A Tale of Two 10/22 Rifles

By Joe W Gorman

There is only one king of the hill when it comes to an American semiautomatic .22 rimfire rifle: The Ruger 10/22. More kids learned the fundamentals of firearm safety and marksmanship with this rifle than any other .22 self-loader and for good reason. The Ruger 10/22 is affordable, reliable and minute-of-cantaloupe accurate out to 150 yards or so.

I wanted to write about two 10/22 builds that represent the bookends of Ruger’s 10/22 rifle price points. I chose the most basic 10/22 standard and the Ruger Custom Shop Competition 10/22. In keeping with the basic 10/22 I wanted an optics upgrade that was both simple and affordable. Given this set of requirements, I chose the excellent Tech-Sights iron rear/front sight combination. For the Custom Shop Competition 10/22, I wanted to use an optic that was light, affordable and would allow precision shots out to 120 yards or so. I chose the Vortex Crossfire HD 1-4 x 24 Illuminated Dead Hold 2A BDC MOA scope and Vortex Precision rings.

Back to Basics

The Ruger Standard 10/22, with birch stock is as close as I could find to the very first 10/22 I had in 1980. I shot thousands of rounds through that gun, and no eyes were put out! I learned a great deal about breath and trigger control, trajectory, ammunition preference etc. This modern Standard 10/22 is similar but different. I can tell the receiver has a different finish and the modern version has a much better magazine release lever. Also, let it be known, that even the entry level 10/22 ships with the BX trigger! The trigger on my rifle breaks at just north of 3 pounds.

Tech-Sights mounted on the factory scope mount. The front sight adjusts like an M-16 front sight, so if you’re familiar with that, you’re in hog heaven. This rifle and a warm spring afternoon = fun!

The new Standard 10/22 also does not have a barrel band, which does wonders for out of the box accuracy. The barrel on the new Standard is not free floated, and I bet a little time with various grades of sandpaper could fix that.

Tech-Sights, rear sight, front sight and sight adjustment tools. Every once in a while a product comes along that makes me ponder, “How did I ever live without this!?”

The sights on the new Standard are just as I remember them on my old 10/22. There’s a barrel mounted flip up rear sight with an adjustable elevation blade and a brass dot, dovetail-mounted front sight. This arrangement is fine for short range plinking but for accuracy work out to the usable range of .22 long rifle, I wanted something better. I reached out to Tech-Sights for their TSR200RL Rail Sight. This aperture sight mounts to the factory Ruger Combination Scope base or a Weaver TO-9 base. I also got Tech-Sights’ sight adjustment tools (the front sight tool looks like an old M16A1 sight adjustment tool) for easy adjustment. It should be noted that these tools make sight adjustment easy, but a pointed object can also be used in a pinch.

A good aperature sight makes a huge difference. You get increased sight radius with this set up plus the diopter of the aperature helps focus.

The Tech-Sights rear sight is adjustable for both windage and elevation. The front sight features a protected post that resembles an M16 front sight, sort of. They are well made sights that proved to be precise and robust.

After an afternoon on the range, everything gets dusty around here. She’s zeroed and ready for adventure.

After mounting the sights, I took the rifle to the range and set up a target at 50 yards. The Good Lord will strike me dead if this story is not true; after shooting the very first 8 rounds of CCI Mini Mag 40 grain Varmint rounds, I went to examine the target and found I was about an inch and a half to the right, but elevation was spot on! I would not plan on having this happen to you but man, what a nice surprise.

The first shots fired after mounting Tech-Sights! Don’t count on this happening to you but I love being close to zero out of the gate.

During my range evaluation, I fired 40 grain ammunition from Winchester and CCI and the classic 32gr CCI Stingers. All the ammunition that I fired could maintain 2” or less, 5-shot groups at 50 yards. Tech-Sights did a good job with their sights, and the front post is very thin. This allows a measure of precision not normally found on a .22 rimfire rifle. Adjusting the Tech-Sights sights, I was impressed with the exactness of the clicks and the repeatability of the adjustments. These are well made sights that fit on the factory scope mount! This rifle will be the one that lives outside of the safe. With a magazine stuffed full of Stingers, this will be called on to dispatch 13-stripe gophers that like to dig up my lawn. As with any 10/22, find ammo your rifle likes and go forth.

The Tech-Sights offer a precise means to guide those deadly little Stingers.

At 100 yards, a .22 rimfire will be a little low at 100 yards. No worries. Aim a bit high.

Tech-Sights Backstory

Larry Nesseth and his son Erik always enjoyed shooting and tinkering with guns. Larry served in the Michigan Army National Guard, and Erik was in the Wisconsin Army National Guard so they both trained and served in the military.

Larry was employed as a fabricator, designer/draftsman for many years. Erik worked as a draftsman, machinist, and metal fabricator.

In the spring of 2004, they decided they could design a better sight for the SKS. They drew computer models, built prototypes, field tested the product, and were pleased with the results. They patented the design and considered other models of rifles that they could improve the sights on. They modeled many of the sights after the M16 which they both had experience with.

Tech-Sights LLC was started in the summer of 2004. Larry’s wife Karen was soon involved with the office duties including setting up a website, typing up instruction sheets, advertising, bookkeeping, and shipping.

