What accuracy out of a Ruger 10-22

[solman]

I have been shooting my Ruger 10-22 lately and it's a lot of fun. However accuracy eludes me, I tried 3 different types of ammo including CCI SV target.
At 50 yds with a scope I don't get better than about 2 inches shooting off a rest on the bench.
What accuracy do you get?
I did put in a Volquartsen hammer which did help a bit.
Anything I could do to improve it without spending huge $$

 

[Delmar]

Bedding kits are available from Power Custom and a few other sources and do help.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Are you talking about a standard 10/22 Carbine? If so, my experience is that about an inch at 50 yards for 10 shots is pretty typical. Sometimes worse though. Ammunition preference is going to vary by barrel; mine gets best accuracy with CCI Standard Velocity and is OK with 40 grain Mini-Mags. Anything in a bulk pack becomes a roll of the dice.

Quick and inexpensive things to try are floating the barrel, trying to pressure bed the barrel by shimming near the barrel band, and checking any scope mounting hardware for alignment. And any different ammo you can get your hands on, though I'm aware that's a bit of an issue with .22LR right now.

 

[Pilot]

When I bought a 10/22 in the mid 90's, I did a total rework of the rifle even before I shot it. Back then Midway had a Shilen stock, and 0.920 16" barrel combo. I installed that along with a Power Custom trigger/hammer/sear/shim package along with some Volquartsen goodies throughout, so I can not tell you what my stock rifle was capable of. All I know is that I can get sub 1/2 inch groups at 50 yards with bulk ammo, and it is consistent as heck.

You may just want to start with a new barrel, and see what happens, they are very, very easy to install, and the rifle is easy to work on, and modify.

https://www.volquartsen.com/tags/5-barrels,13-ruger-10-22

 

[ms6852]

In my opinion, you have not fired enough different brands of ammunition, try more. Try wolf, eley , Aguila, and all the different CCI, rws,federal,fiochhi , and so on.

In my experience try tuning the barrel by tightening the retaining screw in increments . Start at 55 inch pounds, shoot a group, and then increase by one inch pound for every group until you get your best group.

The quickest way is to buy a Kidd barrel.

 

[ericuda]

You should easily get <2" with open sights. You say the hammer helped a bit. I would suggest intalling a new bx-trigger drop in kit from ruger. Not a bad buy.

 

[Sav .250]

Lots to consider when talking about accuracy.

 

[JackSprat]

If you have a scope without adjustable objective then the paralax correction is likely at 100 yards ..Unless you have a scope specifically for a rimfire .

 

[LoneGoose]

Please don't take this wrong, but sometimes the simplest answer is the right one: You may have leading in the barrel or in the chamber (just before the rifling starts). Sometimes a barrel looks clean when looking into it from the muzzle end, but the leading is way down by the breech end. I'd take the barrel off the receiver and give the chamber and bore a really good look (with magnification) from the breech end. I did this for a buddy who had trouble with his 10-22. The lead was smeared into the rifling and wasn't detectable from the muzzle end.

Ammo, scope, receiver retaining screw.

 

[greyling22]

Try taking off the barrel band. Might help. It did for me. Different ammo can help, and some guys over on rimfirecentral talk about having your chamber reworked by a guy named Que that helped a lot. For me, just replaced my barrel with a kidd ultralight weight for Xmas. I just put 10 rounds of golden bullet into a ragged hole about a half inch across @50 without trying real hard. Definitely an improvement over stock. Definitely expensive.

 

[joem1945]

Accuracy is iffy on 10-22's. 1 of mine will do <1" @ 50 yds with almost any ammo, while the other gets a bunch of fliers no matter the ammo.

 

[bannockburn]

I mounted a scope on my 10/22 shortly after getting it because it did so well with the iron sights that I knew the accuracy potential was there. Definite preference for Wolf Match Target and CCI MiniMags.

 

[bikemutt]

I've heard the 10/22s can be sensitive to the amount of torque applied to the action bolts. Should be fairly easy to play with that parameter to see if it helps.

My 10/22 with a Ruger bull barrel was easy sub-MOA at 50 yards. I recently installed a Federson barrel but haven't got it to the range yet.

