Dusty44

Took the DPMS Oracle 5.56 with all the new hardware to the range, Tuesday the 19th of June. Fired 10 rounds of each of 6 different bullet weights. 55 gr Tul Ammo Aluminum cased Hollow Point bullets * 62 gr Herter Hollow Pointed bullets 64 gr HPBT Bitterroot Valley 69 gr HPBT Bitterroot Valley 75 gr HPBT Bitterroot Valley 77 gr HPBT Black Hills Match * The Tul Ammo was probably steel case with a beautiful 1-molecule-thick brass finish and the Herters was the aluminum cases. Unless it wasn't? All this ammo ran magnificently. Target distance: 100 yards; temperature high 90's to maybe 102 F; wind 5 - 15 gusting to 20 from the right side (firing line faces 090; wind was nearly 180). At 100 yards and nearly 3000 FPS, the wind should not be significant; an inch or less in the 1/10 second it had to affect the bullet. Started with 4 targets on backing board, reduced to 2 targets at a time later. Always a fresh target available when needed. On the pics below the blue marker number indicates which mag in each pair. There was only one (20 round MagPul) mag used. 5 rounds were loaded, mag inserted in rifle and the string fired. Mag released, rifle laid on its side and partly on a sandbag so the barrel would be slightly angled down and sometimes the rifle was tilted so the scope was low relative to the rest of the rifle. Mag reloaded with 5 more rounds, etc. Usually by the time 2 or three (or 4 at most) of these 5-shot strings had been fired the range was called 'Green' for posting and checking targets and there was a significant delay before shooting was allowed again. When the range is Green, bolts must be open. I slip my yellow plastic flag into the chamber, also. The rifle never had an opportunity to get very hot. The DPMS design barrel nut and slotted FF tube help cooling, too. That nut is a good heat sink all by itself. These targets have one-inch wide rings and one-inch square grid overlay. The red stick-on target dots are one-inch diameter. Target 001 shows a decent group for the first mag; then it all goes to hell for mag #2. Target 003 mag #1 really shows two tight groups. DIIK? Then mag #2 drops back to the usual spread. Targets not shown have spreads slightly larger, pretty much the size of the full diameter of the 9 ring; as displayed on Target 004A. Target 004A shows mag #1 aimed at the golf ball, mag #2 aimed at the red dot target. The spread was doing fine with both strings until the last two shots of mag #2. Both of these bullets went where they were supposed to. It is a little difficult to see: one hole at 7 o'clock in the red disk and the other at 2 o'clock. Then the next and the rest of the mags continued the big spreads. The Nikon scope is in Burris Tactical scope mounts. These are tip-off mounts. I use a 1/4 inch drive ratchet handle and a 1/2 inch deep-socket (the deep socket is like a short extension; knuckle saver) and torque the bejezus out of the nuts. All those little screws in the top of the rings have been torqued round-&-round and criss-cross until they are all as tight as my fingers and that supplied little 'L' wrench can make them. Instructions that came with the mounts said to lightly finger-tight the nuts on the rail grip and be sure the mounts were facing the right way with the mounts both against the risers in the rail; then tighten the top rings and finally be sure the mounts are firmly forward and torque the nuts. I have removed and replaced the scope/mount assembly and the POA/POI stayed about the same (considering that the ammo used is constantly changing. And no, different ammo does not account for the big spreads on target). I intend to try one more scope on this rifle to see if the second scope has problems. This will be a new scope, not one moved from another rifle. There will be considerable time before it can be managed. Once there is a new scope in place, I will repeat this trial.

Summer is almost here. Summer in Texas: 6 weeks when the temperature is at or over 100 every day, might fall to 90 or even a little less for a couple of hours just before sunrise. Cold, wet, Summer in Texas (and often 'Summer' in Houston): Temperature is only 97 or 98 because the humidity is also 97 or 98- (need scuba gear to breathe); two to four thunderstorms (15 minutes each) between Memorial Day and Labor Day. (Does not cool at night!). Take a B-100 vitamin pill every day. Good for your heart and circulatory system. It is a decent mood stabilizer to help with stress of the hot days. Most mosquitoes hate the smell and taste and won't bite- really important on the Gulf Coast!

