The Ruger 10-22 is one of the most customized firearms of all time. It’s up there with the 1911, the AR-15 and the Remington 700. So it’s no surprise that an entire cottage industry exists around the Ruger 10-22 and its accessories.
These customization or upgrades, whatever you prefer to call them, range from the mild to the wild. They include whacky, mind-bendingly designed stocks, chassis systems, smooth barrels, spiraled fluted barrels and anodized triggers. These parts can be had in any color of the spectrum and for nearly every aspect of shooting. This includes backyard plinking, NRL and even rimfire PRS matches.
Not Kidding Around
KIDD Innovative Design is an industry leader in the rimfire space. Perhaps this company is even one of the best kept secrets in Ruger 10-22 circles. Tony Kidd and his wife, Mary, have been operating ‘under the radar.’ But shooters in the know and in the winner’s circle have been using KIDD products for years.
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Case in point: When I pitched the idea for this article topic the Athlon editor (who had just built two Ruger 10-22s for himself), he hadn’t even heard of KIDD Innovative Design.
“We get this all the time,” says Kidd, “We’ve never advertised so all our sales have been word of mouth or other shooters seeing our product show up when winning competitions.
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Even though KIDD Innovative Design has an entire section under the Rimfire Central forum, considered by many to be the final word in precision .22 rifle accuracy, KIDD really flies under the radar.
Meet Tony Kidd
Tony Kidd has been producing parts for the Ruger 10-22 full time since 2008. He started his comply as side-gig 25 years ago. Back then, he worked for the US Army Marksmanship Training Unit (MTU). “Mosty what we did back then was trigger units. I’d work my job at the MTU and come home and put triggers together,” explained Kidd.
Finally, demand pushed Kidd to begin producing 10-22 parts full time. To date, KIDD struggles keeping up with demand.
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“I misread the demand. I was producing a trigger that cost more than the rifle itself. But at the time, Team Challenge shooters were looking for a trigger for their competition rifles,” continues Kidd, “It wasn’t just the competition shooters.” Calls began coming in from regular shooters. One customer in particular wanted a trigger delivered overnight as crows were eating his corn and the farmer requested a KIDD trigger in his Ruger 10-22 to defend his field.
“The market was the average shooter that demanded the best trigger available.”
KIDDs High-Quality Rimfire Parts
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Even though KIDD is best known for its extremely accurate barrels, crisp aftermarket triggers and trigger jobs, it is branching out towards developing Ruger 10-22 chassis systems.
PRS shooters are a crucial part of KIDD’s clientele. “We just recently introduced a 24” barrel for PRS shooters. These barrels give shooters a little more weight and changes the balance of the rifle. They are doing well in competition,” says Kidd.
The company manufactures nearly every product it sells. The only exception is the barrels, which is a specialized endeavor. KIDD uses Lothar Walther barrel blanks and machines the blanks in-house at its McQueeny, Texas facility.
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“In the beginning we were known for their two-stage trigger. You could have an 8 oz two stage trigger that was 100 percent reliable,” says Kidd, “We wire EDM (electrical discharging machining) our hammers and sears. We beat ourselves up over close tolerances,”
The fact that Troy Lawton won the Smallbore Silhouette Nationals didn’t hurt business either. The KIDD single-stage trigger is one of its most popular products, as tt has no creep and breaks quite cleanly.
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KIDD also sells a good amount of its 10-22 bolts. These are machined instead of cast and are held to closer tolerances. Most KIDD customers are budget builders, so they change out components as they can afford to.
“The first thing they want to change is the barrel,” continues Kidd, “Typically, the next thing they will order is a trigger job kit.” (The trigger job kit is for use with the polymer trigger guards which began in 2008 and is still currently produced by Ruger.)
KIDD’s Superlative Supergrades
In addition to high-end 10-22 parts, KIDD also builds and sells top-of-the-line, accurate complete rifles. Style-wise, these rifles are not bold and flashy. Instead, KIDD prefers to allow accuracy to speak for its rifles.
The Supergrade is the company’s superlative model. This rimfire tack driver is available in a precision chassis or with a Magpul X22 stock. KIDD Supergrade are built around a custom-designed receiver that includes a rear tang for better bedding. These rifles also include a KIDD Supergrade barrel, which utilizes a unique interchangeable barrel system. Finally, their receiver houses a machined bolts and of course, one of its famous triggers. Supergrade customers have the choice of either two-stage or single- stage triggers. All said and done, KIDD guarantees its Supergrade to print ½ MOA or less at 50 yards.
No matter whether you’re looking for a better trigger–or wanting to go all-in on a hotrodded 10-22 r, KIDD Innovative Designs will get you where you want to go, and then some.
*All pictured rifles are KIDD Supergrade variants