Now that I have worked through around twenty custom Ruger 10/22 builds, I have learned a few things along the way through all those builds. Primarily I have learned that a great stock is imperative to delivering the maximum performance from that fancy receiver, trigger, and barrel you dropped so much money on.
With a half dozen Boyd’s Pro Varmint stocks, I had bought into the Boyd’s Pro Varmint design which delivered great performance, free-floated the barrel for accuracy, and delivered excellent shooter ergonomics... that was until an odd crack appeared in one of my stocks and Boyd’s would not warranty the issue. For a stock only a couple months past warranty, I think it was a sub-optimal customer experience. This sent me to the World Wide Interweb to find an alternative where my friends at Rimfire Central were raving over the new Victor Titan stock.
To be quite honest, I loved that Boyd’s Pro Varmint stocks delivered a top end Bell and Carlson/McMillian style design for around $150, however with the recent cracked stock I no longer trusted the company’s quality or warranty. Now that I have found and tested the Victor Company Titan stock, it makes me want to replace all my builds with this stock. This perspective is more than just initial impressions of the latest new thing delivered by UPS, it has everything to do with quality, materials, design, and shootable ergonomics of the Titan 10/22 stock. It is a stock which matches even more closely to the higher dollar stocks on my precision bolt guns.
The Victor Titan is a superb rigid stock which delivers everything you need for tack driving accuracy in an affordable $160 stock for your 10/22 sans the adjustability of the higher dollar stocks.
In talking with Victor Company’s CEO Michael Victor, his design goal was to offer a reasonably priced stock which would deliver the features required for precision shooting. “What I saw in the market were inexpensive wood stocks that did not offer the precision and changed impact during weather a climate changes. On the other spectrum there was the very high end Bell & Carlson and McMillan stocks which were financially out of the reach of most 10/22 shooters, but there was nothing in between from a performance perspective. The focus of the Titan 10/22 chassis to address that in between market - a precision chassis which offers shooters 80%-90% of the precision of the $400+ stocks at the price of a aftermarket laminate wood stock.”
FIT, FINISH, FEEL, FEATURES, & FUNCTIONS
The out-of-the box quality and features are phenomenal with a fit and finish of a stock significantly more expensive. I did have a few spots where the molding flashing needed a slight hit of the sandpaper to take an edge off, however beyond those incredibly minor issues, the quality was perfection.
To be fair to the Titan, this stock is not just a re-due of some popular design or yet another inlet of the same stock you can order in dozens of inlets. The Victor Titan is a stock completely designed around the 10/22 to deliver a stock which is optimized specifically for the 10/22 action with a free-floated bull barrel.
Sure the design ergonomics are a shooter optimized TRG style which follow the lines which are mimicked in nearly every kick ass precision stock made, but Titan Industries did not stop there. They used extremely rigid premium grade fiberglass composite construction which is very unusual for such a low price point of $169.99. Generally this grade of material is something used in much higher priced stocks and products. This is not one of those flexible Butler Creek polymer stocks.
Victor Company developed a hardened aluminum Anchor Lock System which mechanically beds your 10/22 action for optimal accuracy at the front and back. That means that the Titan Anchor Lock System is more than just front hardened aluminum pillar as in most 10/22 stock - the Titan stock has a full rear pillar bedding block which is adjustable to the fit of various stock and custom 10/22 receivers. This is a very similar bedding system that I have seen on my $1000 Remington 700 Billet precision rifle stocks.
Beyond a clean ergonomic design, a very rigid stock, and a rock solid bedding system, Victor has added some nice upgrades. The stock features four QD-Sling mounts (two fore and two aft) and as well as a traditional sling studs at the front and rear. The Titan 1022 is also available with an optional picatinny rail for mounting lights or bipods.
One of the features I read about on the company’s site was an enlarged magazine well design to assure magazines dropped free. I cannot say precisely how many 10/22 stocks I have had to loosen up with a little Dremeling to get the magazines to drop free, but I know it was at least half a dozen. The Titan 1022 design has this design forethought built in.
Once behind the Titan 1022 stock at the range, the design feel eerily familiar to my custom Bluegrass Stock from my Ultimate Mosin build, and to my FN SPR A3G, and my custom .308 Remington precision billet chassis builds… well I think you get the picture. It feels great and has become a great analog for very cheap precision trigger time training. The cheek riser lifts the rifle stock a bit to put your eyeball in line with the optic and delivers a very comfortable extended shooting position. Of note, the Titan is a great all purpose stock but it strongly leans to the benchrest and precision shooter due to the heftier weight. The stock is not lardy however it is not particularly light either.
This build is a bit of a transition and work in process. At this point I have a Clark Custom Guns 16.25” fluted stainless match grade barrel made from Lothar Walther blanks, a Ruger BX 10/22 trigger, and Tactical Innovations blue anodized upper receiver with one of their match bolts. The build deserves a better match trigger, however I just have not done the upgrade yet. What did surprise me was that I did see about a 10% accuracy improvement with the move from the Boyd’s Pro Varmint to the Victor Titan 1022 stock. I am now down into the .25” group range at 50-yards thanks to the Victor stock and Clark barrel - a trigger upgrade would definitely improve that further.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I was definitely impressed and certainly in the wake of being urked about my little Boyds stock debacle, the Victor Titan was a freaking delight to use. I also cannot image how you would actually crack or break this beast of a stock. Victor Company also offers the Titan in Flat Dark Earth as well as black. It looks good, shoots great and is incredibly comfortable to lay behind for hours… not bad at all for a $169.99 price point.
SPECS
- Ultra-Rigid Engineering Grade Fiberglass Composite Resin: Offers maximum accuracy potential with almost zero flex.
- Anchor Lock System: Hardened aluminum bed supports the action screw and a hardened aluminum rear shelf with an anchor lock screw to remove any play from the rear of the action. - The Anchor Lock System gives the most accuracy potential from your 1022.
Free Float Barrel: Accepts heavy barrels up to 0.920"
- Widened Magwell: Mags drop freely when released.
- Pistol Gripped: Puts your shooting hand at the perfect angle for proper trigger control.
- Raised Cheekrest: The elevated comb gives better control with your optics.
- Positive Texture: The pistol grip and forend are textured for positive manipulation in wet or dry environments.
- Ambidextrous design: For right or left handed shooters.
- Quick Detach Flush Cup Sling Mounts: Standard on both sides. Attach or remove your QD sling with a push of a button.
- Swivel Stud Sling Mounts included: Fits the standard sling attachment.
- Optional Mini Picatinny Rail: A solid mounting solution for a flashlight, IR illuminator or QD bipod.
- Available in two colors: Black or Flat Dark Earth
- MSRP $189.99
- INTRODUCTORY PRICING: $169.99
SOURCES
Victor Company USA - www.victorcompanyusa.com
Clark Custom Guns - www.clarkcustomguns.com
Tactical Innovations - www.tacticalinc.com