Cheap Mods And Improvements To The 10/22

[Dusty44]

We all know that a Ruger 10/22 is always and continuously a 'work in progress.'

I have tried to keep my carbine close to factory appearance.  Cost is a factor and I like the rifle as Ruger designed it.

My carbine recently broke its barrel band.  The new barrel band (ProMag) has a large slot on one side for a sling.  The slot can readily be positioned on either side.

With a choice of only left or right side,  which side to put the sling on?  I have observed from images (Internet Explorer) that the M 1 Carbine sling and the Russian PPS 41 sling are on the left side.  Most military rifles and SMG's have their sling on the bottom.  There might be one or two with the sling attached to to the left side of the fore end and the bottom of the rear of the stock? 

On the M 1 and PPS 41 the rear sling attachment is in a deeply recessed cavity or slot on the side of the stock.  That is not practical for me.  I will just use a wood screw swivel base.  3 inches forward of the butt pad as stated in a How-To I found.  It will be  centered vertically on the left side of the stock as a nod toward the M1 and PPS 41.  I am using an M 14 sling because it is the right material and color and is real (Govt. surplus) military.

FWIW:  Other forums seem to have very strong gun smithing talent and definitive instruction from experience for working on the 10/22.  Mods like mine are not discussed but are referred to.  Once I have completed this latest round of messing with my 10/22 and can manage some range time I will post a report of all I have done,  the results,  pictures.

The pic below is a much-later add-on.  Note the trace of white between the butt pad assembly and the wood;  discussed later in this thread.  The yellow Empty Chamber/Safe Bolt Flag is made from a strip of the packaging in a bubble pack,  I think from a windshield wiper blades package.  The color is good,  cut the strip to the proper width and length,  made a little roll at the free end and completed it with package sealing tape to hold it together and make it proof from oil and dirt.  Needs a little piece of wood dowel/several toothpicks in a bundle/bamboo food skewer inside the curl because the bolt is squeezing it and damaging it.  The aftermarket automatic bolt hold-open is good but releases too easily in routine handling of the rifle.  The flag is a positive safety item.

Click on any/all the pics below to make them much larger.

[imschur]

Wouldnt the choice depend on whether you are left or right handed? Reflecting on my youth the slings on all my .22's were on the bottom LOL

[Dusty44]

For a custom rifle and left handed shooter,  yes.  Put the sling on the right.

I am right handed and want to give this rifle a flavor of something from WW-2. 

The 10/22 kicks its fired brass out the right side with enthusiasm.  Putting the new sling on the left side might suggest kinship to the M 1 or PPS 41 and keep it out of the way of fired brass?  This whole project is because the only replacement barrel band I could find when I needed to find one has that big slot for a sling-- on the side-- -  and two big "tactical" rails. 

Otherwise, a regular sling under the rifle would have been easy.  Or,  even better,  I have been doing fine with no sling at all.  I expect that usually when I am at the range shooting,  this sling and all the other rifle slings I have for 'when needed' will stay on that hangar in the gun safe.

Here is an update and a couple of photos: 

The sling mod is complete.  The M14 sling uses a sling swivel at the front and a spring steel clip at the back.  I had to install this backwards on the Ruger because of the slot on the ProMag barrel band and the need to put a standard commercial swivel base on the side of the rear of the stock.  Done this way the sling stays 'quickly detachable.'  The sling could be rigged to use the military clip to attach to the rear swivel and be threaded through the barrel band slot if preferred,  or just use the rear swivel assembly and not use the military spring clip.  In this configuration there would be less leverage and chance of harm to the barrel band and its slot,  but to remove the sling would require a lot of unthreading.  Be aware that the Government Surplus M14 sling is 1 1/4 inches wide and requires a sling swivel that is 1 1/4 inches wide.

The spring clip is U-shaped,  open.  To make it stay in place I put a box-end wrench handle,  a narrow handle about 1/4 inch thick and 5/16 inch wide,  in the top of the spring clip to help the reshaping process;  used a vise with smooth jaw faces against the lower third of the open clip to squeeze and bend enough to make the clip be normally closed.

