I just completed my 10-22 M1 Carbine replica build.
I started with a "standard" Ruger 10-22 I picked up at Academy for about $200.
I added from eabco.com an M1 Replica stock, Tech Sights 200, Sling and Oiler. I also purchased the M1 dummy stick magazine but haven't yet made myself take one of my magazines and glue it on. I'll probably not do so.
Other mods include Kidd bolt buffer, bolt hold open, extended magazine release, and cocking assembly. I installed a Voltquartsen Target Hammer Kit, and the 8 piece trigger shim kit from triggershims.com.
Here's a link to a photo album for this build
http://photobucket.com/RugerM1
First range day was yesterday. Here are my comments about the build.
Many years back, friends of mine and I burned up a bunch of ammo in military surplus guns. I shot an M1 Carbine my dad got back in the day when they were plentiful and cheap. At the time I was reloading the .30 cal using a hand-held Lee Loader. Since a lot of our shooting was off of a train trestle, saving brass was an acrobatic adventure (and I was not so acrobatic.) When my dad passed away, the children and grandchildren divided up his guns. There was a little Winchester Model 61 that he had bought for me that I wanted more than the M1 so one of the other family members got the M1 Carbine. Now that I'm back into the world of firearms, I've hinted at wanting to buy the M1 back, not so much for sentimental reasons, but to shoot. When I found the conversion kit for the 10-22, I thought it would be a reasonable, less expensive alternative.
I found the base 10-22 at Academy for under $200, picked it up and ordered my components, hoping that the stock would be of reasonable quality and fit.
Since I ordered items from various places, things arrived piecemeal. This allowed me to do my preparation for the build. One of my biggest concerns was in removing the stock front sight. I'd read lots of stuff about how this could be problematic. Turns out, mine was no problem. A couple of whacks with a hammer and punch and it came right out.
Here's my assessment of the components:
eabco M1 Carbine replica stock. Fit was absolutely perfect. Quality was outstanding. For just north of $100, this is a really nice piece. That's the good news. The not so good news is that the finish they used is fragile. After my first day at the range yesterday, there's a couple of spots where the finish seems to have chipped off down to the bare wood. I'm not disappointed as I'll shoot it for a while, have some fun with it, and then strip and refinish the stock later. As I said, the fitment was outstanding. The components are quality (other than the finish). I give this component a high grade. I would buy this again.
Sling and oiler looks good, easy to install and handy when shooting and toting. I think they add to the build and make the end products a bit more user friendly.
TechSights 200. High quality item. It took a while at the range to get things sighted in but I got it pretty close. I find it fulfilling to shoot pretty well with the iron sights. These sights have plenty of adjustment to work with and are really nice and look good in the replica theme I was looking for.
Kidd bolt buffer--Simple, slightly different design that others. Would buy again.
Kidd cocking assembly--I went with this one because of good reviews. Though the appearance is not completely with the replica theme, I'm not disappointed in the product.
Kidd interchangeable extended magazine release lever. Again, not quite consistent with the appearance of a stock M1 but this is a high quality item. I presently have the extended lever on the rifle. I found that unless I am careful with hand position and motion, it's pretty easy to inadvertently drop a magazine. I did that several times at the range until I started paying more attention to hand movement around the trigger group. After I got my brain in the game, this was not problematic. I'll leave the extended lever on the rifle (though the kit came with the smaller extension.)
Kidd bolt hold open. These pieces are one of the best mods I've found for the 10-22. I don't know why Ruger continues to use the style that they use. I'm sure there is some reason. My only complaint about the Kidd is that the item is unfinished stainless and I would have preferred black. It's not too bad, however, and the contrast in color might be more user friendly.
All of the Kidd products I bought are of exceptional quality and I will purchase from Tony again. Found his products on ebay and bought through there but later found his website.
Voltquartsen Target hammer kit. This one was a challenge, not because of the kit or quality but I found out the hard way that the pins that hold trigger components in the trigger group can easily fall out and have a mind of their own. Those little buggers will just run away at every opportunity. Long story short: It took me several attempts to get this kit installed. The problem was not in the kit but in the installer. Now, since I've disassembled, assembled, and disassembled, and assembled numerous times and finally got things in place and working well, I could do another one of these quite easily. (Now, maybe I'll be brave and disassemble my 22/45 Mk III again.)
Trigger shims from triggershims.com were the last item to arrive. The instructional video on their website and the components (just eight high tolerance shims) result in a trigger group that doesn't have a lot of slop. I'm pleased with the result of the work I did on the trigger and I learned a lot in the process.
Part of the fun in doing this is that the end result is a nice looking good shooting rifle that is reliable and inexpensive to shoot. It was a lot of fun (mixed with some frustration) doing the build but, now that it's finished, I'm glad I built it and am ready to tackle another project. I can see that the Ruger 10-22 and all of the varieties of customization that's out there could become an obsession. Not all obsessions are bad. These are fun.
The result of this project is a nice looking great shooting little fun rifle that I'm proud to own and my burning desire to have an original M1 has been diminished.
