You know you have had a birthday party at Oleg Volk’s when you come home with a small box full of .22 ammunition of various types, flavors, and loadings. A big thanks to Oleg, Peter, Miss D., WizardPC, Mrs. WizardPC, everyone else who showed up, and, of course, Better Half for putting together what was a thoroughly entertaining party.
With regards to the title, it would appear as though my recent modeling has convinced 1 With a Bullet to finish converting his own Saiga 12 into something without ergonomics only a politician could love. His may not be quite as pretty as mine, but he did all the work himself, which already puts him in a category above me.
Finally, but most importantly for me, Better Half has expressed interest in going to an Appleseed event in the near future. No doubt this was facilitated by Oleg’s generous inventory of suppressed .22s, but, regardless, this is pretty shiny in my book. Now we just need to procure/borrow a .22 rifle that weighs somewhere between a Marlin Papoose (Oddball’s was awesome, but at 3.25 pounds, it was almost too light, and has no forward sling attachment) and Oleg’s integrally suppressed 10/22 (similar models seem to measure about 6.5 pounds), and then I need to figure out how to stick a sling on Hogue’s Ridged AR-15 Forend.
Does anyone have that particular handguard, and do you know if its barrel nut is compatible with any other handguards?
As always, suggestions on both counts are welcome.
While it’s a bit spendy ($357 at Bud’s Gun Shop), it would be pretty cool to show up at an Appleseed event with a Legacy Citadel .22LR M-1 Carbine.
Of course, the Ruger 10/22 is pretty much the benchmark .22 rifle. It doesn’t come equipped with factory sling swivel studs, so that could be an issue for an Appleseed event.
Other options (listed from lowest to highest price at Bud’s) include the Savage 64, the Mossberg 702 Plinkster, the Marlin 795 and the Remington 597. The Marlin is the only one of these four that has factory sling swivel studs.
I’ve got a pair of CZ 452′s – one the Lux model, and the other a Scout, if bolt action would suit you.
Have a 10-22 as well, but to be honest, I’m not sure why. I never shoot it.
The Papoose actually does have a front sling attachment. It sticks straight forward from the stock under the barrel nut. Granted, it’s not very far forward, but… :p
I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but I’m kind of a Marlin guy, so I’d vote for the 795 or whatever the new version is called. The magazines are cheap and easy to get since marlin designed them once a long time ago and has just stuck with them. You can also usually find a sale on them for half what a 10/22 costs. The downside is that almost nobody makes aftermarket stocks or magazines for them, so if you’re wanting to customize beyond sights, you’re out of luck.
Sorry I missed the party, but I was visiting family in Michigan. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch you guys the next time you come through.
@ AuricTech: Yeah, we are looking pretty heavily at the 10/22 platform, primarily because of its future use after the Appleseed – they make damned near anything for that platform.
@ Mark@Sea: Honestly, for a newcomer to the shooting sports, we are probably going to keep away from bolt actions, just to minimize the amount of manipulation of the firearm Better Half has to do. But we may try them out when we head out your way
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@ Oddball: I sit corrected
. Could not tell from the pictures.
After having purchased a Baby Eagle and a Walther PPS, I tend to shy away from platforms that are not heavily supported with aftermarket parts/accessories these days, but if we find one, we will try it on
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And no worries – it was rather short notice.
Plinkster – very reliable but has a bad trigger and mags are hard to find.
10-22 – default manual of arms sucks really badly.
Marlin 795 – I owned one and traded it. Mag safety was one complaint, average trigger another.
Remington 597 – typically accurate but mags are not well designed so unreliable.
M&P15-22 would be my suggestion based on your needs. Very light, well supported aftermarket, usually reliable. Trigger is average but can be upgraded, mags are cheap.
Does your objection to the 10/22 primarily revolve around the magazine release, or does it go deeper? The release is at least correctable, and gives me something else to tinker with
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Better Half looked at the M&P – her response was, “It’s UGLY!” Granted, the aesthetics of a firearm has no bearing on its functionality, but I would rather get something she is inclined to use
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10-22 bolt release is poorly designed, though it can be fixed to release without use of the little lever. Personally, I would go with the lightweight and simple SU22 (with pistol grip kit) over rimfire AR15. It’s only down side is requiring standard and high velocity ammo, not subsonics. Sights are decent and closer to the bore (though harder to adjust precisely than AR15) but I tend to use a red dot. SU22 is very light and reliable.
http://olegvolk.net/gallery/technology/arms/keltec/little_girl_SU22_9785web.jpg.html
http://olegvolk.net/gallery/technology/arms/keltec/SU22_plinking_1000274.jpg.html
http://olegvolk.net/gallery/work/magazine_ads/keltec/equation_3867web.jpg.html
http://olegvolk.net/gallery/technology/arms/keltec/summerday_su22_3623.jpg.html
I confess to liking the one we got to shoot out your way, but I also confess to preferring a limited manual of arms. Granted, a 10/22 is another set of controls we have to learn, but that is why I was going with the .22 upper for the AR. Apparently that may not work out the way I intended, though.
Regarding that Hogue handguard, as far as I know, it IS the barrel nut. Since it’s just a radially symmetrical tube, you simply screw it on. There’s no separate barrel nut.
Oh. Well that kind of sucks. Anyone know what the inside diameter of a barrel nut is?