New 10/22 needs a trigger!

[kawasakifreak77]

Man it's tough being a trigger snob..

My dad bought me a 10/22 as my first rifle. Sadly it was stolen years ago. My roomie decides to go buy a AR10 this morning so I went down with him. I spot this nice older 10/22 on the shelf. I had been eyeing the new compact model but this one has a nice checkered stock & a bottom metal that is actually (pot) metal so I couldn't resist any longer!

Best part is the guy was nice enough to let me trade in some stuff I hadn't used in awhile so I didn't spend a dime!

Regardless I take it home, do a quick clean on it & upon reassembly went to see how the trigger was... holy freaking doodoo I forgot how bad Ruger triggers were!

I've been spoiled by some very nice triggers lately & I can't go back!

So who's upgraded the trigger in thier 10/22? What did you get & are you satisfied?

A quick google search brought up a joint named KIDD & the next was a place that you send your trigger group off to. Both of course say they're the best. The place you send yours into says they get it down to a crisp 2-3 lbs for $35. I feel that's pretty daw gone fair.

What say you guys?

[Silverboolit]

Try Brimstone Gunsmithing.

[lefty o]

you can rework your own, or the most common is a powercustom or volquartsen drop in hammer. the hammers will give you a 2 1/2 to 3# trigger. if you wanna spend money, the kidd trigger is simply the finest thing available for the 10/22. there is no comaparison to any other trigger, it is of course the most expensive you can buy. luv mine!

[rking22]

All good advice above. I do my own triggers on them, no problem if you are dilligent. I use all ruger parts except usually put a GM barrel on them (to change ballance as much as anything else). No need to "throw away everything but the reciever" as many do. That DSP stock is really nice. Brimstone has outstanding reputation and for 35$ (if that is correct) well worth it. Replacement parts can help it but can still need tuning. Send it to Brimstone

[dtknowles]

I put a Volquartsen in mine and the extended mag release. I am happy, I am fussy about triggers but maybe not as much as some.

Tim

[catmasher]

Get a KIDD and dont look back, very very good trigger.
cat

[Hardcast416taylor]

I put a Volquartsen in mine and the extended mag release. I am happy, I am fussy about triggers but maybe not as much as some.

Tim

I got a Volquartsen trigger rebuild kit from Brownell`s. Took about 2 - 3 hrs. with the stoning added in to get a nice trigger pull at about 2.75 lbs.Robert

[aspangler]

Mine is at 2.5 lbs and very crisp. Did it myself (with the gunsmith looking on and telling me what to do. ) and didn't cost me anything but time and patience. $35 for a good trigger job is a good price.

[Iowa Fox]

I had Brimstone do one of his 35 dollar 2# jobs on one for my sons rifle. Its a nice smooth breaking 2 LB on the trigger scale with no creep. Heck of a deal for 35 bucks. Volquartsen makes a hammer kit for about $35. It will lower the pull weight but sometimes they're creepy. For my personal 10/22s with the poly trigger housing I use the Kidd trigger Kits. I buy them when they are on sale and try to keep one in inventory. The last one I did turned out at 14oz with a little work. Kidd says his kits are for the poly housing, may or may not work with the aluminum housing. I'm sure your older rifle has an aluminum housing unless someone changed it. Power Custom makes one with an adjustable sear to take out some of the creep. All in all if your not wanting to get under 2lb its really hard to beat Brimstone.

[kawasakifreak77]

Sounds like this Brimstone is the cat to do business with!

Thanks guys. Can't wait to shoot some barking rats this winter!

[rking22]

For a hunting rifle, be aware that the exended mag release, that so many like, is prone to leave mags in the woods. I even removed the factory Ruger extended from my charger after putting the mag on the ground twice in one afternoon. great for the bench but agge-ru-vatin when hunting. Also after setting up several at 2.5 lb triggers, the last I did came out, when first put back together, at 3#, I was in a hurry and just left it. Turns out I like hunting with it better than with the lighter trigger. I swapped in one of my other trigger groups intending on "finishing" the trigger job. After a couple days huinting with the 2.5# trigger, I left the 3# alone and put it back in! Your milage may vary, just some experiences to share.

[kawasakifreak77]

This rifle is older so no extended mag release. I was thinking about it but my first didn't have it & I like the bottom of my rifles smooth.

[Lonegun1894]

I do my own also, and just use the Ruger parts. My most heavily modified one I swapped out the stock to a Hogue Overmolded and the barrel to a 20" heavy GM. The trigger measures at 9oz, but I did this to be a "trainer" to it's big brother, and that one has the same trigger. If you're handy, and don't mind doing a little work, checking for function, doing a little more, and so on, you will be amazed at what you can do, but go too far too fast and you'll be buying parts quick.

[GhostHawk]

I have to admit of all the things I have thought about for my Ruger 10/22 this one I love the most. True the bottom is no longer flush. Quite often I"m using the new ruger 25 rnd mag's so it isn't flush anyway.

One of the other things I found was a simple piece of molded plastic that lets 2 10 round rotary magazines go back to back.

Bump the mag release with a knuckle, mag falls, turn it over, slap it back up in there, pull the bolt and I'm back firing.

The nylon bolt hold in pin for removing some of the "Clang" out of the action would be my second.

And a few minutes work on the bolt hope open clip means no more fumbling for that little piece sticking out.
Just pull the bolt handle back and release.

As to triggers, I'd start by just putting a brick through it. Maybe take the trigger assembly out and give it a good cleaning, oiling.

[docone31]

I found with mine, all it needed was a hammer swap out. The trigger angles were different and made the trigger pull go down to 2.5lbs.
Worked real well for me. Simple fix, just get a new hammer.

[Vinne]

Worked real well for me. Simple fix, just get a new hammer.

When all else fails, I whack the thing with my old hammer and...WAIT...OH I see what you mean!!!

[Bull Shoals]

You might also try Hornet Triggers in Florida. I have 3 of them; very good triggers. They are simple to install.

[geargnasher]

My well-used routine is to pony up and start off with the Power Custom hammer/sear/spring/pin/washer kit. The kit doesn't kill all of the trigger creep, and even with major trigger spring re-engineering it doesn't get much below two pounds, but it helps and the hammer can be ground a bit more. I do this, then, drill/tap the trigger spring hole for a socket-head setbolt (adjustable stop), custom-wind a wire-loop trigger/bolt-release combo spring, polish the trigger/sear interface to 1K grit to reduce force required for the trigger reset (light trigger spring won't reset stock trigger/sear), replace or modify the bolt release for a pull-to-release feature, grind the staking off the bolt return spring pin and polish the guide rod, remove and polish the detents on the safety and modify the PC sear if necessary for safety function, radius the back of the bolt severely and polish where it cocks the hammer, and lastly replace the bolt buffer with the steel-core Volquartzen unit. Also I like to replace the barrel clamp with a two-directional clamp block whose maker I can't remember but it's available at Midway or Brownell's. Takes me about six hours to work one out and I've done a heap of them. It is a labor of love.

If you want under 2# on the trigger you're going to have to go with better parts than even these, or work on them yourself.

The last one I did I said screw it and purchased an aftermarket trigger, too, that had the overtravel screw made into it. MUCH better, as you don't have to strip the trigger group completely down to adjust the setbolt that I used to install. And, you can always go back to stock spring/plunger configuration. I've also made my own recoil buffers with steel rod and automotive vacuum hose, those work great but tend to be a little "bouncy" and can cause jams with some of the subsonic stuff.

Gear

[Hammerhead]

I put in a $35 Volquartsen hammer in my 10/22, very happy. Crisp release right around 3 pounds.