The swivel mount on the side of the rear stock requires a 1 inch deep hole be drilled for the 3/4 inch long screw using a specified size drill.  If you have a drill press,  set it up to do this,  and drill.  For a hand-held drill motor and drill bit like mine,  wrap some masking or duct tape around the drill bit so the right length of drill bit (1 inch!) is exposed.  One layer of tape is enough,  a thick collar is your choice.  Use enough tape and a wide enough piece of tape to give you a good marker and so the tape will stay in place and not slide up or down the drill bit.  The stock is only 1 1/2 inches thick and it would be too easy to drill all the way through.  A slightly larger diameter drill bit and another tape collar is needed for the "countersink" at the top of the hole.  The free-hand drilling tends to dive too deep too quick.  Be prepared.  Put some tape over the wood before drilling as instructed in the swivel mount instructions.  I used a 1/16 inch nail set instead of a center punch to begin and it worked.  I could not find my automatic center punch.

Update,  May 30,  2012:

I have taken the rifle to the range and done some live fire.  The sling is very nice to use  to keep hands free for other things.  Having the sling on the side of the rifle makes the rifle lay flat against my back.  Not having the uneven shapes of the bottom of the rifle digging into my back is great.  I tried carrying the rifle slung over my shoulder with a 25 round magazine in place,  too.  Everything stays very comfortable.  I am going to remove the sling's steel spring clip and just thread the sling through the barrel band slot.  The swivel will attach to the mounting stud on the rear of the stock.

[Dusty44]

The stock of the factory in-the-box 10/22 that I bought in 2008  had a minimal finish.  There was much bare wood hidden under other parts.  This is a result of manufacturing needs and keeping the cost low.

The first thing is to remove all parts from the stock.  ALL parts.  To provide long-term protection from molds and moisture,  put a new finish on ALL surfaces.  I used polyurethane oil-based varnish.  I found some 'Antique Walnut' one-step varnish that I already had and used that.  It was a perfect match.  An alternative that might be better is to use 'Light Walnut' stain and Spar Varnish.  OK,  you couldn't find "Light Walnut."  Any 'Walnut' should be good.  Just cover all surfaces with it to get an even color.  Be aware that you will not be able to tell what the final color and effect will be until the wood is completely finished and dry!!  Spar Varnish is oil-base and is for outdoors use primarily.  The name comes from the use of a product like this on sailing ships (tall ships) to protect exposed wood like spars,  masts,  decks,  whatever, that was not painted.  Apply the stain,  let it dry for a week or two,  then begin applying the Spar Varnish.  The polyurethane varnish is for indoor,  but will be fine for most guns that only spend brief lengths of time outdoors.  Following staining or color varnish,  I used polyurethane oil-base clear satin finish for top coats.  If you want a high gloss finish then use the high-gloss varnish.  I prefer satin finish to reduce sparkle and mirror reflection of sunlight that might be a factor in hunting.  I would have used a flat finish if it were available or if I could have found an additive for the varnish that would have made it a flat finish.

Use a thin tarp over the surface where you intend to work.  Thin cheap tarps are available lots of places:  hardware stores,  online,  mine come from a Harbor Freight store that is only 2 miles away.  Some newspaper to soak up spills and drips on top of the tarp help,  too.

My 10/22 had bare wood under the butt plate,  under the barrel band,  all inside surfaces where the action and barrel reside.

I do tend to be a little impatient and hurried.  I would suggest you take your time and do it all properly;  follow some How-To's!

I used paper towel wads,  small folded pads for applying varnish and stain.  Q-Tips are also helpful.  Brushes are better, fiber brushes or foam brushes,  but I really am cheep sometimes!  I wear the medical-style thin gloves and change them for new and clean often.  My gloves were bought at the area car parts shop,  intended for auto repair to keep hands clean.  They serve well!

I was able to dip the tip of the fore-end into the varnish-stain for a thorough application of varnish and color.  Then I applied a thick coat of the color varnish into the barrel channel,  interior of the space where the action fits,  butt surfaces of the stock.  I used new folded paper towel pads as they became too messy or started to shred.  I used Q-tips to apply this varnish in some places.  Two or three Q-tips held together in a tight flat fan do very well.  Q-tips are excellent for putting varnish into tight corners and small spaces and down into screw holes.

The first application dries enough in a few minutes that once the varnish is applied to an area it is necessary to begin rubbing,  wiping,  smoothing it to a thin even coverage.  Starting at the fore end,  by the time I had done the butt of the stock I felt comfortable starting over with clear satin varnish.  Once this second coat had been applied and rubbed as smooth as I could manage,  I set the stock aside to dry some.  Plan ahead.  I had prepared a place where the stock could sit undisturbed and was perched with coat hangar supports and a couple of screwdrivers pushed gently into screw holes so no outside surfaces were touching anything while the varnish cured for a day. 

