Lilja barrel in .17HMR for Ruger 77/22

[dogwater]

I'm thinking about converting my Ruger77/22 in .22WMR to .17HMR with a drop in Lilja barrel. Is this overkill? Are there less expensive barrels which are likely to be just as accurate? My 77/22
has not been as accurate as I had hoped. Bob

 

[jb77]

Dogwater my son replaced the factory barrel on a Ruger 22 rimfire with a 17HM2 Green Mountain Barrel from Cabelas and it shoots ragged holes out to 75 yards.

I realize this isn't quite an apples to apples comparison but on a plinking rifle I think a lot of the aftermarket barrels offer a considerable upgrade to the factory tubes.

 

[biglonnie204]

I have a 22wmr and a 17hmr. the 22wmr is the one i like most
the 17 with a 17gr can be all over the place at 100ya but my 22wmr i can get down to a 1" group at 100yr. nothing wrong with lilja but idd try different ammo like, remington premier 33gr accutip-v

 

[Forum Boss]

Lilja makes outstanding barrels, but if you're on a tight budget, there are good alternatives.

We also had a Green Mountain barrel on our 17 HM2 test gun. It shot as well as a "big-name" barrel from a major barrel-maker,not Lilja). Additionally, our Mach 2 now wears a Wilson 8-groove barrel that shoots as well,sometimes better) than our PacNor and Shilen.

Based on our experience, I wouldn't hesistate to give Wilson a call.

 

[Hector]

I put a Lilja on my 17 HMR and 22LR. I think they are great if a little spendy, both very accurate. easy to install, no channel work. 17=.5 at 100 with Hornady, 22=.5 at 50 with CCI Blazer, and Mini Mag.

 

[dogwater]

Hector, I am assuming your Lilja barrels are standard taper since no channel work was required.
Does anyone have any experience with the weighted-end Volquartzen
barrels which can be dropped in without any channel work? Is it indeed true that a standard taper barrel will not be as accurate as a .920 or weighted-end barrel because the bore expands slightly as it progresses to muzzle,as the Vol. website claims)or does this occur only as it heats up with a string of shots?

 

[dogwater]

It would appear that the answer to the question concerning the necessity of muzzle weighting the barrel to avoid increasing bore diameter as the outside diameter of the barrel tapers down is in the discussion of "barrel making" on the Lilja website as well as on p.8 of "The Ultimate Ruger 10/22 Manual & Users Guide" by Mark White and probably in countless discussions of barrel making elsewhere. If the barrel blank has been properly stress relieved before rifling and after turning the outside of the barrel to final taper, the bore will not change diameter from chamber to muzzle if indeed the bore is centered. That being the case, I'll put a standard taper Lilja barrel on my 77/22.

 

[sota]

DOGWATER,
If you are having problems with your 77/22. Might i suggest checking out randy at CPC. He works on 10/22's and 77/22's. He can be found over at rimfire central .com.

SOTA

 

[PFAK]

If you buy a Lilja I hope it shoots because ' they never make
mistakes' and there won't be any warranty. Regardless of what
there brochure says!

 

[TRECustom]

I've seen 2 Anschutz .22 mags that were re-barreled in .17 HMR with Lilja barrels. Lilja would be my choice, particularly for a rimfire barrel. Both rifles shot 1/2moa at 100 yds with the Hornady 17gr Vmax ammo. They could do it over and over. Both were bedded and floated. I don't know what the twist was.

Good luck, Tom