re: 10/22 upgrade

The 10/22 is a wonderful gun as is. Having said that, there's also an entire industry centered around modifying the 10/22. A few questions I think you'll want to answer about your project: How much do you want to do yourself? How much do you want to spend?

I've got four 10/22's all of which have been lightly accessorized. Most of this can be done by you as long as you have a modicum of skills and tools. As far as improving your gun's function/accuracy I'd suggest these modifications::

1.The first thing I'd do is shoot it w/ and w/o the barrel band. All my 10/22's that have barrel bands shoot more accurately w/o them. You might be surprised how well your gun shoots w/ the factory stock.

2. I do the following to all my 10/22's: alter the bolt release (so it functions like other guns w/ an automatic bolt release); replace the recoil buffer (to reduce the banging the action undergoes while cycling); replace the mag release "button" w/ a lever that protrudes from the bottom of the action (to me, the lever works easier than the button); replace the hammer w/ a target hammer (on my gun, this alone decreases trigger pull significantly from avg of 6-7# to 3.5-4#'s). I'd try that before spending a lot of money on a custom trigger. OTOH, if you want someone else to work on the trigger, I've heard good things about Brimstone on this site. You can buy a new bolt release or modify if yourself using a Dremel tool (5 min or so) or hand files (10-15 min). You can find videos on YouTube.

For reference, all the prices for the above parts are from Midwayusa:
Volquartsen automatic bolt release $10, recoil buffer $11, extended mag release $19 and target hammer $33.

I've been pleased w/ the accuracy of all my 10/22's with the stock barrel. As far as changing the looks, the sky's the limit w/ a plethora of aftermarket stocks. It's all just a matter of how you want it to look. When I upgraded my 10/22, I installed a Hogue overloaded stock and have been very happy w/ it.

Since I wanted a threaded barrel, I ended up replacing the stock barrel on one of my 10/22's with a custom barrel from Feddersen. Their barrels are well respected and don't cost nearly as much as other custom barrels. I've been very pleased w/ it's accuracy. My barrel's the original shorter weight as my gun was built for squirrel hunting, not shooting from the bench. If you get a bull barrel, you'll probably have to enlarge the barrel channel on the replacement stock. I don't have personal experience w/ any of the barrels you mentioned.

Visit www.rimfirecentral.com to get more info about 22's than you ever thought existed. Keep us updated w/ your project.