Lightweight (but not too light) squirrel rifle

[CraigC]

I've had this Ruger American .22LR for several years but it's been dormant for the last few. I initially set it up as a pseudo-Scout with a CZ Scorpion rear sight, Tech Sights front tower and a red dot. This year I've decided to do things a little different. Tired of waiting for frost and blackpowder season, when most the leaves have fallen and it's all about getting a deer or three. I'm hosing everything down with permethrin and going a month earlier on a few overnight camping trips and hunting squirrels. I decided to reconfigure the Ruger for the job. One of few complaints I have about the Ruger Americans is the way too tall picatinny rail they put on them. Even with very low rings, the scope ends up being to high for a proper cheek weld. We're going to mount a nearly straight tube scope so it needs to be low. Low enough for the low cheekrest insert and I also use the short LOP version to make it a little more compact. First order of business was to ditch the rail and sights. I ordered a couple different options and was surprised to find the Leupold/Redfield JR style bases available for them. The Leupold bases, coupled with the super low rings ended up a good bit lower than a Weaver base and standard low rings, so I went with that. Plus it's pretty sleek. I've also been collecting some out of production scopes for future posterity when I find them and the Burris 4x Mini is one of them. The matte version that's a little scratched up seemed perfect. I'm also a sucker for olive green but unlike the centerfire Predator, the only version of the Rimfire with a green stock is a distributor exclusive. I found one on Ebay and installed it. I've also been wanting to make a paracord sling and found kits at ParacordPlanet, which uses all American made, real 550 cord. I ordered two kits and finished one in OD/black for this rifle. The sling turned out real nice. The rifle ended up at 6.8lbs with the suppressor and an empty 15rd magazine. It shoots about a half inch at 50yds with CCI Subsonic HP's. Ready for tree rats!

Here you can see the height difference between the Leupold mounts and the factory rail with low rings.

The weight is just right for a field rifle. The 10/22's are sometimes too light to be steady off-hand.

The original "Scout" configuration.

 

[troy fairweather]

Nice, I'm a big fan of the ruger American I've had 5 and all shot stupid good, kinda pusts recent cz's to shame. First one I got basicy the first few days they were out I put a 3-9x40 Nikon and a set of aluminum rings think they were made by weaver but are marked Nikon one ring is off set and fit the ruger perfect with weaver #12 bases. Dad liked it so much I gave it to him. I really want them to make the stainless with the normal barrel, not sure why they don't just the heavy barrels.

A few day camp out squirrel hunting would be very fun.

 

[horsemen61]

Great rifle! Setup! I think it will be just right for what you want to do

 

[mavracer]

Looks a lot better IMO. My candidate would be my Savage Mk2, I replaced the cheap factory stock with a Boyd's they had on clearance, it wears a Bushnell Engage 3-12X and the suppressor is a little Tacsol Aeris 3" 3 oz and 3 baffles it's surprisingly quiet for such a tiny can.

 

[JDGray]

Browning SA22! Fantastic little rifle

 

[CraigC]

Looks a lot better IMO. My candidate would be my Savage Mk2, I replaced the cheap factory stock with a Boyd's they had on clearance, it wears a Bushnell Engage 3-12X and the suppressor is a little Tacsol Aeris 3" 3 oz and 3 baffles it's surprisingly quiet for such a tiny can.View attachment 1174741

That's the TacSol Axiom on the Ruger. I want to get one or two of the modular cans like the Oculus.

I've got one that's a great shooter but I wanted something a wee bit more svelte for two days of woods walking. I think I've changed the optic since this was taken.

 

[CraigC]

Another consideration has been the threaded barrel. I have other "nicer" guns I was wanting to hunt with but I've been suffering with chronic headaches that have gotten to be about a monthly ordeal to contend with and I'm coming to the conclusion that they're caused by tinnitus. So I'm not going to hunt with anything, even a .22LR without either a suppressor or hearing protection. For small game, it's just easier to hunt with a suppressor and subsonics. So I may have to either have some of these threaded or in the case of the 10/22, change the barrel.

I have some ideas about reconfiguring this one with a mid-weight KIDD barrel.

 

[doubleh]

I haven't had a bad headache in so long I can't remember when it was. In my younger years I had some doozies, bad enough to make me sick at my stomach and useless for anything for hours and then they just went away. I have no idea why but I am glad they did.

I am going to recommend that you try electronic ear bud protection. I find them reasonably comfortable, you can adjust to hear what is going on, they don't interfear with your cheek weld, and a 22 sounds like a very small pop with them. SV ammo is barely audible.

My compliments on your rifle set up. I have always preferred my scope to be as close as possible to the gun barrel and that one is great.

