel either. They shoot damn well. The other day, I was on ebay and saw a nice stainless 20" heavy barrel for $257.00. Back a few years ago, when I built my current rifle, I believe the 20" stainless fluted model was about that price.

Now, something that needs to be brought up is selling your original parts, to recoup some of the money you spent on the barrel and stock. Sell your original barrel and original stock. Sometimes you'll be amazed at how much someone is willing to pay for those items, if they are in good condition. It could possibly knock a couple hundred off the price of those parts you just bought. Something to keep in mind here.

If you are following along, this is what the rifle I described to you, looks like:


This is how a good Kidd barrel shoots:


I have something like $473.00 into this rifle.

In the next post, I'll share with you what I bought yesterday. It's a very good example of what is out there right now, if you get out there and look!!! I've been seeing some good deals on 10/22's lately. Some very good deals. Prices ranging from $175.00 and up. Any of you play with some of the 10/22 clones? You can even buy 80% receivers now too.

Now, to buy:

I found a cool clone yesterday. The receiver is made by Tactical Innovations, and it's stainless steel:


As you can see, it has a rail that is integral to the receiver. That makes for a great scope mounting alternative. I know some have stripped out those scope base holes in the 10/22 aluminum receiver. You don't have to worry about that with a receiver like this one.

This rifle has some good parts on it, including the Boydes At One competition stock, that is fully adjustable.


In this picture, I pulled the rifle apart to show what it came with. I left the barrel attached to the receiver. It is a stainless fluted and threaded 18" heavy barrel Green Mountain.


This stainless receiver is pretty nice. The bolt slides back and forth very smoothly:



It came with a matchgrade bolt. The headspace measured .0435", which is good enough for the girls i go with.


A nice feature that you find with some of these 10/22 clones is the hole in the back of the receiver for the purpose of cleaning the bore.


I like how they capped it off too. I don't think I'd ever modify a factory Ruger 10/22, but I welcome this feature on a 10/22 clone.

Anyway, this rifle set me back $575.00, but the parts used to build it cost much more. The way I see it, is you are money ahead by buying used.

I put an older Weaver V16 4-16x42 on top and will take it to the range later today. I'll test a bunch of different kinds of ammo and let you guys know how she does. I'm hoping this Green mountain barrel shoots better than the last one I had!!!


I also forgot to mention, this rifle is in dire need of a bedding job. But this is a shoot first and see how it does, then make some minor improvements to get it to shoot better thread. I'll keep you posted on that as well.

Great info and advice.

Kool. Looking forward to the testing!

This may be a dumb question but what method do you use to resurface the bolt face?

Thanks for posting. I am looking forward to reading more as I am wanting to put together a 10/22 for squirrel hunting and informal target shooting.

If you can find one of these it will shoot better than most shooters. This one comes with the Ruger BX trigger. It has a 20" mid-weight target barrel. If you don't go crazy heavy on a scope weight can be right at 7 lbs scoped which isn't too heavy to hunt with. The barrel weight makes it shoot well offhand.

https://ruger.com/products/1022Carbine/specSheets/31173.html

These are a little easier to find. Same rifle with a wood stock and standard trigger. If you upgrade the trigger they shoot pretty well.

https://ruger.com/products/1022Sporter/specSheets/31167.html
https://ruger.com/products/1022Sporter/specSheets/31166.html

I have one of each. I got them for around $350. My Tikka T1x is a little more accurate, but not by much.

Try a Fedderson nickle bronze receiver

Good post BSA. Good refresher as I’m about to start tweaking my sons 10/22 with parts from Santa. Boy #2 might get his own also if Santa is feeling generous…

Thanks for the post!

I like the option of free floating the barrel on a 10-22 but I'm wondering if you only do that on a steel receiver?

On your Tactical Innovations stainless you have the barrel droop compensating V block. Is that barrel free floated?

Does a droop compensating v block also work on an aluminum receiver?

