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So, who's tried the chief's conversion?

10K views 126 replies 15 participants last post by  p7junkie 
#1 ·
I know of two people that have tried the conversion with success. both of them took a slightly different approach to the same problem. finding the space for the magazine.
I'm starting mine this week and wanted to talk with those of you have have at least tried this.
here is what I am planning to do. I plan on shortening the trigger housing and not add holes to the reciever or the trigger housing.
the hard part is the plunger has to go back farther. the first part of limiting this is the magazine release. it's to wide to allow the plunger to be drawn back far enough. if you shave it down you can get a couple more mm.
but it's will stop after that becuase the mag release and plunger will start to bind. that angle can be changed pretty easily as well but is it enough?
 
#2 ·
I'm working on the exact same thing. I've already shortened the trigger housing and made an aluminum block to slide down into the housing against the front. Now I need to ream the plunger hole to the original dimentions. I figure I'll use the front 2 holes in the trigger housing to hold the block in place. The mag release lever will have to be custom made to work. I havent started THAT yet, but I've been thinking about how to do it. I don't think it'll be that difficult, just a little time consuming.

I installed the assembly for testing and as long as I manually hold the mag in place, I can empty a mag without any problems.

I also cut the slot on the bottom of the bolt a little bit longer so the mag fits properly. This probably isn't a "have to" thing but it allows the mag to seat flush with the receiver. I used a dremel and a reinforced fiber disc to do the cutting.

Good luck and keep me posted, as I may need some help figuring out how to do the mag release

swampf0x
 
#3 · (Edited)
HA! we started at the exact opposite ends to the same problem. i've modified the mag release and was able to get a couple mm. i'm working on the plumger now and I think I can get a couple of more. I was thinking of the block myself and couldn't decided where to mount it. from the front? or the right side? I"m far away from that right now, I'm taking it very slow. I haven't gotten to the bolt yet. I hadn't even thought of it. the factory mag can be shortened as well. I think by as much as 3 or 4mm i'm going to work on the plunger and the mag before I start shortening the reciever.
there are four parts to the plunger. I don't know the tech terms so here's this okies verson
1. the front where the magazine locks in
2. the round part that passes throgh the limiter on the housing.
3. center pin
4. the back
I think that some needs to be shaved off part 2.. the part that sits in front of the mag release lever.
once I modified the mag release i still had room in the housing but i couldn't get it to go back farther. I finally noticed that the plunger and the mag release were binding. removing this material is the only way I see to relieve the problem.
Swampfox how did you shorten the trigger housing?
 
#4 ·
Chief Says : I doubt if anyone tried the conversion . Now they may have
designed their own , something similar to mine. Thats exactly why a patent was applied for, to keep people from duplicating your design.
I have no problem with others using my design " not mine till the patt. clears". long as they don't mass market the item.
One thing you will need to know is the 22LR bolt is lacking in "rear" recoil room when a magnum cartridge is applied. Even with the boltstop "buffer"
removed it has hardly no room to spare. PAD instead of pin takes the beating and keeps the bolt in track.
GOOD LUCK. cd.

oh MAG RELEASE lever . Duplicate one fron a Tec 22 , its perfect.
Intratec Tec-22
 
#6 ·
thanks for the info chief, I'm not trying to step on anyones toes. unfortunately, the thought or "want" had never entered my mind to change up the little 10/22 until I read your posts. I fought the urge for about three or for months. finaly I asked myself if this was something I needed to do and if there was any benefit in it for me. the answer was no to both of the questions. after the questions was answered I knew I had to try it. :p. it's been alot of fun these days when it's to cold to shoot.
thanks Chief for all of the ideas. and when your patent comes through I'll be one of the first on your doorstep with a check.
 
#7 ·
P7, I used a belt sander to grind the front of the housing down, and a dremmel to cut the slot for the magazine tit. Grind and test fit, repeat about 50 times. lol

Is the hmr any longer than a .22mag at all? My rifle WILL cycle just fine with a buffer installed using .22mag ammo...............as long as I hold the mag in place. I suppose that could change at any time but for now, I feel as if it is the most important part of the conversion. There's not much room to spare, but it does cycle. I've just got a normal lr recoil spring in it which probably helps give it an extra hair of room since it can compress easier.

Trial and error.......................If It blows up on me then we will all learn from it.......I hope.

Chief, where can I buy a tec22 mag release?


swampf0x
 
#8 ·
Um......

The easiest solution I have found, was to have an extended spindle made for the shorter magazine, The longer spindle is the difference between the two magazine lengths, then a lr magazine fits right up into the MAG's longer magazine chamber. It's on Jesse's Outdoor Hunting website, in the Rimfire section......Thanks again CD!
 
