10/22 Takedown Backpack Carbine Build in Shorts

Part 1 - Brownells BRN-22TR Receiver

Goal is a lightweight, backpackable 10/22 takedown that can equal our conventional 10/22’s on a Project Appleseed AQTWe are building around Brownell’s BRN 22TR receiverThat is machined from 6061 aluminum billetWith an integral 0 MOA Picatinny top railAnd featuring a cleaning rod hole at the rearThat weighs 11 ¼ ouncesIt’s a quarter ounce heavier than the similar Volquartsen Superlight, lacking their more durable finish, Brownell’s receiver is ½ the price and has the clearing rod hole.Part 2 will be the bolt and charging handle

Part 2 - Volquartsen Competition Bolt 

I chose the Volquartsen competition bolt largely because of its DLC finish. My first experience with DLC was on the Mossberg MC2c. A durable coating with high lubricity that exposes the underlining machining. DLC is one of the reasons that the MC2c is my favorite 9mm pistol. 
Out of the package the Volquartsen bolt is a stunning piece of work. It could easily serve as a decorative artifact for your living room coffee table. It uses an internal round titanium firing pin rather than the flat, surface slicing firing pin of the stock Ruger bolt.  
The recoil rod and spring also differ greatly. At first I thought it was going to be a pain to field strip, but it is actually easier than the Stock charging handle/recoil spring setup. You do have to remove the charging handle from the bolt with a ⅛” hex key for field stripping, but this setup makes for an astonishingly smooth bolt. 
The charging handle is longer than the standard Ruger one. I really have no problem with the low profile, single finger Ruger charging handle and don’t see the need for an extended one. 
At $290, the Volquartsen bolt is almost 10 times the cost of the stock Ruger bolt, and it is at the higher end compared to other third party bolts but the improved firing pin, DLC, and included charging handle make it worth the bucks. The only equal is probably the Tactical Solutions dual recoil spring bolt that requires the specially designed TacSol receiver. The Volquartsen bolt will drop into any standard 10/22 receiver…it is so cool, I need to upgrade my two fixed barrel Project Appleseed 10/22’s. 
It’s unlikely that I’ll be able to detect any improvement in accuracy and, given the reliability of my stock 10/22’s, it will require years to recognize improved reliability, but the aesthetics of appearance and smooth bolt operation make it a recommended upgrade. I’m so glad that I didn’t just go with a “good enough” Ruger bolt. 

Part 3 - Volquartsen HP Action Trigger Kit Plus

Volquartsen HP+ Trigger Kit
AmbGun Recommended
Ruger BX Trigger

AmbGun Recommended
I’ve happily used the Ruger BX trigger in all the AmbGun 10/22 rifles so I have quite a few stock trigger packs stacked up in the parts bin. 
So I decided to get the Volquartsen HP Action Kit Plus. I’ve been using the Volquartsen auto bolt release for years so it wasn’t too far out of my way to do a complete disassembly of the trigger. Volquartsen’s online instruction video is excellent. I found the process fumble fingers easy. 
The HP Plus kit includes a new trigger and sear assembly with overtravel stop, a new hammer with bushings and hammer spring, a very mildly extended mag release (I’m not a fan of most grossly extended mag releases), and the auto bolt release. 
While I have the muscle memory to deal with the standard bolt release, the auto bolt release just makes things easier on the firing line. 
With the Volquartsen kit installed, the trigger feels very similar to the Ruger BX trigger, maybe just a tiny bit lighter trigger pull. Excellent trigger on both. 
The Ruger BX trigger is a no-brainer upgrade, but you will still want to add the Volquartsen auto-bolt release to it. So BX trigger with auto-bolt release will cost about $110 vs the Volquartsen HP plus kit’s $166. I think the premium springs and components make the Volquartsen kit worth the extra $56, but I wish it included a slide stop spring and the receiver cross pins.
A great trigger in place, forthcoming episodes cover the barrel, stock, and sights. 

Part 4 - Barrel

Barrel choices for the AmbGun 10/22 takedown project. 
The AmbGun online survey results found the three options very closely matched. 
I went with the Ruger cold hammer forged threaded barrel. The price is ⅓ that of the exotic fiberglass wrapped aftermarket barrels. While it included barrel mounted sights, that turned out to not be an advantage…except for the front sight dovetail. 
It would have been nice to combine the Volquartsen bolt and trigger kit with a Volquartsen barrel. I really like how they reverse “cantilever” a pic rail to allow for a barrel mounted optic that is shifted rearward over the receiver…this does require a non-railed receiver so I could not go this route. 
The Tactical Solutions Takedown Barrel is a great option and shaves several ounces compared to the Ruger barrel. If I didn't think that Ruger makes very good barrels, I would have gone the TacSol route. Plus I think the TacSol barrel mounted sights would be visually blocked by the Brownell’s Receiver integral pic rail. 
Ultimately, the Ruger offers 90% at ⅓ the price.

