Show us your match 22lr

[Double K]

I'll start this off with my pride and joy a Anschutz 1712 I wore the barrel out on and recently had it re-barreled with a Pac-Nor match grade barrel. The smith un-pinned the factory barrel and threaded the action, then cut a match chamber. I replaced the factory wood stock with a McMillian synthetic stock and painted it with a "Arizona sunset" theme. It has a 6.5x20 Leupold scope with 1/2min cpc dot and a silencerco spectre 2. I've since changed that to a silencerco warlock 2 which is about half the weight of the spectre.
Added info, it also wears a one piece D.I.P. base which doesn't completely eliminate issues with misaligned rings and the scope problems that come with it but nearly all of them.

 

[darkgael]

Match

This Anschutz was my retirement present to myself 18 years ago. I am happy that I bought it then because I could not afford it now as the rifle has doubled in price.
Anschutz 1827 Biathlon Fortner bolt.

 

[darkgael]

This is my other match rifle. By Feinwerkbau, it was my Smallbore prone rifle for many years.


PS: Double K: The “shot out” barrel.....how many rounds through it? The reason I ask is because I have only ever heard about one other barrel that was shot out. That one had 200k-250k rounds through it.

 

[Double K]

I've never shot the position games but apparently the distances are close enough that degradation in accuracy goes unnoticed, most silhouette shooters want there gun to group under 3/4" at 100m with ammunition that doesn't require a bank loan. Not all but many guns won't do that past 75,000rds, benchrest guys change there barrels much sooner.
If you look at a rimfire barrel most of the wear is in the bottom third of it, that's because all the burnt and unburnt powder settles there and is then ironed in with successive shots, burned powder{carbon} is abrasive and essentially eats out the bottom third of the barrel. Benchrest guys have tried all kinds of crazy schemes to try and stop this but nothing has really been feasible. For a while folks were blowing the barrels out between shots with an onboard air system, that didn't last very long.
I was pretty happy with the accuracy of my 1712 after the rebarrel, now if I could just stop jerking the trigger I'd shoot great scores!
Group at 100m.

25 shot group at 100m.

 

[darkgael]

One time....at the PA State Smallbore prone championships at Wilkes-Barre Rifle and Pistol Club...I shot next to a young man from the US Naval Academy. I was scoring his targets. One I remember particularly was a 100 yard target...100-9X....it was a 10 shot group that you could have covered with a dime. Iron sights.
That is smallbore prone, a game of Xs. Perfect scores of 2400 are common....x counts make the winners very often

 

[Double K]

Yea, they don't shoot any of those games around here, silhouette, ARA 500 is it excepting the people that shoot 3 position at the olympic training center or whatever they're practicing, not open to the public.
As I inferred before a good match rifle may be capable of excellent accuracy with hundreds of thousands rounds through the barrel if your shooting Tenex, Eley black box or other top shelf ammunition common in benchrest games and position games at national tournaments.
It doesn't take a degree in economics' to figure out that it's cheaper to get your barrel replaced after 75,000 rounds and continue to shoot 500.00 to 700.00 a case ammunition instead of having to buy 1300.00 to 1700.00 a case black box or Tenex to get the same accuracy.
I recently shot some some CCI standard velocity in my guns and was surprised how well it grouped, not good enough for matches but plenty good enough for practice at 250.00 a case. I do not believe that any 22lr with over 100,000 rounds would group around an inch at 100yds with that ammunition, I could be wrong though.

 

[darkgael]

Games

“ they don't shoot any of those games around here.
Are you familiar with the Colorado Rifle Club? I believe that they have a smallbore prone program. Just Fyi.
Pete

 

[Double K]

I'd forgotten about that, I believe that's a once a year event at CRC.
There's new long range 22lr events at nearly every shooting range around here as well that are all a little different. The club I belong to shoots silhouette from the bench with some targets being set up out to 150yds. Typical of the genesis of such things everyone started out using whatever gun there grandpappy gave them or was on sale at wally world but know has turned into a equipment race. I've yet to shoot it being more of a traditional NRA rules sort of guy.

 

[Bart B.]

All of the USA smallbore 22 rimfire 100 yard prone records using scopes shot before 1981 still stand. As does most of the 50 yard records. Standard targets have 1 MOA X ring, 2 MOA 10 ring.

https://competitions.nra.org/results-and-records/national-records/

Back then and earlier, best barrels lasted 50,000 rounds and best ammo tested under 1/2 MOA at 100, under 1/3 MOA at 50 yards. Then the primer mixtures were changed for safety reasons due to an explosion in a primer production shop (Eley?) and more glass frit was added. That frit is like sand and eroded barrels faster. 30,000 round barrel lives was what top ranked competitive shooters put up with. As was reduced accuracy with test groups 50% bigger.

 

[Double K]

Good information Bart.

 

[Bart B.]

Good information Bart.

My two best 22 rimfire 50 yard scores at the CRC range were shot in 2005 with my last 3 boxes of Eley Tenex made in 1979. 400-40X +2X with scope, 400-38X with metallic sights.

A friend and I surveyed and staked out the CRC highpower range in January, 1985

 

[Double K]

I had no idea CRC had been around that long, didn't go there until the owner of Gateway rifle and pistol owner passed away {Felix} and it sold to Golden gun club, that was when rifle silhouette went to CRC, don't remember what year that was, quite a while ago.
You still shoot out there?

 

[Bart B.]

I had no idea CRC had been around that long. ...... You still shoot out there?

Nope. Old age requires some compromises to keep smiling.

 

[Double K]

Sorry to hear that, appreciate your here sharing knowledge and experiences with us youngsters.

 

[darkgael]

Thanks for the barrel wear info. I had no clue that barrel life was that short.
Pete
PS: What rifle did you use to shoot those fine 50 yard scores?

 

[Bart B.]

Thanks for the barrel wear info. I had no clue that barrel life was that short.
Pete
PS: What rifle did you use to shoot those fine 50 yard scores?

Anschutz 1911 with factory barrel and a Weaver T16 scope boosted to about 22X with a magnifying glass on the eyepiece for any sight match. Warner rear and Tompkins front metallic sights. Receiver epoxy bedded with Devcon plastic steel. Both stock screws torqued to 22 inch pounds

 

[Double K]

Here's another one of my match guns, I ordered a Remington 40XR from the custom shop in 1989, shot it for a few years as a silhouette gun then put it in the safe when hunting rifle class became popular. About 15 years ago I pulled it out and bought a used McMillan br stock for it, put pillars in it and bedded it with Acrglas gel. It has a Leupold 36x scope with a Weaver one piece rail. My rest is a Hart with a aftermarket adjustable top. I moved about 100miles from the range they shoot ARA2500 at so I have not been going much the last few years but plan on getting back in full time when this covid 19 crap ends.

 

[Bart B.]

My first 22 rimfire match rifle was a Rem 40X with two angled bedding screws at the fore end tip. Soon learned to back both all the way out so the barrel vibrated freely and repeatable from shot to shot. Totally free floated barrels are best.

 

[Double K]

I'm one of the few people that doesn't have a tuner on the end of their barrel, the deresonator seems to shrink groups reasonably well.

 

[Bart B.]

That "deresonator" is actually a tuning weight. The more it's moved back, the higher the frequency the muzzle axis vibrates at. Barrel resonant frequency is several dozen Hz but the muzzle axis third harmonic frequency is several hundred Hz.

Best frequency is the one wherein bullets all leave on the upswing such that slower ones will depart at higher angles to the LOS than faster ones. That'll make their trajectories cross at the target. It's called positive compensation (for bullet drop). Tuners are adjusted to work well for each target range.