An Arctic 10/22, with a enviromentally friendly mod.rc

[CanadianNorth]

Ok,

My 10/22 isn't anything fancy, and while I'm sure there are many similar 10/22's out there I thought I'd post it anyway. I have chosed some particular modifications because of my climate.
I may not have the most unique custom 10/22's, but I bet I have one of the only one's that live north of the Arctic Circle!

My Ruger 10/22 RR wasn't out of the box ten minutes before it was stripped of its original stock and barrel, and most of its original trigger assembly. I put the stock and barrel on Ebay, to recover some of my costs.

The modifications I've put in place so far are:

- Green Mountain fluted bull barrel
- Hogue stock
- Volquartsen Trigger
- Custom ground Hammer, Sear, And disconnect (Hornet Products)
- Custom Trigger spring, thanks to PerfectUnion BBS!! http://perfectunion.com/vb/showthread.php?t=38419
- Volquartsen Extractor
- Butler Creek mag release
- Custom Auto bolt release, thanks to PerfectUnion BBS!!
http://perfectunion.com/vb/showthread.php?t=38701
- UHD plastic bolt buffer
- Millet high mount and rings (Hornet Products)
- BSA 4-16x50 Scope with Shade.

http://www.churchillphotographic.com/guns/22rifle1.jpg

http://www.churchillphotographic.com/guns/22rifle2.jpg

The temperature here on Baffin Island is about -30 to -40 in the winter, but that doesn't stop me from getting out to do a little target practice. I use 25rd butler creek mags, with a butler creek speedloader. The speedloader helps keep my hands from freezing up in the cold.
I choose a synthetic stock because of the cold, the scope with hood to help with the glare from the snow, and created my own enviromentally friendly modification.
I can't say that my "enviromentally friendly mod." is really a modification at all- perhaps more of an accessory, but I did design a small Casing Catcher to save me the hassel of picking 500 little casings in the snow every time I go shooting. I live in an Inuit community and it wouldn't be polite to be leaving a mess about!

http://www.churchillphotographic.com/guns/casingcatcher1.jpg

http://www.churchillphotographic.com/guns/casingcatcher1b.jpg

The catcher is super-simple, made of a coathanger, electrical tape, and <(ahem)> an onion bag. This prototype will eventually be replaced by something a little more respectable, but it is fully functional. I have left a space in the top to reach in and pull back the bolt handle.
The weather doesn't affect the gun much, but I do have to make sure that I strip the gun down completely every time I come in from the cold, because of the excessive condensation. Here is a picture of some frost build-up just after coming inside on a -30 day:

http://www.churchillphotographic.com/guns/ice.jpg


----
Finally, I'm including a picture of the volquarsten trigger with the spring modificataion as I haven't seen an image of it on the BBS. If anyone wants to put it into the BBS elsewhere they are welcome to use the link.

http://www.churchillphotographic.com/guns/triggeradjustment.jpg

Overall I'm very happy with the 22, and I am looking forward to bedding and floating the barrel in the near future. This BBS has been very helpful


Cheers!

[surbat6]

First, that's a nice rifle, CanadianNorth!
Second, your post is a first-rate endorsement of the 10/22's reliability under extreme conditions.
Third, the onion bag brass catcher is an ingenious way of avoiding the brass litter after shooting. I imagine picking up a couple of hundred empties after shooting would be brutal in 30- to 40-below weather. Around here, people seldom pick up ANY brass at the range.

[CanadianNorth]

I've seen some pretty fancy guns on the BBS, and in some online shops - so thank you for the compliment.

I must say, I am impressed with how the 10/22 has held up in the cold. The trick, of course, is to use as little lubricant as possible in the action. A drop too much and your semi-automatic becomes a bolt action, if you know what I mean.
I bought a Henry's US Survival 22 a couple of months ago. I tried it out in Southern Canada over christmas ( average December temperature was about 32 degrees [0 celcius]. ) and it did okay, I wasn't too impressed - but for a cheap little gun it did alright. I brought to the north and it failed miserable. It couldn't fire two shots in a row without having to be manually fed. I tried taking it "out on the land" (as they say here) three times and then gave up on it.
Not so with the Ruger, I am quite pleased at its reliability. You can all rest assured - your 10/22's will keep meat on the table in the next ice age!!!!


