Ruger 10/22 Takedown Build Thread

VQ Barrel Arrived

I was very excited to finally get the VQ barrel in the mail today. It appears to be an exceptionally well made part:

p8hFDhYh.jpg

Bushnell Rimfire 6-18x40 AO scope
Warne quick release rings
Volquartsen carbon fibre take down barrel with cantilever rail, aluminum forearm and bottom rail

The rail appears to be much more rigid than the one on the Adaptive Tactical barrel. You can see in the photo below, that I have cut the rail down on the AT barrel:
eGBM8hKh.jpg


Here is the 2 layer Pelican case layout for the TD:
WOZm2lVh.jpg
XozwhNbl.jpg

More info to come once I get some range time with the VQ barrel...
 
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Nice build, have you looked at the 10/22 takedown model 21133 with factory .920" barrel to see how it compares with all the other aftermarket .920" barrels available?
 
VQ Range Report

I took the new Volquartsen (VQ) barrel and the rest of my 10/22 TD gear to elimsprint's backyard range today for some in-depth testing and tuning today.

Have I mentioned what a great thing it is to have a friend who has his own range, is a talented amateur gunsmith, is very experienced with 10/22s and has his own machine shop? Last visit he gave me an aluminum muzzle brake that he built, to replace the brake on the AT barrel. The one that comes with the AT barrel has holes all around and blasts your hand with gas and powder debris. The new custom brake only has holes in the top and is much more comfortable to shoot. Today he adjusted the indexing of the muzzle brake and chamfered the ends of my delrin buffer (it is soooo much easier to install now!). I know I could have chamfered the buffer with a file, but it is so much nicer when done on a lathe :)

VQ barrel accuracy:
Initial testing with Federal AE at 25 yards was pretty disappointing, but switching to better quality ammo (SK Rifle Match) resulted in a huge improvement:
QZPD1bth.jpg


Sticking with the SK RM at 50 yards resulted in a few very reasonable groups. I am happy with this result, as I think there is potential for even greater accuracy as I continue to experiment:

7V9SWKph.jpg


VQ/AT barrel reliability:
As far as reliability is concerned it was a case of 2 steps forward, one step back today. I was using the VQ and AT barrels, but not the standard Ruger barrel. My friend and I spent several hours tuning spring weights (Kidd 3 spring kit), trying different bolts (Dlask and polished & radiused Ruger), different magazines (new and old), trigger adjustments (the Kidd single stage was acting up), etc. It is proving challenging to find a tune that works for both the 16" VQ barrel and the 9" AT barrel. As my friend pointed out, it may be that there is not a combination for bolt, spring weight, trigger adjustment, etc that will work with both barrels (at least with this ammo). I hope this is not the case, and intend to do a lot more experimenting to find a solution. I did try a few mini-mags with the AT barrel, but did not notice a significant improvement over the Fed AE rounds. More to come...

Bushnell 6-18 x 40 Rimfire Scope, Warne QD rings:
I was very impressed with this scope, given its extremely low price ($160 +/- after rebate, including tax and shipping). Size/magnification/weight/balance seem just right for the VQ barrel, it is extremely comfortable shooting offhand and works well from a rest. I will need to do more testing to see how well the Warne QD rings work regarding point of impact variation, but they seem like a top quality product.
 
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Another Range Update

After a few more tweaks, (polished receiver internals, switch back to light Kidd spring, adjusted/cleaned/broken-in mags, lots of lube) I decided it was time to test the various barrels for function again today:

Volquartsen Barrel:
It ran 100% with the Federal AE and almost as well with SK Rifle Match (the very last round of the day, decided to stovepipe) so 99.5% reliability.

Adaptive Tactical Barrel:
The AT barrel is now running much better with Federal AE but still not perfect, about 98.5% reliability. The great news is that it is 100% reliable with Federal Auto Match and I just happen to have about 8000 rounds of this ammo sitting in my ammo chest.

Ruger Barrel:
I only fired a few mags with this barrel, mainly because the TRS-25 red dot is useless in bright sun (I am seriously considering a 2x pistol scope for this barrel). 100% reliable with Federal AE.


I am very happy with the above results as I am now cautiously optomistic that I can switch between all 3 barrels and run all 3 reliably simply by switching ammo.
 
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Great looking set-up for sure.

