Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires 10/22s

Prolly not the best question anyone has asked...but here goes. Are the "New" 10/22s as good as the older models? Is there any real difference in year makes or the ones you buy at WalMart?

They're cheaper made in my honest opinion. They use more polymer parts now. I like the older ones with the metal trigger group and guard. I usually stay away from the newer ones. Got your 270 reloads figured out yet?

Hey bsa~
Something tells me its gonna be hard to find an older 10/22...but I'll hold out til I do.
As for the .270 loads...I got it all figured out for sure...the way I have everything figured, I'm about 5 weeks away from sending it to Redneck for him rebarrel it in .257 Bob. I've wanted one for a long while now. I'm sending a deposit on a McEdge Featherweight Style Stock this week. But then again, there's a member here that has the Standard Edge in the same color for sale, new in the box. thinking about that one too/instead.
I know I know , won't be my "old 70" anymore...but it WILL BE my FIRST "custom" built using My Old 70

They will both shoot great, but IMO the metal trigger group "older" models are WAY more desireable. I'm not sure if there is really a difference as far as dependability, or accuracy, but anyone who builds a custom 10/22 will (should) opt for the metal trigger group models. Internally they are identical, as far as I have seen. Or spend the big bucks and get a magnum research or some other custom billet reciever if you can't find a metal factory version. Best place to check is pawn shops and gun shows, most "regular" guys don't know there is a difference between new and old when they go to trade off guns or need some extra cash.

I'll be keeping that in mind at the gun show at the end of this month.

I have both and the newer rifles are more accurate out of the box. If you are buying for just the action to build on, the polymer is much more durable than the Aluminium Trigger guards. It doesn't really matter which you use you will have a bug hole shooting rifle if you use a good barrel and this is where you get your accuracy from the 10-22 . Another plus the polymer guard doesn't fade or scratch like the metal one.

http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-1022.htm

The Dumbing Down of the Ruger 10/22

I prefer the alloy trigger housing but would run a polymer unit after swapping out the trigger for a Timney unit.

Receiver wise the new ones are cheaply painted instead of the older anodized versions. The newer receivers are a bit rougher once the paint is removed, hence why Ruger started painting them (it hides the machine marks).

The newer models do sport better barrels than the older versions and that applies across the entire Ruger lineup.

MtnHtr

Toss an ad in your local paper: "WTB Used Ruger 10/22"
You might be surprised what comes out of the woods....

Mine is a SS version.
I mounted a Simmons scope on it, did some action mod's and just plain shoot it till it smokes!
It's a digger squirrel killin machine!!

In the future I plan to add a longer barrel, both for balance and possibly better accuracy.

I love the 10/22. What a design and do they last. As for function and long realiabilty I dont see an issue with the "Plastic" parts. I had a 10/22 years ago...got it cheap at a gun show, the gun was ugly and had been bouncing around in a truck for years it looked like...I took it out shooting....It was failing to extract maybe 2-3 shots out of 50...when I looked the gun over I realized that the extractor was GONE......and it was only failing to extract 4-6% of the time...I was amazed...it goes to show you the durability of the design...I eventually replaced the extractor, cleaned it up, new stock and now its my sons rifle.

How do you tell if it is metal? Bite it, like they used to do with gold coins?

I've got an older SS 10-22 that shoots lights out. It has the synthetic stock and the barrel band still on but does shoot great. I'm hanging on to that one because like some of these guys have said usually the newer ones shoot better. If you do find an older one with the metal trigger group and housing that shoots as good as the one I've got then you better hang on to it.

I just finished helping a friend customize his new 10/22. It was a new Rifle with the Plastic Trigger Housing and Plastic Trigger. We swapped out the Factory Barrel for a 20" Green Mountain Fluted Bull Barrel. We also swapped out the factory stock for a Revolution Thumbhole Laminated Stock.

We did all of the bolt modifications to this new 10/22, as well as a Trigger Job. Per the trigger job I was able to get it super crisp and smooth with the factory parts but could not seem to get the pull weight below 4 1/2 pounds.

My friend wanted it better than that so we installed a Power Custom Hammer with Volquartsen Custom Hammer Bushing. I did a slight bit of polishing on the hammer and the result was a super crisp and smooth 2 1/2 pound trigger.

Once we were done we headed to the Indoor Shooting Range. Everytime my friend would shoot a group he'd giggle like a little girl. Finally I said what's up with the giggling. He simply replied I LIKE.

This was about the 4th 10/22 I have worked on that had the plastic trigger housing. The other ones all ended up at 3 1/2 pounds and that is where the owners wanted them. With the addition of the Power Custom Hammer and Volquartsen Bushing we were able to get this last one to the owners satisfaction.

The housing just simply holds all the parts together. Having worked in an Injection Molding Factory in the past I can say that at least in regards to the pin holes in the plastic housings they should all be in the same location as those holes are more than likely made via pins in the Injection Molding Mold that shouldn't change.

Larry

Very easy to tell the difference, the metal ones are painted. There is an obvious visual distinction between the two as well. While they are in the rifle, the easiest way to tell is by the thickness of the trigger guard material.

Metal trigger group

Composite trigger group

it's funny that the same people who say the metal trigger group is more desireable, probably are Glock fanatics

I do know that the polymer is more resistant to impacts, say if you drop the rifle on concrete. The cast aluminum will shatter faster than the injected molded polymer. I have read where tolerances are tighter in the newer ones also.

That being said, I have the older All-Weather (stainless/composite) with the metal trigger. And my trigger group pins fall out without any pressure...in fact there are oversize pins to compensate for the slop in the trigger group in the metal ones.

So, YMMV (your mileage may vary). Since you can't buy a new metal trigger group, the best thing is to put some good parts into whatever you have. Volquartsen hammer is #1 and a bolt buffer should be #2, no matter which model.