Rocket Surgery
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I got my first 10/22 ss in October 2010 when I traded a Norinco SKS and old beat up Winchester Defender 1200. My first thoughts on the gun was that it wasn't as good as the Plinkster I had before it, simply because of the Lyman sights, the rotary mag, the lack of hold open on the bolt, ugly front barrel band, and the fact that you had to screw in to an aluminum receiver to mount a scope. Over the last year I have put stupid amounts of ammo through this gun, getting close to 10 thousand, and I have made some observations.
#1, This platform is damn reliable.
I have had very few jams, probably less than 10, and about as many failure to fires as you can expect from CCI Blazer ammo. I never cleaned this gun once and kept putting rounds through it, not because I'm a terrible gun owner, I just wanted to see how far I could push it before it stopped working. I caved in and cleaned it simply because there was no point seeing how far past 10k rounds you could go with a gun before it stopped working, 10k is enough. It took me 2 hours last night to pick all the crud out of the receiver and bolt area. I will say that the gun is kind of annoying to take down, especially when lining up the mag release and bolt hold open part and trying to get that pin back in. I have put a few bricks of random crappy tire ammo down the pipe.
#2, The 10/22 SS really is weather resistant.
I mentioned earlier that I spent 2 hours cleaning the gun, but I didn't mention that as part of my 'stress test' for this gun I took it in the bathroom for 3 months every morning during shower time just to see if the humidity would do things to this gun. This gun has been out hunting in the rain multiple times. One time a 6 foot 6 hung over man dressed as a woman shot a grouse with the gun and got it all wet, which remained in the truck like that for 3 days. For the final part of my stress test I put actually took the gun into the shower after cleaning it to see how it handles being soaked completely through for however long it takes to dry off. The stock also seems to be grouse resistant, as a buddy of mine stomped out a grouse with the plastic buttstock one day after clipping it and there wasn't much damage.
#3 The gun isn't necessarily accurate, but it shoots well.
I don't know how to explain this, but I think others may know what I'm talking about when I say the 10/22 shoots well. It seems to point naturally and the way the stock welds to you when you're shooting keeps the sights lined up well. I tested the accuracy of the rifle with a 7x scope, it does the typical raggy hole at 25 yards and 1.5 inch swiss cheese at 50. 100 yards is your typical 3-4 inch group with fliers all around it, really making it a 5 inch group but 90% of the rounds are within 3 inches.
#4 Everyone wants to shoot the 10/22
I take a lot of people shooting, simply because I have small man syndrome and I like to show off my guns for attention. Quite a few of my co-workers, girls I hook up with, friends, and family members have come to the range and they all like the 10/22 just as much as everything else I bring (I have about 20 guns). It seems like the 10/22 is always up there with the 858 and the Axis SS 223. I have 5x 22lr rifles, even a JW-25a, and the 10/22 gets the most love. I think it may be because of the 25 round mag, but I'm not sure.
#5 The 10/22 ss can do anything (except bear and home defense)
Despite the accuracy shortcomings, there are more aftermarket parts for this gun than anything else I have seen except the AR15's. You can accurize it a bit, and then turn it into an AR rail farm, all from your kitchen table. The gun is great for hunting or general blasting at the range. The accuracy shortcomings seem to be easy to compensate for by just popping off another round. I've been shooting all my life so I'm not worried about developing bad habits because of this style of shooting, but in the spirit of perfecting the use of your tools, I kind of like the way this system works.
So those are some of my general observations. My dislike of the rotary magazine is over, simply because I find the device easy to load and very reliable. It also falls out nicely, which is always great because I hate digging into a stock to get a mag out.
I still do think the aluminum threading on the receiver is a big weak spot, and the front barrel band is pretty silly. I know you can take it off or just go aftermarket with the stock, but I don't want to play mirror commando with a 22lr, I'd rather use my m305 or 858. The fact that the firing pin slams against the chamber every 11th round I thought was absolutely stupid, but I checked to see if there was any wear last night and everything checked out fine. I realize you can go aftermarket and fix this, and this may be the one mod I actually do to the rifle.
