Last Updated on
The Ruger 10/22 is a great little rifle to have around. And it’s a pretty strong performer, right out of the box. However, upgrading your 10/22 with the best Ruger 10/22 barrel you can get will help you get the absolute most utility from your Ruger 10/22.
I found that there are A LOT more Ruger 10/22 barrels than I thought existed. It was a bit confusing. I pared the options down and curated the inventory of the best Ruger 10/22 barrels.
Our Best Choice
Green Mountain Ruger 10/22 Replacement Barrel
SPOILER—if you just want to know the answer to the headline question and get back to shooting, get the Green Mountain Ruger 10/22 Replacement Barrel. It’s a super affordable upgrade to the precision of your Ruger 10/22.
If you’re interested in finding out exactly which Ruger 10/22 barrels were at the top of the heap, keep reading. They’re all laid out for inspection in this article.
Top Ruger 10/22 Barrel on the Market Today
Best Ruger 10/22 Barrel Reviews: Turning the .22 Long Rifle into .22 LONG RANGE
The overall best Ruger 10/22 barrel is up first. The remaining Ruger 10/22 barrels get fired in order of price.
The most affordable Ruger 10/22 barrels are first in this article.
The pricey but nice barrels are near the end.
Read the sections that match your budget.
1. Green Mountain Ruger 10/22 Replacement Barrel - Overall Best Ruger 10/22 Barrel
The Green Mountain Ruger 10/22 Replacement Barrel is an incredibly simple, effective, and affordable upgrade for your 10/22.
The big difference between this barrel and your factory 10/22 barrel is that this barrel is a full profile barrel.
The OEM Ruger 10/22 barrel is tapered to save a little bit of weight. This barrel uses a bull profile to increase rigidity and enhance the organic precision of your rifle.
Then, this barrel combines the bull profile with a Bentz chamber to deliver a more consistent point of impact, without compromising reliability.
At the muzzle end, there’s a target crown to ensure that you’re getting the best groups possible from a 20 inch barrel.
Unfortunately, because of the Bentz chamber and improved rifling, this barrel is not compatible with CCI Stinger ammunition. It’s also not designed for subsonic ammunition.
But there are plenty of alternatives to Stinger ammunition. And supersonic ammunition is what you’ll shoot most of the time, anyway. So this barrel is an amazing upgrade for the money.
Pros
Cons
2. E.R. Shaw Ruger 10/22 Target Barrel - Budget Ruger 10/22 Target Barrel
The E.R. Shaw Ruger 10/22 Target Barrel is one of the most affordable Ruger 10/22 target barrels you can get.
This barrel uses a Bentz chamber to improve precision without compromising reliability.
The Bentz chamber has slightly tighter, match grade, tolerances deeper in the chamber, with standard chamber dimensions near the cartridge rim. It gives you the best of both worlds: precision and reliability.
This barrel also has an bull profile. The profile gives you more consistent precision, compared to the factory barrel. However, it’s slightly heavier.
Lastly, this barrel offers improvements at the muzzle, too. You can get this barrel with a dished target crown for a bit more precision. Or you can get a threaded barrel for adding whatever muzzle device you’re into.
Either way, you get a bump in performance over the factory barrel.
The only downsides to this barrel are the fit and ammo compatibility.
Occasionally, you may need to make small modifications to your stock to get this barrel to fit properly.
And, the chamber and rifling don’t work with CCI Stinger ammunition. It’s only compatible with standard and match grade ammunition.
But, there are plenty of other types of ammunition. And this ER Shaw barrel is remarkably affordable considering how much of an upgrade it is over a stock barrel.
Pros
Cons
3. Brownells Ruger 10/22 M4-Style Barrel - Military-Style Ruger 10/22 Barrel
The Brownells Ruger 10/22 M4-Style Barrel is a great option for anyone who’s building an M4 clone rifle from a 10/22.
This barrel has the same government profile as an M4 barrel. It’s more rigid than the tapered Ruger 10/22 barrel. So this barrel gives you military aesthetics and improved precision, which makes your M4 clone rifle just as precise as an M4 (at .22LR shooting distances).
Additionally, this barrel has the same threads that you’d find on an M4 barrel. That way you can use standard M4 muzzle devices, rather than trying to find a 10/22 muzzle device that looks how you want.
Lastly, this barrel has a phosphate finish, rather than the normal bluing that you get on the factory barrel. The phosphate finish is more durable and wear resistant than the stock bluing. And it has a flat matte look, which might be more desirable for some.
So what’s the downside? The profile of this barrel doesn’t fit a standard 10/22 stock very well. I’ve seen people modify a 10/22 stock to fit this barrel. But, if you don’t want to do any fitment, you’ll need an M4-style receiver chassis.
If you want your 10/22 to look and operate like an M4, you need this barrel.
Pros
Cons
4. Beyer Barrels Ruger 10/22 Ultralight Target Barrel - Lightweight Ruger 10/22 Barrel
The factory barrel is already pretty lightweight. However, it’s possible to get more precision without adding much weight at all. The Beyer Barrels Ruger 10/22 Ultralight Target Barrel is lighter than the factory barrel, but also more precise.
This barrel is constructed from 7075-T6 aluminum. This has ups and downs.
