Ultra light 10/22

[Kestryll]

I'm building a 10/22 for my Wife for an upcoming Appleseed shoot and I'm making it as light as possible.
Before anyone says light isn't the way to go she has a left shoulder injury that makes holding a rifle difficult. even a standard 10/22 is a bit much for her.

I have a lightweight build of mine that she can mostly handle but I want to see if I can still shave a bit off of it.
My build is a Tac Sol aluminum fluted barrel, Hornet trigger, Nikon P-22 2-7x32 and Hogue overmolded stock.

I'm looking at a Blackhawk Axiom stock because I've read that there is nothing lighter.
Again a Hornet trigger.
I haven't decided on a barrel yet, I'm thinking an aluminum bull barrel but am open to suggestions.
For a scope I'm leaning towards the Nikon again but am open to other good quality scopes if they are lighter.

Any suggestions?

[kmca]

Nice choices so far. I'd look at a carbon fiber barrel. It's so light, I find it hard to stay on target. Maybe a wood stock that you can artistically add lightening holes? What are the chances she could shoot from the other shoulder?

[Kestryll]

The problem is with her left shoulder, she has a hard time supporting the front of the rifle. I think if she tried to shoulder it on the left it would hurt on recoil.

[MigNoche]

Just a thought....

How about using a shooting stick to support the front of the rifle?

Wally world has one for $10

[Kestryll]

Just a thought....

How about using a shooting stick to support the front of the rifle?

Wally world has one for $10

For casual shooting that would work but not for an Appleseed shoot.

[Jeepers]

orig plastic stock and one of the lightweight barrels here @ 15 oz should be very light

scroll down this page to the lightweight tensioned barrels

https://www.volquartsen.com/tags/5-barrels,13-ruger-10-22

[Press Check]

Kes, at 2lbs, Hogue stocks are exceptionally heavy. Axiom stocks are light, but they stray away from the traditional look of a 10/22, and the ergonomics lend towards shooting off the bench with a bipod. The OEM stock weighs about the same, and can be modified to accept a .920 barrel, which is what I did.

As for the barrel, I would gravitate towards a barrel with a steel breechface. At 15oz, the Tac Sol X-Ring barrel is light, but the Volquartsen Ultralite barrel is 15oz, and features a steel breechface, which is what I have. Spendy, but worth it.

With an optic installed, my 10/22 weighs 3.68lbs.

[Press Check]

By the way, the P-22 2-7x32 weighs a smidgeon over 1 pound. If you want lighter, you can go with a Leupold VX-2 Ultralight 2-7x28, which weighs a smidgeon over a 1/2 pound.

The median price-point on those is about $325.

[Merc1138]

Whistlepig barrels are built the same as the tac sol barrels(with some rumors floating around that they're sourced from the same place, possibly even from whistlepig) but have a lot more options. They don't have the steel breechface like the VQ barrels, but I haven't found that to be an issue as the steel liner still comes back to the breech anyway.

Since you already have the tac sol barrel, whistlepig might be something to consider simply for aesthetics, because it's not like you're going to get the front end much lighter anyway.

The ATI stocks are lightweight, but the quality is trash. The hogue overmolded stocks aren't heavy(compared to some other options out there), but they aren't particularly light either(I think they balance better with a heavier barrel, that you're trying to avoid).

You mentioned that she has a left shoulder injury causing problems supporting the 10/22 you already have, but was that with or without a sling? If you haven't checked, it might be worth trying out shouldering it with sling support to see if that makes it better or worse(check with both a cuff and hasty), since that sling support is going to be coming from her left arm standing/kneeling/prone.

[kielbasavw]

How about making it as short as legally possible? Short barrel. Also why bull barrel? A .22 doesnt need some fat stick hangin off the front end. Do they make titanium parts for 22s? I dont know something to look into. $$ is no option to make your better half happy and comfortable

[Merc1138]

How about making it as short as legally possible? Short barrel. Also why bull barrel? A .22 doesnt need some fat stick hangin off the front end. Do they make titanium parts for 22s? I dont know something to look into. $$ is no option to make your better half happy and comfortable

An aluminum bull barrel weighs next to nothing. As people have already pointed out, it's 15 ounces. The regular sporter barrel for the 10/22 weighs more than that, and you need a larger diameter for the lightweight material to support the steel barrel liner anyway. I have seen 10/22 internal components in titanium, but we're talking about small parts so the weight savings is going to be negligible(and you wouldn't want a lightweight bolt anyway). An aluminum or CF wrapped barrel plus a lightweight stock can shave a significant amount of weight from the rifle, but I'm not aware of anyone making barrels lighter than that(unless you get into NFA territory).

[CSACANNONEER]

I bet tech sights would be lighter than rings and optics and are what Appleseed recommends.

I'm not sure about the weight right now but, years ago I found a used, discontinued Butler Creek 16" TAPERED carbon fiber barrel in the marketplace. It is very light and short. The problem I had was making 26" OAL with a BC folding stock on it. I had to modify a 10-22 FH and install it just to make length.

[Kestryll]

You mentioned that she has a left shoulder injury causing problems supporting the 10/22 you already have, but was that with or without a sling? If you haven't checked, it might be worth trying out shouldering it with sling support to see if that makes it better or worse(check with both a cuff and hasty), since that sling support is going to be coming from her left arm standing/kneeling/prone.

I haven't had her try it with a sling, that is something to look at.
If the sling adds enough rigidity it might make the difference.

How about making it as short as legally possible? Short barrel. Also why bull barrel? A .22 doesnt need some fat stick hangin off the front end. Do they make titanium parts for 22s? I dont know something to look into. $$ is no option to make your better half happy and comfortable

The factory barrel weighs about 1.5-1.7 pounds, the aluminum bull barrel weighs 15oz. It's counter-intuitive but the aluminum bull barrel is lighter.

I bet tech sights would be lighter than rings and optics and are what Appleseed recommends.

I'm not sure about the weight right now but, years ago I found a used, discontinued Butler Creek 16" TAPERED carbon fiber barrel in the marketplace. It is very light and short. The problem I had was making 26" OAL with a BC folding stock on it. I had to modify a 10-22 FH and install it just to make length.

Tech Sights would make my job a lot easier, however she wants a scope.
So scope it is, I refer you to kielbasavw's comment:
"$$ is no option to make your better half happy and comfortable"

[Merc1138]

Depending on her injury, it could make things better or worse. If her injury is problematic just due to holding the front end up the rifle up for an extended period of time, a sling should definitely help. However if tension in funny directions causes problems... that may not be an option. Shooting with a sling is a major aspect of appleseed, and prone with a sling is going to require her to support the front end of the rifle with her elbow on the ground and sling to help stabilize it.



Those are pretty much the basics, and as you can see it's really the left arm that's providing a lot of the support. You mentioned her not trying shooting lefty yet due to recoil, but shooting lefty with a sling like in the above videos may be an option as well since it would drastically change how the rifle is being supported(compared to just holding it up shooting off hand). Not sure about the difference between handling the recoil lefty vs right, but it's something worth considering. Fortunately, all the positioning can be checked out at home rather than spending(wasting) time at the range.

edit: Another thing to take into consideration(and it's not like the guys that run appleseed events don't consider the physical limitations of the shooters, they actually do), but you're still talking about 2 days of doing this:

And what works "ok" for 5 minutes at home might not work well in the long run 20 times in one day.

[Packy14]

Volquartsen carbon fiber is light and accurate.