• Get 30% off the first 3 months with code HIDE30

    Offer valid until 9/23! If you have an annual subscription on Sniper's Hide, subscribe below and you'll be refunded the difference.

    Subscribe
  • Having trouble using the site?

    Contact support

10/22 trigger upgrade question

lfrotter

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 24, 2009
47
0
40
Caldwell, TX
I currently have a Ruger 10/22 with a Hogue rubber overmolded stock and a Hi-desertdog 16" stainless bull barrel HD. I'm looking at replacing the trigger assembly, but wanted to find out exactly how much of an improvement in accuracy can be expected. I haven't gone to the range and tried to check groupings yet but wanted to see if anyone had an offhand estimation of what to expect.
 
Re: 10/22 trigger upgrade question

I have only a 10/22 Target, which I believe has the plain standard 10/22 trigger.
IMO the trigger is just fine, and the rifle already very accurate. I'd buy ammo and shoot instead.
If you think that your 10/22 is not accurate, try different ammo.
 
Re: 10/22 trigger upgrade question

id say your barrel got you most of what you are going to get out of it. the trigger will help a little more. its hard to give you specific numbers though. people here have gone with Kidd and thats great if you can justify the money and shoot it enough, then there is the volquartsen group. below that you can upgrade factory internals with volquartsen or power custom hammers. the prices drop as you slide down that scale. see what your groups are now, you may be happy. if its a better feel you are after, start at the bottom. if you are the type that always wants to upgrade or just wants the "best" save time and money and just get the whole trigger group from kidd or volquartsen
 
Re: 10/22 trigger upgrade question

in my 10/22 i tried a bunch of different match stuff and a few hi-vel brands. most of the match ammo i tried didnt cycle well. the standard federal high velocity worked best. i had 4 or 5 different types of match and had issues with it cycling. the only standard ammo i had that day shot the best. i have had people say i needed a lighter recoil spring or to lighten the bolt since the match wasnt hot enough to cycle in a stock gun. that may or may not be the case, but plain federal worked best that day. buy the smallest amount you can just to test it out. i still have half several boxes of match sitting around
 
Re: 10/22 trigger upgrade question

The trigger alone isn't going to help mechanical accuracy. It will help YOU shoot better, especially if your trigger form is wack.

IME, there are three tiers of 10/22 trigger. First is buffing and stoning everything yourself. It's free. Second is either installing the Power Custom drop in kit (I like it much better than the VQ), or sending it to someone to work over. That costs around $80. Third is the Kidd. It's $250-300ish.

If you are mechanically inclined, tier 1 and two will be pretty much the same. most of the expensive aftermarket triggers are still not really any better than a worked factory group, regardless of what they claim. The Kidd stands without peer, without question. It's THAT good.
 
Re: 10/22 trigger upgrade question

you dont like the volquartsen group? ive never tried it or known anyone that had it. i have power custom parts but got the volq hammer on special. nice break. the kidd stuff looks THAT good, i agree
 
Re: 10/22 trigger upgrade question

I have the Volquartsen groups in all of minr and they work excellent. I have no complaints at all with them. I have never tried one of the Kidd groups so I can't say one way or the other about them. All I know about them are that they are 2 stage. I prefer the light pull of the single stage Volquartsen groups myself. Like I have said before, it's good everybody doesn't like the same thing or there wouldn't enough to go around.
 
Re: 10/22 trigger upgrade question

The VQ trigger is still Ruger's original design. This is why it's not any better than a well tuned stock trigger or skillfully installed aftermarket parts, @ $50-80.
To drop $200 on something no better than a good tune is nuts. You don't need the new housing or trigger blade, or safety. Just the hammer. sear, and shims.
Tuning can produce a pretty good trigger.
Tony Kidd's trigger is in a whole different category, worth every penny.
 
Re: 10/22 trigger upgrade question

Single stage, crisp, probably 2-2 1/2# in the example I tried.
Maybe better than most tuned stock triggers or parts kits I've tried.

Most of the original style 10/22 triggers I have shot are a little mushy, not a single stage in the sense of a good 1911 trigger.