 

[horsemen61]

Another consideration has been the threaded barrel. I have other "nicer" guns I was wanting to hunt with but I've been suffering with chronic headaches that have gotten to be about a monthly ordeal to contend with and I'm coming to the conclusion that they're caused by tinnitus. So I'm not going to hunt with anything, even a .22LR without either a suppressor or hearing protection. For small game, it's just easier to hunt with a suppressor and subsonics. So I may have to either have some of these threaded or in the case of the 10/22, change the barrel.

I have some ideas about reconfiguring this one with a mid-weight KIDD barrel.

@CraigC Gorgeous Rifles!

 

[Larry in wyoming]

That's a great looking rig!
To my eyes, the only improvement would be a flush fit magazine.
Very well done!

 

[CraigC]

I haven't had a bad headache in so long I can't remember when it was. In my younger years I had some doozies, bad enough to make me sick at my stomach and useless for anything for hours and then they just went away. I have no idea why but I am glad they did.

I am going to recommend that you try electronic ear bud protection. I find them reasonably comfortable, you can adjust to hear what is going on, they don't interfear with your cheek weld, and a 22 sounds like a very small pop with them. SV ammo is barely audible.

My compliments on your rifle set up. I have always preferred my scope to be as close as possible to the gun barrel and that one is great.

These started out as a once in a while thing. Then for the last two years it's been pretty regular. Firstly monthly, now kinda random. Now it's usually a day to ramp up, two days that are really bad, to the point of feeling sick and being unable to concentrate and then a taper off for a day or two. It never completely goes away either. The semi-local neurologist and pain clinic were useless. Next year I'll find a new neurologist in Nashville. Until then, I'm going to protect my hearing as best I can.

I've tried a bunch of electronic muffs and most work pretty good but like you said, they often interfere with cheek weld. The only pair of electronic buds I have aren't too snappy. I may try some different types to see if something else might work better. Right now, I just insert a soft plastic plug just before the shot, when I'm hunting with centerfires.

That's a great looking rig!
To my eyes, the only improvement would be a flush fit magazine.
Very well done!

I haven't decided which I'm going to hunt with yet. The flush 10 rounders have a lot going for them.

 

[mavracer]

Browning SA22! Fantastic little rifle

This one was my uncle's. Last week I was talking to a buddy about putting a scope on it, he says I got a leupold mount and rings for it. I was lookin' for a nice gloss scope, few and far between now and ultimately decided to use my dad's old B&L balfor 4x.

 

[doubleh]

The only pair of electronic buds I have aren't too snappy.

I have been using Walkers fit around the neck bud's for several years. I think they were Razors but don't really remember. They last for hours and after I found memory foam tips that fit they were much more comfortable and the tips last much longer than Walker's. Of course they changed them by adding blutooth. I bought a set for my wife and 2 hours of use and the battery is gone. My wife used them little and by the time the short battery life came to my attention they were slightly over a year old. I called Walker anyway and received no help at all. If my originals quit I will look for a different brand. Not so much because they refused any help but because of the short battery life.

 

[bigpower491]

Yes it is that time of yr. Used to hump those hardwood ridges in Kalkaska County every weekend for a pot of stew on Sunday evening. Nice rigs and thanks for bringing those great memories back for me. My usual setup was an old Glenfield 60,18 shot tuber til it gave up the ghost after about 3 million rounds(well, yall get the point, it was a good one)
I replaced it with an Marlin 882 22WMR, and became a squirrel sniper. That is a fine and very deadly rifle, lots of fun with it I had.
I got a few them rascals running around out here, should probably think about making me a pot of stew here in the near future....

 

[S.Crockett]

My little CZ Scout is like, 5.5lbs scoped.

How light is “too light”?

 

[CraigC]

My little CZ Scout is like, 5.5lbs scoped.

How light is “too light”?

A bone stock 10/22 in a synthetic stock is too light.

 

[clang]

OP - great setup.
my apologies for going off topic but I had a headache problem too. It wound up being my caffeine intake. I went cold turkey for about a month and the headaches went away. I now limit myself to no more than one caffeinated beverage a day and I am ok.

I hope you find a simple solution to your problem too. I do miss the caffeine though…

 

[Armored farmer]

My Mrs has migraines caused by MSG. She sees a shimmering light in her vision and knows that 24hrs of migraine will follow. If she can avoid MSG she is fine, but restaurants use it often.
You don't have a new Chinese restaurant in your area do you?Lol.

I think you're going to give the Squirrels the business with that set-up!
Very nice.

 

[Armored farmer]

Squirrel hunting is a perfect way to hone your woods skills while scouting for deer season.
I nice, accurate rifle to carry is icing.

 

[bigpower491]

Squirrel hunting is a perfect way to hone your woods skills while scouting for deer season.
I nice, accurate rifle to carry is icing.

You show me a good squirrel hunter I'll show you a good woodsman. They can be as hard to hunt as deer, especially since they get the same advantage alot of us get over the deer.....elevated platform, in their lingo, a tree branch.....

