Bolts for Norrell’s Ruger 10/22 MGs

[Navgunner]

I’ve been asked by a community member to produce Ruger 10/22 bolts for Norrell’s closed bolt 10/22 MG kits. Before I dive too deep into the project I’d like to ask ya’ll if there’s enough need to justify a production run. Based on my initial review, these would be expensive ($750 range) as there is a lot that goes into making these things work reliably. I know there’s at least a few people that have registered packs/sears that are missing bolts which is unfortunate because it’s my understanding that John Norrell designed these kits to work as a system where the bolt is critical for reliable function. 

Would anybody be interested in purchasing a bolt if I could get them into production?

[mattnh]

Interested

 

[jrh]

This is an interesting read on making the bolts and some mods he has been working on.

 

https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/Anybody-on-here-have-machinest-drawings-for-a-Norrell-10-22-bolt-with-the-anti-bounce-weight-/22-558337/

[Navgunner]

14 minutes ago, jrh said:

This is an interesting read on making the bolts and some mods he has been working on.

 

https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/Anybody-on-here-have-machinest-drawings-for-a-Norrell-10-22-bolt-with-the-anti-bounce-weight-/22-558337/

Thank you for sharing, @jrh!  I’ve already seen this;  it’s a great read. 

[clc3251]

I'd be in for 1

 

[clc3251]

Oh and please make some reliable 40 round mags for them!

Edited October 5 by clc3251

[Navgunner]

3 minutes ago, clc3251 said:

Oh and please make some reliable 40 round mags for them!

A person could spend a lifetime perfecting 22lr mags. 

[Don.]

11 hours ago, clc3251 said:

Oh and please make some reliable 40 round mags for them!

https://www.blackdogmachinellc.net/drum-10-22-50rd.aspx  

Load 40 and you’re good to go.

[jrh]

The bolt doesn't "appear" to be that complicated to copy.  Cut a slot in the bolt, fab a weight with 2 holes (not sure how hard the weight is), drill 2 holes in the bolt for the rods to let the weight slide, weld the rods in place, cut the front detent on the bolt.  

I said "appears".  If you have an EDM and a 3 axis machine, you could turn out a bunch pretty fast.   But if you only make a few dozen, the price per piece goes up really fast.

I have seen trigger packs advertised with no bolt and the plunger and spring missing from the pack.  I haven't spoken to Norrell in several years and parts back then were not easy to get.  I wanted to swap a button trigger to lever and he would still do it if you had a factory Ruger trigger to swap in addition the price of his modified trigger.  

Navgunner, are the aftermarket bolts as hard as factory Ruger?

[Navgunner]

1 hour ago, jrh said:

The bolt doesn't "appear" to be that complicated to copy.  Cut a slot in the bolt, fab a weight with 2 holes (not sure how hard the weight is), drill 2 holes in the bolt for the rods to let the weight slide, weld the rods in place, cut the front detent on the bolt.  

I said "appears".  If you have an EDM and a 3 axis machine, you could turn out a bunch pretty fast.   But if you only make a few dozen, the price per piece goes up really fast.

I have seen trigger packs advertised with no bolt and the plunger and spring missing from the pack.  I haven't spoken to Norrell in several years and parts back then were not easy to get.  I wanted to swap a button trigger to lever and he would still do it if you had a factory Ruger trigger to swap in addition the price of his modified trigger.  

Navgunner, are the aftermarket bolts as hard as factory Ruger?

Thank you, @jrh
 

The older factory Ruger bolts are extremely hard. I haven’t yet had a chance to test any of the aftermarket ones though. 
 

I have all of the manufacturing capabilities that you described above (including EDM) however, I don’t believe that the 10/22 bolt conversions are as easy to reproduce as they appear (at least not for the closed bolt Norrell versions).  I think that “form” and “fit” are pretty straightforward but the “function” part is the bruiser.  

