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Ruger 10/22

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peterk123

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We are looking for a 22lr rifle for shooting target; 50 to 100 yard distances. Seems like the 10/22 is one of the most popular and easy to swap parts if one desires. Is there an advantage to a bull nose, vs. the least costly Carbine model? Do you guys know which shop would have the greatest variety/options in Mass? Or am I better off ordering online and have it shipped to local FFL?

Thanks

Pete
 
I'll get flamed for this but I got the basic wood stock model for $180 at Dicks Sporting Goods and got a decent scope on clearance cheap and sighted it in Wednesday.

Can't go wrong with a 10/22 regardless where you buy it.
 
10/22s are fun but unless your limiting your budget there are several 22s that might perform better at 100 yards out of the box.
Your ammo choices will dictate expected 100 yard accuracy also.

I have been eye balling the CZ 455 varmint precision.
 
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Bull nose is much more accurate, the basic 10/22 isn't known of amazing accuracy. You'll have to decide how much you want to spend versus what level of accuracy you're expecting. Normal for people to spend more of upgrades/mods than the rifle itself costs. I kept mine stock and I have no problems hitting the same hole with iron sights at shorter distances. Overall, it's a great plinker and I love it. At the price I got it for, can't complain.

At the prices most places sell these for, just get it from your LGS. No reason to buy it online and have to tack on transfer fees. Dicks and Cabelas have them for <$200 for BF and normal prices aren't that much more.
 
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The term is "bull barrel", no nose involved

The term "bullnose" means something else entirely than the phrase "bull barrel"

If you plan to swap out both your factory barrel and stock, there is no advantage to buying the bull barrel model. If you plan to install an aftermarket bull barrel, know that if your gun came with a tapered barrel, factory stock won't fit the larger barrel.

schemingbunny said:
Bull nose is much more accurate, the basic 10/22 isn't known of amazing accuracy. You'll have to decide how much you want to spend versus what level of accuracy you're expecting.
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Agreed. If OP is talking about competitive target shooting at 100 yards, he might consider a bolt-action .22lr instead.
 
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Is a bolt action more accurate because the barrel tolerances can be tighter? I'm guessing a bit of "slop" is needed to feed the ammo if a semi auto. Sorry for the simple questions. Very new to this.

Accuracy would be nice, even if not competing. We are purchasing this purely for target shooting. Although, I am sure it will turn into a competition between me and my wife :)
 
peterk123 said:
Is a bolt action more accurate because the barrel tolerances can be tighter? I'm guessing a bit of "slop" is needed to feed the ammo if a semi auto. Sorry for the simple questions. Very new to this.

Accuracy would be nice, even if not competing. We are purchasing this purely for target shooting. Although, I am sure it will turn into a competition between me and my wife :)
Click to expand...

I think if your looking for 100 yards accuracy you might find better in a bolt gun.
Depends on your budget and how much you want to pay for ammo.
My cut off on 22lr is 10$ box. Mainly is my skill set keeps ammo costing more to have any benefit
 
The carbine model with either upgrade to iron sites or scope is capable enough to earn rifleman patch at Appleseed shoot with addition of sling IF stock fits you. In my case (I'm tall and stock is short) I upgraded to used longer factory stock that also came with sling swivels already mounted. It would have been easier to if my initial purchase was configuration with longer stock. Interestingly would have been about same money either way.
Bull barrel is more accurate if shooting bullseye targets for score but for AQT targets and practical accuracy standard barrel is fine.
 
What ever model you end up getting(I got the Stainless Steel Model with Black Synthetic Stock) buy a BX-25 Trigger. It makes the gun so much better.
 
I got the 10/22 target tactical, and accuracy left a lot to be desired for a "target model". My son had a plain vanilla synthetic stocked, tapered barrel carbine that shot just as well. I got a barrel/stock combo for his rifle and it shot lights out heads above my target model and all in it was the cheaper route. Ruger makes good barrels, but they cut the chambers really sloppy and that's what keeps them from being as good as they can be. You might get lucky and have a fresh reamer cutting your barrel but good luck. Get a beat to snot 10/22 and replace the barrel with an economical variant from ER Shaw, Green Mointain, and drop the barreled action into a stock of your choice. Your looking at
3-4 total and you'll have an accurate rifle that you guys built.