This first coat will end in a mess.  Wood is like that.  Varnish will have runs,  bubble,  little spikes all its own along with rough surfaces of wood and splinters that were never noticed before.  The drier the varnish the better.  Sand lightly with very fine sandpaper.  Find some How-To's.  Then start over with more clear varnish.  Same game,  don't miss anything.  Another day or week to let all this cure.  As the varnish dries it does not hurt to rub again and maybe often with the brushes or paper towel wads/pads to help smooth the runs and bubbles and all the other roughness.  I broke discipline and added a small amount of new varnish along the way while I was rubbing.  The stock ended with a third coating this way long before it should have.  The final effort was an intense rubdown with paper towel to smooth surfaces and try to enhance the 'satin' of the finish.  For a gloss finish with the proper varnish it would have needed a final very thin coat over a very dry base and let fully air dry.

I will discuss my efforts at accurizing in another post.  I began placing/doing things to the stock as soon as I was comfortable handling it bare-handed and did not think I was leaving marks.  In four days the rifle was completely reassembled and in the safe.  With no air flow,  it was several months before the stock no longer felt a tiny bit sticky to touch.  By then it had been to the range for a shooting session and back into the safe a couple of times.

[Dusty44]

Here is an example of 'Light Walnut' stain and Spar Varnish.

The subject is Russian ammo boxes for 7.62x54R ammo (used by the Russian Moisin-Nagant rifle).  I bought 4 of these on a sale online (yes,  empty!!) and used Light Walnut stain and Spar Varnish.  This post is to give an example of the color.  The ammo boxes are perched on my outdoor paint stand.  I did the Ruger 10/22 refinishing indoors.

The dry wood of unknown age of the 4 ammo boxes  soaked up three 1 pint cans of stain.  The stain dried for a week.  Then the boxes soaked up a quart and a half of Spar Varnish for the first coat,  got a cursory sanding after another week of drying/curing,  and the final coat of Spar Varnish used a quarter-can of the varnish for all 4 ammo boxes.  I did 2 boxes completely,  then did the other two.  I was not sure how I would finish the second pair until I saw the results of the first two.

I have not looked for a How-To for this staining.  I am sure I did it wrong.  I wanted the stain to penetrate as deeply as possible into the wood.  Then I wanted the Spar Varnish to also penetrate as deeply as possible.  I deliberately flowed excess stain and varnish into the joints and under & between as much as I could manage.  I ended with the effect I wanted and hopefully with a more than minimal surface color and varnish presence.

This was a much bigger project than the rifle stock.  I bought and used up several cheap foam paint brushes.  The thin gloves mentioned earlier are wonderful for keeping hands clean.

The picture is with one of the ammo boxes completed and another untouched for comparison.

In the background,  note the gate hinges.  These hinges have been wiped with Mobil One 10W-30 Full Synthetic mixed with 25%-30% Kroil (available in some gun shops & online and in industrial supply in 1/2 pint and pint cans) (I use a small oil can that is a standard item at Harbor Freight) when they were new and again about a year ago.  Normal working life of metal like this outdoors in my climate is a year or two.  These hinges have been there untouched except for the 'gun oil' for 14 years.  I highly recomend using this kind of oil/ oil mixture on guns.  All my guns get completely washed with this oil when brand new  and then cleaned and wiped with it after a shooting session.  Excellent corrosion protection,  lubrication, easy cleaning after shooting.  Guns dry to the touch after a few days.

[Dusty44]

The butt plate of my new 10/22 was a pretty brass plate.  Very smooth.  When I put the stock against my shoulder it slipped and slid around.  Not a good thing when shooting so I searched for alternatives.  What I found was a ribbed butt plate in generic format.  That is,  it was sold as a replacement for the factory offering but arrived as a rectangular panel slightly larger than needed.  It was drilled for proper placement of the screws.

I attached it to the stock and used a scribe to mark the outline of the wood on this panel,  on the solid plastic backing plate.  Then I found a saw,  I think a hacksaw and a coping saw,  used them both some,  to cut it out with a tiny margin for better finishing.  Next was a flat metal-cutting file to bring the edge of the pad to the scribe mark and then sandpaper.  A jig saw and a belt sander would have been great,  but hand tools are not all that much more difficult.  It would help if I had some patience.

