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Ruger 10/22 Out-of-the-box accuracy??

14K views 27 replies 16 participants last post by  45acpskng 
#1 ·
Hey. I just purchased a ruger 10/22. It seems to not be a very accurate rifle. I purchased the stainless steel model with a 22" normal barrel.

I've purchased 8 different types of ammo from bulk boxes to target ammo, and my .22 seems to be shooting all over the place. We're talking 3-3.5 inch groups at 50 yards on some ammo, and even worse on a few brands. I get several bullets that just seem to be doing their own thing, hitting 3+ inches off target.

The best ammo so far has been Remington "Target Rifle". And even that wouldn't produce sub 1.5" groups at 50 yards.

Another concern is that a few of the cheaper ammos had feeding/ejecting issues. I tried cleaning the gun several times with both hopps and Break Free with a bore snake as well as the traditional rod method and that didnt seem to help. One box of ammo was mis-feeding ever 3-4 rounds.

I have a hard time believing this is the norm for these rifles, as they are so popular around the world, and have been for so long.

Anyway, is this normal or did I get a bad barrel/chamber with mine?? Maybe a defect?

This gun is stock in every way. Brand spankin' new and fresh out of the box.
 
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#2 ·
Some say they will make 2.00" at 50 yards bone stock new from the factory.

Mine is making 1.00" at 50 yards using the standard barrel, but with a triggerjob and a good scope using Eley targetammo (handfed one by one).

I would say that if you can shoot 2.00" with 10 rounds in a row, mag fed, its good enough for anything you would like use it for.

My air rifle is making 1/4"-3/8" for 5 shots at 50 yards but that is a whole other thing..

;)
 
#3 ·
What about the feeding issues? The "brick" ammo from federal seems to shoot ok, but mis-feeds about every 4 rounds.. I dont think I made it through a full clip (10 shot) without at least one mis-feed.
 
#4 ·
I have never any misfeeds using supersonic rounds (Federal American Eagle) and very seldom misfeeds using subsonic.

I cant recall any more problems when it was new.

Only time I really had problems was when I used an aftermarket 25-round clip.

Original 10-shots seem bulletproof in my rifle.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Hey phyre. For the first 500 rnds shoot Hi velocity to break it in. Your rifle will gain reliability and accuracy along the way. If your jambing that much you may want to clean and retension your magazine as outlined in the Tips and Tricks section. Also clean your chamber as the preserative (its not oil) that comes on your bore may cause fired cases to hang up. If retensioning your magazine and cleaning the chamber doesn't improve your feeding let us know there are a few other things to check.

A trigger job and free floating the barrel, and stock bedding will help accuracy a bunch. Check Tips and tricks.

Wind will play a huge part in Point of Impact.
 
#6 ·
Last evening I went to the window and rested my arms on the windowframe to shoot two targets just to check out the accuracy with this thread in mind.

First one was 10 quite rapid shots using the mag only, second target was 5 shots all handfed with a lot of time to aim.

The first target gave 10 shots within 1.50" and second one gave 1.00".

Scope was x4 Leupold and ammo was Federal American Eagle HP at 1280 fps.



 
#7 ·
Well, I talked to the "sporting goods" guy about it and he told me to bring it in. So, I brought it in and he shipped it off to remington to get checked out. Wasn't expecting that, but at least I'll get a good look-over by the gun manufacturer. I'll re-post when I get it back (10 business day turn around)

P.S. Thanks for the targets. My gun would never have shot that. Not even with the High $ target ammo.
 
#8 ·
phyregod said:
Well, I talked to the "sporting goods" guy about it and he told me to bring it in. So, I brought it in and he shipped it off to remington to get checked out. Wasn't expecting that, but at least I'll get a good look-over by the gun manufacturer. I'll re-post when I get it back (10 business day turn around)

P.S. Thanks for the targets. My gun would never have shot that. Not even with the High $ target ammo.
Uhhh, you sent your Ruger 10/22 to Remington? A type-O I hope.
 
#9 ·
I'm with Cajungeo, I hope they sent it to Ruger, butI don't think it needed to go back. I have tried many types of ammo in my 10/22's and each one likes something different. The ONLY Remington ammo I have any luck with is Remington Eley EPS. Stay away from Winchester Wildcats, they will lead up your barrel like you won't believe. American eagle from Federal usually does ok but has several 'under powered' rounds per box. I have finally settled on Wolf MT, all of my 10/22's love this stuff, never have feed problems, no lead build up, and accuracy is sweet. I think I have pics post with my 'Big Black Rifle' thread.
 