Or.........there's a guy in CT, I think he's called Conecticut Precision Chambering or something. He specializes in 10/22's, one of his packages sets the barrel back and cuts a fresh match chamber and then he does a trigger job on the rifle, for something like 175.00, don't quote me on that price but I sent him a bone stock 10/22 and when I got it back it shot as good as some of my custom builds but retains the look of a blue light special stock 10/22. He does a lot of work for the money.
 
HiCap said:
What ever model you end up getting(I got the Stainless Steel Model with Black Synthetic Stock) buy a BX-25 Trigger. It makes the gun so much better.
Click to expand...

This plus one. Get them from guy on eBay who checks trigger pull on each one and tells you weight off pull. Charges a little more for lower weights and little less for higher. Still cheaper than most.
 
I can swear by the CZ455. I have a tacticool that's been, slugged, lapped, bedded and tuned with a rifle basics trigger. It's more accurate than I am with the right ammo. mine loves Wolf right now. I also have a Savage FV-SR that excels with CCI SV. Thats for bolts. I also have a 10/22 target takedown and a basic 10/22 carbine. For semi auto I would get a good cheap 10/22 and then use that as a base to mod up. new trigger, stock, barrel.
 
The 10/22 is a fine rifle, but it has a number of peculiarities that you should be aware of.

The 10/22 is built backwards. Instead of the barrel hanging off the receiver, the receiver hangs off the barrel. The barrel is designed to be supported at two points; at the receiver and at the barrel band. The receiver was never designed to support the weight of a cantilevered barrel and has only one real anchor point. Free-floating the barrel requires adding additional mounting points to the receiver which starts to get tricky. That said, many get away with a single anchor point and/or bedding the receiver to the stock.

The 10/22 depends on the magazine to align the bolt. There are warning about loading single rounds without a magazine in place and numerous accounts of slam fire when trying to do so.

There is no "last shot hold open" on the 10/22.

The bolt lock is tricky to operate. There are modifications to allow for easier release, but it can still be tricky to set.

The trigger isn't great, but it isn't that bad either. There are kits to swap out the hammer and vastly improve the trigger.

The stock sights are nothing to write home about. Tech sights or a scope are much nicer.

All that said, the 10/22 is still a fine rifle and quite capable. You can easily spend several times the original purchase price on modifications. I am not sure that you can improve it as much as some other rifles due to the design compromises made by Ruger.

I have a 10/22 with a scope on it that will make nice tight groups at 100 yards with no problem. My CZ 455 did better with less tinkering right out of the box.

They are both great guns, but the bolt action, free float CZ is just better at 100 yards than my 10/22. It has a better trigger, it is built tighter, it is more consistent.

The CZ is also slower (bolt action) and has smaller more expensive magazines (5 round at $35 vs 10 round at $25).

I have more than one 10/22 and a CZ 455. I love them both but for different reasons. The 10/22 is my tinker gun. The CZ 455 is my precision gun.
 
I just bought a 10/22 on Cabelas.com for $190 (plus tax).
Picked up a Magpul 10/22 Hunter Stock for like $119.
Snagged a Green Mountain Barrel, 16.5", Bull, Fluted for $132
I own a Timney, which I'm going to move over to this setup.

My stock 10/22 Take down, with the Timney is great. I was ringing 5" steel at just over 100 yards consistently.
 
Have the "target tactical" model with the bull barrel and a nikon pro staff scope and a volquartzen trigger. Fist sized groups at 100 yards with federal auto match run of the mill ammo. At 50 yards its one ragged hole accuracy. Awesome set up.
 
HiCap said:
What ever model you end up getting(I got the Stainless Steel Model with Black Synthetic Stock) buy a BX-25 Trigger. It makes the gun so much better.
Click to expand...

