There a hundreds of 10/22 stocks available for your Ruger 10/22. The problem arises when you decide you want a new stock for your rifle. How do you choose if you want a tapered barrel stock or not, wood or synthetic, adjustable or fixed comb, or even tactical and bullpup stocks? So many options trying to figure out what works best for you and what you need can be hard.
Tapered or Bull Barrel
The first thing you need to know before you buy a stock is if you have a tapered barrel or bull barrel. If your Ruger 10/22 is stock, then most likely you have a tapered barrel. The tapered barrel on a 10/22 starts at .920 and tapers down. Whereas a bull barrel is a straight .920 diameter down the barrel. As the stock is designed to the barrel you can’t install a stock designed for a tapered barrel on a receiver with a bull barrel. At least not without modifications to the stock.
On the flip side if you are planning on upgrading your barrel you can do that while looking for a stock. That way you can get a stock to fit a bull barrel if that’s what you buy.
Wood or Synthetic 10/22 Stocks
Now that you know what size barrel to buy your stock for you can look at materials you want your stock made out of. There are two types of stocks, wood stocks, and synthetic stocks. Each one has it’s advantages and disadvantages.
Wood
Wood stocks come anywhere from just a simple standard looking hunting rifle stock. To very complex free-floated barrel stocks with a thumb hole. They are also made out of various hardwoods and many times laminated wood. The nice thing about wood stocks is they can have a warmer look to them with various stains. With the onset of laminated stocks, they even come in various colors. Anywhere from simple wood stain all the way to pink, purple, blue, grey, and lime green.
This ability to buy a wood stock in various colors and finishes give you a great opportunity to have a very custom-looking rifle without the custom price. The only downfall is that the clear coat on these stocks can get damaged fairly easy but many gun cleaning solvents. However, as it’s it wood you can sand and refinish the stock when you damage it.
Synthetic
Synthetic stocks are made of what is commonly referred to as plastic. Granted these stocks are more than simple plastic. Generally speaking, synthetic stock come in either a traditionally shaped stock or tactically shaped. The benefit with synthetic stocks is they are waterproof, dent and scratch resistant along with a lot lighter. The downfalls is they don’t come in smooth high gloss finishes, nor a variety of colors. Most of the time you have a choice between black, olive drab, or flat dark earth.
Adjustable or fixed Comb Stock
Factory 10/22 Stocks were not designed for use with a scope. The comb is not high enough to get a good sight picture, which makes it hard to follow rifle marksmanship principles. This means when buying a new 10/22 stock you need to consider the height of the comp if you plan on using a scope. It also means you need to consider if you will be the only shooter or if you will have others shoot the rifle. If your rifle will only be shot by you, consider getting a fixed comb stock. That way it’s perfect for you and you don’t have to worry about adjusting it. However, if you want to let your kids shoot it. Consider getting an adjustable comb stock.
Having a good quality adjustable comb stock gives you a lot of options when it comes to fitment of your gun to the shooter. Some stocks come with screws that lift or lower the comb. While others have a removable comb so you can get different sizes. Of course, the screw adjustment is more precise. You will, however, pay more upfront for that ability. The stocks that come with removable combs are cheaper to buy. Make sure that they come with multiple combs or you may end up spending more in the long run to buy the different combs you need.
Tactical
Tactical stocks give you a pistol grip and adjustable length of pull for your Ruger 10/22. There are few different versions of the tactical stocks. Pro Mag offers the Archangel stock that does a really good of mimicking the AR-15 look. While Black Hawk offers a stock geared more towards precision with adjustability. Either way, if you are a fan of pistol grips and adjustable buttstocks it’s easy to find a Tactical stock for your 10/22.
Bullpup
If you really want to alter the look and feel or your 10/22 stock completely, a bullpup stock is the way to go. The bullpup conversion 10/22 stocks convert your rifle to a bullpup rifle. They relocate the trigger forward in the stock giving you the same length of pull while shorting the over length of the rifle.
Suggestions
There are hundreds of places to buy 10/22 stocks and even more variations of stocks to buy. Just like anything, there are good quality stocks and cheap ones. There are a couple of manufacturers that you can trust to make a good rifle stock for a good price.
Boyd’s Stocks
Boyd’s Stocks have become an icon in the aftermarket world. They have been making beautiful and accurate rifle stocks for a lot of years. All of them being made of laminated woods. Which are known to be the stiffest stocks you can buy. With multiple options when it comes to 10/22 stocks you can choose from fully adjustable stocks. To a highly polished thumbhole stock in your choice of colors. These stocks are by no means cheap. They are of high quality and worth every penny.
Magpul Stocks
Magpul is another icon in the firearms industry. They have been the top seller of polymer AR-15 magazines and furniture for along time. So, it’s only natural that when Magpul decided to make a polymer 10/22 stock it was going to be of high quality. When it comes to high-quality polymer stocks you can’t go wrong with a Magpul stock.
Conclusion
Choosing the right Ruger 10/22 Stock comes to down making a few choices. First starts with the barrel size you need. Then it’s a matter of if you like wood or polymer. After that, it’s only a matter of deciding what benefits you want from your stock. If nothing else you can never go wrong with a Boyd’s or Magpul stock.