THE RUGER 10/22
Bill Ruger's .22 rim fire rifle is without a doubt, one of the
more popular rifles used in Mini Rifle the popularity of this carbine was
instant In fact, the past few years we have witnessed a renewed interest in this
rifle, largely brought on by the demand for custom versions spawned by
competitive shooting.
Many competitors have settled on custom versions of the 10/22 which has
brought many gunsmiths to the surface willing to provide custom barrels, trigger
jobs, extended magazine releases, compensators and a variety of aftermarket
stocks. Several companies specialize in accuracy jobs and parts for this rifle.
Clark Custom Guns and Volquartson are two that come to mind.
There is also a certain amount of pride in ownership that goes along
with having a "custom" 10/22 . A lot of enjoyment can be gained from personalizing
your rifle by modifying the stock adding colour and all manor of shiny
bits.
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Sights seem to be a very
personal choice however most seem to plump for red dot sights in one form or another.
Holo-sights seem to be the most popular followed by PDP3 and of course
not forgetting the essential Lasers!
Ammo, typical high velocity .22
rim fire ammunition generates speeds of between 1200 and 1260 feet per second
(fps) Standard and target .22 ammo is slower at around 1060 to 1180
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Magazine problems seem to be
the result of either a bad or dirty magazine or excessive crud and dirt in the
action. These difficulties are easily solved. The standard Ruger rotary magazine
can be disassembled, cleaned, lubricated, and re-assembled relatively easily.
However, most of the after-market magazines for this rifle cannot. If you find a
bad one, throw it away. The best way to lube a magazine is with a dry lubricant.
Traditional oils attract dirt and grime and only add to the problem.
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Cleaning the action of the
10/22 requires complete disassembly. One slight caution is in order. When
lifting the barreled action from the stock make sure the safety is centered from
side to side to keep from marring the stock. Although it is relatively simple to
separate the barrel from the action, Ruger recommends that the re-assembly be
only by a competent gunsmith. Actually, there is no need to separate the action
from the barrel in the normal cleaning process anyway.
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The 10/22 action has three steel pins through the receiver. The two smaller
ones hold the trigger assembly in place while the larger one near the rear acts
as the bolt stop. The larger one is easily removed but the smaller ones may need
a little nudging with a drift punch. With the trigger assembly and the rear pin
removed, the bolt is pulled all the way to the rear and lifted away from the
bolt guide and spring. The guide and spring can then be easily lifted out of the
receiver.
Several of the firearms cleaning products companies make a degreaser
available in an aerosol can. With a small brush and a few squirts of degreaser,
the grit and grime are easily removed.
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What about cleaning the bore? With the .22 rim fire bullets normally lubed,
bore cleaning is not as important as it is with center fire calibers. However,
to maintain top accuracy in a 10/22, the bore should be cleaned frequently. |
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