It hasn't been needed so far with my TALO LVT 10-22 but you never know...

Thanks!

Traveler,

Do you have one? If so your experience. I read a review that the interior finish was a bit rough.

Jerry

Very nice. Have you tried the factory LVT? Those look like damn good shooters, are not exceptionally heavy and are priced very well. I think if a guy was pinching pennies, that would be damn hard to beat.

Alright guys. I see there is some interest, which is great. I will go over some range time with you then. The last 2 days have been miserable here. It snowed the first day I went out. I had to sit in the car for 30 minutes waiting for the snow to slow down. It would have just caked the inside of the objective lens if I didn't wait it out.

First day before touching the bedding on the rifle:



First group:


Second group:


Third group:


4th group:


5th group:


Last group from yesterday (12-1-23):


That RWS Semi Auto ammo is looking like some damn good stuff.. Accuracy was not very good, keeping in mind this was shot before the necessary bedding work and the weather was crappy. The reason I did not shoot many groups this day. On the next post, I'll show the results of todays range testing, after bedding work. Weather was dryier, which was very nice, but it was windier than hell!!!

Ok, new day and some bedding under that receiver!!!!


This is what I call a 6 minute bedding job on a 10/22. I have done the same thing to my Magpul stocked Ruger 10/22 rifle:


This adds support under a void, that you can sometimes have on these rifles. This new rifle was horrible. By doing this, it allows you to tighten the action screw any way you like and it will not have an effect on the rifles accuracy. One test I always do is after shooting for a little while, loosen the action screw, then re-tighten the screw and see if you get a shift in POI. When done right, you will have no shift at all.

Anyway, todays shooting goes like this:
Note: read notes on the targets. You'll see a huge POI shift after bedding. Now the rifle is laying in the stock stress free. Before, it was being stressed. Obvious from the shift in POI:

Started off with the RWS Semi Auto, since that is where I left off the day before:


Strange how the first 2 groups look damn near identical^^^


Cheap Federal Automatch:



Only 1 scope adjustment I made today:

Fairly "zeroed", so I left it there for the rest of the day.




Now for the fun:



Better groups to come on the next post........

Boy, did I say it was windy??? Well, that rifle didn't care. The wind speeds were not nearly as much as the phone said. I'm kind of protected from the wind a little where I shoot. Yet, I'll bet the winds were a minimum of 10 mph and gust up to 15 anyway..

Groups be damned!!!!:



I can shoot hearts all day long with this rifle^^





I am showing what the rifle actually did with all types of ammo. From hunting ammo, hp's, and match grade stuff, semi auto ammo, and cheap bulk plinking ammo. I'm pretty happy with the rifle, and know it's going to be a shooting machine. Can't wait to have a calm day to shoot and see what it can really do!!!!!

Something that I should add is I've been burned before on Green Mountain barrels, but have buddies that have some that shoot lights out. I'm thinking this one is a good one. Further tests will prove that!!

You guys have had some good suggestions so far, keep them coming. Thanks!!! If you want, we can do a show and tell of what you have done to your Ruger 10/22 or clone. List parts, and show some pics. Let us know how they shoot too!!!

Honestly, I think the only thing I am going to add to this rifle is an extended magazine release lever. One like what I run on my Ruger 10/22:

It hangs out under the trigger guard and is very user friendly. I already have one ordered and will be here in a few days..

Wondering what the cost is? Is it actually a nickle bronze material, aluminum, or what? I am liking my stainless receiver. Don't look at the price of one of those though, they are over $500.00. Keeping in mind, when I started this thread, it was about keeping costs as low as you can. The reason I opted to buy this one. I knew the sum of the parts was worth way more than the complete rifle, so I laid down the cash.

I’m assuming these were shot at 50 yards?

What are you using for bedding compound?

BSA: What range did you shoot those groups? Thanks.