You’re exactly right that the production quantity is going to determine sales price. That’s a big part of why I’m asking the question here because I need to see how much money/effort I want to invest before I get too deep into the project.  This is true with anything that I do as there needs to be a financial return for me so I have future resources to pour into new projects for our community.  
 

v/r,

NAV

[jrh]

I don’t understand the “function” part. You won’t know the weight of the reciprocating weight but you have the dimensions. I would have to pull out a bolt to see if you can measure the rod OD. 
I would bet John would tell you what the material of the weight is.

Norrell didn’t do any other mode other than the detent spot of the front bottom right (looking at the bolt face) is f the bolt.. 
 

It was up to the buyer to test run for ammo and mags. He recommended CCI MiniMags and the old Black Eagle mags. There were no new style Ruger BX mags. 

I don’t know that I have ever seen a Norrell that wasn’t a closed bolt conversion  

He didn’t do anything to Ruger receivers but he did “true” some of the RR AMT receivers because of how rough they were cast. 
 

have you looked at an original Norrell Bolt?

Edited October 5 by jrh
Add

[Navgunner]

I’ve already reproduced a few different bolts for various machine guns and they’ve always ended up being way more challenging to manufacture than they appear.  (anything that’s of quality)   
 

I mean it's with relative ease that I can machine them look like they function (that’s the “form” part) and with a little bit of work, I can get them “fit”, but making them function reliably has always been the real challenge, at least for me personally.  
 

Yes, I have access to an original Norrell bolt and everything that you have described is exactly right.  The only point that I’m trying to make is that if it were easy to make these bolts, than there would be an excess of them available to those who need them. That’s where I believe I can help because I have a lot of experience in this area; I have successfully made production volumes of gun parts in service to our community. Parts that are seemingly simple, yet nobody’s making them.

If I’m wrong (which I very well may be) then I’ll feel thankful that I found out early, well before I invested too much energy/money.  
 

@jrh, thank you for sharing your thoughts and feedback. I sincerely appreciate you.  
 

NAV 

Edited October 5 by Navgunner

[jrh]

My comments were not meant to be negative toward the project or your efforts.  I have followed your other work on the FNC's and others.  Those were very complex, in my opinion and you made them work.  

To me this "seems" more straight forward as you don't have to machine the bolt only make modifications to something that already should function.

If you need to compare some of the measurements you have from your bolt to see if there were dimensional differences over the years, I have a spare bolt I can check if it would help.

[Navgunner]

1 minute ago, jrh said:

My comments were not meant to be negative toward the project or your efforts.  I have followed your other work on the FNC's and others.  Those were very complex, in my opinion and you made them work.  

To me this "seems" more straight forward as you don't have to machine the bolt only make modifications to something that already should function.

If you need to compare some of the measurements you have from your bolt to see if there were dimensional differences over the years, I have a spare bolt I can check if it would help.

Thank you

[Bravo Whiskey]

Interested!

[bwnva]

Hi, I had just posted this on UZITALK (Which I look at the most often) I realize from reading above some of my comments have been addressed. but I do provide some new information. 

 

Good day,
I spoke with John 2-3 years ago. (Very nice and helpful) he had quit making extra bolts quite some time before that. Now when I say making, more precise is modifying the Factory Ruger COTS bolts with the milling out of a portion and adding the anti-bounce weight. So I am not sure making something from scratch is worth the cost, when a factory 10/22 bolt could be modified and was always modified in the past. . Now with that being said to my recall John told me the geometry of the newer 10/22 bolts were different IRT where to bolt interfaces with the trip and would not work.(I believe he discovered this buying new bolts from Ruger and this might have contributed to
him not modifying and offering replacement/spare bolts). Recommend you talk to John for when the timeframe for this change happened and the particulars. But there are Millions of older 10/22s out there since they started making them in 1964.
I'd be interested in a bolt modification service (milling out and adding the Anit-Bounce weight, etc)

If I was Alaska_Shooter I would email John and explain to him what is happening and get his advice. I think your experience is the exception, not the norm.

