Magnum Research's
Custom 10/22

WITH AN ACCULITE GRAPHITE BARREL,
THIS TRICK RIMFIRE WEIGHS HEAVY ON
ACCURACY BUT LIGHT ON THE SCALE.

February, 1998
by Jim Matthews

Point one: For every Ruger 10/22 that is used in competition, there are probably 10,000 out there used by those of us who are more casual shooters and hunters. But that doesn't mean we don't want a gun that shoots well. Sales of aftermarket heavy barrels, stocks of all configurations and trigger and firing pin assemblies show that a pile of us want our lO/22s competition-accurate. Let's face it, accurate guns are more interesting than inaccurate ones. They are like people with personality and character: far more interesting than those that are just attractive.

     Magnum Research's Custom 10/22

Point two: One of the joys of hunting small game and varmints with a .22 rimfire rifle is the minimal gun weight usually associated with these firearms. You can put a hundred rounds of ammunition in your pocket, grab a rifle and hike around for a couple of hours and not feel like you are burdened. For unabashed fans of heavy-barreled 10/22s, the one complaint you will hear about them from hunters is their weight. Those heavy steel barrels add nearly three pounds to the weight of a factory gun originally configured with a skinny barrel.

Enter the Magnum Research 10/22 featuring the new Acculite barrel. The version we tested had a Fajen laminated thumbhole silhouette stock and was fitted with a Burris 4-16X Signature variable scope in Weaver mounts.

The Acculite graphite barrel weighs 13 ounces versus 3 1/2 pounds for a .920-inch-diameter steel barrel. Acculite achieves this huge weight reduction by using a very small-diameter steel barrel (about like a straw): then graphite fibers are wrapped around the steel core under pressure, compressing around the steel barrel to dampen vibration and improve stiffness. According to Acculite, the graphite is 65 percent lighter but six times stiffer than steel.

All other things being equal, it is stiffness, not weight, that makes the heavy barrels shoot more accurately because stiffness dampens barrel vibration and oscillation. This makes for shot-to-shot consistency. The Acculite graphite barrel has stiffness if our shooting results are a testament to this. Over 70 groups with a variety of ammunition were fired through the test rifle. Most groups were shot at 5O yards, but a few were also shot at 100 yards when wind conditions were fairly calm.

Results were impressive. The best 100-yard group was three-quarters inch, while the best 5O-yard groups were three-quarters inch and there were a stack of targets that had groups that size. Those are ragged, onehole groups, and most of them were shot in breezy conditions.

The Acculite barrel really liked CCI Green Tag, CCI Pistol Match ammunition and Federal Ultra Match subsonic loads. The average group size for those three was right at five-eighths inch at 5O yards (30 groups). The best of the hunting ammunition tried was Winchester Power Point. It averaged seven-eighths inch at 5O yards, and the smallest group was a five-eighths-inch cloverleaf.

This accuracy is comparable to the other lO/22 aftermarket barrels l've tested on a variety of Ruger 10/22s. I've shot Butler Creek, Kimber and Midway barrels and the factory heavy barrel that comes stock on Ruger's 10/22T. They all would group under a half-inch at 5O yards with selected match or target ammunition, and they all would shoot from three-quarters- to one inch 5O-yard groups with at least one or two of the factory hunting loads on the market, with the Winchester Power Point a very consistent performer.

You might think that the Acculite barrel would have more muzzle jump because of its light weight, but the barrel is ported and those who shot the gun were often able to see the bullets' holes appear in their 5O-yard target. A couple of our testers initially said they preferred the heavier, steel barrel for offhand shooting. This was at the range, but after an afternoon hunting cottontails and ground squirrels they all wanted to trade for the Acculite-barreled gun.

Our test version of the gun didn't have any modifications to the trigger, but even with a trigger that broke at 5 3/4 pounds it was possible to shoot decent groups. Challenging, but possible. Magnum Research offers installation of a whole series of upgrades from Clark, including a deluxe trigger kit, a tuned extractor (which would prevent the few ejection failures we had) and a Clark bolt release. All of these would be highly recommended if you want to see even better performance from your gun.

The basic gun from Magnum Research, as tested, is $799 at the retail level, and the Clark upgrades would add $130 to the price of the gun. The barrel alone, which can be dropped into any 10/22 action and any stock that accepts .920-inch-diameter barrels, retails for $349.

In my opinion, this gun is like an attractive woman with personality and character: something to be treasured.

REVIEW DATA

SPECIFICATIONS:

Manufacturer: Magnum Research, Dept. RS 7110 University Ave., N.E. Minneapolis, MN 55432 (612) 574-1868

Type: Semi-automatic .22 rimfire rifle
Model: 10/22 i Caliber: .22 rimfire
Barrel length: 16 inches
Overall length: 35 1/2 inches
Weight: Seven pounds, two ounces, as tested with scope
Sights: None supplied; test gun had a 416X Burris Signature serles scope
Magazine capacity: 10 shots in rotary clip
Suggested retail: $799; other models available trom $599 to $929;
Acculite barrel alone retails for $349

PERFORMANCE:

Loading: No failures
Extraction: No failures
Ejection:: Some cases jammed on subsonic loads
Groups fired at 5O yards: Average was 5/8 inch with a variety of rimfire match
ammunition; best overall groups were several at 3/8 inch
Groups fired at 100 yards: Best overall group was 3/4 inch

Reprinted by permission from the February, 1998 issue of Rifle Shooter. Copyright 1998, Petersen Publishing Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Rifle Shooter is not responsible for mishaps of any kind which may occur from use of published loading data or from recommendations by staff writers. Any prices given were the suggested list prices at presstime for the printed issue and are subject to change.
 

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