My new Ruger Charger build project (long and lots of pics!)

[HandgunHTR]

I figured I would post it here instead of the SB forum, mainly because there wasn't anything else here.

I started my build with a standard Ruger Charger that I picked up about 2 weeks ago. (http://www.ruger.com/products/22Charger/index.html) The goal of this project was to build a pistol that I could use for Small Bore Unlimited Any Sight (UAS) and Unlimited Standing (US).

I will describe the build in the order that it happened using separate posts for each stage. I apologize in advance for the pictures. It is all sorts of nasty outside today, so they were mostly taken at my kitchen table using the flash.

[HandgunHTR]

STOCK
I knew I didn’t want it to remain that flat grey color, so after doing some searching on Rimfire Central I decided to dye the stock red. Also, since I was going to be using this pistol for UAS in the “flop” (prone) position, I decided to take a little bit off the bottom of the grip so that I could slide my pinky finger under there. (In IHMSA competition you can’t use artificial rests or let any part of the firearm touch the ground.) I also wanted finger grooves in the grip to aid in a consistant grip when shooting both UAS and US. So, using my chop saw I took the bottom off of the grip. Then I took the Dremel tool to it to put the finger grooves in.
To remove the factory finish, I used some finish stripper that I had left over from a rifle stock refinish and started with that. I then sanded the stock, starting with 120-grit and going incrementally to 320-grit, using a sanding sponge as my “block”.
Here is what it looked like when I got done sanding.


From reading the posts here, I learned that the easiest way to dye the stock was to use RIT dye mixed with denatured alcohol, so that is what I decided to do. I knew I wanted a red color, but the local MaoMart did not have the scarlet dye in the powder form, they only had it in the liquid. I decided to use it anyway. I used one teaspoon of dye to one tablespoon of alcohol.

Once I got it painted on, I let it dry for about 30 minutes and then came back and lightly wiped it lightly with a clean cloth soaked in denatured alcohol to remove some of the “globs” that formed due to the dye not mixing with the alcohol completely. I figured this was due to the dye being in liquid form and had I used the powder, I wouldn’t have had to do that step.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it until after I put the first coat of poly on it.


I decided to use the Minwax spray poly in high gloss for this stock. It covers well and shines up really nice. The only issue as has been pointed out by others is that it shows fingerprints and such very well. Also, because it is going to be used to shoot silhouettes, I painted a ram target onto both sides using Testors flat-black model paint. I put the last coat of poly on last night and then finished up with a coat of paste wax to give it a little bit better “feel”.
Here is a pic of it right after it got its last coat of poly.

[HandgunHTR]

BARREL
I knew I didn’t want to use the factory barrel, and after doing some research I decided on the Tactical Solutions 12.5” threaded barrel in red. I chose this barrel for a couple of reasons. One is that it is very lightweight. When you are shooting a 40-shot round, standing, not being able to rest the gun or your arms at all, a heavy barrel just isn’t practical. The same thing goes for shooting it in the flop resting it on your off-hand wrist. I also liked the fact that it is threaded, which means that if I want to get a can for it later, I don’t have to lose my barrel for a while whist it is off getting threaded. Lastly, it is red. How freakin’ cool is that!
I ordered the barrel from Mizzuo Mule Guns because he is a banner sponsor on Specialty Pistols and he had a pretty good price to boot. I also ordered a matte black compensator to put on it. Once again, not really needed on a .22LR, but the cool factor is high (to me anyway).

[HandgunHTR]

