Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Advice for building a 10/22?

Any advice from folks who have done it? Parts that you recommend or would avoid?

I'm looking to build a 10/22 for my kids to shoot steel challenge and SASP with. It doesn't have to be a bull barrel, but could be. Something beefier than the factory contour. Preferably with iron sights already.

Looking at the Magpul stock as it seem pretty easy to get adjusted for them.

Trigger....Ruger BX trigger? It doesn't need to be a GREAT trigger, but a decent 3# trigger would be good. For this shooting they don't need the advantages a $300 trigger would offer over a $75 trigger.

Sounds like, for your needs, I would try a few BX triggers and pick the one you like.
I would run a Green Mountain sporter contour barrel without a barrel band.
Your looking at around $200 in upgrades if you go that route.
An aftermarket extractor might be a good addition too

For less money you can have your trigger worked (Brimstone) or have the barrel set back and rechambered ( I forget who's doing that)

Have a ball!

If you want an after market barrel and open sites, Feddersen is the only barrel maker for the 10/22 platform that advertises open sites option. There may be others but I haven’t seen them advertised. How old are the kids if I may ask.

They’re teenagers.

Jims right, and I'm sorry I missed that youd like open sights.
You may want to have your arrel (or another factory barrel - they are easy to find) set back to keep the sights

Open sights throws a kink in it for sure. I've got one for me and one for each of my kids (3 total). All wear Tac Sol barrels and Hogue stocks and BX triggers. I like the BX triggers enough....after shooting the regular factory triggers for years. They are definitely an improvement. I don't have any other aftermarket parts on mine and we have really enjoyed them. But we don't shoot competitions.

Tac Sol offers some open sight options.

For a Steel Challenge gun, get a lightweight barrel of your choice. The problem isn't swinging from target to target, it's stopping the momentum. A lightweight barrel is easier to stop.
Regarding the trigger, I would go with Brimstone. They are a little pricey, but your kids will have these guns for 60 years or more. Sounds like you guys are having fun no matter what your decision is.

I sent a stock 10/22 that been in the cabinet since 1994 to CPC for a full tune with trigger. Two or three week turn around. Bought a Magpul stock, and installed. Results for me were fantastic! Trigger is about 2 1/2#. Very clean and consistent. Accuracy improvement is huge. Rifle likes Eley Target (yellow box) best so far. Regular dime sized 5 and 10 shot groups. It has however shot everything I’ve tried less than 1”@ 50 yards. I did not buy a new barrel for this one. He rechambered and crowned the stock barrel so the open sights are still intact. Really happy with the Magpul. Fits very well.

Hope this helps.

Rob

If you're using open sights, you might look at starting with the Ruger 10/22 in style 21125. It comes with the best factory installed open sights of any Ruger 10/22 and it has the modular style stock that allows you to pick from four different length and height modules. I like these stock with the long/high module for shooting scopes, as the comb height on most 10/22 stocks is too low for me to get proper eye alignment.

CDNN has them on sale for $270. www.cdnnsports.com

If you're serious about squeezing the most accuracy from a 10/22 without any after-market parts, send the barreled action to CPC for a full tune up, around $210, including return shipping and insurance. www.ct-precision.com

My current favorite 10/22 has a donor action with a 24" Green Mountain fluted stainless sporter barrel and a modular style stock. I sent the barreled action to CPC for a full tune up. The nice thing about the 10/22 is that it is easy to replace parts, but unless you know what you're doing, you're unlikely to squeeze the most potential accuracy out of the untuned combination of parts. CPC takes a holistic approach, in that the three key parts of the barreled action, barrel/bolt/trigger, fit together and work in harmony.

bxtrigger with bolt release mod. Can get those bx triggers for around 55 on ebay. Get a volquartsen bolt release for 10 bucks unless you want to do it yourself. Get a synthetic or rubber sleeved buffer for the rear of the receiver too.

Bull Barrels are quite heavy... May or not work for a teenager.

I'd go with a medium taper (approx. 0.730" at the muzzle, but iron sights would have to be on a ramp), for about the same as a GM you can get a fedderson and I'd go that route over a GM.

Kidd barrels are also very good.

If you decide to go with GM check out rimfiresports.com, they're prices are generally better than a few other sites; http://www.rimfiresports.com/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=R1A

Definitely get or modify the OEM bolt release, factory takes two hands and is a slow joke. Can modify the existing with a dremel in about 3 minutes.

For a match gun I would probably install an aftermarket extractor, but extraction problems are very rare in my experience.

You are capable of doing a top notch DIY trigger if willing to open it up and work on it ; Kidd trigger return spring, d&t an overtravel screw, stone the trigger internals and the hammer. Doing this I have modified triggers from 1.5 to 2.5 pounds. Factory pull weight generally exceeds the weight of the gun!

Here is a link to the gun that jeff is talking about, Has the sights, depending where they're at in size it is an easy stock module replacement to add/reduce length of pull (only two module lengths are avail regular and compact... uses the ruger american rimfire modules). I would probably go this route, do the trigger & mag release and see how it shot... good chance all you need! This is just one off of gunbroker did not search for the best price;

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/798307661

Enjoy,

Jerry

Oh yeah... I would definitely get an extended mag release, depends on what works for them, but I would look at the ones that extend back over the trigger guard. Number them and try releasing the magazines, some of them will probably hang up. I have tried to shave some of them down which did not help.