Yep, shot at 50 yards. When shooting competition at my club, we always shoot 50 yards rimfire. 10 shots on target are minimum as well, when we are shooting paper. Our speed shoots and head to head challenges are a little different, but always shot at 50 yards. Thanks for the replies.

It's quick and it's strong. All that is necessary for one of these rifles. I use Hornady one shot case lube for release agent. It works very well. Sometimes a modeling clay is needed, so it does not form a mechanical lock in the crevices of the bottom of the barrel V-block. This one was not bad, so I didn't even do that. Modeling clay can also be used to find out how thick your bedding material needs to be. The main thing is to not stress your barreled action when torquing your action screw down. This remedies that and also makes your rifle shoot more consistently. The other plus is I can remove the barreled action from the stock, clean it, put it back in the stock, tighten the action screw down as per usual and not have a shift in POI, or have to worry about what torque spec I used on the action screw.

What a great thread!!! Thanks

Great thread!
Thanks for posting some useful information.
I am new to the10/22, bought a takedown a few years ago because the price was right.

0ne great things about 10/22 is they are plentiful and the availability of aftermarket parts.

I have a red dot on the takedown model and it shoots remarkably well.

Encouraging me to build another with scope and see just how accurate I could make it.

Because its a takedown I am not familiar with the V block arrangement.

I started looking at takedown barrels with the rail attached to the barrel. Seems like it would potentially circumvent all the V block issues.

Any thoughts on this?

Great writeup, bsa.

Thanks bsa. I just spent the last hour looking at 10/22 parts, which lead me to mk3 parts. I appreciate the time you spent on this article and relighting an old fire.

John, I wish I knew more about the takedown models. I do know they can shoot very well. One of my buddies is set up like yours with a red dot and it shoots surprisingly well. His likes that Tac22 ammo, so I gave him a few boxes. I was disappointed that this rifle does not like it, nor does one of my Savage bolt actions. Maybe I got a bad lot, because I know some of the other Tac22 shot really well in my Kidd barreled 10/22.

Check out this video. It's a pretty good one on the takedown model:

I'm glad you guys are liking this thread. It's been fun shooting this new rifle. I just looked at the weather report for tomorrow (12-4-23) and the wind is going to die way down. Something like 2-5 mph, which is very calm for around here. I may have to take the Kidd barreled rifle out with this new rifle and do some rifle dueling. 2 10/22's side by side comparison and shootout!! Been watching some videos on Youtube as well. Guys like Don (Rimfire SS) can sure shoot these rifles. His video's are always very informative:



If I shoot tomorrow, I'll let you guys know how they do.

After watching some of these youtube videos, I'm starting to wonder if I should be shooting 5 shot groups instead?? Would be much easier and conserve ammo. However, for a 22lr I'm used to shooting 10 shots for score. What say you guys??

I have to bed a buddies 10/22 and I am running low on Marine Tex so I think I will go to the hardware store and try some of the JB stick stuff, never used it before.

I've watched a couple of his videos. What I found most surprising is the difference between various bolts. He seems to like the Faxon bolt a lot. Might be worth checking it out to further tighten groups.

It works well. Just rough up the stock good, so it will stick. Hornady one shot case lube works great for release agent. The trick with it is to check to see how much you actually need with a little modeling clay. I will roll up a small ball in the palm of my hand. I'm talking pea size ball of modeling clay, then put your action in the stock. Press the action down in the stock, and then pull the action back out. Measure the thickness of the clay. Then you'll know how much steel stick you need. You can use a little more than your clay thickness, but keep in mind this is not runny or thin like your regular epoxy. When it hardens, it is strong. You will have about 6-8 minutes to work with this stuff. I'll generally run the action screw in, without putting too much pressure on the screw, while the JB hardens. With my stocks, I use the supplied pressure pad on the Magpul, and the Boyds stock is not freefloated, so where the stock stops the barrel and action, that is where I want it. I don't want to induce any kind of stress on the receiver. Some guys will actually float the receiver on these, but I don't like that either. I'd rather it were secure and in a constant state, in the same position in the stock every time, so I don't have to worry about where the torque setting is on the action screw. The reason for me doing this is because I like to pull the barreled action out of the stock when I clean the rifle.