 

[Spats McGee]

Another consideration has been the threaded barrel. I have other "nicer" guns I was wanting to hunt with but I've been suffering with chronic headaches that have gotten to be about a monthly ordeal to contend with and I'm coming to the conclusion that they're caused by tinnitus. So I'm not going to hunt with anything, even a .22LR without either a suppressor or hearing protection. For small game, it's just easier to hunt with a suppressor and subsonics. So I may have to either have some of these threaded or in the case of the 10/22, change the barrel.

I have some ideas about reconfiguring this one with a mid-weight KIDD barrel.

I don't know if you have a suppressor yet, but I'll offer this word of caution: If you get a .22 suppressor, you'll probably quit even looking at .22s without threaded barrels.

And that may well be the prettiest 10/22 I've ever seen!

 

[natman]

6.8 pounds is lighter than a bull barreled benchrest 22, and is reasonably light for a centerfire deer rifle, but it's not even slightly lightweight for a 22.

Do you really need an extended magazine for squirrels? If you haven't hit the squirrel with the first five, 6-15 won't hit either.

A fixed 4 power is a lot for squirrels. I use a 1.75x4 scope, which spends 99% of the time at 1.75. More than 2.5x means you'll spend a lot of time looking at a scope full of leaves, trying to find the squirrel.

I like the moderator. I wish they were legal in California. If OHSA were involved, they'd be mandatory.

 

[CraigC]

I don't know if you have a suppressor yet, but I'll offer this word of caution: If you get a .22 suppressor, you'll probably quit even looking at .22s without threaded barrels.

And that may well be the prettiest 10/22 I've ever seen!

I have two rimfire suppressors and you're right, I have a hell of a time buying a .22 without a threaded muzzle now. Especially pistols. I have a Shilen sporter barrel for that French walnut 10/22 but it ain't threaded either.

6.8 pounds is lighter than a bull barreled benchrest 22, and is reasonably light for a centerfire deer rifle, but it's not even slightly lightweight for a 22.

Do you really need an extended magazine for squirrels? If you haven't hit the squirrel with the first five, 6-15 won't hit either.

A fixed 4 power is a lot for squirrels. I use a 1.75x4 scope, which spends 99% of the time at 1.75. More than 2.5x means you'll spend a lot of time looking at a scope full of leaves, trying to find the squirrel.

I like the moderator. I wish they were legal in California. If OHSA were involved, they'd be mandatory.

Everything is relative. From what I've seen, most folks go way too big on their optics and heavy on their guns. This is fairly light for a ready to roll rifle, complete with optics and a suppressor. It's lighter than the same rifle I have in .22Mag with a laminate stock. Lighter than ANY bull barrel 10/22. Lighter than my mid-weight barrel 10/22. Lighter than either of the other two walnut stocked rifles I posted pics of. As I said, without being too light. The goal was not to put together the lightest .22 possible, hence the reference "not too light". As I also said, a 10/22 with a lightweight aluminum or carbon fiber barrel is too light to shoot accurately off hand.

Not really but when you're spending two days in the woods and carrying everything you take with you, you consider all options. Rapidity of fire wasn't really the thought. In this case I decided that I'm money ahead to carry several 10rd mags.

A fixed 4x is just right for this rifle, for my purposes. The Burris Mini is measurably shorter and lighter than even a low power variable. Plus, I already had it. I've had 1-4x's on rimfires before and they spent most the time at 4x. You know this ain't my first rodeo. The Remington 541 I posted wore a fixed 4x for three decades before switching to the Leupold 3.5-10x.

 

[Hookeye]

I rather like the CZ bolt rigs.
But still think a 1022, w 20" GM sporter bbl, in a repro fingergroove stock (old orig "sporter") would be cool.

W a Leupold fixed 6X AO

 

[CraigC]

OP - great setup.
my apologies for going off topic but I had a headache problem too. It wound up being my caffeine intake. I went cold turkey for about a month and the headaches went away. I now limit myself to no more than one caffeinated beverage a day and I am ok.

I hope you find a simple solution to your problem too. I do miss the caffeine though…

My Mrs has migraines caused by MSG. She sees a shimmering light in her vision and knows that 24hrs of migraine will follow. If she can avoid MSG she is fine, but restaurants use it often.
You don't have a new Chinese restaurant in your area do you?Lol.

I think you're going to give the Squirrels the business with that set-up!
Very nice.

Man, if it's salt or caffeine, I'm in big trouble!

I rather like the CZ bolt rigs.
But still think a 1022, w 20" GM sporter bbl, in a repro fingergroove stock (old orig "sporter") would be cool.

W a Leupold fixed 6X AO

I always wanted a nice 24" sporter barrel for the 10/22. My CZ 457 American is another that I wish was threaded. I may can get it shortened a few inches and threaded. I like longer barrels and I like suppressors but never both on the same gun.