Also... Nodak Spud makes a sight similiar to the one on the factory rifle that is in the gunbroker listing above. I know for a fact that it will co-witness with a Bushnell TRS-25 red dot. They have two front sights, one for a bull barrel and one for the factory taper barrel (mine is on the bull barrel version NDS-23). If you order one of the receiver sights insure it is the one for Ruger's 10-22 (and not Nodak's receiver).


http://www.nodakspud.com/NDS-22.htm

I've got two 10/22's that I set up for steel challenge for my boys to use. Mine are set up to run red dots, so no open sights. As previously mentioned, Tactical Solutions offers a lightweight bull barrel with open sights mounted on them. I have no personal experience with Tac Sol, so I can't say if they're good or bad, but I've heard good things about them for what that's worth.

I run a Volquartsen carbon fiber on one and a Kidd lightweight on the other. Accuracy is phenomenal and the lighter weight is really nice for SC. I ordered the Volquartsen target hammer and sear kit to upgrade mine. I'm very happy with the results. I also highly recommend the Volquartsen or Kidd firing pin and extractor for the bolt (one rifle is set up with Kidd and the other V). I get a lot more reliable ignitions (fewer duds) and zero extraction issues since switching to that set up. The Kidd bolt handle charging assembly is nice as well. The Kidd bolt buffer is also worth the $5.95 price tag. The auto bolt release is a must as well.

I also like and recommend the Alangator TriMag triple magazine coupler. It connects 3 standard Ruger 10-rd mags together. Since SC is 5 strings at 5 targets, you just rotate the mag for each string. Our local club shoots a SC match once a month and without fail, folks running the Ruger BX 25-rd mags have issues with the bolt not grabbing the next round after ejecting the previous case. It appears that the mag, even while "locked in place" hangs just low enough sometimes that the bolt goes right over the next round without grabbing it. Several folks have tried wedging something in with the mag to make a tighter fit. And, I've seen varying degrees of success with that.
But, I've never had that issue when using the TriMag set up, and others who've switched to that set up haven't either. And, since SC is all about speed, having to fiddle with a mag mid string SUCKS. The extended mag release is a must as well. The Kidd version I have on one is much nicer in terms of fit and finish (following the lines of the trigger guard) than the Tac Sol one I have on the other gun.

After making the mods above, mine have run flawlessly through matches. I know they're other good suggestions and companies out there, but after personal experience, I can highly recommend the above.

Second on the GBX trigger at least, I did the original myself and was happy until I tried the BX. There's a mod for the bolt that make it easier on the hammer that works for me. I kept the wood stock but applied a wood rasp to the comb for a better cheek weld and light finger and thumb grooves for a consistent repeatable grip. Making an automatic bolt release is a good thing. I hated the stock rear sight so installed a Williams rear aperture. approximately $130 went into this little project add the low cost of the carbine back in the 90's come to less then $300.

We were able to shoot two different TacSol models this week and the boys really liked them. The triggers were definitely an upgrade. One model had the Magpul stock and the other a Hogue. There was a definite preference for the Magpul.

I'll check into the Brimstone.

We'd prefer something a little heavier than stock. We shoot a lot of SC and I got my GM card last summer with a 15-22. The light barrels are easier to stop but they also don't settle quite as well. Trying to find somethings just a little beefier.

What's the deal with the rubber bolt sleeve / buffer thing that was mentioned?

RyanTX, where do y'all shoot? I'll take a look at the stuff you recommended. The boys have been shooting SC with the 15-22 and a dot but just got into SASP matches and having a gun with irons would be a good option for them.

go over to rimfire central for everything anybody needs to know about building what you wish. have fun

Blue, I was all set to say Tony Kidd. But, your budget and iron sight restriction kills that.

You should try their 2-stage $300 trigger out, though. Just for grins.

I’ve built many 10/22’s. All shoot great. The last one I built topped them all. I found a real old rifle from ‘ 69 and grabbed it. Back then they had blue anodized receivers. It’s beautiful. Straight away I called Randy at CPC. He said on the phone that old guns will shoot. I sent the barrel and bolt to him and started on my part. I pillar bedded a deluxe stock for it and fixed the trigger with a Power Custom three piece trigger set with adjustable seer. Added Kidd buffer and pin/screw set. Meanwhile, Randy set the chamber correctly and tuned the bolt. He also threaded muzzle for suppressor and made a protector for the threads that matched the barrel. He did that without affecting the front sight. The rear sight on this old gun was a Lyman, so that wasn’t touched. He told me on the phone after he completed it that I definitely had a shooter. That guy knows his stuff. I reassembled it and went to the range. It shot like a dream on Wolf MT and Green Tag. Later, I got my Sparrow suppressor, installed it and got a pleasant surprise. It shot better and liked most ammo. Now it shoots Auto Match as well as premium ammo.

So, my advice is to buy an old gun and meet Randy.