Plinking Project Complete - 10/22 Target Tactical

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Hi all. I thought i would share my most recent project, maybe it helps others. A bit longwinded but enjoy.

I really enjoy my target shooting / practice (home made targets in a field) when not stalking but a little half hour session was getting expensive with the full bore rounds. Homeloads are not my thing so I decided a .22LR type rig was going to be the new addition to the cabinet. Variation took a couple of weeks (thanks central Scotland) and then time to go shopping.

I looked at a number of different options for calibre, .17hmr etc but figured there is a reason why so many people had .22's and i really liked the availability and cost of ammo. To mix it up i also fancied a semi-auto, but i soon became aware of potential cycling problems / ammo combinations etc. (Explored further below).

Through advice and a bit of time on youtube watching reviews, the Ruger 10/22 seemed to be the one. Again via ye olde interweb i soon learnt about cheap modifications but personally I did not like the light look / feel of a standard 10/22 or the very modern colourful efforts - AR look not quite my thing either. Again, some youtube action pulled me towards a ready made factory version, the Ruger 10/22 target tactical - there is a youtube video of a yank shooting one at 200 yards and he starts the video "hiya this is my ruger 10/22, i personally think everyone should have at least 2 of these"...... Well that was me sold.

i checked out feasibility (effective range etc and learnt i could easily shoot subsonic up to 100 yards) but my preferecne was accurancy for lots of plinking at about 50 yards.

As i started shopping (with a circa £500 budget in mind) i hit guntrader and founds lots of second hand options but in this instance i fancied a brand new rifle, which i have never had before.

Via guntrader i got speaking to the team at Braces of Bristol (wrong end of the country!) they were very helpful, had some in stock and were happy to do a bit of a deal.

So off the shelf i ordered a Ruger 10/22 target tactical. It comes with a short but heavy barrel which is matt black with a small twisted type fluting. Has a picatinny rail incluced and is screw cut for a nice little A-tec moderator. It is set in a hogue stock which has a durable black rubber feel (bounces rather than scratches like a synthetic) which is quite bulky compared to standard 10/22 stock - size and scale works well with heavy barrel. It also came with a little bi-pod and a forend picatinny rail.

While in the mood for a deal i asked what scopes they had that might suite - i am lucky to have Swarovski's on my deer rifles and i did have a swarovski 8x50 that could have gone on. This would have been great for eye relief and quality but i wanted some zoom! It also felt like it was a bit too good for a .22LR. So i quickly entered the lower end scope market. Again with help from braces of bristol i decided on a Hawke Vantage SF 6-24 x 44 which has a mill-dot recticle. Not too big and looked pretty sleek for this sort of set up. Deal on that was just under £200 so i went for it.

Quick efficient RFD to me up north and i got it. Some immediate changes and additions were required.

- additional 10 round genuine ruger mag ordered (ebay)
- 2 x 25 round ruger mags ordered (rimfire magic in Yorkshire)
- i went for a healthy supply or winchester sub-sonics and a few remmington hv rounds to experiment with.
- got some cheap mounts with it but they went in the bin and set of nice mid height leupolds ordered for a picatinny rail.

So all set up for fun. Had some immediate issues with zeroing - it was true but mounting angle too high so the scope was wound up high to get it on target at 30 yards so no flexibility for longer range. Trial and error and internet searches pointed me to rail, original went in the bin and a new one ordered from rimfire magic for about £10. That was fitted in 30 seconds and solved the issue. Having become a scope mounting adjustment expert through this experience i decided to shim up the rear of the scope so it shoots plumb at 30 yards hooched right down, this affords me maximum upwards clicks for long range fun - i am sure there is term for this practice but it is beyond me.

At this stage i would also mention braces were awesome, talked me through some options to try and test and offered to take the rifle back if i wasnt happy.

I am impressed with the hawke scope, feels solid, good zoom, has a nice small side focus - eye relief is ok too.