The good stuff:
It’s much lighter than a steel barrel. This barrel only weighs 1.2 pounds. The factory Ruger barrel weighs 1.78 pounds. This barrel is just over half a pound lighter, which is great if you’re trying to get the lightest rifle possible.
Additionally, aluminum is super rigid. And this is a full profile barrel. So this barrel is at least as precise as the factory barrel. It might even be a bit more precise than the factory barrel.
However, the bore is a rifled chromoly liner. So this barrel has a slightly shorter lifespan than the factory barrel. Though, it will still last for thousands of rounds. Many shooters will never shoot out this barrel.
Back to the good stuff:
This Beyer barrel is finished in black Cerakote. It’s a nice deep black finish that’s more durable than the factory bluing.
So, although this barrel might not last exactly as long as a full steel barrel, it’s still an outstanding barrel for those who want the lightest rifle possible without sacrificing precision.
Pros
Cons
5. Tactical Solutions X-Ring Open Sight Barrel - Ruger 10/22 Barrel with Sights
The Ruger 10/22 comes with sights mounted on the barrel. The Tactical Solutions X-Ring Open Sight Barrel comes with sights. It’s truly a drop-in replacement for your factory barrel.
However, this barrel is also lighter than the factory barrel because it’s machined from 6061-T6 aluminum. And it’s fluted. It weighs just 18 ounces, which is noticeably lighter than the factory barrel.
The bore is a chromoly steel liner. The precision is at least equal to the factory barrel. And this is a full profile barrel. So it might be even more precise than the tapered factory barrel.
And the muzzle is threaded. That way you can add whatever muzzle device you want. If you don’t want to add a muzzle device, this barrel comes with a thread protector.
But the big deal with this Tactical Solutions barrel is that it comes mounted with fiber optic sights. You can literally just slap this barrel on your rifle and go shoot.
This barrel won’t last quite as long as a full steel barrel. However, this barrel is a perfect option for anyone who wants to make their rifle lighter and enhance the precision without any fuss or sight installation.
Pros
Cons
6. Adaptive Tactical Tac-Hammer 10/22 Takedown Bull Barrel - Ruger 10/22 Takedown Barrel
Ruger 10/22 takedown stocks are popular because they’re nice to have. However, you’ll need a barrel that fits a takedown stock. The Adaptive Tactical Tac-Hammer 10/22 Takedown Bull Barrel is a perfect pairing for your takedown stock.
This barrel is lighter than the factory 10/22 barrel because it uses hybrid construction. But it’s longer lasting than typical aluminum construction.
Most aluminum barrels are almost entirely aluminum with a steel bore liner. This barrel uses a steel core that’s thicker than the usual steel liner, but thinner than a full steel barrel.
Then it has an aluminum shroud to ensure proper rigidity, which helps this barrel produce better precision than a factory tapered barrel.
It’s the best of all worlds. This barrel lasts just as long as the factory barrel. But it’s lighter. And it’s more precise. Buying this barrel is win-win-win.
Additionally, this Adaptive Tactical barrel comes with a compensator. But the compensator can be removed, if you’d prefer a plain muzzle.
Of course, you need a takedown stock to use this barrel. So there are some prerequisites to getting the benefits of this barrel.
But this is still an outstanding upgrade if you have a Ruger 10/22 with a takedown stock.
Pros
Cons
7. Volquartsen 10/22 22 LR Stainless Barrel - Precision Ruger 10/22 Barrel
The Volquartsen 10/22 22 LR Stainless Barrel is designed to significantly improve the precision of your Ruger 10/22 Rifle. This Volquartsen Ruger 10/22 barrel is manufactured for a much tighter fit than the factory barrel.
There are two places where Volquartsen has tightened the tolerances: the barrel shank and the chamber.
The chamber isn’t a Bentz chamber. It’s a proprietary chamber that improves accuracy, without compromising reliability. However, unlike barrels that use a Bentz chamber, this barrel is compatible with any sort of ammunition, including CCI Stinger ammo.
Then, the barrel shank is just a tiny bit larger than the factory barrel shank. It takes just a tad more effort to install this barrel.
But the enlarged barrel shank produces a tighter receiver fit, which ensures the barrel never cants once it’s installed and produces more consistent groups.
Volquartsen digitally measures and inspects each barrel to ensure that the oversized shank and tighter chamber have exactly the correct dimensions. So it’s almost impossible to get a lemon when you purchase this barrel.
However, you pay for the exacting manufacturing process. This is one of the most expensive Ruger 10/22 barrels on the market. But, if you’re building a precision 10/22, this barrel is the one to get.
Pros
Cons
The Most Important Upgrade...
Undoubtedly, the barrel is the heart of your rifle. If you could upgrade just one part of your Ruger 10/22, the barrel might be the best choice. It’s an inexpensive way to get a lot more organic precision from your rifle, while maybe simultaneously reducing the weight.
If you want a great barrel that’s ridiculously affordable, get the Green Mountain Ruger 10/22 Replacement Barrel. There are very few barrels that offer a better value than a Green Mountain barrel.
Now that you know which barrels do what best, it’s time to get the one that does what you want, and get a whole lot more performance from your Ruger 10/22.