# Ruger 10/22 opinions



## ac700wildcat (Oct 30, 2006)

I had a problem with the scope on my new stainless 10/22 right after i bought it, so i ended up having to have it sent back and was given a loaner to use til it comes back. I went out to sight the new one in last weekend when it was fairly cold out (probably around 0). When i got to the pit i normally shoot at i emptied five rounds out of my pickup window at a few chunks of dirt and it seems to be a little high and left so i adjusted the scope. Then i sent another five at a couple chunks and it seemed to be pretty close. After this i rolled up the window took out the clip and put another ten rounds in.

I had already set a target up before i had started shooting so once my clip was full i got out and was going to make a five shot group across the hood of my pickup. At this point the barrel was still pretty warm from being in the pickup and the previous ten shots. My first five shot group was pretty good. Proably 3/4-1" at 40yds. After making the first five shots i took the clip out and cleared the barrel and walked up to the target leaving the gun on my hood outside. When i got back to the pickup i reloaded and adjusted the scope and made another five shots. This group was around 1 3/4".

I shot probably 7 or eight groups that day doing the same thing and never got any better than the second group was again. My questions is has anyone else had this experience that ruger 10/22's need a warm barrel to shoot better groups? Maybe it is the stainless barrel? I'm not sure.

Any opinions??

Thanks
Matt


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## SkiDaddler (Feb 5, 2006)

I'll throw out a few obvious things... is everything tight ? (scope, stock, etc.) Something might have come loose after a few shots.

Is the gun new ? I've read that it can take a few rounds to break a 22 in.

What kind of ammo are you using ? Some like to try a few different kinds of ammo to see what works best in their 22. Accuracy can be pretty bad with some of the cheaper stuff... especially in a factory 10/22 barrel (speaking from experience). Don't expect miracles from a factory 10/22 barrel either.

Scopes can take some getting used to. Practice ! Practice ! Practice !


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

First off let me say ammo is the 1st place I'd look for trouble on a rimfire 22, especially bulk ammo.

On a Ruger 10/22 the action is aluminum and the barrel is steel. You have have run into the situation that the barrel and action were heating/cooling at significantly different rates, that could cause your problem. Even the barrel band is aluminum and again heats/cools at a different rate than your SS barrel, that cold be enough to cause your problem.

This time of year when temps are below 45-50 degrees I rarely shoot groups. I let the rifle cool completely between shots and sight in "Cold Bore" but I rarely shoot groups, get sighted in and stalk your in-season target.

My rifles that like to be barely touched to shoot well off the bench in warm weather need a "death grip" to shoot well in cold (20F or below). This has been true for wood stocked rifles with our without glass bedding, McMillan synthetic stocked rifles with or without bedding, HS precision stocked rifles with Aluminium bedding blocks.


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## ac700wildcat (Oct 30, 2006)

Everything is tight, scope base, mounts, stock , barrel band is snug but not really tight. The gun is around two weeks old. I have ran around 500 shots through it and have cleaned every hundred rounds or so. Everything is in working order and seems to move smoothly in the action and is all properly lubricated.

So far for ammo i have tried CCI Mini Mags, American Eagle, Remington "Golden Bullets", and some old Federals out of a bulk pack that i had here. I bought a couple boxes of the Remington Thunderbolts and also have 100 CCI Velociters yet to try. Those are pretty much all I can find here in town to try in it other than some non-plated bullets, which i don't really want to shoot. Didn't realize the Thunderbolts weren't plated until i got them home. I guess there is one more kind of plated bullets in town i have yet to try, they are winchester and are in a box of 500 I think. Haven't bought any yet cuz i have over 1000 rounds of various others here at home.

I know from a factory barrel im not going to get really great groups but you would think i could get them to be a little better. I did order a volquartsen hammer kit, auto bolt release, and recoil buffer. I'm hopeing that maybe part of the problem is the trigger breaking and I'm moving the gun a little bit.


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## ac700wildcat (Oct 30, 2006)

Horsager, i bet that is part of my problem too. I never even would have thought of that. I spose the aluminum cools faster than the stainless and kinda expands a bit and lets it grip get a little looser. I do have plans for a new stock and barrel in the future, but that probably won't happen til this summer. For now do you think i should bed the action? I do have a wood stock on this gun. Also, I guess it wouldn't make sense to try free float the barrel with the barrel band being there, or am i thinking wrong on that one?

