Rant about 10/22 Barrels and question

[exabrial]

Why areall aftermarket barrels are bull barrels? I really like the stock ruger stock... I really don't want to see that gone. I don't get how my Savage .30-06 survives ten minutes on the range without exploding due to it's contoured barrel.


/Rant off

I've have my ruger 10/22 since I was a kid. I'd like to "drop in" a replacement barrel for it to pick up some accuracy. Midwayusa does have barrels made by 'Shilen' that supposedly have the factory contour... but they're fairly pricey. Anyway know of a contoured barrel that gives a noticeable improvement in accuracy over the stock barrel?

thanks!

 

[CraigC]

You have a few options. You can have your factory barrel set back and rechambered. This, along with a new crown, always improves accuracy. Green Mountain has quite a few options for sporter barrels and varmint contour barrels, linked-to below. The Shilen barrel you mentioned is a varmint contour and a very good barrel. It and the Clark mid-weight are better barrels than Green Mt. but also more expensive. Here's a pic of my LTR with its Clark 21.5" mid-weight barrel. It drives tacks but doesn't weigh 10lbs.

http://shootersdiscount.com/cart/index.php?_a=viewCat&catId=17

 

[TonyAngel]

The Green Mountain barrels are a good bang for the buck and I got one that closely approximates the contour of a stock barrel, except that mine doesn't have a front sight and is fluted. Still, just changing the barrel may or may not get you the accuracy that you are looking for. Most 10/22s have a very sloppy action to stock fit. The are held into the stock by a single screw and rely on the barrel band to keep everything from shifting.

When I replaced my barrel, that was just the beginning. I had to do a lot of stock work before I saw the benefits of the new barrel. After all was said and done, I really still wonder how much of the accuracy improvement came from the barrel and how much came from the stock work that I did.

 

[Red Tornado]

Craig,
That's a nice LTR setup. What stock is that?
RT

 

[CraigC]

Thanks, it's a "Tacticool" from Boyd's.

 

[Davek1977]

I suggest a standard contour barrel from Green Mountain myself....my only barrel from them is a bull barrel for a 10/22, but it consistently shoots one hole groups at 50 yards easily, all day long. It turned my rifle into somehting that was "meh" at best into one of the more accurate rifles I own.

 

[jmr40]

There are standrd contour barrels available.

Most folks want the heavier barrel because it adds forward weight to the gun to help hold the rifle steady. Not to keep the barrel from exploding.

You can use your factory stock with a bull barrel by simply opening up the barrel channel.

If you want a lightweight barrel that will improve your accuracy look at the"Tactical Solutions" barrels. They are a very lightweigh bull barrel. The 10-22 I have with this barrel weighs 5 1/4 lbs with a 3-9X scope in a Hogue stock. That is a full pound lighter than the same gun/scope with the factory barrel.

Lots of options if you just look.

 

[PedalBiker]

I've seen Ruger factory barrels at Midway for pretty attractive prices. If you're just looking to replace a worn out barrel that's an option.

 

[Red Tornado]

You can also check RFC's trading post. There are usually several take-off barrels for sale there.
RT

 

[desidog]

or you could ask around for someone who got a bull barrel and has no use for the factory barrel....like me. I've got three collecting dust. Two never used...

 

[CraigC]

Most folks want the heavier barrel because it adds forward weight to the gun to help hold the rifle steady.

That was the original intent when Clark Custom invented the concept. Nowadays, I think folks just do it because everybody else is doing it. IMHO, without putting much thought into the intended purpose of the end result or how much the thing will weigh. Which is what I did 15yrs ago and realized it makes a rifle too damned heavy for field work. Give me a mid-length mid-weight (20-22") or a long sporter (22-24"+) over a short, fat, steel heavy barrel any day of the week.

 

[double bogey]

On RFC look for username Nemohunter. He reworks any barrel you send him.

 

[jmr40]

CraigC,

You might want to try the Tactical Solutions barrels. They are an aluminum bull barrel with a steel insert for the rifleing.

I have several 10-22's around here, 2 with custom barrels. One is an 18" bull that weighs 7.5 lbs ready to go with a 4-12X scope on it. It puts 10 rounds of cheap ammo into a dime sized group at 50 yards. 7.5lbs. is not really too much for a field rifle, about the same or less than most big game rifles.

