I happen to be a huge fan of the Ruger 77/22 Rifles. I have had a few Ruger K77/22VBZ's in .22 LR over the years and all but one was more than accurate to suit me. That one was a lemon from the word go.

Currently I am shooting a Custom Ruger 77/22. This Rifle started life out as a Stainless-Synthetic Sporter.

I decided if I wanted a Custom Rifle it would be a .22 LR since I shoot more rounds of .22 LR per year than all other cartridges combined. Second if I was to have a Custom .22 LR it was going to start life out as a Ruger 77/22.

To me the Ruger 77/22 has an action that feels like a real rifle when I cycle the bolt. I also like the fact of the flush fitting 10 round magazine so there is no portion of the magazine sticking down below the bottom lines of the stock.

With all that said I set out to decide the parts I needed to assemble my Custom Ruger 77/22. First up was the stock. I had my heart set on a Richards Micro Fit BENCHMARK Style Bench Rest Stock, but didn't like the 13 + week wait to get the stock and then the time required to bed and finish it (yeah I know I am impatient). In the end I purchased a Volquartsen Custom Laminated Wood Stock.

Next up was the Barrel. I had read many many great reports of Green Mountain Rifle Barrels but could not find one in stock anyplace. I researched a bit more and learned that Clark Custom Guns makes their Custom Ruger Barrels from Lothar Walther Barrel Blanks and makes them up as the orders are received. I was told delivery would be 2 to 3 weeks so I promptly ordered a Clark Custom Guns 20" .920" Stainless-Steel .22 LR Bull Barrel.

Next I needed to acquire a Trigger Guard, Magazine Well and Action Screws for a Ruger K77/22VBZ so I could convert my 77/22 Action from the Synthetic Stock to the Wood Stock. The VBZ bottom metal had Rugers Target Grey Finish on it but a buffing wheel on my dremel tool and some Flitz Metal Polish made short work of removing the Target Grey Finish leaving a bright polished silver stainless-steel finish to match my 77/22 Receiver & Barrel.

I then set out to tune the trigger. I polished, polished and polished some more. I removed as much of the engagement notch on the sear as I dared to per instructions I found on the net. I then drilled & tapped a threaded hole for an adjustable overtravel stop. I finished up the trigger project by finding a custom spring to lighten the trigger pull to my desired weight of pull. My trigger breaks like a glass rod at 1 1/4 pounds with zero overtravel.

Along the way I also had to replace the Factory Ruger Scope Rings with higher rings in order for the objective on my Weaver 4x16x42mm AO Rifle Scope to clear the bull barrel. The scope rings I bought directly from Ruger.

When all the parts-n-pieces arrived I did run into one snag. Clark Custom Guns produces their custom Ruger 77/22 Barrels with a slightly larger diameter barrel shank. This is OK as it provided to a tighter fit than the factory barrel. In the end I had to polish the barrel shank on the Clark Custom Guns Barrel slightly and then put it in the freezer and the receiver in the window sill in the sunlight for a half hour or so and the two slipped together with a slight tap.

When installing the Barreled Action in the Volquartsen Stock I also sanded out the Barrel Channel of the Volquartsen Stock so the Clark Custom Guns Barrel is free floated from a point 2" forward of the receiver on out to the tip of the forend. I plan on reshaping the area above the pistol grip a little, bringing the top down slightly and making the grip angle a little straighter at some point this fall.

I started shooting this Rifle by shooting Remington Bulk Hollow Points. For the first 100 rounds I would shoot 10 rounds, then pull my bore snake through the bore twice and continue. For the next 100 rounds I fired 20 rounds between cleaning, the next 120 rounds I fired 30 rounds between cleaning and the last 80 rounds I cleaned after the 40th round. Once this was done I totally cleaned the bore once again and then started shooting SK Jagd Standard Plus Target Ammo. To say this rifle will outshoot the shooter would be an understatement. My very first USBR Target I shot with the SK Jagd Standard Plus ammo scored a 250 (whch is the total possible points possible on the USBR Target). I went on to win our Bench Rest Competition at our local Indoor Shooting Range this past winter with my Custom Ruger 77/22.





Yep I really like the Ruger 77/22's, both in factory form and in the case of my Custom Rifle. I think they are the best rimfire out there for my needs.

Larry

Nice job, Larry.

Nice!

SWEET!!!

Thanks guys. I also recently finished my second rimfire project for the year.

I started out buying a used Ruger 10-22 Carbine for $100.00. I then found a used TAPCO T-6 Stock on the net for $90.00, that came with a UTG Quad Rail that I didn't want so I sold the UTG Quad Rail for $30.00. I didn't like the UTG Quad Rail nor the blocky look of the TAPCO T-6 Forend so I then started the process of modifying things. I shortened the forend on the Tapco T-6 Stock so it would be 1" shorter than the DPMS Carbine Length Aluminum Free Float Tube that I had bought ($50.00).

Once the forend of the Tapco T-6 Stock was shortened I then had to figure a way to attach the DPMS Free Float Tube. I picked up some 1 11/16" dowel and started cutting. I cut the forend down (top to bottom) on the Tapco T-6 Stock so the dimension from the top of the forend rail to the bottom of the piece of dowel I made for the bottom was .875". I then glass bedded the piece of dowel to the bottom of what was left of the Tapco Forend.

For the top I bored a 1" hole all the way through the center (lengthwise) of another piece of 1 11/16" dowel. I then cut it in half lengthwise and used that for the top piece to sit on top of the forend rail of the Tapco Forend. I then used short wood screws to hold the DPMS AR-15 Cabine Length Aluminum Free Float Tube to the Tapco T-6 Stocks Forend.

Since the DPMS Free Float Tube is for an AR-15 the rear portion is smaller in inside diameter than the rest of the Free Float Tube as this piece screws onto the receiver of an AR-15 to secure the barrel to the receiver. I had a machinist buddy bore out the inside diameter of the rear portion of the Free Float Tube to match the inside diameter of the rest of the free float tube. I then had to cut a slot in the bottom of the free float tube so the bottom would slip over the forend of the Tapco Stock where the action screw secures the 10-22 action to the stock.



To complete the package and to get the scope the same height above the comb of the stock as it is on my Bushmaster AR-15 I used a combination of a Weigand Scope Mount, Yankee Hill Machine 1/2" Mini Risers and Weaver 1" High Extension Quad Lock 4x4 Scope Rings to mount the old Tasco 4x40mm World Class Riflescope to the 10-22.

Other modifications include a complete polishing of all trigger components, Wolff Gunsprings reduced power trigger & sear springs, Tuffer Buffer recoil buffer and a KNS Sling Swivel Stud to replace the sling loop that came with the Tapco T-6 Stock. At the same time I shortened and recrowned the factory Ruger 10-22 Barrel to 17" (which also removed the open front sight).

The desired result was a 10-22 that would resemble and feel like my Bushmaster AR-15. I have achieved that. I am more than happy with the way this 10-22 shoots. In fact I am not sure if I just got luck and got a good barrel or if the shortening, recrowning and free floating the barrel helped in the accuracy department, but at any rate it shoots better than I expected it to shoot.

This was a very fun project, especially dreaming up how I was going to attach the DPMS AR-15 Free Float Tube to the Tapco T-6 Stock to make mine a little unique from all the others I have seen.



The above photo was taken before I was totally finished with the 10-22, but gives you an idea of how the two look similar. Since this photo was taken I have also replaced the pistol grip on my Bushmaster with a TAPCO SAW Type Pistol Grip for an AR-15 so it now has the same grip as my 10-22.

Larry