How to clean Ruger 10-22 barrel

[Nick Burkhardt]

How to clean Ruger 10-22 barrel?

Spend the extra $100 to get a Takedown model. Twist to disassemble.

 

[gmerkt]

Run it until it won't shoot or hit the broadside of that preverbal barn anymore, then post it up for sale and let the next guy clean it. Come on 10/22's are cheap lil plinkers and are on sale often but even better barrels are cheap and plentiful, just shove a fiberglass rod down its throat and be done with it.

My inclination is to agree with the above. .22 rimfire barrels will last a very long time.

I thought, "After all, it's only a 10-22. You can always get another of those." Then I went over to Gunbroker to see how much they go for now and was surprised to see a customary price is about $400 to $450.

It's been nearly 40 years since I once owned one. I didn't like it, I preferred a Marlin Model 60, an even cheaper rifle.

So excuse me for asking, but what's the deal with going to the trouble of changing an original receiver to a steel one? Won't the 10-22 cast receiver last out the life of the rifle?

As to the practice of cleaning through the muzzle, you get used to it. I've been doing it with M1 Rifles for years and don't give it a thought. And yes, some examples seen have worn muzzles but that's from GI steel rods having been used on them. Worst one I ever had was a rifle that came off a pallet of rifles from ROTC units. Cadets spent more time cleaning their rifles than shooting them. But it shot okay.

My Marlin 56 is a muzzle cleaner too, Heaven knows what that barrel has gone through and still shoots well.

The last thing I'd do to clean a 10-22 would be to remove the barrel expressly for that purpose.

 

[Bobbygun]

My inclination is to agree with the above. .22 rimfire barrels will last a very long time.

I thought, "After all, it's only a 10-22. You can always get another of those." Then I went over to Gunbroker to see how much they go for now and was surprised to see a customary price is about $400 to $450.

It's been nearly 40 years since I once owned one. I didn't like it, I preferred a Marlin Model 60, an even cheaper rifle.

So excuse me for asking, but what's the deal with going to the trouble of changing an original receiver to a steel one? Won't the 10-22 cast receiver last out the life of the rifle?

As to the practice of cleaning through the muzzle, you get used to it. I've been doing it with M1 Rifles for years and don't give it a thought. And yes, some examples seen have worn muzzles but that's from GI steel rods having been used on them. Worst one I ever had was a rifle that came off a pallet of rifles from ROTC units. Cadets spent more time cleaning their rifles than shooting them. But it shot okay.

My Marlin 56 is a muzzle cleaner too, Heaven knows what that barrel has gone through and still shoots well.

The last thing I'd do to clean a 10-22 would be to remove the barrel expressly for that purpose.

I'm inclined to agree with @deadeye as well. I've had my 10/22 for a long time. It was under $200 bucks and has served me faithfully for many years. I take really good care of my guns, most of them anyway. (I sold the first pistol I ever bought last year, and the buyer remarked that it looked like new after 30 years.) When it comes to cleaning my 10/22, well, I'm only willing to invest so much time and effort in a sub-$200 item that doesn't really have any sentimental value or real important purpose other than plinking and knocking off an occasional grouse or rodent. I just run the cleaning rod down the barrel and get 'r done. (Of course, I don't have $5,000 in mods on mine either.) I haven't noticed any real decay in accuracy, and it has been shot more than any other firearm I own.

 

[1BoredGuy]

+1 for bore snake.
I might up ending throwing away all my old brass brushes because bore snakes do a great job in little time.
You can spray your preferred CLP or whatever on it, just takes a couple passes on my be case.
Can still finish off with cotton patches and lube the traditional way before long term storage.

 

[TTSX]

What's Ruger suggest in their manual? I'd do that.

 

[gmerkt]

I'm only willing to invest so much time and effort in a sub-$200 item

This was my initial thinking. And it may as well still be because $400 is the new $200?

 

[Hueco]

I dont want to have to rezero every time I clean.

the plain stock 10-22s dont really do it for me either so I modified mine and like it now. I never played with the stock barrel so I dont even know if I improved anything but it looks attractive and is enjoyable to shoot.

Id like to add a nice trigger if I can find a drop in one, if anyone has recommendations Id be grateful.

I had the Kidd two stage in my more target oriented build and used Kidd upgraded internals for my speed steel build.

The upgraded internals are well worth it - great single stage trigger after them - light, no creep, quick reset / very little over travel. I swapped into an aluminum trigger housing at the same time, mostly because the faceplate comes off making teardowns and rebuilds of the trigger a breeze.

