Fun (and functional) 10/22 mod

[Martinjmpr]

I'm guessing a lot of us here have the venerable Ruger 10/22 rifle. Of course, there are a bajillion mods out there for the 10/22 and many people go for either tacti-cool "black rifle" styling, or super-precision shooting with heavy barrels, etc.

I went a different way with mine. Mine is a pure plinker, just something fun to shoot, but I always hated the tiny little rear sight and the only marginally better front sight. It's almost like Ruger put the bare minimum sights on that they could get away with.

Anyway, I first saw these EA Brown Co stock and sight kits a few years ago and finally got around to getting it done. Basically the kit transforms the 10/22 into a pretty faithful copy of the venerable M1 Carbine.

Before:



After:



The stock was pretty easy. The sights were a little more difficult. I had to go and buy a set of drift punches, then I put the barrel in a vice (padded with an old pillow case) and tapped the old front sight out. The new front sight is adjustable for elevation with a "turret" just like an M16 front sight. It has several pieces that have to be assembled with loc-tite. After I knocked out the front sight I knocked out the rear sight.

The EABCO stock comes with two upper handguards, one of them has a hole in it for if you want to keep the factory rear sight and the other one doesn't.

The rear sight just screws right into the rear scope receiver holes.

Now not only is it much more functional (MUCH better sight picture with the aperture rear sight and front sight with "wings") but it looks good, too!

Anyway, just wanted to share in case anyone else is on the fence about this mod. The stock is gorgeous, and looks pretty much identical to a "real" M1 Carbine.

My very first gun, ever, was an old "Universal" .30 M1 Carbine so I've always had a soft spot for the Carbine.

[Irving]

How would you describe the weight?

[Martinjmpr]

How would you describe the weight?

I couldn't tell any significant difference from the factory stock. The EABCO stock is a bit shorter, maybe half an inch, which kind of sucks for me because of my long ape-arms. I may try some kind of thick butt pad to extend the length of pull by a little bit. The stock seems to be very well made, some kind of dark wood (walnut maybe?)

Being a dark wood it shows every little chip, though - I think I dinged it a couple of times when putting the stock on the rifle. But I'm not going to worry about it, it's a rifle, for God's sake, not a piece of priceless china. If I can't USE it the way I would a rifle it's not worth anything to me.

All it needs now is a fake 15 rnd magazine that looks like the original Carbine magazine. I wonder if EABCO is making other accessories like a Korean-war style bayonet lug or a WWII paratrooper-style folding stock?

[CS1983]

Pretty neat.

What was total cost in on the mods?

[Martinjmpr]

Pretty neat.

What was total cost in on the mods?

The stock was $113 + $5.00 shipping directly from EA Brown Company (looks like the price has gone up slightly since I got mine in December) EDIT: They now offer free shipping over $99 so the current $119.00 cost is just a buck more than I paid for the stock + shipping:

https://www.eabco.net/M1-Carbine-Rep...e_p_13774.html

Sights I found slightly cheaper on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are two versions of the rear sight, the Tech 100 and the Tech 200. Price difference is maybe $5 - $6.00 more for the 200. The 200 rear sight is adjustable for windage and elevation. The 100 rear sight is adjustable for windage only but it does have the two-aperture flip sight like the old M-16A2.

So my total cost is a bit over $200. If you don't care about the "look" and just want more functional sights, IMO the sights alone are an excellent deal. I always HATED the factory iron sights on the 10/22, they just seemed piss poor and difficult to use except in very bright light conditions. The rear aperture makes for a great view of the front sight and adds 7" of sight radius. The front sight has "wings" like a military sight that also makes for a very easy sight picture. I can't wait to take this thing out and try it!

[Irving]

I always HATED the factory iron sights on the 10/22, they just seemed piss poor and difficult to use except in very bright light conditions.

Strongly agree. Rifle looks nice. I went through the same process, but a different path, of making my stock 10/22 more shootable.

[Martinjmpr]

I need to get an OD canvas sling and oiler on there. Then it will be a nice companion to the DCM Garand in my gun safe. Hmm...now all I need is an M1911 and I'll have the "WWII Trifecta."

[Martinjmpr]

At first I was a little bit worried about getting the factory front sight off and for a while I thought I'd have to take it to a gunsmith. But then I watched a couple of videos and realized it was something I could do in the garage.

The key is to have a vise and a decent sized punch (no a screwdriver won't work. DAMHIK.) I got a basic set of punches at HF for $3.99.

Once you get the front sight loosened (my rifle is probably 17 years old so it was pretty stuck on there) it will come out without too much difficulty. Another key point is that apparently the sight is slightly beveled left-to-right so it is designed to go in from the right and go out to the right. So when you're knocking the front sight out, make sure to go left-to-right and then the new sight goes back in right-to-left.

Removing the factory rear sight was pretty easy, again I just lined up the punch and smacked it with a hammer (with the rifle barrel in the vise, of course.)

[CS1983]

What about 22lr versions of the 1911 and Garand?

[crays]

Nice looking project OP.

What about 22lr versions of the 1911 and Garand?

I have the Colt-branded, Walther-manufactured Umarex 22LR 1911, and aside form being a (fair) bit lighter, it seems to be a pretty faithful repro. It came in a gov't, railed and NM variants. Has been a hoot to shoot, and is great for the kids and ladies, as well due to the weight and negligible recoil. There are others out there, but that's what i have. (Although mine is the NM version, because that was all that was available when I NEEDED to buy mine. )

I know there is/was someone making Garand clones (and maybe carbines, too) in 22lr. name escapes me, but IIRC, they were a bit pricey.

EDIT: I was just going to mention the recoil spring issue I had and I remembered that, though manufactured by Walther, it was marketed by/as Umarex.
As far as the spring issue, I would merely suggest contacting customer service ad getting a spare or two at the outset. I inadvertently hosed mine taking down/re-assembling, and had to wait quite some time for a replacement. Could likely get one faster now, though.