Stocking Up...

So, I mentioned last Friday I brought my 10/22 to the range for its second time, right? Ever lever-gun fan Borepatch had to agree that the 10/22 is more fun that ought to be allowed*. So, naturally, we've got to make it more fun, right? And what could be more fun than taking a staid wood-stocked 10/22 and turning it into an eeeeevil black rifle? I've taken the Ruger apart a few times now, and saying that the procedure is easy is an understatement. Take out one screw and the whole shebang separates from the stock - it's so easy even I can do it.

But which evil black (or dark earth, or olive drab, or...) stock should I drop it into?

Because my 10/22 was made some 20 years before the federal Assault Weapons ban, it's suitable for additional evil features that would be verboten on a new rifle. What that means, essentially, is that a folding or collapsible stock would be perfectly legal to put on this rifle (but a felony if I had an identical, but new, 10/22. Stupid, stupid laws). This opens up a wide variety of options:

1. Folding stock. The main advantage of a folding stock, naturally, is that it makes the rifle more portable. One of the concerns of a folding stock in a centerfire rifle is that it doesn't absorb recoil as well as a full stock; that's the beauty of the .22LR here.

2. Collapsible stock. An adjustable stock doesn't just make the gun grabbers wet their pants in fear, it also allows you to customize the rifle to a wide variety of shooters. I'm hoping this is the year that I bring TheBoy to the range with me, and it would be great if I could hand him the 10/22 sized to him for his first semi-auto rifle experience.

3. Combination stock. Has the advantages of 1 & 2; a little more pricey but getting both desirable features in one stock is well-worth it. Being able to customize the overall length *and* save space in the gun cabinet/rifle case is a huge plus.

4. Sniper/Dragunov-style stock. This one doesn't actually involve the AWB unless I put a muzzle break on the 10/22, but it's still something to think about. Especially if I can find a variant with a scope mount aft of the receiver for a scout-style rifle.

5. AR-15 style conversion stock. This is a possibility as well, as it allows the 10/22 to stand in for the Bushmaster somewhat. It's a different action, so it's not as good as a S&W M&P15-22 or a dedicated .22 upper, but for the price it's the least expensive option out there.

Plus it has a bayonet mount. *HUGE* plus there.

6. Other. Is there some other possibility I'm overlooking?

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Given the ease with which the stock can be swapped out (and back), I'm not concerned about keeping the rifle in "original" configuration. At any given moment I can change it back to how it was the day I got it. I'm interested in something with a forend rail, because it would be really sweet to put the Colt CGL Foregrip Laser on the 10/22. A top-mount rail would be great for the scout-style scope/red dot mount (or green laser... Hmmm) - it'd be a lot of fun to have the 10/22 decked out with goodies to play with on the pistol range...

Thoughts, opinions, comments, etc. on stocks are appreciated - anything that works or didn't work; manufacturers to look for (or avoid); there's a lot of stocks out there for the Ruger 10/22 for a reason. I don't mind doing a little sanding/cutting/Dremel work for minor fitting if needed; however I'm not interested in carving a new stock out of a block of plastic. I'm a big fan of modular systems and rails - it's nice to have options and I've got a few in the box 'o' stuff that I would love to put on the 10/22.

And, as always when I talk about my 10/22, if anyone out there in America has a beat-up old "pre-ban" magazine they'd like to trade for a comparable brand new one, please let me know...

That is all.

*figuratively speaking, of course...