#11 ·
The ONLY ammo I've ever had probs with in my 10/22 was, oddly, Federal AE.
For some reason that stuff is jamtackular.
I've foolishly shot lots (5000+ rounds) of non-FMJ (Blazer & Peters) but haven't seen any degradation in accuracy. Peters is the best non-match grade I've shot, but it is terribly messy to load without a speedfeeder.
Only mods are a Butler Creek Heavy Barrel/Stock combo. A Barska 3x9 sits in Warne rings and it shoots touching holes all day long at 50, teeny groups at 100 with fast ammo.
 
#12 ·
I've foolishly shot lots (5000+ rounds) of non-FMJ (Blazer & Peters) but haven't seen any degradation in accuracy.

I hate to tell you this but I have never heard of a 22LR round being FMJ. They are copper wash ones available from several makers. It used to be called "Lub-alloy" back when it first came out and was designed simply to prevent lead deposits in the barrel. It does, you get copper wash deposits instead :)
 
#13 · (Edited)
Even my Custom 10/22 is picky about which brands it shoots the most accurate. The best brand for me is the remington bulk ammunition from walmart. 5 shots makes one small ragged hole.

make sure you clean any rifle when you first buy it, before ever even shooting it.

With 22's, expecially new ones, use a bore light in one end of the chamber while you look down the other end to see if you are getting any lead fouling.

If you are getting lead fouling I would suggest first scrapping as much of the lead out as you can with a brass brush, then use some Blue Wonder Cleaner from Brownells to strip out the rest of the Lead. It works really good on pulling lead out.

If you are having leading problems, there is a good chance you have a burr in your rifle that is encouraging that. Buy some Brownells JB Bore Compound and follow the Directions on that. It can take several shooting and subsiguent cleaning sessions to get the bore nice and smooth on the inside. (I would suggest the kit with the Kroil. It is a good penitrating oil and it cleans out any residual cleaning compound in the barrel at the end of your cleaning sessions. Hoppies will work though)

Once you are satisfied that the bore is nice and smooth, use Brownells JB Bore bright as the directions say to polish the barrel and fill in any hairline cracks. After this is done on any rifle it will make the rifle super easy to clean from then on out.

Also many accuracy issues can be attributed to the trigger. The heavy trigger pull causes many people to pull there shots.
Brownells has an answer to this too. Clark Custom makes several drop in trigger kits that will give you a better trigger pull. You can get the Deluxe Kit for $65 with an overtravel adjustment, or you can get the standard model for $45.
There are other brands out there that make trigger kits, but you get the most for your money with the Clark kits in my opinion. The kit by Power Custom that is the equivilant to the Clark Delux kit is $110. It is $45 more and I can not say that it is any better.
 
#14 ·
Yes, he sent it off to Ruger...

I had remington on the mind, I've been shopping for another new rifle (tack driving deer killing rifle).

Ended up purchasing the Remington 700p in 7mm mag. (Law Enforcement model)

I can't wait for it to show up! :D
 
#15 ·
For me, the 10/22 is a plinker and small game rifle. I take squirrels at 50 + yards with no problems, and that is good enough for me. My 10/22 is one of the laminate full stock models, and I use a 4X scope.
 
#16 ·
I've found that my 10/22, a new stainless model from this year, is quite accurate but only with certain ammo types. The best accuracy results I've gotten thus far are with that new, super-fast Aguila "Super Max" 30gr HP. With this stuff, I could shoot 1.5" groups (bench rest, using 8x power on my scope) at 100 yards. No kidding! It's the highest velocity 22LR ammo that you can buy, shoots at 1750 fps, with 204 ft lbs of energy. Try finding ANY other 22 ammo with those ballistics; the list is pretty short if there are any at all. I found that, while typical 22LR ammo at 100 yards can drop 8 to 12 inches or more, this stuff barely drops at all, maybe an inch or two. I'm not kidding, it's like shooting a centerfire at 100 yards.

The one potential down-side to note with this ammo is, the first brick of it that I bought was very greasy and dirty. It fed ok but really slimed up my action, would sometimes cause misfeeds in my mags, and really required good cleaning of the gun. If I get more that's this dirty, I'm going to find some way to clean the ammo before using it.

You can get the Aguila ammo, and see a few user reviews, here:

http://www.the-armory.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/Aguila_22super_max_hp_box.html
 
#18 ·
loner5667 said:
I'm with Cajungeo, I hope they sent it to Ruger, butI don't think it needed to go back. I have tried many types of ammo in my 10/22's and each one likes something different. The ONLY Remington ammo I have any luck with is Remington Eley EPS. Stay away from Winchester Wildcats, they will lead up your barrel like you won't believe. American eagle from Federal usually does ok but has several 'under powered' rounds per box. I have finally settled on Wolf MT, all of my 10/22's love this stuff, never have feed problems, no lead build up, and accuracy is sweet. I think I have pics post with my 'Big Black Rifle' thread.
You know... for YEARS the only thing that was cheap AND accurate in my 10/22 was Winchester Wildcats.... I can ding quarters from 50yrds all day long, and getm 6-10 times from 50yrds....

