Improving 10/22 Accuracy without spending big $?

[Norcal707]

Have a nice Stainless Carbine that I bought new in the mid 90's. Would like to improve accuracy as I was shooting it recently and realized it really isn't all that accurate regardless of what ammo I was using. Scope is a Mueller APV 4.5-14×40 AO and stock is a Houge Overmold. Not wanting to dump over $300 into it - just looking to make it much more accurate for plinking and ground squirrels out to 100 yards. Willing to send it off for massaging if need be.

[Gunor]

Need a good trigger....you can install one your self - BX Ruger Trigger is great in my 10/22...

[NyFirefighter357]

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=10%2F22+diy+accuate

[Finster101]

Without spending a lot of money a drop in trigger is probably the most notable thing you can do. It made a huge difference in mine.

[Norcal707]

Forgot to mention that I put a Volquartsen Target Hammer & Sear in - the trigger pull weight is at 2lbs with a nice crisp break. Also installed their extractor & firing pin in the bolt.

[Drm50]

I put in dozens of the Volquartsen Target hammer kits they come with shims that take pull down to 3lbs and less. Only one dissatisfied customer, he said trigger was to light. I also don’t think that the stock Ruger stainless 10/22 barrels are as accurate as carbon steel barrel. Around shows you can pick up a take off barrel cheap. So for price of target hammer kit and barrel your only in $50.

[rking22]

The generous chamber Ruger uses for stingers and to be sure it functions is a detriment. The bedding, or lack thereof is not conductive to good accuracy. If you face about .090 off the breech and shoulder then recut the extractor groove you will find the Ruger barrels are quite good. Or set it back a bit more and run a bentz reamer in. Easiest is a Green Mountain 17 inch heavy sporter barrel and bed it into a good stock, last I bought was under 100$ on sale, that’s been a while. All my 10-22s have all Ruger trigger parts but reshaped and polished to get 2.25 to 3. # triggers, you get good after doing a couple. Green mountain barrels bedded into Refinished walnut sporter stocks with a 6x scope and they will put 5 subsonic CCI hollow points into 1/2 inch at fifty yards often enough to be interesting, like 3 groups out of 5 with the other 2 being around 5/8 inch. I hate shooting groups so some of that is on me. The charger has a Ruger barrel faced off and cut to 10 inches, it’s harder to shoot well but does as good as the others when I can focus for 5 in a row. Don’t have to spend big bucks to get squirrel gun accuracy, 5 in a half at 50 yards. Don’t expect that with milk carton crap, more like 1 to 1 1/4 for 5 with 3 of them in 1/2, it’s the ammo. The barrels from before stingers( mid 70s) sometimes shoot quite well without facing off.
278454
2 of mine

[Norcal707]

Saw http://ct-precision.com/ recommended on RimfireCentral - anyone had work done there?

[Burnt Fingers]

Look up mikes.stocks on Fleabay.

I've purchased three barrels from him. They are Keystone barrels. I've found them to be very good barrels.

[Ickisrulz]

I have read good things about having the barrel reworked. The consensus at one time was that the factory barrel is quite good, but the chamber is too large. The barrel band isn't doing too much for accuracy though.

Lightening up the trigger works well to help the shooter. I put some Volquartsen springs in mine to do this. You can always buy a new trigger group for more cash; Ruger will even sell you one.

Many have put tons of money into the little 10/22 to get accuracy. I think they'd have been better off buying a CZ.

[garandsrus]

I would suggest a new barrel. It's very easy to install yourself. My 10-22 went from 1-2" 10 shot groups at 50 yds to less than 1/2".

https://fjfeddersen.com/product-category/22lr-rifle-barrels/bull-smooth-22lr/

[JoeJames]

I put in dozens of the Volquartsen Target hammer kits they come with shims that take pull down to 3lbs and less. Only one dissatisfied customer, he said trigger was to light. I also don’t think that the stock Ruger stainless 10/22 barrels are as accurate as carbon steel barrel. Around shows you can pick up a take off barrel cheap. So for price of target hammer kit and barrel your only in $50.I put in the Volquartsen trigger kit before the Ruger BX came out, and it made quite a difference. Now I'd probably do the BX.

