What 22LR Reamer & Barrel

[Edward Manning]

what 22LR reamer would you choose for Lapua and also what one for Eley and which Barrel manufacturer. I have a 2500X action

Thanks

 

[1Merlin]

Save yourself a lot of money and grief and choose a rimfire gunsmith and let Him tell you what your options are.

 

[10XSHOOTER]

Call Mark Penrod!

 

[Mt.Boy]

Save yourself a lot of money and grief and choose a rimfire gunsmith and let Him tell you what your options are.

What Merlin said. Trust me I learned the hard way. Go with a good reputable gunsmith

 

[dgeesaman]

Right now, not only do the best rimfire gunsmiths put our consistently excellent rifles, they also have access to the good components. The demand for rimfire barrels is off the charts lately and the barrel makers are fulfilling the orders for their best gunsmiths first.

 

[ridgeway]

I got a Meyers 1.5 degree leade and set it up for like .030 engraving on Lapua. Barrel is a Shilen screwed to a 2500x. Shoots Eley and SK just as well. Go figure, haha. My first at chambering a BR 22. Let me tell you, absolutely nothing special about it. Basic machining.

 

[TRSR8]

I got a Meyers 1.5 degree leade and set it up for like .030 engraving on Lapua. Barrel is a Shilen screwed to a 2500x. Shoots Eley and SK just as well. Go figure, haha. My first at chambering a BR 22. Let me tell you, absolutely nothing special about it. Basic machining.

Really? Tell us after you win some real matches

 

[PWNolan]

Really? Tell us after you win some real matches

I've done basic machining. I know firsthand that what guys like Stiller do is beyond basic machining. I'm not saying someone else's basic machining won't shoot well but I'd rather have someone who know what they're doing do the work

 

[MrG52D]

Some of us just enjoy doing our own work. I am sure that hardly any great gunsmith, started out being great, without some trial and error. You learn by doing, more so than reading or watching.

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

Some of us just enjoy doing our own work. I am sure that hardly any great gunsmith, started out being great, without some trial and error. You learn by doing, more so than reading or watching.

I can do everything but the barrel chambering work. for me it goes back to my teenage years and working on cars. I just took a lot of pride when a junkyard special was able to beat a rich kid Camaro or Mustang,
I love the challenge to make something that is not the trend work.

Lee
p.s I have my barrels chambered using a Nevius reamer. with knowledge of OAL of the ammo I am using I get decent recent results. works for me.

 

[Tad_Earhart]

It really is not anything special. Dial it in by one of the accepted methods, pick a pilot, and float the reamer in to desired depth. Double check your work and move on to the finishing if desired. It is more attention to detail than the average high volume job shop guy normally has to deal with but nothing that anyone that has the right equipment and a little patients can't handle. The straightness to the bore is much more important than anything else.



To the OP, I prefer a 2.0 degree leade and a 0.2250" straight body but its not the end all be all. In reality a reamer between 1.5 to 2.0 degree leade with a body diameter between 0.2250" - 0.2260" will put you in a good place. There are winning examples outside of these dimensions but the vast majority will fall in that range for RFBR. The biggest decision you will have to make is in how much engraving you want to use.

Tad

 

[Srgeorge]

It’s also about how the chamber is finished.

 

[TRSR8]

I've done basic machining. I know firsthand that what guys like Stiller do is beyond basic machining. I'm not saying someone else's basic machining won't shoot well but I'd rather have someone who know what they're doing do the work

As you well know Pat, basic machining will get a chamber started, learning how to properly finish a quality chamber……that now is another matter, as is barrel evaluation, crown placement, etc.
That said, I doubt any of the top smiths, looking back, would claim their initial barrels were particularly good.
There’s a reason many of the good CFBR guys won’t touch a RF …..not because they lack “ basic machining”; skills.

 

[Ggmac]

I’ve got 10-12 lr reamers , after alot of trial and error, the Win 52D reamer held a little short ( depends on the mood I’m in ) has been the most consistent with most lots of premium ammo .

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

It really is not anything special. Dial it in by one of the accepted methods, pick a pilot, and float the reamer in to desired depth. Double check your work and move on to the finishing if desired. It is more attention to detail than the average high volume job shop guy normally has to deal with but nothing that anyone that has the right equipment and a little patients can't handle. The straightness to the bore is much more important than anything else.



To the OP, I prefer a 2.0 degree leade and a 0.2250" straight body but its not the end all be all. In reality a reamer between 1.5 to 2.0 degree leade with a body diameter between 0.2250" - 0.2260" will put you in a good place. There are winning examples outside of these dimensions but the vast majority will fall in that range for RFBR. The biggest decision you will have to make is in how much engraving you want to use.

Tad

This is pretty sound advice and very true statements from someone who wins his share and I believe actually does his own work. There's not much magical or mystical about properly chambering a barrel but lean toward taking the advice of people who have done it with some success as opposed to someone that repeats what they've read or heard while not knowing where the on/off switch on a lathe is. There are numerous winning chambers and smiths. True is true, no matter who does the indicating, Finish and depth are a different story but again, there are numerous methods that work very well and are won with.