For some reason, the federal bulk pack you get at Wally World is actualy just as good now... before, it wouldnt feed worth a squat... I do have to say, that the wild cats are definatly powerfull enough to cycle a new 10/22 action. It was the onlything other than mini-mags (1/3 the price) that would cycle it when it was new.

Any who, I like the Wild Cats... Things are darn hard to find up this a-ways.

Billy
 
#19 ·
Well, My rifle is back from Ruger.. FINALLY.

They replaced the stock, all the internals including the bolt, the barrel, and the clip. It went to the range for testing 6 times that I'm aware of.. Glad Ruger tests their repairs instead of slapping in a part and tossing it in the mail.

I havent fired the rifle yet, as its now a bit cold outside.. I'll post a follow up after I've put some ammo through it.
 
#21 ·
timlt said:
I've found that my 10/22, a new stainless model from this year, is quite accurate but only with certain ammo types. The best accuracy results I've gotten thus far are with that new, super-fast Aguila "Super Max" 30gr HP. With this stuff, I could shoot 1.5" groups (bench rest, using 8x power on my scope) at 100 yards. No kidding! It's the highest velocity 22LR ammo that you can buy, shoots at 1750 fps, with 204 ft lbs of energy. Try finding ANY other 22 ammo with those ballistics; the list is pretty short if there are any at all. I found that, while typical 22LR ammo at 100 yards can drop 8 to 12 inches or more, this stuff barely drops at all, maybe an inch or two. I'm not kidding, it's like shooting a centerfire at 100 yards.

The one potential down-side to note with this ammo is, the first brick of it that I bought was very greasy and dirty. It fed ok but really slimed up my action, would sometimes cause misfeeds in my mags, and really required good cleaning of the gun. If I get more that's this dirty, I'm going to find some way to clean the ammo before using it.

You can get the Aguila ammo, and see a few user reviews, here:

http://www.the-armory.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/Aguila_22super_max_hp_box.html
I want to update this post. After talking to a gunsmith who did some customization on my rifle, and I added a new target barrel, I no longer use the Aguila ammo. The stuff was really accurate at longer distances (for a 22, of course), and made my 10-22 shoot like a .17 HMR or a magnum, but the trade-off was not good. The gunsmith told me that Aguila is getting these results by packing large, super-hot loads into these rounds, and he feels these kind of loads in a .22 LR will actually damage your rifle if you use it for very long. So, sorry if this disappoints anybody, but based on his recommendation, I'd suggest you steer clear of the Aguila super max 30gr HP stuff. Their other stuff is fine, BTW, if you want to try that.
 
#23 ·
devildogmech said:
Wouldnt the use of a bolt buffer reduce the wear and tear from the HOT ammo?
Sorry, I wouldn't know. The guy at CPC who did the customization work on my 10-22 knows a LOT about 10-22's, and he recommended strongly against using specifically that hot Aguila load, though he didn't have any problem in general with using high velocity .22LR ammo. I think the concern with the Super Max Aguila might have had something to do with wear and tear in the barrel. If you're curious, it might be worth asking Gundoc his opinion on this. Don't know if he hangs out much in this forum; you might have to PM him.
 
#24 ·
Aguila Super Max has a longer case. It can damge your lands and rifling in tight match-chambered barrels. This also applies to CCI Stinger and CCI Quick Shok.

Usually other than that high and hyper rounds are fine. CPC does fine work. I got a bolt done there and my groups tightened up 50%. I have a stock bbl and can shoot 1-1.5" groups easy with most ammo.

I recommend trying Wolf Match Target if you can find it. It will run about 25-35 a brick, plus shipping. I can get sub-inch groups with my 10/22..

 
#25 ·
I have a 10/22 carbine that is atleast 30 years old with a 3x9x40mm scope. Its been a tack driver since day 1. It shoots a strait as I can aim sub 1" groups at 50yds from a lead sled. And shoots real good out to 100 yds. Best ammo is the Winchester wildcat. Not sure if it's made anymore. Never had any feeding issues even with the old 25rd plastic ramline brand clips from long ago.
 
#26 ·
This is an old thread you revived........but it's a useful topic and deserved to be revived.

My Rugers perform about the same as yours.

I use Federal and CCI as ammo of choice.

One thing I know.......a replacement trigger will make smaller groups easier to achieve.

The ammo shortage must be getting better.........my LGS had a couple 300 packs of Remington Thunderduds in stock yesterday. I chose not to buy.
 
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