I took a chance with Ballistic Advantage
Earlier this year, I struggled to find any recent reviews of Ballistic Advantage’s 10/22 barrels, so I decided to take a chance and share my positive experience upgrading to a BA barrel.
My goal was to transform my trusted 10/22 into a lightweight squirrel rifle without breaking the bank. I chose the Ballistic Advantage 18" spiral-fluted, lightweight-profile barrel, which weighs a trim 25.6 ounces and comes threaded for a suppressor. To complete the build, I paired it with a Magpul MOE X-22 stock. With these upgrades, my “old” 10/22 now weighs just 5 lbs 2 oz (w/o suppressor)—only slightly more than the original wooden stock and 20" barrel.
I recently had the opportunity to take the upgraded rifle out and test the barrel, and I was pleasantly surprised. At 25 yards, I fired five rounds of Remington 36-gr Golden Bullet, six rounds of CCI 40-gr Standard Velocity, and five rounds of Remington 40-gr subsonic ammunition.
The subsonic results were especially impressive. Unless there was a flyer off paper, all five rounds were touching. The barrel clearly favors slower, copper-plated ammunition over CCI’s lead round-nose rounds.
Unfortunately, the wind picked up, forcing me to call it a day before I could test additional ammo. More to come.