Ruger 10/22 makeover worth while?

[bdutton]

I am interested in remaking my old 10/22 into a target rifle for my daughter to try using for entry level competition.

How much would it cost and are there better options?

[jhmartin]

In almost all International and 3-P competitions she will be required to load one shot at a time .... a REAL HASSLE with a 10/22. IMO ... not worth the effort.

However, it is worth using it in NRA silhouette and CMP rimfire sporter events.

Depending on how tall she is, you may want to put a replacement stock on the rifle to fit better

[omegaman]

10/22 Mods are very worth while for CMP Rimfire Sporter. It could be used in 3P but the problem would be more barrel accuracy than single round loading. Your 3P competition would come from some excellent and expensive rifles. The 10/22 I use for Rimfire Sporter had a fluted match barrel. This has now been disallowed under 2006 rule changes. I sent a factory 20" barrel off for a match chamber and crown ($85) It performs about as well as the match barrel now. With this barrel, resting the rifle on a backpack, I get less than a 1 inch group at 50 yards. Trigger and bolt mods are also helpful.
Randolph

[mikeschroeder]

Hi

Evern for Rimfire Sporter, the CZ 452's are accurate. I have the American and it's a great gun. It's not a 3P gun, but it would be execellent for Silhouette and probably prone.

Mike

[Pat McCoy]

For NRA matches we often exclude the rule requiring single loading, to try to get more folks interested. Can't do that with ISSF rules tho.

[thecanoeman]

I shoot smallbore benchrest at fifty yards. I have been shooting mainly Winchester 52 pre-A thru D's. You see I like to shoot very small groups with lots of X's. I also have several other guns which to me as a Win 52 shooter are "Off brands". I have shot a few 10-22 Rugers, three with after market "so called" target barrels. As yet I am not impressed. Correct that; I am greatly disappointed. My gunsmith, Bob Randolph GunWorks of Cleveland, TN, says he has built very accurated 10-22's and since I own a Remington 541 Sporter he no longer shot and since he told me how well the 541 shot and it did. I have no reason to question he can get a 10-22 to preform. But, he states that the best 10-22 job would not shoot with his former Remington 541 or a Winchester 52 or Remington 40x or 37. So why would anyone put the big buck into a 10-22 when there are Winchester 52's, 75's & 52 jap remake; Remington 541's, 512's, 521's, 40x, & 37's which already have a proven record of not only shooting very well, but all are going at bargain prices.

[Pat McCoy]

I don't know about a 10/22 having "benchrest" acuracy, but two of our last four 100 yard smallbore prone matches have been won by shooters with upgraded 10/22s. They were shooting agains some folks with Winchester 52s, Rem 40xs, and Anschutz position rifles.

Given good ammo my 10/22 will shoot 100s at 100 yards on the smallbore target (although not as many center shots as same ammo in my Anschutz 1413).

I someone wants a 10/22 for plinking, target shooting, silhouette, and teaching new shooters he can make one rifle do it all for about $1200 (but perhaps not at the same level as dedicated guns - at three to four times the money).

[thecanoeman]

Pat is correct for $1200 you can upgrade a 10-22 to do some fine shooting. However, via the internet you could also take that same $1200 and have say a Winchester 52 or Remington 40x and a Remington 541 or 512 and perhaps another gun too! And with the 10-22 upgrade you have lets see; an upgraded 10-22 which will we hope will hold its value over its and our shooting liketime. Or you can own a real unquestioned "classic" or two which will not only hold its value without justifing and/or proving it utility. And the classic guns will do all that Pat offers the up graded 10-22 will do, and you get to do it with true classic. And you don't have to listen to the gun sound like its falling a part each trigger pull. And if you think that "falling a part" sound is necessary to enjoy a semi-auto .22 then you have not shot a Winchester 63.

[jhmartin]

There is no doubt that the Win52s, 40X's, or other target rifles will outshoot a 10/22.

But you have to look at who is going to use the gun as well. Trying to get a small 11 or 12 year old shooting one of those big prone guns, and liking it may be interesting.

Also if the rifle is over 7.5 lbs you cannot use it for the rimfire sporter event

I like the 10/22's for my younger kids, especially for silhouette and rimfire sporter. The carbine w/o the barrel band, a simple 3-9X scope, and a bit of stoning on the hammer will yield a gun that is competitive in both these events for under $300. I have two hammers that can be swapped out in less than 5 minutes, a 3 lb stock/stoned hammer for the rimfire event, and a Volquartsen 1lb for silhouette. I may be a touch over $300 for this setup that I can easily put a 10 year old on.

At 13 years, some kids may be large and strong enough to heft a larger rifle. My 15 year old (daughter) shoots a 10 lb Kimber 82G for silhouette.