Ruger 10/22 Modifications & Cleaning

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boostedtt91

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How is everyone cleaning out the bore of their Ruger 10/22? Im guessing everyone is using a bore snake? I don't understand why Ruger would design it to where you can't use a cleaning rod from the back since the receiver is in the way.
Secondly, this my first Ruger 10/22 and looking to improve it, what are some of the best modifications to do to these guns to besides the stock replacement.

I have noticed that ammo i bought forever for my bolt action .22 doesnt' work as well in a semi auto. I have had alot of the bullet getting bent when chambering so i keep having to drop the mag to remove the messed up cartridge. What's the best .22 ammo for semi auto's? I have had good luck with CCI ammo, but i can only get them by the 100 packs around here.
 
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Depends on what you want to do with it really. The stock Ruger 10/22 is like the first box of legos you got as a kid... parts from all over will turn it into anything you want it to be.

I hated the stock tirgger though and the first thing I did was have my local gunsmith take a bit off the pull, smooth it out and put a backstop on it.

If there is a more customizeable gun out there, I can't think of it. Enjoy!

[edit] Sorry, didn't answer your first question. Yep, snake. Clean out the parts as you see fit but it's a gun that doesn't seem to shoot at it's top performance unless it's got "a little love in the pipes".
 
ill probably change the stock down the road, but mostly im looking for reliability and accuracy out of it, while keeping it very light like it already is, which is a nice plus!
Im not a fan of the trigger which i would like to change out, but when you have something like the 10/22 where there are 100 different companies making parts for it, it gets hard to know which is better.
I wanna kinda make it look like alittle sniper rifle
 
Not a problem ...

I don't understand why Ruger would design it to where you can't use a cleaning rod from the back since the receiver is in the way.
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I have always used a cleaning rod and plan on getting a snake. I lock the bolt back, insert the rod with tip all the way to the open breech, thread a patch into the eye of the tip, apply solvent and pull from the breech and out the muzzle. That is on a basic bore cleaning. On deep cleaning, I pretty much follow the same procedure. .... ;)

As far as an upgrade that will give you the best for your buck, install a Voltquartzen target hammer for about 30 bucks. From there, any more is directly proportaional to what you want to spend. .... ;)

On ammo; If any problems are going to show, it's going to be on the semi-autos. The biggest problems I have had, are with Federal bulk pack and infact, I shy away from all bulk packs. I usually go with Winchester Super-X or CCI mini-mags.


Be Safe !!!
 
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I bought an unmodified 1983 walnut 10/22 earlier this year. At 50 yards, it is my most accurate rifle. I have found Mini Mags to be the best combination of reliable and accurate ammo with and emphasis on accuracy. When going for general plinking, the Federal bulk pack is fine but I will get the occasional feed issue which I do not get with Mini Mags.
 
for plinking my 10/22 likes to eat federal 525 boxes and american eagle 400 packs. for squirbo thwacking I would recommend CCI stingers. remington feeds fine but it's so inconsistent these days that I just cant stand using it anymore. I've never had any luck with winchester ammo out of any of my semis.


besides stock swaps the barrels and triggers are about the only other thing that makes any real sense to change out. both are expensive and add very little inherent accuracy to the gun.
 
I was gonna clean the barrel of mine, but it's only been 23 years since I got it. Probably will wait 'till it hits 50.

Seriously, I don't do anything except drag a patch through if I get sticks or stuff in the bore.

I use the otis cleaning kits for pretty much everything. They make a cheap .177 kit that will stuff in your pack/pocket and is fine for dragging a patch through a .22.

I have heard of folks drilling the back of the receiver to allow cleaning from the breech. Never seen one so modified.
 
I've never had feed issues with any ammo in my 10/22. I have a power customs hammer a sear kit, an over travel adjustable target trigger and a Kidd bolt buffer. I like mine a lot and my trigger is about 2.5#. I think I have about $100 in after market parts. If you get some bolt work done or do it yourself it will cycle anything.
 
Don't need the hole or over-clean !!

I have heard of folks drilling the back of the receiver to allow cleaning from the breech. Never seen one so modified.
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Me too and by my measure, a waste of time. It really does not help in cleaning or otherwise. I say that because most of the time, you want to clean the bore and that's all. The bolt is still in the way for you to use that hole. ... ;)

musher: I was gonna clean the barrel of mine, but it's only been 23 years since I got it. Probably will wait 'till it hits 50
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Point well taken as most 10/22's are cleaned too often. ... :mad:


Be Safe !!!
 
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I will definitely be looking into a new trigger as i don't really like the factory one, as it doesn't seem to reset fast enough. Whats the best replacement or fix for this?
As far as cleaning, since i just bought it, i took it out and shot around 300 rounds through it. I took it apart to clean it up and also just to see how to dissassemble it. Im going to buy a bore snake to clean the bore, but i was quite surprised that the bore was still perfectly clean. My other bolt action .22LR gets using the same ammo, gets crap in the bore instantly after a few rounds.
Im going to get a new stock eventually so i can mount a bipod on the front, only thing i wish the factory stock came with is a bipod attachment.

Do they make different charging handles? I have the newest design with a SS barrel which i believe is 18.5", correct me if im wrong. I guess they call it the "all weather model". Is upgrading barrels really worth it on these as its pretty accurate as is. i know they make a bunch of drop in barrels for this and it looks fairly easy to swap out.

