As ammunition prices continue to rise and precision shooting grows in popularity, NRL22 has exploded. It offers a chance for shooters of all ages and statures to compete in precision shooting without the price Up here in Canada, the CRPS offers a similar style of competition. For the purposes of this article I will use the two terms interchangeably. After competing in a match I wanted to build a rifle for NRL22 style competitions. After some contemplation I decided on a precision 10/22
Action Type
The first decision I had to make was whether to use a bolt action or a semi-automatic. My first instinct was to go with a bolt action as in general they are more accurate than a semi-automatic. However, I already had a 10/22 with a Kidd barrel that shot very well. Furthermore, in competition it seemed that most misses were due to wind and shooter error, not the inherent accuracy of the firearm. A semi-automatic allows the shooter to stay perfectly on target and read their misses slightly better than a bolt action. I decided to stick with the barrel I already had and build a precision 10/22.
Action
For the action I decided to go with the Dlask TUF22 receiver. It is very durable, made of 7075 aluminium. Furthermore, the version I purchased has 30 MOA of cant built into the integral picatinny rail. The cant is important for a precision 10/22 to get out to 350 yards because it allows you to use all of the elevation in your optic. It also has a couple of picatinny rail notches forward of the action. This makes mounting a scope with proper eye relief easier than on a standard 10/22. An added benefit for Canadians is that the TUF22 receivers still accept 25 round magazines for practice. In contrast, a Ruger 10/22 needs a magazine adapter in order to use higher capacity magazines.
For internals I selected a Tandemkross bolt and buffer. I decided to go with the aftermarket bolt to keep all of the component tolerances tight. This will help ensure that I am able to use the accuracy from a premium barrel. For the charging handle I went with a factory Ruger because it is cheap and makes no difference.
Barrel
Next, the barrel is a Kidd Ultralight 16 inch. If I hadn’t already owned the barrel I would have looked at something with a heavier profile. However, I already owned the Kidd and I knew that it was capable of sub-MOA accuracy at 50 yards with SK match. Sticking with a known quantity, I could always add weights to the barrel channel to improve the balance of the rifle if necessary.
Trigger
Finally, the trigger was a tough decision for me. Most everyone on the internet will tell you that the Kidd two-stage trigger is the gold standard of precision 10/22 triggers. However, they run almost 450 CAD for just the trigger. After much humming and hawing I was unable to convince myself to part with that much money for a trigger. I ended up buying a Ruger BX trigger as a cheap alternative. However, I wasn’t happy with the BX trigger. Despite being better than a factory trigger it still had a lot of creep, overtravel, and was still reasonably heavy. I decided to do some trigger work on it myself. Be warned, trigger work should only be done by someone experienced with working on firearms and must be thoroughly tested before field use.
To improve the trigger I polished all of the internal surfaces such as where the disconnector engages the sear. Additionally, I shortened the engagement surface between the hammer and the sear to 0.015 thousandths. Importantly, great care was taken not to alter the angel of the engagement surfaces and the surfaces themselves were not touched. After this work my trigger was pulling consistently around 1.5 pounds with much less takeup.
Stock
After looking at a number of different stocks the modularity of a chassis based system appealed to me. After considering the MDT Oryx Chassis I landed on the KRG Bravo both for its affordability and accessory support from KRG. Upon receiving the Bravo I was happy with the chassis, but was disappointed that it came with such a short length of pull. Most adult shooters will find it necessary to purchase an extra spacer kit to get a good fit with the length of pull. Apart from that, the chassis feels solid and has a sling stud to make it easy to attach a Harris bipod. Eventually I will likely add an Arca Rail but for now I plan on running a fixed Harris Style bipod with a Pod Lok.
Optic
Finally, I needed an optic for the rifle. I decided to go with the Vortex Viper PST Gen 2 5-25×50. The zero stop and revolution indicator is excellent for a precision 22LR. Additionally, the parallax adjusts down to 25 yards, which is necessary for close KYL-style targets. Finally, because I expect to use the scope in the 5-15 power range the illumination is a nice addition on a FFP optic.
Final Results
After putting the rifle together I sighted it in at 50 yards. Accuracy results were right around a half inch at 50 yards with CCI Standard velocity ammo. Eley Club shot a bit better, coming in around 0.4 inches at 100 yards. Once the ammo availability improves I will test with more precision 22lr. This barrel consistently shoots RWS Target into sub-0.4 inch groups it’s previous iteration so that will also be tested. MOA angle accuracy should be plenty for competition as calling the wind and poor DOPE account for most misses on the clock.