The 10/22 comes is a dizzying variety nowadays, from stainless, to takedowns, to mutli-color stocks, Mannlicher stocks, M1 Carbine stocks, bull barrels, and even multiple pistol versions (Charger). But I've yet to see one that comes with the enhanced BX trigger already installed.

https://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/new-ruger-bx-trigger-1022/
 
Zappa said:
The 10/22 comes is a dizzying variety nowadays, from stainless, to takedowns, to mutli-color stocks, Mannlicher stocks, M1 Carbine stocks, bull barrels, and even multiple pistol versions (Charger). But I've yet to see one that comes with the enhanced BX trigger already installed.

https://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/new-ruger-bx-trigger-1022/
Click to expand...

https://www.cdnnsports.com/rugerr-10-22r-22lr-light-gray-stock-bx-trigger.html
Supposedly comes w/ one. Though it could be a store edition or something. They have a lot of unique Ruger 10/22 varieties like you mentioned.

BX Trigger for $46
http://grabagun.com/ruger-25.html

I think a lot of the 10/22 guys say the BX trigger is an improvement over the stock one, but the consistency in quality varies on the trigger - so make sure you really test it out and see if it breaks well.
A lot of them end up upgrading to a two stage, like KIDD. Or they send theirs out for trigger jobs.
 
My two cents: The 10/22 is a really good value. If you only want to spend $200 on a semi-auto .22 then the 10/22 is it. Pre-ban 25 round mags are available for the 10/22 and there are a million upgrades if you like to tinker.

In my opinion, the next logical jump up in price point for a semi-auto brings you to the S&W M&P 15-22 for $350. The AR platform has a little more versatility because it has a rail. The rifle includes flip up Magpul sights and you can easily experiment with different types of forward grips, scopes, red dot sights, etc and they just bolt right on to the rail. It's a newer rifle so no 30 round pre-ban mags exist. MA residents are limited to 10 round mags with this rifle.

Savage also makes some very nice bolt action .22's for short money. The design of the rifle uses a barrel nut to attach the barrel to the receiver so they're able to manufacture a pretty accurate rifle for relatively low cost. The Mark II series is very popular. The basic versions with a plastic stock and standard barrel start around $250. Higher end versions with wood stocks and bull barrels are also available.

I personally enjoy shooting a bolt action for two reasons. One, operating the bolt slows down my rate of fire which conserves ammo and saves a little money. Two, operating the bolt requires me to re-aim the rifle every shot. With a bolt action I aim, fire, cycle the bolt, aim, fire, cycle the bolt so it's 6-7 seconds between shots and creates more of a challenge and helps develop my skills (I'm not that skilled yet). With a semi-auto .22 there is almost no recoil and the rifle pretty much stays on target so I can rip through a 10 round mag in 5 seconds and keep a tight group. To me, it gets boring pretty quickly.

I personally own a Savage Mark II BV and a S&W M&P 15-22. I bought the Savage because I really loved the classic look and feel of a bolt gun with a wood stock. It's very solid, heavy, old timey and kinda romantic. I bought the 15-22 because it's the exact opposite of the Savage....Semi-auto, lightweight and modern but it uses the same ammo.
 
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I bought one for my wife a few years ago. We have had a trigger job done on it, so she could shoot it easier. She has MS, and only he use of her left arm. Still, when the gun is set up on her wheelchair she is a really good shot!!
 
I can't wait to give my current 10/22 to my kids. Its a standard model that I added a stock extension, sling and scope to. It shoots fantastic.
I want the international model for myself. Mainly to tell people I've got a Mannlicher at home.
 
I bought a 50th anniversary model with the Ruger American stock, stainless threaded barrel and picatinny rail with rear peep sight. My main interest was the threaded stainless barrel and the lack of a barrel band. Other than the awful trigger I'm quite happy with it.
 
Volquartsen hammer

Jim85IROC said:
I bought a 50th anniversary model with the Ruger American stock, stainless threaded barrel and picatinny rail with rear peep sight. My main interest was the threaded stainless barrel and the lack of a barrel band. Other than the awful trigger I'm quite happy with it.
Click to expand...
If you don't want to spend a lot of money, start with the Volquartsen hammer kit. Often that alone will make enough difference for the trigger pull to be bearable.

If you don't want to spend a lot of time, get the timney drop-in.
 
Kevin_NH said:
If you don't want to spend a lot of money, start with the Volquartsen hammer kit. Often that alone will make enough difference for the trigger pull to be bearable. If you don't want to spend a lot of time, get the timney drop-in.
Click to expand...
X2 on the Volq hammer. It's a pretty significant improvement on the stock trigger for short $$.
 

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