Pedestrian 10/22 Accuracy

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Skylerbone

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Much has been written of the 10/22 and its accuracy out of the box. I’m hoping we can enjoy a no frills, no fighting thread on your non-accurized 10/22s with targets. If you hate/dislike/don’t own/don’t shoot a 10/22 then please do us the courtesy of taking The High Road and withhold negative comments.

Now for my part, my standard carbine, full OEM parts compliment plus a Kidd buffer to remove the metallic “clank” of cycling, shot yesterday, June 15, around 2:00PM, rainy and ~10mph wind, 25 yards off soft rifle cases resting on table (a friend was using my rest and rear bag), Aguila SV 40gr RN, Nikon Rimfire ProStaff 3-9x.

I didn’t shoot much, only 1 target, was taking a friend out who needed some time off and he had most of the fun.


Bottom right: 8 rounds to season the barrel, not trying for group, final 2 shots at upper and lower left targets.
862C96FF-A37A-417C-AB16-936BBD92EC44.jpeg

Upper Right: 20 rounds, about a 5/8” hole.
75E27949-4B30-4D9A-95D2-24E0FD336050.jpeg

Zero check.
CD3CE8DE-6F64-4A68-A87D-0BF5EB589E7C.jpeg

Zero check.
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My 10-22's always shot a lot better than my 77-22, which cost almost three times as much. They have been about the only Rugers I like and can put up with.
 
I've owned and shot many over the years. With standard models I think it comes down to luck with no discernible pattern that I can figure out. Some shoot great, others won't do any better than 2" at 50 yards. You either get a good one or you don't. I've shot a few that would do 1/2" at 50 yards with match ammo. The versions intended as target rifles tend to be much more consistently accurate. Those are the only versions I fool with anymore. My LVT 10/22 will match anything I can with my CZ 452.

I don't think 25 yards is far enough to tell you much. I shoot at at least 50 yards. Sometimes 100-200. I've shot some 1/4-3/8" 5 shot groups at 50 yards, and can usually can keep 5 shots inside 1" at 100. 200 is far more challenging, 3" groups are a good day.
 
You need to move the target out to 50 yards. At best, my 10/22 held over an inch at 50 yards, even with good match ammunition. The chamber was so large I could press on the sides of a 22 lr cartridge and "rock it". Ruger understood its customers, most of whom never clean their rifles but expect them to feed and extract. The stock box rifle is just fine for squirrel hunting and can busting.

I put a Volquartsen barrel on the action and it shoots as accurately as a match rifle. The factory trigger is still awful, but I am not paying hundreds to fix that.
 
My 31 year old "deluxe" model. I installed a 1.5-4.5 oakshore scope on it with some base I got from Brownells. With cheap milk carton ammo, I can keep all my shots on a 1" target paster at 50 yards.
10-22.JPG
 
My 10/22T (stock heavy bbl), freefloated, bagged on the bench, is ~1.5-2" at 100yd. That's ~8/10 on a golf ball.

Carbine bbl? That's a crapshoot. . .
 
My 67 standard was a 1.25" gun at 25 yards. It was inlet a bit off....huge forend pressure. Barrel band very hard to get screw in if taken out. Took an 11mm socket and sandpaper and relieved some of the pressure. Barrel band went on and off like it should. Gun was .75"......w pmc.ww superx or cci blazer. At 25 yards bagged.

It had a volq hammer. Kidd buffer. IMHO it was not right new and was finally back to what it should have been.
 
Used gun....w everything torqued to spec. Nothing looked damaged.

I had another 67.....a fingergroove ( factory checkered ). It got the Volq hammer and Kidd buffer and shot cci blazer into . 75 at 50;yards w Leupold set at 6x. Was very happy with that. Zero work on it other than those two simple part swaps.

Was so hoping my current fingergroove would replicate it :(
 
My current sporter is not worth taking to 50 yards.
Stock, and with most forend pressure removed (but still some)...........it was at or over 1" at 25 yards.
Vertical and horizontal, no trend.

Used gun so dunno if crown dinged or what (looks OK but my eyes suck anymore).
I have another factory 18.5" bbl I could try.

Have yet to test free floated.
Aint gonna bet the farm that the bit of stock and bedding work will make it into something decent.
Gun is too dinged up to spend the $ on a CPC bbl clean up.
 
Funny, before I did any mods I let somebody else try the rifle.
Offhand indoors, and they claimed it shot great, surprisingly good for a 10/22.
Guess some folks have different ideas of good (poor kid can't shoot LOL).
With no mods, my '70 sporter can't keep em under an inch at 25 yards. Benched.
Even w match ammo.
In it, match shows zero improvement.
Kinda sucks.
Neat old rifle.
No range time tomorrow.
Work next weekend.
Hosed.
 
Ditto others in saying to move out to at least 50 yards.

I wasn’t intending to proclaim stellar accuracy or imply 25 is the real limit of testing for “good enough”. I think the aftermarket has poisoned some people’s understanding of what this rifle was built for, namely hunting and plinking. If I’m more than 25 yards from a squirrel I: wait for him to get closer or I get closer.

The above target represents the 3rd range trip with this rifle, again without an aftermarket barrel or stock or trigger, and that it is perfectly capable of squaring away a head shot on small game. My Marlin and CZ and Mossberg and Savage bolt action rimfires all make smaller groups with the same ammo but do so at multiple price points. I’m only saying it works as delivered and I’d bet mine is not the only one.
 
This is my stock 10/22 Carbine with wood stock and wearing Tech Sights benched at 25m using various ammo. No mods, other than just sanding out the paint overspray in the receiver to smooth up the action. It would probably be more accurate if I lightened the trigger pull and removed the barrel band, but otherwise, probably can kill small game at 50m with this accuracy.

BZpdliw.jpg
 
Awhile back I did a side by side shoot with a marlin 60, Remington 597 and a 10/22, that were all stock except I added optics to the 60 & 10/22 because the Remington didn’t come with irons from the factory.

They were all comparable at 60 yards, 3 consecutive 5 shot groups with 3 different types of ammunition, 40gn HP, 36gn HP and a 40gn solid, averaging the 3 groups together the 10/22 was 1.259".

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