As for rounds, the hv were fine, shoot a couple of inches higher than the subs but i am not that interessed in the hv stuff. I had been advised that winchesters are good for subs in semi autos such as this. Not too soft and and not too waxy. I reckon it jams 1 in 30 but is better the more you shoot it - re jamming it is also good to have genuine ruger mags rather than immitations.

Cycling isues are also reduced by a good clean - this gun is so easy to take apart and play with - set of alan keys and a screw driver adn you are off. Great for a detailed clean and other mods. I put in a synthetic recoil lug (£3) but takes pressure off the bolt and an auto bolt release system which allows you to lock the bolt open with a small button but then release/load by just pulling back and releasing rather than having to use the buttin again (£12 ebay also).

Other alterations include binning the forend picatinny rail and cheap bi-pod it comes with - it was bulky, ugly and short. I love harris bi-pods and have 2 already, but i felt this toy didnt warrant £100 and a 3rd harris so i went immitation 9-13 sl (no notches) at £18. I have to say, so far i am very impressed and think this is a good option for a rimfire - it wont last a lifetime but what do you expect for £18.

Rail went becuase it wasnt needed (no lasers for me!) and i popped an old black swivel sling on it that was in a cupboard.

Finally, a set of standard butler creeks and then a genuine hawke 110mm sunshade - never used a sunshade before but did it purely for aesthetics! Bought this off ebay from a1tacleshop which i actually bagnel & kirkwood in newcastle - great country shop, visited it regularly when i lived in the toon!

So there you have it - slightly excessive but great fun to create, learn about and shoot!
 
I bought a S/H stainless synthetic 10/22 a few weeks ago and love it despite it being an absolute pig. It would not cycle eley subs and misfired 9/10 shots and would fail to extract 1/3 times. I took it apart and it was filthy with carbon build up on the bolt face. Also the back of the firing pin was worn down. So I have ordered a new pin, polished the wearing surfaces and given it a thorough clean. I am about to order a tuffer buffer and then I will retest it and see if will cycle eley and CCI subs. Fingers crossed. At least parts are readily available and dirt cheap!

Next upgrades will be a new magazine release and a better hold open/bolt release. Then at some I may upgrade the trigger.
 
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I own 3 Ruger 10/22's one in a Boyds Evolution is my Gallery Rifle SB, the other two are in Tapco Intrafuse stocks. One in pink with a telescope for my daughters, mine in tan with a red dot. The latter is my race gun.

They are all Stainless which is necessary as they take so much abuse. Each takes 500 - 1000 rounds a month in practice and teaching our probationers. The oldest must have had close to 100,000 rounds!

I have loved building these rifles up. With Minimag or standard velocity loads they all run like sewing machines. I'm not sold on them as a rabbit rifle with a moderator because of all the moving parts but in all honesty the only issue I've ever heard of is that "they don't cycle with subs"
 
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I bought a S/H stainless synthetic 10/22 a few weeks ago and love it despite it being an absolute pig. It would not cycle eley subs and misfired 9/10 shots and would fail to extract 1/3 times. I took it apart and it was filthy with carbon build up on the bolt face. Also the back of the firing pin was worn down. So I have ordered a new pin, polished the wearing surfaces and given it a thorough clean. I am about to order a tuffer buffer and then I will retest it and see if will cycle eley and CCI subs. Fingers crossed. At least parts are readily available and dirt cheap!

Next upgrades will be a new magazine release and a better hold open/bolt release. Then at some I may upgrade the trigger.

some great youtube videos on full disassembly and cleans. I think i got a tuffer buffer (transparnt light blue?). I have also thought about an extended magazine release, and a bolt handle extension. The target tactical has an enhanced trigger on it. I can definitely recommend an auto bolt release.
 
The Bolt Release can be modified with a Dremmel. I've done a few trigger jobs myself on an oil stone too.

You can buy all the bits but there is a lot of satisfaction in doing the job yourself.
 
