Review: Sarco "M1 Carbine" Stock for Ruger 10/22
All,
Please see below for my review of Sarco's "M1 Carbine" stock for the Ruger 10/22. I already had the Tech Sights installed; wanted to get the M1 Carbine stock purely for aesthetics/nostalgia.
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THE GOOD
This thing is much cheaper than the competition. Prices as of 2017 September.
E. Arthur Brown and Company has a similar replica stock. Here's the main page:
https://i.imgur.com/5Kg2src.jpg
The stock is $109.00:
https://i.imgur.com/aIl5yd6.jpg
The sling and oiler are sold separately from the stock, for $19.00:
https://i.imgur.com/gMwVWYm.jpg
And the "dummy stick" (plastic part that glues to the bottom of your regular 10-round rotary magazine for the Ruger 10/22) is $23.95 each:
https://i.imgur.com/ItNWtHg.jpg
So, to outfit your Ruger 10/22 with two "magazines", that's $109.00 + $19.00 + ($23.95x2) = $175.90.
(Brownell's has a similar stock for the same price -- $109.00 -- but no sling and oiler and no "dummy stick" available.)
https://i.imgur.com/jP0J5Jx.jpg
In contrast, I got my stock from Sarco for $74.95, including the sling and oiler:
https://i.imgur.com/PXGz8Wp.jpg
Then, I got my "M1 Carbine style magazine extension" from 1022FunGun for $19.95 each.
https://i.imgur.com/fxXS5pN.jpg
Thus, to outfit my Ruger 10/22 with two "magazines", I paid $74.95 + ($19.95x2) = $114.85. Sarco charged me for shipping, but 1022FunGun did not.
Sarco + 1022FunGun is less than 2/3 the cost of E. Arthur Brown and/or Brownell's.
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THE BAD
The color...well, judge for yourself:
https://i.imgur.com/JWS5RE6.jpg
The wood is stained a lot darker than I expected. It's certainly darker than the M1 Carbines that I'd seen/admired from the movies/TV:
http://www.imfdb.org/images/thumb/7/...Bob9m1a1c1.jpg
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THE UGLY
I'd read the reviews of the Sarco stock not being a good fit and hoped that these reviews were out-of-date/wrong.
Alas, they are not. The cut-out for the trigger housing group/assembly is tight. I went for the field-expedient solution and just tried to use my wife's fingernail files -- but after thoroughly ruining five of them, I knew I was in over my head and headed to Home Depot to get some sanding paper. Two hours later, I was done. (Now, granted, I'm not the world's best handyman, so I'm sure some of you all with proper tools -- e.g. a dremel/sander -- would probably finish the job more quickly.) I compared the Sarco stock to my existing Ruger factory wood stock and the cut-outs seemed to be the right shape -- it's just the Sarco was dimensionally a bit smaller (by 5%? 10%?) so I had to grind quite a bit.
You can see the results here -- I had to sand away parts of the stock down to bare wood!
https://i.imgur.com/u7hJRBR.jpg
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In the end, I'm still really happy with the stock. The resemblance to an M1 Carbine is "good enough", and I've gotten multiple compliments and inquiries at the range from shooters and employees alike.
Moreover, while the Tech Sights sorta ruin the authenticity of the look, I can't say enough good things about the ability to adjust for windage and elevation (but that's probably a whole 'nother review).
All in all, a good buy -- if you're willing to put in some work.
Very Respectfully,
butlers