 

[jmorris]

Aside from a good rest and optics a green mountain barrel is likely the least expensive accuracy mod.

I have a Clark custom 10/22 with a Lothar Walther barrel that is exceptional but also would cost a lot more.

 

[Manny]

if your handy and want to try some home gunsmithing the 10/22 is an ideal candidate. There are so many folks that have modified these little gems that there are a plethora of parts available, both new aftermarket & factory take off. Here's a link to a tech article Marshall Stanton of Beartooth Bullets wrote about in his search for improved accuracy by "firelapping" the barrel:

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/64

 

[Sunray]

"...home gunsmithing..." Try more brands of ammo first. Mind you, the irons on a 10/22 aren't great sights to start with. Neither are the triggers, but it's also still a hunting rifle. It may only be capable of 2" at 50. However, try more brands and bullet weights and a trigger job and maybe change the sights.
A scope will not make any rifle more accurate though. A scope just lets you see the target better.

 

[red rick]

I have the Deluxe model without the barrel band .

I also installed a Volquartsen target hammer and Weaver 3-9x32 scope . Stock torqued @ 15 in/lbs. .

My best 3 shot group from a Bulls Bag is :

Wolf Match .548
Aguila Match .661
Winchester Super X .759
CCI Mini Mags .770

Worst :

Federal Match 2.47
Winchester Wild Cat 1.43

 

[edwardware]

My 10/22T (bull barrel), plus:
-bed action and 3" of barrel
-free float
-extensive trigger job with stock parts
-cheap 3-9x rimfire scope

will keep 10/10 on a golf ball at 100 yards, provided I do my part. I've only ever used Blazer 40gr lead (http://www.blazer-ammo.com/rimfire.aspx). I've never shot paper, because golf balls are more fun.

You should expect dramatically less accuracy from a sporter profile barrel, especially with stock contact.

 

[Onward Allusion]

Buy a Marlin bolt action?

Seriously, 10/22's are money pits. They are what they are out of the box. Great plinkers. Hell, I have 6 of 'em myself. The one that tack drives can't even be called a 10/22. Its receiver, barrel, trigger, & stock aren't even from Ruger! . . . and it cost around a grand to build.

You want to upgrade and tinker, more power to you. You want to make a sow's ear . . . . Don't waste your money.

 

[midland man]

lol I own a 10-22 and its the stainless steel with black synthetic stock and mine with Remington 40gr roundnose thunderbolts shoots very tight groups at 50 yrds and I have a 4x32 scope on mine!!

 

[Jlr2267]

I could never get my 10/22's to shoot as well as my stock Marlins, although I didn't put a lot of $ into the effort either. My buddy had one that shot 1/2 MOA, but he had over $1k in it

 

[solman]

OK I will try some more different types of ammo. Also I know the barrel touches the stock about 2 inches from the front of the stock but I figured it has a barrel band anyway which I thought would make free floating the barrel a moot point.
I just switched from a Cabela's scope 3-9x40 to a leupold 3-9x40 rifleman scope. I was thinking the cabbalas scope might be my issue.

 

[red rick]

Try taking the band off along with different ammo .

My Marlin 60 will shoot a smaller group with the ammo it likes , but my 10/22 is not as ammo sensitive as the Marlin 60 . My Ruger shoots all ammo better than my Marlin . I get my largest groups with my Marlin 60 . My Marlin sometimes does not eject the low velocity target ammo ( that produce the best groups ) but my Ruger has no problem ejecting it .

 

[Rembrandt]

10/22's may be the only $200 gun you can spend $1000+ on and still need more gadgets.

I have a Volquartsen that goes way back....when Tom Volquartsen did the actual work. He specifically cut the chamber for Eley Tennex ammo. The rifle will shoot ragged holes at 100 yards, most of the time we shoot flies at that distance for entertainment.

With the proper accessories and more important....proper ammo, you can do some amazing things. Just how much money you want to spend.

 

[jmr40]

Accuracy seems to vary quite a bit. If you're using cheap bulk pack ammo 2" at 50 yards is pretty typical. You won't do much better with any rifle with that ammo. With good ammo most all of them I've shot would keep 5 shots inside 1" at 50 yards. Once you start modifying them you might shrink that to 1/2" or even closer to 1/4".