What do you read that relates to guns, hunting, individual sports, outdoors activity? One thing I read everyday is The Outdoor Wire. I feel very strongly that all of us who have any interest in guns at all and any interest in outdoors sports should read it. The Outdoor Wire has several included daily sections, that is, several different 'Wires' that cater to different categories of readers; check them out! It has a vast amount of information on organized activities/events nationwide, new products and the companies that are making them, and at the bottom an article everyday called "Feature" which needs be read. Everyday. I subscribe to The Outdoor Wire-- it's free-- and read it with the other 'stay informed' missives/blogs/whatever that are important to me. I have two Email accounts. One for all this stuff and another that is for very serious business and personal/family Email. You might want to try this approach to keep your life sorted out some? There are always too many things to do and to read and never sufficient time. The other gun/outdoor magazines I am renewing subscriptions to are: Shooting Times American Rifleman Guns

Ordered some reloading supplies and small tools. Redding small base die and Lee Factory Crimp die, bullets, tools for dealing with military primer-pocket crimp; all this related to my DPMS 5.56. One of the other forums who has a presence on Twitter had a Tweet yesterday. A guy was asking about gunshow bulk ammo offerings packaged in Ziplocks. Wanted to know if these were reloads. He put these cartridges (he called them "bullets" --- slang of a person with little knowledge or understanding of firearms) in his AR and they mostly all jammed. One came apart and dumped powder in the action, chamber, BCG, magazine--- and left the actual bullet, the projectile, in the chamber. Clearly, the cartridges were reloads by a person who did not know what he was doing. May have been reloading for decades, but still did not do anything properly. Loose bullets are absolutely unacceptable in any commercial offering. The bullets must be properly crimped into the case. The case must be properly sized to the precise specifications. That most of the cartridges jammed screams that they were not properly re-sized: probably never saw a sizing die. That even one bullet pulled out of a case says there may not even have been a neck-sizing die used. The bullets fit finger-tight into the cases and that was all. I am skipping the part about what powder might have been used and how much of it? Reloads like this must be full-length resized and often need be resized with a small-base die. Maybe if the reloads are going to be sold to unknown 3RD parties they should be resized in standard dies and resized again in a small-base die? Then the powder charge must be precise. For use by unknown users, very conservative amounts of powder. Read: published data minimum amounts of powder. Many who reload think the bullet should be barely finger-tight in the cartridge case. If it works for you for personal use, fine. The right way is a proper crimp. Pistol bullets with a crimp groove are designed and intended for full crimps that use the groove. Grooves vary and so do crimps; the proper ones should be used. Proper burning of the powder depends on this crimp and the resistance in the initial firing sequence. Rifle bullets use or do not use grooves, but still need crimping for control of the initial burn. Beyond that, a crimp keeps bullets in place relative to the cartridge case in many kinds of firearms during recoil from firing other cartridges in that firearm. In a semi-auto firearm the crimp and full resizing are essential. Crimp grooves and cannelures are easy markers for crimping. Smooth bullets need crimping too. The person doing the reloading needs verify that the bullet is seated to the proper depth and that the crimp is appropriate for the specific bullet and cartridge. Reloading actually does brush against Rocket Science. If in any doubt, do not reload. Do not buy ammo from any source where there might be any question. High-quality known-brand factory ammo is too easy to obtain and often at excellent prices. Please pardon the rant. I placed the order (above, at the top) on Monday night. Better to say Tuesday morning. I woke up at 3 AM :laugh: and cranked up the computer. Called up MidwayUSA and the order I had on hold in the 'basket' and sent it. Delivery by UPS Ground; this is Thursday and Tracking says the order will be delivered this afternoon. This kind of order handling seems to be the norm at both MidwayUSA and Brownells. I hope you are experiencing the same kind of superlative service!!

