22 Rifle Suggestions for Steel Challenge

[ZOSO]

Hi all.  I am looking for a 22 rifle for SC.  I have shot dozens of SC matches in the RFPO and CO divisions, and I now want to shoot RFRO.  I am looking for a pre-made rifle.  I hesitate to build one myself, as I do not want the hassle of a potentially unreliable gun.  My primary criteria are reliability, light weight, and an excellent trigger.  I want to be able to shoot it out of the box, without having to upgrade triggers etc.  My budget is $2k, and I prefer it be made by a company that will stand behind their product.   All suggestions welcome, and thanks in advance!

[JJM7288]

Look no further than Volquartsen. Rimfire Sports is a great place to buy one!

[apoc4lypse]

Second vote for Volquartsen.  I have their Ultralite model with the red thumb hole stock and though it's a little heavier than my built T/CR22 I somehow manage faster times with it.

[revolver45]

23 minutes ago, ZOSO said:

Hi all.  I am looking for a 22 rifle for SC.  I have shot dozens of SC matches in the RFPO and CO divisions, and I now want to shoot RFRO.  I am looking for a pre-made rifle.  I hesitate to build one myself, as I do not want the hassle of a potentially unreliable gun.  My primary criteria are reliability, light weight, and an excellent trigger.  I want to be able to shoot it out of the box, without having to upgrade triggers etc.  My budget is $2k, and I prefer it be made by a company that will stand behind their product.   All suggestions welcome, and thanks in advance!

Contact Kidd. Best triggers in the industry. Build it complete online, or get a barreled action for your choice of stock. Don't forget. His top of the line has a rear tang on the chassis that is removable, but then you defeat the purpose. 

[zzt]

This^^^^^^.  I did build my own using mostly Kidd parts.  If he had made a left charging receiver, they would all have been Kidd parts.  BTW, build is a misnomer.  You don't 'build' a 10/22, you assemble it.  I would definitely pick Kidd over Volquartsen.  My V stuff had to go back three times for warranty repairs.  The only Volquartsen part I'll use now it the extractor.  It is as good as the Kidd and the TandemKross.

 

Aside from the best trigger (I like single stage for steel), he makes the slickest guide rods and recoil springs.  The springs come in three weights, so you can tune your action to the round you are using.  His bolt buffer is the best in the business.  It does the job and doesn't fall out, like the several others I tried.  I highly recommend his Aluminum Chassis.  

 

If you talk to Kidd, ask them about their chambers and the ammo you plan to use.  Some barrels have trouble feeding a lot of the ammo out there.  I finally went with a Briley Raptor barrel.  It is 11 oz. and feeds everything, including all the stuff that choked my other barrels.  I'd actually recommend it over the Kidd barrels.  It is lighter, less expensive and way more than accurate enough for steel.  I can routinely knock down silhouette turkeys at 50 yards with MiniMag ammo.  I'm sure it would do better with good ammo.

 

So my suggestion is to buy everything from Kidd, already assembled, except for the barrel.  The Raptor barrel is warranted to drop right in with no gunsmithing required.  I can tell you that it does.

 

BTW, the raptor barrel in the Kidd Chassis with a Smoke Composites stock balances perfectly.  Buy the Kidd Castle nut.  Way cheaper.

Edited December 27, 2021 by zzt

[warpspeed]

I tried the 10/22 stuff and gave up on it. Too many magazine issues.

 

The S&W AR15-22 has been nearly flawless for me. Certainly no magazine issues.

 

Gun works great out of the box with the small change of triggers. IIRC I'm running a HiperFire one.  

[revolver45]

I use a Kidd Rifle with the Ruger clear magazines and with a little routine TLC, everything works 100% come match time. 

[Sinister4]

Volquartsen.....order, shoot, done  zero issues

 

[zzt]

14 hours ago, warpspeed said:

The S&W AR15-22 has been nearly flawless for me. Certainly no magazine issues.

 

Interesting.  Most of the time I see mag issues is with the M&P 15-22s.  The 25 round mags some use do not seem to be reliable.  The 10 round mags just plain work.  There are issues with 10/22 mags that have not been cleaned.  If you clean them once or twice a year and tension them properly, no issues.

Edited December 28, 2021 by zzt

[revolver45]

Not everyone would agree with that advise. I bought 2 Volquartsen rifles 2 Kidd rifles and 2 Volquartsen pistols. I now have 1 Volquartsen rifle and 2 Kidd rifles. Got rid of the ones that kept jamming and wouldn't feed CCI Select and Std. Velocity which I learned Volquartsen is built to shoot. Just stating my experience with both. 

[Kwontanamo]

14 hours ago, warpspeed said:

I tried the 10/22 stuff and gave up on it. Too many magazine issues.

 

The S&W AR15-22 has been nearly flawless for me. Certainly no magazine issues.

 

Gun works great out of the box with the small change of triggers. IIRC I'm running a HiperFire one.  

 welp that bursted my bubble lol

[warpspeed]

9 hours ago, Kwontanamo said:

 welp that bursted my bubble lol

 

Don't let it - just be forewarned that if you experience reliability issues on any platform, look to the magazines first.

