An observation about new gen vs. old gen Ruger 10/22 bolts

[762mm]

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I very recently acquired a Ruger 10/22 Standard, one of the new generation (2026) units with the "upgrades" and the stock BX trigger. It is of the stainless flavor and comes with a black Magpul-like Ruger branded stock, as well as a black bolt with the "Ruger" laser etching on it.



I decided to "tune" this unit for reliability more to my liking right out of the box, with some Volquartsen upgraded parts (firing pin, extractor, buffer), Williams peep sights and also to radius the bolt for smoother operation and better subsonic ammo reliability.

The bolt radiusing process went so well and easy on the belt sander that the very next day I decided to radius my old gen (circa 2014) and yet untouched 10/22 Takedown's bolt as well.


Here are my observations :

- The new bolt produces almost no spark when being ground down on the belt sander (indicating very little carbon in the steel). The old bolt produces a ton of spark on the same belt sander, indicating high carbon steel;

- The new bolt also feels like it's much "softer" as a material, because it grinds down VERY fast. To the point where I had to do tiny little swipes on the belt sander as not to remove too much. The old bolt felt like it needed a lot more time on the belt sander to achieve the same desired effect. I'm no metallurgist, but if I were to guess the old gen bolts are much better built for the long haul (harder + much more carbon content in steel);

- The new bolt looks like it had very few to no casting marks (probably a MIM part?). The old bolt had plenty of casting marks and tiny surface unevenness that I had to sand down with very fine grit sand paper by hand to make it smooth, at the end.


So there you have it. Ruger most definitely changed the production method on these bolts, most probably going to a cheaper process to save money. We shall see if this will translate into any issues or premature wear in the future, I suppose.



These videos show a comparison between a stock bolt and a radiused bolt, for those who are interested :

 

[chupac]

Very interesting observations - not at all surprised tho.

 

[762mm]

I just radiused another one of those new gen (2026) Ruger 10/22 bolts for someone else on my belt sander.

Same observations as before : grinds down quite fast, produces very little spark vs. the old gen bolt and is a lot "cleaner" cast than the old gen bolt also.

On a positive note, the radius job does indeed make a difference and smooths out the action quite a bit vs. a factory bolt. Now when you move the bolt back by hand, you can barely feel any difference in resistance between a cocked hammer and a released hammer. I also polished the hammer strut pivot on all three 10/22 units I've recently worked on, for smoother hammer cocking.

Here are some pictures, one of which shows the casting stamp :

 

[357Maximum]

Ruger was a leading pioneer using investment casting for precision firearm parts and actions . Since 1963 ,Pine Tree Castings has been producing the finest quality investment castings for a wide range of industries and demanding customer applications.

Ruger M77 and the Ruger #1 Actions are created by the investment casting process along with many other of their firearm parts.

A concern is you may have ground off any surface hardening on the bolt . Time will tell.

 

[762mm]

Ruger was a leading pioneer using investment casting for precision firearm parts and actions . Since 1963 ,Pine Tree Castings has been producing the finest quality investment castings for a wide range of industries and demanding customer applications.

Ruger M77 and the Ruger #1 Actions are created by the investment casting process along with many other of their firearm parts.

A concern is you may have ground off any surface hardening on the bolt . Time will tell.

"Investment" casting. Very appropriate. Indeed, it definitely FEELS like they're MAXIMIZING their "ROI" (return on investment) with these new gen bolts, lol.

As for hardening, I am not concerned. The bolt started off with "meh" hardening at the beginning and ended up with the same level of "meh" when I was done. In other words, there was absolutely no observable change in how it would grind down, sand down or stone.

Hardened steel is a lot more difficult to grind, file, drill or cut through than soft steel. Once you're through the hardened part, you should be able to observe a change. As far as I can tell, this thing is a chunk of cheaply moulded steel with the same apparent hardness through and through. I've cycled the bolt a whole bunch of times by hand and did not see any scratches on the polished surface produced by the hammer cocking. I also made sure not to "burn" (overheat / anneal) the steel while it was on the belt sander.

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[357Maximum]

Thank You, Always interested in new and improved measurements.

 

[762mm]

Thank You, Always interested in new and improved measurements.

My observations are anecdotal and not scientific, as I don't have the tools or knowledge for a more in-depth study. I suppose one could measure the actual Rockwell hardness on both bolts to present irrefutable data, or something of the sort.

That being said, after this experience, I would definitely seek an old gen bolt over a new gen bolt for a 10/22 build, if I were going with a Ruger OEM bolt.

YMMV

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