Replace Ruger 10/22 with a bolt action?

[ThomasT]

Good choice on the 981. It does not have a floated barrel and doesn't need one either. The reason for a floated barrel is to allow for wood stock warpage. Since there is no wood involved there is no warpage and no need for a floated barrel. Plus the gun has a single mount bolt and relies on pressure for and aft for stability. If it had two action bolts a float would be possible.

The gun will shoot just fine right out of the box. Some will tell you to do a trigger job and that is not needed either.

The 981T is a very good rifle for the price. If it was half again as much it would still be a good deal.

Spend your money on ammo and a decent scope. Then post some groups.

 

[Hidden Stalker]

Progress

Ok, I have had a small stroke of luck and had money left over from a Cash Bonus from my job. I special ordered the Marlin 981T today at a local gun shop. It ran $211.99 out the door. A Little steep, considering Dicks had it for $169 (+tax), but back order was 3-4 weeks at Dicks. I am paying the $30 difference, supporting a smaller store, and getting it in a week instead of a month. Guess that is a good thing.

I did pick up a brick (400 rounds) of American Eagle 38gr Copper-Plated Hollow Points... price is up to $23.00 a brick now. Ouch. Even cheap plinking ammo is going up too much. Guess it is better to have it now and not really need it than to need it and not have it.

Well, I'm heading to the range tomorrow (sans new Marlin) to burn some ammo and relieve some tension. As soon as I can get the new addition and get back to the range I will see if I can post some results.

Thanks again to everyone that assisted with my decision for new plinker.

Wow! I had no idea that I was posting about this so long ago. It has been 4 months. Time flies and I totally lost track of things.
Thanks again to everyone. I appreciate all of the information provided. I am going to likely get into reloading in the next 3 months, starting with 9mm Luger (most likely), and possibly get into 7.62x39 for my Wasr-10, if cost becomes reasonable for components like Brass for this caliber. I will make a new thread for my newbie questions on reloading later.

Oh, I know to get ABC's of Reloading and read it several times before purchasing any gear.

 

[Bobarino]

good choice! i bought a 981T last summer and just got around to sighting it in with a cheapie 3-9 scope and man that thing can shoot! the new trigger system they have, while still on the heavy side, is far better than the old ones they used to use.

one thing i really like with it over the Marlin 60 that i like to shoot too is that it's 1000X easier to clean. no blowback into the action. everything goes out the end of the barrel. clean the barrel as normal, wipe down the bolt, lube the cocking lug with tetra grease and give the bolt a light coat of rem-oil and you're done!

fantastic rifles and an even better bargain! you'll love it.

Bobby

 

[gazpacho]

Taurus Model 62 in pump or lever action. Vey simple and robust. I have a youth pump carbine that is very compact, plus it breaks down in half. It can be single fed longs, short and caps, but only Long rifle from the magazine.

 

[goon]

You might consider a little light polishing on the action of your 10/22 as well.
Mine was rough and unreliable when I bought it.
I replaced the extractor with a VQ extractor and carefully did some light polishing to the inside of the reciever and the ejection port to smooth out some left over rough casting marks.
Since then I have had exactly one magazine related malfunction.

Seems Ruger's QC isn't so hot these days but I'd still be suprised if you can't make your 10/22 100% in about 20 minutes and maybe $10 worth of parts if you're really unlucky.
True, you shouldn't have to work on new gun to make it work, but I still found that preferable to calling them and bugging them for another replacement part that was made with the same poor QC that the original was.
Your mileage may vary.

 

[akodo]

Is there a .22 bolt action rifle with non-removable magazine (tubular or other) that you can recommend as a SHTF/Survival Hunting rifle? I prefer not to have a magazine to keep up with in the field, or that could have potential problems.

I think you are worrying about nothing. A detachable magazine can be treated just like an interal magazine. Neither one will wear out more quickly than the other. Tubular mags seem to be the most prone to failure and to getting knocked about. I'd treat detachable and fixed mags in the same catagory as eachother, and instead view a flush mag as the best, slightly protruding mag almost as good, and a tube mag as the worst.

If either one fails, you can always single load.

 

[Hidden Stalker]

Range Time

Well, I went to the range for about 2 hours, just to let a friend do some shooting. I took the Ruger 10/22, and really wished that I had the new Marlin to go with it...

The Ruger kept failing to feed, failing to eject, and generally irritated me greatly. I tried Federal, Remington, Winchester, CCI rounds of varying types. Seems that about all of them produced the same results. Disappointing.

I suppose I could try all the polishing and such, but a rifle to have that many problems with that many types of ammo, when it is also new, is just silly.

I will reserve final judgment on the Ruger after I compare to the Marlin. Then the Ruger will likely earn a place in the gun cabinet relegated to "keepsakes" and not real shooters.

 

[LTR shooter]

Unless you have tried another magazine don't be so quick to knock the rifle. Owning a couple of 10/22s I noticed one having more feed/eject issues. So the next time out I swapped magazines and the feeding/ejecting issues were resolved.