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ELEVATED SILENCE EOSXL .22
with this product, here is a quick break down of the barrel. The
EOSXL is designed to directly fit onto one of the world’s most
popular semi-automatic .22 rifle platforms, the Ruger 10/22.
With the same outer dimensions as a typical factory precision
target bull barrel configuration, the EOSXL measures 20” overall
and .920 in diameter. The barrel itself is constructed of 416 R
Carpenter steel with 10.75” of rifling and the remainder being
a baffle core machined directly into the barrel to prevent shift
or baffle strike. The entire unit consist of only three parts, the
barrel being the main portion as well as a Grade 9 Titanium
barrel sleeve and Grade 5 Titanium end cap to keep the unit
tightly together at the muzzle.
EOSTD and the EOSS versions are also available. The EOSTD
is intended for use with the Ruger take down model while the
EOSS offers a shorter length of rifling in order to use standard
bulk ammo to cycle the rifle, yet have the round’s velocity to
fall under the supersonic barrier prior to exiting the muzzle.
This reduces the need for specialized subsonic ammunition.
In order to fully test the EOSXL integrally suppressed barrel,
obviously we needed to install it on a top quality 10/22
platform. While I have always been a huge fan of Ruger
products, especially their 10/22 rifles, I wanted to make sure
our project would be as squared and precise as possible.
A match grade barrel will never reach its full potential in a
sloppy mass production action. With a call over to our friends
at Tactical Solutions (www.TacticalSol.com), we had them
send over one of their heavy duty X-Ring VR receivers with
a matched dual spring action. The bolt works back and forth
smoothly and locks up like a bank vault. Since the rifle would
be used with magnified optics, the X-Ring VR’s integrated scope
rail machined into the top of the action would eliminate one
of the risks of one of the most common fail points with scoped
precision rifles.
Another common fail point comes with armorers putting
subpar triggers on precision tools such as this build. To address
this, I contacted Timney Triggers (www.TimneyTriggers.com).
After a brief discussion about the project, they were
delighted to rush over one of their company’s s10/22
replacement drop-in units w/ lever style magazine release.
Breaking at around 3 lbs. with very little creep or over travel,
the reset set was just as amazing.
To house these top-quality rifle parts, I decided to make
the rifle as familiar as possible in its feel and presentation on
target by reaching out to McMillian Fiberglass Stocks (www.
McMillianUSA.com). As some of you may remember from my
past article about rebuilding my former SWAT sniper rifle, the
great folks at McMillian sent over one of their top of the line A5
sniper stocks to refit the old warhorse. As it turns out, McMillian
is a firm believer in the Tactical .22 platform and even produce
an A5-22 version to set a Ruger 10/22 precision rifle up to
directly emulate its larger, bolt action counterpart such as
my revised .308 caliber sniper rifle. With very little inletting
needed, the stock was basically a direct drop in for the project
to start becoming tied together.
To round off the rifle, Vortex Optics (www.VortexOptics.
com) sent over a Diamondback Tactical 4-16x44 First Focal
Plane scope. Using Vortex branded rings that accompanied
the optic from the factory shipment, I anchored the scope via
recommended Torque specifications and roughly bore sighted
it using a small laser bore sight device. Once everything was
tightened down, the bore was wiped clear of any packing oil
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