Yes. What you said about seeing target impact. And that really sexy stock in the pic!! My bolts are a Rem 700 & a Savage, both on synthetic stocks & in 308 Win; a 7 MM Mag Rem 700 on walnut and vintage in the 1970's. The barrels are long and unthreaded and when I shoot there is no way to see impacts. I would love to have bottom metal that would take a PMag on the 308 Win caliber Rem 700. I see the hardware in advertising and drool but the price chills me quickly.

All the loaded 223 & 5.56 ammo I have seen or bought is HPBT or FMJ. I have seen some plastic tip spitzer BT advertised online. I bought a box of 100 bullets for reloading: Sierra Gameking, 65 gr, SBT, #1395. Soft lead tip; red warning on the label: 7" - 10" BBL.S. ONLY My barrel is 1 - 9 inch twist; If I get another barrel, it will be 1 - 7 inch.

My A2 (?) flash hider was clocked slightly too far at the factory. I bought 2 new washers when I bought the free float tube and had the gunsmith who installed the FF tube re-install the flash hider --straight-- & with a new washer. (The other washer is for a new high-dollar precision barrel, if that seems necessary). If the next range visit has bad results I will try removing just the washer. And see about cleaning up the crown. Like soak in Hoppes and then soak in my gun oil and see what will wipe off? The last few minutes at the range, reported above, the last 5-shot clip: it all seemed to come together. Really, the last 6 rounds. The last clip and the final shot of the preceding clip. It would have taken new targets and another full Green.Range.Hot.Range.Green.Range cycle to place and recover targets and shoot more test clips and I did not have time. All ammo this last range trip was factory Bitterroot Valley. Started with 69 gr; ended with 75 gr. Last target was all 75 gr.

Range report for June 13, 2012. Not happy. Something happened in the rifle or scope. Pics below. Used 5 targets, started at 50 yards to check function and then moved to 100 yards. Look at target #3, typical results. Then look at target #5. Fired another 2 5-shot clips just for the hell of it. Rounds 1-4 did as expected. I could see, was watching that the crosshairs were on the golf ball for every shot. Round 5 was low and right. Damn. Second clip-- What is this?? But-- out of time. Other things that needed doing; serious things. Another trip to the range. Soon.

This weekend I cleaned my Dragoon again. Some parts are worn. Always wonder how long the little springs inside will last. Talked to Kirst Konversions again this morning: none of the critical Armi San Marco parts are any longer available. The Uberti parts will not work. I am going to do the conversion anyway but will shoot only on a very limited basis and keep good gun oils on the parts. A couple of boxes of commercial 45 LC ammo will probably be enough. One box of 'Cowboy' smokeless and one box of black powder loads-- if i can find some locally. I will not reload this caliber. The 44 RM is very similar and I am fully equipped with ammo, reloading supplies and equipment, guns in that caliber. Have even reloaded 44 RM with Pyrodex and not worried about the lube nor had a noticeable problem. But it was only a dozen rounds; did smear a little Bore Butter on the bullet noses as I slipped them into the chambers. Fun & impressive smoke!