The Rifle with the Tactical Solutions barrel is not quite as accurate, but only weighs 5.25 lbs with a 3-9X scope. Just for comparison the non modified 10-22 with a 3-9X scope is 6.5 lbs.

 

[exabrial]

I'm looking at the options presented in this thread, and I realized I have another problem.... Green mountain barrels do not have a notch for a front sight post...

Anyone have a favorite barrel that has front sight notches?


Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[jmr40]

If you want to install iron sights on an aftermarket barrel it would be best to buy what you want. Midway and Brownell's sell what you need. Then have a gunsmith drill and tap your barrel for the sights. It wouldn't be cheap, but it would be less than a quality scope and mounts.

 

[dagger dog]

The stiffer the barrel the less harmonic vibrations can affect accuracy, and that ain't no BULL

I bought one of the CHEAP bull barrel and stock kits from Butler Creek,the bull barrel also has a match chamber which when fed premium rimfire ammo like CCI Greentag, Ely,etc, can turn even a stock trigger 10-22 into a quasi "target" rifle.

 

[exabrial]

I guess I could survive hollowing out the stock channel a bit... And maybe do a partial bed of the action... who knows. I AM concerned with weight too.

CraigC, I see you have some sort of front sight on that barrel. Got a link? i'm having trouble finding that barrel, but it looks a lot like what I would want.

 

[CraigC]

TacSol seems to make good stuff but they're too light for my purposes. I wanted a little more weight than the factory carbine barrel but less than a bull. My setup is as close to perfect as I can get it. Although I'd still like to try a 24" or even 28" Green Mt. sporter.

For the front sight, I simply drilled & tapped a single hole to mount a Marbles ramp base, coupled with a Tech Sights front tower. The rear Nodak sight with Tech Sights' TS200 module.

Link to Clark barrels:
http://www.clarkcustomguns.com/riflepts.htm#barrels

 

[madcratebuilder]

On RFC look for username Nemohunter. He reworks any barrel you send him.

+1

He can set the chamber back and cut a modified Bentz chamber. Ruger barrels are pretty accurate if you clean up the sloppy chamber.

 

[mrdoublestak]

there are also carbon fiber wrapped barrels that are bull barrel size and crown.
without the weight

 

[Slamfire]

About 20 years ago, when Volquartsen first put out his barrels on the market, I purchased a 10/22 match barrel with compensator. Back then the barrel was unfluted.

https://www.volquartsen.com/category/15-barrels/7-rimfire-rifle

In my experience, the compensator muffles the muzzle blast. It takes a little longer for the squirrels to find you because not as much noise is going front.

Back then there was not such thing as a Custom Ruger 10/22 stock, or they were not easy to find, so I just routed out the barrel channel of my standard 10/22 stock.

The barrel is close in length to the original barrel, a little nose heavy, which is all to the good for off hand shots, and it is one heck of a lot more accurate than the factory barrel.

A lot of that accuracy is in the chamber. Cartridges are a push fit in the Volquartsen. You shoot them out. Or mostly have to shoot them out. The standard Ruger barrel had a chamber so loose that cases wobble. You can put your finger on the back of an unfired case and wobble the thing. That is just wonderful for those rock busters who never clean their gun and are happy with factory accuracy. Which is about 1" at 25 yards.

I dumped the irons, don't need them, have a nice Leupold Rimfire 4X and that is good enough for me.

 

[CraigC]

The stiffer the barrel the less harmonic vibrations can affect accuracy, and that ain't no BULL

This is not really an issue with the .22LR. Even if it were, it would be near the bottom of the list of contributing factors affecting accuracy.

 

[greyling22]

are you sure you're "accuracy" issues aren't due to cheap bulk ammo?

 

[desidog]

The stiffer the barrel the less harmonic vibrations can affect accuracy, and that ain't no BULL

This is not really an issue with the .22LR. Even if it were, it would be near the bottom of the list of contributing factors affecting accuracy.

It is with mine. Try putting a regular contour barrel in a .920 channel stock. I have a regular contour Tac.Inc. ribbed barrel, and that sucker will vibrate shots all over the page if it is in one of my .920" channel stocks...tried it; swapped back quick.

For iron sights & accuracy, the longest sight-radius is best. For scopes, I've found that a 16" .920 bull bbl and a Hogue overmolded stock is really tough to beat for weight and balance. The factory stocks just don't do it for me, despite having tried serious mods on a few.