Well guys, heres the report on my new 10/22.

[bsctov]

Went to the range today with my dad and brought along my brand new Ruger 10/22 and his old Jennings J-22 just for fun...Cleaned and oiled the little pistol before we left and it shot surprisingly well. Now on to the 10/22...

There was absolutely no malfunctions even with the cheap Remington brick pack ammo, every round fired and never jammed. The only thing I'm noticing is, the "Finish" is starting to peel off the receiver and I'm starting to think the entire receiver is pot metal. Gun functioned flawlessly, but the plastic parts worry me a bit, Who the heck uses a plastic barrel band on a rifle? Won't it melt? The barrel gets very hot.

Although the rifle is working great, These little issues irk me a bit and I'd like some input from other owners of the New Ruger 10/22's.

 

[ants]

Sorry, I can't help. I've never had those problems, but my 10/22 is one of the early old-school. It chokes when it's dirty, but it's built like a tank. It will outlive me.

 

[Maverick223]

I have heard a few reviews of the finish peeling off of the newer 10/22s, and yes the receiver is made of mystery metal (an aluminum alloy IIRC). I didn't realize that the barrel band is plastic, but am not surprised as the trigger pack (or at least the guard...which was one piece) is now made of plastic. I am not a big fan of plastic components (other than a synthetic stock/chassis), but it should not melt even under pretty severe use (excluding abuse) as it is likely nylon based and reasonably strong. Sadly the older versions (such as my own) of said rifle were entirely constructed of metal components (other than a synthetic stock or other non-critical component), and they were much cheaper. That said I am certain that it is still a very good, reliable rifle that will serve you well for many years to come. It is your first rifle...DO NOT under any circumstances sell it...understood?

 

[MarineOne]

Mine has the same issue, but I also see some damage inside from the bolt hitting the back end of the receiver.


Kris

 

[j-easy]

Mine is stainless and was bought like 10 years ago so its got metal barrel bands and trigger guard. If it gets real bad you could call ruger about it and ask them about it.

 

[CajunBass]

If you get it hot enough to melt the barrel band, brag about it. You've done something. You can take it off if you want to. It really doesn't do anything, and the rifle may shoot better without it. On the other hand it may not, but the barrel band isn't necessary. The DSP models and several other versions of the 10/22 don't have one at all.

Sometimes the finish (paint) flakes off where the parts move. At one time Ruger apparently had a batch that didn't get prepped properly and a lot of the finish would come off of non moving areas. If you send it back, they'll take care of it. If it's just in an area where the parts move, I wouldn't worry about it. As those parts wear in, it will stop.

The receiver is aluminum, as they've always been.

 

[desidog]

Before they went to polymer, the parts were all that pot-metal. I was skeptical, but found the polymer to be an improvement. The new trigger assemblies are much tighter than the old ones.

Mine has the same issue, but I also see some damage inside from the bolt hitting the back end of the receiver.

This comes from using the max.power ammo, I only run sub-sonics through my 10/22s, but I'd recommend that the OP's first (and cheapest) mod be a bolt-buffer.

 

[Maverick223]

...but I'd recommend that the OP's first (and cheapest) mod be a bolt-buffer.

That is a marvelous idea, that, a auto bolt release (also a great upgrade IMO) and a better extractor is the only modifications that I have made to the action of my 10/22.

 

[bsctov]

Ok guys I have opened up the rifle for a good cleaning today and a little inspection as to the quality of the internals and heres what I found:

Bolt and firing pin assembly: Good quality, just like an older 10/22.

Receiver material and finish: OK, Receiver is made from some sort of alloy which seems to be tough enough for the job, the finish is suspect, starts to peel around high stress areas such as bolt handle and bore.

Trigger assembly: This is the part I was most concerned about, however, after inspection of an old metal 10/22 trigger assembly, I have concluded that the new polymer trigger assembly is better because it wont dent or bend if you hit it against something by accident. However, not everything is peachy...The Hammer strut is PLASTIC in the new 10/22.

All in all, The new 10/22's seem to be just as good, if not better, then the old ones I have looked at.

 

[gearheadpyro]

I've noticed that my 10/22's finish is peeling inside where the bolt slides back and forth, but I figured this was just normal and from the parts moving. I took and cleaned a lot of the bigger pieces out when I cleaned the gun early on, and know I haven't noticed any more peeling. I couldn't see any of the peeling from the outside so I wasn't too worried about it. I've done a lot of work to my 10/22, and I love it. I modified the bolt release plate ( I did not replace it) so know it is an auto bolt release, I also lightened the trigger and swapped barrel and stock. Very cool little gun, and extremely reliable. Wouldn't trade mine in for the world.

 

[benzy2]

I have one from 6 years back and the paint has came off of it. That's ok with me. I sanded it lightly to get the rest of the paint to come off and then hit it, the stock, and the barrel with flat black that all matches. Now everything looks the same and if it gets scuffed it takes 30 seconds worth of spray time and its back to looking sharp.

 

[cchris]

Yeah, virtually no paint left on the top underside of the receiver from where the bolt slides. No real biggie though for me. I did, however, purchase a bolt buffer, which I will give a +1 for.

I've got a plastic stock on mine now, and there aren't any signs of melting it, even after I threw a hundred or so rounds through it consecutively. The plastic barrel band never had any problem, either.

Just understand this isn't the same grade of plastic that solo cups are made out of, and it's been tested for these kind of conditions. Ruger's a great company that stands behind their products, so if you did manage to melt it, I'm sure they'd be so impressed as to send you another.

Oh, and +1 for never ever selling it. Never.

 

[MarineOne]

Who sells the bolt buffer? I need to pick one of those up.

Thanks.

 

[Maverick223]

Midway has several of them...I bought the Volquartsen one for mine...the auto bolt release (releases the bolt when the charging handle is pulled back) is also a worthwhile upgrade IMO.

 

[cchris]

The Volquartsen buffer seems a bit much, even at $8.50 at Midway. Also gotta add $3.00 for S&H.

I went with Tuffer Buffer (http://www.tufferbuffer.com), via advice from this site. If you spend $0.50 more than the Voltsquartsen buffer, you can get 3 of them - one is $7.00, 3 are $12.00, and free S&H, along with a lifetime warranty (I bought 3 in case I wanted to give a couple away to anyone).

Took almost no time for them to arrive, had a handwritten "Thanks for your business, Chris" on the package, as well as a registration form for the nearest Appleseed event. I haven't really had any 'bad' dealings with any companies, but I'd give them 'exceptional' - they seem like great people to do business with.

 

[dom1104]

pot metal. thats one of those terms people throw around having no idea what they mean or what they are talking about.


My 10/22 is polished and then scuffed to a matte finish, I have worked that "pot metal" quite a bit and is just regular old aluminum, and its more than adequate for a 22.

It is my first rifle as well.

10/22s are in my opinion, fantastic.



Mine is accurate as I could ever need it to be, balances great in the hand, wonderfull for silhouette style plinkin, and great on the bench for just having fun at the range. Not to mention the factory mags are a design feat for a 22, fantastic reliability.

consider me a fan.

 

[dom1104]

oh I forgot, so basically what I am saying is, strip that paint off and polish up your 10/22, that cheap paint ruger puts on it now, blech.

Mine is circa 1990 so I never had to deal with it.