Best Regards , bwnva

[Navgunner]

10 hours ago, bwnva said:

Hi, I had just posted this on UZITALK (Which I look at the most often) I realize from reading above some of my comments have been addressed. but I do provide some new information. 

 

Good day,
I spoke with John 2-3 years ago. (Very nice and helpful) he had quit making extra bolts quite some time before that. Now when I say making, more precise is modifying the Factory Ruger COTS bolts with the milling out of a portion and adding the anti-bounce weight. So I am not sure making something from scratch is worth the cost, when a factory 10/22 bolt could be modified and was always modified in the past. . Now with that being said to my recall John told me the geometry of the newer 10/22 bolts were different IRT where to bolt interfaces with the trip and would not work.(I believe he discovered this buying new bolts from Ruger and this might have contributed to
him not modifying and offering replacement/spare bolts). Recommend you talk to John for when the timeframe for this change happened and the particulars. But there are Millions of older 10/22s out there since they started making them in 1964.
I'd be interested in a bolt modification service (milling out and adding the Anit-Bounce weight, etc)

If I was Alaska_Shooter I would email John and explain to him what is happening and get his advice. I think your experience is the exception, not the norm.

Best Regards , bwnva

Thank you for the message @bwnva , I agree with your comments above.  

[jbntex]

I am the guy on the AR15 thread listed above who has made a couple of the modified slowfire tungsten Norrell 10/22 bolts.   If you have any questions on how they work feel free to reach out directly.

As has been noted above the bolt are surfaced hardened and are really tough to cut but once you are through the surface the inside of the bolt material is reasonably soft.

Personally I wouldn't bother to try and recreate the wheel  and build 10/22 bolts completely from scratch given high quality 10/22 bolts are available from KIDD.  Just buy bolts from KIDD,  find somebody with a wire EDM to precision cut the anti-bounce weight pocket on my modified Norrell bolt design, mill the notch for spring detent,  get the antibounce weight(s) made and then its just an assemble and test operation.

A couple of positive attributes on my bolt design is that since the bottom of the bolt stays intact they no longer break/crack like the OEM Norrell design has a history of doing.

You can also make different anti-bounce weights (steel and or tungsten) with different internal secondary anti-bounce weights (steel, tungsten, etc.) and then you can let folks effectively tune their guns for reliability and ROF based off their barrel length and/or the ammo they use.  The main antibounce weight is held in via the firing pin so unlike the OEM Norrell design where the weight is welded in, the antibounce weight in my bolt design comes out  by just removing the firing pin so folks can easily tune the anti-bounce weight properties and the bolts total mass.

I don't know what the demand is for these but I had another local shooting friend randomly reach out to me last night asking to make him a bolt.  He bought a Norrell  pack for a good price (but with no bolt) a couple years ago and has never found a Norrell bolt for sale so hasn't ever been able to shoot his pack.  I also get a handful of inquires every year from folks online asking them to make them bolts based off some of my prior posts.   There is clearly some demand but my guess is that its probably in the mid double digit range given the cost to make these and resulting price tag and how few of these guns are out there.  

I considered doing a small commercial run of these at one point given the inquires I had had over the years but due to the time cost/time involved and the civil liability of manufacturing firearm components for the general public I never went forward with it.

[JoshNC]

In addition to sear/pack owners wanting these, I’m betting that these will be well received as 10/22 FRTs become more prevalent. Count me in for one pending price.

[Navgunner]

On 10/6/2025 at 10:00 AM, JoshNC said:

In addition to sear/pack owners wanting these, I’m betting that these will be well received as 10/22 FRTs become more prevalent. Count me in for one pending price.

Thank you, @JoshNC  

Based on everyones feedback, I’m going to make a very limited run of these (5 to 10) and see how that goes. Sales price will be $750 plus or minus 50 bucks.  I have a pretty good point of attack that has all things that will probably change as I get deeper into the project.  If people are serious, then I recommend that they PM me with their contact information, otherwise I’ll post my website to see what happens. 

