Dave Rishar
Silver Member
The backstory is that it was a "spare" 10/22 from a build that just did not work out. I was planning on selling it, but WA state law requires a private sale to go through a FFL, meaning that for a low priced gun, it does not make sense to sell. Instead of selling this 10/22 for what would amount to about $50, I decided to throw more money at it. That's what 10/22 owners do, right? Dump another $600 (chassis, SBR stamp, barrel work, scope, enough Norrell Moly Resin to shoot ten of these as that's apparently the smallest amount that you can order, lightweight stock, etc.) into a $200 rifle in order to save some money.
Scope is a Leupold FX-I 4x. I didn't want to spend that much on the glass, but it is about as small and as light as you can get for magnified optics, and I wanted small and light. I had a guy chop my factory barrel for me because it was $100 cheaper than the one company selling what I wanted was offering, and that company's barrel is not known as a shooter. There are other companies that make good barrels, but none seem to do the length that I wanted, and I wanted that particular length for a particular reason.
The only testing done so far has been offhand at 10 yards with crap ammo. Testing will only be done with crap ammo, as it was built to shoot only crap ammo. After a few 30-rounders, I've concluded that it shoots about as well as I hold at that distance. I'll bench it when my schedule allows for something approximating leisure time. I'm not expecting miracles from junk ammo through a cut-down factory barrel, but those Ruger barrels are not bad at all. I'll bet that it will continue to shoot as well as I hold at whatever distance, at least offhand. It will eventually be used out to 100 yards, perhaps a bit further, as it's meant to take over for a MkIII that is just not quite doing the job at those distances.
Look closely at the receiver above the chassis that it's mounted in, and also the notch in the (factory) barrel where the rear sight originally sat. Click on the picture to enlarge it. The color is weird because I shot the receiver, barrel, and chassis in Moly Resin, flat gray-black. (Excellent product for the DIY-er by the way.) Your rifle and my rifle started as the same rifle. That's what I love about these damned things. The sky's the limit.
Our projects have two very different aims. You want the ultimate in rimfire accuracy, and you chose well. I want a stocked rimfire pistol with a suppressor that doesn't randomly unscrew itself, and I chose mostly well. (The damned suppressor still unscrews itself sometimes.) I provided my build as an example of just how crazy you can get with these things. Think of my approach as a very powerful, very quiet airgun that doesn't require any gas and doesn't wreck scopes. That's pretty much what I wanted. I would be extremely surprised if mine grouped anywhere near 1.5" at 50 yards, regardless of the ammo...but again, I'm an offhand shooter for the most part, so it's the quality of life stuff that makes a difference for me.
Nice looking rifle, BTW.