I've actually had to pull my gun apart at a shoot before because I tried a different lubricant (Mil Spec CLP). That CLP was cheap, and I found out real quick why it was so cheap. It gummed up my 10/22 with the Kidd barrel, where it kept jamming up. The Kidd barrel is very sensitive to that type of thing because the match chamber is very tight. I was shooting it a few weeks ago, testing out some of the old Winchester T22 target ammo, and the lube mixed with the freezing temps were causing failure to feeds. Anyway, at that shoot, I pulled it apart, sprayed the inside out with rem oil, put it back together and was back to hitting golf balls that were hanging by strings at 50 yards. No other issues the rest of the day. The point of the story is I don't like a rifle that shifts POI. You shouldn't have to carry a torque wrench with you, where ever you go. I guess I'm old school that way.

If you bed your buddies rifle, let us know how it goes. Good luck with it!! Some stocks are in desperate need of this bedding process, and others not so much. One way to tell is if different torque settings effect POI or accuracy. You can also tell if when you tighten your action screw, you can see or feel the stock and receiver moving to meet each other. Tests can be done with a dial indicator as well, but not necessary.

Of the videos I've been watching, he's been praising the Brownells bolts. He has a few rifle builds where he uses that bolt in particular. I've had good luck with the JWH Custom precision bolts. The main thing is your bolt face needs to be perfectly square to the barrel with as close to 100% contact as possible. The upgraded bolts also offer things that reduce firing pin bounce, so as to keep things more consistent, and we know consistency is always key to great accuracy/precision. With my 10/22's where I use my original bolts, I'll work them over a bit. Polishing, radius the rear of the bolt to ease operation and make it more reliable. I also replace the extractor, firing pin and springs with a kit from Volquartsen. This is mainly if I'm going to use it in competition. I need it to be reliable and as accurate as possible.

Here's a video on the Magpul X22 Hunter stock. A good way to go, if you want to upgrade your 10/22 stock:



It may not be the best stock, but for the price point it works very well. Just bear in mind, you may need to bed it.

This was another review by Don on another round of bolt reviews:

Ah ha. Thanks buddy!

Went to the range today, to duel some rifles.


The first targets shot today, from cold clean bores:

I love the fact they are still shooting to the same exact place as I left them. I've had these out of the stocks, as I've explained to clean them.

First targets from the Elite 22S. I'm going to call it that because Tactical innovations Elite 22S is too long:




First targets shot with the Kidd barreled 10-22:




Elite 22S with Eley Club XTRA ammo:



Conditions were pretty nice. Temps from 48 to 51 degrees and about a 5mph wind. The rifles functioned very reliably, but there were some FTF on some of the lubed ammo. Got a couple FTF in the Kidd barreled 10-22, after about 100 rounds downrange. There were only 2 FTF on the Elite 22S. I'll post some more pics of how the Ruger 10-22 compared to the Tactical Innovations Elite 22S in the next post.

Eley club XTRA fired through the Ruger 10-22 with the Kidd barrel:




Scores are pretty similar at this point.

Next up is the Federal Gold Medal Match in the Elite 22S:



Federal Gold Medal Match in Ruger 10-22 with Kidd barrel:


This ammo is the preferred ammo for this rifle. It always shoots very well.

More pics in the next post................

The grand finale:

Elite 22S with Wolf Match Target ammo:



Ruger 10-22 with Kidd barrel. Wolf Match Target:



I couldn't be happier with either of these rifles. There was not much seasoning between groups, as you can see. I think with their preferred ammo, they can be pretty competitive against one another. I was at the range for 3 hours, and shot more, but I won't bore you with the groups shot with CCI STD Velocity, and the Winchester T22 target ammo. Hope you guys enjoyed this thread. It's been fun!!



