Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and its many different types of guns, gear, ammunition types, and history. Last week we departed from our normal rimfire coverage to talk about a slightly related ammunition called Pinfire ammunition. A lot of you seemed to be interested in the idea and if I get the chance, I’ll do my best to get a hold of some firearms and ammunition so we can take a much closer look at them for ourselves. This week we are getting back into more dedicated rimfire stuff with the Tactical Solutions XRT Drop-In 10/22 Trigger. This aftermarket 10/22 trigger pack launched right at the end of 2022 and is a world apart from a lot of the aftermarket triggers I’ve come across. Today we’ll check out its specifications and features, and report on the range experiences I’ve had so far with it to give you an idea of this is the type of trigger you’d want to pick up for your 10/22.
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After years of testing and development TacSol has developed the new XRT Trigger for the Ruger® 10/22® and X-Ring rifles. This drop-in replacement trigger assembly is manufactured to the highest level of craftsmanship and is the most reliable and best performing .22 LR trigger available.
FEATURES• 2.5 LB TRIGGER PULL• AUTOMATIC BOLT RELEASE• CUSTOM EXTENDED MAG RELEASE• TOOL STEEL COMPONENTS• EASY INSTALLATION• ALL METAL CONTRUCTION• REMOVEABLE SIDE PANELS FOR EASY CLEANING
The TacSol XRT (left) and a Stock Ruger 10/22 Trigger
The Tactical Solutions XRT Drop-In 10/22 trigger is sold for quite a hefty price – even within the realm of aftermarket 10/22 triggers. If you want to pick one of these up, it will set you back a cool $459 from the Tactical Solutions website. Luckily, the trigger comes pre-assembled in its box and with a full list of installation and special care instructions.
Unique Features – My Installation
The TacSol XRT trigger comes with a neat list of features that aren’t really found anywhere else in the rimfire market. A 2.5 trigger can be had almost anywhere, as well as the automatic bolt release but what really sets this trigger apart is its all-metal construction which includes tool steel components, a custom extended magazine release, and removable side panels so that all of the internal components can be access for much easier cleaning.
The trigger housing body features removable covers that allow you to clean the interior of the trigger pack.
I originally wanted to put my 10/22 and the TacSol trigger into my Oryx 10/22 Chassis but I quickly ran into a problem when attempting to install it – it just wouldn’t fit. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me however as it is clearly stated on the TacSol website that some custom fitting to the trigger group may be required to fit into some rifle stocks. Since the item was simply loaned to me by TacSol, I didn’t want to attempt to try this without knowing for certain it was necessary so I proceeded to my backup option which was simply placing the barreled action and trigger group into a normal 10/22 stock.
The trigger comes pre-packaged in the cocked and locked position (hammer back and safety on) and is zip-tied into place so that even an inadvertent activation of the trigger won’t risk dry-firing the trigger and sending all of your expensive components into orbit. After carefully removing the zip-tie, the trigger is easy enough to install – simply follow the same process you would use to reinstall your factory 10/22 trigger group.
Impressions from the range
Unfortunately, I don’t have access to a high-end 10/22 rifle that could really put this trigger’s high-end components to their maximum potential. However, I was able to get the opinions of 3 other experienced 10/22 shooters and all of us unanimously agreed that the trigger felt much better and was indeed quite light. I think we also all agreed that the best feature about the trigger was the lever-style magazine release that allows you to remove the magazine with your firing hand by simply pushing forward on the lever. If you’re not accustomed to that method of removing the magazine or don’t care to, the traditional way is unaffected.
The fitment of the trigger pack and by extension the entire receiver was made much tighter because of the XRT Drop-In. This gives your 10/22 a nice solid feel and I think improved the overall reliability of the rifle. We shot a wide variety of 22LR ammunition through the rifle that day including Winchester Super X bulk, CCI Standard, CCI Mini Mags, Aguila Super Extra, and even some mystery meat 22LR that I had laying around.
The trigger broke just a hair over 2.5 lbs on my Lyman trigger scale.
All of the ammunition worked flawlessly and I think the increased reliability might have something to do with the extra spring pressure the XRT Drop-In has behind its hammer. In my mind, this is actually a pretty significant upgrade as there are lots of cases of 10/22s simply being unreliable from the factory. However, there are other methods we’ve mentioned before that can accomplish the same thing for much less.
Before you say it, I didn’t put groups on paper with this trigger simply because I don’t think it would make a lick of difference for a stock 10/22 Carbine. The Ruger 10/22 isn’t exactly a precision rifle but there are those who run 10/22 style rifles in Rimfire PRS matches and have 10/22s that will shoot insanely small groups when using match ammunition. The guys that run semi-auto rifles in Rimfire PRS competitions often are at the top of the lists in terms of speed, but they’re also in their own class so there isn’t an unfair advantage being offered to semi-auto shooters who’ve taken the time and expense to upgrade their rifles to the level of a bolt-action.
Down the road, I would love to try out TacSols X-Ring rifles or perhaps even a Volquartsen, or Faxon precision 10/22 barrel to then see what kind of accuracy we can squeeze out of the system by simply comparing it directly to the stock 10/22 trigger in the same rifle.
Final Thoughts
The Tactical Solutions XRT Drop-In Trigger has a lot of great features, a novel method for cleaning that doesn’t cause a headache, and of course a really nice light and clean breaking trigger pull. However, at the staggering price of $459, it’s a bit of a hard sell for me at my level of shooting and the way my 10/22s are all currently kitted out. I think this trigger is intended for the type of shooters we talked about above – Semi-Auto Rimfire PRS shooters. These guys often have lots of prize money on the line and have rifles that are more than capable of taking advantage of a trigger that is not only 2 pounds lighter, but also integrates a quicker magazine release method, and also allows you to more easily clean the trigger group in-between matches.
If you’ve had experience with this trigger, feel free to let the rest of us know your thoughts and comments on it down below. Also, let me know if you’d like to see reviews on other Ruger 10/22 triggers. If you’re interested in other trigger-focused content, I did a review of the Franklin Armory BFSIII 22-C1 a couple of years ago and that was a hell of a fun trigger but kind of also doesn’t perform so well as just a standard Ruger 10/22 trigger. You can read that full review here. As always, thanks for stopping by to read The Rimfire Report! We’ll see you all next week!