 

[orygun]

As to the practice of cleaning through the muzzle, you get used to it. I've been doing it with M1 Rifles for years and don't give it a thought. And yes, some examples seen have worn muzzles but that's from GI steel rods having been used on them. Worst one I ever had was a rifle that came off a pallet of rifles from ROTC units. Cadets spent more time cleaning their rifles than shooting them. But it shot okay. My Marlin 56 is a muzzle cleaner too, Heaven knows what that barrel has gone through and still shoots well.

With a Winchester or Marlin lever, or something similar, like my Henry 22, not any way to clean from the breech.
My 1894 Winchester (made in the 20's) has no rifling for the last inch of the barrel. It shoots Ok-ish. Patterns at 100, large groups at 50. I did kill a deer with it a few years ago. He was about 30 yards away, though.

 

[Ben B.]

I've drilled the rear of the receiver on 10/22s but it's not worth it, IMO. A bore snake is worth it.

A long .22 rifle nylon brush, bent into 90* "L-shape", is handy for cleaning the chamber out when the rifle starts jamming from wax build up. You just remove the magazine to give a space for gunk to fall, poke the brush into the chamber thru the ejection port, twist and back n forth it around in there to scrub the gunk out. Maybe run the brush across the face of the chamber to clear other residue.

 

[Bobbygun]

I've drilled the rear of the receiver on 10/22s but it's not worth it, IMO. A bore snake is worth it.

A long .22 rifle nylon brush, bent into 90* "L-shape", is handy for cleaning the chamber out when the rifle starts jamming from wax build up. You just remove the magazine to give a space for gunk to fall, poke the brush into the chamber thru the ejection port, twist and back n forth it around in there to scrub the gunk out. Maybe run the brush across the face of the chamber to clear other residue.

For the chamber I sometimes use an old toothbrush soaked in Hoppes #9. It's a bit messy but works.

 

[Hueco]

@Koda i forgot that I detailed out the KIDD parts here: https://www.northwestfirearms.com/threads/build-up-10-22.318516/

I compared them to stock ruger so you can see the differences.

 

[deadeye]

With a Winchester or Marlin lever, or something similar, like my Henry 22, not any way to clean from the breech.
My 1894 Winchester (made in the 20's) has no rifling for the last inch of the barrel. It shoots Ok-ish. Patterns at 100, large groups at 50. I did kill a deer with it a few years ago. He was about 30 yards away, though.

I have several levers Ithaca 22mag (like a henry) marlin 57m 22mag, marlin 357, rossi 357, win. 30-30 and others, as well as several semi autos that all get a rod shoved down the bore. I do have boresnakes for several but usually just a rod gets used. Best thing to do is use copper jacketed or copper coated so you dont get lead buildup. I havnt shot a rimfire in years that hasnt been loaded with CCI copper coated. The little added cost over lead cheap stuff like remington thundercrap, blazer etc. saves time cleaning. I have a 10'22 I bought in 98 to replace one I bought back in the 80's and sold and one from 69 that still shoot just fine.

 

[Koda]

What's Ruger suggest in their manual? I'd do that.

Rugers manual doesnt specify which end to clean from but whats interesting is they say to use a cable cleaning rod from the breech in the instructions on their webpage.

Good idea, but whats funny is they take the time to recommend cleaning from the breech end but I cringed watching him pull the cable rod thru so that the whole cable rubbed on the edge of the crown. So much for cleaning from the breech end.

Ruger Videos

www.ruger.com

 

[Koda]

@Koda i forgot that I detailed out the KIDD parts here: https://www.northwestfirearms.com/threads/build-up-10-22.318516/

I compared them to stock ruger so you can see the differences.

Thats a good thread, the KIDD trigger kit looks like an even better step up from the BX assembly and still in the right price range. Plus I like their auto bolt hold release, the one annoying thing of the 10-22s.
I will bookmark this.

10/22® Trigger Job Kit aftermarket upgrades by KIDD

 

[gmerkt]

With a Winchester or Marlin lever, or something similar, like my Henry 22, not any way to clean from the breech.

Some Marlins you can fairly easily remove the bolt and clean through the breech, if I remember correctly. I've owned later 1894, 1895, and a 335R and these were of that design. I remember liking them for this feature vice the many 1894 Winchesters I've had which cleaned through the muzzle. I've owned one Henry Big Boy Steel, and I seem to remember it came apart similar to the Marlin. On both the Marlins I refer to and the Henry, it involves removing the lever but it's easy compared to a Win. 94.