Posting pictures to this forum (and to 308AR.com) had a long frustrating learning curve for me. Initially I could not upload at all. I could Email my pics to one of the moderators (sometimes, sometimes not even that!) and he could insert my pic in my post. I did that a few times. I almost never bothered with Preview. Then, for whatever reason, I used Preview once and discovered the toolbar would open for me with Preview but not with Quick Reply. Once The toolbar opens, uploading pics is easy. So is a lot of other editing. Editing pics in my own computer to prepare them for uploading is another game. Picasa and whatever program my current computer uses (in MS-7) allow some editing. Make a copy, maybe a couple of copies, of the pic and move the copy or copies to a new dedicated folder. That is to protect the original pic in your files. Double left click the pic you are going to mess with and let it appear on screen. Use the editing controls to crop and adjust the lighting. Save it. Cropping reduces the KB size an amazing amount. If you do not have Paint.Net, (free) download it and install it. Open the saved pic with Paint.net (right click?) in 'Edit.' Use the Resize percentage to adjust the Kb size. I have found it is best to do this in stages, 80% of original, save, 60% - 80% again. Two or three or more stages. The end result will be much better than just going to 22% in one step and getting a tiny thumbnail. I try to get a pic that is 4 inches to 6 inches in its long dimension on my screen and that shows, after saving and closing and seeing what I did in the prime working folder, as being less than 100 Kb. My original pics from my iPhone 4 are usually more than 2 Meg. Most of my posted pics are close to 100 Kb, plus or minus. One was a good pic at near 40 Kb. Do not know how that worked? I guess I was not paying enough attention to whatever I did. ***See Update below!!*** Paint.net allows all kinds of art stuff. To put print on the pic click the 'A' in that little box at the top, then put the cursor in the upper corner where you want the text. Pull down and left or right to make a box. Now there will be a window at the top where you can pick your font and print size and color of the text. 'Transparent' to add text over the pic, or 'Opaque' to have a box with the text; default white box, maybe pick the color of the box with 'Second Color'? When you are done, click the icon at top left corner to get to the Save icon. If you just close the window, all will be lost or erased. Have fun with the learning curve! If there is a bad result, go back to one of the saved copies you left behind and start over from there. I usually need to restart several times and when I Save and can, change the file name a little. Or let it be Copy-Copy-Copy-Copy until I get to where I Rename for the upload. Now upload the pic to the forum and Delete that working folder and the mess it contains. Disclaimer: This is written for possible benefit for those who, like me, usually find computers and software to be a cross between evil voodoo and unmitigated confusion. I only get by because of the IT Support from my pre-teen grandchildren. If computers and software are simple for you, maybe even an integral part of your being, I sincerely hope you at least got a good laugh! 6-14-2012 Update-- Resize (reduce) and end with low KB: Start with the original pic thumbnail; copy it. Right click the copy to open the Paint.net program; click Edit; resize percentage; Save; Close Paint.net. Double left click the resized pic thumbnail in MS-7 to open the pic in the MS viewer. Click the editor icon at the bottom, wait until the pic fully opens in the Edit screen. Click Resize at the top, use the slide to reduce the pic pixel count-- suggest no lower than 80% or so until you are comfortable with the end results you will get. Save AS; title it; Save. Close the editing function. Done. Ready to upload if the screen size and KB sizes are what you want. If you want to crop and adjust lighting, best to do this in MS-7 editor first. Then go to Paint.net, and do the rest.

Super Sexy!!!!!!!

June 5, 2012: The parts arrived yesterday, DPMS slotted 12-inch free-float handguard & Mid-West Industries steel low-profile gas block. Today there was a visit to a gunshop that is new to me but a very pleasant experience. In a few hours the new hardware was installed and the rifle was back home again. The gunsmiths (there were two) said everything seemed to have been assembled originally to factory specs. Comment was made that the OEM military style handguard could have been tighter and more difficult to remove, but . . . Then the unsaid about he did not see how? Maybe there was something there that affected accuracy? Range time as soon as it can be managed! Pic of the new configuration below; click it to make it larger.

Thank you for the flowers! I checked the web site yesterday and it said there were no conversion cylinders currently available. The current listed price was $350. My Dragoon has a very good trigger and the action is tight. Conversion to 45 LC would do it a lot of good. June 7, 2012, Update: My own conversion kit is now on backorder with Kirst Konversion's gunsmithing services included. May need to sell a couple of my grandchildren to help pay for it. "S. Marco" stamped on the barrel apparently means "Armi San Marco," an Italian gun maker. Armi San Marco ceased to be a dozen or more years back.

