Ruger 10/22 Tips

Among the most popular self loading rifles of all time is the Ruger 10/22. Introduced by Sturm, Ruger Incorporated in the early 1960s, the Ruger rifle has been very successful. Workmanlike, reliable and inexpensive to obtain, the Ruger is a first class, all-around .22 caliber firearm. The Ruger has been around almost fifty years as of this writing and continues to be a strong seller for Ruger and a very popular rifle with the American public. There are any number of available options to trick the 10/22 out.

If you wish to own a .22 caliber AR- 15 look alike you can use the dirtreliable Ruger as the base. You may add the exceptionally well made Scottwerx (1022fungun.com) conversion and produce a Thompson SMG look alike. By the same token, you may accurize the piece for maximum performance. While the AR-15 conversions are popular for plinking and informal use, there is also a need for improved accuracy in hunting and target work. The Ruger may be considerably improved with a few simple steps.

Conversion to a match grade chamber is not difficult. As a guideline, the standard of accuracy I have qualified with the Ruger 10/22 is two inches for a three shot group at 50 yards. This is adequate for practically any hunting chore and is a simple matter to tweak most Ruger 10/22 rifles to this standard. Some want more accuracy. The Ruger 77/22 bolt action rifle is a completely different type of rifle, with features normally found only on center fire rifles of the best quality.

The 77/22 will do an inch at 50 yards with minimal tweaking and sometimes quite a bit better. But folks like the 10/22 and the instant second shot. I estimate the 10/22 sells at arate of twenty five to one for the bolt gun and that figure may be closer to one hundred to one. Given the available options, folks like to put aftermarket parts on this rifle and there are a number of interesting conversions. It isn’t unusual for a shooter to complain of poor accuracy after some aftermarket kits are applied.

Frankly, there is little to be done once these kits are bolted to the rifle. They area different story than the original wood stock and each is a case by itself. Some are cheap plastic kits that shimmy and shake when you fire. Don’t complain, they are designed for fun and plinking. Personally, I like practical accuracy more than a ray gun appearance. Sometimes the key dynamic or harmonic of the rifle is destroyed by the use of aftermarket parts that are not properly fitted.

Sometimes the case of poor accuracy is simply handled and other times there is a need for deeper study. While some improvements are easier than others, the Ruger in stock form may always be improved. The Ruger 10/22 is a sporting rifle with good reliability. At the expense of gilt edged accuracy, Ruger has achieved this reliability with a wide variety of ammunition and I would be hard pressed to find a .22 caliber rimfire rifle as dependable. Unfortunately, sometimes this implies a bit of loose action.

A simple improvement might be to consider a match grade chamber, which is tighter and shortens bullet walk to

It should not be modified in any way. By glass bedding this area you will be able to realize improved accuracy. the barrel with a more centered path. As an example, the chamber of the Ruger 77/22 is doubtless tighter than the 10/22 given the bolt action has more leverage in feeding. A tighter chamber is no impediment to function when bicep power is levering the bolt shut but a little give is needed in the self loader. 10/22 accuracy may be improved without a loss of reliability.

All that is required is skill, tools and knowledge. First, clear and disassemble the rifle. Once cleared, begin by loosening the captive action screw in the bottom of the factory stock. Next, take the safety to the middle position. With the safety in the center position the action may be removed from the stock. There are retaining pins in the action that keep the receiver and the trigger group together which are easily removed with the appropriate size punch and brass hammer.

Take these pins out and the trigger group is easily detached, but be careful the parts do not come loose and be certain to remember the relative position of the small parts in the trigger assembly. Look in the back of the receiver for the bolt retaining pin. This pin will be driven out with a proper punch. I use the W. R. Grace brass punch kit and hammer. With the bolt retaining pin out of the way the bolt is taken out of the bottom of the receiver. Then the operating handle is removed.

