Here's what I've done to my 10/22.
Tubb's Speedlok Hammer (2.5lbs trigger pull)
Bic-Pen trigger return spring job (free)
Wolff extra power hammer spring (to compensate for the low-mass speedlok hammer)
Hogue .920 overmolded stock.
Eagle extended magazine release ($3
)
Weapon Kraft recoil buffer (gets rid of the clank noise)
Volquartsen exact-edge extractor. Not needed, but with the tighter bentz chamber, possibly helpful.
Hex-head stock screw. (the buffer, screw and extractor were a package from Weaponkraft).
Headspace job down to 0.0425 (DIY, free, but time consuming)
Weaver TO-9 rail, to accept 1" standard weaver rings. A MUST have.
20", .920 diameter, fluted Whistle Pig barrel. Only weighs 15oz!!!!!!
Drilled hole in back of receiver so I can push a cleaning rod through the rear instead of the muzzle. Although, I use a patchworm 90% of the time and only use a rod seasonally after high round count.
Did a fluff & buff on the bolt and interior of receiver. No more grit or roughness. It is smooth as pure butter and cycles flawlessly.
With this set-up, using Wolf Match Target, I get .30 groups at 25 yards consistently all-day-long. It doesn't shoot any miraculous 1 hole groups, nor does it make any larger groups. They're all about .30. This is shooting well over 20 groups per session. Same results over and over. Very happy.
Things left to do:
1] Bed the action.
2] Free float barrel.
3] Add shims (small metal washers) to the trigger and hammer to reduce play.
4] Add a trigger stop screw.
5] Add JB Weld to disconnector to eliminate creep.
6] Use better ammo like Eley.
7] Send bolt out to have firing pin staked or pinned down.
8] Get better glass (using Bushnell Wal*Mart blister pack scope)
If I do that, I might be able to get this rifle to shoot a little better, maybe not - sometimes doing those things doesn't help or hurts accuracy. But, as you know - the more and more you try to shave off your groups, the cost in doing so goes up exponentially. Most of the things I've done are cheap or DIY. I feel like I've spent enough on a 10/22 and I am no where near the thousands of dollars people sink into theirs to get them to shoot MOA or better. I can't bring myself to spend that kind of dough on a .22.
I can't explain how truly awesome the WP barrel is. It is so light. It is lighter than the factory barrel, but it is incredibly accurate at least to my standards. With this barrel, I can have my cake and eat it. I've sold my Green Mountain barrel, which was a damn good barrel, but it was heavy and I've never looked back. The WP is so overlooked and underrated because people are skeptics of it. The lock time on this rifle is super-fast. Shooting a regular 10/22 feels like flint-lock.
I haven't done the things mentioned above because:
1] I'm Lazy
2] I'm pretty darn satisfied shooting $3 a box ammo into .30" at 25 yards for the time being.
Some might laugh at this performance, but for me that's fantastic for a .22LR that isn't using top-shelf stuff like Lilja barrels and Volquartsen bolts and receivers. Anyone can produce a tiny group, but I have a rifle that makes a decent group all the time. That's more valuable to me.
If you want your 10/22 to shoot great, you have to get rid of that awful Ruger barrel. Those barrels sell on Ebay for $25 new as take-offs. They have huge sloppy chambers designed to feed anything including stingers. The rifling is not so great, and neither is the crown. They aren't stress relieved. With the factory barrel, I've made small groups, but that's not the norm. When one is .15, and the next is 1" ...that barrel is only as good as 1", that's how I view "accuracy"...
It's a fun gun whatever you do with it. Good luck.
