Ruger 96-22m

798 Views 10 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Bob in Michigan, Jun 7, 2003

5808

Discussion Starter · May 27, 2003

Due to the shortage of .17hmr ammo, I think I'm gonna go with the .22mag for the time being for rabbits, badgers and called coyotes (less than 100yrds)....Anybody have anything good or bad to say about the 96-22m as far as acuracy and the .22mag in general.......also, are the .17hmr barrels from green mountain able to be put on the lever gun?

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Ole' Man River

· #2 · May 28, 2003

Buy the 96/17 instead

Then you can put a 10/22 magnum barrel on it for when the .17 HMR ammo is scarce. Later you can get a 10/22 magnum and swap the 96/17 barrel to it and have a genuine Ruger 10/17.
Ted

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5808

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 28, 2003

I thought about doin it that way Ted, the idea of a semi auto hummer really turns me on.....to bad a guy cant even trade his soul for some ammo right now........but I wanted to go with the lever action because it adds some character to a gun in my opinion.....My hunting partner is waiting on either a 10/17 to come out, or he's gonna go the way that you suggest......I'll wait till the ammo is plentiful and drops a bit in price and then add the .17 barrel but keep the lever action.......Its a little different than what most .17 shooters will prefer, but thats character aint it?

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Ole' Man River

· #4 · May 29, 2003

A 10/17 for your partner

Here's an example of just one of those I've built.

Ted

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5808

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 31, 2003

Nice lookin gun Ted!!....I'd be a little nervous to take it in the bush though.....Wouldnt want to scratch it up or have my hunting partner looking at it with with a watering mouth.......He commented that it looked good enough to lick like a lollipop!!!!....What do you use it for?...Does it ever come off the bench?

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Ole' Man River

· #6 · May 31, 2003

Off the bench

Constantly out shooting with it. When not on the rifle rest shown it sets on a Buddy bag. I do use this rifle a lot for PD's and Gophers. Here's another one to look at.

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5962

· #7 · Jun 3, 2003

I put an 18.5 inch Lilja barrel which was made for doing 10/22 Mag>17HMR conversions on my Ruger 96/22 Mag, and I doubt I'll ever put the 22 Mag barrel back on it. It is like Tom Swift's laser guided atomic BB gun, and I'm a kid again.
Ammo isn't really a problem; just figure you can't count on your local shop for it, and you have to order it 6 weeks ahead of time, from MidSouth or the like.
I have been through 7,000 rounds since last June and have never run out. In fact, I loaned a brick to the local gunshop when they ran out. (Wonder if they have it back for me yet...)

Best to All

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5808

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 5, 2003

Bob

Where did you order the barrel from?.....How much?......And is it an idiotproof conversion, or should I be finding someone to do it for me? Thanks!!

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5962

· #9 · Jun 6, 2003

Short version---I basically just stuck it on there, and it worked great...
Long version--- bought the barrel from Lilja (copy of Ruger's Varmint Taper, cut to 18.5 inches), in their used barrel section.
It was made by Lilja "for a 10/22Mag>17HMR conversion, but the guy changed his mind and wanted a longer barrel".
In 2 such conversions last year, the 22 inch barreled one worked fine. But I failed to get the 18.5 inch one going; but I tried, for 4 months!.

So I talked to people at Hornady, Lilja, Volquartsen, and Ruger; then finally bought a 96/22Mag, verified that the barrels measured the same where it counted, and just stuck the 'semi-auto' barrel on the lever action.

The barrel band doesn't fit anymore. I had to open up the barrel inlet a bit. I put a little epoxy under the receiver in 3 places, also the first inch of barrel.
Short little thing, a bit chunky with that heavy taper barrel, but still only about 7 pounds. Been shooting since 1955, and have shot about everything, but that little gun...it is really special.
It shoots almost as good as my Anschutz 1517MPR on the bench, and a lot handier 'around the place'.
Little weird looking though. I placed a couple little well-thought pieces of skateboard tape on the stock, and epoxy-puttied a chunk of an old Mauser handguard on the fore-end where the barrel band was...figured it looked strange anyway, so I went with that.
Sorry, but I can't post a picture here yet. (Post your email address and I'll send you one...)

Good Luck, and All the Best

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5808

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jun 6, 2003

Great Reply Bob.......Thanks..........And YES I would love to see a picture of your 'strange' little gun........My email address is in my profile........

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5962

· #11 · Jun 7, 2003

I tired sending you an email with pictures through the forum's system.
Hope it worked!
Best,

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