I bought a 3rd model dragoon in the 1970's. The 3rd Model Dragoon was the most common, the highest production version. The shape of the trigger guard is the easiest distinction to see. There was a gunshop nearby in the '70's that only sold black powder guns and accessories; thereby avoiding most of the legal problems of selling guns. I had no money but would stop by to drool. The gunshop owner sold me several guns, a TC Hawken, the Dragoon, maybe a couple of others that had been returned because there were problems. He was getting rid of merchandise that he could not easily sell and the prices I paid were very likely almost what he had allowed in trade on something else to the original customer. The Hawken was a kit gun that could not hit a barn from the inside. Eventually I made the gunshop owner angry enough that he took a serious look at the Hawken and realized the barrel wedge was loose due to problems with where the slot in the stock was placed. I had no experience or way to obtain information in those years so I did not know. This guy fixed the Hawken by putting a big bend in the wedge and telling me to never dissasemble the rifle again. I did a lot of shooting with that rifle with good results after that on a private shooting range that was available to me then. The world changes. That rifle spent a couple of decades untouched. A couple of years back I got it out and tried shooting it again. The stock split at the barrel wedge and metal parts in the lock and trigger had corroded to failure. I was told by my current gunshop to talk to TC. They sent me some parts- free- to fix some of it before I realized the stock was coming apart. With a handful of big pieces, TC asked me to send the whole rifle back to them. I had to make a shipping container (which was fun!) and pay shipping to them. They sent back a complete new rifle which had my original barrel, lock plate and hammer. All the rest was new. My original brass fittings were there in a bag with an apology that the current stock would not fit the old brass. Free. Return shipping paid. The Dragoon was, and is, another kind of problem. As you stated, It is too big for comfort and too heavy to deal with most of the time. It is a horse pistol. It needs a horse to haul it around. In the Civil War it would have been carried in pairs on the saddle for balance. Just one was heavy enough to hurt a horse after awhile from its weight pulling to one side. The Dragoons were the "Magnum" gun of the day. I have read an anecdotal review which quoted two different Civil War cavalry men, one Northern (Michigan) and the other Southern (Virginia), both independently saying the Dragoons would put a horse down and kill a man in his tracks. The Colts were lighter but not nearly so deadly. In "Lonesome Dove," at least in the book, one of the Rangers used a Dragoon and supposedly seldom bothered loading it. Just threatening to slap one of the neer-do-wells in town with it was more than enough to keep everybody in line! My problem is that a load of black powder, more than 30 grains to seat the ball, up to 40 grains max with the charge tube on the powder flask, shatters the cap. Tiny fragments of copper from the cap jam the hammer. Every time. No matter what. Real mess clearing the hammer. Not more than a hassle on a private range, impossible problem on a public range. 30 minutes to load the revolver, two hours to shoot five loaded chambers. But, when the thing does go off--- WOW!!!!! I think that if parts can be found that will work, conversion to 45 LC would be very good. My Dragoon was made by S. Marco >> Gardone V.T. - Brescia. Conversion to cartridge use was common after the Civil War, so similar modification to yours and mine is historically acceptable. I would only use handloads in mine, however, that were loaded with black powder or BP substitute. I will also check that conical lead bullets will not cause problems of their own. I think I was told to only load balls. The gunsmith may be able to do whatever is needed. Back in the era when I was shooting this revolver, I made some leather for it. My workmanship was quick & dirty, but the leather accessories were useful. The patterns were Civil War era, some Army, some not. My intent, because I had no interest in trying to do the exquisite work and careful detail of the period, was to make functional things that might have been done cheaply and in a hurry by someone who had acquired a Dragoon, perhaps found on a battleground. I had and still have (somewhere) the patterns. The leather was scratch from the patterns and tanned cowhide with as few tools as I could get by with (or without). Mostly on my own I created a holster pattern that would work that has a detachable cover flap that is good for storage. I had a cheap wide belt that sort of worked. This big heavy revolver in my holster needs something like a Sam Browne Belt with a shoulder strap to help carry the load.

I am intending to check if the barrel nut has been properly tightened. The flash hider is rotated too far and is not level. One sloppy assembler, maybe, or whatever. Sloppiness is pervasive? The barrel nut is going to be a 'two birds with one stone' attempt. I will put a free-float tube on the rifle and try to get the new barrel nut properly tightened and re-tightened several times. Then I will see what prints on the target ? With the 308 AR's, re-tightening the barrel nut several times is standard procedure. I will be at the mercy of the attitude of a gunsmith, however; will have to wait and see how it all comes down? The 1-9 twist is referred to many places as general purpose and should stabilize the ammo I am shooting. A 1- 12 twist would be limited to 55 grain or lighter bullets. I want heavier and boat-tail bullets to buck the wind as much as possible. I have been spoiled by my 308 Win AR and those 180 and 190 grain spitzer boat-tails. For refresh, the range is dealing with a harassment lawsuit and 30 cal or larger rifles are verboten for now. If the new and presumably properly tightened barrel nut does not help, I will replace the barrel with a precision 1 - 7 twist barrel. Then I will keep my fingers crossed and maybe even burn a candle on that range day.

