Ruger 10-22 help

Coyote33

Coyote33

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Not sure if this should go in this forum, or the Liberty Training Rifle one, or somewhere else, but here it is for now.

Well, I got a used .22 in June and just this weekend finally took it out to try. Anyhow, the bolt failed to release for the longest time, but finally did after some fiddling. Once in a while I would get dud, and noticed no firing pin strike on the case. Other times, the bolt wouldn't close completely.

This gun LOOKS like brand new, so I can't figure it out. Another guy there said his never gave a problem, so couldn't put a finger on it either. We both thought maybe it was just dry and in need of some good lubrication. Some RemOil helped a little, but it was still finicky. Then I noticed the bolt release thing next to the trigger sort of was floating and I noticed what might be a hole. Is this thing supposed to be held in by a pin, and if so, where?

Also, the magazine didn't always fit in nice, but needed to be rocked back then forward to have it seat and click in.

Again, this thing LOOKS perfect, with no irregular wear or anything, so I'm wondering what is going on. Anybody good with Rugers wanna help a guy out?

That said, if it needs repair, should I call the old guy up I got it from in June? I know, I know, I should have tried it out first, but it looked real nice and it seemed to rack the slide fine when there, so ...

Anyhow, if this thing does need help, I'd want to fix it with upgraded parts if necessary. I also am definitely going to look into the extended magazine release (not sure which one), some more magazines, and maybe a decent yet inexpensive scope or red-dot. But first I need to get this thing working right.

Oh, and my cleaning rod barely fit in the muzzle when I tried to put a patch down it. I needed to cut the patch into 1/4 to get it to fit. This was a standard Outers brass rod and it says it works with .22's.

Thank you.
 
What you need is Mark White's book The Ultimate Ruger 10/22 Manual and User's Guide.

You can get it from a few different places online or maybe even at a local gun shop that has gun books.
Its the best book I've seen regarding disassembly and tinkering with a 10/22.

One thing I can help you with right now is advice on the cleaning rod.
Standard cleaning rods will barely fit, especially if you are using a slotted patch holder. You're better off with one specially designed for .22 cal or using a Bore Snake. http://www.midwayusa.com/Eproductpage.Exe/showproduct?saleitemid=342014
 
If you don't have an exploded drawing of the rifle, go to the Ruger site and download one. That will tell you if you have any parts missing. Most of the parts in the trigger group are pinned, with a couple of slotted parts that move along the pins. It's easy to take the entire thing out to clean and lube it. Just be careful because you can easily lose parts.

Also, use a bore light to look down the barrel and make sure that there aren't a lot of lead deposits. That won't help the bolt sticking thing, but might explain the rod being tight. It should be tight, but not THAT tight.

The stock bolt release can be a bit tricky to get to work, but the extended ones are pretty good. Lot's of parts for the 10-22 on Ebay and other sites.
 
It is possible someone disassembled the whole trigger group and put it together wrong or missing a piece. A spring either missing or put in the wrong way might cause some of these issues.

This is a good chance to get intimately familiar with the assembly
of the thing...
 
If your bolt release isn't secure, you may well be missing one of the pins in your trigger group. My used 10/22 was missing one of the 2 main receiver pins when I bought it, and it caused all kinds of seemingly random failures before I stripped it down and found the culprit. Midway sells pretty much any replacement part you'd need, and there's nothing in that gun that can't be swapped out in under an hour.

If in fact you are missing a pin from the trigger assembly, I'd suggest taking the opportunity to buy an aftermarket trigger group.
 
I have a question about scratches on my 10/22 barrel and receiver. Can a regular bluing pen clean all that up? What do you all recommend.
 
Have you detail stripped it yet? Pull the bolt apart and inspect everything? If not, give that a try. It is not too difficult.

KDK said:
I have a question about scratches on my 10/22 barrel and receiver. Can a regular bluing pen clean all that up? What do you all recommend.
Click to expand...

There are other threads on bluing - try searching. Just know that the reciever is aluminum and the barrel steel, so you may need different flavors (I believe) for the different parts.
 
I guess I need to send to Ruger for a manual for starters.

Is this thing intuitive enough to pull the trigger group out? I'm no dunce, but also don't like surprises, especially when springs and tiny loose parts are involved.

Just curious if this whole thing pulls down whether or not a missing or loose pin will be obvious or make the whole thing disintegrate as soon as it is released.

Again, I'll put out the plea for help. I'll buy some pizza or even a home cooked meal or a lunch/beers at Chili's after the requisite post-fix range time with you if someone wants to help.
 
Getting the trigger group off the receiver is easy, and as long as it is assembled correctly won't start shedding parts as soon as it's off the rifle. There are some nice parts diagrams on Rimfire Central. Based on your description, the first part I would look at to see if it's home is B-35, the pin that holds the bolt release and mag catch.

Ensure rifle unloaded, no magazine in, cycle action to cock hammer, bolt closed.