However, before I even invested the small amount for the Volquartsen, I tried mine out in a fairly solid rest (Varminter rest) with different brands of ammo to see if it was capable of accuracy. In the rest the standard super heavy issue Ruger trigger was not as much of a factor. It proved to be accurate so I spent the money.

[farmbif]

volquartsen barrel and Boyds evolution stock to go with your trigger. if that don't fix it aint no telling.
I got a $125 blue light special back when Kmart sold guns and it will consistently hit a 3" target at 100 yards.
I guess accuracy it hit and miss with 10-22's

[Finster101]

I Also replaced the barrel on mine but that was more to get a threaded barrel for a suppressor than accuracy. It shot quite well with just the trigger but hey, if you have a .22 silencer anyway you might as well use it on everything you can.

[uscra112]

yup, Ruger chambers are absurdly large, to accommodate all the kinds of low-grade ammo they know that Bubba will try to stuff into them.

Either change the barrel, or take up "bumping" ammo to enlarge the bullets. **

That and weight sorting led to a 50% reduction in group sizes when I was testing using a stock 10-22 about six years ago. It still wasn't anything to write home about, it went down the road. One of the very few guns I have ever sold.

** This only works for commodity ammo - Thunderduds, Auto Match, Blazer, MiniMags. It does nothing but spoil good target grade ammo.

[Drm50]

I had a 10/22 back before they were cool. I had bought each model as they came out. I had every gun Ruger made back then. Now you couldn’t haul one of each in a truck. I was Ruger cheerleader.
The early 10/22 were by far the best 22 for the buck. They had better triggers then and I really don’t know about chambers. I know the old ones are superior to the newer ones. I still have one of the original Sporters. The rest of them are still in family. None of them have any aftermarket parts and would shoot a 1” at 40yds. The plastic trigger housing turns me off. Why when you have the #1 selling 22 would it be worth it to cut cost by making plastic parts? I have several new take offs I am going to check chambers against my old one. I had lots of stocks and barrel from switching them out. A lot of guys just told me to keep them. Also the mag release parts. I have used up several barrels threading them. I have cut a few birch stocks for family & friends kids. The stock parts are fairly easy to come by.

[uscra112]

A couple of decades ago I became acquainted with a guy who had so many 10-22 takeoff barrels that he built mini Gatling guns to use them up. That was when .22 ammo was $7.95 a brick. :shock:

[hiram]

The least expensive things I did were 2 items. I kept the factory barrel. I am not a high-end competitor. 1> I pillar bedded the stock/barrel. 2> I drew a line on the rear end of the stock where the receiver came to. I put 2-3 brads in just under the line and bedded the action including the rear end where the brads are. This info was given to me by an army coach who set a record for 22 silhouette hits. He got 80+hits without a miss. One other thing I did was for convenience, not accuracy. Strip the action down and slide a snug fitting rod into the barrel from the muzzle. Slide it far enough to touch the rear of the receiver. Mark where the rod touches. Transcribe the mark on the receiver to the outside and drill a hole which your cleaning rod will slide into. Now you have a way to clean the barrel from the breach end.

[SweetMk]

Many have put tons of money into the little 10/22 to get accuracy. I think they'd have been better off buying a CZ.

I for one have a 10-22 as a "Mechanical Toy" as much as a tool to shoot accurate groups.

I had a bone stock 10-22 for over 20 years,, then I found a Clark 10-22 at a gun show cheap, (less than the cost of a bull barrel 10-22)

Well that Clark got me started in buying aftermarket parts, and scopes,,,

[HangFireW8]

Aftermarket barrel, bed the barrel, float the receiver, home trigger job, mount the scope to the barrel not the receiver.

Cheapest path to reasonable 10/22 accuracy.

[uscra112]

What do "aftermarket" barrels go for these days?

[uscra112]

Answering my own question after a few minutes of guggle-flu.

Lowest $100 - $200 (E.R.Shaw cheapest)

Average $250-$350 (lots of options)

Top-o-the-Line over $800 !!!! Yikes!

These options don't fit the O.P.'s requirement, i.e. not dump $300 into it.

