Ruger 10/22 .22 LR Review

Overall Rating

Easily adaptable and upgradeable

Initial problem with supplied mag
Wide dovetail

My Ruger 10/22 .22 LR is UK purchased, and a custom build by South Yorkshire Shooting Supplies. See 10/22 build list at: http://www.rimfiremagic.co.uk/10_22_buildlist.html

I went for:
1) Receiver in silver
2) Standard trigger with all the bits done to it in silver, and with single action
3) Volquartsen 14" stainless match barrel
4) Muzzle break, again in stainless

I already had an original Ruger composite stock, and boy does this look good being black and the rest silver/stainless, and with the short barrel.

The trigger gives about a 2.2lb trigger pull, which is really nice for target shooting. Is this thing accurate? You bet! Better than I am. The info that comes with the barrel says NOT to use a jag or bronze brush, so I made a pull through from a bit of string, with a loop at one end and a small weight at the other. Just add a piece of 4 x 2 and job done! And ensure you pull it straight through the barrel and not to one side, or the crown will become damaged over time.

I did experience initial problems with jamming due to mis-feeding, but only on the last round. Stripping the mag and sparingly lubricating with Teflon oil and increasing the spring tension by one flat, and using standard rather than high velocity rounds has solved all the problems.

The other problem I had is my 11mm scope mounts did not fit the dovetail properly, which resulted in the scope being out of alignment with the barrel. OK for the zero distance, but at others it put the zero out. My dovetail measures 13mm (1/2") at the widest point, and the problem was solved by a purchase from Uttings of the BSA 1 piece mount size 12.9-14mm (product code 603C). This fits exactly, and it adds a little weight to the rifle. Plus, the rings are set on gimbals, so super accurate aligning of the scope/barrel can be achieved if needed.

I have not shot a standard 10/22, so I cannot comment on how a 6lb trigger pull feels. But honestly, do yourselves a favour and contact SYSS for a trigger upgrade, and you will not be disappointed. I should have purchased this a long time ago instead of the FAC air rifle, but that's another story.

The ammo I use is Sellior & Bellot club. Why? Because it's cheap and it works for me. I was warned that having a match barrel which has a tighter chamber could result in jamming and mis-feeds, ie. ammo fussy. My problem was due to the mag. I have used HV ammo since, and I have had no problems. It just kicks more, and is not as accurate (in my opinion). This gun also cycles properly using subs, so for vermin it's brilliant!

Members' Comments onnige's Review

• nige on 31st Oct 2006

  An update.....
  Since my comment about the S&B ammo, things have gone down hill. I still have the occasional jam on loading, mainly leaving the new round with its nose buried into the top leading edge of the chamber. I was always putting this down to the "match barrel". Sometimes a round won't even leave the mag, causing a jam. Well, well well, last weekend at our club I had 5 jams in 20 rounds, and if I was to really think hard about my setup, I was not getting the total consistency on target that I was sort of expecting. I could do better with my pcp air rifle. A change of ammo to RWS Target, and a quick 10 rounds just to see if it would jam again; I wasn't even really concentrating on precise aiming of the sand bag at 25m, I just wanted to get the 10 rounds off. Boy oh boy, what a shock! For one thing... no jams. For those familiar with the NRA 20yd pistol target with the 10 ring about 1" in diameter and the inner ring about 1/2" across...9 shots inside the inner and 1 just outside it.
  
  The cause for all the jams was down to the ammo. On close inspection, some bullets were not loaded straight and were canted over. Might be OK in a standard barrel, but not my Volquartsen match barrel. Am I happy now? You bet!

• nige on 6th Feb 2007

  Further update. All the RWS went some time ago (shame) and our club is now buying cci mini mags. Everyone who owns a 10/22 is now using this stuff at our club, from my match barrel to a 12" and 16" carbon fibre match barrels to standard barrels. It seems to work well in all sorts with very few problems at all and accurate and I'm convinced the copper dusting on them cuts down the amount of fouling in the barrel and they seem to burn quite clean. If you ever have a go at police pistol with turning targets then these are almost a must as the cycle rate is much faster especially for police pistol 2 stage 4 at 10m (3 shots on left target, 3 shots on right target, all in 6 seconds) you can't afford to have a jam.

• fixall7 on 4th Mar 2007

  nige from what I have read here your having bad luck with this 10/22, I think your problem is all that modification that has been done to the rifle, a matched barrel trigger job and your playing around with to many cheap rounds. Sometimes having a Fancy L@@KING rifle doesn't necessarily mean your going to shoot better on paper,
  Example I have a stock Stainless 10/22 with a muzzle suppressor with exhaust ports only on the top too keep the barrel down, I have custom polished my own self my trigger to less then 2 lbs and have a 3x9x40 adjustable scope and last but not least the polyurathane pin stopper in the rear of the receiver for smoother action. and in the past 15 years have fired only 2 types of Ammo CCI STINGERS which is the Best ammo in the World and Remington Yellow Jacket and I have Fired over 12,000 to 15,000 rounds with the Original Rotary Magazines and I Swear to God I have never had a Jam in the barrel or the Chamber.
  The Secret is Original Stainless barrel and Receiver Made by Ruger Sturm and I use SUPER LUBE Synthetic Lubricant (spray can ) good for -30 celcius all the way to 200+ celcius only on moving parts not in the barrel. I shoot Great (bulls eye) 50 to 150 yards and with a slight drop at 200 yards. Cheap rounds of ammunition use cheap gun powder which fouls the moving action to which it slows down the reload process which causes jaming, you need stronger rounds to reload smoother.
  There might be another possibility about your rounds jaming your barrel is not matched to your receiver also maybe caused with aftermarket Mags, the tilt of the round is on a greater angle then it has to be...................

