I'm looking to build a 10/22, and I need some input on my barrel selection. I had initially planned on using a Fedderson barrel, but then saw the listed weights for them. Much too heavy for a walk around rifle for small game. I should probably say that I want a nice, light rifle for toting around. Mostly for shooting gophers and prairie dogs, but also for the occasional rabbit and squirrel. Trying to keep it in the 5# range, with optics. I need it to be accurate, but it doesn't have to be benchrest accurate, as that is not it's intended purpose, but there's no such thing as too accurate!

I have looked at the whistlepig offerings, but I am leary of their durability. I am now investigating the options available from Kidd. I know they have a stellar reputation. I'm now debating between the lightweight and ultralightweight offerings. The lw fluted, as I understand it, has an all ss barrel, breech and muzzle, but is it one piece with a shroud over the whole thing? The ulw says it has a ss breech and muzzle, leading me to believe that the barrel itself is possibly cromo, and must be segmented. Does anyone know the construction of these barrels?

Also, I am debating if I want a threaded muzzle or not. There is definitely a cool factor in the addition of a muzzle device, but I won't be putting a can on it, and a flash hider won't make a difference on a .22. I was thinking, why not?, but I've seen images of the build up of carbon and lead with some of the hiders. I think it's because of the backbore of the muzzle on the threaded barrels, and I would think it would have detrimental effects on accuracy.

I should also add that I am looking at the 16" length. I am using a ruger receiver and a bell & carlson stock.

Any input would be appreciated.

I have a Kidd lightweight barrel on my ruger and it with the combination of other Kidd parts, is more accurate than I am.  The barrel is stainless with an aluminum sleeve over it to help reduce the weight.  If you want to reduce the weight go with the ultra lightweight option.  I have the 18 inch lw on on rifle and it balances really well with the hogue fiberglass stock.  My opinion is if you are shooting off hand such as hunting, you want some weignt and good balance to steady the shot.  Also, lose the Bell and Carlson stock if you are trying to cut weight.  That stock is more for bench shooting than hunting in my opinion.  The hogue fiberglass stock with the 0.92 barrel hole will free float in that stock as the lw Kidd is 0.87 past the stainless rear shank.  I can take a dollar bill all the way up the barrel without snagging.  I believe the ulw barrel is even smaller diameter than the lw barrel.  

I would recommend the Kidd bolt and springs/guide rod with your barrel if you can swing it.  My gun loves federal blue box and can hit nickel size targets if I do my part.  Also sv CCI is another round my gun loves.  I would not hesitate to buy another Kidd barrel if I was building another ruger gun.

I have the ultra light weight barrel and its supper accurate, mine is threaded and I use my gemtech can on it. It is a sleeved barrel that weighs less than the factory barrel. My only gripe is that I had dry fired the gun some from adjusting the trigger and empty chamber after last round and the firing pin had dinged the breech face causing it to no longer feed or extract properly.  I contacted Kidd going back and forth for a while telling him what was going on and he kept insisting it wasn't my problem it was a mag issue or something else.  So I eventually pulled the barrel and cleaned it up with a jewelers file and then buffed it a touch with polishing brush and compound on a dremel. After this its back to normal with no loss in accuracy, I was only upset cause I completely disclosed what happened and offered to pay for it to be corrected but idk maybe he didn't understand what I was trying to say.  But all in all its a great barrel and super accurate just be careful not to dry fire it.

Just out of curiosity what bolt do you have?  The standard ruger or the a Kidd bolt?  I have dry fire mine many times and do not have the problems you stated.  I have a Kidd bolt in mine so that might make a difference.

factory bolt reworked by que

Thanks for your real world knowledge and input. This is exactly what I was hoping for!

Any idea about the barrel liner construction on the ULW?

I think I've decided to forego the muzzle device on this build...maybe.

You are over thinking it, you are not shooting match, you have identified one of the best barrels (Kidd) available, go light or ultra light and be done. Any of the Kidd will give you far more accuracy than you identified needing.

You might want to spend some time at rimfirecentral.

Thanks for the info. I have been on rfc doing a lot of reading. I'm thinking that the ulw 16.75" with the brake will probably do everything that I want, and then some.

Anyone care to dissuade me from this choice? I'm all ears!

Not sure what the liner is made of, I would just email him any questions you have. He is a good guy and I would still buy more stuff from him despite my problems I described above

Thanks. I ordered some parts last night, will probably give him a call this week.

https://www.coolguyguns.com/zoomify.asp?catalogid=138&image=assets/images/IMG_4469-002.JPG

I'm not 100% sure what you believe was the cause of your barrel getting a ding on the breech face...do you think it has something to do with the barrel?

Any barrel will get dinged if the firing pin hits it enough times. 10/22s are designed to allow for dry firing without the firing pin touching the barrel. The reason your firing pin is striking the barrel is that your firing pin isn't within the proper specs...specifically the firing pin is protruding too much. You mentioned you had your bolt reworked correct? When the bolt is reworked it's pretty common to alter the bolt face to adjust the headspace. If you remove material from the bolt face it can allow the tip of the firing pin to extend past the end of the bolt which allows it to strike the barrel. The solution is to shorten the tip of the firing pin so that it doesn't extend past the bolt face when it's in its furthest forward position.

I had this same issue after I had my bolt reworked. After only a few dry fires it started to ding the breech face on my brand new Volquartsen carbon fiber barrel. I should have checked the protrusion before installing the bolt but didn't. Fortunately I realized the firing pin was striking the barrel before any real damage was done. I sent the bolt back to have the problem fixed. I probably could have done it myself but figured I'd let the professional set it where it should have been in the first place.

I should have stated it was the nylon stock and not the rubber overmolded one. The nylon stock is much stiffer than the rubber overmolded stock and is not as grippy.  Can I flex it? Sure I can if I want to do pulls ups on it.  I have no idea what the stainless steel is of the barrel but people at rimfirecentral put many more thousands of rounds through their rifles than me.  I only have a couple thousand through mine.  You can talk to the people over a rimfire central and may find your answer on material type on the ulw barrel.  I would guess that the barrels are the same construction materials as lw but the rear shank area has been reduced on length to help reduce the weight.  The actual sleeve is still aluminum like the LW.  

The only item left on my 10/22 is the receiver.  The rest is all Kidd.  I have transformed slowly over time and could have bought a Kidd rifle for the price I paid!  At least I can build another ruger with the left over parts.

Nope! That sounds like a good choice to me.

I personally have the lightweight barrel, but the ULW may have not been available at the time. My rifle is all Kidd parts with the exception of the receiver and Stock, I would have been better off just buying a whole Kidd rifle, but I didn't know better at the time. I would defiantly recommend a threaded barrel, followed shortly by a suppressor.

Nice looking rig! Thanks for posting.
Is that the 16 or 18"?

OK, bit the bullet. ULW w/brake on the way...

Good choice, Kidd also stands behind their products.