Thanks again!

[NWO]

That is a very nice 10/22 you have.

As SURBAT said, your rifle is a first rate testament to the 10/22s ruggedness, and reliability.

-30, -40 degrees? You are one hardy soul! I love to shoot as much as the next person, but there is no way I would set foot outside if it were that cold. I'm a SUMMER man, myself!

Welcome to the board. You will find lots of great information, and TONS of good people here.

Good Shooting!

[marksz71]

Awesome rifle! Those cold temps are crazy...I have heard that cold temps such as the ones you mention can have an adverse affect on a firearm...any experiences like that? Great job on your rifle! mark

[Zen900]

Your Millet high mount is even higher than my Power Custom mount. That's the tallest mount I've seen on a 10/22.

[CanadianNorth]

Your Millet high mount is even higher than my Power Custom mount. That's the tallest mount I've seen on a 10/22.
hey,

thanks, I am pretty happy with them. I wanted the sturdiest mount I could find, but I needed them high. I was worried that the mount and rings would be too low, giving the cubby front end on the BSA 4-16x50mm (mostly due to the grip on the focus ring).
Fortunatley, the focus on the scope prevents the extra-high mount from causing parrallax problems.

If you're interested:
http://www.hornetproducts.com/ViewProduct.asp?ModelNumber=DT00703PCM

I don't mean to drop in a plug for hornet products, but it's the only place I have seen them available (not that I tried hard!).

[CanadianNorth]

Awesome rifle! Those cold temps are crazy...I have heard that cold temps such as the ones you mention can have an adverse affect on a firearm...any experiences like that? Great job on your rifle! mark


Hi there,

Outside of being told that certain lubricants, especially anything heavy, will gum up on you - I don't know of any adverse affects that cold weather will have on a rifle.
I work on Baffin Island as a teacher, and I have only lived in the North for a year now, but the Inuit here hunt with the rifles on a daily basis, and I am pretty sure they do nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, some will degrease their firearms completely, and keep them in the cold to prevent condensation.
I use a fine film of a product called Gun Butter on all my parts. (O.K., so they make Gun Butter and Bike Butter. It's the exact same thing...for bikes and guns... still... it works.) I haven't done any scientific tests, but the stuff seems to work well.
I will ask some of the experienced hunters here if they have had any trouble with their firearms in the cold.



http://www.churchillphotographic.com/guns/baffinisland.jpg

[devildogmech]

What do you hunt for up there? I dont see alot of trees for Squrles to be hiding in :P

[Zen900]

What do you hunt for up there? I dont see alot of trees for Squrles to be hiding in :P

Oh, quite the contrary, I read somewhere that they have these giant squirrels there that are white and 11 ft tall.

[devildogmech]

Oh, quite the contrary, I read somewhere that they have these giant squirrels there that are white and 11 ft tall.

Do they runaround screaming "Yetti!!! Yetti!!!"

:p
:D
Bill

[CanadianNorth]

hey guys!

Very funny!! No yetti's up here.

We do have 11' white squirrels - we call them polar bears! And they see people as a nice warm lunch.

I don't do much hunting here in the north, but the local Inuit hunters have lived off of seal, walrus, narwhale, baline whale, and arctic char. They also hunt arctic hare and caribou when they can get it.
It's quite a different culture up here - so I'm happy to tell anyone who will listen about it!!

Oh, and no - we don't get trees up here. We're well above the tree line. We have about 2 months of summer, and nothing grows much more than six inches high. We get some pretty flowers though!!

[cajungeo]

Wow you are way up north. I have a large world map above my computer and see you are near Kalaallit Nunaat.

That Hogue stock probably feels warmer on your cheek than a wood stock i.e if you have the rubber coated model.