[405grain]

I've read where people would say that if you want an accurate 10-22 you have to replace everything except the receiver. That's crazy talk! If you want an accurate 10-22 you have to replace the receiver too. :-P I own several 10-22's, but the most accurate is one that I bought back in 1982. I've done trigger work, but buying a BX trigger is just as good. One thing that makes a big improvement is swapping out the factory barrel for a bull barrel with a Bentz chamber. You don't need ultra expensive components, a BX trigger and a carbon steel barrel with a better than factory chamber will go a long way towards accuracy. I can't vouch for a Hogue stock, all mine are in wood stocks. I glass bed the actions, (and the first inch of the barrel), in the stock, and that makes for such a solid match up that additional screws or attachment points are unnecessary. Also, don't use the barrel band; if you glass bed the action you won't need it. Depending on the ammo I get 1/2" to 3/4" groups at 50 yards.
I never liked the concept of drilling a hole in the back of the receiver so that you could clean from the breech. If you do that, then you have to remove the barreled action from the stock, then remove the trigger group so that you can remove the bolt assembly, so that you can clean the barrel. Then after all this you get to reassemble the action, put it back into the stock, and then you can go to the range to re-zero your scope because you had to take the rifle apart to clean it. A better way is to use a guide on your cleaning rod so you don't rub against the muzzle crown, and just clean normally.

[uscra112]

Well, it HAS been said that the 10/22 is Barbie for boys.

And it's a .22 for Pete's sake! How often do you need to clean the bore? A boresnake once in a while, maybe. If you just HAVE to clean with a rod, a bore guide to protect the crown is trivial to make.

[farmerjim]

I put a bull barrel on mine. It went from all over the paper at 25 yds to 1/2 in at 50 yds.

[Bigslug]

How was it when it was still in the factory stock?

One thing I've learned in playing around with out of the box Remington 700's and especially with Lee Enfields and other mil-specs - proper stocking matters, and free-floating isn't always the answer. In point of fact, strategically anchoring the barrel often is. As I recall, the Hogue Overmolds are flexy, poor fitting things that did not give my confidence any kind of boost.

A few approaches you might try:

Make sure of your scope & mounts. Thin aluminum or sheet steel can be a weak point. Also make sure you're correctly using your A/O scope's parallax feature correctly. The yardage marks are just a guide. You want to set it so the image focuses squarely on the crosshairs. You know you've got it when you can wiggle your head side to side on a benched gun and the crosshairs no longer appear to shift around.

Go back to factory wood and make sure that the barreled action lays flush without any wiggle that would result in flexing when you tighten down the stock. There's a good chance it wasn't broke and didn't need fixing.

OR. . .

Try the Lee Enfield / Remington 700 sporter approach of slight upward pressure against the barrel at the front tip of the stock.

OR. . .

Bed the barrel and float the action.

My strongest advice is don't go too far down this road beyond the above. If that doesn't give you the bolt action accuracy you're after, spend the money on a bolt action. You can forge the steel from a sledge hammer into a scalpel if it's the only steel you have, but better to just go out and get a scalpel.

[Burnt Fingers]

Answering my own question after a few minutes of guggle-flu.

Lowest $100 - $200 (E.R.Shaw cheapest)

Average $250-$350 (lots of options)

Top-o-the-Line over $800 !!!! Yikes!

These options don't fit the O.P.'s requirement, i.e. not dump $300 into it.

I've bought three of the Keystone bull barrels from mikes.stocks on Fleabay. They run $125 for a standard bull barrel. They make a big difference.

[Burnt Fingers]

I've read where people would say that if you want an accurate 10-22 you have to replace everything except the receiver. That's crazy talk! If you want an accurate 10-22 you have to replace the receiver too. :-P I own several 10-22's, but the most accurate is one that I bought back in 1982. I've done trigger work, but buying a BX trigger is just as good. One thing that makes a big improvement is swapping out the factory barrel for a bull barrel with a Bentz chamber. You don't need ultra expensive components, a BX trigger and a carbon steel barrel with a better than factory chamber will go a long way towards accuracy. I can't vouch for a Hogue stock, all mine are in wood stocks. I glass bed the actions, (and the first inch of the barrel), in the stock, and that makes for such a solid match up that additional screws or attachment points are unnecessary. Also, don't use the barrel band; if you glass bed the action you won't need it. Depending on the ammo I get 1/2" to 3/4" groups at 50 yards.
I never liked the concept of drilling a hole in the back of the receiver so that you could clean from the breech. If you do that, then you have to remove the barreled action from the stock, then remove the trigger group so that you can remove the bolt assembly, so that you can clean the barrel. Then after all this you get to reassemble the action, put it back into the stock, and then you can go to the range to re-zero your scope because you had to take the rifle apart to clean it. A better way is to use a guide on your cleaning rod so you don't rub against the muzzle crown, and just clean normally.