Edited October 25 by Navgunner

[clc3251]

3 hours ago, Navgunner said:

Thank you, @JoshNC  

Based on everyones feedback, I’m going to make a very limited run of these (5 to 10) and see how that goes. Sales price will be $750 plus or minus 50 bucks.  I have a pretty good point of attack that has all things that will probably change as I get deeper into the project.  If people are serious, then I recommend that they pee in me with their contact information, otherwise I’ll post my website to see what happens. 

Check your post. I think you might have dictated that and need to proofread lol. 

[Navgunner]

2 minutes ago, clc3251 said:

Check your post. I think you might have dictated that and need to proofread lol. 

Yes, good looking out!  I think Siri is out to get me (or maybe it’s my Oklahoma accent). 
 

I believe that there is enough interest for me to proceed but on a limited basis. If people are interested, please let me know via email, text, phone call, etc.   

[lllest]

@Navgunner

I have been off of sturm recently, but was recently notified by someone you might have talked to about this thread.  I have bought from you before and I would be in for two.  One for my sear, and one "just in case" and/or to sell to someone in the future who might need one.

You are also always welcome to email me when you are making something new, since I don't check message boards much these days .  Chances are I will be interested.

[lllest]

@Navgunner

I will have to dig through my old docs, but I also should have a KIDD 10/22 bolt fully modeled out in CAD if you want it.  I did it by hand and verified everything carefully.

I also have that same CAD file with a hole in it that matches jbntex's inner cutout hole dimensions.  I never had it cut as, while I am good with software and CAD stuff, I don't have access to facilities or people who can do the cuts for me.  I was going to do it myself "by hand" because I'm one of those midwesterner types that thinks I need to do everything myself, but never got around to it.

In theory if you have the equipment (EDM or CNC), what I have should be pretty plug and play to use for his design.

[eMGunslinger]

I've worked on a lot of Norrell and other 10/22's fixing a large variety of issues. Bolts never break I haven't seen it happen to date with any 10/22 I have had here. Bolts can not be interchanged because they are all different. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. I have several dozen bolts here from guns I have rebuilt to open bolt that had a list of gremlins. I see no benefit to making these for people and I don't think you or they know what you're getting into but this will be a product that will ultimately get you very mixed feedback on "your bolt doesn't work". This is the main reason I don't sell the used bolts anymore or do with the condition of "good luck" and every one is different in every imaginable way.

[eMGunslinger]

On 10/6/2025 at 9:38 AM, jbntex said:

OEM Norrell design where the weight is welded in

Not all of them, I have a few where the square weight has two rails that screw to it and the bolt is slot cut to hold the rails in. But yes generally they are and there is a variety of metals used for weights.

[Navgunner]

13 hours ago, eMGunslinger said:

I've worked on a lot of Norrell and other 10/22's fixing a large variety of issues. Bolts never break I haven't seen it happen to date with any 10/22 I have had here. Bolts can not be interchanged because they are all different. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. I have several dozen bolts here from guns I have rebuilt to open bolt that had a list of gremlins. I see no benefit to making these for people and I don't think you or they know what you're getting into but this will be a product that will ultimately get you very mixed feedback on "your bolt doesn't work". This is the main reason I don't sell the used bolts anymore or do with the condition of "good luck" and every one is different in every imaginable way.

@eMGunslinger has a ton of experience with gunsmithing (especially FA firearms) so I'm thankful for his feedback.

 

I'm proposing that my company, NavGunner LLC manufactures a very small quantity of new production 10/22 bolts that are made to John Norrell's latest standards.  They are being designed to specifically work with Norrell conversions however, it's possible that they could be used in other conversion too (and FRTs?) but a professional gunsmith would need to assess that on a case-by-case basis. 

