10/22 or Lilja or Shillen or whoever

I wasn't happy with my 10/22s accuracy for squirrel hunting use but didn't want to go with a heavy barrel. I had a trigger job done on the original group first. Then I bedded the receiver to the stock to eliminate some of the freeplay there. Lastly I took and reamed out the barrel to freefloat the barrel and ground out the inside of the barrel band to get clearance above. To look at it it looks just one straight from the store other than the overtravel screw on the trigger. I shoots an average of a half inch at fifty yards with the Wolf Target ammo. I know it's nowhere near competitive but for a minimal investment it became a head shot squirrel rifle that looks stock and is still handy to carry. The only cost was the $50 trigger job. Just an alternative to the heavy barrel, new stock route.
 
Whelenman:

Light barrels don't need to shoot much worse than heavy ones, but because there's only one bedding screw, need upward pressure in the forend to key the rear of the action into the stock for top accuracy.

The worst thing about factory barrels is the sloppy chamber. The barrel can be sent away and be set back and Bentz match-chambered for about $35 and most will shoot much better. They may not digest the cheapest ammo after that, however.

I tend to like some weight in the forend of 10-22s to hold steadier offhand and would condsider adding lead weight to the forend by hollowing it out and pouring an adequate amount of lead shot and glue, or making a bar from molten lead that can be glued in. I did that to my original stock years ago and it helped. :)

Picher
 
10/22 accuracy

My wife and I shoot RF Silhouette and have a fondness for Ruger 10/22's. I have built 5 custom Rugers now and owned others. Love the guns, but shoot Anshcutz 1712's for serious competition.

I have found the single most significant improvement in accuracy came from properly bedding the action/barrel. Go over to Rimfire Central and go into the Tips & Tricks Section for very good step-by-step instructions with pictures for bedding.

Next step of course the barrel. I was somewhat disappointed with a Shilen barrel accuracy - good, but not wonderful for the cost. I have found that Green Mountain barrels in 18" both SS and carbon steel shoot wonderfully and are a great buy. I have mounted scopes using bases on both the barrel and the action and cannot find any difference in accuracy. BTW, the Green Mountain barrel can be had tapped for the barrel mounted bases.

Next look for a real target trigger for the gun as the factory trigger design is just not going to reliably get below 2.5 pounds (I know I am going to hear about this statement). The KIDD trigger is THE ONE to get.

You will find that the 10/22 will start having ejection problems after a while and it is caused by the factory extractor - it is soft and wears. Also the aftermarket match chambered barrels are much "tighter" and will cause the factory extractors to start to fail even sooner. Get a Volquartsen or Clark extractor and the problems should go away.

I would recommend a CPC bolt as they are set for proper head space, come with hardened and tuned extractors, have a pinned firing pin (the factory design caused the firing pin to be a bit sloppy) and also are machine turned on the side which is a really nice touch.

Now you have spend a ton of money on a Ruger 10/22 that will shoot with a good Anschutz 64 actioned rifle.

Is it worth it, that is up to you.

George
 
Have a Lothar Walther in my favorite 10/22. Randy at CPC did all the work. He is the best on the 10/22.

Got an old yellowed Certificate on the garage wall from 2003. 242 - 9x at 50 yards. So I tip my hat to the 243!

This rifle that Randy built, it just keeps getting better with time.

Thanks again Randy (I know he dont read these forums). GG
 
Have a Lothar Walther in my favorite 10/22. Randy at CPC did all the work. He is the best on the 10/22.

Got an old yellowed Certificate on the garage wall from 2003. 242 - 9x at 50 yards. So I tip my hat to the 243!

This rifle that Randy built, it just keeps getting better with time.

Thanks again Randy (I know he dont read these forums). GG


Randy has done trigger jobs on a couple for me and was a pleasure to do business with. He really wanted to add a match chambering job but I wanted to be able to stay with factory chamber since my use wasn't for competition. I'll second your praise.
 
10-22

Most of the time I just read here but I feel I can contribute today. I am an avid squirell hunter and I use my 10-22 with shilen barrel There is one main drawback to using a 10-22 for hunting the tree rats its the lock time. My 10-22 will outshoot my anshutz on paper but stand off hand and sqeeze the trigger on the eye of a squirrel and strange things happen. I have more fun with that rifle than almost any rifle I own, I have a video of myself and a friend shooting prairy dogs with them at 250 yards. Yes its true 250 yards off a bench and a good rest. I have the video so you nay sayers just kept your sewer shut. There is one Improvement you should make when you replace the barrel. Install a piller in the rear on the action at a 45 degree angle that is directed into the grip of the stock and then glass bedded in. This gives the action a second point of contact and makes a big difference in accuracy.
 
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