Product Review: Badger M22 Stock

My Project Night Prowler Reduex took a different turn and I decided to buy a Badge M-22 Bullpup stock.

If you missed the first three posts, click on the links below

Project Night Prowler Reduex pt1

Project Night Prowler Reduex pt2

Project Night Prowler Reduex pt3




From the Badger website

The Badger M-22 for Marlin and now the Badger for Ruger 10/22 are the world's first center-balanced, aftermarket rifle stocks made exclusively for Marlin and Ruger auto-loading .22LR rifles. These stocks are not a clam shell design. The gun is not enclosed in the stock, making it easier to remove for cleaning with no need to remove optics. It combines the versatility and control of a handgun with the accuracy and muzzle velocity of a rifle.

The rifle stocks are made of high quality ABS plastic and injection molded for uniformity. Stocks are made in America in Albert Lee, MN and are distributed throughout the US both in stores and online.

I ordered my Badger M22 on ebay, the price was less that what was advertised on their website and they had black which is the color I wanted anyway. I did not alert the seller (who's ebay id is badgerm22, and is Gary Morris, the creator of the stock) that I was going to perform a review for my blog.

I unboxed the stock and took some photos:

The grip was obvisouly inspired by the AR-15 A2 style grip, although it feels s bit skinnier and the angle is not as steep.

Also in the box were instructions, a DVD and a brochure

Parts included:
Three short picatinney rails (I think they gave me an extra one?)
Two lower action covers (one for model 60 and one for 70 & 795 models)
Barrel Band/strap
Long & Short trigger plate adapters (for model 60 and model 70/795 trigger guards) 
Six threaded screws (for picatinney and barrel band installation)
Two small short wood screws (for the trigger guard)
Two long wood screws (to attach the action to the stock through the lower action cover)
one magazine adapter (for inserting a spare model 70/795 magazine into the grip)
One threaded magazine adapter screw 
What I didn't see where the screws needed to attache the action to the stock, apparently you need to use the original factory ones.


You can see the two action screw holes and how they line up with the holes in the stock

I started by attaching the trigger actuating rod to the factory trigger

I then inserted the trigger and rod into the stock, you can see how there is a bend in the rod so it can clear the mag well on the models 70 & 795

There is a support block that goes in just ahead of the front action screw

I then used one of the large wood screws to attach the rear of the trigger guard, the two small wood screws were used on the front trigger guard and the cover plate

I immediately noticed that the trigger would not reset (return to the forward position) there was too much drag on the rod for the trigger spring to overcome it. The rod was bound up against the side of the stock housing

After a couple of bends to release the drag tension, I was able to get the action in the stock and the actuating rod making contact with the sear arm.

Last step was to install the barrel band, I needed a clamp to get the holes to line up

I ordered the scope rail separate, it doesn't come with the stock. The rail is made of a reinforced polymer

it uses a dovetail insert which goes into the rear sight dove tail

And a clamp rear that fits the 11MM cast in rail on the top of the Marlin receiver

I purchased a new scope mount, the old one fit the 11mm cast in rail, I need one to fit the weaver/picatinney rail

Here it is put together, I removed the front sight while I was at it

Impressions: 

The magazine loading slot barely clears the front of the stock, not a complaint, in fact this may make it easier to load as the stock can bu used to index the rounds.

There is a lot of casting flash on the plastic, I will use sand paper or an emory board to clean up the areas that might rub skin, like the area around the grip

The overall length is 32 1/4", which is 8 1/4" shorter that it was with the factory stock (originally 40 1/2")

The butt plate has a smooth surface, I think some stipling, grooves or skid tape would help

The screws holding the picatinney rails and barrel band are a bit longer then they need to be, this doesn't cause any issues, just seems like they could have sourced shorter screws.

The rear action screw (former rear trigger guard screw) is a bit too short, it barely grabs the threads on the receiver, which caused them to strip the first row.

Overall I am pleased with the stock, the weight is pretty well centered and balanced. The price was reasonable compared with other synthetic aftermarket stocks.

So far I would recommend this product.