Whether you build or buy, these things can be fun. With the right ammo, they can really lay them in there.

Heck of a write up as per usual BSA.. detailed and informative👍🏼

That was a great grab on that TI rifle and it looks like it doesn’t disappoint

Thanks buddy. I got lucky on that one, for sure. Even if it would have been an aluminum receiver, it would have still been a good buy, but it being stainless is the icing on the cake.. I was thinking of you and your brothers today, as I was littering the side of the bench with brass casings. I know you guys are ankle deep in that stuff sometimes!! ha ha..

Upon further review of the targets, I think the Kidd is the winner. But the Elite 22S won in reliability. Not by much, but it ran like a sewing machine today. I haven't counted it up, but I believe I fired off about 200 rounds through each rifle. Good day at the range.

I'd like to try some good Lapua Center X through these, and see how they fare. I also wish I had some more of that RWS Semiauto target ammo. That stuff looked like it really wanted to shine the other day. Unfortunately I only saw one box of that at Wiley Brothers in Reno.

I'd like to see what the " common " stuff did. CCI SV, Norma Tac, Fed Automatch, etc.................different opinion on Green Mt. barrels now???????????? LOL LOL Messin with ya! Thanks friend!

I always enjoy a good 10/22 thread and I enjoy a nice shooting 1/22 even better. These days I don't mind spending a bundle on one if it's going to be for me.

Hahah damn bsa you know I’m a sucker for accuracy but boy there’s nothing like saying F it and carpeting the floor in brass..

One of the biggest reasons I’m a huge KIDD fanboy is I swear thru probably 10-15k rounds thru mine I will honestly say I can’t recall a single misfire.. that’s the truth

That gun simply never bobbles not once. I have rimfires costing 3x as much and they piss me off from time to time but man that kidd…

It’s a gun I grab every single time and you know that means a bunch

Well, I wasn't feeling 100% today, so I stopped shooting about 3 hours into it. That is not like me though. As far as liking GM barrels better now, I still feel the same way. I have some buddies that shoot at my club in Washington that swear by them and I've seen how they shoot. Even the lightweight contours shoot good. I've just had a couple bad ones. This one is doing pretty good though. I am happy with it.

Ok, Here are the results of some lesser ammo like the CCI Standard velocity and the Winchester T22 target ammo. I didn't quite feel up to shooting the real cheap stuff today. I'm pretty sure the American Eagle would have done better in both rifles, as would the Automatch. Maybe next time out, I'll try them head to head again. Anyway, here's the rest of the targets. Obviously no cherry picking going on here my friend. It would be cool to see how your Feddersen barrel shoots with different ammo.

CCI Standard velocity "target" ammo in the Elite 22S:




CCI Standard velocity Ruger 10-22 with Kidd barrel:




Winchester T22 target ammo in the Elite 22S:

Ruger 10-22 with Winchester T22 Target ammo:

That's an awesome rifle man. Keep in mind the ammo I'm using is all about 20 years old and the lube is either real sticky or powder from sitting in the boxes. ha ha.. Check out these old suckers:


I also remember starting a thread on some of this ammo and no one had ever seen or heard of it before. The FGMM is pretty cool, with the center of the rim punched for some weird reason. Probably to aide in getting the priming compound just right around the rim of the case:


This ammo was manufactured in 1992, which was more than 31 years ago. it's not as old as some ammo I've seen at my club. Some of those old bastids are shooting ammo from back in the 60's!!!

I don't know how old this stuff is, but the lube is pretty tacky.


If I were just running non lubed American Eagle, this rifle runs without flaw as well.

BSA, when you bedded yours, did you put any bedding under the back of the receiver (on the little shelf), or under the barrel?

