Ruger 10/22...

[Rodentman]

Well I put a crowbar to my wallet and bought one of these, 50th Anniversary model. Now I can add a bunch of Volquartsen parts and end up spending twice what I would have for the VQ in the first place. So the trigger group arrives in the mail. I take the old one out, which even I managed to do. I had the new one on the bench so I swapped them out.

FF to the range. I thought GEEZ this doesn't seem too remarkable and the bolt release feature doesn't work. And the extended mag release looked about the same as the original.

THAT"S BECAUSE IT WAS.

Yes folks, the key to upgrading parts starts with actually installing them or they tend to add little value. I will report further if I don't get lost on my next range trip.

[Synergy]

That is funny. It totally something I would do LOL.

[Ghost]

Nice, but I must ask didn't you function test and dry fire it a few times?

[Thunder71]

Hahaha, sounds like something I'd do... at least you didn't notice a huge improvement.

[hard h2o]

I will tell you what. I am unimpressed with the 10/22 we have. It is my daughters.

My Marlin 795 shoots die sized or smaller groups at 50 yards. The 10/22 not so much.

I read on the rimfire forums about guys spending big bucks to make the 10/22 a shooter. I do not know if it is just because they can and the aftermarket support is there versus the competitors but I would rather not spend that much on a rifle that should shoot out of the box.

The only thing I have done to the Marlin is mount a scope. It is a cheap scope at that. The 10/22 has a middle of the road scope. I should switch them around and put the bit better glass on the rifle that actually shoots.

Maybe I got a bum one. I guess a sample size of one doesn't speak to all of them.

Good luck

[Thunder71]

Yeah, most 10/22's are quite accurate out of the box... though some spend $1,000's on them.

Some upgrades I almost always do are:
Tech-Sights
Auto bolt release
Trigger group

On 3/4 of them I have left handed safeties.

Looking for 2 more... a Takedown and an International.

[Rodentman]

Lessee, I can buy a new receiver, barrel, bolt, bolt handle and recoil spring, and stock. Then I can throw the whole old one out. Make sure I don't throw out the Volquartsen trigger.

All seriousness aside I'm not gonna do that. Maybe a new stock but that's about it. And a new bolt handle with smoother recoil spring.

[Hmac]

It's a hobby. It doesn't have to make sense, right?

[MaryB]

my 10/22 does decent groups at 100 yards and is a tack driver at 50(if it isn't windy of course). That is stock out of the box except for a scope I added that was an elcheapo

[hard h2o]

It's a hobby. It doesn't have to make sense, right?

I understand that. Like hot rodding a car.

Maybe my Marlin is just an anomaly being such a great shooter out of the box. And the daughter's 10/22 is a bit of an under-achiever. Might have to look into something like a trigger upgrade and see if it will group a bit better.

It does seem like with the amount of new parts on some of these 10/22s you may as well just buy the parts and build it from scratch.

[bensdad]

Maybe I got a bum one. I guess a sample size of one doesn't speak to all of them.

Three Marlin 60's in my rotation. Two are mine and one is Ben's. My friend Ken has a 10-22. He hates shooting it with us - cuz we smoke him. He actually gets pretty mad - blames everything but his stupid gun. My buddy Gerard's 10-22 is about the same. He just doesn't get too worked up about it. Seems like all the 10-22's on the internetz are amazing. It's just the ones at the range (when I'm there) that suck.

A couple of the 60's will be at Faribault in the afternoon (or morning if I can't get to sleep soon). I"ve got eleventy-billion different .22 bullets I wanna try... see if either gun has a new favorite. I've heard that the most important factor effecting the accuracy of .22 is the consistency of the primer spray. Not sure if there's truth in that, but each gun sure does seem to prefer a certain couple rds.

If you like to shoot, get a Marlin. If you like to tinker, get a 10-22. If you like to swear, get a 597.

[Rodentman]

I odored a new stock and bolt handle and spring. I think the stock one has a tendency to bind a bit. I think that's about it. I have to maintain my "what if work pisses me off" bank account.

[2in2out]

I've heard that the barrel band that Ruger puts on some of their 10/22's can change accuracy. Mine doesn't have that, and I have been very happy with the accuracy. There are a couple of popular Ruger discussion forums that are well worth the time to check out, and may be helpful.

I think the point is clear that the 10/22 is commonly modified, but to some this is somehow an indication that there's something wrong with a factory-stock gun. This is like saying that the AR-15 platform must be inherently bad in some way, because the number of modifications for it is staggering. I think the mods have nothing to do with whether the gun is inaccurate, unreliable or whatever - all it means is that it's popular enough for people to dream up ways to sell accessories.

Nobody would buy the gun if it weren't any good in the first place.

[Hmac]

It does seem like with the amount of new parts on some of these 10/22s you may as well just buy the parts and build it from scratch.

Sure. Upgrading over a period of time...just like buying a car and then adding aftermarket parts over the years. As to the 10-22, the one I currently shoot the most started as an old receiver I picked up from my LGS for $50, then Kidd parts, a stock, a scope added until I had met my goal for the rifle. The stripped receiver is the only Ruger part on the rifle. It was fun, it was rewarding, and it's very useful. I don't remember what it cost altogether, but it met all my expectations for a hobby project.

[Hmac]

If you like to shoot, get a Marlin. If you like to tinker, get a 10-22. If you like to swear, get a 597.

Marlin's quality appears to have suffered quite a bit over the last few years, if you spend any time at rimfirecentral.com or at marlinowners.com. Marlin is not a direction I would go based on current reputation, however rimfires for me are nothing more than a hobby and I like to tinker. Rugers have always met my expectations and I've always been able to tinker them into a rifle that will outshoot most rimfires. No need for me to step outside that box.

YMMV