The M1 Rifle, we're stuck on that one. Removing the barrel is out. Drilling a hole in the back of the receiver is out. Some guys I know don't even want to take the gas cylinder off to clean one.

 

[gmerkt]

I've had my 10/22 for a long time. It was under $200 bucks and has served me faithfully for many years.

Lately I've been reviewing my life time of gun purchases. The only 10-22 I bought in 1985. The retail cost new then was $87.50. Which might explain why in my mind they are still stuck as a kinda throw-away gun.

For comparison, at about the same time, I bought a Ruger Mini-14 for $223 and a Colt SP-1 for $425.

Here is a link to an article that I found interesting about differences between older 10-22's and newer ones. Not all of them have threaded barrels:

Ruger 10/22 Review 2021: The Cheapening… - The New Rifleman

What are the central tenants of a good firearm? I think there are two *basic* tenants. 1) The rifle hits what it's aimed at. 2) The rifle shoots when you tell it to. So basically it's accurate and reliable. From this standpoint, a rifle accurate enough to hit your target and to do so reliably

thenewrifleman.com

 

[Hueco]

Lately I've been reviewing my life time of gun purchases. The only 10-22 I bought in 1985. The retail cost new then was $87.50. Which might explain why in my mind they are still stuck as a kinda throw-away gun.

For comparison, at about the same time, I bought a Ruger Mini-14 for $223 and a Colt SP-1 for $425.

Here is a link to an article that I found interesting about differences between older 10-22's and newer ones. Not all of them have threaded barrels:

Ruger 10/22 Review 2021: The Cheapening… - The New Rifleman

What are the central tenants of a good firearm? I think there are two *basic* tenants. 1) The rifle hits what it's aimed at. 2) The rifle shoots when you tell it to. So basically it's accurate and reliable. From this standpoint, a rifle accurate enough to hit your target and to do so reliably

thenewrifleman.com

Inflation wise, it appears they haven't really changed in price.

But profit margin wise…yea, Ruger is making a killing compared to yesteryear.

 

[Bobbygun]

Lately I've been reviewing my life time of gun purchases. The only 10-22 I bought in 1985. The retail cost new then was $87.50. Which might explain why in my mind they are still stuck as a kinda throw-away gun.

For comparison, at about the same time, I bought a Ruger Mini-14 for $223 and a Colt SP-1 for $425.

Here is a link to an article that I found interesting about differences between older 10-22's and newer ones. Not all of them have threaded barrels:

Ruger 10/22 Review 2021: The Cheapening… - The New Rifleman

What are the central tenants of a good firearm? I think there are two *basic* tenants. 1) The rifle hits what it's aimed at. 2) The rifle shoots when you tell it to. So basically it's accurate and reliable. From this standpoint, a rifle accurate enough to hit your target and to do so reliably

thenewrifleman.com

Thanks for the interesting article. I'm afraid my gun is a little newer than yours, around 1994 vintage. The trigger guard feels like plastic to me, but the barrel band is metal.

Other than a Red Ryder, my first gun of my very own was a Remington Fieldmaster .22 pump action I received for 8th grade graduation. Several of my friends shot 10/22s. My college roommate would jokingly claim it wasn't fair for me to use the pump when we were out shooting digger squirrels, because he had to wait for the 10/22 to cycle. I was pretty fast with that pump, but not THAT fast.

 

[Koda]

The 10-22 is popular because its a fun size and semi auto. But Ive never considered it high end. I dont think modifying it with a cleaning rod hole (that cant be seen) will hurt its resell value much. I dont know if I would care anyways... I dont plan on ever selling it. A 22lr rifle is one of those staple guns everyone should own.

 

[deadeye]

Thanks for the interesting article. I'm afraid my gun is a little newer than yours, around 1994 vintage. The trigger guard feels like plastic to me, but the barrel band is metal.

Other than a Red Ryder, my first gun of my very own was a Remington Fieldmaster .22 pump action I received for 8th grade graduation. Several of my friends shot 10/22s. My college roommate would jokingly claim it wasn't fair for me to use the pump when we were out shooting digger squirrels, because he had to wait for the 10/22 to cycle. I was pretty fast with that pump, but not THAT fast.

your 94 should have a metal trigger housing, my 98 one does. I have one of those fieldmasters from around 84 good lil rifle and you can shoot shorts too.