Remove barrel band (if installed, it's not actually needed)

Loosen large screw in stock in front of trigger assembly until receiver comes loose. To remove the stock, you may have to hold the safety in the center of it's travel to clear the stock.

Once the stock is off, you should be able to look at the sides of the trigger group and make sure all the pins are there. To remove the trigger from the rifle, drive out the 2 pins (B-5) holding it it. Again, if it's assembled correctly, nothing will jump off of it.

Further dissassembly of the trigger group is a little trickier, but not impossible. Let me know if you have any questions, and good luck.

Almost forgot: Ruger Manual in .pdf. And I have to agree with Milsurps 4 Me - buy a Bore Snake. Easiest way to clean the barrel on semiauto 22s.
 
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Coyote33 said:
Anyhow, the bolt failed to release for the longest time, but finally did after some fiddling.

Once in a while I would get dud, and noticed no firing pin strike on the case.


Other times, the bolt wouldn't close completely.

Also, the magazine didn't always fit in nice, but needed to be rocked back then forward to have it seat and click in.
Click to expand...

1. Are you sure that you completely understood how the bolt release operates. There is a kind of awkward in and up motion to disengage the hold open and you need to hold the bolt back while doing it.

2. A once in a while dud with 22 rimfire is EXPECTED, especially if you are using bargain brand bulk ammo

3. An occasional failure to feed (bolt wouldn't close completely) is usually also ammo related

4. Magazine fit, sounds normal to me. Aftermarket mags can be the culprit, but even the factory Ruger mags will wear out over time. An improperly seated mag can cause many problems.

Here is what I would do:

Clean the gun well, and oil it. Even if it appears to be clean already. You may have some old sticky lubricant hiding in there that needs to be refreshed. Make sure you at least pull the bolt group from the gun.

With a 10 round Ruger factory mag (buy a new one if you are suspect of the ones you got) and an ample supply of CCI Mini Mags go out and try it again.

If the gun operates well with Mini Mags you can then rule out mechanical issues. You might need to experiment with different varieties of bulk amm to find one that runs reliably in your gun.

Good luck, and keep us posted on your results.
 
Another problem may be the mag itself. Ruger Mags often come from the factory ( I know this is used) with the spring tension to light. Its an easy fix to tighten the spring tension on the mag. If the spring tension is not right it will cause feed problems which means Jams...

Here is good video that shows how to disassemble the mag
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek4_iFVoKdo
 
Coyote33 said:
Is this thing intuitive enough to pull the trigger group out? I'm no dunce, but also don't like surprises, especially when springs and tiny loose parts are involved.

Just curious if this whole thing pulls down whether or not a missing or loose pin will be obvious or make the whole thing disintegrate as soon as it is released.
Click to expand...

Trigger group drops out with 2 pins. Easy. From that point you can inspect inside the trigger assembly. Spray with gun scrubber, oil, etc.

Dissasembling the trigger group is not too bad. A little fussy at points going together, but not bad. I pulled mine apart and had it back together in less than an hour first time - and that included full detail stripping, cleaning of the entire rifle.

+1 for the bore snake. you won't go back.
 
FWIW, when I first got my 10/22, I found that locking back and releasing the bolt to be an action that wasn't really intuitive. It took some practice for me to get to the point that I could lock it back easily.
 
I've built a few LTRs, so at this point in time I'm pretty familiar with how to take apart and reassemble the 10/22. If you're around the MRA, I'd be happy to meet up with you there and take a look at it.
 
OK, got it apart pretty easily.

Trigger group dropped out easily.

Something looked amiss though with the bolt release. I touched the pin, and it wasn't really in very tight at all. In fact, it slid right out.

Also, the bolt release was definitely showing the hole where the pin goes ABOVE the pin. Seems to me someone had this apart and put it together wrong, as nothing looks broken.

I tried to get it back in with the magazine catch and tried a few ways to get the release down into place, but no go. I figured I'd try the Ruger trick which works on the MkII pistol and pull the trigger, and ...

... and as far as "shedding parts", a spring with a retainer on a piece maybe 1.25 inches long came out when I pulled trigger (aimed in safe direction, chamber clear and trigger separated from barrel assembly).

So, I think I want an extended mag release. Which of the two in the LTR thread should I get? Any other inexpensive parts to put in while it is apart? The magazine looks like a stock Ruger one, and seems more tight than loose, so I have a feeling it is the other parts out of alignment which is screwing up the fitment into magazine well.

Any other advice out there? I really HATE having to take this to a gunsmith, as it seems pretty basic, but I've never done one of these. I guess if we get some rain this weekend, I will read some of the links above unless anyone wants to help out a guy in need.

Thanks again everyone!
 
The 10/22 does depend on the stock to retain all the pins, so it is fairly common for these to be looser than you'd expect. If you finish assembling the rifle, and there's a mystery pin lying on your bench, then it fell out during assembly, usually while the rifle is on it's side. Go ahead, guess how I know this.... [smile]

The pin that holds the ejector in place also runs through the bolt catch. If you push that pin in just enough to clear the bolt catch, you may have an easier time getting the bottom pin lined up. Then you can get the top one in, which should be much easier to see.

