Ruger 10/22 Barrel Decision?

[Mutant]

My wife has found "22s are inexpensive" to be a monsterous myth.

[cal3gunner]

I just picked up a 1972 Ruger 10/22 rifle. The rifle has many cosmetic issues and the barrel has a crack. However the action and bolt are very solid and function. I plan on customizing this to make it a precision shooter.
Being that it is a 1972 rifle, will the more modern kidd barrels, kidd trigger and new stock still marry up to the receiver?

Only one way to find out. As far as I know it will but you can call Kidd and talk with them. I talked with them about what I wanted out of the rifle and they suggested which barrel I get.

[Nvidkiller]

I can vouch for the kidd ultralight fluted bull barrel, its awesome. I also threw in the receiver pins and viton bolt buffer. For a couple bucks extra it was a huge improvement for me.

[Press Check]

I just picked up a 1972 Ruger 10/22 rifle. The rifle has many cosmetic issues and the barrel has a crack. However the action and bolt are very solid and function. I plan on customizing this to make it a precision shooter.
Being that it is a 1972 rifle, will the more modern kidd barrels, kidd trigger and new stock still marry up to the receiver?

Dimensionally, there is nothing that prevents use of aftermarket barrels, bolts or trigger housings. I have a 1976 and 1969 assembled into modern rifles with VQ barrels.

The vintage receivers are much nicer than current production receivers.

[HigsB]

This was my first group of the day. It was at 50 yards, from the bench using a bipod and resting the rear of the stock on my arm. Scope at 9x. Federal bulk pack 40gr lead round nose. I'm pretty happy with this accuracy. Now I just have to find some squirrels!

I have the rifle now zeroed with subsonic cci 40gr lead HP which puts Federal bulk pack and Federal Automatch one inch high at 50 yards.

There was a lot of people at the range today with 10/22s. Everything from stock to full Kidd guns. I tried a guy's with the Kidd 1.5 lb trigger kit and that was awesome. I'm not sure if I want to spend $200 to drop 1lb off my trigger pull but it was very crisp and the reset was super short. His rifle was set up for steel challenge and with red dot weighed less than 4lbs. I'm thinking a take down 10/22 built for steel challenge is in my future.

That is incredible accuracy without doing any tweaks or match ammo. I've seen a couple videos that if you mess around with the torque on the tension screw you can shrink down groups dramatically.

[HigsB]

Actually, a slight friction fitment is exactly what you want, genius.

http://www.coolguyguns.com/KIDD-Product-Videos_df_36.html

2nd video...

Wait, did Tony Kidd put his receiver in the oven?!

Yeah i laughed so hard when he pulled it out with cookies baking on the pan

[Rex0825]

Dimensionally, there is nothing that prevents use of aftermarket barrels, bolts or trigger housings. I have a 1976 and 1969 assembled into modern rifles with VQ barrels.

The vintage receivers are much nicer than current production receivers.

Thank you for the info. That's a relief. I also emailed Ruger and Kidd. Still waiting for response.

[RawHP]

Thank you for the info. That's a relief. I also emailed Ruger and Kidd. Still waiting for response.

Pre-'71 receivers are different, since they had the dual rails on the ceiling of the receiver. It may or may not factor into compatibiity issues with some aftermarket bolts.



2nd rail shown on the right side of the second receiver.

[Press Check]

Pre-'71 receivers are different, since they had the dual rails on the ceiling of the receiver. It may or may not factor into compatibiity issues with some aftermarket bolts.


2nd rail shown on the right side of the second receiver.

My 1969 has dual rails and has a Kidd bolt.

[Rex0825]

I'm keeping the original bolt and receiver, just updating the stock, trigger and barrel.

[stevebla]

Beautiful rifles. A lot of fun in a 10/22. Mine wit 20" Green Mountain DNZ low rings.

[7anthony7]

Finally got mine up and running with the Kidd lightweight barrel. Shoots great. I also put in the trigger job, extractor, hold open, and mag release. All easy to do. Shoots great.

[Nvidkiller]

Finally got mine up and running with the Kidd lightweight barrel. Shoots great. I also put in the trigger job, extractor, hold open, and mag release. All easy to do. Shoots great.

Awesome, post some pics. What was your reason for adding the bolt hold open? I've always wondered about that.

[Hdawg]

Yeah, post a question at RFC, and every response is going to be partial to Kidd.

Is that because Kidd is the best or because RFC members just have a thing with them?

I'm on rimfirecentral.com a lot and while there are some Kidd fanboys it is pretty much because the products deserve it. I like Kidd for triggers between the two, the bolts are of similar quality but Kidd is much cheaper than the VQ bolt, barrels are both good and similar prices. I have a VQ lightweight barrel with aluminum sleeve in 17 Mach 2 and it is a shooter. I haven't used a Kidd barrel (yet) but everyone who buys one seems to be happy with it. I rarely see either for sale so I guess most guys like them enough to keep them.

Also if you want a less expensive trigger option try Brimstone. I have a Kidd single stage trigger and I have one that I had David at Brimstone did for me. I think the Brimstone is just as good if not a little better. And it is less money.