The pad was OK.  Functionally it is great!! There is a soft ribbed rubber surface that clings to my clothing when I am shooting and helps accuracy a lot. 

The OEM plate curves and wraps around to look nice and do what it does.  The new pad left a lot of awkward spaces.  I put a small foam pad cut from packaging foam under the center and carefully wrapped the wood with blue masking tape and Saran Wrap to protect it.  Then I filled the awkward spaces with black self-adhesive silicone seal.  The silicone seal material shrank much more than I thought it would and took much longer to do so than I had any idea.  Once cured,  even started to cure,  the silicone seal will not stick to anything,  not even itself.  I started trimming way too soon and it can't be fixed in any practical way.  The space between the back of the wood and the plastic panel of the butt plate is considerable in the middle but paper thin at top and bottom.  So at the bottom,  who cares?  At the top there is that extension that wraps over to the top of the stock.  To try to create a little strength or durability to the silicone seal here where jelly needs some structural capability I used little shreds of fiberglass cloth from another hobby in several layers within the silicone seal.  I tried real hard to create nice square corners and shapes where needed.  The silicone seal was not up to it.

The screw that goes into the top of the stock to secure that part of the OEM butt plate that wraps up on top had a round head and I wanted a flat head;  at least a much flatter head to hold the tongue of silicone seal material in position.  Everything in the hardware store was bright and shiny.  Of course it was.  We all have needed black finished hardware and screws for fixing things from guns to kitchen cabinetry and it is simply not going to be there.  No problem.  Most metal and corrosion protection plating will turn very dark or even jet black with application of a drop of cold gun blue.  Not stainless;  not some finishes or plating,  but most.  The screw I bought does not change easily and I have redone it a couple of times,  but it is not too bright.  I need to go buy a different screw that does respond better to the cold gun blue.  Eventually.

When the silicone seal was fully cured there was a thin gap between it and the wood at the back end of the stock.  I tried black duct tape.  What else?  Sort of filled the space so daylight did not quite shine through but there was a wavy edge and the black duct tape is white under the cut edges.  ???

Recently,  a couple of months ago,  I found some black pigskin leather used to make clothing and fashion accessories.  Took the butt pad assembly off and made a spacer of the black leather.  Then two.  Still not enough.  Number three was oversize and folded around the first two.  That worked well enough.  Put it all back together.

Uh Oh.  The screws are too loose.  Turn on the problem solver.  Ah!!!  Open the can with the left-over Spar Varnish.  Get the needle-nose pliers and a bamboo food skewer--  I use these sometimes for high strength stringers in R/C airplanes,  so there are some sitting around-- and some shredded paper from the document shredder.  Paper is wood fiber.  Dip a half dozen paper shreds in Spar Varnish one at a time with the needle-nose pliers and use the bamboo skewer to push them down into the screw holes.  Four or five across the hole,  dripping with varnish, and pushed to the bottom in a star pattern. Then do it again but only push them half-way down.  Each screw hole.  Excess varnish slop spread on the wood of the end of the stock under the butt pad--  can't hurt a thing?  But it gets messy and on the outside of the bottom of the stock.  Can't get carried away!  Or-- - -  >:D .  End up with about two tablespoons of Spar Varnish scattered all over the outside of the stock.  Not prepared for this!  Find a catalog in the trash;  pages are not too heavily coated;  start spreading and rubbing.  Something familiar about this??!!  End with a thin coat of Spar Varnish over and in the previous varnish.  The solvent in the Spar Varnish softens or dissolves the Polyurethane Varnish and the rubbing smooths old runs and lumps.  The new surface is curing almost as fast as it is spread and rubbed. By the time I am done the surface is dry enough to handle,  if just slightly sticky. 

Back to the screw holes,  now.  The varnish inside has cured/dried enough to allow insertion of screws.  Just once.  Put the parts in place and screw the butt pad down tight!  I did put a trace of gun oil on those screws earlier,  but the Spar Varnish mixes with all those oils and eventually cures into a solid  material--- found out on the Russian ammo box project--  and it will take longer but I will regret if and when I need to remove those screws again.  The paper shreds with the varnish have created a solid attachment inside the screw holes.

