Finally sorted out a troublesome 10/22!

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Greetings, All;
I'm glad to be back after an extended absence.

I struggled with a POS 10/22 barrel from E.R.Shaw for - well, way too long - before ditching the thing and springing for a Tac-Sol SB-X barrel:
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It's 12" long and threaded, but it has a 6" so-called flash hider permanently attached, so it's a legal barrel without a tax stamp. That attachment wouldn't actually hide any flash since it's all cut away, but it is wide enough to accept a suppressor, which threads to the muzzle crown and only sticks out of the "hider" an inch or so.

The tricky part with 10/22 barrels is getting the receiver fit and V-block right, so the barrel doesn't droop. I used a couple layers of a Rolling Rock can for shim stock, iterating until the V-block went into the receiver without pushing the barrel out of alignment. It's nicely made with a 0.001" oversized shank, so you can take it down with emery cloth until it just fits.
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The results have been nothing short of amazing - instantly better. I guess that's what it's all about: a button-rifled, chrome-moly bore with an aircraft aluminum sleeve over it had darn well better work, for what it cost. And it's handsome, too, if'n I do say so:
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Front to back, that's an SWR Warlock sealed can, a Harris bipod, a Hogue overmolded, floated stock, a Tasco 2-10X45 scope, Kwik-Site rings that mount to the receiver without a rail, a TI fully adjustable 25 round mag, and a Collosic bolt lock.
If you tell me how purty it is, I'll post pix of the first holes I poked with it.

Re: Finally sorted out a troublesome 10/22!

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Now this here is what makes it so purty:
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I know, I know, it's only 50 feet, but I wanted to test it without worrying about wind. The targets are 7 rounds each of 40 gr. Aguila Super Extra, sorted by weight. Even large weight variations had no effect on POI, which kind of makes sense for short ranges before apogee. Post-apogee, the velocity differences should show up.

But how about the first shot the next day, with no changes made except to push a patch down the barrel?
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I am frankly amazed that the cold-bore shot shows no deviation whatsoever.

The sole downside is the SB-X is only available with a standard 1:16" twist, and TacSol wrote me back today to say they don't do custom rifling jobs. I really, REALLY want a 1:11" SB-X barrel for a purpose-built 60 gr. Aguila SSS launcher. The folks at Beyer will build me the barrel, but I've fallen hard for that SB-X design. Until I figure it out, I'll have to sit on my hoard of SSS ammo and make do with the 40 gr. stuff.
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Re: Finally sorted out a troublesome 10/22!

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How, pray tell, would one remove the existing 1:16" steel liner?

I'm tempted to run a box of SSS through it sans boîte and inspect the holes at 50 yards to see if they're all circular. Some rifle barrels stabilize it well enough at 1:16", depending on the quality of the crown. But I suppose it's not worth risking a baffle strike, even if it's a low probability.

Re: Finally sorted out a troublesome 10/22!

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It has to be a "permanently attached" flash hider to be legally considered the full 16½" long, so it's pinned in place.

What I could do is buy the 1:11" Beyer custom barrel and have my FFL cut it to 12" and thread it, then pin a flash hider to it to make our own ripoff of the SB-X. I can feel the life draining from my wallet as I speak.

A different FFL once said to me, "I have a love/hate relationship with 10/22's, because before you know it, you're into the thing for a thousand bucks." Some here might consider a grand a bargain, (*cough*Bucolic*cough*), but so far I'm less than $800 into this project. Minus the can, of course.

Re: Finally sorted out a troublesome 10/22!

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Um, yeah, it's a disease... And I don't consider a grand to be trivial. I just sneak up on it a hundred or so at a time. I did take a retrospective view of my five 10/22s and was taken aback. Three of them are definitely in the kilobuck range. Another is close and the fifth is the bastard child made of leftover of "trickled down" parts - the Frankenruger.

I really like your rifle and am curious as to how it performs at 50 yards. In re the custom barrel, you might contact Fred Feddersen to see if he would be willing to make one of the right length, threaded, with 1:11 twist (all my sphincters are tightening just thinking about this). Is weight a serious driver?
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Re: Finally sorted out a troublesome 10/22!

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A year ago the weight wouldn't have mattered, but I've really fallen hard for how short and light this thing is. So yes, I really want an aluminum-over-steel barrel. I thought the parts were assembled via a temperature differential, and the sleeve was cooled & shrunk into place onto the bore.

I expect that the Aguila Super Extra is going to look good at 50 yds., since lower velocities usually correlate with better precision. There will be a lot more holdover at longer range than bulk ammo, but at least I won't have to worry about where the supersonic transition is.

Aguila is Eley primed, in fact. I bought a boatload of it for less than eight cents a round, and now I'd rather hoard it than shoot it. Scarcity or not, there's no justification for charging 3X as much for the same damn ammo now.

Re: Finally sorted out a troublesome 10/22!

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Ahh, Kidd parts! I'm afraid the disease is creeping in....

I just put in a Kidd bolt buffer to eliminate the ridiculously small residual noise of the action, and also a 10% reduced-force cocking spring to aid with cycling subsonics. That required also using the Kidd super-hard, polished cocking rod, of course. The scary part was cutting off the Collosic bolt lock from its old rod and fitting it to the Kidd rod. It went right on and works fine, even though it's not captured any more.

I've been away, so there are no 50-yard holes to show yet, but they're a-comin'. I do want to shoot a box of 60 gr. Aguila SSS though it to check for stabilization, but that requires a longer trek into the woods, since the can must be removed for such a test. I don't want to rile up the neighbors, legality notwithstanding.

It's hard to shoot unsuppressed these days, frankly. Hearing that slug impact is such a treat, especially a massive 230 gr. JHP. But a bullet stop for a .45 is a lot more of an effort to build, especially if it has to be silent, so the .22 can is the one that gets the real use these days.

Re: Finally sorted out a troublesome 10/22!

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My first 10/22 trigger job "looked" good, but while it dropped to 2.25lbs, other aspects were less than desirable. So now I'm waiting on a new drop in single stage trigger group from Kidd. I naively thought I would but this thing ready to roll, but oh how the disease creeps. I already had a new scope and rings on order... I only hope I find a cure before I'm considering the mods and stuff I've read in this post so far. :o
Be sure to make good choices when you're being stupid...

Re: Finally sorted out a troublesome 10/22!

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I don't upgrade something that works. Sure, the 10/22 trigger ain't the best, but my own limitations are so much greater than the gun's, the thing that makes the most sense is more range time.

The cycling noise was bothering me and the bolt buffer was cheap, plus it wasn't that reliable feeding subsonics. So there are my excuses, laid out and fully justified.

The biggest expenses I'm resisting ATM are for a laser rangefinder and a chrony. Anybody got any excuses or justifications to share?

Re: Finally sorted out a troublesome 10/22!

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gaucheGlock wrote: The biggest expenses I'm resisting ATM are for a laser rangefinder and a chrony. Anybody got any excuses or justifications to share?
Are you nuts? This is a hobby. The only justification you need is A] Is it shiny enough? (ie, Do I want it?) B] How do I get my hands on the money. C] How can I buy this and keep my current social condition? (ie, How am I going to get this in the door and stay married?)
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Shower together to save water.

Re: Finally sorted out a troublesome 10/22!

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Tony says that two stage can be set to 6 ounces :shock: I cant imagine! Single stage should be here when I get home. Got the Leupold rings and base last night with scope due Friday. 1000rds of Blazer due this week and a beautiful Saturday forecast. Can't wait. Oh and I accepted a great new job offer yesterday. This is in the running for Best. Week. EVER!
Be sure to make good choices when you're being stupid...

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