Thanks for the advice,
Matt


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## ac700wildcat (Oct 30, 2006)

Oh, I almost forgot the only actual bulk ammo that I have bought were some of those Remington golden bullets but haven't shot any of them yet. The remingtons that i did shoot were in little boxes of 50 along with all the other ones, other than the mini mags that were 100 count packages.


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## SkiDaddler (Feb 5, 2006)

A couple more thoughts...

Another thing you can try is just removing the barrel band. This is commonly done to prevent the barrel from being in tension with the stock. The barrel band is not really needed. I don't have one on mine, and Ruger's deluxe stocks don't have one either. Ruger did this to make the gun look like a WWII carbine... a marketing ploy. It must have been a good idea though because they have sold millions of 10/22s.

I would get the new barrel before you bed the action. It might not even be necessary. I didn't do it. You could accomplish the same thing as the Volquartsen bedding kit by just epoxying a thin washer (1mm thick) to the stock between the receiver and the stock and through the action screw. When you put it back together, you will have a small gap between the barrel and the stock... essentially floating the barrel. Doing this and removing the barrel band won't cost anything and could very well make things better for you.

As far as factory barrel accuracy goes... before I got the GM barrel, I would have a group that was acceptable, say 5 shots in the area of a quarter at 25yds. The next groups would be bad. Usually two shots in 5 would be way out of the group. I would have several groups like this, and then another half decent group.

I haven't had a lot of time with the new barrel yet, and I also have a new scope, but in some quick tests, I was putting one shot through the other at 25y from the car... and that was shooting the same direction as the wind with the car moving a little. I couldn't believe it. Needless to say, I was impressed.

10/22s are fun to modify. There are so many things you can do.


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## SkiDaddler (Feb 5, 2006)

I forgot to ask, why are you averse to solid lead bullets ?

The .22LR match (high quality) ammo I've seen (including Eley and some other expensive brands) use solid lead bullets.


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## ac700wildcat (Oct 30, 2006)

I guess I just don't like change that much. I've always shot copper and have a pretty good idea of how to get it out of a barrel when cleaning it. Not really any experience with lead I guess.


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## Bore.224 (Mar 23, 2005)

SkiDaddler said:


> A couple more thoughts...
> 
> Another thing you can try is just removing the barrel band. This is commonly done to prevent the barrel from being in tension with the stock. The barrel band is not really needed. I don't have one on mine, and Ruger's deluxe stocks don't have one either. Ruger did this to make the gun look like a WWII carbine... a marketing ploy. It must have been a good idea though because they have sold millions of 10/22s.
> 
> .


Interesting too bad my sling is attached to the barrel band screw!


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## Architect414 (Nov 9, 2006)

Bore.224 said:


> Interesting too bad my sling is attached to the barrel band screw!


SkiDaddler and Bore.224 they sell steel barrel bands to replace the aluminum ones that come on the gun, so you don't have a problem with metals expanding at different rates and you can keep your sling. :beer:


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## SkiDaddler (Feb 5, 2006)

I don't think it's a matter of the band expanding/contracting, but the barrel and stock flexing... especially wood, which is sensitive to humidity, etc.

Also, if the barrel band is holding the barrel tight against the stock, the barrel is not floating.


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## ac700wildcat (Oct 30, 2006)

I had actually thought the band was there to hold the barrel and stock on each other. I know I have read quite a few places that 10/22's need pressure on the barrel. Maybe i misinterpreted what i was reading?


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## SkiDaddler (Feb 5, 2006)

There is a little notch inside the comb that holds the back of the receiver.

I have not had any problems without a band on mine. My barrel is fully floated.


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## ac700wildcat (Oct 30, 2006)

I think I will take the band off and shoot this weekend after i see how my groups do with the new hammer kit just to make sure it wasn't me making the mess on the paper. I think I might bed the action when i get a chance and figure out how to do it as well. When i do change barrels im going to change to a fajen thumbhole stock at the same time so bedding it right now with this barrel and stock will just give me a little practice before i try on my deer rifle.

Thanks again for the comments. They really help a guy figure things out. Oh, one more thing. Just paid for my memebership so soon ill have a lil member thing under my name too. Wooohooo This is the only website I have ever considered a memebership for. Its a great thing im really glad i found it.


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