The Ruger 10/22 is one of the most popular .22 rifles in the world and a lot of people have one for small game hunting in a survival situation.
You could use a completely stock 10/22 and be just fine, but to be more prepared here are the top 7 accessories for the Ruger 10/22 in a survival situation and why I think they are important.
1. Sling
A sling is probably the most important after market accessory you could get for your 10/22, or any rifle for that matter. Any time you are doing more than plinking tin cans at the range you are going to need your hands for other things while carrying your rifle.
A sling just makes sense. Think of it as the holster for your rifle. How many pistols will you be taking into a survival situation without a holster?
Amazon has a ton of rifle slings as do most outdoor gear sites. I won’t recommend anything specific because you should get what is comfortable for you.
2. Scope
Rifle scopes are a touchy subject. There is such a huge array of options and everybody has their opinion. Some people reading this will say you don’t even need a scope for a small hunting rifle, and that is a valid opinion.
I say: Buy for the Use.
What is this rifle going to be used for? Small to medium hunting in a survival situation.
Do you really need a $400 scope on a $200 rifle. Personally I don’t think so, but to each his own.
Zack has a Bushnell 3-9X32 .22 Rimfire scope on his 10/22 and I think it is perfect for a survival game gun. It’s has a adjustable power, it’s durable, and is specifically made for rimfire rifles.
However what makes me choose this scope: price. The thing is only $37 dollars. If you don’t know the world of gun optics that is cheeeeaaappp.
A lot of shooters will look down their nose at such a scope, but for the needs of the gun you are building I think it works perfectly. It’s not going to win any competitions hitting tiny holes at 100 yards, but you could definitely knock down some squirrels.
3. Magazines
With the Ruger 10/22 you have two choices for magazines. Standard 10 round rotary magazine, or an after market extended magazine. Either one is fine, it just depends on what type of set up you want.
I will say be careful about after market magazines as many of them are really bad. From what I have read and seen personally the Tactical Inc. TI25 Magazine (pictured right) with steel feed lips seems to be the best. It is adjustable so it will fit your gun exactly (that is huge), you can take it apart to clean it, and it has metal feed lips that will not get worn out.
4. Automatic Bolt Release
If you own a Ruger 10/22 you know exactly what I am talking about. If the bolt is locked back, you have to pull the bolt back and push the bolt release mechanism at the same time to chamber a round. It doesn’t sound that hard, but sometimes it can be a pain.
The automatic bolt release replaces an original part on the gun and allows you to work the bolt without pressing the bolt lock mechanism (i.e. just like any other rifle).
In a survival situation you want everything to be as simple as possible and this is just one of those things. It is a cheap part that could mean the difference between good meat for dinner or canned beans.
MidwayUSA.com is the place to go for Ruger 10/22 parts and they have the Automatic Bolt extractor by Voltquartsen for $11.
The first 4 on this list I would say are probably the important items you want in a Ruger 10/22 for survival situations. The following 4 are certainly not necessary, but if you are planning on using the rifle long term and on a daily basis after the SHTF, you might want to consider them. They are still simple, cheap, common sense upgrades.
Also, if you want to camouflage your 10/22, or any other piece of gear without the pain of painting use CamoForm Camouflage Wraps.
5. Bolt Handle
Some people (like me) feel like the bolt handle on the Ruger 10/22 is a little small. If you want something a little bigger and easier to grab MidwayUSA has the Voltquartsen Extended Bolt handle. It is longer and better shaped than the stock handle for quick and easy use.
6. Magazine Release
Just like the bolt release, Ruger 10/22 owners know that getting the standard magazine out can be a real pain sometimes because the magazine release is awkward.
I haven’t used one of these personally, but this extended mag release on MidwayUSA has more than 50 positive reviews. For only $7 it is probably worth a try.
An new mag release is another one of those things: You don’t have to have it, but in certain situation it would make things a lot easier.
7. Extractor
A lot of people will disagree with this idea because many have had Ruger 10/22’s work flawlessly for decades without so much as a cleaning.
However, 10/22’s to have been known to be somewhat sluggish with extraction, especially if they are heavily used.
A nice aftermarket extractor like the Volquartsen Exact Edge Extractor will blow the casings out of your rifle so fast people beside you will be getting out of the way.
For the more important survival aspect, this will go a long way towards helping cure failures to eject and and stovepipes, which again, in a survival situation could mean dinner.
