I’m a diehard Texan. Born here. Raised here. Converted a few of the staff to Texans. So I’m a gullible idiot for anything Texas-related. I’m also a big dweeb for .22 rifles. If there’s a fire, and only one of my rifles can be rescued, my 10/22 is going to be slugging it out for first place with my Garand. At the time of this writing, I’ve owned my 10/22 for nearly 18 years, fired uncounted rounds and shot a mess of small varmints. And thanks to writing for TTAG . . .
I’ve been able to keep the old girl spruced up with a new trigger, and some slick optics here and there. Naturally, when Thuy from JWH Custom offered to ship me a custom laser engraved bolt of my choosing, I jumped at the opportunity. And when I saw that he had a “Texas” option, my fate was sealed.
JWH’s kit shows up in, well, a kit. I ordered a custom bolt as well as an oversized bolt handle, but was pleasantly surprised to see everything packed up in foam, with a bottle of gun lube, and some polymer bolt stops for my receiver. All the parts are finely machined and drop in easy as pie.
You can order the charging handle and bolt independently of each other, but for the purpose of this review, they’re lumped together. Full disclosure: I estimate that my 10/22 has had at least 15,000 rounds down the pipe, and has been treated less than perfectly during that time. Subsequently, it has a few more rattles than it did fresh from the factory. As such, I’m not willing to completely write off the JWH oversized charging handle as junk because I ran it in a very worn gun.
What I can tell you is that using the JWH bolt and stock charging handle, I’ve had zero reliability issues. But using the oversized charging handle with the stock bolt as well as the JWH bolt resulted in countless stovepipes and failures to feed. I’m no gunsmith, (I don’t even play one on TV), but I’d imagine that the heavier asymmetric reciprocating mass of the JWH bolt combined with a worn receiver made for hell in the reliability department. If you have a worn 10/22, tread lightly with this charging handle.
Now for the good news. The new bolt is flawless. Excellent ejection, perfect feeding, and stunning looks are the name of the game here. I ran it dry, wet, and gritty and no issues at all. Installation is a snap if you’ve ever cleaned your gun, and the looks are fantastic. Speaking of looks, WOW! I’m not normally gaga over laser etched anything, but I think this is just so cool. And people at the local gun range agree. I got a couple of compliments on it in the short time I had it out of the case, and they all agreed that it was custom without being gaudy. If you live in Ohio or another state that’s not Texas, you’re SOL for the moment, but I bet for enough money, Thuy would cut something for you.
Specifications:Â
- Material: CNC Machined 4140 tool steel
- Type: Drop in replacement
- Style: 40 different custom engraved bolts are available
- Price:
Ratings (out of five stars):
Fit, Finish, Build Quality: * * * * *
JWH builds a very high quality piece of gear that shows no discernible machining marks or imperfections. It fit my 10/22 like it belonged there. The charging handle was of equal quality and fit just as well.
Function (bolt): * * * * *
I have had zero failures in several hundred rounds of various .22 LR using the JWH bolt.
Function (charging handle): no stars
I was unable to run a 10 round magazine of any ammunition using the charging handle without a stovepipe. JWH indicates that this heavier charging handle is designed to be run with the much hotter 17 Mach 2 conversions but should run in the regular 10/22. I did not find this to be the case, but my test rifle is very old and worn
Coolness: * * * * *
Can I give it six stars? It says Texas on the side. Uber cool.
Overall: * * * *
This is a fine piece of kit. The bolt is a five star piece and worth the Benjamin for the discerning buyer. Quality is top notch and function was flawless. The charging handle, not so much. You can buy 10/22 specific charging handles from JWH that will surely run better than this did. If we get another one to review, we’ll update you accordingly.
Nice.
Great review! Thx now where is my wallet….
Ps: agree on first long gun to grab in a fire coming 3 min out the door for good scenario. Don’t forget the ammo.
Regarding the charging handle. You can attach a shell casing to the charging handle for easier grip. Use either glue or wrap the casing in tape and press fit it.
What casing to use depends on the charging handle itself, I’ve had luck with a 7.62×39 casing.
You can also wrap grip tape around the charging handle, or cut checkering into it for even better grip.
On a straight blowback action, there’s a limited amount of mass you can add to the breech block/bolt/whatever assembly that is being forced back by the case before you start short-cycling or mis-timing.
Too little mass and the breech block will eject well enough (and likely fling the spent case pretty far), but it will beat up your receiver and other parts, as well as possibly cycle so fast that it fails to reliably pick up a new cartridge out of the magazine.
Too much mass and you get short-cycles, failure to eject, possibly failure to even extract (the case will come out only part way, then the spring will shove it right back in).
I know what a 10/22 looks like and have shot one, once, but that’s about as far as I go with them. Can anyone tell me if this bolt is better than the stock one? Is it more functional or is the only plus that it has Texas on the side?
Other than looks, is there any benefit to this bolt? On Kidd and Volquartsen bolts, they improve headspace, the hammer an extractor too.
PGT,
Our bolts are CNC Machined from 4140 tool steel with proper headspace (0.0425″) and firing pin protrusion (0.035). It comes drop in read pinnded for consistency. Radiused and polished for cycling. Whether it improves accuracy or not, depends on how you shoot 😉 We have sold thousands with very little complaint. 🙂
If it’s supposed to be for fans of the great state of TX, why does the etching/engraving make it look like Oklahoma? 🙂
Bone stock 10/22 parts are some of the most reliable parts in the firearm world. Not gonna change them out just for a logo.
I know where you’re coming from Tyler. I’m a born and raised diehard Arizonan so it’s only fitting that my AR lower is an Arizona Armory piece with the Arizona flag stamped on the magwell.
I think for “Coolness” rating it should be givin A lone star, Just because… Texas.
I’m still a fan of Kidd stuff for my 10/22. Great bolt, handle, and one of the best triggers I’ve had.
I’ve heard very good things about him as well.
Do they make one for Noo Yawk?
We do custom work, please email us at [email protected] if you are interested.
They make a whole lot more, like
2nd Amendment Est.1791
Molon Labe
Squirrel Slayer
Zombie Killer
I may pick up the first one
Ummm……why?
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Hi my name is Ron Wasilewski and I ordered a charging handle for my Ruger 10/22. Received it today and it is not designed for my rifle. The handle I received was chrome but instead of having a hol for the spring it had a nipple male instead of a female for the handle. I would also be interested for a bolt with my military rank (GySgt) USMC. If you have that.
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