Nope. It sits on the shelf just fine, and the barrel rests on the stock. I'm more focused on the void that you often have right at the action screw area. I want the rifle to lay in there as neutral as possible, without any stress induced when I tighten the action screw. Hopefully that makes sense buddy. I've also experimented with freefloating the barrel, and find that the last few 10-22's shoot better with contact through the barrel channel. Again, in a neutral state. No hard upward pressure or anything like that. The cool thing about that magpul x22 hunter stock is they provide a tension ring, that you can adjust pressure to the barrel:


One thing you guys may notice is the lack of huge fliers that you always hear about with these rifles. I've had some that were extreme, prior to bedding them. I've also used Devcon 10110, but that depends on the rifle and stock and how much bedding material you need. You asked about the rear of the receiver, if it is not making contact, I'll put some bedding in the rear. However, these 2 rifles did not require it.

I have heard of people using RTV in the barrel channel at a couple of points to leave the barrel "neutral" but provide a little damping. Have you ever tried anything like that?

Done something similar with a foam ear plug on a heavy kidd barrel to help with droop.

I usually buy one of the cheap 10 dollar pillars for the action screw on a 10/22 if I get serious about one. Then bed that area. I've bed the rear also on one and I'll tell you that action only goes in a certain way and makes a noticeable pop when it goes in.

I've heard that too. Seems interesting. It would probably work. However, I don't know how it would affect torque on the action screw. That is where some guys get lost, chasing their tail. Then they are back to playing with action screw torque to get the best accuracy, and maybe dealing with POI shift.

So, the question is still do you build or buy. If you buy, do you buy used to keep costs down? I took a risk on buying this stainless TI Elite 22S build, but it looked very well thought out and priced right. Far less than it would have cost to actually build it.

Something I forgot to mention about these rifles is trigger pull weight:

This build has a poly unmarked trigger housing. Generally I prefer an aluminum housing, like the one on my other rifle, but this one is working well. I probably won't change it. The only marking on this housing I've found was a "T". I don't know if that means it's for a target model or what?



The pull weight on the Kidd barreled 10-22:


Both rifles for comparison:

The one on the top, costing $575.00 and the one on the bottom costing $473.00 (roughly). Both have their pluses for sure.

As a comparison, you could buy a competition model for around $750-800. One that intrigues me is the LVT model, which can be found for under $400.00. Been hearing a lot of good things about that one, and they can come with a wood stock or Hogue overmold. That 20" Talo may be one to watch out for.

Like I said previously, in a different thread, I saw a nice older target model with laminated wood stock for $275 the other day. That would make a good platform and would possibly only need a new barrel. Sell the factory hammer forged heavy barrel to recoup some of the cost towards a Kidd barrel. You could be into something like that for around $450.00. The route you take is almost limitless.

For cheap ammo testing, I shot more American Eagle yesterday. It is pretty inexpensive, but consistent in most of my rifles. This is the stuff sold in bricks of 400.


The first 5 or 6 went into the same hole^^

Then shot another group to confirm:

I hate to discount fliers, but without the fliers to the right, those 2 groups would be pretty good for cheap ammo.

This is after a good cleaning, a new nylon/polyurethane bolt buffer, and the extended mag release lever install. I'm liking the new rifle, and yes the GM barrel is shooting good, but not nearly as well as the Kidd barreled 10/22. It's an excellent rifle though. Very happy with the purchase.

Interesting thread, I am getting inspired!

I was looking at Kidd parts and see they make a reciever with a "rear tang", and a bolt on rear tang for a stock reciever.

Have you experimented with those at all?

Good question John. I have not. They look interesting, but may not really be needed. I've heard of some fitment issues caused by that rear tang. However, if I ran across one for cheap I would not be afraid to give one a try. I think for my needs, the best route to take is buy a nice used rifle for $200.00, sell off the extra parts, install a Kidd barrel and stock of your choice and do some of the mods I mention, and you will have a damn good rifle on the cheap. These are fun to mess with. If you do happen to buy the Kidd, let us know your experience. Thanks!

