Zeroing a Ruger 10/22 and getting an optic for it

[RNE228]

Best thing I did with 10/22 is set it up like a "liberty training rifle" AKA Appleseed.

Tech sights, GI sling, and an extended mag release. Works great.

I personally like irons a 22lr. The factory 10/22 sights are mediocre at best though. The Tech Sights are a nicer sight. Since the rear sight is receiver mounted, it results in a longer sight radius which also helps in overall.

Mines zero'd at 25 yards for Appleseed shoots. Have shot much further; the Techsight is easy to adjust for zero.

https://www.tech-sights.com/ruger-products/

https://asheepdogproject.info/2011/11/12/the-liberty-training-rifle-modified-ruger-1022-review/

[AdamVIP]

I have a scope for mine sighted at 25 yards for Appleseed. I have really bad eyes and a bull barrel so the tech sight style irons weren't happening for me. I use a Nikon EFR but they dont make those anymore. I like that it has AO down to 25 yards. I thought about red dotting it but Anything over an moa sized dot is going to cover too much target at range.

[BucDan]

I own the takedown tactical model on a magpul backpacker stock.

I use the PA 1-6 LPVO mounted on the receiver. There is some shift when disassembling and reassembling, but not enough to warrant concern out to 100 yards imo. It's a trigger spamming gun for me. Great to 25 yards with ease using cheap Aguila 38gr HP. 50 yards, about a 2-3 inch spread with a POI shift of maybe .25". And 100 yards, it's like a softball target. Good enough for my uses.

[TrappedinCalifornia]

My 10/22 Takedown is in a Magpul X22 Backpacker Stock. I have the stock, iron sights set for 25 yds. which is 'accurate enough' out to 50 yds. to have put 'meat on the table.'

For 50 - 100 yds. I have a Leupold FX-I 4X Rimfire scope that I use QD rings for. According to Leupold, it is Fixed Parallax-Free Distance at 60 yds. For 40 - 75 yds., that too has been 'accurate enough' to have had meat in the pot.

I simply haven't played with it enough, yet, including with a sufficiently wide enough selection of different ammo to make any definitive claims as to group sizes, change in zero, etc. At 75 yards and under, the change in zero isn't going to be sufficient enough to fatally impact your ability to 'get meat' unless you want to hit 'em all in the eye to preserve as much as possible. But, that's the crux of it for me.

The 10/22 Takedown is, in terms of how I utilize it, an impromptu 'put meat in the pot' firearm. It is NOT a target or 'sharpshooting' rifle. It falls into the same category as a Savage Model 24 or a Springfield Armory M6 Scout in that regard, just with a bit more 'distance' capability with my aging eyes and with greater capacity.

For 'regular' work from 60 - 100 yards or more, I wouldn't use a 10/22 Takedown as my standard .22 platform. Instead, I have a CZ 452 Ultra Lux with a 3x9 Burris Fullfield II which has a fixed parallax of 100 yds. If I can't keep it between 1/2" to 5/8" at 50 yards using Velocitors, even using the heavy stock trigger, from a rested position over a day pack, I'm not having a good day.

Would I use that setup over 100 yds.? Yep. Would I use the irons on the rifle for, say, 25 - 50 yds. and hit all day long inside a 3/4" milk jug bottle cap without a thought? Yep. Why? Because I have and it works oh so well. But, that's in large measure due to the rifle itself in that it is a finer piece of work, a bolt-action vs. a semi-auto, and with a 28" barrel rather than the 16.5" barrel on my 10/22 Takedown so that it fits cozier in a day pack.

Could I use the 10/22 Takedown the same way I utilize the CZ? Sure. Would I be as accurate or as confident in doing so? Nope. Would I still be putting 'meat in the pot?' Most of the time, yep. Then again, I wouldn't necessarily care to haul the CZ to some of the same places I've taken the 10/22. It's not that the 10/22 is, potentially, more 'expendable.' It's that the CZ isn't as "quick and dirty," easy to haul as the 10/22 Takedown when 'impromptu' is the name of the game.

Ultimately, you are going to have to decide what you want the primary role of the firearm to be for you and set it up accordingly. It sounds as though it is simply an affordable, reasonably accurate firearm that you can utilize to get some trigger time in on a caliber you don't seem all that familiar with. As such, looking for 'the best' setup really shouldn't be your game plan in that you have no real way of knowing what 'the best' setup is or will be for you.

This is why I don't feel that a "100 yd. zero" would be appropriate for you at this time. Get to know the rifle and the caliber, which will then allow you to decide the most appropriate use for your purposes. Thus, given the variables, a 25 yd. or 50 yd. zero is likely more realistic; bearing in mind that it will be 'close enough' out to around 50 or 60 yds. and, once you're up for it, you can then start thinking about 100 yds. and more, something that will involve generally more than just 'a gun' and 'an optic' to "successfully" pursue as "on-going" activity.



In short, CAN you utilize a 10/22 Takedown for "100+ yd. shooting?" Yes.

Is "100+ yard shooting" the 'best' way to come to know and understand the .22 LR as a 'shooter?' Probably not. Because, that was not the design intent of the rifle at issue, at least in the 'standard' model, or for most ".22 LR ammo"...

[Shotgun_Slav]

Thank you all for your responses. They have been very helpful.

After reading through everything and giving it some thought, I've decided to zero the rifle at 50 yards. It seems to be the distance that most people like for that type of rifle.

I will also go with my original plan of putting the Sig Sauer ROMEO5 Red Dot Sight on the rifle. While I'm still tempted to get a scope or stick to iron sights, the red dot sounds like the best option for me at this time.

I now have a pretty good idea of what I want to do with the rifle going forward.

I appreciate the advice that you've all given me.

[rds95991]

All my 10/22's have picatinny rails on them. I swap from time to time. They are sighted 1" low at 25 yards.