There aren't any performance differences in the aftermarket mag releases, just personal preference in the size & shape of the added lever. Mine is a 1" long piece of aluminum rod I threaded into the the factory mag catch. Pick whatever one looks better to you, or is in stock, or is cheaper.

I did find a page showing how to take the trigger apart - it might help.

The part that escaped is the hammer spring assembly - it's only retained if the hammer is cocked, or the trigger is installed in the rifle. The retainer end drops in the hole in the trigger housing behind the hammer, the rounded end goes in the rounded spot in the back of the hammer. When you cock the hammer, it will fall into place.

If you've taken down a Mk II, than you shouldn't have trouble learning this trigger. It's different, but easy to pick up. I had hoped there was a good set of instructions out there on the web for the 10/22 trigger, but I haven't found a really good one yet.

The other common modification in the trigger, besides replacing the hammer & sear with something from Power Custom or Volquartsen is to regrind the upper v-shaped notch in the bolt catch so it will release when the bolt handle is pulled back. I remember there being good pictures of that mod on RimfireCentral.com (with a lot of other 10/22 how-to information). You can also buy modified bolt , too.

Where do you live? I'm sure someone here who's near you has done this before. I'm in western MA, so the odds are good that I'm not all that local. If I am in your area, let me know.
 
I was going to put up a new post, but just saw that I did this one. I'm still at a loss.

Here is what I started to type up for a post.

It seems to not always release properly, and also the clip doesn't fit right sometimes. My thought is that the pin holding the magazine release isn't in right, as I can see part of the hole, which I think is not how it should be.

Does anyone have detailed instructions on how to take apart and put back together all these parts? I managed to start, but then stopped when I wasn't sure. I just don't want to end up at a gun shop with a coffee can full of parts if you know what I mean.
Click to expand...

So, the long and the short of it is, any step-by-step directions on this? I live just South of Worcester, if anybody is nearby who could help. Thanks.


Edit: I just looked at KMM's instructions again (Thanks, by the way.), and think I only need to go as far as

The bolt lock and ejector are removed by pulling the the ejector pin (pin #2). (The pin is identical to the magazine latch pivot pin). You will notice that when you remove the pin, a spring will pop. Don't worry, we will have to pre load that spring and make sure that it goes under the pin when reinstalling the pin.
Click to expand...

I am wondering if it is that spring which is the culprit. I am sort of stuck at this spot, and will take a look tomorrow AM over a coffee.

I really hate stuff with hidden springs.
 
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That looks correct - there is a slot there, not just a hole. PIC

If it's a new rifle, the mag release might need breaking in. If you push in the mag release button (without a mag installed) and it catches, or feels gritty, the mag may be having difficulty pushing the mag release plunger out of the way when you put it in, which might be why you need to rock it in. If it is gritty, working the release 50-100 times without a mag will take care of a lot of that. A worn mag can also be a problem here.

I'm not sure about the no firing pin strikes - I'm at work, so I don't have a 10/22 with me.
 
It looks to me from your picture that the bolt release is not retained properly by the pin. The funny looking hole in the bolt release picture that KMM696 posted a link to should have a pin through it when properly assembled in the receiver.

FYI, here's a good exploded view of the 10/22 on Midway's site that you can use as a reference. Be careful what you click on, as you will be tempted to spend money!

http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.ex...source=search_link&utm_medium=internal_search
 
Right. What I'm looking for is the proper way to take it apart and put it back together, meaning steps to do it. I had the pins out, but didn't go further at that point. Don't want to force it. Thanks.
 
First ensure the gun is unloaded, then remove the trigger assy from the reciver by pushing out the two pins. The pin in question goes through the right side of the trigger assy, through the mag release, through the oblong hole in the bolt release, and through the left side of the trigger assy. Try pushing the pin only half way out, from the left side, so that it is still holding the mag release, and try pushing the bolt release up so the hole alignes with the pin, and push the pin back.
 
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I really need to get some help on this. Anyone feel like helping a guy out? There is a Chili contest in Auburn today, and I'll pay your admission and buy a beer or three if you want to come check it out. If you have any examples of slings, extended mag release, or other items I might want to consider for this puppy, bring along so I can check them out at the same time. Thanks!
 
look for a youtube video on these. there are some good ones that helped me take mine down and back together again.
 
hminsky said:
It is possible someone disassembled the whole trigger group and put it together wrong or missing a piece. A spring either missing or put in the wrong way might cause some of these issues.

This is a good chance to get intimately familiar with the assembly
of the thing...
Click to expand...

+1 The first time I dissassembled my trigger group I had a bear of a time figuring out how the bolt release spring was supposed to sit from the drawing. If that was done wrong or if the spring was broken it could cause the release to be floating and catching at the wrong time.
 

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