Hey guys,
I'll spare you my life story, but suffice it to say that I recently sold my first rifle (Savage 110 in .30-06), and I wanted something else to replace it. As much as I'd love to build an AR, I decided I couldn't afford it right now. Plus, I really like the idea of having a rimfire rifle, and a non-restricted one as well. So, after much deliberation, I went with the 10/22.
I'd planned on building a short-barreled rifle, with a pistol grip and skeleton stock. I also wanted a stainless receiver and barrel, but I knew availability was scarce, so I got myself on a couple waitlists at the local stores and settled in for the long haul. In the meantime, I started looking around the forums and the EE to see what parts I could find. I knew this build would take a while, but I was committed to a 10/22, so I figured I could start picking up pieces as I went along. I was looking for an AR-style chassis to start off my build, but I wasn't terribly thrilled with the commonly available ones. I was looking at an NEA chassis when an RB Precision Evolution stock came up on the EE. After a few messages with the owner, I picked it up, and a few days later it was in my hands.
Now, I'd planned on using the factory iron sights to practice, but once I had the stock I realized the buttstock was going to be too high for me to do that. So, back onto the forums (and the EE) to hunt for a red dot sight. Instead, I ended up with a pair of Magpul PTS back-up sights, thinking that I'd save up some cash and get an Aimpoint later. However, I wanted to mount both sights to one rail, and I didn't think the top rail on the stock would be long enough. Plus, I really wanted to mount a rail to the receiver (so I wouldn't have to worry about re-zeroing sights after every cleaning), so off I went to visit Joe Dlask and picked up a 12" picatinny rail blank.
Once I had that, I had to wait until I got a rifle before I could start assembling everything, but I could see how it was going to turn out. I put up a wanted ad in the EE, and had a bit of interest. In the meantime, I kept scouring the EE for other parts, and stumbled across a Bushnell Zoom Dot. It looked pretty good for my needs, and the price was right, so I let a bit more money leave my bank account.
In the meantime, I'd had a guy message me and offer me a clean SS 10/22 carbine for a great price... He'd had it for about four years, but had barely shot it. It even had the trigger reworked by Dlask to lighten the pull. After a few messages back and forth, we finally settled on a time to meet. That time was yesterday, and I spent the afternoon getting acquainted with my new rifle and coming up with a wishlist of parts (which I've already posted in the EE). I also started doing some fitting to see how it would all come together. But, onto pictures...
The rifle, as it arrived, along with the RB Precision Evolution stock, bare picatinny blank, black Evo rail, Magpul MBUS, Harris bipod, and a sling:
A closer shot of the same:
Close up of the receiver; I think I may have gotten lucky and have one of the older rifles with the clear-coat, before they switched to the painted finish:
Here's the rifle in the new stock, with the Magpul sights mocked up on the original top rail. The silver picatinny rail above will be replacing the short rail, so I put it there to give an idea of size:
A close-up of the action in the stock:
The stock scratched the finish on my receiver, so I went over it with some 400 and some 800 grit sandpaper to clean up any rough spots. It was nicer, but the action still had a bit of lateral play (although the takedown screw wasn't fully tightened). In order to prevent future marks, and tighten up the fit, I cut some cork drawer liner to fit and lined the inside of the stock, where the action sits:
The fit is much better now, with no play at all, but it's quite difficult to get in there. Plus, I left too much of the liner in the magazine well, so I can't pull the magazine out any more. I'll probably remove this and use something thinner instead, like some sort of vinyl tape.
Overall, I'm happy with the progress. However, the barrel cover on the stock sits a fair bit higher than the receiver, making it difficult to mount the picatinny rail, so I need to pick up a section of aluminium and fabricate a new cover. I also want to take apart the trigger group to do the auto-bolt release mod, so that'll be done soon. Other than that, I'll slowly be acquiring parts for the build... I'm planning on a short barrel (10" or 12-1/2"), extended magazine release and charging handle, and some other good stuff.
As for why I'm calling it a "utility" rifle: I was reading a thread on one of the forums discussing what people considered "tactical" rifles, and someone made a good point that a lot of things (including squirrel hunting) can involve tactics. They also mentioned that not all tactical rifles are the same, and that a tactical sniper rifle will look completely different from a tactical CQ rifle. They suggested that "utility" was a better term.. Simply: 1) fitness for some purpose or worth to some end; 2) something useful or designed for use. I liked it, so it stuck.
I apologize for the long post... I've been holding back until I had the rifle in my hands. I'll be updating as I do things/acquire parts.