All transferable MGs are getting old with a lot of them being produced quickly as Class 3's were met with the "Hughes Amendment" of The Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA) in 1986.  In my experience that means quality varied greatly from one example to another (just look at UZI bolts, WH Thompsons, etc.).  Additionally, these transferables have quite possibly seen multiple different owners and various gunsmiths (ranging poor to excellent) during their lifetimes.  Basically, these bolts won't be a magic bullet that fixes broken guns so as always, I strongly recommend that owners use qualified professional gunsmiths to install and test any changed parts. 

There are no new MGs becoming available so what's in circulation now needs to be taken care of and that includes the availability of spare parts.  With a whole generation of leaders in our community either retiring or even worse passing away, we need individuals from the next generation to fill the need.  These firearms have become worth small fortunes but are useless if they're broken. 

 

Very Respectfully,

Nav    

   

Edited October 9 by Navgunner

[OA/DAW]

We also would be interested in purchasing a bolt or two.

Reply by email to:

dawandoa@earthlink.net

[Navgunner]

@OA/DAW it’s best not to put your contact information directly on the threads.  I recommend that you remove it and private message me your email and phone number if you’d like a call when these are available .  
 
When I release these for sale, I’m going to first contact people on my waiting list. If I don’t get an answer, I’m gonna immediately go to the next person on the list.  Whatever remains we’ll go on the website.   Please know that we’re making a very limited amount as I have to source out of production bolts to use as hosts.

The “we”:

I’m happy to announce that NavGunner is working directly with John Norrell on these 10/22 bolts.  We’re making them to John’s latest NORRELL spec. as these are specifically designed for use with his registered trigger packs.  
 

 Bolts will be marked with both the NORRELL name and NavGunner’s hallmark.  The pocket for the reciprocating weight now cut using modern EDM so we’re able to incorporate a radius feature where I’ve heard complaints of breakage due to stress concentrations.  I expect to have these available to ship in the next couple weeks. 

 

[Navgunner]

This is cross posted on Sturm's sister site UziTalk where I've received a couple of good questions.  Please find below my response to those questions.

 

QUESTION 1: "How do I get on the waiting list? Also, would it help if I provide a 10/22 bolt to modify? I have several 10/22s of different vintages."

ANSWER 1:  I’m not going to offer a modification service but I’d be willing to offer a credit for people that want to send in their oem Ruger bolts. I need to see pictures of them before acceptance because there are multiple versions and I can only use one type. If this is something that you’re interested in, please go ahead and send me pictures now.

Please send me a private message with your phone number, email. First and last name.

As of today, my wait-list matches the number of bolts that we’ll make so if I need to add a couple of bolts at the list, I need to know ASAP

 

QUESTION 2:  "Now that the LRTs (forced reset system) are available for the 10-22s. Would this be something that would help them function better."

ANSWER 2:  That's a great question but the answer is somewhat challenging as it depends on each particular system's design. That being said, the short answer is probably.

This run of bolts are designed / manufactured to specifically work with registered NORRELL MGs and I'm very thankful that John Norrell himself has signed onto the project.

 

Edited October 14 by Navgunner
Removing info that belongs on another thread

[Navgunner]

First batch of five bolts are done. I’ll start calling people on my list tomorrow

[Navgunner]

I have two bolts available on my website. I’ll make a formal listing on Sturm’s parts thread. 

[AZAtty480]

Received the bolt I ordered.  Looks great!

[Navgunner]

6 hours ago, AZAtty480 said:

Received the bolt I ordered.  Looks great!

Thank you, @AZAtty480

[clc3251]

Received my bolt as well.  Dropped it into my Norrell clone conversion and it worked perfectly.  Thanks for taking up this project. Always nice to have spare parts.  

[Navgunner]

Thank you, @clc3251  feedback is always a good thing so I appreciate you taking the time to make a post.
 

I recently listed some NORRELL plungers too but those sold out  almost immediately.

If there’s enough interest, we can do another production run. 

[Navgunner]

I just added one plunger to my website. Unfortunately, bolts are sold out.

[Navgunner]

I just added four bolts to my website. Parts will ship no later than November 14th