#9 ·
Hmmm. the more I look at it the less I think I can make it work with the shorten trigger housing. it looks like it would work your way swamp fox with the block added.
here's what i was thinking about. inside of the trigger housing is a limiter that prevents the plunger from being pulled all the way through and into the trigger housing. if you drill this out and added a block with the limiter inside of the trigger housing. I was thinking about drilling an additional pin hole through the mag release. in front of the original pin hole. this should keep the angle correct and it won't be loose in the trigger housing. but how do you get an aluminum block with the limiter. I guess if you had the machining skills it would be easy. or if you had an additional trigger housing then you could cut out the front and then sand it down to the proper size and thickness. that might work. you could drill and tap it through the front of the trigger housing and screw the two parts together.
or another way it a compromise.
you move the pin holes in the trigger housing forward about a quarter of an inch. but not drill all the way through. instead use blind pins so it still fits snugly but doesn't interfer with the trigger mechanism. less inletting on the stock and gives you alot more wriggle room with grinding down the front of the trigger housing.
I tried sanding down the front of the trigger housing with a rotary sanding tool that I have. I didn't think it would work very well. I was wrong. it removed alot of material fast. I bought a whole pack of disks but I think just the first one will get it to where I want it.
 
#10 ·
I'm having trouble with mine also. I got the block installed. It is as thick as the difference between a lr mag and a mag mag. I forget the exact measurements. I drilled 2 holes through it . 1 is where the front mounting hole is located and the 2nd hole is where the mag release pivit pin is located. Next I drilled through the front of the trigger housing into the block using 2 sizes of bits. Now I can install my plunger and spring. (just like factory original)
My problem is that the front receiver pin hole is in the way of the plunger. Either the plunger must be modified to slip under the pin or the pin must be replaced with 2 short pins or threaded counter sunk bolts threaded into the homade block.
I took a factory plunger and ground the section that was hitting the pin down so it would clear, but the spring is still in the way. This project has turned into more hassle than I thought it would. But I will make it work somehow. I'm just not sure how yet.
I'm taking it 1 step at a time. As of right now I dont have a bolt hold open device or a mag release planned out yet. I'll worry about those after I figure out how to hold the mag in place by itself. I'm almost there. Baby steps..............

swampf0x
 
#12 ·
Tack, the dynamat will help dampen recoil but it is not designed to take a continual beating like it would in a 10-22 action. What you need is a polymer of some sort that can rebound after each compression and not be destroyed in the process. I do have a bolt buffer in my CD Magnum conversion as well as a bolt lock. Guess I couldn't live without all the spare parts. :D

I also had to elongate the grooves in the bottom of the LR bolt so the magazine would fit. Kinda ugly with my Dremell skills but it works well.
 
#16 ·
Swamp, you could just use the hole for the smaller pin that held the extractor and was the lock for the bolt hold open. This requires the receiver to be drilled. There are a couple of things to check for the magazine to fit.

1. The bottom of the bolt may need the "slot" extended. With the bolt open the magazine would fit flush. Close the bolt and it might push the rear of the mag down.
2. Check the curved ramp part inside the receiver. It might need to be extended a little as well.

I just drilled another hole in the release lever in front of the orginal hole. This required some of the material to be removed at the bottom rear of the release to clear the trigger housing. Then this caused another problem. If you pushed the lever to far the arm would slide out of the spindle and it would shoot out of the trigger housing. A little epoxy putty on top of the release lever (above the part that sticks down) and then slowly filed down until it lets the mag release but yet wouldn't allow the spindle to jump out. I use a Dakotan buffer with no problems feeding or ejecting the rounds.
 
#17 ·
I've already modified the bottom of the bolt so the magnum mag fits flush when the bolt is closed. It doesn't look great but it works fine. I think I'll use short set screws, threaded into the receiver and trigger housing block. This will allow complete plunger and spring movement without interferring with the plunger or spring. PLUS, I won't need to drill any new holes into the receiver.
For the bolt release, I simply need to cut a shallow groove into the side of my new block so that the release will slide into place without interferrence.
For the mag release, Cheif recommended a Tec 22 mag release but I'd really like to see one before spending any more money. I have an idea on how to make one that wont slip off. But I have yet to try it.
I plan to leave the weaponkraft bolt buffer in place. It seems to work fine. If it starts giving me trouble I can always shorten the bolt just a tad bit at the rear and deepen the bolt stop groove if necessary, This will give it room to cycle properly. IF it gives me any trouble,
Radising the rear of the bolt has not been done yet on this one. I really like the way it helps cycleing on my .22lr but I don't want to remove any more metal than necessary. I 'MIGHT' try to just radious the area where the hammer contacts. This would allow easier cycleing without removing much weight.

Trial and error..................Baby steps. I think it's comming together though. Only time will tell.

If the **** patent office would hurry up I'd just buy one from chief and be done with it.

I try to talk about this with my buds but they just don't understand the 10/22 addiction. Sure............. I could just buy a magnum or .17hmr, but where's the fun in that???
I already own a 77/22mag and love it, but Now I have caught the dreaded 10/22 modification disease and simply cannot leave well enough alone.

I'm sick, I need help.
swampf0x
 
#18 ·
LOL...You are not alone. My friends thought I was crazy, it couldn't be done, why not just buy a magnum, etc. I just love to let them shoot it and then tell them to look at the side of the rifle where it says .22 LR. Plus I only have about $150 in the rifle total.
 