Part 5 - Stock

Rifle stock for the AmbGun 10/22 takedown project.
Since I wanted the takedown package to be able to easily slip in and out of a scabbard, I bypassed the rubber over molded Hogue stock.
Given my mountain bike emphasis on bulk and weight, I chose the MagPul X22 Backpacker which is 12 ounces lighter than the Hogue and a whopping 21 ounces lighter than MagPul’s X22 Hunter. 
The Backpacker features storage for 3 ten round mags. And some o-ring sealed storage in the grip that’ll hold a really small tourniquet, water purification tablets, or some Skittles. The stock has holes ready for QD sling inserts and while I'm a huge advocate for shooter’s aid sling, I'll leave them unfilled…saving weight and saving $70 for the MagPul Type 1 and Type 2 inserts…four fucking QD inserts that cost almost as much as the stock. Wow. 
No stock mounting screws included in the Magpul kit or with the Ruger barrel…another week waiting for a stupid screw. The Brownells receiver thoughtfully included the stock screw for its side of things.
So if You're following along with your own build, get some receiver cross pins and an extra stock screw.
The X22 Backpacker DOES include an elevated cheek riser/storage cover for those who go with optics. The way that the receiver stock and barrel stock link up is beautiful and keeps receiver and barrel from banging together in a backpack. The rubber buttstock pad and angled toe remind me of the MFT Battlelink stock that I like so much. 
A terrific takedown stock design, just keep in mind that MSRP will be almost $200 if you want ambi QD inserts. 

Part 6 - Sights

Tech-Sights Front Sight Tower Assembly for Ruger 10/22 with standard post
AmbGun Recommended
Tech-Sights (for non-railed receiver)
AmbGun Recommended
I was going to use the sights mounted on the Ruger barrel, but I discovered that the receiver’s pic rail blocked them. 
Tried mounting a Leupold VX Freedom scope, but there were not enough pic rail slots to get it far enough forward for a proper Turkey Neck cheek weld. I experimented with a red dot, it works well enough.
Ultimately I went back to my desire for irons with a Tech Sights front sight tower with its standard AR post it sits about ½” higher than Ruger’s stock front sight. I had some hope that a Tech Sights SU16 rear peep would fit on the pic rail, but the overhang would not clear the receiver…so I dug out the original plastic rail mounted peep sights that came with my SU16c…not exactly the elegant option for the rifle, but they line up with the Tech Sights front tower.  
On a takedown rifle, barrel mounted sights make sense for preserving a precise zero…but within the noise of my marksmanship, I do not think I'll be able to discern a zero shift. I will test that with a magnified optic. My guess is that most claims of a shift in point of impact is often just a matter of being fooled by randomness…something that I think is rampant in the shooting world.
The rear peep has the advantage that it adds 7” to the sight radius over the barrel mounted sights. I suspect the added sight radius carries more benefit than “zero preserving” barrel mounted sights. 
For a backpack carbine, I prefer the less bulky and sturdy simplicity of irons…which I will use for the Appleseed Qualification Test…next.
Lots of Red Dot fans on the survey.  I would love to mount an AimPoint T2 on the Takedown rifle. 

Part 7 - AQT

Parrot Vise
a Chinese copy of the awesome, hammer forged Versa-Vise. (if you can find an original, expect to pay MUCH more)
Testing the 10/22 takedown rifle using the Project Appleseed AQT. Started off with the irons, the KelTec rear peep and the Tech-Sights front sight tower. I twice failed to shoot a Rifleman score on the AQT. Discouraging. Mounted a Leupold VX-Freedom 1.5-4 scope and tried again. Couldn’t get the scope far enough forward for a good repeatable turkey neck cheek weld, but managed to squeak out a 214 Rifleman score. Experimented with a Crimson Trace red dot, scored better than with irons, but not a Rifleman score. So I concluded I needed a magnified optic, but one with either limited eye relief or able to be mounted far enough forward…pulled the gen 2 Vortex Spitfire 5x off my RDB and with the prism’s close eye relief, mounted using the low mount and all the way to the rear, it was perfect.  Being a compact scope it also did not extend past the stock when broken down…unlike the Leupold scope…a bonus for fitting it into a backpack.
And, with the Spitfire, my scores ranged from a low of 218 to a high of 244 during four ambi-AQT’s. Excellent scores for shooting the AQT without a sling.
11x17-AQT-Blk.pdf
Targets of the AQT
Download this AQT target print it on 11x17 paper (Most office supply stores can do this for you).
Or just go ahead and attend a Project Appleseed Rifle Marksmanship Clinic and at the end of the event, check with the Shoot Boss to see if any leftover targets are available. 

