Improving 10/22 Accuracy without spending big $?

[1shotOnekill]

I know the op said he didn’t want to dump a ton of money into it.....I’d say a decent trigger and barrel would be the places to start.....i own a Kidd and absolutely love it.....running a can with Winchester subsonic 40gr hollow point......very accurate and the small game around here hates it!

[Finster101]

My 10-22 deluxe shot very well with just a trigger. I elected to do a drop in but many folks do it themselves. I can't see spending three or four times the cost of the rifle to feel it's accurate. If that's the case perhaps you bought the wrong rifle to begin with. Some of the post I'm seeing just astound me at the money poured at these guns.

[rbuck351]

I don't know but have heard from some that should know that the first thing to check is to see if the screw holding the barrel in is tight. I got rid of a 10/22 because it would shoot about 2" groups at 25 yds. I then heard about the barrel screw thing. It might not be that but it costs nothing to check. I would be looking for an older 22 bolt gun before I put any money in a 10/22. I have a few semi auto 22s that will shoot about 1 1/4" at 50yds with many of the bulk 22 ammos, nothing fancy, just old Remingtons.

[robg]

put a power custom hammer in mine,trigger pull 2.5lb much easier to shoot .found i got much better accuracy with a pad under the barrel near the end of the fore end and removed the barrel band .you might be surprised how accurate a std 1022 can be .

[gordie]

i like Brimstone trig., better than BX

[Goofy]

Worked on a 10/22 Deluxe about 20 years ago. Wood stock got a full length bed job and an aftermarket trigger solved the conundrum.

5 shots


It shoots good enough with CCI SV, but equals the Power Point with Wolf MT/SK Standard +

Federal/Rem/other run of the mill brands.....it shoots patterns.

[Seeker]

I have never felt the need to upgrade a trigger. I just stumbled across the the electrical tape tune one day and thought I'd try it. My 10/22 would shoot a 1" group @ 25 yds. at best. I did 2 wraps of tape around the barrel under the barrel band and it now shoots one ragged hole at 25yds. I haven't tried it at longer distance yet but it worked on mine. I must admit, I was a bit skeptical but decided to try it. I can't imagine that a trigger upgrade would make it any better.

[barrabruce]

Ok here goes.
I got one of the first ones with the barrel band.ohh 35 yrs ago maybe?
I ended up doing all sorts of things.
Shortened the chamber a little , locktited the barrel in the action after a bit of a hand lapping.
Well lots really. Slightly chocked.
And a nice clean crown.

O.k. I had read to many gunsmithing books.

Filed out the barrel band for clearance then got rid of it after hacking the stock thinner.
I bedded the receiver and front inch with probably bond wood or some non shrinking goop at the time.can’t remember how.
I tried free floating and different forend pressures and techniques.
Finally just stuck it in the stock with some silicone.
I had polished and honed the trigger and innards some.
It shot great with the ammo I used at the time icil game load If I recall.
Really really good.
I mean rabbit heads all night out to a hundred.

Got stolen and I replaced it with a bolt action and have been more than happy.

It did suffer from first round out of the group syndrome when it got cold and left after a while but was consistent pretty well and you could compensate pretty well after using it long enough to know the gun.

I wouldn’t buy another as The mags are a pain when they get gunk in them and not friendly to load in the dark.
I feel they are just mongrel finger nail ripping things at best. Bahh.

I can’t see what people see in them.

It was reliable and short ,but really.

I should have spent a bit more and bought a smooth accurate semi auto and not have to rebuild it from the ground up.
This was like 20 years before the interweb thou.

As you can see it only cost me 3 years of tinkering and self learning plus a few supplies.

As with most things your mileage may vary.

[uscra112]

Reading that reminded me that some people tried bedding just the barrel, leaving the receiver to float.

[jeepyj]

This post came up from a search I did. For me it was a great resource and quite educational.

[G W Wade]

Have heard lots of great things about Federson barrels for replacements. GW

[lreed]

I've had great luck with improving accuracy of stock Ruger barrels by facing the breech and shoulder of barrel back .125 and use in my case a match reamer,to ream until your choice of ammo will chamber with slight finger pressure,bullet touches rifling. Of course the extractor grove must be re-cut and the barrel clamp must be shimmed. The bolt face is another point that needs attention,the headspace for 10-22s is in the bolt face,the ones I worked on were all over the place, Roy Dunlap's book gives .044-.046 as the headspace for .22rf,and that is what I worked for. This was years ago and mileage may vary. Good luck! lreed

[uscra112]

That's an excellent approach, since the biggest weakness of the 10/22 was/is the cavernous chamber. But it presumes machining capability that is beyond most 10/22 owners. Hence the popularity of replacement barrels with better chambers.