Removing the barrel is usually very simple but sometimes the barrel will be stuck for one reason or the other. Either a lack of cleaning or a tight fit with a bull barrel may result in sticking. The little wedge that holds the barrel to the receiver is removed by loosening and removing the attachment bolts. The barrel is twisted from one side to the other and taken out. If the barrel is tight a few raps with a rubber mallet will be sufficient to loosen it from the receiver. A hard wooden table top works

This is a Caldwell unit from Midway USA. just about as well. Rimfires are dirty and you will likely see some really cruddy 10/22s. The rub is this barrel design is supposed to allow ease of cleaning. Even if removed many times, it usually goes back to zero and works as well as when new. It is much easier to remove and clean than other designs. At this point, if you wish to add an extended magazine release simply compress the magazine release and remove it from the trigger group.

These extended magazine release levers area big help for use in cold weather with gloved hands or for use by youngsters with small fingers. When you reassemble consider adding a recoil buffer. This is easily accomplished before reassembly. If you choose to keep the original stock—and it is often a good bet for accuracy—and you wish to improve accuracy, glass bedding is indicated. However, it depends upon if the Thompson SMG look suits your tastes. 22 rifles. It also gives excellent results in the Ruger 10/22.

Ammunition reliability is always a concern with self loading .22s. Bedding this rifle is easily accomplished. While few shooters undertake the task, bedding 10/22s are often well worth the trouble. First, disassemble the rifle and put the stock in a vise. With a hand held file or other tool, work back a little from the forend tip and rout up a narrow tunnel in the forend. Fill the trough in with Acraglas.

With this procedure the barrel will be shimmed just forward of the bedding point with the standard four business card layers. These cards will keep the barrel and stock apart until the bedding compound dries. Be certain the action screw is tightened and that you have applied release agent to the barrel. Bedding the rifle in this fashion results in a free floating rifle barrel and often results in increased accuracy.

With standard Winchester high speed ammunition, such as the Winchester Dyna Point or the Wildcat, accuracy is usually on the order of two to three inches at fifty yards for a five shot group with the stock rifle. With proper glass bedding the rifle will produce three shot groups of perhaps half that, even with the factory barrel.

While after market barrels are able to improve accuracy—and the Green Mountain Rifle Barrels (gmriflebarrel.com) are worth your time and effort—work on the existing barrel is also profitable. The receiver, breech and barrel all have their part in accuracy. The Ruger design allows quick disassembly and cleaning that

Always be aware of stock band tightness. other rifles do not, and the rifle is a marvel of ease of modification. Modifying the barrel and receiver may add to greater accuracy potential. Strip the receiver and bolt and carefully file the barrel. You will remove about 0.070 of metal by facing the barrel shoulder at the receiver shank. The bolt face also must be worked. Next, carefully cut the chamber.

Lightly chamfer the mouth of the chamber with a chamfering tool and dull the edge that will sometimes impede the progress of a cartridge as it chambers. A Dremel will do the job. You will also recut the extractor groove as part of the chamber modification process. A square file or a small needle file will do the business. Do not widen the extractor slot but lengthen it and leave a small amount of metal as a safety margin between the extractor slot and chamber mouth.

In the 10/22 the bolt controls headspace and the bolt must ride evenly on the chamber end of the barrel. Before beginning this work study the particulars and especially study your own rifle and the relation of working parts. Be certain the extractor arm properly fits the barrel cut. Let’s go over a sample problem with headspace. The SAAMI minimum for headspace on the .22 Long Rifle is 0.043 and the bolt headspace of typical .22 caliber self loaders will run to 0.48—0.50.

Strip the bolt completely and remove about 0.005 to 0.007 from the bolt face, depending upon initial measurements. Headspace is now tighter than minimum specifications. This modification is good for another incremental im- Be certain of the relation of the parts to one another before disassembly. The Ruger is all about simplicity and function but may be improved into something resembling a precision instrument. provement in accuracy potential. Another simple modification adds to handling ease.

The factory bolt lock and release is often criticized as clumsy. There is a big spur in the bolt release. Cut it with the Dremel tool almost to the top edge of the bolt release and you are done. The 10/22 is a simple rifle with much to recommend. By the same token, it may be improved by a few simple tricks. The sum of the improvement is often more than the sum of the parts. You may just end up with a real tack driving 10/22 rifle and a happy customer. AG