If you just clean your 10/22 from the ejection port and the magazine well, you can skip this.

One of the annoying 10/22 quirks is when the action is out of the stock, the receiver pins and the magazine release pin tends to fall out.

The Kidd receiver pins require you to chamfer your action (where they go in) and also require the use of two tiny hex wrenches to remove them. I've tried a few of the 'oversized' receiver pins with mixed results.

I've replaced all of my receiver and magazine release pins with these Tandemkross 'Enhanced' pins. The detent holds them securely and they are easy to remove when needed.

Jerry



https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1020934216?pid=700911

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1025150116?pid=757562

Great suggestion Jerry. I've seen those before, and they look nifty. The 10/22 clone I have, doesn't need them, the pins that go through that stainless receiver are tight as nun's hunt.. My other 10/22 with the Kidd barrel are pretty secure too. Not as tight as the new rifle, but they do not try to fall out, like some 10/22's I've seen/had..

Alright, I had to do it. Spent the $29.94 on a Volquartsen trigger. I love the one that is in my Ruger 10/22, so this one had to have one too. This is very similar to a POS BX25, or an unmarked BX25, one of the 2. They say it can't be done:



Works freaking sweet though, and feels great. That is one upgrade I suggest whole heartedly. But not to a BX trigger like this one, unless you know what you are doing. Warning and full disclosure..

Much depends on what is expected from a 10/22.

Close:
50 yards


or far:

200 yards

Nice rifles buddy.

What barrel is that?

It’s a carbon wrapped and tensioned stainless steel Volquartsen.

Great thread. Building a 10/22 as we speak. Just placed my order for all the kidd internals. Looking for a barrel. Havent quite decided which to go with this time. Such fun guns to tinker with

They are like lego's for big kids. Good luck with your build. Maybe you can report back, when you get it done. Thanks!!

Will do!

I have built a couple of 10/22 rifles over the last 40 years and now when I want one I get a Kidd super grade.They will spoil you.

I'll bet they will. I love my Kidd barreled 10/22. Actually like the new stainless 10/22 clone I showed in the OP of this thread too. That rifle was just about perfect, as is. The green mountain barrel is not shooting as well as the Kidd barreled 10/22, but it's respectable. My girlfriend loves shooting it, so that's a plus. Here are some targets from yesterday. I wasn't at the range for very long. Just long enough to check the trigger work:






Alright, the rifle looks like it's shooting almost as well as the Kidd barreled rifle now. With the addition of the polymer buffer, new Volquartsen trigger work, and this ammo... Dang..


So, now the trigger feels just like the one in the Kidd barreled rifle. A great $29 upgrade IMHO.. Fine tuned, it's right at a 2 pound pull. Since this is basically a BX trigger, or polymer housing factory Ruger trigger, it did take some work getting this Volquartsen trigger to work. As I stated in an earlier post (warning and full disclosure).. I had to use a Volquartsen target hammer I had laying around, and drill the new Volquartsen trigger for the proper alignment for the factory BX disconnector to work with the factory sear in the Volquartsen trigger. It's working great though, with a little work and knowhow.

I should have never read this thread…

I probably shouldn't have started it either. One of the reasons I did, was because I've been seeing so many used Ruger 10/22's lately. Some very good prices too. Some down right great deals. Before finding this rifle, I saw a like new older target model for $275 locally. Then there was a thread on 10/22's, maybe even a couple threads, and some guys were saying you had to spend $2,000.00+ on one to get a good one. I kind of called bs on that, then that day, I found this damn stainless receiver 10/22 clone that had to go home with me. Before I bought it, I had to research it because I had never seen one. It was a cool feature though, to have a stainless 10/22. Partly because I've seen the aluminum ones stripped out, on the scope mounting holes. Always wondered why Ruger didn't make a 10/22 from steel, or stainless, but I get why they make them out of Aluminum. To fix some of that issue, Ruger now makes the integral rail on top, which is an excellent upgrade. The competition models have that feature anyway, I don't know about the standard 10/22's made these days.. As far as I'm concerned, Ruger should add that feature to all of their 10/22's.

