I got this gun last weekend.  I was impressed with the fit and finish, and in my hurry to get to the range, forgot to bring any paper to sight it in.  But, it seemed like a nice little pistol and I'd read lots of good things about it, and it ran very reliably.

So this weekend, I took another range trip, this time more prepared.  Cleaned the gun before I left, threw my paper targets in my range bag, and set off.

First, it was hitting consistently high-left. Ran the rear sight down and to the right. Pulled it a bit far over and was hitting slightly high (about 1") and right (about 1").  But then, it started making a very tight group.

So, I kept trying to walk the sights that last inch down and left. And then it just started shooting all over the place. Literally, shots were hitting all over an 8 1/2" by 11" piece of notebook paper.

I wasn't shooting particularly fast, and I was giving it a rest every two mags or so.  Barrel never felt particularly hot. I took it apart but didn't see anything amiss. Switched ammo, and that didn't help. Switched ammo again, no joy. Reliability was good except for some crap ammo that I tried just to see if I could get the accuracy under control. Checked the barrel for leading, it looked fine. Checked the crown for damage, it looked fine. But no matter what I did, I couldn't get anything resembling a group for the rest of the day.

A guy I know happened to be at the range.  He was shooting a Glock and was hitting my metal plate target fairly consistently, so I asked him to shoot the gun.  He couldn't hit the plate with it either.

Just to make sure it wasn't me, I shot the Glock, and never having shot his gun before, hit the metal 9 times out of 10.

Anyone ever have this problem with the SR-22?  I understand it is not a target gun, but 11" groups at 20 yards seems a little...unacceptable.

What should I check first to figure this out?

Did you shoot it at shorter distances at all?

It may be jacked up, but I can tell you from experience that these lightweight 22 pistols will reveal every flaw of your trigger pull if you are jerking the gun even a tiny bit. Even knowing this, I'll pull the first few until I settle down.

Mine will shoot out the 10 spot at 7yards with 50 rounds. I always shoot CCI MiniMag in mine.

I guess it's possible, but I've owned several .22 autos before and never had this issue. I had a Bersa Thunder .22 that I could shoot without issue.  I could hit an empty grill tank (don't ask how it got empty) at 40 yards all day long with that gun. Even though it was a steel slide on an aluminum frame, it was a bit smaller than the Ruger. I looked up the weights and there's two ounces difference between the two pistols.

Plus, on most of the shots, I was braced against the post that holds the range roof up.  I would hold it dead on then slowly squeeze.  

Next time, I'll concentrate on technique and see if it helps any.  I also gave it a thorough cleaning, so we'll see if that helps.  Surprisingly, it wasn't all that dirty.

Dunno.  If I don't see any improvement, I guess I'll be sending it back to Ruger.

Barrel screw loose?

Was it a pre-owned gun? My son had gotten an SR-22 for his girlfriend last year and was very disappointed with the accuracy. To rule out operator error he let me shoot it and I got equally dismal results. When I checked the barrel, I found shallower rifling than I had ever seen in any rimfire gun - and I have seen a lot of them.

He replaced it with a Ruger 22/45 and is happier.

No, it's a new gun, but after cleaning it, I did look down the barrel and came to the same conclusions about the light rifling.  Very hard to see the rifling.  Wonder if some of these guns might not have been rifled deep enough?

It appears very light, but my Twin Tech threaded barrel looks exactly the same. Both shoot the same for me.

I checked the screw that holds the barrel on again.  Seems tight, although I don't have a 9/32 allen wrench to get in under the trigger guard and tighten it to be sure.  I have two allen wrench sets, and my standard one does not have 9/32.

I have an allen wrench tool with the flip out wrenches that does have a 9/32, but since they are straight, there's no way for me to get in under the trigger guard.

Regardless, what I did find is that there is some very slight play between the polymer frame and the steel insert that makes up the frame rails and barrel mount. The barrel and the slide both attach to the steel part, which rests in the polymer frame.  The steel part, with the barrel and slide attached, can move ever so slightly within the polymer frame.  Could this be the problem?  It seems to move a lot more up and down than left and right. Could the steel insert that holds the barrel be shifting before the bullet exits the barrel? It moves just enough to be barely detectable, but does make an audible clicking sound as it moves up and down, and you can feel the click through the grip when you hold the polymer frame as you would when you are shooting.

Would someone do something for me?  If you have an accurate shooting SR22, please try the following.

Remove the slide.

Hold the gun in one hand like you would if you were shooting it.

Grab the end of the barrel with the other hand and try to move it up and down and see if you notice any play.  

If you do not, then I think I might have found the problem. I'm thinking this is it, since I just remembered that when I was shooting yesterday there was a lot more variation up and down than there was left to right.  Seemed to be stringing vertically more than horizontally.

How do I tighten the fit between the frame and the insert?  Is this a job for the Ruger technicians?

Barrel should definitely be tight.

You'll probably need a Allen key with the ball end to get it tightened down snug.

I think the barrel is tight. The play is between the metal insert and the polymer frame. The whole metal insert moves. There's no play between the slide rails and the barrel itself.

Do you have any play in yours?

So, if I remove the slide and grab the barrel with one and and the grip with the other and try to wiggle it either side to side or up and down, I get no movement.

Is that what you mean?

Actually, i get maybe 1/32 front to back, nothing sideways or up and down.

From the IPB, it looks like the bolt that secures the barrel also holds that whole receiver assembly in the plastic frame.

Mine moves up and down.  It's a fraction of an inch, but you can hear something shifting when I pull up and down. Doesn't feel right.

Side to side is fine.  Front to back is fine.

I put in a note to Ruger.  They called me back today and left a message.  I'll have to give them a call tomorrow when I get home from work.