Again, the link to some pictures is http://photobucket.com/RugerM1
I started with a "standard" Ruger 10-22 I picked up at Academy for about $200.
I added from eabco.com an M1 Replica stock, Tech Sights 200, Sling and Oiler. I also purchased the M1 dummy stick magazine but haven't yet made myself take one of my magazines and glue it on. I'll probably not do so.
Other mods include Kidd bolt buffer, bolt hold open, extended magazine release, and cocking assembly. I installed a Voltquartsen Target Hammer Kit, and the 8 piece trigger shim kit from triggershims.com.
Here's a link to a photo album for this build
http://photobucket.com/RugerM1
First range day was yesterday. Here are my comments about the build.
Many years back, friends of mine and I burned up a bunch of ammo in military surplus guns. I shot an M1 Carbine my dad got back in the day when they were plentiful and cheap. At the time I was reloading the .30 cal using a hand-held Lee Loader. Since a lot of our shooting was off of a train trestle, saving brass was an acrobatic adventure (and I was not so acrobatic.) When my dad passed away, the children and grandchildren divided up his guns. There was a little Winchester Model 61 that he had bought for me that I wanted more than the M1 so one of the other family members got the M1 Carbine. Now that I'm back into the world of firearms, I've hinted at wanting to buy the M1 back, not so much for sentimental reasons, but to shoot. When I found the conversion kit for the 10-22, I thought it would be a reasonable, less expensive alternative.
I found the base 10-22 at Academy for under $200, picked it up and ordered my components, hoping that the stock would be of reasonable quality and fit.
Since I ordered items from various places, things arrived piecemeal. This allowed me to do my preparation for the build. One of my biggest concerns was in removing the stock front sight. I'd read lots of stuff about how this could be problematic. Turns out, mine was no problem. A couple of whacks with a hammer and punch and it came right out.
Here's my assessment of the components:
eabco M1 Carbine replica stock. Fit was absolutely perfect. Quality was outstanding. For just north of $100, this is a really nice piece. That's the good news. The not so good news is that the finish they used is fragile. After my first day at the range yesterday, there's a couple of spots where the finish seems to have chipped off down to the bare wood. I'm not disappointed as I'll shoot it for a while, have some fun with it, and then strip and refinish the stock later. As I said, the fitment was outstanding. The components are quality (other than the finish). I give this component a high grade. I would buy this again.
Sling and oiler looks good, easy to install and handy when shooting and toting. I think they add to the build and make the end products a bit more user friendly.
TechSights 200. High quality item. It took a while at the range to get things sighted in but I got it pretty close. I find it fulfilling to shoot pretty well with the iron sights. These sights have plenty of adjustment to work with and are really nice and look good in the replica theme I was looking for.
Kidd bolt buffer--Simple, slightly different design that others. Would buy again.
Kidd cocking assembly--I went with this one because of good reviews. Though the appearance is not completely with the replica theme, I'm not disappointed in the product.
Kidd interchangeable extended magazine release lever. Again, not quite consistent with the appearance of a stock M1 but this is a high quality item. I presently have the extended lever on the rifle. I found that unless I am careful with hand position and motion, it's pretty easy to inadvertently drop a magazine. I did that several times at the range until I started paying more attention to hand movement around the trigger group. After I got my brain in the game, this was not problematic. I'll leave the extended lever on the rifle (though the kit came with the smaller extension.)
Kidd bolt hold open. These pieces are one of the best mods I've found for the 10-22. I don't know why Ruger continues to use the style that they use. I'm sure there is some reason. My only complaint about the Kidd is that the item is unfinished stainless and I would have preferred black. It's not too bad, however, and the contrast in color might be more user friendly.
All of the Kidd products I bought are of exceptional quality and I will purchase from Tony again. Found his products on ebay and bought through there but later found his website.
Voltquartsen Target hammer kit. This one was a challenge, not because of the kit or quality but I found out the hard way that the pins that hold trigger components in the trigger group can easily fall out and have a mind of their own. Those little buggers will just run away at every opportunity. Long story short: It took me several attempts to get this kit installed. The problem was not in the kit but in the installer. Now, since I've disassembled, assembled, and disassembled, and assembled numerous times and finally got things in place and working well, I could do another one of these quite easily. (Now, maybe I'll be brave and disassemble my 22/45 Mk III again.)
Trigger shims from triggershims.com were the last item to arrive. The instructional video on their website and the components (just eight high tolerance shims) result in a trigger group that doesn't have a lot of slop. I'm pleased with the result of the work I did on the trigger and I learned a lot in the process.
Part of the fun in doing this is that the end result is a nice looking good shooting rifle that is reliable and inexpensive to shoot. It was a lot of fun (mixed with some frustration) doing the build but, now that it's finished, I'm glad I built it and am ready to tackle another project. I can see that the Ruger 10-22 and all of the varieties of customization that's out there could become an obsession. Not all obsessions are bad. These are fun.
The result of this project is a nice looking great shooting little fun rifle that I'm proud to own and my burning desire to have an original M1 has been diminished.
Again, the link to some pictures is http://photobucket.com/RugerM1