Part of the beauty in the 10/22 is you can do a lot of the work yourself. As I have shown, with some of the modifications and simple bedding I do, just as an example. However, I did not show the trigger work, because some of that was done to make it work. It did not affect the safety of the system, but there may be a reason the standard Volquartsen trigger is not compatible with the poly bx trigger housing. I emailed Volquartsen the other day, and found out they do make a kit that includes the disconnector, trigger, hammer and springs, that you can install into the BX trigger/polymer housing. That kit is about $100.00, but I had some Volquartsen parts (hammer and springs), plus I had already bought the trigger to install, a couple weeks ago, and I knew I could make it work.

Hopefuly this thread has been interesting to you guys. It's kind of a tribute to the 10/22, as it's a pretty good rifle. I know it's extremely popular, as just about everyone I know owns one. Most of my club members in Washington own them, and they always use them in our speed matches, and head to head challenges. I've personally used them since I was about 16 years old, and have come to appreciate them for what they are. The 2 I own, hold their own against some of my target rifles, so I know they can be excellent shooters.

I think this is a excellent thread. It must be nice to have the patience and mindset to be able to tinker around with stuff.

I bought one back in the early 90s…and went down the rabbit hole… I’m about to go back down that hole… 😎

Have fun, but don't get yourself lost.

Scope should be here next week. Once the frigid cold breaks, im going to spend some time with it to see what it will do. Ill report back

Hey gunchamp, I didn't see this until today. Looking great!!! I like that Volquartsen barrel. I believe the beautiful and talented Kirsten Joy Weiss has one of those. They are supposed to shoot great. Thanks for posting! I look forward to seeing how your build shoots. It probably won't disappoint. What kind of scope, are you going to put on it? So you are running Kidd trigger parts, but a Volquartsen barrel??? Aluminum or plastic trigger housing? I'm about ready to swap out my plastic housing trigger on my Elite 22S. I have always despised the dang plastic housed triggers. They seem to work well, just prefer the old style aluminum better!!! Tell us more about your build, if you don't mind. I like the stock choice.

As for my newest 10/22, the clone anyway, built by Tactical Innovations, I wanted to try a nice stainless Volquartsen brake on it. Mainly for one reason: The barrel looks too damn short!!! I like my 20" Kidd barrel rifle. So, anyway I installed the Volquartsen brake on my Elite 22S and went to the range a few days ago. Shot 5 10 shot groups, with 3 different types of ammo.

The first shot was low and about 1 1/4" to the right. I'm talking about 2" low!! The rifle was damn quiet though. This is the forward blow comp that Volquartsen sells. Nice looking little brake:


And it added 2" to the barrel length, which was perfect, and it looked good too, but the accuracy was horrible with 3 different types of ammo. There were weird first shot fliers that the rifle had never done before, not even with really cheap ammo. Sorry, no pics of those groups, as I was so disgusted I just crumbled them up and tossed them in the dumpster at the range before heading home to pull the pos comp off. Groups ranged from 1" to 1 3/4" at 50 yards. Totally unlike this new to me rifle.

So, yesterday, I had the rifle at the range even though the weather was crappy. It was spitting small pieces of ice, and they were melting as they hit the bench top, and the rifle and my sweatshirt. I shot through it though:


Here are the groups it shot.

First 10 shot group:

Back to normal, but you can see how much I had adjusted it when the comp was on there^^^

Second 10 shot group:


Third:


Fourth:


After I shot this group, I asked myself how many groups do you need to shoot, to prove the rifle is back to shooting like itself, or to prove a rifle out?

Last and fifth group of the day:


I'd say the rifle is back to its old self.