I'll spare you my life story, but suffice it to say that I recently sold my first rifle (Savage 110 in .30-06), and I wanted something else to replace it. As much as I'd love to build an AR, I decided I couldn't afford it right now. Plus, I really like the idea of having a rimfire rifle, and a non-restricted one as well. So, after much deliberation, I went with the 10/22.
I'd planned on building a short-barreled rifle, with a pistol grip and skeleton stock. I also wanted a stainless receiver and barrel, but I knew availability was scarce, so I got myself on a couple waitlists at the local stores and settled in for the long haul. In the meantime, I started looking around the forums and the EE to see what parts I could find. I knew this build would take a while, but I was committed to a 10/22, so I figured I could start picking up pieces as I went along. I was looking for an AR-style chassis to start off my build, but I wasn't terribly thrilled with the commonly available ones. I was looking at an NEA chassis when an RB Precision Evolution stock came up on the EE. After a few messages with the owner, I picked it up, and a few days later it was in my hands.
Now, I'd planned on using the factory iron sights to practice, but once I had the stock I realized the buttstock was going to be too high for me to do that. So, back onto the forums (and the EE) to hunt for a red dot sight. Instead, I ended up with a pair of Magpul PTS back-up sights, thinking that I'd save up some cash and get an Aimpoint later. However, I wanted to mount both sights to one rail, and I didn't think the top rail on the stock would be long enough. Plus, I really wanted to mount a rail to the receiver (so I wouldn't have to worry about re-zeroing sights after every cleaning), so off I went to visit Joe Dlask and picked up a 12" picatinny rail blank.
Once I had that, I had to wait until I got a rifle before I could start assembling everything, but I could see how it was going to turn out. I put up a wanted ad in the EE, and had a bit of interest. In the meantime, I kept scouring the EE for other parts, and stumbled across a Bushnell Zoom Dot. It looked pretty good for my needs, and the price was right, so I let a bit more money leave my bank account.
In the meantime, I'd had a guy message me and offer me a clean SS 10/22 carbine for a great price... He'd had it for about four years, but had barely shot it. It even had the trigger reworked by Dlask to lighten the pull. After a few messages back and forth, we finally settled on a time to meet. That time was yesterday, and I spent the afternoon getting acquainted with my new rifle and coming up with a wishlist of parts (which I've already posted in the EE). I also started doing some fitting to see how it would all come together. But, onto pictures...
The rifle, as it arrived, along with the RB Precision Evolution stock, bare picatinny blank, black Evo rail, Magpul MBUS, Harris bipod, and a sling:
A closer shot of the same:
Close up of the receiver; I think I may have gotten lucky and have one of the older rifles with the clear-coat, before they switched to the painted finish:
Here's the rifle in the new stock, with the Magpul sights mocked up on the original top rail. The silver picatinny rail above will be replacing the short rail, so I put it there to give an idea of size:
A close-up of the action in the stock:
The stock scratched the finish on my receiver, so I went over it with some 400 and some 800 grit sandpaper to clean up any rough spots. It was nicer, but the action still had a bit of lateral play (although the takedown screw wasn't fully tightened). In order to prevent future marks, and tighten up the fit, I cut some cork drawer liner to fit and lined the inside of the stock, where the action sits:
The fit is much better now, with no play at all, but it's quite difficult to get in there. Plus, I left too much of the liner in the magazine well, so I can't pull the magazine out any more. I'll probably remove this and use something thinner instead, like some sort of vinyl tape.
Overall, I'm happy with the progress. However, the barrel cover on the stock sits a fair bit higher than the receiver, making it difficult to mount the picatinny rail, so I need to pick up a section of aluminium and fabricate a new cover. I also want to take apart the trigger group to do the auto-bolt release mod, so that'll be done soon. Other than that, I'll slowly be acquiring parts for the build... I'm planning on a short barrel (10" or 12-1/2"), extended magazine release and charging handle, and some other good stuff.
As for why I'm calling it a "utility" rifle: I was reading a thread on one of the forums discussing what people considered "tactical" rifles, and someone made a good point that a lot of things (including squirrel hunting) can involve tactics. They also mentioned that not all tactical rifles are the same, and that a tactical sniper rifle will look completely different from a tactical CQ rifle. They suggested that "utility" was a better term.. Simply: 1) fitness for some purpose or worth to some end; 2) something useful or designed for use. I liked it, so it stuck.
I apologize for the long post... I've been holding back until I had the rifle in my hands. I'll be updating as I do things/acquire parts.
