Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Accessories for the Ruger 10/22 - The Muzzle Brake

Ruger 10/22 with Muzzle Brake


The Ruger 10/22 is currently one of the more popular .22 caliber rifles in use by a great number of people. The Ruger 10/22 rifle is one of the top choices for "plinking", target practice and for hunting small game. For many people, this is their gun of choice due to its reliability and wide range of accessories that are available.

The Muzzle Brake

One of the simple pleasures in owning a Ruger 10/22 rifle is customizing it. One of the cheapest and easiest ways to customize your Ruger 10/22 is by adding a muzzle brake.
Muzzle brakes can be found on many types of assault rifles and other large caliber rifles. They keep the muzzle from rising up in the air after you shoot the gun. A couple of friends had told me that my best bet would probably be a custom-made muzzle brake. These are meant to reduce muzzle rise and recoil. While none of these are really an issue on a .22LR rifle, they do look great which is really what I was looking for in a decent priced accessory. But there are some little benefits you may not be aware of when you add a muzzle brake to your Ruger 10/22. Plus muzzle brakes will make your rifle look really cool. They are also relatively inexpensive and custom-made ones are available for less than $30.

After checking around the net, I finally found one that you could actually buy. Most of the sites I checked were either out of stock (fear of Obama?) or on back order. I rec’d mine on Monday and even though I had to work a 12 hour shift, I could hardly wait to try it out. My plans to try it out on Tuesday morning got set back to Tuesday afternoon though so I apologize for making everyone wait for the results.

The first step was to make sure the scope on my Ruger 10/22 was properly sighted in. With a lot of help from RW Jr., we managed to get it sighted in and ready. I wanted to make sure there weren’t going to be any accuracy problems due to the scope. I probably should have got a new pair of glasses also but I wasn’t going to wait that long to check out the new accessory for my rifle.

The next thing I did was check the fit and finish of my new muzzle brake. The finish was excellent. It’s a new CNC machined muzzle brake made of 6061 T6 billet aluminum. It was pretty right out of the shipping bag. It fit easily over the end of the barrel and was a snug fit without having to use a rubber mallet to put it on (just kidding!). It was a superb fit. I simply snug the set screw with an Allen wrench and it was good to go!

I wanted to check the sound when firing rounds next and was pleasantly surprised that there was no difference in the sound when shooting with the muzzle brake. I also didn’t notice a sizeable difference in the decibel sound level, as this can be a problem with some muzzle brakes from what I understand about them. They can sometimes create a higher sound decibel level that could possibly cause hearing damage. It was a really nice, smooth sounding report when fired.

Next RW Jr. and I set up some targets at a respectable 50 yards and got down to business. We did a little plinking at an old free standing phone booth that was out in the junk pile for a while just to kind of warm up before we got down to some serious target practice.
By this time it was also getting late in the afternoon and we both still had to go to work.

We decided to do a simple 1-2-3 shot at the target and then empty the 10 round clip as fast and accurately as possible. RW Jr. kicked my butt good! The boy can shoot and was driving tacks with his Marlin Model 60 and iron sights earlier! Here are pics of the targets in actual size.






















RW Jr. was amazed that with the muzzle brake on the rifle he was actually able to see the bullet hit the target through the scope. He’s got a good steady hand and with almost no recoil or muzzle rise after adding the muzzle brake he was steady putting holes in that target. I still have a cross dominance eye problem but still shot a pretty decent pattern.

Overall, this muzzle brake has turned out to be a little jewel. Mine was a standard length of 3 1/2 inches ( I’m not a machinist so that may not be exact) for a Ruger 10/22. I understand the guy that makes them can also do other custom stuff pretty reasonable. It’s hand-crafted, American made, didn’t affect the rifle’s accuracy as far as I could tell and simply works great. Plus it still fits snugly in my Ruger carry case with the muzzle brake on.


If you'd like to get one similar to it you can contact Dean directly at: Blkcwbyhat@aol.com
Tell him RW sent you!

Here's an update:

Ruger 10/22 Rifle - New Style Muzzle Brake


Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

RW,
Thank's for the great review! The one's Ive already sold gave me good comment's about them,but never an in depth like this,I really appreciate it! Nice to know they really work as advertised! I'm alway's looking for new size's and application's to add to my inventory,so any special or odd gun's are welcome! I'm glad you like it,and thank's again for the review!
Dean

riverwalker said...

To: Dean

It works great! If it was any longer it might have been a pretty tight fit for my Ruger case. But as is, it fits fine. I also read on a site that the aluminum muzzle brakes harden over time as you shoot more rounds through them and are pretty much indestructible as a result.

The muzzle rise before I added the muzzle brake wasn't that bad, but now being able to see the bullet hit through the scope - great!

My shooting skills aren't that great but RW Jr. helped me out and is pretty much a crack shot. He can drive tacks at 75 yards with his Marlin Model 60, with iron sights no less. He did complain about the one "flyer" he had but knew it was off before it hit the target. He flinched a little on that shot since he usually uses iron sights...the advantage of youth and good eyesight!

Feel free to link to this post for your site. Thanks a bunch.

Quality American made products are hard to find.

Riverwalker

BTW,The targets are as close to actual size as I could get them. Thought it would help to show that the accuracy wasn't affected.

Anonymous said...

RW,
I didn't want to post my email on your site,didn't want to turn it into an ad space.Feel free to give my email to anyone who request's it,or tag my ebay name to they're favorite place or such. Once again,thank's for the review!
Dean

Mayberry said...

