williamc
Single-Sixer
Throwing this out there, since I didn't see a lot of answers to my questions when I was building it.
I've owned a 10/22 for a dozen years now. It has slowly gone from box stock to a Hogue stocked, tech-sighted Appleseed style rifle. In the meantime, it has been my squirrel rifle for bumming around the woods. My friends and I like to hike into our hunting area, meaning I'm carrying this 6 lb. rifle for hours. While I know it isn't exactly a BAR, I decided to see if I could make a much lighter "tactical" rifle for hunting, steel challenge matches and other such events.
I started with a new 10/22 in January. The newer plastic trigger guards weigh 2 oz. less than the old aluminum ones, and to me, they have much tighter tolerances. I replaced the extended mag release with a flush mount release from my old 10/22 since I've found it can get hung up on branches and release the magazine. I likewise fitted a bunch of Volquartsen parts (hammer, bolt release and extractor). After several hundred trouble free rounds everything seems to work great and the trigger is very very good.
The stock is a Blackhawk Axiom pistol gripped stock. This is the lightest production stock for the 10/22, and I really wanted to go to a pistol grip for action rifle matches. The biggest downside is that the butt stock assembly rattles quite a bit. The "buffer tube" on the Axiom stock is close to "commercial spec" for an AR-15. My plan was to replace it with a locking Magpul CTR, but they are considerably heavier than the Axiom assembly (9+ vs. 6 oz.). I found the Rogers SuperStoc, which has a locking feature and has a unique system for fitting non-standard buffer tubes. It worked perfectly and was only an oz. heavier than the Axiom stock.
After much research, I purchased a fluted Whistle Pig Acculite barrel. The barrel is extremely nice and appears to effortlessly make 1/2" groups at 25 yards in my hands. I'm sure it is more accurate than that. The 16.5" length balances great, and is easier to carry through thicker woods. When my other 10/22 (18.5" stainless barrel) was in the Axiom it was noticeably nose-heavy. I picked a matte finish, which doesn't match the paint on my receiver and shows light scratches and handling marks easily. I would recommend a semi-gloss finish for a better color match.
The rifle is topped with a Primary Arms 2MOA red dot mounted on the front half of a Redfield 2 piece 10/22 mount.
As built, including the red dot and omitting the sling and a magazine, the rifle weighs 3lbs. 12 oz. It is light beyond belief and carries like a cloud when hiking through the woods. I'm sure I could trim an ounce or two by replacing the red dot with a Trijicon RMR-style optic, but at this point I think I've achieved my goal of making a very light weight, accurate and fun-shooting rifle.
I've owned a 10/22 for a dozen years now. It has slowly gone from box stock to a Hogue stocked, tech-sighted Appleseed style rifle. In the meantime, it has been my squirrel rifle for bumming around the woods. My friends and I like to hike into our hunting area, meaning I'm carrying this 6 lb. rifle for hours. While I know it isn't exactly a BAR, I decided to see if I could make a much lighter "tactical" rifle for hunting, steel challenge matches and other such events.
I started with a new 10/22 in January. The newer plastic trigger guards weigh 2 oz. less than the old aluminum ones, and to me, they have much tighter tolerances. I replaced the extended mag release with a flush mount release from my old 10/22 since I've found it can get hung up on branches and release the magazine. I likewise fitted a bunch of Volquartsen parts (hammer, bolt release and extractor). After several hundred trouble free rounds everything seems to work great and the trigger is very very good.
The stock is a Blackhawk Axiom pistol gripped stock. This is the lightest production stock for the 10/22, and I really wanted to go to a pistol grip for action rifle matches. The biggest downside is that the butt stock assembly rattles quite a bit. The "buffer tube" on the Axiom stock is close to "commercial spec" for an AR-15. My plan was to replace it with a locking Magpul CTR, but they are considerably heavier than the Axiom assembly (9+ vs. 6 oz.). I found the Rogers SuperStoc, which has a locking feature and has a unique system for fitting non-standard buffer tubes. It worked perfectly and was only an oz. heavier than the Axiom stock.
After much research, I purchased a fluted Whistle Pig Acculite barrel. The barrel is extremely nice and appears to effortlessly make 1/2" groups at 25 yards in my hands. I'm sure it is more accurate than that. The 16.5" length balances great, and is easier to carry through thicker woods. When my other 10/22 (18.5" stainless barrel) was in the Axiom it was noticeably nose-heavy. I picked a matte finish, which doesn't match the paint on my receiver and shows light scratches and handling marks easily. I would recommend a semi-gloss finish for a better color match.
The rifle is topped with a Primary Arms 2MOA red dot mounted on the front half of a Redfield 2 piece 10/22 mount.
As built, including the red dot and omitting the sling and a magazine, the rifle weighs 3lbs. 12 oz. It is light beyond belief and carries like a cloud when hiking through the woods. I'm sure I could trim an ounce or two by replacing the red dot with a Trijicon RMR-style optic, but at this point I think I've achieved my goal of making a very light weight, accurate and fun-shooting rifle.