In the summer I'd trade you some of our Louisiana heat for some of your cool. :D

[Enforcer]

Nice land man, Alaska is Beautiful. :usa:

[Indyarms]

Alaska *IS* beautiful... :D


Although Baffin Island is way east of there...up right next to greenland... on its West side... :blink:


:lol: :lol:

[cowboy117]

Great looking rifle,awesome photo skills!

[cowboy117]

Hi there,

Outside of being told that certain lubricants, especially anything heavy, will gum up on you - I don't know of any adverse affects that cold weather will have on a rifle.
I work on Baffin Island as a teacher, and I have only lived in the North for a year now, but the Inuit here hunt with the rifles on a daily basis, and I am pretty sure they do nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, some will degrease their firearms completely, and keep them in the cold to prevent condensation.
I use a fine film of a product called Gun Butter on all my parts. (O.K., so they make Gun Butter and Bike Butter. It's the exact same thing...for bikes and guns... still... it works.) I haven't done any scientific tests, but the stuff seems to work well.
I will ask some of the experienced hunters here if they have had any trouble with their firearms in the cold.



http://www.churchillphotographic.com/guns/baffinisland.jpgBeautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Killer@nz]

Really Beautiful! And a Really nice 10/22. Good idea on the case catcher. Any photos of the animals in your parts (especially the Arctic Hares)?

[CanadianNorth]

Really Beautiful! And a Really nice 10/22. Good idea on the case catcher. Any photos of the animals in your parts (especially the Arctic Hares)?

Hey there,
sorry to say, we don't get many arctic hares in these parts. In fact, most of the people around here hunt primarily sea-based animals. By that I mean Walrus, seals, narwhales, and char. The staple of the natives, traditionally, is primarily seal and char. We do get some polar bear (yes, the locals hunt those too), and caribou. I haven't heard of any getting many hares.
The only thing I have photographed are seals, and those are in abundance. On one snowmobile trip my spose and I saw perhaps 18 in an hour. They lay around on the ice during the day and sun themselves next to their breathe holes!!

thanks,

Stewart

[CanadianNorth]

so,

in keeping this post online with guns (!!) I should mention I've ordered a SWEEEEEET 18" green mountain barrel, with custom ports by Warner Guns. I also got myself a nice stock from Choate. I know they have gotten a bad rep by some, but the ergonomics of it are AWSOME, and with a little epoxy reinforcement, bedding, and floating it should be a good shot. I will post some pics when it is finished.

Cheers,
Stewart

[lima-charlie]

When I saw this post a couple of months ago I meant to comment on how sweet your rifle looks. Your rifle is the one that planted the seed for me to get a 10/22. That idea has been growing and I think that soon I will invest.

Really cool gun. Any good recomendations on aftermarket dealers?

lima-charlie

[CanadianNorth]

hey,

thanks for the compliment. There are many places to get ruger parts these days, but all the parts for the gun I have posted right now came from one of two places,

www.rimfiresports.com
www.hornetproducts.com

Rimfire sports offers fast and free shipping - a big bonus to us in "far away" places.
Hornet products has a bigger selection, and definitely worth a look.

My most recent barrel, an 18" GM barrel with custom ports, was done up by Warner Guns.

www.outdoorguides.com/outdoor/warnergn.htm

The boys at warner guns gave me a real hassle over shipping across the border (which everybody else does, no questions asked), and it took forever to get the barrel, but they came through. I haven't installed it yet, but I will post pictures when I do.


Happy Shooting!

[CanadianNorth]

By the way,

here is a ruger 10/22 I just outfitted for my brother.

Its got a green mountain 18" barrel, Choate stock (reinforced with epoxy), volquartsen trigger, and sits pretty with a 6-24x50mm scope on a harris bipod.
The gun has the standard rubber bolt buffer, extended mag release, and lightened trigger spring.
We also head-spaced the bolt to .043" s.

It's great for picking off 9mm casings from 50 yrds!!

http://www.churchillphotographic.com/guns/ruger01.jpg

[lima-charlie]

Your brothers rig looks great too!

Question:
Can you tell me, how accurate are your rifles and to what distance?