Nice! Wish I could go out back and shoot......

riverwalker said...

To: Dean

I think they can contact you through your info on e-bay but if they would like your e-mail I will give it to them if requested.

RW

riverwalker said...

To: Mayberry

It turned out to be a nice addition to my 10/22. I think you have a Marlin Model 60 like RW Jr., am I correct? We need to get together and do some plinking one of these days. Thanks.

RW

Mayberry said...

Yup, I got a 60. Sounds like a plan RW!

Anonymous said...

Hi RW!
Just need to make a few comment's.It look's like my Ebay ad had a record number of hit's,whether it was your review,or bored people off work...I credit it to you! I've also had a record number of people whinin abou my shipping cost's! Let me explain a bit,for those not Ebay educated..Ebay charge's a listingfee based on your price,6% I believe ,then a 6 % fee of the sale price.Then,Paypal get's 8 % of the total price. So,if I list a brake for 20 bucks,.99 cent shipping,Ebay charge's ME 65 cent's,then Paypal get's 75 cent's of the total.If I list the same part for .99.it cost's me .15 to list,Ebay get's 6% of the SALE price,and paypal get's 8% of the total transfer.IT IS NOT A SCAM! I'm just saving a few cent's,you pay the same either way!In fact,if you mention RW in yur purchase,I'll knock off 2 buck's!I'm just an poor unemployed machinist trying to make end's meet,and saving fellow survivalist's a few buck's! I'm sorry for the ranting,but I need to explain why and what I do.
Dean

Anonymous said...

RW,
We almost did it! If I recall,the most hit's I've gotten on these item's were 130,140 or so.Today it ended,with 197 hit's! I was hoping for 200,but hey! Thank's for your review,and for those of you that missed out on it,don't worry...these are like dorito's...I'll make more!
Dean

riverwalker said...

To: Dean

That's great! It's hard to find good quality "American" craftmanship nowadays. Thanks!

RW

Natog said...

Riverwalker,

You might want to try a few different makes of ammo, at 50 yards with a scope you should all be in the red circle.

With my marlin 60, I found the CCI "Standard Velocity" was the best between accuracy and economy. For hypervelocity stuff, it was the Federal with the wasp on it. Can't remember the name of it.

Buy small packages of a lot of types until you find the on that works best for your rifle, then stock it up!

Muzzle brakes are illegal here so no fun for me...

riverwalker said...

To: natog

We were doing a lotof extra plinkin' and were using the Rem Gold which is cheap. Ran a couple of hundred rounds or so first.

I have Rem High Velocity Yellow Jackets for really serious stuff.

RW Jr prefers the iron sights of his Model 60 and that is what he's most comfortable with.

I battle that cross dominance eye thing every time I sight something in but there doesn't seem to be a real solid solution for it. My first shot was in the red and with the cross dominance thing I've learned that I have to make that first shot count.

Gun laws are pretty good here in Texas for the most part. Thanks.

RW

Anonymous said...

To Natog,
Please give me an idea as to where you live.According to all my info,these are legal in all 50 state's,unless you have some local ordinance or something. A SILENCER,on the other hand,IS illegal,without the proper permit's. One of the reason's I have to advertise these as a muzzle brake is due to Ebay's intolerant rule's about "flash hider's".Anything that they are not sure about is banned.They even suspended my acct and I lost about 75 buck's in sale's! I've seen other's like this claim a 50% reduction in noise,but I find that hard to believe,and RW's test seem's to confirm that. If your still interested,contact RW for my info.
Dean

Anonymous said...

Everyone,
I just got a request for a chinese SKS brake.I knew my buddy had one,so I borrowed it to measure.I know the yugo SKS has 14x1mm right hand thread's,and the other's have 14x1 left hand.My buddy's SKS was 14 diameter,but no thread's..Is this typical? I knw this is a popular rifle,I'd love to add it to my list,but wondered if it was normal..
Dean

Anonymous said...

Its not to reduce noise. If you say that you will get BATFE comeing round

riverwalker said...

To: anonymous 12:10

You are correct.

There is sometimes a problem with an "increased" noise level when using a muzzle brake.Since there was no appreciable difference or increase in the sound level I felt this was OK. I don't remember where but when I was checking the viability of using a muzzle brake I had read that you could suffer hearing damage if they produced too much of a noise level increase.

My fault for not being clearer on this point. There is also the fact that I don't always wear my shooting ear muffs like I should.

Also had there been ANY kind of noise reduction with it, this would have made it necessary to destroy and discard it.

Thanks.

RW

riverwalker said...

To: natog

Got some wasps (Remington Yellow Jackets)! Work great. Thanks.

RW

riverwalker said...

FYI - For those of you reading this review I wish to mention that this is a muzzle brake and NOT a silencer. Silencers have special baffling which reduce noise levels. Some muzzle brakes can actually increase noise levels.

RW

Anonymous said...

I'm confused. Why would you want a muzzle brake for a .22 lr? It doesn't silence, and often makes the rather quiet .22 lr report _louder_. It is something else to keep track of, or to lose. Why?

BTW, for those interested in legally silencing a .22 lr (even an auto-fed .22 like the 10/22), there are .22 lr rounds out there with a load that sets the muzzle velocity just under the speed of sound (in other words, like the .22 short). For small game hunting and the like where one wants to be quiet at possible, these work quite noislessly (for a firearm)--often as quiet as, or quieter than one of the more powerful, "high velocity" air rifles that can be mail-ordered.

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