What kind of groups should I expect with a 10/22 Carbine

[FiveBillionAcres]

I bought a new 10/22 carbine and I've put about 300 rounds through it now and I can't get the groups smaller than 2" at 40 Yards which doesn't please me.

Also the scope base keeps vibrating lose so I tightened it up and one of the threads stripped, should I put a very thin coat of epoxy under it?

 

[CB900F]

FiveBillion;

How much ammo testing are you prepared to do? Stock 10/22's can be surprisingly accurate - if you feed the gun what it wants to be fed. And no, they are not, repeat not, all alike. Consecutive S/N'ed guns will like two completely different ammo's. Test many different brands, and as many different types within a brand as you can find/afford.

Get rid of the rail that comes with the gun. Buy a decent set of mounts, Weaver makes an integral base unit that's been good to me. There are others also. Be prepared to spend a little money here, don't be cheap, quality costs more. Talley is also a very good brand & well worth a look.

900F

 

[SSN Vet]

doesn't the answer to this question have a little bit to do with your skill?

 

[hksw]

That sounds about right for an out of the box 10/22. Of all of the 10/22s I have and have shot before modification and seen from otheres', I do not recall any of them shooting under 1" at 50 yds regularly in stock form even with match grade ammo. They've usually been in the 1.25"-1.50" range at best, IIRC. I don't even shoot them in their original configuration any more when I get new ones. I go straight to replaing to modding. I'm sure there will be a ringer in the bunch that'll shoot well under 1" but I've yet to see one. If you want better precision, try removing the barrel band first and see what that does. If it doesn't help (much), get a new barrel at the very least.

You should still be OK with the remaining threaded 3 holes for the base. Loctite Blue or clear nail polish the bolts to the holes but make sure you don't let any of it drip into the action.

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

Let me be clear. Doesn't matter if the ammo is "match" or not. The group size is directly affected by the gun's preference.

Admittedly your chances of good groups improve with good ammo, but that's only a rule of thumb. It is not cast in stone. I've seen a bone-stock package gun 10/22 shoot well under an inch at 50 yards. But, the owner did a lot of testing to find what that particular gun wanted to shoot.

I'm not saying they all will tune in if only you do enough testing, but many will. Far too many people junk the stock barrel for a wizard bull barrel without checking to see if the stock gun will shoot first.

900F

 

[FiveBillionAcres]

I love doing nerdy statistical stuff, I'll be trying lots of ammo for sure but remember that a 2" group at 40 yards is a a 2.5" group at 50 yards and that a 2.5" group is 50% larger than a 1.5" group. I will replace the barrel for sure some day, I was just hoping for better out of the box, they're so big it's making it hard to get the scope set up; then I had the stupid bolt break

Right now I can't afford to go out and buy a weaver mount and new rings and a barrel for a $275 gun and a $55 scope. Over time I would love to do all sorts of things for.

 

[FiveBillionAcres]

If we use the formula

we can see that a difference of 1" makes a huge difference in the percentage of area of a group at small sizes.

 

[Nhsport]

Ammo will be one of the big factors, try your gun with some of the standard velocity target ammo. CCI standard,Wolf MT,federal gold medal are all possible but be aware that most 10/22's will be less reliable with standard velocity ammo if it functions at all.
The stock 10/22 triggers are rough and if you look around (rimfirecentral has lots of info) there are ways to improve factory parts and/or replace with some aftermarket parts . A better trigger is a beautifull thing

 

[jmr40]

If you have the standard model try shooting it without the barrel band. This seems to help. I have replaced the stocks on mine with Hogue stocks or bought the models that do not have the band. It may look a little odd without the band but you can either replace the stock, or I have seen some people cut the stock off behind where the band originally was and refinish the wood.

 

[ArmedBear]

2" @ 40 yards is all I'd expect from a standard 10/22. That's why I sold mine.

Loc-tite is fine for the scope mount, despite what the manual says, as long as you don't fill the receiver with it.

 

[22-rimfire]

I find it difficult to understand why the 10/22's are so popular when they won't consistantly shoot under and inch at 50 yards out of the box. That is 2 MOA accuracy and you are doing a lot worse.

I would look to the scope mounts first. As said, put some different mounts on it.

Second; You didn't say what kind of ammo you were shooting. Buy a couple boxes of each or add a few to the list and go out shooting from a bench; CCI High Velocity, CCI Standard Velocity, Federal 510's, Wolf Match Target, and Remington Golden Bullets (100 pack). Shoot at 25 yds until you start seeing better groups then move the target out to 50 yds.

Good luck.

 

[lazyeye]

My 10/22 always REALLY liked the CCI minimags.
Also loctite every screw on the scope mount, make sure its a quality scope. 10/22s like to shake loose crappy scopes.

If you have one of the synthetic stock 10/22s, remove the front barrel band, put a washer on the bolt that holds the stock to the receiver and loc-tite it down. This will do wonders for your accuracy.

With whatever ammo your gun likes, you should be able to shoot minute of squirrel at 100 yards.
Cheers.

 

[MCgunner]

My 10/22 shoots 1.5" at 50 with iron sights. If you want a match rifle, you bought the wrong one. Oh, you can make it shoot better. All it takes is money. Lots of aftermarket stuff you can doll it up with. I got mine for plinking and outdoor knock around and I'm quite happy with it as is. Great little .22 and plenty enough to shoot squirrels to 50 yards with. I have more accurate rifles, though. Actually, I have more accurate rimfire pistols.

