Improving 10/22 Accuracy without spending big $?

[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. 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. 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.

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...ducts/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.