May 30, 2012: Ordered online this morning from Brownells, plain vented DPMS free float tube & low profile gas block for my DPMS Oracle 5.56. Filed the order online about 9:15 AM, had to call them again immediately because I forgot to put the free shipping code on it (visit 308AR.com if you need the code). Got that corrected. 11:55 AM received an Email from Brownells that the order has already been shipped, UPS ground. June 4, 2012 The shipment arrived this afternoon. Tracking indicated it arrived in the local distribution terminal last Friday at about 6 PM. No weekend delivery at UPS.

Beautiful. I am envious. I have a replica 3RD Model Dragoon, shoots .451 ball, up to 40 gr Black Powder; would love to be able to obtain a 45LC conversion kit or have it modified to work with 45 LC and the BP front-stuffer cylinder.

I may have to go back to 55 grain. I did a web search and have read some articles in magazines that say the 1 in 9 nominal twist should handle up to 75 grains easily and some individuals report shooting 77 gr or heavier that did well in their own judgement in their rifles. The seemingly more qualified sources have indicated that the 1 - 9 twist may be a little fast for 55 gr? The M-16 originally had a 1 - 12 twist if I remember correctly, and 55 gr was optimal for that. This 1 - 9 should be just right at 69 gr? I have accepted the 1 - 9 stamp on the barrel. I am going to check it. Yesterday I was shooting 62gr HP Russian Bear, 69 gr HP Bitterroot Valley, 75 gr HP Bitterroot Valley, 69 gr HP Remington Match (that might have been some kind of factory reloads but did not say so. The cases looked messy?). The water got muddy with the Rem Match because I adjusted the scope after a first clip and kept shooting; the group after adjustment was about 2 inches with fliers to more than double that. It was the end of the day and I was tired and my record-keeping discipline was on break. About a dozen rounds in two clips to empty that box of ammo. All the holes in the target mixed together. The picture of a target, previous post, was after this. Russian Bear may be good for combat and plinking, but I really do not expect all that much from it. It has, however, mostly done as well in this rifle as anything else. The range forbids FMJ and checks. Having any FMJ with you will get you banned permanently.

Made it to the range again yesterday. Trigger pull is very nice and very crisp. That pull at the break is a lot stronger at the range in live fire than in dry fire at home (with the upper removed and catching the hammer to avoid damage within the receiver). Groups are still much too large. 4 inches +; If this was my only gun and I had no other shooting experience I would just hide. I shoot 3 308 Win rifles including an AR pattern and 2 bolts, a 7 MM Rem Mag bolt, 2 Black Powder front-stuffers and a collection of handguns and all of them do better than this 5.56 AR. The 308's and the 7 MM easily keep all those holes within 2 inches of each other if I am not adjusting the scopes and messing with an infinite variety of factory ammo and handloads. Even the handguns usually stay under 4 inches (on a good day with the 45ACP M1911, 2 inches at 25 yards). The 10/22 is a special topic, other posts & threads. Yesterday at the range I watched what the guy a couple of shooting stations away was doing with his very tactical AR 5.56/.223 Rem rifle equipped with a red dot sight and magnifier and the holes on his targets compared well with the holes on my targets. That comparison allows for the red dot perhaps covering the area of the entire target while my scope was pinpointing the 'golf ball' in the target center. Picture taken at the range shows the DPMS 5.56 with the Nikon scope. The scope was taken from one of my bolt 308 Win rifles. Currently cannot shoot 30 cal or larger at the range: Harassment Lawsuit, Court Order, EPA. I had hoped that the Nikon scope would produce better groups than the first scope I put on this rifle. On the 308 Win bolt gun, I get under 2 inch groups consistently. Better than that by far if I am having a good day.

