.22LR from scratch or not that is the question

Why restrict yourself to only a 10/22? Lots of older rifles, even semis, have more than enough accuracy for gophers.

Of my semis, I've got a Mossberg 151 (a couple, actually), Winchester 77, and a Taurus 63 (Winchester copy) which work great on gophers. And I had a Win 490 and something called a Tyrol 5522 which was also a nice accurate rifle. My Cooey 64B is just okay because the barrel/receiver connection isn't that solid. I would use any of those above out to 75 yards or so.
 
OP wants to re-use his Ruger magazines...

How about a PWS T3?
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With a Timney or Jard trigger group...
 
I bought a Ruger 10-22 Deluxe Sporter 23 years ago. If I remember correctly it was $129.00
It was the most inaccurate rifle i have owned. I tried a variety of ammo and the results were
the same 3" at 50 yards on a good day. It spent the next decade or so at the back of the gun safe.

About 10 years ago I rediscovered it and thought I should do something with it.
I replaced the factory barrel with a Green Mountain Barrel. I modified the trigger and sear to get the
trigger pull down to around 3 pounds and head-spaced the bolt from .055" t0 .043". What an improvement.
The new barrel was fussy about ammo but worked well with the right ammo.
But I never liked the look of the flutes or longer 22" barrel and I missed the sights.

The original barrel sat on my tool box in the man cave for several years. One day I took
the barrel and machined a slug that would fit in the chamber so I could measure where the rifling started.
According to Sammi specs the bullet was .060" away from the rifling when chambered. I chucked the barrel
in my lathe and I removed .090" from the breach face and the face the contacts the receiver.
The bullets now will engage the rifling by .030" when chambered.
I re-cut the extractor groove in the barrel with a slitting saw and touched it up with a file.
I removed the Green Mountain Barrel and reinstalled the factory barrel and made a trip to the range.
I still can't believe the difference.
The factory barrel now consistently shoots under 3/4" of an inch at 50 yards with bulk ammo.
I stripped the stock and refinished it with tung oil and made up a longer magazine release for it and
modified the bolt release so it releases when the charging handle is pulled back.
It contains no aftermarket parts and it functions flawlessly and has a much better trigger.

I have let quite a few people shoot it and they all were really impressed.
Some of them even said to let them know if I ever want to sell it.

Terry

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I picked up a synthetic Marlin 60 (tube feed) and actually love the thing. It is super accurate. I had 3 FTE with my first 3 shots, but after I ran a bore snake down through it, I have had 300 shots with no problems. (I shot it without cleaning it first) It is light, accurate, and CHEAP.
 
Saskatchestan said:
Just curious for the communities thoughts on this one. When looking for a pest control .22LR semi auto in your opinion is a guy better to

A) purchase a ruger 10/22 and upgrade it bit by bit

B) build it piece by piece slowly over time until its done

C) save up and purchase a fully assembled package such as a DAR-22 from someone like Dlask Arms

It's a gun for pest control mostly gophers. Not interested in 17 HMR or .22-250 so don't bother this is a .22 LR only build.
Click to expand...

Not enough info given by the OP for a good opinion, but if it were my money and up to 75 meter range, I'd go with a $250 Marlin 60. Add $200 for a decent Bushnell or Nikon .22 scope.
 
A) purchase a ruger 10/22 and upgrade it bit by bit

B) build it piece by piece slowly over time until its done

C) save up and purchase a fully assembled package such as a DAR-22 from someone like Dlask Arms
Click to expand...

i wonder if people troll into Marlin posts and post random Ruger 10/22 plugs?
 
I can't stand the current generation of 10/22's and their pot metal receivers. There are lots of 10/22 clones that are considerably better and actually cost less than a modded up factory 10/22. I was deciding between a complete Dlask DAR and a Magnum Research MLR 1722. I went with the Magnum Research and love it as it's considerably lighter than the DAR while still maintaining a bull barrel profile and it's just plain cool. The only factory part on the gun is the trigger pack which I will get rid of soon enough. I got in on sale from Prophet River for $800 and I haven't looked back. Spending money on a factory 10/22 just doesn't make sense to me, no need to nowadays and the resale is awful.

Also, I can still dress up a DAR or mine as much as I want, point is I started out with a vastly superior platform.

Patrick
 
Thanks for all the comments. I appreciate the help and support from the community. At the end of the day everyone is just trying to make sure I end up with the best result based on their experience.

As far as a bolt is concerned as previously stated I already have one that is plenty accurate but I can't get shots off quick enough when there are 3-5 gophers all milling around the same area hence the need for a semi auto.

I have a 10-22 that I had worked on but as previously stated made the mistake of trading it although I picked up a great little lever action 30-30 so I can hardly feel bad about it.

I want to stick with Ruger as I have mags and accessories for them already. Accuracy is not an issue as most of my shots are 15-25 yards.

I'm leaning towards just going to get a 10-22 and if I need to upgrade it I will down the road. Although I have a few more guns to check out now that I had not heard of before.

Thanks again!
 
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Saskatchestan said:
Thanks for all the comments. I appreciate the help and support from the community. At the end of the day everyone is just trying to make sure I end up with the best result based on their experience.

As far as a bolt is concerned as previously stated I already have one that is plenty accurate but I can't get shots off quick enough when there are 3-5 gophers all milling around the same area hence the need for a semi auto.

I has a 10-22 that I had worked on but as previously stated made the mistake of trading it although I picked up a great little lever action 30-30 so I can hardly feel bad about it.

I want to stick with Ruger as I have mags and accessories for them already. Accuracy is not an issue as most of my shots are 15-25 yards.

I'm leaning towards just going to get a 10-22 and if I need to upgrade it I will down the road. Although I have a few more guns to check out now that I had not heard of before.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Don't forget the used racks. I picked up a stainless pepper laminate marlin model 60 for $175 no tax. Shot a box through it but wasn't his thing.
 
If you have your heart set on a 1022. Try and find a nice condition older one. They were better made than the newer ones. I was lucky enough to inherit a really nice Stainless Deluxe Sporter 1022 and its even accurate with Winchester Power Points. It does have a Volquartzen hammer and sear. So a very nice trigger too.
 
Some people like their cars modified. Some people like them stock.
I like to modify, so 10/22 was for me. A LOT of fun. I have a 1 of 10/22. I like when people look at it and say "I want to shoot that!". I get a bigger smile when they are punching ragged holes in paper with it.
 
coming back and reading my last post made me laugh again.
sometimes i even amaze myself!

OP - as a fella who has.... more then a few 10/22's in my honest opinion from what im gleaming from ya you should probably look at getting a Dlask receiver and slowly start building up a nice rig from there.

ive done it twice and my DARs are my babies, they run super smooth and flawless.

i made one for long distance shooting and one for blazing and blasting.
the one for blazing and blasting is what i would consider a perfect gopher gun.
i would give a left nut to have had it back when i was growing up on the farm.
and im not kidding.... i would really give my left nut.
im done with it anyways.

for visual reference - and ignore the drum mag, my wife got me one as a joke, unwieldy bastard it was.

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