The Ruger 10/22 is a ton of fun. It’s one of America’s most popular rifles and might just be the most popular rimfire on the market. It’s also insanely modular. The aftermarket loves this little gun, and it shows. One example of that is that quite a few companies produce dress-up stock systems that make it easy to upgrade your gun. I’ve seen stock systems that make the gun look like a Thompson SMG, an M249 SAW, an MG42, and the subject of today’s article, an HK G36. HK certainly isn’t going to produce a G36 for you and me, so this is as close as we can get. The Archangel Nomad kit is essentially a dress-up kit for the Ruger rifle, and it’s all kinds of cool.
Why dress up your Ruger?
That’s the million-dollar question. Well, maybe it’s not a million dollars, but it’s at least a $190 question. The main reason is just that it’s fun. It’s tons of fun. There is certainly nothing wrong with the Ruger rifle as is with its classic controls and wooden stock. However, the Nomad kit modernizes it, dresses it up, and can certainly make it more appealing.
My son certainly thought it was quite the upgrade. It appealed to him, because apparently, the G36 is used as a model for a gun in Fortnite, and he enjoyed that. The Ruger 10/22 is our household plinker, and the Nomad gives it a new edge and more modern handling. The old wood stocked 10/22 seems a little lame. The dressed-up Nomad is a bit different.
Beyond fun, the Nomad stock does offer a few benefits by itself. This includes a folding stock with a very nice length of pull that makes the weapon accessible for a wider variety of shooters. Across the top is a great long all-metal optic rail for whatever you want. We also get a set of peep sights which aren’t bad by any means.
There is also a bottom accessory rail for goodies of all types. We also get an extended magazine release which is nice but also admittedly necessary for the stock system. I don’t care for the button release of Ruger 10/22, and the Nomad release is certainly more accessible.
Installing the Nomad
The Archangel Nomad stock system does have a pretty extensive installation process. You have to punch some pins and take your 10/22 apart to install the modern magazine release and extended bolt lock. It’s fairly easy to do.
You are supposed to remove your stock iron sights, and boy, let me tell you, Ruger ensures they are on nice and tight. The rear sight was a huge hassle to remove. I was able to install the kit without removing the front sight, so I left it in place instead of removing it. Overall it took me about an hour to install the 10/22 into the Nomad.
The kit attaches via several large bolts, and it’s surprisingly sturdy. It doesn’t shake or wobble. The gun holds together well, and once the kit is in, it’s in. The design comes with a single magazine, which is also a dress-up kit that makes it look like a real 5.56 magazine. You can still use your standard 10/22 magazines, but they look fairly silly in the kit. Additionally, Archangel sells a few different dress-up kits for existing magazines.
Ergonomics, Design, and Range Time
The ergonomics of the 10/22 change slightly with the Archangel Nomad kit. You still have a right-side-only charging handle, and the safety remains the same. The G36 style top charging handle and safety are just molded, unmoving plastic. They are there for show and nothing else. The stock offers a decent cheek weld as well as a folding stock to make it quite small. The pistol grip is molded into the ‘lower’ receiver and is not removable.
Overall it’s pretty solid and handles easily in terms of ergonomics. The stock is fairly lightweight, and it keeps the platform from being overly heavy and from killing the charm of the 10/22. For a dress-up kit, it’s fairly ergonomic. The big problem is really the magazine insertion. Because it’s essentially a sleeve around a 10/22 magazine, you have this big base, but the portion that locks into the gun is quite small. Your speed reloads might feel a little clumsy.
The Archangel Nomad uses the stock Ruger trigger, so whatever trigger you have is the trigger you get. The gun does come with a solid set of iron sights. Well, plastic sights. There are two peep apertures and a simple front post. It works perfectly for a rimfire plinking rifle. The big optics rail makes it easy to attach anything from a red dot to an LPVO. I went with a simple red dot. The rail is all metal and mounts tightly and doesn’t flex or move.
Blasting Away
In terms of recoil, there is none — as you’d expect — and the gun remains very shootable. It’s light and easy, and most importantly, fun. There is nothing painful to deal with, and you can plink all day without complaint.
Accuracy remains unaffected. You can put the rounds exactly where you want them, just like the 10/22. The biggest difference comes down to height over bore issues. The scope rail sits awfully high. So if you get within seven yards of the target, your shots won’t quite be on target. You’ll have to learn to aim and compensate for it.
When it comes to reliability, there are no issues with the shell itself. It doesn’t impede the function of the gun, and the gun fires, ejects, and loads without any big problems. I did have a handful of small problems with the included magazine. They were minor but notable. I got a few failures to feed with the Nomad’s included mag. With Ruger BX25 mags, there were absolutely zero issues. They feed perfectly, and they always have.
What’s most important with this kit, at least to me, is the fun factor. I have tons of fun shooting the Nomad with the 10/22 sitting tight inside. Not just popping over soda cans but running drills. Throwing in some failure-to-stop drills, VTAC 1-5 drills, box drills, and all the other basic tactical drills. It’s fun and also quite cheap in terms of ammo consumption.
Worth the Squeeze
This isn’t the cheapest 10/22 accessory to be had, but it scales high on the fun factor. The Archangel Nomad kit dresses up your 10/22 nicely and is a ton of fun. Beyond the cool factor, it has a few benefits worth noting. If you want to spice up your rimfire relationship, this is the way to do it.