 

 

 

 

[Kwontanamo]

1 hour ago, warpspeed said:

 

Don't let it - just be forewarned that if you experience reliability issues on any platform, look to the magazines first.

 

i'm getting my dad's 10/22 and I was going to put it in a drop kit for my son to progress him into USPSA and/or steel challange

[warpspeed]

15 minutes ago, Kwontanamo said:

i'm getting my dad's 10/22 and I was going to put it in a drop kit for my son to progress him into USPSA and/or steel challange

 

We have a couple of guys that shoot 10/22's quite successfully so they can and do work - just not for me.

 

The Kidd trigger is absolutely sick. 

[BentAero]

With respect to our ladies, 22LR platforms are like women.

I don't care what brand it is, or who built it. Some days are better than others...

[revolver45]

7 hours ago, Kwontanamo said:

i'm getting my dad's 10/22 and I was going to put it in a drop kit for my son to progress him into USPSA and/or steel challange

You would probably avoid a lot headaches if you just install a Kidd trigger instead.  Check them out on his website.  He offers both 1 and 2 Stage triggers that are the best in the industry. 

[Kwontanamo]

11 hours ago, warpspeed said:

 

We have a couple of guys that shoot 10/22's quite successfully so they can and do work - just not for me.

 

The Kidd trigger is absolutely sick. 

 

3 hours ago, revolver45 said:

You would probably avoid a lot headaches if you just install a Kidd trigger instead.  Check them out on his website.  He offers both 1 and 2 Stage triggers that are the best in the industry. 

is this to replace the existing trigger assembly for the 10/22? I've never herd of this

[rooster mcbee]

I do well with a S+W 15-22.  Magazines have never caused an issue for me.  I also compete with a Browning Buckmark carbine.  Very light and fast out of the box, uses Buckmark pistol magazines and is all around awesome.

[bigdawgbeav]

On 12/28/2021 at 10:29 AM, zzt said:

 

Interesting.  Most of the time I see mag issues is with the M&P 15-22s.  The 25 round mags some use do not seem to be reliable.  The 10 round mags just plain work.  There are issues with 10/22 mags that have not been cleaned.  If you clean them once or twice a year and tension them properly, no issues.

I will 100% disagree with you on this.  My 15-22 was (and still is) an ammo-eating machine.  I have had very few issues with it.  took far less to make the 15-22 run than my 10/22.  But I was going to weight savings and speed at the time.  When I cut weight with the 15-22 is when I had issues as the springs were too heavy.  That and certain ammo from a certain manufacturer wouldn't run in either rifle.

 

As for the 25-rounders... just have to make sure they are loaded properly which is not hard to do.

[warpspeed]

6 hours ago, Kwontanamo said:

 

is this to replace the existing trigger assembly for the 10/22? I've never herd of this

 

Drop in replacement  - https://www.kiddinnovativedesign.com/KIDD-Single-Stage-Trigger-Unit_p_45.html

[revolver45]

1 hour ago, bigdawgbeav said:

I will 100% disagree with you on this.  My 15-22 was (and still is) an ammo-eating machine.  I have had very few issues with it.  took far less to make the 15-22 run than my 10/22.  But I was going to weight savings and speed at the time.  When I cut weight with the 15-22 is when I had issues as the springs were too heavy.  That and certain ammo from a certain manufacturer wouldn't run in either rifle.

 

As for the 25-rounders... just have to make sure they are loaded properly which is not hard to do.

Kidd Rifles with their 1.5lbs competition trigger and the 15 round magazines that come with the .22 precision rifle work great for Steel Challenge and Rimfire Challenge. 

[Kwontanamo]

32 minutes ago, warpspeed said:

 

Drop in replacement  - https://www.kiddinnovativedesign.com/KIDD-Single-Stage-Trigger-Unit_p_45.html

Got it. Thanks!

[Kwontanamo]

24 minutes ago, revolver45 said:

Kidd Rifles with their 1.5lbs competition trigger and the 15 round magazines that come with the .22 precision rifle work great for Steel Challenge and Rimfire Challenge. 

I"ll keep that in mind. thank you!

[Kwontanamo]

1 hour ago, bigdawgbeav said:

I will 100% disagree with you on this.  My 15-22 was (and still is) an ammo-eating machine.  I have had very few issues with it.  took far less to make the 15-22 run than my 10/22.  But I was going to weight savings and speed at the time.  When I cut weight with the 15-22 is when I had issues as the springs were too heavy.  That and certain ammo from a certain manufacturer wouldn't run in either rifle.

 

As for the 25-rounders... just have to make sure they are loaded properly which is not hard to do.

i'm also in the process of putting together a PCC for uspsa and steel challenge. I just wanted to use the 10/22 as a starting point to getting him familiarized with a rifle. 

[mchapman]

2 hours ago, Kwontanamo said:

i'm also in the process of putting together a PCC for uspsa and steel challenge. I just wanted to use the 10/22 as a starting point to getting him familiarized with a rifle. 

This why if I were you I would use the s&w 15-22, it is closer to your PCC in looks and feel than a 10-22.