The new leather spacer seems to be adequate.  Time to let it be.  Would be really good if somebody marketed a butt pad of this same ribbing material that was a perfect match out of the box and a molded plastic spacer that fit perfectly to fill all those empty awkward spaces.  I might just buy that and feel relieved.

This work was mid-April 2012.  The pic of the rifle at the range in the first post of this thread predates the sling and re-do of the butt pad,  the other pics are afterward.

The camera is always very unkind.  It does not look nearly as bad in person as it does in the pic.  The problems with the finish that glare at the camera here are almost invisible in person.  The new rear sling swivel is visible at the top of the photo.  Polyurethane varnish was dripped into that new screw hole to seal the wood there,  too.

[Dusty44]

Some of the things that were and seem to now be very popular in modifying the 10-22 may also be changes done by the factory.  I saw a person at the range shooting his 10/22 and noted the big extended mag release.  When I asked about it he said his rifle was brand new  out-of-the-box.  I think it would be good to be sure any replacement parts you buy are really needed?  I spent considerable cash buying the list of parts that were suggested on a web forum and by a vendor I found.  In retrospect,  most of them were identical to the OEM parts or, a thing that seemed to be tooling wear for the cut of the firing pin was probably deliberate.  Very specifically,  the replacement firing pin had a neat square cut where the pin strikes the rim of the cartridge.  Ruger's original pin was cut a little angled like the punch at the factory was worn;  but that little angle and narrowing would increase effective force against the cartridge rim and might have reduced the early misfire count.  Or,  the way Ruger made the firing pin was deliberate and better.

I would note right here that early-on,  the misfire rate of my 10-22 might have approached 10%.  I collected these misfires,  put them back into the rifle,  and almost all of them fired on the second time around.  As the total number of rounds run through my rifle has climbed,  the misfire rate has dropped.  On my last trip to the range I think there were no misfires.  This might be due some to the brands and kinds of 22 ammo I am using,  but I think mostly that the moving parts of the innards of the rifle needed to wear enough to work smoothly and properly together.

Before trying to work on your Ruger 10/22,  find a pictorial diagram of the assemblies on the internet and if possible print the image for now and the future.  The discussion below assumes you have such a print to look at and use.  My print is 4 pages,  each different.  I know the source has changed name and may not still be on the web so there is no point in presenting the URL.

When you modify any of your guns you should save the removed parts unless they are damaged.  Put them in a container,  a box or a zip lock bag,  and label the box or put the label inside the zip lock with the parts.  Gun model and caliber,  serial number,  date of purchase of the gun or date of modification and specify which or both of these dates are written down.  Keep the parts where you or someone later can find them.  Always keep some kind of file with all documents relating to the purchase and any permits and all other information relating to your guns.  Maybe it is too much trouble for most things,  but guns need special care!!

Now let me run through the parts that I think were worth changing on my rifle.  First,  I put in a new barrel wedge,  B-66. For the vintage of my rifle and earlier this part was aluminum and all corners and edges were cut square and clean.  My replacement barrel wedge is also aluminum but the interior corners are smoothly rounded.  The story for that is that the OEM wedge would eventually crack at those angle creases,  but the rounded creases would stand up to the shocks indefinitely.  Probably so.  I think I read that Ruger is now using a steel wedge.  Permanent end to problem,  but check to be sure. 

I put almost all new replacement parts into the bolt assembly.  Lots of unnecessary spending of cash in my review after inspecting OEM and replacement parts,  and after a few years of shooting this rifle.

Two things I did with the receiver seem well worth while.  I put a polymer bolt stop,  B-6,  in place of the original steel stop.  The polymer is softer than steel and should help reduce strain and long-term damage or wear to both the receiver and bolt.  At the shooting range I note that a lot of the sound of a 10-22 is a distinct clank  as the rifle fires.  The polymer bolt stop reduces  and softens the sound.  The little polymer cylinder had microscopic burrs and spurs on the cut edges.  I could force it into the first hole but there was no way it was going to go into the second hole,  no matter what.  I chamfered the edges by rotating the polymer cylinder so the pin was held at a 45 degree angle against the teeth of a fine metal-cutting file and rotated.  The result was an almost invisible line around the end edges,  but the polymer pin now slips in and out of proper position like a dream!

