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There might not be another rifle that is harder to leave alone than the Ruger 10/22. They are reliable, fun to shoot, affordable to feed and there are enough aftermarket parts available that you can turn one into just about whatever you want.
The funny part is that a perfectly good 10/22 can quickly turn into a project where you start convincing yourself that every part needs to be upgraded.
Maybe that is half the fun.
I recently picked up Ruger’s new Custom Shop 10/22 Competition, model 31227, featuring a Grey Birch chassis and carbon fiber sleeved barrel. This isn’t the wood-stocked 10/22 many of us grew up shooting. It is lightweight, adjustable and built with accuracy in mind.
It also comes with Ruger’s upgraded BX-Trigger, which is actually a pretty good trigger.
The problem is that I have become a trigger snob.
After using Timney triggers in multiple rifles over the years, I already knew what I wanted to put in the Ruger: the Timney Calvin Elite.
About Timney
Timney Triggers was founded in 1946 and has built its reputation around making quality aftermarket triggers for an enormous variety of firearms.
This also wasn’t my first Timney.
I’ve installed and shot enough of their triggers over the years that I pretty much knew what I was getting before I ever put the Calvin Elite into the Ruger. I expected an easy install, a clean trigger pull and the consistency I’ve come to expect from Timney.
It delivered exactly that.
One of the things I have always appreciated about Timney is that their triggers are designed so the average gun owner can install them without needing to take the firearm to a gunsmith. The Calvin Elite for the 10/22 might be one of the easiest yet.
About the trigger
Installation on the 10/22 Calvin Elite is crazy simple.
If you have a torque wrench or a basic set of Allen wrenches, you have pretty much everything you need to get the rifle apart and put the trigger in. Changing the actual trigger shoe is just as simple using the provided Timney Allen wrench.
What really separates the Calvin Elite for me, though, is the adjustability.
Timney gives you the ability to change the trigger shoes and adjust the position of the shoe for fit, comfort and pull. That might sound like a small thing until you actually start shooting the rifle.
I have shot this 10/22. My buddy Sam has shot it. More importantly, all three of my boys have shot it. They are 12, 10 and 7 years old.
That is a pretty big range in hand size.
Being able to move and position the trigger shoe means I can make the trigger more comfortable for my hand and then adjust it so one of my kids can get proper finger placement without having to reach awkwardly for the trigger.
I really like that.
A good trigger shouldn’t require the shooter to adapt to it if the trigger can be adapted to the shooter.
The Calvin Elite also has exactly the type of break I want in a competition-style trigger. It is light, crisp and extremely repeatable.
One of the biggest advantages of a clean trigger isn’t simply that it is lighter. It is predictability.
When you know exactly how the trigger is going to break, there is less tendency to anticipate the shot or disturb the rifle while you’re trying to get through a heavy or gritty trigger pull. The result for me has been a much cleaner and more repeatable trigger press.
On a rifle designed around accuracy like Ruger’s carbon fiber Competition 10/22, that matters.
BX Trigger vs. Calvin Elite
Ruger’s BX trigger isn’t a bad trigger.
In fact, compared to the standard 10/22 trigger, it is a pretty substantial improvement.
But the Calvin Elite completely blows the BX trigger out of the park.
The difference is immediately noticeable in the weight, crispness and overall feel of the trigger. Add the adjustable trigger shoe into the equation and the Calvin Elite gives you something the BX simply can’t match.
That difference becomes even more noticeable when multiple shooters are using the same rifle.
For an adult shooter, you can position the shoe exactly where you want it. For a kid with smaller hands, you can adjust it to provide a much more natural and comfortable trigger pull.
As a dad who spends a lot of time shooting with my boys, that is a feature I appreciate more than I initially thought I would.
Pros
- Extremely crisp and repeatable trigger break
- Light 1.5-2 lb. factory trigger pull
- Adjustable trigger shoe position
- Multiple trigger shoe options
- Excellent option for shooters with different hand sizes
- Particularly useful when introducing younger shooters to the rifle
- Very simple installation
- Little to no creep
- Excellent competition-style trigger
- Huge upgrade over the factory Ruger BX trigger
- No gunsmithing required
- Made in the USA
- Lifetime warranty
cons
- Price
That’s really my biggest complaint. This isn’t a cheap trigger. The BX trigger that comes in this particular Ruger is already a decent aftermarket-style trigger, so spending additional money to replace something that isn’t necessarily bad can be hard to swallow. But once you shoot the Calvin Elite, there isn’t much comparison. Whether that difference is worth the money is going to depend on the shooter and what you are trying to accomplish with the rifle. For me, on a premium 10/22 that was already built around accuracy and adjustability, putting a premium trigger in it made sense.
details
- $339.99
- Designed for the Ruger 10/22 platform
- Single-stage trigger (Two-stage trigger is available also)
- Factory pull weight of approximately 1.5-2 lbs.
- Drop-in trigger assembly
- Crisp break with little to no creep
- Interchangeable trigger shoes
- Trigger shoe adjustable for length of pull, height and cast
- Extended magazine release
- No gunsmithing required
- Made in the USA
- Lifetime warranty
your next trigger
I’ve used enough Timney triggers at this point that installing one in a new rifle doesn’t feel like much of an experiment anymore.
I know what I’m going to get.
The Calvin Elite gave me exactly what I wanted out of Ruger’s new 10/22 Competition rifle: a light, crisp and repeatable trigger that compliments the accuracy potential of the gun while also giving me enough adjustability that my kids can comfortably shoot the same rifle.
That last part might be my favorite feature.
One rifle can go from fitting me to fitting my 7-year-old with a simple adjustment to the trigger shoe. Combine that with a predictable trigger break and you have a setup that not only works well for competition-style shooting, but also gives younger shooters a much better trigger to learn proper fundamentals on.
The only thing I don’t like is the price.
But if you are building a high-end 10/22, trying to squeeze more accuracy out of your current rifle or just want one of the best trigger pulls you can put into the platform, the Timney Calvin Elite should absolutely be on your list.
The Ruger BX trigger is good.
The Calvin Elite is in another league.
Thanks for reading this gear review. If you want to know more about the Timney Calvin Elite or my experience with it, feel free to reach out. In the meantime make sure to check out the Soul Seekers Podcast and Show as well as follow us on Instagram @soulseekersnation and X @soulseekershunt.
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