In November of 2004 the first SKS model Tech-Sights were sold. The second model of sights for the SKS was released in September of 2005. In March of 2006 we started sales of two models for the Ruger 10/22 rifle.

Soon the hobby became a full-time business. Larry and Karen moved from Wisconsin to South Carolina in November of 2008 and both worked full-time for Tech-Sights, LLC.

Erik continued to work from Michigan until May of 2012 when he and his family moved south. Erik and Karen continue to run the company in the absence of Larry, who passed away in August of 2012.

We currently have approximately 24 models of sights for various rifles, with two models patented. We have many small dealers across all the United States. The majority of our sights continue to be manufactured to our specifications in Taiwan. Many of the tools and accessories are manufactured here in the states, some in our own small shop.

Tech-Sights, a small family business, continues to be a strong 2nd amendment advocate.

The CCI Mini Mags group well from the Standard 10/22

The Custom Shop Alternative

The other side of the 10/22 coin is the Ruger Custom Shop Competition. This rifle ships from Ruger’s Custom Shop ready for competition. This rifle represents the cutting edge of rimfire, semi-automatic rifles.

This rifle features:

• Fully adjustable cheek rest can be repositioned to accommodate varying comb heights and positions to create a custom-adjusted feel that is stable, comfortable and repeatable for optic alignment.

• Hard-coat anodized, CNC-machined receiver made from heat treated and stress relieved aluminum allows for optimal receiver-to-bolt interaction and a match-grade feel.

• Proprietary, enhanced semi-auto chamber proven to increase accuracy and precision while not compromising reliable feeding and extraction.

• BX-Trigger® with a light, crisp 2.5 – 3 pound trigger pull weight with minimal overtravel and a positive reset.

• Dual bedding system incorporates a second bedding lug, ensuring the receiver is securely bedded to the stock.

• Heat treated and nitrided CNC-machined match bolt that creates a tight-fitting, smooth action enabling the highest level of performance.

• Receiver incorporates a rear cleaning port, providing access to the barrel from the rear of the receiver for ease of cleaning.

• Top barrel locator allows for a free-floating barrel for superior accuracy.

• Painted and textured laminated stock provides a sure-feeling, slip-free grip.

• Detachable 10-round rotary magazine features a unique rotor to separate cartridges and provide reliable feeding.

• Easy-to-use, extended magazine release provides smooth, no-fuss removal of flush-mounted magazine.

• 16-1/8″ cold hammer-forged bull barrel is fluted to reduce weight and dissipate heat and is also threaded with a 1/2″-28 pattern to accommodate the included muzzle brake or other barrel accessories.

• Positive, push-button, cross-bolt manual safety.

• Integral, optics-ready 30 MOA Picatinny rail for increased long-range elevation capabilities.

• Match bolt release allows you to easily advance the nitrided bolt with a quick pull and release to the rear.

• Heat-stabilized, glass-filled, polymer trigger housing assembly is precision made of high-tech material for improved manufacturing tolerances, impact and abrasion-resistance and an unmatched ability to withstand the elements.

The Custom Shop Competition with a Vortex Crossfire! Great combination!

When zeroed for 50 yards, holding the center dot on the middle of the target means you’ll be low at 100. Fortunately, the reticle of the Crossfire HD provides hold-over points to get you on target out to 125 yards or so with Mini Mags.

Like I was saying, find some ammo that your Ruger Competition 10/22 rifle likes, install a quality optic and head out for the range. I should mention that Stingers are a NOGO in this rifle. A Ruger technician told me that the extra length of the Stinger brass erodes the chamber and decreases accuracy. I’ll leave the Stingers for the 10/22 Standard.

The Vortex Pro 30mm Rings really secure the Vortex 30mm tube. They also display proper torque specs!

The 10/22 Competition does not ship with any sights. The receiver has an integral scope base upon which I mounted medium Vortex Professional 30 MM scope rings and the awesome Vortex Crossfire HD 1-4×24. It’s a light-weight little scope that offers crystal clear glass, an illuminated center dot and an excellent MOA hold over reticle. The elevation and windage clicks are reassuringly positive and the Crossfire even ships with a battery, lens covers and a sunshade. I don’t know how Vortex can offer a scope of this quality at this price point.

The Vortex Crossfire HD comes with everything shown. Mount it to an accurate rifle and you’re ready for the range.

Around the Gorman ranch, there are a few varmints that are crafty enough to take advantage of tall grass and cover to conceal their evil intentions. However, the Vortex Crossfire HD has the requisite glass quality for me to spot them even in low light.

After proper torquing, those rings keep the scope secure.

On the range, the Competition shot all the rimfire ammo I had on hand to under 1-inch, 5-shot groups at 50 yards. At 100 yards, the CCI Mini Mags (both Target and Varmint) could maintain 1.75” 5-shot groups on average. This was not done with expensive target ammunition mind you. This was done with the same CCI Mini Mag ammo I’ve been shooting/plinking with for 50 years.

The average size of groups shot at 100 yard with the Ruger Custom Competition and CCI Mini Mag ammo was 1.75” Keep in mind, this is not fancy taget ammo but it takes care of business.

For “fun for the dollar” it’s mighty hard to top a Ruger 10/22. Every arsenal needs one. Or two.