BROWNELLS 10/22 BOLT REVIEW
If you prefer watching a video over reading a blog, you can watch the YouTube video I made reviewing the Brownells 10/22 bolt and you can find it here;
But if you prefer to read, or your in bed with a sleeping baby or wife and need to read, then you have come to the right place!
I started my 10/22 journey like many others after being introduced to them and shooting them at an early age. The Ruger 10/22 is what many would call the ubiquitous 22lr rifle. And it is likely the most popular 22lr rifle of all time. So when I sought after my first 22lr rifle, it won't be surprising to most of you it was a Ruger 10/22. I purchased the Ruger 10/22 takedown and quickly started modifying it. I added a Tandemkross ambi-charging handle, Magpul x22 backpacker stock, Ruger bx trigger, extended bolt handle etc.
Let me preface the rest of this review by saying, my Ruger 10/22 takedown is one of my favorite guns. Since the aforementioned photo, I have traded the scope out for a Brownells exclusive Vortex Sparc II and really love the red dot on the small 10/22 takedown package.
You can find similar red dots through Brownells here;
With the red dot it is incredibly fun to shoot. I tell you all this because I am about to talk a little crap about the stock 10/22 bolt but that does not mean I don't love the original.
Now we have the disclaimer out of the way, let's jump into what we came here for.
On the left is pictured the stock Ruger 10/22 receiver and bolt and on the right is pictured the Brownells 10/22 receiver, bolt and barrel. If you look only at the bolts while installed in their perspective receivers, you might think they are very similar in quality, but you'd be wrong.
The first test for me of bolt quality is how smooth the action is.
The stock action is by no means rough feeling. It works well.
The Brownells bolt just feels smoother and slicker if that makes sense. This could very likely be partially attributed to the much higher quality Brownells receiver.
You can find the Brownells 10/22 receiver here;
Once both bolts are removed from the receivers, the differences become stark and apparent.
Side by side they do not look too different as the right side (exposed side) of the stock bolt is actually polished, but that's essentially the only part of the stock bolt which is nice.
The top of the stock bolt shows a lot of the original casting marks.
On the left side of the bolt you can see some of the original casting marks and some swirl marks from the original machine work.
The poor finishing continues on the bottom of the bolt as you can see above and the back is just as bad as pictured below.
The stock Ruger 10/22 bolt can be had though Brownells for about $40 but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. 
Unlike the factory Ruger 10/22 bolt, the Brownells 10/22 bolt has been precision machined and thus has smooth and clean finishes on every side. There are zero finish marks and obviously since it is not a cast part, there are no cast marks. The black nitride finish is smooth and has a very nice lubricity. After firing 500 or so rounds though it, I have yet to see any visible wear marks which is quite remarkable.
The Brownells 10/22 bolt comes in either their Stainless Steel or the black nitride finishes and is listed at the time if this writing for $107. You can find the bolt through the following link;
Now many might have some sticker shock when you see you can buy more than two Ruger bolts for the cost of one Brownells bolt, but if you do any amount of shopping around, you will quickly see the incredible value. The Brownells bolt is in the same league as the Volquartsen 10/22 bolt but the Volquartsen bolt is listed at $250. The closest in price to the Brownells bolt is the Tandemkross bolt coming in at $119. While I'm positive both Tandemkross and Volquartsen make fantastic bolts, I don't know why anyone would want to pay more considering the outstanding quality of the Brownells 10/22 bolt. I have seen outstanding accuracy, zero malfunctions, easy maintenance, and great value in this product and I know you will as well.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Remember, Faith Kills Fear!
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