1. Feel free to whittle on the stock to your hearts content. If worse comes to worse a take off runs about $25.
2. If the barrel shoots well leave it alone. A carbon fiber barrel is a lot of bucks.
3. Que or Randy do excellent trigger work. See sponsors list for contacts.
4. You can strip the stock and use a blue stain or paint. I would not use regular paint on the receiver or barrel.

2cl

 

Welcome to RFC! I'm in the process of making a "small" 10/22 build myself.

1. Stock - I think you're better off carving on the stock than any AR style myself. If you want to buy one, find the youth/compact synthetic with no barrel band.
2. Barrel - keep the one you have, you can have it cut and crowned by Que with a front sight setback. I just had that done for my wife (very short) to 16" to match the compact stock. He'll thread it too if you like.
3. Trigger - Brimstone has a good looking package at $70.
4. Paint - lots of folks rattle can Krylon their beater 10/22s. Its not a pro-finish, and it comes off over time, but its cheap. The trick is in the prep work, and it can all be stripped if you decide to do better later.

You didn't mention these, but I'd suggest them too:
- Bolt rework by Que
- Auto Bolt Release (might be included in a trigger job)
- Poly Buffer
- Scotchbrite and Hoppes #9 the inside of the receiver (remove bolt/charging handle), just a good cleaning, not quite a polish.

There are ton of tips/tricks on this sight that you can DIY with not a lot of tools, all of which will get as much as you can out of your 10/22.

 

Hey guys thanks for the quick responses and intel! Please send me whatever info possible. :t

 

Hogue makes a great youth stock for the 10/22 for not a lot of $$$. I think it's a 12" length of pull. If it were mine, I would replace the stock with the youth model Hogue, have the factory barrel recrowned and rechambered, and have the trigger worked on by one of the fine folks who are sponsors on this site. That's going to get you a dandy little rifle for not a lot of cash outlay.

 

I have an ultra light 10/22!!!!!!!!!!
One of the lightest 16" barrel guns around.
Tactical Innovations CH22 receiver
Stock ruger bolt and trigger housing w/ modded auto bolt release and modded trigger = less than 3lbs! great for kids!
Axiom stock, 6 adjustable lengths from super short for little kids to long for adults!
Simply awesome and the best part it take regular barrels and bull barrels and is free floated! + ontop of that is 1.2lbs!
I have a Tactical solutions 16" barrel = 15oz or less than a pound!
A Burris TRS-25 RDS.
Total weight with scope and loaded mag is ............
3.75lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!
Any child can shoot it free handed without issue!
Cost was $300 for the stock 10/22 but sold the wood and barrel for $100.
RDS was $100
Axiom stock shipped was $81
CH22 was $250
TacSol barrel was $220
So $800 but that's Canadian!!!!! The same gun sold in the stores up here is $1250!
Anyway I really hope you find a gun for your kids!
Your a great parent!

 

THANKS bwd and little_airwolf for the info! bwd I didn't think of the Hogue stock at all. I also will be contacting CPC reference bolt, trigger and barrel work prices as well that are listed in the sponsor section. little_airwolf that is a SWEET rifle and I'm researching your build for total cost for me now. My son and daughter will love your picture because it is blue and I love it because it is a solid build gun that even good old dad could shoot at the matches comfortably. Killing two birds with one stone or gun...lol!

I LOVE this forum/site because as I have surfed through it so many posts discuss getting kids and young shooters involved so our sport/hobby lives on after we are long gone!!

SO A BIG THANKS to those here at rimfireCentral.com!!!!! :t:t:t

 

The lightest stocks I own are:

1. Blackwawk Axiom that little_airwolf posted a photo of. I really think that this is the stock that will suit you best. Some of my students are kids, and they usually end-up being the most comfortable with the Axiom (very lightweight and adjustable length of pull.)

2. AGP Takedown kit. Another very lightweight option. But spendy. No adjustable length of pull, but the length of pull is fairly short.

AGP kit on the right:

3. Choate Pistol Grip. Not as light as the first two, but still very lightweight. Fixed length of pull that is about the same as the factory stock.

Here is a Choate PG that I rattle-can camo'ed with Krylon Fusion a few years ago. As chapnelson mentioned, it's all about prepping the surface before painting it. It's held-up really well.

 

In my opinion you could shorten the wooden stock to what they need right now. As they grow you could just buy another carbine take off stock, they usually really cheap. As mentioned above I would just get a bolt rework and barrel rework by one of the sponsors like Que or Randy at CPC, both really nice people to work with. I would also recommend brimstone if you want to keep the factory trigger assembly and have the pull weight reduced, for thirty five bucks for the tier three trigger job, I don't think you could go wrong. You could also have the whole thing cerakoted blue if they wanted it blue.

Here's a stock I've been messing with, cut the barrel band nub off and reshaped it.

And here is my 10/22 that will always stay how it looks physically because it was my first real gun.
I have probably spent about 300 in all on it.
Nikon prostaff scope- 150
Talley rings- 50
Bolt rework- 60
Tier three trigger job- 35
And a volquartsen mag release- 15

 

I wouldn't hesitate to send your trigger group off to Brimstone for a tier 3 ($35)! I've got three of these and, for the price, can't be beat.:bthumb:

http://brimstonegunsmithing.com/products/tier-3-basic-ruger-1022-trigger-work

Que and Randy at CPC both do great work as well. I just had Que rework a factory bolt for me and shorten a factory barrel down to 16" with a sight set back, crown and rechamber job. VERY happy with it.

You can do quite a bit with that factory stock and have a good time doin' it with your kids to boot. Save some coins for the other mods that will enhance reliability (like bolt work and maybe a KIDD charging handle assembly).

 

"What I have done so far:
1. Stock: cut it down so it properly fits my kids
2. Sight: installed a already owned Burris Fast Fire II red dot (rear sight was broken so this was must)

What I'm looking for:
1. Stock: My main objective here is weight and proper fit. I'm thinking about removing small some amounts of wood from the factory stock. Or should I get a AR15 type stock etc?
2. Barrel: Is it worth the money for a lighter one? carbine fiber barrel etc?
3. Lighter trigger pull: Is it possible to lighten factory one up or should I just get a aftermarket one?
4. Finish: My kids want it to be blue. Is it possible to get the factory wood stock blue? Metal coating in blue - - cerakote or duracoat? Would like something a little cheaper. Would regular paint work?

Any advice is appreciated and thanks for giving me some of your time."

Check the Action Sticky Section for anything you may be able to do "Free" - http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123409

As for the options, it's kinda up to you and your kids.

"I'm not about show but performance and my kids are the same. My kids and I have no worries about using this beat up little rifle in public and at matches."

That statement, if the kids get pretty good with how the 10/22 is currently setup (oh, btw, we LOVE pictures) then let it ride & save your $$ Dropping a VQ hammer into the 10/22 is quicker, perhaps than taking the time than stoning/honing it yourself, but the pride factor favors the personal touch.

If they get the chance to shoot a few other's customized 10/22s at the matches, eventually, ya'll would get some ideas about what direction to go in.