 

[kcmarine]

Call me crazy, but using a stock, iron- sighted 10/22, I got better groups at 100 yards on my last range trip than i did with the pop's M1A and my Saiga. And this was with that crappy Thunderbolt ammo, too. Of course, this is because of my own lack of accuracy, not the M1A's and Saiga's. I was very surprised though. Pleasantly surprised

 

[aka108]

I shot a variety of ammo in my stock 10/22 and was never pleased with grouping size. Midway had a Adams and Bennet heavy bbl and Hogue overmolded stock combo for 99 bucks a few years ago. Though what the hell, might try it. Now the thing groups a inch or under. Trigger is still a bit rough but I don't want to put any more money in it.

 

[FiveBillionAcres]

It's possible the scope shaking loose was one of the bigger problems, or that my gun just doesn't like the CCI standard I'll be sure to try lots more stuff. I suspect the clamp on the end has "something" to do with it but I like the look of it so I might just open it up with the grinder so that it doesn't actually touch the barrel anymore.

The trigger isn't bad imo but it could be better it doesn't have that nice surprise snap to it.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Surprisingly my (10/22) Charger is more accurate than our four 10/22 Rifles.
And yes, the guns are ammo sensitive.

 

[Slamfire]

Ruger 10/22's are fun rimfires. They are reliable, shoot fast, but are not target grade. 1.5" at fifty yards is doing good. That is unless you buy the Ruger 10/22 with the target barrel.

The barrels are the limitation. The carbine rugers have huge, loose chambers. Why? because the average person can't hit the broad side of a barn, and can't tell, but expects his rimfire to work without cleaning.

When I put a Volquartsen barrel on my 10/22, it really changed things. The chamber was tight, so tight that rounds had to be fired out of the chamber, and it was accurate.

Once you put on a match barrel, solid mounts, get a decent trigger group with has a decent trigger pull, and a target scope, maybe a little bedding, you will have a rifle equal in accuracy to an Anschutz.

Till then, you have a fun gun.

 

[wanderinwalker]

I'd say if you get to about 2" at 50 yards for 10-shots, reliably, from your stock 10/22, you're doing pretty well. I refuse to feed mine stuff that I know will really, really shoot, mostly because it's a $200 plinker, not a $2000 match rifle. I've noticed the difference in accuracy between CCI Green Tag and CCI Mini-Mags to be around .5" or so out of my 10/22. I'll stick with the Mini-Mags for half the price.

Ammo, I've tried CCI Mini-Mags (both 40gr solid and 36gr hollow point), Green Tag. Rem/Eley Target Rifle, RWS Target Rifle, Win Supreme (horrible in this rifle), T22, Super-X 37gr HP, 40gr Dyna-Point, Federal AutoMatch bulk (good in original lots, had a couple of bad ones and haven't bought any again in a year or so), CCI Blazer 40gr solid, Remington Golden Bullets 36gr HP (surprisingly accurate in this and my Single-Six), Federal Bulk pack 36gr HPs (varied from excellent to so bad I was wondering if I forgot how to shoot), Federal 510, CCI Stingers (worse than the worst packs of bulk ammo!) and I'm sure others I've forgotten. The one constant: My average groups at 50 yards rarely seem to go much better than the 2" range. Maybe a little under, maybe just over, but hovering right around 2".

That said, I think things like a better stock, trigger and sights would make a world of difference. To me, the standard carbine stock is too short and chunky. A Hogue or stock from a Deluxe Sporter (DSP) would be an improvement. Add either a scope or a set of aperture sights and a trigger job, and you'll probably have increased accuracy and usability.



Actually, a Hogue or DSP stock and a Williams receiver sight are on my to-do list. Maybe after a Marlin 39A or a 77/22 though!

 

[JTW Jr.]

Could it be the scope ? what brand ? What is the parallax set at ?

I have a stock 10/22 that will shoot right at an inch @ 75 yards using Fed 510.

Granted the 10/22 ain't a tack driver , but after seeing people drop $500 on that MP5 clone in 22....and not get any better accuracy... I will stick with my 10/22...although I prefer my Savage GVXP much more.

 

[FiveBillionAcres]

Good news!

I took a ton of material off the stock, 1/3" at the front just so it wouldn't touch the barrel. And I thread locked all mounts for the optics and took off the barrel clamp and now it's doing 1" at 40 yards, so that would be 1.25" at 50. I plan to get a new stock and bull barrel for it some day, I'm not sure I'll replace the whole trigger group though.

 

[Seafarer12]

A stock 10/22 is just a plinker. 2 inch at 50 is fine for rabbits and tin cans. The best thing I did to mine was changing the springs. Its not a light trigger but a lot better than what it was. I did the whole heavy barrel thing. To each his own. I am probably going to pull it off and sell it. I just wish I hadn't sold the stock barrel and stock.

 

[FiveBillionAcres]

Seafarer12
You don't like your heavy barrel?

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

a 2.5" group is 50% larger than a 1.5" group.

Actually, a 2.5" group is 67% larger than a 1.5" group (1.0/1.5).

Now, a 1.5" group is 40% smaller than a 2.5" group (1.0/2.5), but that's a slightly different question.

I wouldn't expect ANY Ruger to group particularly well - it is what it is - a plinker. Get a Savage or CZ or Anshutz or etc. if you want itty bitty groups. Though, as has been said, it may very well group great if you find a particular load that suits the rifle to a 'T'.

 

[pdowg881]

2" @50yds 10 shot group is the best I've gotten (with rem bulk pack). I think its more accurate than the internet gives it credit for. I've never shot it with ant decent ammunition.