LOW BUDGET .22 SIL RIFLE/TRAINER - range report, post mods

[Evelio Mc Donald]

When I first got into Smallbore silhouette shooting I bought a Rem. 540, and a 580 , first I re-stock them, then work on the triggers, re-barrel the 580, and later the 540, put on some cheap BSA scopes, made in Japan ( which actually work pretty good ) by the time I was thru, I had over a $1000.00 on each, not counting labor, they both turned out pretty good shooters, and enjoy every minute I worked on them, But in the back of my mind I still wanted an Anchutz.
When I sold them, I could not get enough to pay for the Anchutz.
Top Predator, I was really hoping that by the time you finished your project it would shoot at least 1" groups at 100 meters, from your posting, it did not turn out that way, but I know you enjoyed every minute you spend in that gun, and you do have a hell of a squirrel sniper rifle.
By the way you may want to cut up a business card in 1/2" strips, and put some under the barrel in the tip of the fore end to buid some pressure, some of this thin barrels will shoot better with some pressure on them to keep from whipping. I have tried it, and it works most of the time.
Evelio.

[TOP PREDATOR]

yeah i was hoping for around an inch at 100 also, but all in all i guess that between 1.25" and 1.5" isn't too bad for 127.00 walmart rifle. i'm probably going to end up bedding the action and seeing what that does. possibly also going to see what i can come up with for a barrel tuner, maybe the old stick 'em on wheel weight trick.

i thought about doing the cardboard thing also, but something a little more "elegant" and measurable by drilling a hole in the bottom of the stock, epoxying an insert, and having a rounded off screw that can butted against the barrel from the bottom to apply some pressure by turning it clockwise or backing it off a little for less pressure. maybe somewhere in between would be a sweet spot. Don't know if that'll violate the hunter class rifle standing. i just got my rule book today, and didn't get a chance to look through it to see if barrel tuners are restricted.

[BlauBear]

Good guess - barrel tuners are illegal in Hunter Class. Pressure pads aren't, though.

[Evelio Mc Donald]

Pressure pads are legal, as long as is inside of the stock, the adjustable set up that predator is thinking about, would not be legal. By the way, the idea of the pad in the front, is to kind of capture all areas of the barrel in the stock, to minimize the whipping, the single point screw pressure, will not stop it from moving.
Evelio.

[BlauBear]

Evelio, does the material make a difference? Does something like high density foam work differently from say an epoxy pad?

[lone ringer]

Do not use any material that has bounce to it like any foam, rubberized or silicon material. I have used Mouse pad material and others but what has worked the best for me is duct seal sold in places like Lowe's, Home Depot and Electrical supply stores. If you have a choice use the one that works in areas with the greatest range of temperature. Put it between stock and barrel preferably the last two inches, make sure you have lots of room there for this material, does not work well on tight spaces. You can even mix lead bbs to bring weight up. I have used it on SB and HP rifles for many years and works on most of the rifles I have used it.
Let me know if it works for you, its really inexpensive and easy to find. Does something to barrel harmonics that can affect accuracy adversely.

[Evelio Mc Donald]

Blaubear, I think you got the answer to your question from Lone Ringer.
Evelio.

[BlauBear]

You know how it is Evelio - talk to two pros and get three opinions.

[lone ringer]

Blaubear, as you probably already know there are more ways to skin a cat.

Evelio's technique of putting cardboard under between the end of the stock and the barrel is a classic one that I have used more than once on rifles that did not appear to be as accurate as expected.

I had one of those when we first started shooting lite-light rifles (under 7.5 lbs scope included) I had a friend of mine make me a fiber glass stock that did not weight much but when I tried the rifle it would not shoot as before when it was on the factory wood stock with no floating barrel. Right away I put pieces of cardboard under the barrel and the groups got much better so I decided to bed the whole barrel with Brownell's Acra-gel and that fixed the accuracy problem. Another time I also bedded the whole barrel of a Rugger 10-22 with Acra-gel to make it more stable since it was a heavy barrel and I had read somewhere that it was the thing to do.

Its also a good idea to check the crown on factory rifles and I have gone as far as fire lapping stubborn barrels that did not want to shoot well. I would not advice you do that with $300 barrels but with cheap factory barrels is worth doing before deciding to rebarrel.

I read somewhere advice by Alex Sitman a very good shooter and gunsmith that he beds sb rifles with Acra-gel and hp rifles with something hard like steel Devcon.

So there you have it, I have tried all those things and they for the most part have worked for me.

[BlauBear]

Thank you sir!

Bedding the barrel is a surprise, though! Conventional wisdom is to float the barrel, usually with an explanation that it eliminates pressure points that might push the barrel one way or another. Bedding would support the barrel in a natural position, take stress off the receiver, and seemingly dampen harmonics but I can also see possible barrel cooling problems in high power.

[lone ringer]

BlauBear, I am not suggesting that you bed the hp barrels that we use for competition. HP barrels work best if they are free floated.
I have sometimes bedded the area of the chamber with no adverse effects and in a couple of occasions I have put some duct seal at the very end of the stock's forend under the barrel just to see if I get better groups. Remember that these "remedies" are done out of desperation or curiosity but if you have a tack driver from the get go leave it alone.

[BlauBear]

Evelio has warned me of dire consequences if I ever tinker with a competition rifle again! I'm only allowed to clean and feed those, so I keep a couple of "toys" that Evelio doesn't have to fix.

[Innocent]

BB, Don't worry Evelio likes the money.
Innocent

[BlauBear]

BB, Don't worry Evelio likes the money.
Innocent

Yeah, but he tells Kitty and that harassment never ends. Usually with pictures (see avatar).