new to a ruger 10/22

[cdames00]

Hey all,
I'm new here and looking for a little advice. I'm looking seriously into picking up a Ruger 10/22 rifle for plinking and small game for now and competition shooting in the near future. I had been dead set on a 10/22 USST for around $450; I love the looks of the rifle and am more than a bit happy about buying a ready to go match grade rifle. However, a buddy of mine was saying that I could do much better by buying a used 10/22 and sinking some money into some upgrades. The parts he mentioned were the barrel, stock, hammer/sear, and recoil buffer. Price wise, with the parts I picked out, the custom built rifle would be a bit more than a new USST.
My question is this, would the extra bit of money for the custom be worth it, or would the bnib USST do me just fine; keeping in mind that I no almost nothing about putting a rifle together? I guess I'm looking for a bang for my buck assessment, compared with issues of building the rifle. Sorry for the long-winded post, but I just want to make sure I'm not getting a raw deal either way I go!

 

[cdames00]

I'm actually have quite a bit of experience in shooting 22's, just never had the chance to own my own semi until now. I shot competitively in the past, and was hoping to get back into it much sooner than later.

 

[cdames00]

and, coincidentally, I've got the 400 coming in 2-3 weeks (switching jobs, and I get a nice vacation payout).

 

[rondog]

It's your life and money, do what makes YOU happy! For some guys, that's buying a hotrod ready to go. For others, their pleasure comes from building theirs from the ground up.

 

[FlyinBryan]

i would rather/did build my own.

 

[memphisjim]

cheapest way to buy a hot rod is turn key
but some live for the build

 

[cdames00]

So far I'm of the opinion that for my first owned 10/22 I should go with an out of the box rifle. I wanted some more opinions on the subject before I made the ultimate decision just in case there was an overly compelling argument out there.

 

[benzy2]

What is it about the 10-22 that you like specifically? I have spent around that into my 10-22 and wish I had it back. Its shoots very well for a semi auto but its too heavy to carry all day and its not accurate enough to come close to competing even at the local shoot. It makes an ok range rifle just screwing around but it doesn't do anything overly well.

I don't want to kill your enthusiasm but either rifle you suggested will be far from true match grade. If group size is what you are concerned about you will be better off with one of many different bolt actions. I would look for a used Anschutz if possible but short of that a CZ would do you well. Both of my CZs out shoot my 10-22. The 10-22 is just about what you were looking to build. The 10-22 is far from the best bang for your buck. It is a decent semi auto and many have been made to shoot but it takes a ton of money to get the most out of them and even then you could have at that point had a true bench rifle for the same money.

I suggest you look for what really matters most. If its plinking at the range with the occasional local shoot off it may do fine. If you plan on hunting with it you will regret it fairly quick. If it is trying to compete with even moderately serious local guys I think you will be disappointed quickly, at least I know I was.

 

[cdames00]

I actually have a bolt gun already, and I'm looking to supplement it with a semi. Just curious why I would regret hunting with it? Specs on the Ruger website put the usst at 6.25 pound plus a scope and ammo; doesn't seem to unreasonable. Is there a reliability or accuracy issue that I'm just not aware of due to not owning my own 10/22? I am kind of stuck on the 10/22 as my base for which ever way I go (stockish usst or custom), I've shot the base models and have been very impressed by them.

 

[benzy2]

The one I have is heavy for a .22lr. I don't know what to say other than if I were to carry a rifle through the woods always ready to shoot I wouldn't take a bull barrel on it. There is no point. A skinny barrel shooting .5" is just as good as a heavy barrel shooting .25". Even then a good sporter barrel is going to shoot anything short of the best ammo just as good as a bull barrel. It just got a little tiring carrying that rifle in hand over a few hours of hunting. The accuracy doesn't tend to be amazing. It may hold MOA with good ammo but thats about all you can hope for and even then thats normally at close ranges. 22lr gets pushed in the wind and shooting matches quickly shows who can dope for it and who can't(personally I'm in the can't). Like I said my CZ's both out shoot the heavy barreled 10-22. Hell my Savage and Marlin bolt rifles both out shoot my 10-22 and I have less in those two rifles together than in the 10-22. It just isn't a match rifle no matter how much you want it to be, unless you find an all 10-22 match to play in. I got bored really quick at the range with the 10-22. Other than shooting fast it does nothing better than the other rifles I own. Paper isnt running away from me so that doesn't do much good. Shoot a CZ 452 with a properly shimmed and sprung trigger or a properly adjusted 453 and you'll see how far off that 10-22 is from being a match rifle. Touch a good Anschutz trigger and realize how far that CZ is from a true match rifle. As I said in the last post I don't say this to discourage you, just to let you know that there are MANY rifles I would take in the same price range for either hunting or match use than the 10-22. It ranks with me pretty far down the list as it really does nothing better than another option.

 

[gunsandreligion]

It may hold MOA with good ammo but thats about all you can hope for

my stock carbine with no aftermarket can easily get 1/2 inch groups with rem golden pack

 

[gunsandreligion]

The 10/22 is a vastly overrated gun IMO

From what I read here (not on other forums on RFC they love them) its a vastly underrated 22.

 

[rangerruck]

nope. a usst model, will run with most any of the ones that are handbuilt, the only ones that run better, is if you get your stuff sent of to a dude, who redoes the chamber, trues and squares the bolt / bolt face, does a correct headspace.
then, no matter what the other components are, you got yourself a real shooter.
but your usst will be very good, compared to other 10.22's.
but then again, I will not compare 10.22's to other rifles, because that is apple/orange scenario.

 

[desidog]

You can see my comments in other threads on the 10/22, and might have already....but i'll add that people comparing a standard carbine with other gun-makes generally don't take barrel length into account on accuracy. It's no surprise a 16.5" Ruger bbl won't do as well as a 19" Marlin bbl, IMO. once you get a long bull barrel on there, it's a close competition that each shooter should decide for himself.

 

[Reid73]

I'd say that you have received good advice from benzy2. For both hunting and competitive shooting, there is nothing a 10/22 can do that a quality bolt .22 won't do better. But it sounds like you have made up your mind that you want a 10/22, and that's fine ... it's your rifle.

Re custom vs. USST, there are no "overly compelling argument(s)" either way.

 

[benzy2]

With the quality of the factory barrels on these rifles the difference in length won't mean anything. Even then I don't agree that longer is necessarily better. Less velocity and a less stiff barrel the longer it gets.

 

[chuwee81]

no gunsmithing is required to put in bolt buffer and change out the barrel. I swapped my own extractor and trigger group (volquartsen - i forgot how many lbs now but it's very crisp. Maybe less than 2 lbs??).

Anyway i did have to hunt for a spring that flew when i was putting the trigger group back.

It's a good all around little plinker. You can dress it up the way you want it, tons of after market stuff. Heck, you can get .22 short and 17 HMR conversion too.
I'd say go check rimfirecentral.com for more info. They have different brands of .22s there as well. good luck