10-22 question

[jmorris]

I would say it’s abnormal to have a 22 that still runs well with 30,000-60,000 rounds between cleanings.

 

[kBob]

Again the bolt hold open and magazine release are easy fixes for folks that want a more "race-ible" gun. One can buy the "auto bolt release: and replace the original or remove the original, hog it out with a chainsaw file, and reinstall it in about ten minutes.

There are a biggilian extended mag releases out there and have been for a while......one of my 10/22s has a Ram-line mag release.
Or one can just drill a hole in the existing mag release and inset whatever and epoxy the whatever in place for the cost of the epoxy.

You can spend money on a replacement hammer that has the little nub on the sear removed or a few minutes with a hand file and stone on your original to greatly improve your trigger pull.

You can mail order a whole new trigger group for $90 to $200 bucks or spend a quiet evening with hand tools and such polishing and grinding and get a pretty good trigger and say I did it myself.

After you have a decent trigger if accuracy is still not to your liking there are a host of 10/22 aftermarket barrels that just require a flat head screw driver (to remove the stock) and a hex wrench to remove the old barrel and install the new one. Easy-peasy.

Shoot over on RFC there is a gang that swears by just tweaking the amount of force used on the screw that holds the action to the stock for tremendous changes in accuracy with the original barrel though the use a torque driver that is rated in inch pounds though it is a bit costly itself.

Don't like the single screw holding the action to the stock? There is a jig floating around for the cost of postage on loan among the RFC crowd for installing cross pins through the stock and action.

Again look on RFC and there are folks installing a second screw that used a cleanout port they drilled in the rear of the receiver to allow a cleaning rod to go straight into the chamber end.

What ever .22LR you get in a standard model is a compromise, the 10/22 is no exception to that.....BUT.... there are plenty of aftermarket parts and services available and a lot of DIY instructions about to tweak the 10/22.

I love my old Savage and had fun with Remingtons over the years and a Marlin can be like a faithful old pick up truck, but seriously the 10/22 has so much potential it makes it a value and an half and if someone wants just one semi auto .22 the one I recommend.

-kBob

 

[Picher]

An exchange high school kid from Germany recently visited with my Son's, family and he wanted to go to a shooting range because he'd never had the opportunity in his native country, since guns are difficult to obtain there. The kid had remarkable offhand shooting skill, especially since it was his first exposure to shooting.

We let him shoot several .22s at small metallic animal silhouette targets, including a Marlin 39A Deluxe, my accurized bull-barrelled 10-22, a Marlin bolt-action, and a couple of handguns. His favorite? Hands down...the 10-22! It's also my favorite.

 

[ThomasT]

I have three of them right now. I will buy any I see if the price is right. They just work. Everytime. Mine are all stock. I do have a custom barrel that fits the factory barrel channel that has a 1/9 twist made for the 60gr Aquila SSS ammo. It also has a thread for a suppressor but I haven't bought a suppressor yet. I haven't ever fired the gun with that barrel on it. One day.

 

[herrwalther]

My brother gave me his 10-22 carbine a few years ago. He wanted to get the takedown model and I got a free rifle out of it. The barrel band disappeared somewhere but doesn't seem to phase it one bit.

I played around with having a cheap red dot sight on it. Looked a little funny so I went back to having the 4x22 that my brother had on it since he got it. Eventually I want to get some BX-25 (or knockoff) mags for it.

 

[mjsdwash]

have a 10 year old or so all metal that had the famous bad extractor 10/22's are well known for. A VQ Exact Edge and it ran many thousands of rounds without issue. I only run the 10 round factory mags (the hicaps are for new shooters, they get boring after a few hundred magdumps). I shot lost of bulk packs out of it before ammo dried up, and the CMMG ended up getting most of the range time. Easier to bring one rifle and a coversion than two. I have similar accuracy, though I cut the barrel band off, and first few inches of stock, so I have no pinch point either. I would say I can get 5000+ rounds with only a little oiling. It seems to get some dirty to a point then doesn't get any dirtyer. I never had it get dirty enough to malfunction, and never really cleaned it.

 

[double bogey]

I have 2. One highly modified, and one stock stainless Talo version. The modified one has went through thousands of rounds, the chamber needs cleaning about each 1500 or so. It has a boyds stock, bull barrel, pillar bedded, action bedded, with a piece of inner tube under the barrel a few inches in front of the action screw. Bolt and trigger mods, 16" bull barrel and bolt mods. 1/4" accuracy @ 50 with wolf match target ammo. Occasionally tighter groups, depends on me, I think.

Also have a couple of different bolt action guns, a couple of marlin 60's, and several single shot Winchester and Remington pre and post wwII guns.

Rimfire central is your friend for anything .22. Sections for all brands and models.

 

[Picher]

Have had more than a few. My present standard one is about 35 years old and has been "upgraded" with an old, old original walnut stock, a Volq hammer, barrel block and fiber bolt buffer. It shoots fine but not up to my 455 or old 141 Anschutz supporter. I built a heavy barreled target gun with a midway kit and it was disappointing. A Ruger target model with better trigger, hammer, block, etc. was a great shooter but the first round out of a magazine was always 1/4" out of the group. Doesn't sound like much but that's two or three points in our fifty meter 20 shot matches. I just loaded an extra round and fired the first one into the berm. Think I need a new one of some kind but have trouble choosing from all the possible ones out there. Present one will go to one of the kids some day.

