sling installation help

[Catalyst81]

I'm seriously considering attending an appleseed event in the next month or so and need some help with sling installation on my Ruger 10/22 (synthetic stock). Could someone help me out with figuring out what swivels will work with the synthetic stock and how (and where) to install them. I don't have much experience doing modifications to my firearms.

...and while I'm asking questions, with my scope base installed I noticed that I am unable to use the stock sights. If I went and bought Tech Sites would that still be the case? How difficult is it to install tech sites? Would I need to remove the scope base (not sure I can without stripping the screws) to use them?

[mag360]

I bought some sling mounts from uncle mikes but never installed them. Its hard getting started in gun stuff. Lots of the people on here had help from family or know someone who can do gun stuff for them. Even to install sling swivels you will need a vice and a drill and somewhere to mount the vice. For younger calgunners that may live in appartments or rent you cant do that and i havent found gun people to be very helpful.

[Schlyme]

I cheated with my mounts. I took it to a local gunsmith to install. He did it while I waited lol. As far as using iron sights and scope. I use one or the other. There are some raised see through rails you can get with stock sights. Don't know how good they are though. I believe if you install the tech sights, they mount on the receiver where the scope rail normally goes. So it would be one or the other.

I used my scope for Appleseed. It really doesn't matter weather you use scope or irons as they teach you technics that will work with either lol.

edit: By the way, you really want a U.S.G.I. type web sling. You'll find out why when you go.

[as_rocketman]

I haven't worked with synthetic stocks, so take this with a slight grain of salt. However, it's not too difficult to install sling studs. Basically you need a drill, wrenches, pliers.

Sling studs are pretty much all the same. The front stud is usually a machine screw designed to go through the forearm, and held in place by a countersunk nut. Plan to Loctite this nut in place. The rear stud has a sharper thread, more like a wood screw, so this one you'll want to drill and screw in carefully and seal with an all-purpose adhesive (not epoxy, it'll react with the stock).

Once studs are installed, you'll want detachable sling swivels, 1 1/4" wide. These slip on without tools. Done.

Finally we recommend the cotton US GI M1 sling. Available anywhere for $10-$15. Easy to install.

Another temporary option, not ideal but it works, is to just secure the sling to the front of your rifle with zip ties. We do this at Appleseed frequently. With the M1 sling (or any other Loop-capable sling) you only need attachment at the front, not the back.

For sighting options, Tech Sights are reversible but you cannot use them at the same time as the stock sights -- nor will you want to. There's no reason to go back to stock in my opinion.

See-through scope mounts are not something I find useful either. In order to work, they both elevate your scope away from the bore axis (bad) and require you to have a different cheek weld when using irons vs. the scope (really bad). If you choose to go with a scope, plan to leave it there. It's a perfectly valid option.

[Catalyst81]

Originally Posted by as_rocketman

I haven't worked with synthetic stocks, so take this with a slight grain of salt. However, it's not too difficult to install sling studs. Basically you need a drill, wrenches, pliers.

Sling studs are pretty much all the same. The front stud is usually a machine screw designed to go through the forearm, and held in place by a countersunk nut. Plan to Loctite this nut in place. The rear stud has a sharper thread, more like a wood screw, so this one you'll want to drill and screw in carefully and seal with an all-purpose adhesive (not epoxy, it'll react with the stock).

Once studs are installed, you'll want detachable sling swivels, 1 1/4" wide. These slip on without tools. Done.

Finally we recommend the cotton US GI M1 sling. Available anywhere for $10-$15. Easy to install.

Another temporary option, not ideal but it works, is to just secure the sling to the front of your rifle with zip ties. We do this at Appleseed frequently. With the M1 sling (or any other Loop-capable sling) you only need attachment at the front, not the back.

For sighting options, Tech Sights are reversible but you cannot use them at the same time as the stock sights -- nor will you want to. There's no reason to go back to stock in my opinion.

See-through scope mounts are not something I find useful either. In order to work, they both elevate your scope away from the bore axis (bad) and require you to have a different cheek weld when using irons vs. the scope (really bad). If you choose to go with a scope, plan to leave it there. It's a perfectly valid option.

Thanks for the suggestions. About where on the forearm and stock do you install the studs?

[as_rocketman]

Far apart!

Seriously, you want to leave enough material to hold the studs, so say an inch from the ends. Note that the rear stud may go in at an angle so make sure it won't poke out the back. Also make sure there aren't any other fasteners back there for the stud to run into (like screws holding on a buttplate, for instance). Ideally when you're holding the rifle properly, your support hand should index against the sling stud, but that's not critical.

You can take a look at a picture of a normal rifle with sling swivels to get an idea. There's little advantage to moving them closer together.

[rconnerley]

I am not sure about the mounting points on a synthetic stock. However, on my wood stocked 10/22's I mount the swivel studs about 1.25" from the end of the butt (not counting the buttplate) and about the same from the end of the thick part of the forend (the part behind where the barrel band goes).

One more thought. I have used the Uncle Mike's barrel band swivel mount for a front sling attachment with great success on one of my 10/22's (shot my rifleman’s score with that rifle). This is a swivel mount that goes on the middle of the barrel band bolt. All you need is a screwdriver to install and it requires no modification to your rifle, so it is totally reversible if you decide you don't like it. Going that route would give a you a front sling attachment point which is all you need to use the "loop" sling, the most stable of the sling options we teach at Appleseed. Be sure to get 1.25" swivels.

Here is a link to the barrel band mount kit: http://www.opticsplanet.com/uncle-mi...-carbines.html Only bummer is that it only comes with 1" swivels, so you still have to get 1.25" swivels.

[PurplePeople]

One thing to watch with synthetic 10/22 stocks that come from Ruger is that many of them are hollow. The wood screw threaded sling studs won't work. You have to get the ones with machine screws and nuts, take off the butt plate, and get a nut on the screw after you've made the hole through the stock.

BTW, if you have a rifle with pre-installed 1" swivels, you can pick up a GI type sling that's only 1" wide from the Tech-sights guys. That will work fine for shooting a 'seed - just be aware it concentrates the pressure on a smaller area of your bod, so you may want some extra cloth on your upper arm and a glove on your hand.

[pennys dad]

Hi, we hammer on these types of questions alot in the rimfire section here on CALGUNS.
I would suggest two fingers from the end as a basic guide, or find the uncle mike barrel band option (these are tough to find), or just replace the stock.
10/22's are wonderful for personalization and you can replace your factory stock with a replacement stock, like the hogue overmold stock, just make sure it has the sling studs on the front and back