and you know.. he used Hearts for a long time tooKevin Nevius mentioned in another thread (https://forum.accurateshooter.com/t...r-annie-rebarrel.4059906/page-2#post-38301417, post #27) that he is using Krieger.
Maybe Hearts "used" to be better I have no idea. Apparently, they aren't now, or at least not in Mr. Nevius's opinion, since I imagine he can use anything he wants. I have and have had Krieger CF barrels and liked them just fine. I have no idea what the RF barrels are like, but assume them to be good. My only point was to bring it to the OP's attention that I remembered reading one of the more accomplished shooters around, mentioning he used them - not a commercial for Krieger at all.and you know.. he used Hearts for a long time too
I believe the 22 ammo shortage is really being driven by the prs, nrl, field matches that have become hugely popular.
Kevin, Your post relating your personal experiences is hardly 'rambling on' - it's just the sort of information many 22RF shooters are looking for. Though I've chambered quite a few CF barrels for myself & customers since 2005, I've only been doing my own 22RF barrel work since 2016, and that should tell you how much I appreciate solid information such as what you just posted.
I used those Kriegers I mentioned on my initial rifle builds mostly due to similar information I received from German Salazar, whose i opinion I asked for several years before I finally built the 2500XR as a deluxe 22RF repeater trainer. Though he was very impressed with a Krieger he'd had done, he was also quite impressed with a couple of Hart bbls he'd had fitted & chambered. The jist of what I'm hearing from top-level shooters like yourself is that 22RF barrels are like 6mm benchrest barrels in that every once in awhile, you find a 'hummer' barrel.
But the amount of ammunition testing it takes to exploit the potential of such a barrel is kind of mind-boggling to me, given the difficulty of being able to find enough match grade ammo to lot test on an individual basis in today's market. The amount of information that's available on the internet and the speed with which it's disseminated seems to make a huge impact on the demand for barrels & ammunition. Between that and the large numbers of new, well-heeled shooters who are willing & able to spend what it takes to buy a high-quality custom-barreled rifle and the ammunition for it, it's put a lot of pressure on ammunition manufacturers to keep up with the demand, and it makes me wonder if they'll ever be able to produce enough so that guys like myself can go back to being able to call dealers like Champions Choice, Good Shooting, Grafs, etc. and get enough lot samples to test - and then buy in quantity if & when we do find an exceptional lot. Hardly seems possible that those days will ever return...
If you say it's best to have no loose spots at the muzzle, why are most barrel makers turning the muzzle smaller and threading when that just loosens things up. I would think it would be better to leave it full size with a good crown. Do you chamber with your own reamer cut to your speciflcations?I slug a lot of rimfire barrels and here is what I have seen. The top button rifled barrel makers all lap a tad bit of taper into their bores. this is by design. I wont go as far to say that it is necessary though, Here is why i say this. A really good shooting cut rifled blank seems to be perfectly true from one end to the other. no choke! Unfortunately not all cut rifled barrels are perfect from one end the the other, meaning no loose or tight spots. Perfect cut rifled and taper lapped button rifled barrels both can protentionaly shoot lights out. Im convinced what you dont want to have is any loose spots, especially at the muzzle.
So a couple tenths of choke or complete perfection from one end to the other both produce. A good chamber is a must and the proper ammo is a must. all very important and thus why rimfire rifles can drive the weak minded to drinking. LOL
Lapua is the only game in town right now from what im seeing and hearing Lapua ammo requires a 1.5 degree lead like mentioned above. I personally like a bit more jam on my bullet. closer to .060