First-shot flyers are caused by the operating handle binding the firing pin. Take the rifle apart and file, then smooth the handle until it slides freely in the bolt slot.

 

[PapaG]

My first thought was that the cartridge is seated with different force comparing hand releasing and recoil feeding. I have had that experience with many semi autos, both rifle and handgun. Thanks

 

[Picher]

My first thought was that the cartridge is seated with different force comparing hand releasing and recoil feeding. I have had that experience with many semi autos, both rifle and handgun. Thanks

I actually discovered the problem/cure and wrote a paper on accurizing the 10-22 that has been posted on Rimfire Central for many years.

 

[olafhardtB]

J B Wood who is an extremely talented gunsmith and writer wrote an article in Gun Digest of being assigned to do a trouble shooting guide for the 10-22. He found that task difficult because people had so little trouble with 10-22's!

 

[Carl N. Brown]

J B Wood's book on Troubleshooting Your Rifle and Shotgun is a keeper. It appears to be out-of-print but used copies are reasonable (uncirculated as new are priced like collectibles).
https://www.amazon.com/Troubleshooting-your-rifle-shotgun-Wood/dp/0695811983

 

[bassjam]

I used to have two 10/22's. The first is stainless, mostly stock with some trigger work done and the bolt release mod. It'll run forever, even when dirty, but it only shoots 1" groups at 50 yards on a very good day. The second one I bought was a blued model and shot about the same, but I put a .17 HM2 kit on it which turned it into about a 1/4" gun at 50 yards. I ended up selling that one because I found I couldn't hoard .17 HM2 ammo without the cases cracking at the neck with age.

The 10/22 is probably most commonly compare to the Marlin 60. They're very similar guns, but the Marlin has the edge in accuracy but needs to be kept cleaner to keep it reliable. It's also cheaper, but it's darned near impossible to mod it.

 

[MikeInOr]

The only time I have had any reliability issues with a 10/22 was with those old high capacity plastic mags of the 80's and 90's. I have never had any issue with a 10/22 when using the stock 10 round rotary magazine. I don't know if the newer high capacity clips are any better... but I don't really care if they are any better.

 

[olafhardtB]

Be careful when you talk about 10-22's being a POS. I was in my LGS and heard a guy do that and he lost all creditablity with me. I understand it not being to your taste, but if you don't like it, it is still a good gun.

 

[CraigC]

I don't know if the newer high capacity clips are any better... but I don't really care if they are any better.

Those available today are light years ahead of the old magazines like the Ramline. The Ruger BX-25 is very good and popular but the Tactical Innovations magazines are even better.

 

[Oldschool shooter]

I also have the cheaper model with the barrel band. It actually shoots better and more accurately with the band removed. It has been a solid, reliable little rifle for the 30+ years that I have owned it.

 

[Picher]

Several years ago, my BIL bought a stainless 10-22 that I just couldn't get to shoot better than 1 1/2" groups at 50 yards. I installed a new after-market bull-barrel and it immediately started shooting sub-half inch groups!

 

[jmorris]

Several years ago, my BIL bought a stainless 10-22 that I just couldn't get to shoot better than 1 1/2" groups at 50 yards. I installed a new after-market bull-barrel and it immediately started shooting sub-half inch groups!

That’s in the ball park not too far from what I got out of a factory one a year ago when I tested one side by side with the Marlin 60 and Remington 597, threw in my Clark custom 10/22 with Lothar Walther barrel too.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/side-by-side-597-10-22-model-60.811602/

 

[Stevie-Ray]

I have a 1967 model that was given to me by a good friend. I wanted to do something special to it, so I ordered a J. Bunting aluminum bullpup stock for it, years ago. For many reasons, I just shot it less than 6 months ago for the first time. It instantly became my most fun weapon, supplanting even my beloved GSG-5.

 

[Picher]

The 10-22 usually shoots better when there's upward pressure on the barrel near the forend tip. That's because there's only one stock screw and the receiver, being aluminum, is relatively flexible. The upward pressure forces the back of the receiver downward. Mine has about 10 lbs of uplift on the bull barrel. I also Locktite the barrel in the receiver, using "Stud and Bearing Mount" liquid, so there's no movement.

(Don't worry. After removing the barrel-mounting dovetail, a barrel can be removed by heating the joint until the Loctite releases. An electric heat gun can do the job without damaging either piece, but apply the heat to the barrel more than the receiver...especially if the receiver is painted.)

 

[stonebuster]

I've got a 1973 10-22 handed down from my father who used it for shooting muskrats that were tunneling under his lawn from pond. It's been well taken care of but not shot in 30 years. I'm going to have to take it out and shoot it now after reading this thread.

 

[FL-NC]

I've got a 1973 10-22 handed down from my father who used it for shooting muskrats that were tunneling under his lawn from pond. It's been well taken care of but not shot in 30 years. I'm going to have to take it out and shoot it now after reading this thread.View attachment 770471

I think that rifle is the same as mine.

 

[Browning]

I have two, both from the early 80's and with one (stock, been in my family since new in 1983) I can't get it to jam at all and on the other I bought it in 1990 at 18 and the springs are wore out from gawd knows how many rds and I can occasionally get it to jam on really crappy ammo.

I need to get a spring kit for that thing. It's gone on just about every shooting trip since I bought it.

 

[jmorris]

I have two, both from the early 80's and with one (stock, been in my family since new in 1983) I can't get it to jam at all...

You might try and “upgrade it” with cheap aftermarket parts and mags, seems to be the most effective way to make them choke.