with mass produced items, there will be some variation in tolerances. Sometimes they conspire together to give you the worst of all possible combinations - and sometimes the planets align, the heavens open up and the rifle goes through rapture to end up creating a factory freak miracle of accuracy, and reliability.

With no knowledge of rugers manufacturing history and QC. I believe it's entirely possible that you have one of those combinations present in one of those 2 rifles.

 

with mass produced items, there will be some variation in tolerances. Sometimes they conspire together to give you the worst of all possible combinations - and sometimes the planets align, the heavens open up and the rifle goes through rapture to end up creating a factory freak miracle of accuracy, and reliability.

With no knowledge of rugers manufacturing history and QC. I believe it's entirely possible that you have one of those combinations present in one of those 2 rifles.

d

Makes sense. I'm not saying that mine was greatly more accurate. Just noticeably more and consistent. I'm not going to put it up against any accuratized models or anything but it's good enough for me.

Guns are just like women, no two are the same, they can be picky, irritable, and reserve the right to change their minds at any given moment. What pleases one may totally upset another and if you get more than one in a group at least one of them are going to end up being a problem.
What ammo yours likes may not be what another one likes and it may even hate it. Some like to be clean and others won't shoot good til they are a little dirty.

That makes sense too!

Here is a pic of my old gun with new scope.

 

Guns are just like women, no two are the same, they can be picky, irritable, and reserve the right to change their minds at any given moment. What pleases one may totally upset another and if you get more than one in a group at least one of them are going to end up being a problem.
What ammo yours likes may not be what another one likes and it may even hate it. Some like to be clean and others won't shoot good til they are a little dirty.

 

guns are just like women, no two are the same, they can be picky, irritable, and reserve the right to change their minds at any given moment. What pleases one may totally upset another and if you get more than one in a group at least one of them are going to end up being a problem. :d
what ammo yours likes may not be what another one likes and it may even hate it. Some like to be clean and others won't shoot good til they are a little dirty.

lol :d

 

I think the quality of the older guns was better. I don't know if they were consistently more accurate. The machining on the newer 10/22s isn't as nice as the older ones, but the way Ruger made them cheaper doesn't appear to make them less accurate. An example is the cast bolt, plastic trigger group, and cheap finish. None of those things would affect accuracy as long as everything was in spec.

 

Old 10/22

I have an older 10/22... pre-warning 200th anniversary model that I have only fired a few times and it always seems to shoot where I point it. It is more accurate than I am. I love the old piece. John

 

i have an '84 10 22 almost completely stock the only thing i changed is the extractor to a vq w/the spring that comes with it
other than a stiff trigger it shot great

 

I think the old ones shoot way better. I have a new one now and with the best ammo it will only shoot a 2"-2 1/2" groups at 35 yards that is pathetic now I have took the barrel off and looked through it and it looks like they put the rifling in with a jackhammer now I am not bashing Ruger I really like there firearms and will continue to buy them I just think they should improve there QC and think of the people that spend there money on there products. My 10/22 is a walnut stocked special addition And I really wanted to keep the stock barrel but with that not being possible I am trying to find a factory taper barrel to take its place any good suggestions?

 

Just bought a digital camo 10/22 this year. 2-3 inch groups @100 yards no problem.

Sent from my PB99400 using Tapatalk

 

What is considered an "older" 10/22? Is there one year that made the difference? One that I have that was made in 2002 doesn't shoot better than the one I have that was made in 2004 and it's older. I know that isn't a good example but I think you get my point. I like this thread and I'm not experienced enough to know what "older" means. As always we're all trying to be educated.

 

Ruger started making their barrels by the hammer forged method in the early 1990s. Hammer forging basically inserts an arbor into the hole in the barrel blank and then hammers pound the blank down onto the arbor which imparts the lands and grooves into the bore. The blank is then cut to size and then machined down to whatever profile is needed. This means that the target barrels and standard barrels all come from the same blanks. Once piece of the blank might be turned down to .920 for a target barrel while the next ends up as a standard tapered barrel.

Apparently hammer forging is more uniform and consistent in producing barrels.

So from a practical standpoint, there should be no difference between old and new 10/22s. I have 10/22s from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2005 and can see no appreciable difference in accuracy. I also have a number of factory barrels both stainless and blued that I picked up over the years. Some old, some newer. Never noticed any difference though I've never tested them side by side.

IMO, the variances in sights, ammo and conditions affect accuracy more than the era the gun came from.

 

I have 10/22's from each decade they were made. I can not say that they vary so much in accuracy by date of manufacture. That said, some are more accurate than others but I consider that is more a matter of any mass produced machine having variations from one unit to the next. I can not say that the old ones are more or less accurate than the new ones.

But, I can say the old ones had pretty walnut stocks!

 

I have six 10/22s. The only ones that are stock are a 2002 Walnut DSP that has never been fired and a Mannlicher. The others have all been modified. Having no way to establish relavent accuracy I apreciate the information in this thread.
Dave

 

Thank you everyone for the feedback and information in this thread.

This older 10/22 has been a great addition to my collection. I'll keep this one stock and look for a newer one to modify. That way I'll always have a great shooting original for comparison.

 

Thank you everyone for the feedback and information in this thread.

This older 10/22 has been a great addition to my collection. I'll keep this one stock and look for a newer one to modify. That way I'll always have a great shooting original for comparison.

I agree. I won't modify my original older 10/22s.

 

To keep a 10/22 "stock" I like the idea of sending it to Randy at CPC for his chamber and bolt and trigger job. Looks stock and shoots great at the same time. You get the best of both worlds and it doesn't break the bank.
Dave