Bedding a 10/22

[DAVID NANCARROW]

A question for the seasoned 10/22 gunners here:
I have a deluxe model which will do about 1 inch at 50 yards with the ammo it likes-Stingers and mini mags. I have taken out the pressure point at the forend so the barrel is now free floated from about 4 inches in front of the lug to the muzzle. I would like to keep away from the heavy barrels but would like to tighten the groups. Should I expect good results from completely free floating the barrel in front of the lug, fully bedding the barrel, or am I off to the barrel shop for a better quality barrel. I know a few manufacturers make standard diameter barrels, but its my understanding that most of them use match chambers, meaning no Stinger ammo. I don't expect to drive tacks with it, but where would you throw $200 to make a difference?

 

[Ledbetter]

Full bedding instructions by some pretty adept shooters are available at

www.rimfirecentral.com

Look for Bedding Tricks or "Picher's Tips" on the Home Page.

Most 10/22 are bedded from the action screw forward to include the first two inches of barrel. The way I do it is to relieve the action screw area enough to install a stainless steel washer under the action with epoxy. After that is done, I bed the aforementioned area with MarineTex boat hull repair. Remember to coat EVERYTHING with the release agent first!

Most people also leave a pressure point as near to the end of the barrel as possible, putting 5 to ten pounds of upward pressure on the barrel at the end. The proper amount of pressure will be specific to the ammo you intend to use, so the pressure pad must be tuned (or adjustable).

Good luck and regards,

Ledbetter

 

[johnwill]

My 10/22 was bedded along the entire barrel and the action was allowed to float. I can shoot dime sized groups at 50 yards with a variety of ammo all day. I was told, and it sounded pretty believable, that betting the action may not be the best method, since the heavy barrel in an aluminum receiver isn't a good combination if it's free floating.

 

[DAVID NANCARROW]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I had heard some people were full length bedding the barrel and floating the receiver and the way they described it was odd, yet it did make sense with a heavy barrel. I had ordered the titanium hammer/sear combination from Midway, but was pretty disappointed in the result. Didn't quite go full auto but would double tap at least twice in a magazine. Noticed that in place of where the hook is on the bend that there was a bevel instead. Put the standard hammer back in which did not fix the problem, so I swapped the sear and used the light hammer and now have a pretty good trigger pull. I'm going to full length bedding the barrel and floating the receiver as it seems to be the way to get best accuracy with a variety of loads without having to mess with it much. Thanks again!

 

[Stonesheep]

Bedding?

Ya, I got you all beat......I bought a heavy barrel from Butler Creek and installed it in the regular Ruger stock (small barrel) just to see how it would shoot. Obviously the.920 inch barrel diameter wouldn'y quite fit in there without some woodwork....so, after seeing some pictures in various shooting magazines, I decided that a fully free floated barrel would be nice. Setting up the rip fence on my table saw, I cut off enough wood that there would be about 3/8 of an inch gap between the bottom of the barrel and the top of the fore stock. Its not exactly Gun Guild of America, but it works. The gun will literally shoot any ammo I buy into 1/2" groups at 50 yards, although it doesn't really like Stingers too much. One of these days I will buy a Boyd's Blaster stock for it. The only thing I wonder is about how much stress is on the action, with no wood or bedding holding up the barrel. I use this gun a lot, and hunt grouse with it, and it seems to be holding up just fine.

 

[markmcj]

From what I read, sticking with the factory barrel, all you may need is to install the front tension screw.
I went the other way and installed a heavy barrel.
Bedded the action and first 4 inches of the barrel.
I first tried to just float the barrel with shims at the action screw. That messed up the feeding of the rounds in the chamber.

After the bedding job it really shoots.
rimfirecentral.com has some awsome tips.

markmcj

 

[444]

I have read that a heavy barrel fully floated might crack the alluminum action, but this may be an internet wives tale since you seem to be doing it. That bedding job looks just like my Tikka .223 came from the factory. If the action does crack, you can replace it with one of those stainless actions they sell in Brownells.

 

[DeBee]

Speaking about the Brownells stainless 10/22 actions... the ones made by the MOA corporation...

Has anyone used one yet???

I have an overwhelming desire to built up a 10/22 variant on this action with a matte stainless varmint contour barrel and an olive green laminated stock or forest green Volquartsen synthetic.

How is the rear lug handled?

Any tips, hints, links, pics helpful...