I went from hating the sights, to accepting them, to actually enjoying the fact that they exist on my gun. I find myself doing this a lot, kind of like when you buy a new shampoo and 2 weeks later you find that it helps with the dandruff and you have better volume. Once I really started shooting with this rifle and figuring out how to position yourself while using the trigger, I found the sights stay lined up really well and keep you on target and the golden bead is pretty nice. I actually would not swap these sights out for aftermarket now, and I like how the rear sights fold down.
Thanks for reading
#1, This platform is damn reliable.
I have had very few jams, probably less than 10, and about as many failure to fires as you can expect from CCI Blazer ammo. I never cleaned this gun once and kept putting rounds through it, not because I'm a terrible gun owner, I just wanted to see how far I could push it before it stopped working. I caved in and cleaned it simply because there was no point seeing how far past 10k rounds you could go with a gun before it stopped working, 10k is enough. It took me 2 hours last night to pick all the crud out of the receiver and bolt area. I will say that the gun is kind of annoying to take down, especially when lining up the mag release and bolt hold open part and trying to get that pin back in. I have put a few bricks of random crappy tire ammo down the pipe.
#2, The 10/22 SS really is weather resistant.
I mentioned earlier that I spent 2 hours cleaning the gun, but I didn't mention that as part of my 'stress test' for this gun I took it in the bathroom for 3 months every morning during shower time just to see if the humidity would do things to this gun. This gun has been out hunting in the rain multiple times. One time a 6 foot 6 hung over man dressed as a woman shot a grouse with the gun and got it all wet, which remained in the truck like that for 3 days. For the final part of my stress test I put actually took the gun into the shower after cleaning it to see how it handles being soaked completely through for however long it takes to dry off. The stock also seems to be grouse resistant, as a buddy of mine stomped out a grouse with the plastic buttstock one day after clipping it and there wasn't much damage.
#3 The gun isn't necessarily accurate, but it shoots well.
I don't know how to explain this, but I think others may know what I'm talking about when I say the 10/22 shoots well. It seems to point naturally and the way the stock welds to you when you're shooting keeps the sights lined up well. I tested the accuracy of the rifle with a 7x scope, it does the typical raggy hole at 25 yards and 1.5 inch swiss cheese at 50. 100 yards is your typical 3-4 inch group with fliers all around it, really making it a 5 inch group but 90% of the rounds are within 3 inches.
#4 Everyone wants to shoot the 10/22
I take a lot of people shooting, simply because I have small man syndrome and I like to show off my guns for attention. Quite a few of my co-workers, girls I hook up with, friends, and family members have come to the range and they all like the 10/22 just as much as everything else I bring (I have about 20 guns). It seems like the 10/22 is always up there with the 858 and the Axis SS 223. I have 5x 22lr rifles, even a JW-25a, and the 10/22 gets the most love. I think it may be because of the 25 round mag, but I'm not sure.
#5 The 10/22 ss can do anything (except bear and home defense)
Despite the accuracy shortcomings, there are more aftermarket parts for this gun than anything else I have seen except the AR15's. You can accurize it a bit, and then turn it into an AR rail farm, all from your kitchen table. The gun is great for hunting or general blasting at the range. The accuracy shortcomings seem to be easy to compensate for by just popping off another round. I've been shooting all my life so I'm not worried about developing bad habits because of this style of shooting, but in the spirit of perfecting the use of your tools, I kind of like the way this system works.
So those are some of my general observations. My dislike of the rotary magazine is over, simply because I find the device easy to load and very reliable. It also falls out nicely, which is always great because I hate digging into a stock to get a mag out.
I still do think the aluminum threading on the receiver is a big weak spot, and the front barrel band is pretty silly. I know you can take it off or just go aftermarket with the stock, but I don't want to play mirror commando with a 22lr, I'd rather use my m305 or 858. The fact that the firing pin slams against the chamber every 11th round I thought was absolutely stupid, but I checked to see if there was any wear last night and everything checked out fine. I realize you can go aftermarket and fix this, and this may be the one mod I actually do to the rifle.
I went from hating the sights, to accepting them, to actually enjoying the fact that they exist on my gun. I find myself doing this a lot, kind of like when you buy a new shampoo and 2 weeks later you find that it helps with the dandruff and you have better volume. Once I really started shooting with this rifle and figuring out how to position yourself while using the trigger, I found the sights stay lined up really well and keep you on target and the golden bead is pretty nice. I actually would not swap these sights out for aftermarket now, and I like how the rear sights fold down.
Thanks for reading