#19 ·
gunter said:
LOL...You are not alone. My friends thought I was crazy, it couldn't be done, why not just buy a magnum, etc. I just love to let them shoot it and then tell them to look at the side of the rifle where it says .22 LR. Plus I only have about $150 in the rifle total.
$150 Way to go dude. I'd like to see your friends buy one for that price. They'd feel like idiots when they realized how cheap it can be done if you plan it out and take your time.

My intentions are to literly make my friends sh@t their pants after shooting my modified version. I might have to add a little ex-lax to their beer just to be on the safe side. hehehehe

swampf0x
 
#20 · (Edited)
I have a post ban Tec 22 so I looked at the magazine release last night. I’ll try to describe it or if needed I could take a pic. On the front of the trigger housing where the barb on the back of the mag makes a wear line up to the spindle, that is where the release is on a Tec 22. It does not have a spindle that moves back and forth. The trigger housing has a slot cut into the face from the bottom of it to a point just below where the barb would be on a seated mag. The release lever is a long arm that runs the length of the slot and has a half u shape at the end of the lever. It is spring loaded to stay in the forward position. So when you start to push a mag in the barb hits the release lever and pushes it back. As the mag moves up into the well it holds the release back. Then when the barb enters the half U the lever snaps forward under the barb locking the mag in place. This would do away with the spindle and the problem of it being in the way of the front pin hole in the receiver. Very clever idea CD. I hope that it makes it past the patent process and that Ruger doesn’t do anything so we can get our hands on the real deal.

PS. After thinking about it I have around $180 in the rifle. I forgot the price of the magazine and I already had the buffer. The used later style birch rifle was $90. A stock ruger magnum take off barrel from Ebay $25 and a stripped trigger housing also from Ebay $35.00. I wanted to get a working rifle before doing any more. Next on the list is jewel the bolt, install a PC scope base with a 3-9 off of another 10/22, trigger job, and then a Whistle Pig .17 HMR barrel. I was thinking of using an indexing jig and maybe jewelling the WP barrel. It would be a pain, but might look good when done.
 
#22 ·
Hey Swampy, you don't want to radius the bolt on a Magnum conversion because the whole idea behind the radius concept is to reduce the energy required to operate the bolt. In a .22LR the radiusing of the bolt rear effectively lengthens the lever arm of the hammer to reduce the energy required for opperation. Using the same bolt and receiver for a Magnum doesn't require the radius for easy opperation, in fact you don't want to do that at all. The Magnum round has sufficient power to move the bolt and cock the hammer and then some. I even think mine could do with a little tighter spring anyway. Use an India stone or light sanding on the inside of the receiver or just break the action in with HV .22LR ammo and it will be smooth enough for the Magnum conversion. If it is not smooth enough for you, try smoothing the face of the hammer where the bolt slides on it. That will make a huge difference believe it or not.
 
#23 ·
finished mine last night even though i cracked my trigger housing- works flawlessly-i used set screws for the rear pin ---only had to drill receiver for front pin and machine away excess around magazine- next im gonna build an extended plunger release -basically a tip that fits the existing punger and screws right on so you can switch barrels and use factory mags for 22lr
 
#25 · (Edited)
It's not quite finished yet but it is operational. I used set screws threaded into the trigger housing and aluminum block. They are just a tad bit larger than the receiver pin holes so I intend to turn the ends down to fit the receiver holes. I'll screw them all the way in, insert my trigger housing into the receiver then back them out until they are flush with the outside of the receiver. Just from looking at pics of the tec 22 mag release (thank you gunter) It looks like it just might work. Though I'll probably just design my own tonight if I get time and don't fall asleep. (been up about 26 hours now) Next I'll need to mill out the slot for the mag release and also a slot for the bolt hold open device= should be easy enough.

I did assemble my rifle today and test fired, with the plunger and spring in place= No more holding mag in place. It worked GREAT, except I think I need to install my factory trigger return spring and throw out the clickster. Trigger is not resetting unless I push it forward. Could just need cleaned and a drop of oil added (things get a bit dusty with all this hand fitting) I think it was doing this before the magnum mod though.

All shells loaded and extracted just fine when fired, but sometimes (not always) when I cycle live ammo through it by hand the unfired rounds wont extract. They stay in perfect alignment with the bore. Maybe I'll have to replace the extracter in the bolt with a VQ exact edge. Either that or reinstall the ejector in the trigger housing= that one might be tough. There isn't much room there anymore.

The magnum conversion is almost zeroed in from my .22lr scope settings. I just swapped the barrels and left the scope alone. I'm hitting about 2" to the right. I was shocked at how close it was.

tack,
You took the easy way out, by just moving the trigger guard back :), I'm glad it worked out for ya Bro. I just didn't want to hack up my stock or receiver any more than I have to. It's been a PITA but still kinda fun to watch everything comming together.
Good idea on the plunger extension. Let us know how it works out.

swampf0x
 
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