Want A Better Trigger? Best Upgrades for a Ruger 10 22 Trigger

The Ruger 10 22 is one of the most commonly owned .22LR Rifles out there. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a gun guy that hasn’t at least shot one. The Ruger 10 22 is the first rifle many people get to shoot. The problem is they aren’t perfect from the factory. While there are lots of modifications people make to improve their rifle. The Ruger 10 22 trigger is one of the first things people improve.

Polish and Trigger Job

The cheapest way to improve your Ruger 10/22 trigger is to polish the sear and hammer. Depending on how much time you take and your skill level really depends on the benefit you get from this. Most people can smooth out the trigger to take the grittiness of the trigger. If you spend hours of work and a lot of patience you can reduce the trigger pull and get yourself a perfect custom trigger for your Ruger. However, you must be careful. If you mess up you can make your gun unfunctional, or worse unsafe and illegal by making it full auto, in a bad way.

If you feel you have the skills to polish your trigger there are still plenty of good YouTube videos on how to do it. As with anything you learn on YouTube, I suggest you watch at least three videos before you try it. That way lessen your risk of watching the one video that shows you how to do everything wrong.

Ruger 10 22 Trigger Parts

For those who don’t want to spend hours polishing your trigger, or want to lighten the trigger pull without the chance of going too far and ruining your trigger. There are plenty of parts in your trigger group that can be replaced to better your Ruger 10 22 trigger.

Trigger Kits

You can buy an entire kit with all the trigger parts for your Ruger 10 22. Then all you have to do is take apart your trigger group and replace the parts. This will give you a much better trigger for less than most of the drop-in trigger groups.

Volquartsen sells a trigger kit along with Tandemkross. They both offer a trigger travel stop screw, between a 2-2.5 lbs trigger pull, and a much smoother trigger feel. When it comes down to it, either one is perfect to improve you Ruger 10 22 trigger.

Trigger

If you like the way your trigger pull feels or you have already polished your trigger you can just replace the trigger itself. There are plenty of different triggers to get you a different feel when you put your finger on the trigger. Volquartsen sells a straight trigger with an overtravel set screw. This is going to give you more of a target rifle feel for your rifle with the ability to prevent that extra travel of the trigger once the trigger breaks. Don’t worry about the set screw being in the way of your trigger feel, once it’s set up right none of it will be sticking out on the front of the trigger face.

Hammer/Sear

Of course, if you want a better trigger without spending over $100 to get there, and doing the trigger job yourself is out of the question, Volquartsen sells a hammer kit. This kit comes with a couple of springs and a new hammer. The resulting trigger pull is going to be a lot smoother. Not to mention the trigger pull will be reduced by over half of the factory pull weight. Well worth the $41.00 and the time it takes you to install it.

Drop-In Triggers

If you don’t like the idea of taking apart your trigger group and replacing individual parts, there is an option. You can replace the whole trigger group. On a Ruger 10 22, this is as simple as removing the stock and pulling two pins. This makes it very simple to upgrade your 10 22 Trigger, in a few minutes, and if you don’t like it you can put it back just as fast. The only downside to a drop-in trigger group is the cost. Most of the time you pay for the convenience.

Ruger BX

The Ruger BX drop-in trigger group is the one exception to the high cost of a drop-in trigger group. At under $80 in most places, it’s actually cheaper than many of the trigger kits. With a 2.5-3.0 LBS advertised trigger pull you will get a lighter crisper trigger with minimal effort.

Volquartsen

Volquartsen is the leading name in Ruger 10 22 parts. In fact, they even sell a complete rifle based off the Ruger 10 22 that is leaps and bounds above a stock Ruger. There Ruger 10/22 Trigger Guard 2000 has everything you could want in a Ruger trigger. The trigger pull is going to be light and crisp. It comes with the auto bolt release, a Ruger Mod everyone should install on their 10/22. You also get a flat trigger with an over-travel screw.

Timney

Timney triggers are known as some of the best drop-in triggers made. They have been making drop-in trigger groups for AR-15‘s for years. They also make one for the Ruger 10 22. This trigger has a 2 LBS trigger pull with no creep. You get an extended mag release and the always needed auto bolt release.

Conclusion

With so many options for a Ruger 10 22 trigger upgrade, it’s hard to figure out which one is best for you. When it comes down to it, it’s a matter of money and benefit. While polishing your own trigger doesn’t really cost anything but time if you have the stuff to do it already. You may want more than a polished trigger. Of course, the Ruger BX trigger is definitely the best bang for your buck, you may want the best. That would come down to Timney or Volquartsen and it’s really a matter of personal choice. Not to mention you want to spend almost as much on a trigger as you did for the Rifle.

What every Ruger 10 22 trigger upgrade comes down to is getting the best you can. If you’re going to do it once and make sure you get what you want. Buy once cry once.