As far as ammo goes, i always had alot of luck with the Winchester 555 round bulk pack in my bolt action, but the semi auto doesn't seem to like it as much.
Has anyone used the Federal Match 333 rd box? Says its best used in semi autos
 
winchester 555 bulk pack

I just got my 10/22 about a month ago and i put around 300rds of the winchester bulk pack through it without issue. Then today I put around 150 through it and it had around 4-5 ftf's. I cleaned the rifle prior to shooting it. Sucks because i just bought another bulk pack of the winchester lol. oh well. Wonder if the cold(~25f) had something to do with it. not really contributing to your question. lol. just some observations. Oh and I was using the standard rotary mag only.

Also, you dont like the trigger? I dont mind it, I dont think its as bad as everyone makes it out to be. What I cant stand is the sights it comes with! I have 20/20 vision and that front sight can be hard to pickup! And lining up the front and rear sights for elevation is impossible! I pretty much just use the front sight. My next 10/22 upgrade is for sure going to be some fire sights or some kind of optic since I ordered a bx-25 ruger mag today!
 
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i just dont like that the trigger doesn't reset fast enough all the time. If you try dumping the mag, you sometimes have to stop and let the trigger reset and then start again. As far as the sights, for stock sights i think there awsome, i like that you can adjust the rear sight for elevation and they put a copper looking pin in the front sight to see it better. Im going to put a scope on it so im going to leave the sights alone, as i think there great the way they are for what i need them for
 
As for your trigger reset problem, with the mods I listed in my first post, mine resets fast enough to bumpfire through my 25 rounds mag.

As for bulk ammo, I have good look with thunderbolts. Mini mags do seem to work the best. I went 3000 rounds without cleaning the action on mine with no malfunctions except for misfires ( bad ammo) the worst ammo I've found is probably golden bullets.
 
The rear receiver hole is a good mod. It allows cleaning from the breech when the action is removed from the stock. Rim fires well have better accuracy with a fouled bore. I clean mine once a year at most. It takes 20-30 rounds after cleaning for it to get it's full accuracy back.

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That some time at rimfirecentral.com and read about all the DIY mods you can do to the 10/22. here are a few bolt mods that well help. Setting head space. Radius the back of the bolt makes a smoother action.

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I've drilled holes in the rear of several 10-22 receivers and they work very well to clean the rifles, even though bores don't need cleaning as much as actions.

My bedded 10-22 holds zero when the barrelled action is removed and replaced, so I take it apart and pull the bolt to clean everything. It only takes about 5 shots to get it shooting well, but I have a very nice Shilen barrel. Other barrels may take more shooting to get their best performance.

Performance is best enhanced by cleaning bolt and barrel faces, but after a while, firing pin channels need cleaning to preserve strong and consistent firing pin strikes...a major key to rimfire accuracy!
 
bore guides

sorry not to answer anybody questions. but I'm new to shooting ( f-ed around for years with friends) but now i'm starting to love it. got a nice ruger 10/22, tricked it out w 3x9x40 red field scope, thumb hole stock, VQ trigger group, bipod, bolt buffer. etc. I just want to protect my investment. DO I NEED A BORE GUIDE WHEN CLEANING THE BORE. thanks for any advise.
 
I push a patch soaked in Hoppe’s down the bore from muzzle to chamber using a piece of weed whacker string. Wait 15 minutes and do it again. That’s all I have ever done. None of my .22’s have had a brush down the bore. Pistols, revolvers or rifles, no brushes at all.

Exception one. I have a .22 pistol that shot a dud. Bullet got stuck in the bore, but the action worked and loaded the next round. You guessed it, I shot again. Smeared the bore badly with lead so I had to brush it. No damage to the pistol. It will still hold the X-ring at 50 yards.
 
The bore of a .22 doesn't "need" cleaned very dang often and cleaning from the muzzle isn't nearly as bad as some would make you believe. That being said here's a link for some great ideas:

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=431977

BTW, I've never used a boresnake in my life.

As for mods first thing you need is a VQ Target Hammer($35). It comes before stock, barrel, extractor, bolt release, magazine release, before everything. Next for me is stock work (not necessarily replacement). Relieve or remove they barrel band so it doesn't contact the barrel, sand the barrel channel out so it doesn't contact then shoot and see how she does. If not good enough try a pressure pad made from old inner tube (1"x 2" piece) at different areas under the barrel and find the sweet spot. Next is the barrel. Either send the factory one in to someone over at RimfireCentral for some rework(less than $100) or replace it with a Green Mountain ($100, maybe a touch more). With those things done and some playing around to find out what works best you should have a gun in you hands capable of 1/2" - 50 yard groups (if you are).

LK
 
My 40 year old 10/22 gets a sorta annual cleaning. It is used frequently and has never failed me. Some aftermarket magazines do not work well. That is a fault of the mags, not the rifle.
I once had an aftermarket 'black rifle' style stock on it. Looked sinister but was impossible to hold for accurate shooting.
Yes, I would like the trigger to be a bit lighter. I have to brace against a tree, or whatever for hitting squirrels in the eye.
 
Follow the instructions over at Rimfire Central for polishing the trigger parts. Break the edges of your bolt if it doesn't run smoothly. Check and if necessary adjust your headspace. Check your guide rod and if necessary, smooth it out or replace it. Check the firing pin and smooth it if necessary.

CCI Blazer 40gr LRN works surprisingly well in my carbine.

I clean the trigger group and insides of the receiver daily and give the chamber a lick and a promise. Have not needed to clean the barrel, I've only had it a few decades.
 
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