Do you like the fit and feel of the magpul stock a lot better then the factory one? I'm thinking of getting one for my takedown but around here I have to order most things, nowhere to go and check one out.
 
Sakoman .308 said:
This is a very nice setup.
Well Done Sir
Click to expand...

Thanks Sakoman

rmsteve said:
Great looking set-up for sure.

Do you like the fit and feel of the magpul stock a lot better then the factory one? I'm thinking of getting one for my takedown but around here I have to order most things, nowhere to go and check one out.
Click to expand...

Thanks rmsteve, I love the ergonomics of the Magpul stock. The pistol grip is at just the right angle and the adjustable LOP is also very welcome. Trust me it is a very worth while upgrade. I like it so much that I have the similar Magpul SGA stock on my shotgun as well:
IMG_6739.jpg
 
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Tom E Gun said:
Thanks Sakoman



Thanks rmsteve, I love the ergonomics of the Magpul stock. The pistol grip is at just the right angle and the adjustable LOP is also very welcome. Trust me it is a very worth while upgrade. I like it so much that I have the similar Magpul SGA stock on my shotgun as well:
IMG_6739.jpg
Click to expand...


how many shotgun barrels you running???
 
wayupnorth said:
how many shotgun barrels you running???
Click to expand...

:) ....that is an old picture I used for an EE ad to sell some shotgun barrels. I imported 2 batches of genuine Wingmaster and Police (w/ lo-pro rifle sight) barrels through IRG a few years ago, back when the exchange rate was a lot better. I kept one of each, here is the other one:
IMG_6777.jpg
 
Tom E Gun said:
I was very excited to finally get the VQ barrel in the mail today. It appears to be an exceptionally well made part:

p8hFDhYh.jpg

Bushnell Rimfire 6-18x40 AO scope
Warne quick release rings
Volquartsen carbon fibre take down barrel with cantilever rail, aluminum forearm and bottom rail

The rail appears to be much more rigid than the one on the Adaptive Tactical barrel. You can see in the photo below, that I have cut the rail down on the AT barrel:
eGBM8hKh.jpg


Here is the 2 layer Pelican case layout for the TD:
WOZm2lVh.jpg
XozwhNbl.jpg

More info to come once I get some range time with the VQ barrel...
Click to expand...

Which pelican case is that??
Man, this thread's definitely got me thinking about a takedown, you've done a beauty job on yours.
 
mr.fatstacks said:
Which pelican case is that??
Man, this thread's definitely got me thinking about a takedown, you've done a beauty job on yours.
Click to expand...

Thanks mr.fatstacks, my case is a Pelican Air 1525, I picked it up, lightly used, from another CGN member. I like the lighter weight of the "Air" series, I have a Pelican 1720 rifle case which I hardly ever use because it is so heavy.
Here you can see the removable camera gear tray I also made for this case, I plan on making one for pistols as well.
IMG_0190.jpg
 
I love the Kidd single stage trigger. One of the main "justifications" I used to start this 10/22 TD build was to be able to easily use one receiver with the same Kidd single stage trigger for multiple rifle configurations.
 
Tom E Gun said:
Thanks mr.fatstacks, my case is a Pelican Air 1525, I picked it up, lightly used, from another CGN member. I like the lighter weight of the "Air" series, I have a Pelican 1720 rifle case which I hardly ever use because it is so heavy.
Here you can see the removable camera gear tray I also made for this case, I plan on making one for pistols as well.
IMG_0190.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info, and once again, well done!
 
Tom E Gun said:
I love the Kidd single stage trigger. One of the main "justifications" I used to start this 10/22 TD build was to be able to easily use one receiver with the same Kidd single stage trigger for multiple rifle configurations.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking of getting one for my TD - the plastic housing in mine is quite loose, so I know it isn't helping the accuracy (it isn't terrible accuracy, but you know how that works). I've also though of putting in the screw down cross pin set, to brace the lower half of the gun a bit more.
 
I have found the pins that secure the trigger in the receiver fit much tighter with the Kidd trigger housings. I have a set of the Kidd countersunk screw head cross pins, and the receiver on my bench-rest 10/22 has been countersunk for them, but I have not seen the need to use them. They use a very fine allen head screw and are a bit of a pain to remove and reinstall every time you clean the rifle.
 
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