 

[Greg@wfcustom]

This is pretty sound advice and very true statements from someone who wins his share and I believe actually does his own work. There's not much magical or mystical about properly chambering a barrel but lean toward taking the advice of people who have done it with some success as opposed to someone that repeats what they've read or heard while not knowing where the on/off switch on a lathe is. There are numerous winning chambers and smiths. True is true, no matter who does the indicating, Finish and depth are a different story but again, there are numerous methods that work very well and are won with.

I agree 100%, and as someone who has been chambering CF barrels (successfully) for quite a few years,
I will admit I did approach my first RF barrel with some trepidation a few years ago. Guess what I found out?
Attention to detail and best practices don't care about the ignition system. Now lead vs jacketed bullet as far as finish, that leaves room for discussion. For what it's worth the RF barrels I've done for myself and a few others seem to win their share of matches just like the CF ones do.
Maybe it's the Indian after all, or maybe it's just more of the Witchcraft and Black Magic that we BR shooters like to believe in.
JMHO YMMV,
G
PS: FWIW I use a “Nevius” reamer from JGS
Very happy with it, like all my reamers from them!

 

[Tony K Harper]

I agree 100%, and as someone who has been chambering CF barrels (successfully) for quite a few years,
I will admit I did approach my first RF barrel with some trepidation a few years ago. Guess what I found out?
Attention to detail and best practices don't care about the ignition system. Now lead vs jacketed bullet as far as finish, that leaves room for discussion. For what it's worth the RF barrels I've done for myself and a few others seem to win their share of matches just like the CF ones do.
Maybe it's the Indian after all, or maybe it's just more of the Witchcraft and Black Magic that we BR shooters like to believe in.
JMHO YMMV,
G
PS: FWIW I use a “Nevius” reamer from JGS
Very happy with it, like all my reamers from them!

Greg,
Could you please explain what barrels have to do with ignition.
TKH

 

[PWNolan]

As you well know Pat, basic machining will get a chamber started, learning how to properly finish a quality chamber……that now is another matter, as is barrel evaluation, crown placement, etc.
That said, I doubt any of the top smiths, looking back, would claim their initial barrels were particularly good.
There’s a reason many of the good CFBR guys won’t touch a RF …..not because they lack “ basic machining”; skills.

I won't go into specifics here but what Jerry told me about how he does his chambers was pretty interesting and I'm pretty sure it's more involved than what most guys are doing. How many guys finish with a boring bar and CNC lathe? He talked about other details that nobody's mentioned here and it's probably because nobody else is doing what he does. I've seen where he's referred to his chamber as proprietary. So it makes sense. Maybe it's all way over the top and completely unecessary but I like how that guy thinks.

There's a thread over on RA where Stiller discusses how he does his chambers. It was done a few years ago. So he may have changed things a little over the years. Search "Barrel Chambering" by member "stiller". I've only read the first post at this point but it looks interesting

 

[Tad_Earhart]

I won't go into specifics here but what Jerry told me about how he does his chambers was pretty interesting and I'm pretty sure it's more involved than what most guys are doing. How many guys finish with a boring bar and CNC lathe? He talked about other details that nobody's mentioned here and it's probably because nobody else is doing what he does. I've seen where he's referred to his chamber as proprietary. So it makes sense. Maybe it's all way over the top and completely unecessary but I like how that guy thinks.

There's a thread over on RA where Stiller discusses how he does his chambers. It was done a few years ago. So he may have changed things a little over the years. Search "Barrel Chambering" by member "stiller". I've only read the first post at this point but it looks interesting

More involved than most are doing is a big statement to make. Especially if you haven't spoke to most about the process as well.

Finishing with a boring bar, quite a few are doing them start to finish that way. I thought that his finish machining where it counted (leade) was with a Henrickson (probably spelled wrong there) reamer after he done all the work with the boring bar.

As far as CNC lathe? The two other people that own one are using it. CNC does not mean its going to be the greatest thing ever like a bunch of people think. Really all the CNC is going to produce over a guy with a good manual machine and machining practices is maybe faster production volume and maybe easier to do the feed rate variations for finish he talks about. Don't get me wrong, Jerry does quality work and uses the machines he has to do it with, but I would say he could do just as quality work with a manual machine too. I would bet his process for that manual machine would be different from the CNC/very similar to a lot of other guys on manual machines as well. May be wrong on that but I suspect. I doubt his expectations for finish product would change from a barrel done in the CNC vs done on a manual machine too. He would still expect his work to be competitive and capable of winning.

Tad

 

[MrG52D]

Greg,
Could you please explain what barrels have to do with ignition.
TKH

Tony, that sounds like a trick question. Let’s see, what kind of ignition would we have without a barrel? The barrel is the place where all the work put into the ignition system, comes to fruition.

There is a lot of work that goes into a Rimfire to find that last 5%, that will separate a great finish from a mid-pack finish. Not all that work is in the machine shop.