questions about bullpup 10/22

[coosbaycreep]

I paid $275 used for it. It's got a muzzlite stock, NcStar scope, promag 50 rd. drum, a butler creek steel lip 25rd. (?) mag, and a factory wood stock. I just got it a few hours ago, and probably won't get a chance to shoot it for a few days because of the rain. It feels cheap, kind of like a toy gun, but it weighs a lot more than my other 10/22 with factory synthetic stock.

How's the reliability of these stocks, scopes, and drums. I've heard bad things about some promag products, but don't know about their .22 drums. I've never even heard of this brand of scope, but it looks cheap too. How does the trigger/safety work on this thing? They're way further up than the stock location, so does it use some kind of linkage or something? The trigger pull is crappy on it too. Does the little muzzle thing on the end of the barrel do anything, or is it just for looks? Is there any way to put a sling on this thing? Did I pay too much?

I didn't really need another .22, but it was so cool looking that I figured I could make it the rest of the month on bread and ramen noodles if I bought it. It's really awkward and heavy, and doesn't balance very well either. I'm also concerned with cleaning it. I always wipe the outside of my guns down when I shoot in the rain to protect them from rust. How do I do that with this thing? Do I have to basically strip this thing completely down, screw by screw, to do that?

here's a pic:

 

[rangerruck]

best to use a single point sling on it somewhere, do it where it fits you best. the thing on the end is just for show. the scope mfgr(Nc Star) is about the worst you can buy, if it lasts through one shooting session i would be surprised. Made by Christian slave labor in china, usually under threat of " no more gruel for you, for the next 12 hours, unless you make 100 NC star products!"
I would be real interested in the drum, as I have been itching for one myself, but not if they are crap, make sure to give us a full range report.
you only got ripped off, if you believe it so...

 

[Dionysusigma]

Cool! It's a Total Recall gun!

 

[MatthewVanitas]

Stock: $95
Promag drum: $65
Butler 25rd: $30
Not sure what model of NC scope, but looks like the $45 red-dot type.

So basically all the accessories would've run you about $235 to buy new, and a used Ruger 10/22 runs about $110-150 in my area (Austin, TX).

I'd say it's an okay deal if it's you're pleased with the current settup.


I've only shot a Muzzelite 10/22 once, and I really wasn't thrilled with the trigger. Maybe yours is assembled better, so it'd be good to hear a range report on the stock when you get a chance to try it out.

If you end up really liking the bullup design, but not the execution of the stock, you could always sell it here on THR for $50 or so, and then move your rifled receiver and accessories over onto a Dixie Consolidated bullpup stock. I've heard nothing but good about these over on RimfireCentral.com:

They run around $185, but I believe they're solid metal, and the trigger gets very good reviews.

 

[Nhsport]

Everyone seems to get all excited by the "different" look of a bullpup
,but as you said the ballance generally seeems "off"
Had a guy at my club who had something along the lines of yours and had also paid some crazy money for a bushmaster bullpup in 223.
He would let me shoot them and I never could do well with them,Most bullpups have some kind of linkage that connects the trigger with the actual sear that is burried somewhere inside the stock,this whole arraingement usually makes for a heavy nasty trigger.

Good luck with your gun. I expect you will never be real excited with its performance but you could easilly have lots of fun with it!
Grab a couple of the standard 10 rd ruger factory mags,in my experience many of the oversize aftermarket mags are not real reiable

 

[mokin]

It sounds like you got a pretty good deal on the accessories. I concur on you opinion of the Muzzlelite feeling like a "toy". My biggest criticisms of the Muzzlelite are 1) the need to keep adding shims in front of the receiver inside the stock (if when you shoot the rifle it fails to cock itself you need to add more shims) and 2) every time I dissasemble the rifle for cleaning I have to re-zero the rifle (by which time it may need to be cleaned again).

I'm not sure how well such a large drum will work with a bullpup design. With the action being that much closer to you body I found that smaller is generally more comfortable and easier to handle when it comes to magazines.

Shoot it and have fun. If you like the bullpup design you can replace the Muzzlelite stock with another more expensive (you get what you pay for) design. You've already got a good start on the accessories.

 

[coosbaycreep]

I just got back from shooting it, and I think it's a piece of crap. I couldn't get the scope to work, so I pulled it off to shoot open sights. I could only get 4 rounds to load the first time. The second time I got 7 rounds in it. Is there a trick to loading the drums? It's very difficult, slow, and painful trying to load that damn thing. Part of it might be my fault because it's cold out and I didn't have gloves on, but still, it doesn't do any good to have something that holds 50 rounds if you can only get 6 or 7 in there.

It didn't jam at least. Accuracy was ok, but I'm a crappy shot anyhow. It makes a cheap, metal "ping" kind of sound every time you shoot it, which is extremely annoying. I think it's because it needs shimmed or something. It's super awkward to shoot and carry too. With something other than the drum, it wouldn't be as bad, but the gun is still balanced poorly, and the open sights on the bullpup are crap anyways.

