A Few More 10/22 Cheap Tricks

I have brought you plenty of cheap tricks for the 10/22 in the past and that post has become one of my most visited posts. So here are a few more.

Cheap Trick #1: 

A guy by the name of bagged_2007 posted this tip on his Instagram page, you can neatly fit eight (8) Ruger BX1 magazines inside a Pelican 1020 Microcase. They come in different colors with clear or colored lids.

My neighbor's birthday was coming up, so I ordered one of these Pelican cases in red, along with a Ruger sticker, then stuffed it with some new BX1 magazines

Cheap Trick #2: 

When building my retro Finger Groove Sporter Project I used a vintage slotted take-down screw, it was the last one I had.....

The new factory take-down screws use a socket/Allen head.

I didn't want to use one of these on my 10/22 Continental Project, and the old ones are getting hard to find so I decided to make one.

I purchased some slotted, oval filister head screws that were 12-24 thread and 1" long.

The heads were slightly larger than the factory screws and would not fit in the escutcheon. Also they are zinc plated, finally I would want to remove the threads from the upper 1/2 of the screw to allow the escutcheon to trap the screw

Here is the one of the new screws with an original, beat up one.

I removed the zinc plating using muriatic acid, any mild to medium acid should work.

after rinsing and drying the screws I turned the head down so it would fit in the escutcheon

Next I turned down the threads and polished it

Then I repeated the process with four more screws

The last step was bluing the screws.

Here is what it looks like at home, they sit a little taller than the factory ones, almost flush with the wood.

Cheap Trick #3

This one came from the folks at Rimfire Central: If your BX 15 or BX25 magazine follower is sticking or failing to feed the rounds properly, it might be because the follower is binding, a .22 Short (or cut down .22 LR) will fit inside the hole in the  follower and take up the slop keep it square and true

Cheap Trick #4:

This one also comes from Rimfire Central

Many people have noticed how the BX 15 and BX 25 magazines fit a little looser than the BX 1 Mags. This is because they are smaller

One way to cure the problem is with #10 or #12 set screws. Drill and tap the front of the magazine where it meets the front of the receiver and screw in the set screws, adjust to get a firm fit

you could also build up the area with some epoxy or JB weld (or similar type product).


Cheap Trick #5:

If your trigger group retaining pins are loose and the oversized ones didn't cure the problem, you could drill the holes in the trigger assembly and the receiver to 1/4" and use two of the factory steel bolt stop pins.
In the diagram below, you would use two #46 pins and use them to replace the pins marked #3

Cheap Trick #6

This cheap trick came from an ebay seller. He takes a Magpul Speedplate for Glock magazines and trims it down, then glues it to the bottom of a Ruger BX1 magazine, making removal and insertion much easier

Cheap Trick #7

This is really only a cheap trick if you have access to a lathe. This owner took a standard blued, 18.5" barrel and cut it down to 16", threaded the muzzle and then proceeded to remove material from the barrel. The hump in the middle is where the barrel band holds the barrel. He took a whopping 12 ounces off the weight.