Project Appleseed

Hi all,
I'm very new to the shooting world, I inherited some old hunting rifles from my grandfather and figure I might as well learn to properly use them through Appleseed.
I've picked up a 10/22 Carbine from Dicks to start off. It's got a synthetic stock and a factory installed rail.
Since it has a factory installed rail, my question is this:
Do I remove the rail and purchase the standard Tech Sights TSR100
Or
Do I leave the rail on and purchase the Tech Sights Rail Aperture Sights, which I believe is based on the TSR200:
https://www.tech-sights.com/product/ruger-1022-rail-aperture-sights/

I appreciate your input

Get the TSR100. There are less parts...and therefore less things to loosen at an undoubtedly inopportune time.

I agree with Tennessee Beast: Get the TSR100 sight set.  Remove the factory rail and install the rear sight, it's a breeze.  Have patience when removing the Ruger factory front sight, it is IN THERE!!!!  Once the front sight is removed, installing the Tech Sight front sight is a snap.

As for the factory rear sight on the 10/22 the easiest thing to do is just fold it forward. Certainly you can drive it out of the dovetail, but then you'll have an empty dovetail slot in the barrel that doesn't quite look right.

Hopefully your rifle has provisions on it for attaching a sling.  Some 10/22s don't. You will want a GI cotton sling on the rifle. Between the good Tech Sights and a sling, you will create a Liberty Training Rifle. 
Good Luck!

Gus

I agree with the others. I have both sights and the 100 is much better.

Thanks all for the input.

For reference, this is what my Dicks was selling for $229.99. Synthetic stock with mounting points for a sling (just add swivels) and a rail. Interestingly, it comes with no factory sights, but I figured why pay extra for sights if I'll just be replacing them anyways.

If I'm not mistaken it appears that there is no front sight mount on the top of that barrel if so you'll need to use a different device to mount a tech sight front sight or go with a optic. Also and I'm totally guessing here but that barrel looks thicker than a standard carbine or shorter ruger 10/22 if thats the case you'll probably need whats called a .920 front sight mount to accommodate  the thicker barrel.

Finally if your going with a optic  you will need to look into weaver style rings and mounts for it. The factory rail thats mounted appears to be a weaver style rail and not a picitanny

Its a interesting little rifle I can't find any info on dicks website about it

I have that exact model of the 10/22 for a loaner.

Don't think it will be a good candidate for Tech Sights (or any irons) for reasons stated (no milled in front sight dovetail). Probably a way to do it but not for a beginner or if you do not want to spend a bit of money.

Perfectly acceptable to use optics on a rifle for Appleseed. While everyone should learn to use iron sights, optics take a couple complications out of the equation when learning and can help you on the road to Rifleman.

I will warn you that the factory-installed weaver rail on mine came loose recently under an optic and I have reinstalled it with Locktite and proper torque. I also (always) recommend an auto bolt release - mine was sticky.

Otherwise very accurate and capable rifle at a great price. You made a good choice. And you don't need to spend a lot of money on a scope for 25 yards. Plenty of recommendations on this forum if you want them.

I have some of those same rifles as loaners, and I decided to go with a scope. If you were to go that route, I would highly recommend ditching the factory rail and getting an extended picatinney rail. There are several available, although unfortunately they all seem to have increased in price like everything else in the current climate. I have yet to seen anyone with close to proper eye relief without an extended rail and a lot of sore necks from trying to get by without one. Another option is a cantilevered scope mount, but that also raises the scope height even more which then requires even more modification on the stock to get a proper cheek height. I should mention that you will probably be wanting a little additional cheek height no matter which route you go; the difference is foam and vet tape can easily add a little height, but if you add too much, it seems to rotate around the stock when you take on a solid cheek weld.

My suggestion, extended rail, lowest rings you can fit, and a scope with a reasonable objective size (less than 40 mm?).

Here are some links to extended rails:

EGW (the one I bought)
Kidd
Volquartsen (discontinued??)

Have fun with that rifle! They really shoot well, are great to learn and practice on, and are kind of fun to mod for comfort.

Quote from: Captain on December 04, 2020, 09:34:12 AM
Another option is a cantilevered scope mount, but that also raises the scope height even more which then requires even more modification on the stock to get a proper cheek height.

The cantilevered mount, which is just a longer rail so you can mount the scope far forward enough, is a must if you get one of those huge full size scopes. And even then I've seen scopes that were still hanging out towards the rear of the rifle. And thus no good eye relief.

Myself - I like a small compact scope and thus don't need a special mount to give proper eye relief.

https://www.primaryarms.com/primary-arms-6x-scope-with-the-patented-acss-22lr-reticle

https://www.opticsplanet.com/leapers-utg-3-9x32-compact-cqb-bug-buster-rifle-scope-w-rings-sunshade.html

I've used both of the scopes linked above and like them both.

Thank you everyone for your insight, glad I posted a picture before proceeding!

This is the exact model from Dicks:
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/ruger-10-22-carbine22-lr-rifle-20rugurg1022grphtrif/20rugurg1022grphtrif

I had read about the need for Locktite, I'll certainly pick up a tube to secure whatever rail I end up using. I'll take a look at the scopes suggested here, as well as those around the forum

I guess my last question would be: the 30-06 and 6mm I inherited each have a Weaver K4 60-B mounted. Looks like it's a 4x 40mm scope, from what I can find on Google. Not that I'm opposed to buying a scope, but I was just curious if these would be of any value to learn with.

Thanks again

That is supposed to be a very nice and "classic" scope: https://www.vintagegunscopes.com/vgs-vintage-builds/2019/7/18/the-best-of-the-most-famous-the-weaver-k4-60b.

4X would be plenty of magnification for 25 meters and depending on the existing rings, may fit to the factory Ruger weaver-style rail.

Biggest questions are whether you will get the right eye relief, as several folks have mentioned (as a rough guide - is the back end of the rear bell lined up with the back end of the trigger guard?) and whether you want to break up those inherited combos, which may have some nostalgia value. There are plenty of lower cost compact scopes out there, which could be a dedicated solution.

I'm not familiar with that scope, but generally any well-mounted sighting system should work fine (well-mounted: proper eye relief and not susceptible to coming loose). I did find a nice write-up on that scope here that you might find interesting. I think most people would find a fixed 4x better to learn on than many stock "iron" sight combos. YMMV 

Again, thanks so much for your insight, y'all have given me a lot to think about!

One other thing to check out with your existing scopes is the parallax / target focus distance. Many scopes have their parallax / target focus distance set for 100 yards, which might make a target at 25 meters (the distance we shoot at a standard Appleseed) a bit blurry.

The easiest way to check this is to set up a target at 25m / 82ft and see if the target is reasonably in focus. If not, see if your scope has an adjustment for it. That's usually a rotatable ring on the front lens of the scope or a rotatable knob on the left side of the scope. If not, then your scope has a fixed distance focus. Don't let the rear focusing ring on the scope fool you; that adjusts the focus of the reticle / crosshairs, not the target. Make sure the reticle / crosshairs are in focus before testing the target focus.

If the scope can't make a target at 25m reasonably sharp, then you'll want to find a different scope. The good news is that there are plenty of scopes available for every budget.