[GSonnen]

See if I can help you out:

1. If you want a truely ambidexterous gun, I would get a Boyd Smartstock. It is ment to be fired right or left handed. I have handled one and they are a joy to shoot.

Boyd Smartstock

2. Your barrel choice is a good one. The 16" fluted GM .920 barrel is one of my favorites. A good place to buy them is Stafford Sales . If you are interested in a blued one, I currently have a blued, fluted GM which is brand new. It is on ebay with a reserve price of $100. Go to eBay, the auction # is 7178078769 . GM barrel are the best "bang for your buck" in the 10/22 barrel market. You can buy better barrels, but they will cost you 2 to 3 times as much.

3. Optics: Most people mount their optics to the receiver. I never use the factory dovetail mount because it really limits the type of optic you will mount. My favorite mount is the Power Custom mount. It mounts to the factory receiver threaded holes & it provides a standard Weaver mount. All you need to do is add scope rings and you can drop your favorite scope on. Another very nice mount is the Weigand Integramount . This is a solid mount. The base and rings are all machined from one piece.

If you really want to buy a mount that mount on your barrel, you will need to drill and tap the barrel. Power custom & Volquartsen both make mounts that fit that bill. I've personally have never found the need to use such mounts. The reciever mounts fit my needs well.

Hope this helps,

 

[21400]

Similar Setup

I have a fluted GM in a hogue OM stock. i think for me the most important thing was to bed the barrel in the stock. The GM barrel isnt light and the Hogue stock isnt totally rigid. It was a pretty easy operation with the Brownells acraglas kit. I had pretty good accuracy before bedding, but now it is always in the same place.

As to optics I think for this type of setup a big powerful scope is in order. It really isnt fun with a low power scope. I have a Simmons White Tail Classic 8-24 variable with a 50 mm objective lens. Now that I have mine all dialed in it just doesnt miss anymore.

 

[16406]

gsonnenmd - Thank you so much for your help. The stock I had looked at previously was a Boyd, but I hadn't noticed the Smartstock, not sure why. I love it! I had ordered my Hogue from Midway and let me tell you, they must be insanely fast on shipping. I called to cancel the order 2 hours after it was placed and they said it had already been packaged and shipped. I really think I want to go with the Boyd however, so I'll probably have to try and decline the shipment. Thank you!

Regarding the barrel, I am going to keep an eye on your auction. I would prefer the SS, however if I can get yours for reasonably less, I don't think my preference is that strong. Lastly, about the optics, thanks again. That clarified things quite a bit for me and I'm glad I asked because otherwise I would certainly be mounting it to my barrel.

bdhill1979 - I will have to do more reading on bedding, but I know there's info on here about it so I won't ask for details here. It sounds very enticing though after hearing your observations regarding accuracy before and after bedding the barrel.

Since I've never really had a scope on any of my rifles, I am curious what you feel the closest usable range a 8X power could be used for? I've shot with scope's before obviously, but I've never really paid attention to their spec's as they have been relatives or friends scope's.

One question I did have about bedding that I think would be ok to ask here... You made it seem like you had used the barrel and stock together before bedding the barrel. Is it better to bed prior to initial installation or does it matter if I decide to do it a few months later? I mean specifically whether it's significantly harder (other than removing the barrel and probably receiver?) if I decided to do it later instead of when I initially get the barrel and stock.

Thank you both for yours words of wisdom They're greatly appreciated.

 

[16406]

I think that will make a lot more sense once I look to see what bedding actually is... It kinda seems like it's basically fusing the receiver and barrel together. I'll take a look, thanks.

 

[21400]

Bedding question

Mr Knarr is right, bedding can be done anytime, though I think it is one of the first things somebody should do it they want cheap easy accuracy. No bedding is not fusing parts together. What you are doing is creating an epoxy "bed" that the first few inches of your barrel rests on and many people make a similar bed for the rear of the reciever. This allows the majority of the barrel to "float" freely, not coming in contact with any part of the stock and enabling the natural harmonics of the barrel. It can be done with pretty much any stock. I found the process pretty easy. I do have a slightly mechanical background and a healthy box of tools, but I think anyone can do bedding if they take the time to read the instriction and make sure all of the prep work is done BEFORE mixing resin with hardener. There are many posts on this forum about bedding and many articles elsewhere on the internet. some have really good pictures as well.

As to the question about optics, I havent played with it much but at 8 power I would say that a standard 10 ring target would more than fill your sight picture at about 25 yards, but this short range is no fun with the GM barrel, I spend most of my time grouping at 100 yards or picking off marmots and ground squirrels.

 

[21400]

Ps

Also make sure you want to keep the stock and barrel configuration together forever, once bedded, you can only use the same barrel in that stock. removing hardened epoxy is not easy.

 

[16406]

After bedding, how do most people clean their firearms? It sounds like I won't really be able to disassemble the firearm very well after it's bedded. I currently use a rod and patch system for my barrels and completely disassemble the receiver every long while to give it a good cleaning. Will this be possible after I bed it? I received my Hogue stock today but refused shipment because I really want that Boyd's. Hopefully I'll be able to get the barrel ordered this weekend too. Missed out on gsonnenmd's eBay auction, but there's a few others I'm keeping an eye on.

 

[GSonnen]

If you build a super-precision, bedded 10/22 you should invest in a Patchworm. Once your rifle is put together, bedded and sighted in, try not to disassemble it too often. When you disassemble these rifles, you will see minor POI changes at the range.

A Patchworm (see sponsors area) is an inexpensive polymer line that you can use to drag patches and solvent through your barrel. Since the Patchworm is flexible, you don't have to breakdown your action to clean. Also, it is wise to clean from bore to muzzle.

 

[21400]

Clarification

Once you perform the bedding operation you will be able to disassemble and reassemble as usual, it is just a good idea not to disassemble too often because then you have to signt in again. All bedding consists of is a small "bed" of epoxy that you shape and let harden, if you do it right the barrel and reciever will come right out, if you dont use the release agent you may have a serious problem getting the action out of the barrel.