Part 8 - Full Length Review

So starting with a Brownells BRN22 receiver, I wish I could have landed the receiver without the pic rail, so I could have used barrel mounted sights or the Volquartsen reverse cantilever barrel mounted pic rail or Tech-Sights front and rear. 
BRN22 receiver has a cleaning rod hole in the back of the receiver…totally u needed with a takedown rifle. 
I love the Volquartsen DLC coated bolt with its internal round firing pin and different recoil spring setup…just be careful not to let that spring get away. As someone who keeps my firearms clean, having to unthread the bolt handle for disassembly is a tiny added Hassel. But the very smooth bolt is worth the effort. 
The Volquartsen HP trigger kit delivers a very sweet break on the stock Ruger trigger. And it includes the auto bolt release for making it far easier to release the bolt…especially during the time constraints of an AQT. However, I did not care for the included Volquartsen mag release, the geometry is changed just enough so that if, when shooting offhand, you bring your support hand back underneath the magazine so you can embed your support elbow in your abdomen, it is actually very easy to accidentally disengage the magazine. I recommend sticking with the stock mag release, but I’m not so inconvenienced that I have near term plans to restore the stock Ruger mag release. 
I did have an issue, at one point, where the trigger would not return to reset after each shot…having to manually push the trigger forward. Back home I found that the trigger return spring plunger was binding…a bit of lube and the problem was solved. No doubt the Volquartsen HP trigger kit features a lighter return spring to reduce the trigger pull weight. So be aware that performance parts can mean more careful attention to maintenance is necessary. It’s possible that if doing it all again, I would keep the stock Ruger trigger return spring and plunger. Otherwise I’m very happy with the Volquartsen trigger kit, but I’d be torn if choosing between the Ruger BX trigger and the upgrade kit. 
The Ruger threaded cold hammer forged takedown barrel. With the Vortex Spitfire, I was able to shoot the rifle quite well, so clearly the Ruger barrel is not hindering accuracy. 
The MagPul X22 Backpacker stock is excellent, but if the QD sling studs weren’t so expensive, I bet I could add 6-8 points to my AQT scores by using a sling as a shooter’s aid. 
I wish the X22 had a 1” shorter length of pull, mainly to reduce the overall length of the takedown package to fit in a normal sized backpack/day pack. 
While I'm quite satisfied with the Vortex Spitfire 5x atop the takedown, if I had a do over, I'd build on a receiver without a pic rail so I could run a Tech Sights rear peep with the Tech Sights front tower. I suspect I struggled with shooting the irons because of the large aperture of the KelTec rail mounted peep sight. I think that if I paired that front sight tower with a Tech-Sights rear peep, I’d be more successful.
Overall it's a very cool and complete backpack carbine, but unlike the Keltec SU16c you cannot fire in its takedown state. But it is 6 ½” shorter in its takedown state compared to the SU16c’s 26” folded. 
Keep in mind that your might need receiver crossover pins (for trigger) as well as one or maybe two stock screws. 
Irons: 10/22 Std vs TakedownLOP                 11.5 vs 13Barrel               18.5 vs 16.5Sight Radius.   22.75 vs 19 ⅞ (almost 3” longer)Rear Sight        Tech Sights vs KeltecTrigger.             BX vs Volquartsen HP+Sling.                Canvas GI vs NoneAperture.          .062 vs .140Weight.             5.1 (4.74 without sling) vs 4.24 lbs (backpacker is 8 ounces lighter)Max width.        2.1” vs 2.5” (3/10 wider due to bolt handle)Buttstock to peep 12.75 vs 13.5” (¾” closer to peep)AQT                  220 vs 205OAL.                 35.75 vs 34/19.5 (16 ¼” shorter)

Part 9 Creating a Pic Rail Peep Sight with Swappable Apertures

Thanks Keltec for the SU16d pic rail peep sight
KelTec Peep diameter is .14. I wanted .070 max…so
Drilled out peep with #11 bitTapped with 12-40Threaded up Skinner .070 apertureProbably should have gone with extended aperture for a bit more threads and to shift aperture rearward a bit…
Zeroing for elevation was quick with the Tech Sights front sight tower. It took a bit more trial and error to nail the windage…loosening the phillips head screw on one side and tightening on the other to shift the peep. About 20 rounds and I had it dialed.
Proceeded to do an AQTOffhand I scored a 47 out of 50 with all hits in the black although one was close.Squatting (not an official Project Appleseed position, but more tactically useful than sitting on ass) scored a 43. Stage 3 rapid fire prone, a 45…really good scores so now I’m nervous for the slow fire proneworth double points. Shot an 88. Total score of 223 is  my best ever shooting without a sling. I’d say building a pic rail aperture peep sight proved worthwhile. 
Check out the Ambgun 10/22 Takedown Build in Shorts series and parts list. Link in the description.
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