Ruger’s hugely popular 10/22 semiauto has spawned a cottage industry of aftermarket parts and accessories. The majority of these aftermarket products are designed to turn the 10/22 into something “tactical,” and while there’s nothing wrong with that, some of us tend to like our tactical gear to be a bit more, shall we say, historic. Three of my favorite conversions turn the 10/22 into replicas of the World War II German MG42 machine gun, the M1 Carbine and the M1 Garand.

The easiest conversion by far is the MG42 replica made by Cherokee Accessories. This kit—which works only with the standard Ruger 10/22 carbine and not the longer-barreled 10/22 rifle—sells for about $140 and consists of a plastic shell molded to look like a MG42. The unit essentially encloses the 10/22.

The conversion to the MG42 begins with removal of the 10/22 barreled action from the Ruger stock. You also need to remove the factory sights. Next replace the magazine latch pin. After that, just slide the 10/22 receiver into the rear half of the MG42 shell and secure it with a new receiver cross pin.

Install the rear sight and then slip the barrel into the barrel shell supplied with the kit. A single large screw joins the two shell halves. Last, install the front sight post.

The hardest part of the assembling this “dress up kit,” as the manufacturer calls it, is putting together the rear sight. I found it was a lot easier if I positioned the sight leaf above the base, installed the elevation screw and spring, and then installed the sight leaf pivot screw. You might find it necessary to enlarge the hole in the sight leaf for the elevation screw just a bit.

If you want a project that’s a bit more challenging, consider a 10/22 version of the M1 Carbine. You’ll have to do the work yourself or find a willing gunsmith or machinist to give you a hand, but it’s really not all that hard.

The 10/22 and the M1 Carbine have similar lines and dimensions. In fact, with just a little inletting and a bit of bedding material, you can easily use a standard M1 Carbine stock.

For the barrel, I used a cheap, used aftermarket 10/22 bull barrel I found at a gun show. Basically all that was involved was turning the barrel down beginning just ahead of the barrel-clamp cut.

The barrel was turned down to a diameter of about 0.645 inch beginning approximately 1.5 inches ahead of the receiver. This diameter was maintained for about 6.25 inches, then the barrel was further reduced to a diameter of 0.595 inch for another eight. This allowed me to fit a G.I. surplus barrel band and bayonet lug.

At eight inches, I turned the barrel down to 0.575-inch diameter to permit the use of a G.I. front sight. The .22 barrel was cut to 18.25 inches and crowned to match the length of a standard M1 Carbine barrel. These are all simple turning operations.

One of the unique and distinctive features of this conversion is the utilization of G.I. sights. All it takes to attach the front sight and integral band is to drill and tap the sight base in front of the rear face of the blade for a simple 6-32 set screw, which holds the sight securely in place.

The rear sight is a bit more involved. I cut a piece of the aluminum scope base furnished with the 10/22 and dovetailed it to accept the issue G.I. rear sight.