It's louder than my other 10/22 too, and not just because of all the noise due to the ill fitting stock. I think this one has the same barrel length as my other one, so it must be because the bullpup puts you closer to the muzzle.

I also had problems trying to get the drum to lock in. It has an extended mag release on it, so that's good, but when the drum falls out on it's own, that sucks.

Another thing that ticked me off was the fake safety on the stock. It doesn't do anything, so why have it? If anything, that might just confuse someone who's never shot one and lead them to believe that switching that one to safe will make it not fire, without pushing the real safety on the action.

Trigger pull is HORRIBLE. I thought the safety was on several times. Definitely not something you could shoot competition with. With the looks and shortness of the gun, I figured it'd be a wicked rabbit gun, but as crappy and awkward as it is, I don't think the rabbits have anything to fear. If the noise of the stock creaking and cracking didn't scare them off, I'd just miss them anyhow.

I messed with the scope when I got home, and finally got it to work. I'm not gonna waste another $8 in gas to drive back out and shoot it again though. Next time I go shooting with it, I'll remember to take some other mags with me and see if that makes it better to shoot.

Considering how much money I've got tied up in it, I'm not happy to say the least. After the first few rounds I was already ready to sell it. More than likely, I'll just keep it though, since I'd lose money either way. I thought about parting it out and putting the money towards an aluminum barrel and boyd's stock, but I'll just leave it be. I've got another 10/22, and 3 other .22 rifles, and since this is one is so cool looking, it'll mainly be a wall hanger. I think bullpups are hideously ugly, but they're cool looking nonetheless. It's about as useful and practical as my tec-9, but I really do like the tacticool stuff, so it's bound to collect some dust in the gun cabinet.

Oh well.

 

[mokin]

Don't give up!

It took me awhile to get used to my Muzzlelite but I have eventually fired it enough to have a fairly high degree of confidence with it. Try removing the "flash hider" or whatever that is on the muzzle. It was added for cosmetics. Also, I read somewhere that such devices add a little length to the rifle if it is "close" to legal limits. The muzzle blast does not seem exsisive on my rifle without such a device.

Your critique of the "iron" sights on the Muzzlelite is right on. I have a variable power Tasco sight on my Muzzlelite. I usually keep it in the 4X range for shooting at distances 25 to 50 yards. I have found that once I have the rifle zeroed I can put 10 shots into a 1" hole at 50 yards with a good rest.

Use some 10 round magazines from your other 10/22s for awhile-then try your larger magazines. I have some 25 round Butler Creek mags that work well but I had to file some plastic off the end to get them to fit/operate correctly.

As far as the trigger pull a long creep is a common complaint about bullpups as is the "balance". The plastic construction of the Muzzlelite makes this creep worse than any other bullpup I've shot. Smooth, even pressure and a little graphite seems to keep my trigger from binding. As far as the safety on the trigger guard mine works but with such a long trigger pull I seldom use it. I found cupping my trigger hand with my off hand and resting my off hand elbow against my body works well when shooting in an offhand position. I found the little "ping" the rifle makes a little annoying as well but I've got an HK that also sounds like a toy and I eventually accepted that so the Muzzlelite took a little less time (We're talking about a couple thousand rounds here...).

All this is meant in a friendly helpful way. My Muzzlelite is by far not my most favorite rifle but it is fun and it did take a while to figure out. Good luck!

 

[Desert Scorpion]

Hahhahaha who ever sold you that piece of crap raped you and made money doing it. That stock should be illegal to sell, I bought one in my youth thinking it was cool only to find it a hazard, DO NOT SHOOT THAT THING GET RID OF THE STOCK. It really is dangerous the trigger linkage is no safe desighn. Get rid of it and dont even get the Dixieconsolidated stock it sucks too I bought that one too it was all warped.

 

[Avenger29]

Also, I read somewhere that such devices add a little length to the rifle if it is "close" to legal limits. The muzzle blast does not seem exsisive on my rifle without such a device.

A muzzle device only counts for length if it is permanently attached, like pined or welded on. The only thing you need to be concerned with is the barrel length (should be 16" minimum) and the overall length (26", folding stock can be less when stock is folded).

I hate to break it to you, but you seem to have discovered the truth anyway.

The Muzzlelite bullpup stock is a total POS. Thankfully, there is Dixie Consolidated. Solid aluminum, available for either a bull barreled or standard barreled rifle.

The promags are worthless. Sell them to a mall ninja. Another problem with the muzzlelight BP stock is that the grip blocks high cap mags due to the curve. Keep the Butler Creek mag.

So in short, sell everything except the wooden stock, the rifle itself, and the butler creek mag to some gullible mall ninja. Good luck in getting what you paid for it.

 

[Deles136]

I removed the 25 lb trigger spring from both of my Muzzlite stocks and replaced them with 5 lb springs and they work much better. Also grease the trigger bar rails and that will help.

 

[66912]

I say, Keep the receiver, Part out the rest, and take those dollars to fund a 10/22 project of your own desire.

 

[Bigfoot]

I removed the 25 lb trigger spring from both of my Muzzlite stocks and replaced them with 5 lb springs and they work much better.

Where did you find the lighter springs?