• nige on 5th Mar 2007

  Probs weren't with the gun at all, been down to the ammo all along (apart from tightening the mag spring). This thing is a tac driver and I can't wait for the new Boyd SS evolution stock to arrive. We shoot gallery rifle at 25m (for those not familiar with this, it simulates pistol shooting but with rifles, or long barreled revolvers) and is shot from standing at a 20 yard small bore pistol target, in fact shot a 97 Saturday.

• deadeyedick on 29th Aug 2007

  I've found a Ruger 10/22 in my local gunsmiths. As far as I can see it seems to be similarly customised as yours. The barrel is a target barrel and the way it looks on the outside is turned to have multiple sides in a spiral. It comes with a silencer, bi-pod and good scope. Its second hand but in very good nick. Need to check the barrel first to make sure theres no pitting or anything nasty down there. But for £450 with all that kit its only going to cost me about £40 more to get that than a brand new CZ 452 with scope, bipod silencer etc. I'm only worried about reliability and that its not going to throw a wobbly if I use hollowpoints in it. These CCI Mini Mags seem good to be, I've seen them about and they have a slight hollow in the front. Do you think the rifle would get upset if I used Remington hollowpoints in it because of its target barrel. I am a target rifle user myself so I know how pickey they can get with ammunition! Thankfully my anschutz isnt too bad.

• nige on 10th Sep 2007

  Never tried hollow points in a match barrel as I can't but them as mine is only licensed for target shooting. Suggest you ask if it is poss to try loading a couple from the mag by cycling the bolt to see if the rounds are picked up and loaded ok, better still, would you be able to have it taken somewhere where you could try it.

• Kumar UK on 1st Dec 2007

  I found this review helpful because... As the first time buyer of the Ruger 10/22 .22LR, This review gave me so much of good information and the place, where to go etc..Very good.

• nige on 3rd Dec 2007

  Further update... the Boyd SS evolution stock has been on there for a while now, but have now added a KIDD match trigger. approx 6oz first stage and 12oz 2nd stage pull weights and so sweet and smooth.
  for uk peeps, check out rudefatdog website.
  
  I'm also having a barrel weight made for it after experimenting with a 0.5kg weight hanging on the end of the barrel. Might sound a lot, but much easier to hold still when standing.

• peppilepew on 5th Mar 2008

  I have a 10/22 race rifle. Laminated thumb hole stock and Ruger stainless barrel. I did the trigger job myself. I shimmed the hammer and sear to get consistency. I removed all but .020 of trigger play with marine quick set epoxy. I installed a trigger stop for a total of about 1.5mm of travel with 1.5 lbs pull. I had the bolt milled for squarness and had the headspace set to .043. I them removed all of the mass production rough finishing and polished all friction points. I removed the bolt return spring from the rod and polished the rough finish with a stone and 600 paper. You can install an aftermarket rod and spring which will do the same. Fit and finish of the internals need attention on this rifle. The cartridges were slipping off the bolt and jamming the bullet head into the top of the reciever. Roughing the area on the bolt where the bolt strips a cartridge from the mag with a dremel solved that problem.You don't have to spend alot to make this rifle a tack driver. Mods cost me about $60. I opted for the Nikko Stirling Gold Crown scope 4-12 power. I chose to stay with factory 10 round mags. I skimped on the ammo buying 5K of CCI Blazer. Being new to this sort of thing I drove myself crazy with jamming problems. Having only had experience with bolt action 22 rifles I never gave it a thought. I tried different types of ammo and finally setteled on CCI mini-mags. The Blazer spent casings FTE out of the port. When they did eject there was no consistency in their angle or velocity. I concluded that from the different sub-sonic brands that i had tried that the problem could only be solved with stronger more consistent cartridges. 10/22s seem to need higher charged rounds to push that heavy bolt and spring back to allow the ejector a solid hit on the spent casing. I noticed that as the round count climbed to about 150 the problem got worse. Cleaning helped but the real solution was CCI mini-mags or cartridges with similar charges. The spent casings now eject with consistent trajectory and velocity. Accuracy on this rifle is nothing short of fantastic. I am hitting spent 223 casings at 60 yards for fun. I soon hope to be hitting the nails that hold them in place. The point being you can have a perfectly functiong rifle that will drive you crazy without the correct stye of ammo. Research you gun and find out its favorite food! CCI mini-mags are what my rifle likes to eat!