TRIGGER GROUP
Once again I did a lot of reading and I decided that instead of working on the factory trigger, I would be better served getting a custom trigger group. This is going to be a competition gun after all. So the choice came down to Kidd or JARD as they were the only two that offered something lighter than the standard 2.5#. I decided on the JARD with the 1# springs because of the experience I have had with them in rifle platforms and because I just couldn’t justify to myself paying more for the trigger group than I did for the gun.
When it came in, the trigger guard and the bottom metal were unpolished aluminum. So, I painted the bottom metal flat-black (same Testors paint) and I painted the trigger guard red using Krylon Fusion paint in “cherry red”. Because the JARD design is completely different than the factory trigger, the safety is located in the rear of the trigger and the magazine release is different as well. What this meant is that I had to remove a little material from inside the stock to get it to fit in there correctly. A couple of quick passes with the Dremel and a sanding bit, and she was good to go. It also meant that the Tactical Solutions extended magazine release (also in red) that I purchased with the barrel was not going to work on this gun. Oh well, it looks good on my all-black 10/22 rifle.
Unfortunately, the mag release on the JARD doesn’t extend down far enough for my liking. So, I took a couple of measurements and started looking around for something to “add on” that would work. I was hoping to use an aluminum arrow insert, but since I switched to all carbons a while back all mine were too small in diameter and the nearest archery shop is a good drive from here, so it was on to plan “b”. While tooling around MaoMart, looking for an arrow I could buy to chop up, I happened upon a set of darts for less than $2. The shafts of the darts were brass-coated steel and about the right diameter. So, I bought them, brought them home and commenced to chopping and drilling. It worked like a charm. Once I had it fitted, I painted it with the same paint I used on the trigger guard and then used a little JB Weld to attach it. Of course as soon as I did that, I found out that the little knurled section on the back of the magazine, put there to aid in extraction, was hitting the new “extended release” and preventing the mag from being fully inserted. So, out came the Dremel again and I removed that that little extrusion, as it wasn’t needed anyway. The mag drops free just with gravity.
The trigger breaks consistently at 15oz which is good for me. However, looking at the surfaces and the design, I would bet that if I wanted to spend a little time polishing and weakening springs, I could safely get it down to 6-8 oz.
Here is the end result.

[HandgunHTR]

BOLT
The bolt that came with this gun was a wreck. The machining marks were very evident and there were voids in the casting on the top, back and bottom. It really makes me wonder who Ruger is buying these from.
Anyway, because of that, I took a look at the bolt in my 10/22 rifle. It was semi-polished and looked good. So, I swapped them. I don’t care if the bolt on my rifle looks bad because it is all black anyway. I took the bolt body from the rifle and grabbed the Dremel again. This time about 10 minutes with a polishing wheel had it looking great. I decided against changing the firing pin as I am not quite convinced that it would be that much of a help. I did however add a Rimfire Technologies extended bolt handle in red (of course) and with the helical fluting.

[HandgunHTR]

SCOPE AND RINGS
I knew from the beginning that I wanted to use a rifle scope on this gun. My first inclination was to use the Weaver 3-9X40 with the ballistic plex reticle, but nobody I wanted to buy from had one in stock when I was looking. So, I settled on the BSA Sweet 22 3-9X40SF. I have been using one of these on my .22 Hornet barrel for Field Pistol Any Sight and it is working well, so I will give this one a try too.
The rings are Weaver 4X4 rings that I had laying around with my other gun stuff. Of course since the theme of this build is red and it will be used for silhouettes, I couldn’t just leave them flat black, now could I? So, I painted them with the Krylon and then painted a chicken target on each one using the Testors flat black again. I then put a coat of poly on them for scratch resistance.

[HandgunHTR]

OVERALL
Well, here is the whole package.


I am extremely pleased with the way that it turned out. Now I just need to get to the range and figure out which ammo is best in it and get it all sighted in and document the scope settings before then next match on the 3rd of April.
This was a fun build, but not inexpensive. It also can be time consuming. Fortunately, I have a wife who puts up with me and even feeds my addiction every once in a while.
I apologize for the length of this, but I always find it helpful when people post up details rather than just “Here she is!” Hopefully you all agree with that as well.

[ScooterTheShooter]

That turned out to be a great looking gun! Good job.

[BurmKiller]

That's why I love 10/22's. You can do so much with them to make each one unique. Great job and thanks for sharing with the class.

[IHMSA80x80]

Very nicely done Mike.

[ChargerFan]

Great looking gun, I like a lot of the ideas you used on it!

[IHMSA15151]

That's a great looking pistol and would make a terrific article for the IHMSA News. I think you should write it up and send it to Leo with a couple of the pictures. That's the kind of info that folks like to read about.

[Boomer]

Great post & pistol!

Recently I was considering a similar build. I now have this post as instructions of sorts.

Unfortunately I will no doubt chose a more... subdued color scheme