The Liberty Training Rifle – Modified Ruger 10/22 Review

Reviewed By Guest Writer J Kirchner

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There are many many many web sites available on this subject. A quick search on “liberty training rifle” or on “apple-seed project” or on “appleseed project” will return about a billion results on google. I will not discuss the pros and cons of every possible option. I will only discuss the options I have used.

I have decided to build these for each of us here in the family for a couple of reasons:
1) .22 is a LOT cheaper than .223
2) The apple-seed project is patriotic and party neutral
3) These are just great rifles to train on the basics of GOOD and VERY GOOD rifle marksmanship
4) The sights allow the young and new marksman to develop one set of principals and get used to one sight picture and migrate to the AR-15 / M-16 / M-4 basic sights with no thought or re-training. For example, it is the same consistent sight picture

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The first thing is a Ruger 10/22. I really can not say enough good things about this basic rifle design. The only 2 draw backs are the magazine release (it sucks) and the bolt hold open (it sucks). Fix those two things and you have pretty much the perfect .22 rifle.

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The second thing is the tech-sight kit. These sights are easy to install, and give a much greater accuracy than the stock Ruger sights.

The third fundamental change is the sling Oh, Ruger forgot to add one. How silly of me. Add a sling I can not over stress the importance of the sling. This makes all the difference in consistent tight shot groups. To this day I can not fathom why people (including most of the military) do not train and use the sling correctly. It makes a massive difference on the range and on the street that can not be over emphasized. Get the sling and swivels and USE THEM CORRECTLY

Here is a good explanation of the sitting and kneeling positions. Pay attention to how he “wraps” the sling. True marksmanship shooters will ALWAYS use a wrapped sling if they can. Competition shooters will use a “No-Pulse” sling which is beyond the scope of this review.

First I replaced the sights and while I had the barrel and stock separated, I drilled out the holes I needed on the stock for the sling swivels. These are a must, as there are none on the rifle as it comes from Ruger. Get a good 1.25 or 1.5 inch sling and matching swivels. Either a GI cotton/nylon issue or leather sling. (I prefer and use leather slings these are an example, but, there are many makes and manufacturers to choose from).

Once the swivels studs were mounted, I mounted the sights by tapping the old ones off and tapping on the new ones. Just follow the directions that come with the sights. I use a drop or two of blue locktite for the sight mount and for the screws. These are both the two in the rear that hold the rear sight on and the three set screws on the front sight. DO NOT USE RED LOCKTITE You will never be able to adjust the sights again and you will end up replacing them. (Yeah I did that; I make mistakes too And will even tell you all about them Heck, I would rather you make fun of me than my wife Besides she gets enough practice.)

While the stock is off, I swap out the mag release and replace it with one of these from Volquartsen.
And I fix the bolt release pain in the back-side with one of these also from Volquartsen.

After putting the stock back on and threading on the sling it is time to zero in the rifle and get down to some serious plinking

These rifles are great for younger shooters and old alike The ammo is cheap, and that equates to more time and more fun on the range. That, then also means more accuracy, tighter shot groups, and happier children at an apple-seed competition near you

The apple-seed or liberty training rifle is a must have addition to help you train the next generation of shooters and patriots Besides when the SHTF you do not want to be using a .223 or a 6.8 for squirrels or rabbits. Send out one of the kids with a liberty training rifle and a handful of .22’s and voila, it’s brunswick stew for supper

There are gobs of resources for the parts so I will not try to review any of them. You can even purchase completed finished liberty rifles. Me? I will spend the hour to make it my own. Now where is the day glow pink paint for my daughters stock? (What we do for our kids shaking my head)

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