I used two  aftermarket oversize assembly pins,  B-5, when I put the rifle back together.  In my professional machine repair,  an oversize pin,  usually a heavy roll pin,  even when needed,  meant a fight to the death to get the thing into place.  I was prepared for the fight.  I was surprised and then delighted with the way this worked on the Ruger rifle.  Ruger is generous with tolerances in a lot of places.  The design takes most of this into account.  The OEM pins would almost or actually fall out if the receiver assembly was turned on its side.  The oversize pins are just a proper tight fit,  still easy to slip into place.  These pins hold the entire trigger assembly in place and the oversize pins took away most of the felt trigger slop.

I installed an aftermarket automatic bolt release.  Could not deal with the way the original bolt hold-back felt and worked.  I also put in an extended magazine release.  If there is not one of these already in place,  the extended release lever is very nice and easier to use.

I did not mess with the actual trigger or sear.  There was nothing wrong with the actual trigger pull or sear release.  On my rifle,  the OEM trigger pull and sear release is very nice.  There was,  however more slop due to loose tolerances.

The fix for the looseness in the trigger assembly is a set of shims.  The instructions in the package of shims,  two sets,  two thicknesses,  were desperately wrong.  Remove B-19 which is an assembly and pivot pin and lift out that bigger part/assembly,  B-17A.  Watch closely to see where all the other parts that are going to fly out are so you can properly put everything back. Pull the buttons,  B-43,  off the outsides --  both sides-- of B-17A and put the thicker of the shims on the 'stem' of the mushroom shaped part.  This mushroom/button is probably magnesium alloy.  Very light.  Magnesium is good stuff unless it catches fire.  But fire is not possible in this application.  If you are interested,  check out "Class D Fires"  and see if you can find some stories about them and magnesium burning in WW-2 on B-17 bombers.  Be glad you were never involved in one of those incidents.

So,  you put one of the thicker shims on the back -- on the stem of the little mushroom -- one on each side,  of the B-43's and put the button back in place.  Now push the part/assembly called B-17A back into position along with everything else that is affected in this operation and slip B-19 back into place.

I think I learned or invented some new cuss words getting the pin,  B-19,  back into position.  Twice.  I managed to get something in there backwards while trying to get the pin through all the holes properly and to fit where  it did not want to go.  A scribe or awl or drift pin,  or all of them,  might help align things.  Eventually it will all work.  Don't give up.

Basically,  all my trigger really needed to be an excellent trigger was that set of shims to tighten up the movements of parts inside the trigger assembly and the oversize pins,  B-5,  to tighten up the fit of this major assembly to the receiver.  The new automatic bolt release and extended mag release lever are very nice gravy.

Bedding the action of any rifle is usually a good thing.  One of the things I bought was a bedding kit for this 10/22.  It sounded too good and too easy,  but . .  .  ::) .

The bedding kit was a set of self-stick pads,  cork and rubber particles.  A few minutes to install,  damn the . . .  sticky varnish.  The instructions were good,  the kit seems to have worked properly.  There was a pad for the fore end barrel channel,  for under the barrel.  I am not sure about this. I found a How-To in the last couple of weeks that said the barrel should be supported near the action and let free-float from there.  I am experimenting with this and for now have moved the barrel channel pad to the rear of the channel as the How-To suggested.  When I can manage some range time I will post again and tell how the experiments with floating the barrel worked out.

The pictures below show placement of the pads.  There is some stray oil in there,  I had just pulled the action for the pics.  The pads are relatively permanently compressed,  a perfect fit for the action after about 4 years in place.  A pad on each side to support the receiver and the big round one at the back.  Another where the assembly screw attaches to the action.  The red rubber pad in the barrel channel has just been moved to that position.  May be that the excess pressure of that pad positioned at the front end of the barrel channel pressing the barrel up against the barrel band (original instructions that came with the kit) was a major factor in the failure of the OEM barrel band.  The action now slips easily and smoothly into and out of the stock.  I recall that originally a strong push was needed to compress the resilience of the pads.

[Dusty44]

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.

[imschur]

I stickied this topic so it stays on top

[Dusty44]

An attempt was made to improve accuracy by floating the barrel.  The pad under the base of the barrel was put in place and removed and replaced during a shooting session.  The result was inconclusive but leaving the (red) pad in place seemed best.  I used a file and Emory paper to try to put a little space between the barrel and the inside top of the barrel band.  Pressure was relieved a little but removing enough material to give air space seemed to be not practical.  The thickness of the top of the barrel band seemed to be getting too thin for comfort.  Cold blue was used to restore color.  Shooting was done with and without the band in place and again,  results were inconclusive.  That shooting was done some time ago;  a lot of targets and a lot of different ammo.  Could not see anything to single out.

