I have a Ruger American Rimfire Target, stainless with the thumbhole stock. It's as accurate as my Ruger 10/22 Target, stainless, out to 100 yards off the bench. I've heard they are "hit or miss" also, maybe I just got a couple good ones. They are pretty much SUB-MOA with SV ammo...even at 100...but they are definitely ammo dependent. I've put quite a bit of CCI-SV through both of them...I bought a brick of SK Rifle Match expecting them to improve, but must have gotten a bad lot of SK...that same SK doesn't perform any better with my Vudoo Three 60. I haven't put any CCI through the Vudoo, it eats SK Pistol Match now...which does a good bit better than RM.

 

Does that model have a slightly heavier barrel profile than the standard?

 

Yes the barrel is heavier than the standard. It measures .720" at the muzzle, in between the standard and the target profiles. During my brief test the rifle fed, fired, extracted and ejected without issue. I did some function testing with some of my dozen or so 10/22 mags and found none of them would drop free and did not feed as smoothly as the mag that came with the rifle. I compared the measurements of the mags and found .006-.008 difference in some areas. I also noticed the older mags did not seat all the way forward unless manually pushed and resistance could be felt. This was likely the cause of the feeding being less smooth and the mags not dropping on their own. I investigated this and found the screw head that engages the hole in the front pillar was the source of the bind. Used some marking compound to see where the bind was. It was binding on the lower and left portion of the hole in the pillar. When the mag was inserted and stopped by the shoulders in the stock the screw head was not centered in the pillar hole. Solution- I shaved .008 off the bottom of the front pillar and one layer of aluminum tape on the right side to center it up. Result- All of my older 10/22 mags now seat properly, drop free and feeding is very much smoother. The action also sits better on the pillars (less rocking) before the action screws are put in and torqued. I have not shot it again to see if this is going to have any effect on the accuracy. I imagine the tolerances of the synthetic stocks varies a bit and I corrected some of the mismatch.

 

Shot some more groups with the 8351, still at 25yds into my bullet trap. 5 5 shot groups with cheaper ammo than the Eley, CCI mini mags and Blazer. Mini mags averaged .35" and .28" if I discount 2 fliers. I was surprised at the Blazer performance, .27" average for 5 groups and no fliers. Still need to get to the range but it is deer season now, priorities. Only 250 or so rounds through it at this point and have heard they get better after 500-1000 down the pipe.

 

Finally shot some groups at 50 yards a couple of days ago. Conditions were not the best with 10-15 mph winds from 4 o'clock. Average for the groups - .63" with Eley Club, no called fliers. Had one group with 4 in .24" and a flier to the left (wind?). Horizontal dispersion in the groups noticeably more than the vertical. Rifle is now fitted with a Vortex 4x16 Diamondback tactical.

 

I have a model #8334, basically the same configuration as yours, but olive green stock and a steel barrel, it shoots great.