Barrel Swap

As I said in my previous posts, I picked up a second 10/22 with a build in mind, so it didn’t stay as is for very long.  In fact, I cleaned it up enough for a few pictures and then immediately took it down and started to tinker with it, haha!

The factory barrel and a nice shiny bore with a low round count, so it should make for a quick, clean resale.  I basically bought this rifle for the receiver and will flip everything else to recoup some of the money I had no business spending, haha!

The great thing about the 10/22 is the fact it is so easy to take down and tinker with.  Watch a couple of youtube videos the first time and it is all so easy to remember. 

So I yanked the barreled receiver out of my Nomad kit and was trying to decide if I should run the black receiver and stainless barrel in the green Hogue stock, or swap the barrel over to the stainless receiver and gray trigger group.

Would have been easier just to drop the whole thing straight in, but that wouldn't be as fun, haha!

Comparison between trigger groups.  My black one has been tinkered with.  It has the Power Custom hammer and sear kit, as well as the Promag extended mag release and auto bolt release. 

I commented to my pal Jay about how I forgot to order an auto bolt release and he reminded me that it is a simple mod that I could accomplish for free.  I took his advice and pulled out the bolt release and threw it in the vice.  Less than 5 minutes of filing and it was done.  The material is fairly soft and files down easily so be careful not to remove too much material. 

The factory SS barrel came out easier than my blued barrel from my other 10/22.  I hosed it down with G96 and let it sit for a few minutes, but maybe it came out easier this time because I knew what I was doing this time around.  The ER Shaw barrel fit like a glove.  I’ve heard horror stories of people ordering barrels and they’re either too tight or too loose.  Anyway, perfect fit and very little difficult in terms of timing the barrel so that the extractor lines up with the channel in the barrel.

At first, I wasn’t sure I liked the satin finish on the receiver and I definitely was not fond of the color of the gray plastic trigger group, but once it was all put together, it really grew on me.

Now all I need is a rail, some glass and I’m ready to go plinking!

Hogue Overmold stock for 10/22 heavy barrels in OD Green

Haha, I ordered this stock to sort of kick-start a second build I had no business doing.  I already have a perfectly fine 10/22 in the Pro-Mag Archangel Nomad chassis, though it wasn’t always running well, so it prompted me to think about relocating the rifle into a more traditional rifle stock.  Anyway, I got the Nomad chassis running good, but the seed was already planted and I really liked the Hogue stock so I got one. 

The packaging is cheap, but it doesn't really need to be fancy as the stock is very sturdy and doesn't require a whole lot of packaging material.  Besides, it's better this way as it keeps costs down.

I got the stock with the barrel channel that could accommodate a .920 barrel.  When I test fit it, it did not pass the 5 dollar (because in Canada there is no longer $1 and $2 bills, haha!) bill test. 

I had to remove just a bit of material near the front of the stock.  I basically just took some sand paper, wrapped it around a permanent marker and removed a tiny bit on the left and after that, it fit just fine, allowing enough room to clear a $5 note to pass.

Some comparison shots between a standard Ruger 10/22 synthetic stock with the Hogue Overmold stock for a .920 barrel:

The stock feels good overall.  From the side profile, it looks very similar to the factory stock.  It’s definitely thicker in several areas and the tactile nature of the material it’s finished in gives it better gripping capability.  Most importantly, it didn’t cost an arm and a leg.

New Ruger 10/22 SS Synthetic

I’m not really sure why I can’t just stop buying stuff.  I’ve already got a 10/22 but then I got the idea in my head that it’d be great to mount mine in a Hogue overmold stock.  My Archangel Nomad kit was giving me a bit of grief but I think I got it sorted out and now it’s running fine so I didn’t really need to dump the chassis anymore.  Anyway, long story short, I really wanted to try out the Hogue stock, so I got one.  Then I decided instead of having the same rifle and swapping between chassis and a more traditional rifle stock, just have both.  So I ordered a pile of parts (barrel, hammer/sear kit, rail, etc) to seal the deal and force me to shop for another rifle.  I came across this one and jumped on it.

The rifle was in mint condition and had a relatively low round count, but that didn’t matter to me as I was planning on tossing the barrel and stock anyway.  I did the same thing with my first 10/22, haha!  Didn’t even shoot it as is, just took it straight out of the package and my buddy Jay (I didn’t know a thing about firearms back then) helped me take it down and drop it into the Archangel kit.

My first 10/22 was the plain blued version with the wood stock.  This one was the Stainless Steel version with the synthetic stock.  The finish on it isn’t what one normally thinks is SS, it’s not the regular shiny machined or polished finish, it’s more of a matte/satin finish.  The barrel and receiver are both this finish and the trigger group is a gray plastic and is more or less color matched.  The barrel band is also gray plastic to match the other stuff.  The black synthetic stock is very plain, but comfortable.  It’s not something you’d be afraid to abuse, but it will not accommodate heavy profile barrels so if you’re thinking of swapping barrels, you’ll definitely have to get a new stock, or bore this one out.