So my son is turning 6 soon and I'd like to setup one of my 10/22s for him.

I'm going to be unemployed shortly so I'd like to keep it as affordable as possible.

For the stock, I found an old wood 10/22 stock on my parts rack.  I'm considering drilling a couple holes through the butt of the stock to use as alignment holes with steel rods or dowels. Then cutting the stock shorter in a few pieces -- the dowels would be so I can add them back as he gets older.  

Is this a terrible idea? I welcome any better ideas.

I was also hoping to find an affordable threaded barrel so I can put a can on it to keep him focused on shooting instead of noise.   A heavy .920 barrel might prove too heavy for him, so was leaning towards a tapered option. Any recommendations ? Preferably near the $100 price point?

If anyone has any other 10/22 youth setups I'd love to see and learn about them.

As long as its safe, that would work.

I would just get him a crickett $140. Makes kids slow down and focus on fundamentals.

It should cost around $60 or so to thread the barrel depending on who you choose.

I don't think a threaded barrel adapter would be a good idea, I would worry about baffle strikes.

That will work for the stock. Just remember that each saw cut removes (loses) some material called the saw kerf. When you add a piece back the fit will not be perfect due to this loss. You will need to reshape it some.

I do like that rifle. But I'm sorta hesitant to add another rifle to the stable. Already have 5 10/22s and a half a dozen other rimfire rifles.  Mostly I want to figure out the LOP issue until he's old enough to graduate to the regular rifles.


Maybe the suppressor ask is Overkill and I just live with what I have (plus a cut stock). He's a bit sound sensitive so I want to make it as approachable as possible (with one shot in the mag only for quite a long time).

Good reminder on the kerf. I honestly didn't think of that. I'll need to use the thinnest blade I can find and be prepared for a little sanding afterwards.

I don't know what your specific goals are with your son/the rifle (beyond firearm safety) but I can't imagine a cheap 10/22 stock can be very expensive. I would be tempted to cut a wooden stock to an appropriate youth LOP then worry about a longer LOP in a few years.

Spacers like those on competition shotguns would also look nifty when you need to gain LOP.

There are literally dozens of aftermarket stock chassis that use a collapsible AR stocks. This is probably ideal for your situation, and some are pretty affordable.
Regarding a barrel, finding a used ruger factory threaded barrel should be both inexpensive and easy to find. I would check places like tac sol volquartsen etc as some offer essentially new barrels that are takeoffs from builds pretty cheap. When it comes to finding parts for a project the key is patience. Hunt around gun shows dusty gun shops etc and you will eventually find what you need

No pics of mine because it's still a work in progress, but I'm assembling a kid-sized 10/22 as well.

- SBR'd receiver (was a braced pistol, then magically turned into an SBR about a year ago, crazy huh?)
- 10" threaded Charger barrel (can get takeoffs for ~$100)
- 10/22 Compact laminate stock (got it used for like $75)

Will be obviously be suppressed once it's done. Still need to decide what optic to put on top, maybe something small and light like a Holosun 507C.