I own four 10/22's that I and my wife shoot silhouette with. They are all glass bedded, have many aftermarked parts, and shoot very well. In fact they will shoot with or better than most of the bolt guns we compete against.

The only thing to consider when going this route is that you will spend a LOT more money getting them to shoot with a good bolt action rifle than just going the bolt gun route from the start. THe only thing Ruger on the guns is the receiver frame - everything else is aftermarket.

Roughly you are looking at added costs after purchase of the basic Ruger 10/22 of:

CPC reworked bolt - $75
VQ charging handle/spring - $30
GM barrel - $120
KIDD trigger group - $279
glass bedding - ? do it yourself
stock - $145

Total of after market parts $649


Cost of a CZ 452 Varminter - $350
Cost of Brooks trigger kit - $14

Total with gun $ 364


Regrets in going this way? None at all!

George

The semi auto is harder to shoot off-hand. It has a slow lock time. It is kina like shooting a muzzle loader.

I don't think so when using a KIDD trigger, but I could be wrong (again).

I tried using a 10/22 for a while. The Bell & Carlson Anschutz style stock fit me well, but the location of the magazine on the 10/22 was poor for holding for offhand shooting for me and follow-through was much harder due to so much moving weight as the hammer pivoted forward and action cycled. I much prefer the bolt action's lock time and small amount of movement only in the direction of the bullet. I even think my CZ's heavier mini-Mauser design firing pin is big and clunky compared to a few other guns (like the Anschutz, etc.) now.

Some of our better indoor shooters have built 10/22s and shot them well. It may be that the bolt actions are better but the 10/22s were sufficiently accurate to compete at the AA level.

I built one too just to see what the deal was. Green Mountain barrel, Power trigger kit and a Revival Industries Silhouette stock. A 2.5 lb trigger, lots of inertia in the barrel and good stock support make for a completely different gun. And that gun can really shoot but it's only legit for Standard Rifle. I'd like to see a decent Hunter stock for the 10/22 and you'd see more of them on the club shooting lines.

The 10/22 fills the need of the do-it-yourselfers, the guys really liked building a their own guns. That was half the fun and anything that keeps silhouette shooting fun is good by me. That's why you've seen me advocate Marlins and Savages for the entry level shooters. Get them started shooting and then let them upgrade as their enthusiasm grows.

dwl