On August 9,  2012,  I did some more shooting with this rifle in what has become its standard configuration.  That is:  the new barrel band,  the pad near the action end of the barrel,  other components as described in this thread.  A pic of the target from Aug 9  is below.  I find that with a variety of ammo from the same boxes,  firing 10 to 20 rounds of each to make comparison groups,  the 'best' or 'most accurate'  of them changes each time I visit the range.

Clearly,  the ammo from all manufacturers is very close to the same.  Do your own comparison shooting to see if your rifle has any preferences of its own?

[Dusty44]

Read an article in a magazine (most of my magazines are months or more old;  I renew subscriptions when I finally get through the stack) about corrosion and weather proofing or at least protecting wood.  (Guns,  May 2012,  page 50).  Most of the little horror stories in the article are about hunting in Alaska or Canada in conditions that were worse than anything imaginable. 

The thing I got out of it that I liked best was that the author had found that the best gun protection for metal,  including stainless,  was oils very much like my own Witch's Brew of Kroil and full-synthetic motor oil.  For wood stocks he had good things to say about polyurethane finishes,  fully sealing all the crannies and the inletting.  Says traditional linseed oil is really useless.  Epoxy finishes have a history of not performing well.  All metals used in guns are subject to corrosion and need continuing care.  All wood soaks up moisture and swells and worse:  the finishes just slow it down.  That indicates that my intensive coating of this stock with polyurethane varnishes might help more than some other possibilities.  FWIW.

[imschur]

as a woodworker there is a saying that has always stuck with me. Whatever you do on the outside do on the inside too. 

[Dusty44]

September 2,  2013

This is an update on the 10-22 rifle in this thread.

In the last month I came across an article about Feddersen Barrels.  I could not resist and immediately ordered both a bull barrel and a 'contoured' barrel for the 10-22.  The bull barrel is supposed to give sub-minute of angle shooting with 22LR ammo.  The contoured barrel fits the OEM wood stock of my carbine and allows the barrel band to be used.  That Barrel Band is part of my 'Tactical' look.

I found some 'How-To's' in print and on videos to assure myself that I was not doing anything wrong.  The How-To's mentioned to not put the receiver in a vise  but to use your hands;  so I did.  After taking the barrel wedge off,  the barrel pulled out easily.  I had never even considered removing the barrel before and was surprised at how easy it was to pull the barrel out of the receiver.

The Feddersen barrel is a very tight fit.  It went about half-way into place with my hands.  Then I got the rubber-face (rubber on one side,  plastic on the other) hammer and lightly tapped the barrel the rest of the way in until it was fully seated.  It did not end up quite straight so I had to continue tapping,  as fast as I could but very lightly for 'vibration,'  while using a 6 inch crescent wrench to rotate the barrel and align the extractor notch correctly.  Needed all four hands.  AHhh--  that means I had to call my grandson to come help.

The bolt was in place for assuring alignment and of course a couple of the assembly pins fell out from the vibration/tapping and so did a few parts.  Had to pull the trigger module from the receiver and reassemble everything.  It was a good opportunity to check wear and lubrication and how dirty things were.  No dirt.  That was good.  Oil films and droplets down in there is good. This is mostly a storage situation. 

Reassemble,  check for proper feed of ammo,  put safe-flag in breech,  back into gun safe.  Opportunity to shoot has been minimal for a long time.  The other barrels,  the bull barrel and the OEM Ruger barrel go into a box with some other spare barrels in the back of the gun safe.  Eventually I need buy another Ruger 10-22 and a Hogue stock and create a new target rifle using that bull barrel.

The safe-flag is in one of the pics below.  It is made with a short bit of bamboo food skewer so the point of the skewer extends maybe a quarter-inch into the chamber,  the thing is a just-easy-fit into the open breech and is held tight when the bolt is released.  The yellow tab is bubble-pack (windshield wiper blades?) cardboard of that color and wrapped and sealed with package-sealing tape.  A drop of Gorilla Glue was used in folding and wrapping the cardboard together and around the bamboo.

As always,  click on the pics to enlarge them.

[eeyore]

Need to get it out and try that new barrel out!!!