I've never understood buying a gun to get the receiver when aftermarket receivers are available, and better.

[Texas by God]

Trade it for a Remington 597!
Just kidding. Sort of.[emoji16]

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[Fishoot]

I have about 4 or 5 10/22's that have original sporter barrels that a local smith shortened the chamber end on until a round just kissed the rifling when inserted with thumb pressure. They all shot Winchester Dynapoint (no longer available) or Power Points into less than an inch at 50 yards. Ground squirrels all hate that rifle! I had all those guns altered before I got my lathe and mill. Now I do my own work. Be sure to select your favorite load to use for the chamber depth gauge, cause that's what you better use from then on.

[Mk42gunner]

I went down the "Make a 10-22 accurate road" twenty years ago. Cheap it is not.

Until this latest panic, my answer would have been to trade it for a Marlin Model 60.

Robert

[405grain]

The best deal I've found for a 10-22 "accuracy" barrel:
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/288810

[uscra112]

I went down the "Make a 10-22 accurate road" twenty years ago. Cheap it is not.

Until this latest panic, my answer would have been to trade it for a Marlin Model 60.

Robert

Yupper!

[uscra112]

The best deal I've found for a 10-22 "accuracy" barrel:
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/288810

Um. Numrich is notorious around here for buying up and reselling reject lots. Ask me about the .22 liners I bought from them sometime.

Some of that lot might be good, but you're playing the odds by buying one.

[Burnt Fingers]

The Keystone barrels on Fleabay are $125 with free shipping. I've always been suspect of Numrich.

[uscra112]

Don't these "bull" barrels force you to buy another stock as well? Or spend a lot of time routing out the barrel channel in the original stock?

[Mk42gunner]

Don't these "bull" barrels force you to buy another stock as well? Or spend a lot of time routing out the barrel channel in the original stock?
Back when I did it, the .920" barrels were the standard bull size, I used a Boyd's stock and recouped some money by selling the mannlicher style stock on ebay. Along with a bunch of Volquartson parts, it did eventually start shooting better after a few hundred break in rounds.
The bad thing was while finally accurate enough to squirrel hunt with, it was too ill balanced to want to carry in the timber.

Robert

[recumbent]

Ruger sells bull barrels at a reasonable price
https://shopruger.com/Barrels-Muzzle-Devices/products/5800/1/0

[Petrol & Powder]

It has been some time since I played with 10/22's but they are excellent semi-auto .22LR guns.
As mentioned, the factory chamber is probably the major weak link in terms of accuracy (and even that isn't horrible).
Of course the easiest way to fix the chamber is to simply replace the barrel.
The trigger can be improved, and you can spend a little or a lot, depending on your wallet and skill.

The big mistake I see with kitchen table modifications is hanging a LOT of mass off of that little receiver. When you start adding big scopes and bull barrels to a 10/22, you have to have a plan on how the barreled action will interface with the stock. The amount of contact between the receiver and the stock of a 10/22 isn't that big.
Keep the scopes and rings light and consider bedding some of the breach end of the barrel. A full free float is not needed in a .22 and is often counterproductive. One of the better stocks I had was a heavier laminated wood stock that I partially bedded.

The little plunger and spring that resets the trigger is rather crude from the factory. It can be improved greatly with some very judicious polishing.
You don't need a full drop-in trigger kit, just a new hammer & sear will achieve the same results.

There's more accuracy to be gained with a good chamber than just about anywhere else in that platform.

[uscra112]

It just hit me: y'know why 10/22s became the Lego toys of the gun world? Anybody with a screwdriver can remove/replace a barrel. If it took more than that the 10/22 would at best be a footnote to the history of .22 semiautos.

[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
https://i.imgur.com/2YbCJzY.jpg

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.