Possibly like me scrumbag was hoping for some information such as group sizes at different ranges and different makes of ammo.
 
I have an International, stutzen stock. VQ firing pin and ejector kit, tuffer buffer and extended bolt release. Polished bolt and receiver. Cycles subs effortlessly.
Stick to genuine Ruger magazines.
 
Had a day off the other day and did some additional research and work on this rifle.

- cleaned the mags inc very light sanding of the curved metal riser plate which had plenty of crap on it.

- did the magazine hammer pin mod. YouTube it - there is a hammer which pulls back the magazine pin to release it. If you sand down the hammer to shorten its length then the pin sticks out more when a magazine is loaded thus putting just a little additional pressure on the mag and therefore it is a better/tighter fit. The hammer is plastic and this is the easiest mod ever. Seems to work very well. (If you try this and make a meal of it, it only costs about £5 to fix it and get a new hammer/magazine release).

- gave the action inc trigger assembly a full strip down and thorough clean.

- polished up the top of the bolt.

- sanded and polished by up the top side of the chamber which the top side of the bolt slides against.

Then went out and put 100 odd rounds through it - not once miss fired or had any cycling problem. Shot 80 odd Winchester LV rounds. A very easy 1 inch group (10 round group) at 40 yards. Seemed to have about a 6 inch drop at 80 yards. Put some old Winchester HV rounds through it too - it certainly liked those.

Dead chuffed that all these little tweeks seem to improve the rifle and resolve semi auto cycling issues.

Will provide some detailed ammo info and feedback - I have a stash of CCI's to put through it also.
 
I have the 10|22 but would swap it for a bolt action in a heartbeat .Just had it fully cleaned but still jams Winny subs .
 
I had a full vilquartzen conversation 10/22 with all the ness and whistles...no expense spared - great at first and very accurate but after a short while found the magazines getting clogged up and constant cycling jams were just too much! . From my experience I couldn't think of a worse combo than a 10/22 and CCI subs!
 
I shot my 10/22 on the range on Friday and I seem to have a groupin size of 1-1.5 inches at 50yadrs which I think is good enough for hunting. I have finally got it cycling properly now I have switched to CCI, switching back to eley turned it into a straight pull rifle. I am still getting a light strike misfire every 5 rounds or so and so I have ordered a new firing pin as mine appears worn at the back.

I will be testing it on rabbits tomorrow night.

Does anyone have a spare tuffer buffer for sale (the blue ones) as the single ones don't seem to be for sale on ebay anymore and I don't need a 3 pack.
 
Interesting write up, thanks. The only rimmie I've got is a .17hmr which is really just a work tool. I get the feeling that having a 10/22 is a bit like having a vintage motor car, in that part of the enjoyment is in shooting it but just as important is the getting and the striving to achieve reliability in accuracy and recycling.

I get that a bolt action would be more reliable, but is that really the point here?
 
Overdue update. Took a mate out to shoot a couple of targets with the .243 recently and had to take this with me.

We shot it at 50 yards and that was too easy so went back to 100 yards..... and did we have fun. Firstly the cheap scope has mill dots, count down 4 and it was plumb so no messing around with clicks. Using CCI subsonic rounds, we put over 100 through it and not one miss-feed / jam., with 10 round rotary mag or 25 round long mag.

I am pretty confident I know exactly what to do with these to little rugers to make them sing. Combination of polished bolt, magazine release mod and a little bit of sanding work on the metal rounded feedplate on the magazines - all of which are free and can be done in about 30mins or during a clean.

W
 
First "proper" firearm I ever owned, I still have, I must have around a half dozen different stocks and styles for it, always feeds well and can be counted on to fill the casserole pot with tasty meat of some kind or other. yours looks spot on, well done and I reckon you'll have it for years too.
 
That was an excellent write up very enjoyable to read, I have used the ruger tactical and very nice it is too, in fact after reading this I am sorely tempted to part with my trusty Anschutz 1417 and get the ruger you are a bad influence....:D

D
 
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