What’s On your Ruger 10/22?
I would like to hear what aftermarket goodies our readers have on their 10/22’s. Comment below and let me know what kind of cool stuff you are running, and why you think it would be useful in a survival situation.
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My name is Lucas and I run SurvivalCache along with the help of several great contributing authors. You can read more on the
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Excellent article. If one decided to not use a scope, higher visibility sights would be useful.
Nightrunner,
That's a good point.
I don't know much about alternative iron sites for 10/22's.
Know any good ones people should look for?
Truglo sights are good. High vis fiber optic plus tritium. Good for day and night use.
Mags:
- You should mention Butler Creek Steel Lip mags. In general, as reliable as TI's, especially if you give 'em a shot of silicone lube every thousand rounds or so.
- You should also mention the TriMag bracket that hold three factory mags together. Ruger has now taken this product on and it's a great item at only ten bucks
Extended Mag release: All new 10/22 models have a factory extended mag release now, started couple years ago or so.
Scope: Consider see through rings to mount scope, so can immediately use iron sights should scope get broken, or for when close target sighting may be quite different from what you've zeroed on (usually 50 yards).
Good stuff, enjoying your site.
I have heard good things about the Butler Creek mags (the ones with steel feed lips) but I have never seen or used them personally so I didn't mention them. Butler Creek is known for quality products though I know that.
I actually hadn't heard of the Trimag Connector but I googled it and it looks very cool.
And like you mentioned, cheap. Cabella's has them for $10.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/produ...
I didn't know about the extended mag release but good to know! The old kind are a pain.
Definitely agree with the see through scope rings. People might argue it on larger guns but for a .22 it seems like a good idea to me.
Auto bolt release can be found on http://www.rimfirecentral.com as a DIY along with other useful mods. polishing and such..
I actually use a TIS mag release it is a long lever type that contours to the trigger guard,.the problem I had with the extended mag release is the way I carry my rifle (holding in front of the TG) would trip said release.not losing mags is good. and I load out with CCI Select very accurate in my rifle and a rated 40gr. @ 1200fps. accuracy will kill quicker than speed
also I use wraparound racquetball goggles with the strap , cheap fog resistant protective eye wear, gotta see to be able to hit..might be good with all sorts of stuff flying around in a survival type situation..
John
John,
I have heard of doing the bolt release mod, but I thought some people might not be comfortable taking a dremmel to internal parts of their gun so I didn't mention it in the article.
If you are comfortable with homemade mods then go for it and save 10 bucks.
I have seen the type of mag release you are talking about I believe.
Like This one: http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumb...
I have always kind of thought those were more for competition shooters than anything, at least that is how I have seen them advertised. I can definitely see how you could too easily pull that out in the field.
CCI is good stuff as far a .22 goes. Not competition quality, but much better than bulk Federal.
I hadn't thought of shooting Goggles, nice idea. I have always just worn shooting glasses.
Interesting Site! Best wishes! Spuds!
The most benificial mod made to my 10/22 was a lightened trigger. My trigger pull is reduced from the factoyr 7-9 lbs to 3lbs, it improved my accurcy more than a scope did. I've also got a set screw in the rear of my trigger guard that eleminates overtravel, this helps with rapid follow up shots. I have a bushnell 4X12 power scope on my gun. I've killed too many groundhogs with 1 shot to the head at 150+ yds to count. They might not be your ideal dinner, but in a survivial situation you can't just go to the market and buy tenderloin.
Timmy,
That's a good point. The factory trigger on 10/22's can be pretty heavy. I've never done a full swap myself though so I didn't have anything good to recommend. Did you tweak the trigger yourself or replace the whole system?
Also, I really like the idea of the set screw to reduce overtravel. I can see how that would be great for rapid.
Any yes a groundhog sounds better than going hungry to me.
Thanks for commenting
Did the adjustment myself, with help from a friend. Definitely recommend if you're not hitting your targets everytime!
Timmy,
I'm glad that worked out for you. I'm definitely a novice gun smith to say the least but I might try this one.
The long mags, although look "cool" hang under the weapon in the way! They don't feed well, even the best ones. I have a 37 year old Ruger rotary mag, amongst the dozens and dozens of of newer ones, that came with my original 10/22. I have yet to have a feed problem it or ANY Ruger factory mags.