Disclosure: I've done 4 or 5 10/22 triggers with stones. All were improved, only one was what I now call pretty good. I have shot VQ, Jard, PC(hammer/adj sear).

Of my family's 7 10/22s, 3 field guns have PC triggers, the three Sportsman's Team Challenge guns have KIDs.

I really like the KID because it is a match trigger; it can be light but because of the first stage, still safe. Feels like a good match air rifle trigger.

I think the JARD may actually be a better trainer trigger for many shooters since it replicates a pretty good single stage bolt action centerfire rifle trigger.

My own trainer is a match barreled .22 AR with a single stage JP trigger. I'm considering one of the mid weight 2 stage triggers for this gun, like a Giessele.

I think trigger selection for a trainer depends to a significant extent on how the shooter uses the gun. If shooting the .22 takes on sufficient life of its own, being done in its own right, a lighter trigger will be selected. If we're really using it as a tool for centerfire training, a trigger more like the heavy gun will be preferable. Myself? I'm pretty split on it.
 
Re: 10/22 trigger upgrade question

As was said, the trigger will only help YOU be more accurate.

Ammo seems to be the most important factor for .22 rimfire accuracy. When I got a different .22, I used to get 15-20 different types of .22 ammo and try them all to see what the gun liked the best, and then get as much of the same type/lot number as possible.

The last one I tried had 50 yard groups from 3/8" to 1 1/2" depending on the ammo used.
 
Re: 10/22 trigger upgrade question

So regardless of ammo should I still be able to pull at least 2" groups? I guess I'm really trying to find out exactly how tight will the gun shoot with all the right adjustments having been made.
 
Re: 10/22 trigger upgrade question

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: frog5215</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The VQ trigger is still Ruger's original design. This is why it's not any better than a well tuned stock trigger or skillfully installed aftermarket parts, @ $50-80.
To drop $200 on something no better than a good tune is nuts. You don't need the new housing or trigger blade, or safety. Just the hammer. sear, and shims.
Tuning can produce a pretty good trigger.
Tony Kidd's trigger is in a whole different category, worth every penny.</div></div>

Go to rimfire central, the guys there have tips on how to stone and polish the trigger.
 
Re: 10/22 trigger upgrade question

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: frog5215</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The VQ trigger is still Ruger's original design. This is why it's not any better than a well tuned stock trigger or skillfully installed aftermarket parts, @ $50-80.
To drop $200 on something no better than a good tune is nuts. You don't need the new housing or trigger blade, or safety. Just the hammer. sear, and shims.
Tuning can produce a pretty good trigger.
Tony Kidd's trigger is in a whole different category, worth every penny. </div></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold">frog5215</span>,

You are dead-on with this post. There is the Kidd, and then there are the "also-rans" which aren't even on the same continent, let alone being in the same league. I've shot 10/22s' with tuned Volquartsen HP Kits, Volquartsen TG2000s', and Power Custom parts and the Kidd stomps all of those. I've never tried a Jard, but as the Jard is still based on the factory Ruger 10/22 design I can't imagine that it is any better than a well-tuned trigger using the parts or units I mentioned above.

For those of you who prefer a single-stage trigger over a two-stage unit when <span style="font-style: italic">you have never tried a Kidd</span>, get over it. A Kidd can be set-up nearly any way you want - very light and short first stage and second stages for benchrest you name it or heavier and/or longer first and second.

And no matter how the Kidd is set-up the pull is always smooth, the break is always clean, and the release is always at the same point. And due to the Kidd's superior mechanical design and flawless execution the pull weight can be set lighter without worry of AD. Not only does the Kidd peform better, but it is a more safe unit as well.

Anyone who has ever shot a 10/22 with a Kidd trigger that is set-up anywhere close to the way that they would set-up the trigger for themselves knows why Kidd owners rave about them. Like I said above - there is the Kidd, and then there are the also-rans.

Keith
 
Re: 10/22 trigger upgrade question

Actually the JARD is a different design, as is the Timney(haven't tried one, but looks just like the Timney in 2 of my ARs, true single stage). Jard was clean, single stage, probably about 2 1/2 #.