Ruger SR22 Rifle upgrades (barrel)

[TheJuggernaut]

Looking for some advice on barrels for the Ruger SR22 Rifle. The factory barrel is fine and plenty accurate. However, at almost 3 pounds (according to Ruger Support), the barrel is a bit on the heavy side. And with other accessories installed up front, it is noticeably heavy up front (especially for a .22). I have been looking at various options out there including Green Mountain, Tactical Solutions, KIDD and Whistle Pig. I want a threaded, lightweight, bull barrel around 16 inches in length. The lightweight and bull barrel terms really narrow the options.

The TacSol X-ring seems to fulfill the requirements. But this one seems to be the most controversial with either love it or hate it reviews. Some claim it has accuracy issues, especially over time. Supposedly the aluminum wears and causes accuracy and FTF issues. Weight is 15 oz on the 16.5" barrel.

The KIDD Ultra Lightweight sounds pretty good too. But the diameter is slightly smaller at .870" vs .920" for the factory barrel. Weight is 1.25 pounds for the 16.25" barrel.

The Whistle Pig seems to fulfill the requirements too. Weight is around 1 pound for the 16.5" barrel.

The Green Mountain bull barrel weighs in at 2.5 pounds. Since my goal is to reduce weight up front, this wouldn't help.

Any input or suggestions on these? I have shot thousands of rounds thru various 10/22's for many years. But they have always been factory originals. My biggest gripe with this one is the weight. It wouldn't be so bad except the distribution is so disproportionate from front to back.

Also, how hard is it to install these? Just curious if this is something I should attempt on my own or have somebody who knows what they are doing do it for me.

 

[1911ly]

The SR22 Rifle looks like a 10-22 action. I found a good video on the disassembly. It does not look hard. I have several 10-22 GM barrels. I have no complaints. And were easy to install.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y3OWr46W6I

 

[TheJuggernaut]

The SR22 Rifle looks like a 10-22 action. I found a good video on the disassembly. It does not look hard. I have several 10-22 GM barrels. I have no complaints. And were easy to install.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y3OWr46W6I

Thank you so much for the video link! That almost makes me feel comfortable doing it myself. I wasn't really sure how hard it would be stripping it down.

Now I just have to decide which barrel to get. I saw you have several of the GM barrels and obviously like them. The unfortunate thing with those is the weight. According to their website, they weigh 2.5 pounds. Ruger told me that the factory barrel weighs in just shy of 3 pounds. The only reason I am looking to replace it is to reduce weight up front. So the GM wouldn't really help me much there.

I am still teetering on the other 3 though. I would greatly appreciate some input on those from anyone with experience and/or in-depth knowledge on them.

 

[1911ly]

I've done many 10-22's the only real critical part is the torque on the barrel retainer screws. They are in inch pounds. Not as tight as you would think. I don't know where you are located but if close I'd be glad to watch over/ loan tools. NP I am sure others would help out if they are closer if you have any doubts.

Edit: The Kidd barrels rate highly!