Cool! Really like the picture of your targets! Groups by numerical dimensions are good, but pictures really tell it like it is. Much better for comparisons.

Don't know who is actually using them. I routinely get online fliers from: Brownells; Sinclair; MidwayUSA; CTD (CheaperThanDirt); Cabela's; Palmeto State Armory; Sportsman's Guide. I have seen a three-way coupler for three Ruger 10/22 mags; couplers for two 20 or 30 round clips for a variety of mags. Historically, in Viet Nam duct tape was used routinely to tie two mags together so the pair could be inverted and shoved back into place quickly in a fire fight. For myself, a single 10 or 20 round clip has been more than adequate for use at the target range. I usually load 5 or 10 rounds. A longer clip is easier to handle sometimes. Time spent slipping cartridges into a clip is time for the rifle to cool. All this applies to my 10/22 and my DPMS 223/5.56 and to some extent to all my other guns.

I have a Nylon 66. Stamped receiver, glass (?) barrel. The iron sights worked adequately; they are mounted on the barrel. The scope could never be adjusted because the reciever waves like the tail fin of a fish off the end of the barrel. My own wondering is if the raised part of the receiver that forms the scope rail might have some space under it? Clearance between moving parts and the inner surface of the receiver? And if your receiver does? If so, mill a channel in the bottom of a Pitcatinny Rail or other bar stock to make a base for a scope mount that fits over the OEM rail and use something like big flathead screws carefully countersunk and put in from the bottom, from inside the thin receiver metal to hold the new rail/mount? Mill the sides of the OEM dovetail rail edges flat if that is possible or appropriate? Your receiver might be thick enough to drill and tap. Mine is sheet metal. Cold blue any and all exposed metal, apply long-term-durable oil, tighten fasteners with liberal Lock Tight. It might be enough for your rifle. Mine needs the rail to extend to where it can be attached around the barrel to stiffen the whole mess so the scope over the receiver points to the same place as the barrel. Hose clamps? LOL!! For all I know, if the barrel was encased like that, the fiberglass or whatever polymers it is might shatter from heating and cooling and induced stresses? My 10/22 uses a thin rail that attaches with the OEM drilled-tapped scope mounting points. The top of the 10/22 is smooth and slightly rounded. The rail is made to match; is either 1 inch or 7/8 inch wide-- can't get a good measurement-- and is 4 3/4 inches long. The scope mounts/rings are almost tip-off except there are no notches in the rail. The clamps can be loosened and the whole scope and mounts would slide off forward or backward. Might or might not slide back into place and hold POA. I had a local gunshop mount my scope and do the initial scope adjust. They had a lot of specialized hardware right there and found some dedicated 10/22 stuff and whatever else worked well. Wasting $50 chills my pocketbook nerve.

Wonder what it would cost for a gunsmith with a mill to create and mount a custom mounting base or modify a section of Picatinny Rail that would fit over the existing rail?

I have a variable power 22 rimfire scope. I thought it looked too small for this rifle. I found the Bushnell 4X "Big Rifle Scope" in a bubble pack hanging on a rack at Wally World. The Ruger 10/22 does not lend itself to removing the bolt and comparing the view through the bore to the view in the scope so I took the rifle and the $70 scope (2008) to my favorite local gunshop. The gunshop was able to pick and poke around in their stock of rings and mounts and find the right kind of mounting hardware, some that was good, not the most expensive, and use their electronic boresighter to set that initial adjustment. Money well spent. The 4X optic does fine on this rifle. Effective range of the 22LR is short, the single power scope is forgiving and accurate. A scope like this might not last very long on a big bore rifle with a powerful cartridge but on a 22LR it should last nearly forever.

Frightening. Hope you do not have consequences in the long term. When I was doing industrial plant & equipment maintenance, dock ramps and the associated mechanical gear was treated as one of the most potentially lethal repairs, with good reason. Very glad you survived. Hope the injuries are only superficial and temporary.