I own 6 Trimags. Get those and some pouches and they are very convenient and always work!. They sell the pouches (and TriMags) on E-Bay…..well built, American made stuff…..price reflects it, but what do you want? Junk? I hate buying junk and I hate funding my freaking enemys!
So how high does your rifle sit when you are trying to bench shoot at the range because those high caps are in the way? FTF when you bump it? Threw all mine away…….TriMag all the way…..it even holds the rifle upright when I set it down. Can't beat that…….
Listen to an old man…..must have done something right to get this way……
Dave,
I have to disagree with you on the larger mags. I haven't used the Butler Creek ones but I have heard they are good.
I have used the Tactical Inc ones and I know that they work well. They might not feed well initially, but the adjustment screws allow you to tweak them for your specific gun until it works perfectly.
That said, I do like the idea of the Tri-mags. I haven't used them, but I can see how they would work great.
I agree you should have some of the rotary mags too. I know the high-cap ones can mess you up at the range, but the article was more aimed towards makingyour 10/22 survival ready and in that kind of situation you won't be bench resting and the higher cap mag won't be in the way.
To each his own. Thanks for your comment
http://www.tech-sights.com/
these seem to be good from what I hear
Hi, new here, great site, great folks.
About the Ruger, I got mine from a friend for 40 bux about 15 years ago, so I felt justified in spending some money on it so I installed the Tapco collapsable stock kit., "about 80 bux," It installed easily in a few minutes. Now it fits my wife or kid better, packs Great , it's a little more weatherproofed and it's got a rail on it so I've got a light on it for varmints. Plus it looks damn cool. I have a couple "Butler Bananas", they are fun but the I've got 3 Ruger original mags and I like them better from the dependability/survival aspect.. I'll be looking into the Tri-Mag Asap. All that being said, if I'd kept it original I'd be just as happy as it it the most accurate and fun to shoot gun I own and I would recommend it to anybody. I would put it in my 10 most important survival tools list. Just my 2 cents. Y'all take care, Sancho
I think that the best ad-on is the bipod or if you can find a new duckfoot that would fit that would be great. A well placed .22LR will take down a small deer and it sure will keep a bad guys head down….I think that if I was going to use my 10/22 for survival I would want to include an easy use mag loader…if your in a survival situation you might want to be able to load quick and dirty.
Not to hijack your 10/22 thread (have one,great 22!) but Im pretty pleased with an impulse purchase I made today. I bought an H&R 22/410 combo. The rifle breaks down and stores nicely in a decently made fabric case. The 22 barrel came with hi vis fiber optic sights. I have 550 rnds of 22 and 25 410 shotshells stored in the case and its still fairly light. All for less than $150 bucks including ammo. Wallyworld of course!
For the weight obsessed: pakrifle. I dont own one but it looks promising.
on newer 10/22s the bolt release is automatic, i didn't know about that until i went shooting with my dads nwere 10/22 and while cleaning it the bolt kept going forwards when the cleaning rod pushed it back
thats newer
yeah…no one said specifically older 10/22s
very nice article, on my .22 carbine, ive replaced the factory stock with a Magpul Archangel Stock, added a 4×32 red/green dot scope, with a 1 inch picatinny riser, a 5 position foregrip (UTG), Extended magazine release and auto bolt release. Also i have a detachable bipod. I am also ordering backup front and rear iron rights (flip ups).
Great article. Here's a story of caution I would like to add. I have a stainless model 10/22 with the green laminated stock. I added the bolt release and also changed the bolt buffer for a plastic one (which seemed to quiet the action just a bit). I bought a 25 round extended mag along with an extra 10 rnd mag. I then made a mistake. I installed an extended mag release. I liked it at first. It was handy when I was just plinking. But, the first night I took it out spot-lighting rabbits (which is legal where I am), I had the 25rnd mag in and when I was headed out to pick up a rabbit that I had shot I guess my hand hit the mag release and dropped out my mag. I never found it. I never even realized it until I got back to the truck and we went to the next stand to shoot again. I went back in the morning to where I thought that it may have happened, but with all of the high grass in the area obscuring it from view, I never found it. I then put the stock mag release back in and have not had the problem since. Lesson learned for me and one I hope you hear. If you have an extended release installed be careful of how you carry the rifle in the field….my 2ȼ. Be safe.