High Noon
Silver $$ Contributor
A few months ago Timo posted a thread on Rimfire Accuracy site entitled “22 LR is ammo from hell” . It certainly was a thought provoking title and thread to say the least as Timo is a very experienced shooter and a well respected technical guy. He also seems to have a good relationship with Lapua which manufactures some of the finest if not the finest 22 ammo on the planet at this time. To be honest since this post was made I just haven’t been able to stop thinking about it and I hope after reading this you won’t be able to let it go either!
Is as Timo said “22 LR is ammo from hell” or are we all just expecting way too much? That’s the question I’ve been pondering for the past few months. I decided to study the complete history of the 22 Long Rifle cartridge. It’s a long and fascinating one to say the least. One thing I know for sure it was never originally designed as a match cartridge! It simply evolved through the years as servicemen arrived home from the wars and started competing with their rifles. Schools and universities put together shooting teams and informal shoots were popping up all around the country. The ammo and rifle makers started refining their products to find the edge in accuracy. In front of me are two beautiful classic match rifles a 1952 Remington Model 37 Rangemaster ( what a great name!) and a 1962 Winchester Model 52D. Walnut and rust blued steel to compete at the highest levels. And there were others …the rimfire accuracy game was on! Fast forward to rimfire benchrest with precision actions and barrels using improved match ammo but still the original case of over a hundred years ago. It begs the question are we all expecting just too much from a cartridge that was never really designed as a match cartridge from the beginning?
My background. I’m a relatively new rimfire benchrest shooter but have been involved with the small calibers most of my life. I know how it feels to have just one shot go unexpectedly out when you got a great target going in a match. I’ve now shot enough and have experienced those rare highs when they handed me a first place ribbon and high X count sticker to losing a shot or two for unexplained reasons. Trust me, I’ve competed in centerfire benchrest and ran out of excuses long ago. I accept my bad shots and am not ashamed to confess my poor shooting but I do struggle when I’ve done my part with the conditions and gun handling and yet a bullet sails way out, that my friend is tough to take. But I do…we all do.
Like I said I’m relatively new to the match rimfire but not to the wonderful small calibers. I’ve actually devoted most of my life to them. What started out as an unknown writer to buy barrels and bullets turned into a life long passion for the small calibers. So much so I even started my own magazine Small Caliber News so I could get our small caliber projects out on our terms. The freedom and speed of these forums to share our information are really unbelievable compared to the old days. It’s not an easy thing to start a magazine but my gamble paid off and helped us launch a lot of new small caliber products such as the twenty calibers and even the 17 HMR.
Through the magazine I met a lot of very interesting and knowledgeable people from around the world but none more interesting than my friend Frank Tirrell. From the very first call to our most recent Frank would say “listen to me son” which meant shut up I’ve got something technical to discuss with you! Frank doesn’t mix words and once he dedicates himself to a certain project he won’t quit until it’s solved. As an engineer, unlimited centerfire benchrest shooter and after working with Ed Shilen for years Frank is Mr. Precision. When he retired from Shilen Rifles he built his own test tunnel and range to just test rimfires to the highest standards. I still can’t figure out why he ever called me as my experience with a rimfire was testing a Kimber and telling a story about my squirrel rifles. We put a few high grade rimfires on the cover over the years but as you know a full blown match rimfire is a totally different game. One day Frank called me while I was deep into testing a new twenty caliber cartridge. He went on and on about some lead ring problem he was having in his unlimited rimfire test rifle. That’s right he built an unlimited test rifle just to figure all this rimfire madness out. I think during our conversation he could tell I was losing focus and for the first time said “ listen to me son” with a few choice words thrown in! This lead ring thing was now driving both of us nuts and I was running out of shooting time so to get him off the phone I said I’ll send you some of our super duper Woodchuck Den lube. He cussed a little more but eventually hung up. Then about a week later the phone rang and it was Frank and he said son you have done something that has never been done in over a hundred years…I said Frank what are you talking about…. he said I’ve been using your product you sent and there is absolutely no lead ring! He was bore scoping every single round! That was just my first match rimfire project with Frank. We had solved the lead ring issue but it didn’t take Frank too long to realize there was just so much we could do with the match ammo that was available. Frank soon figured out many of the issues with the match ammo and what it would take to solve them. There were some that I couldn’t publish like the “Match Rimfire Myth”. To prove all this was another big challenge and he called one afternoon again while I was again at the range testing and said “listen to me son” we have to make our own match ammo. I said how we going to do that…he said I’m not sure but I think I’ve got the correct case length figured out but need precision bullets. He went on “son your a precision bullet maker and I need your help”. I said Frank I make precision match centerfire bullets not lead bullets. He said I’ll send you a print you can order the dies and hung up. Frank had really helped me a lot I think at that time he had wrote nine articles on match rimfires for our Small Caliber News magazine and he was on our technical team. I owed him. The bullet print arrived and I reached out to one of our tool and die makers for help. He agreed to make the dies and I paid for them. Frank had shorter rimfire cases ordered from one of the leading match rimfire companies but unfortunately in the end they backed out. We were still able to move forward and see some outstanding improvements over the match ammo of the day which Frank told me recently was better than any match ammo made today! Over the years Frank figured this match rimfire madness out and knows the formula to true match rimfire ammo.
So how do we make Franks and every match rimfire shooters dream of true match ammo come true? Well I’ve been down this road many times before. When I started my own magazine to really help me launch the twenty calibers naysayers told me it would never fly, when I worked behind the scenes to help Hornady in successfully launch the 17 HMR which by the way broke every conceivable ammo and firearm production records when people including some I can’t mention even today said we were crazy. I could go on and on but I was able to bring people and companies together to successfully produce new small caliber products. Frank knows the path to rimfire precision and I know there are enough influential people out there who could make this happen. I can already hear the doubters but remember we can all use our existing shooting platforms just have new barrels or old ones set back. And before some chase me out of town let me say I’m not trying to replace our beloved old 22 rimfire just add a true match rimfire totally designed from the ground up. Project S-MATCH
Todd A.Kindler
Founder & Editor of Small Caliber News
Is as Timo said “22 LR is ammo from hell” or are we all just expecting way too much? That’s the question I’ve been pondering for the past few months. I decided to study the complete history of the 22 Long Rifle cartridge. It’s a long and fascinating one to say the least. One thing I know for sure it was never originally designed as a match cartridge! It simply evolved through the years as servicemen arrived home from the wars and started competing with their rifles. Schools and universities put together shooting teams and informal shoots were popping up all around the country. The ammo and rifle makers started refining their products to find the edge in accuracy. In front of me are two beautiful classic match rifles a 1952 Remington Model 37 Rangemaster ( what a great name!) and a 1962 Winchester Model 52D. Walnut and rust blued steel to compete at the highest levels. And there were others …the rimfire accuracy game was on! Fast forward to rimfire benchrest with precision actions and barrels using improved match ammo but still the original case of over a hundred years ago. It begs the question are we all expecting just too much from a cartridge that was never really designed as a match cartridge from the beginning?
My background. I’m a relatively new rimfire benchrest shooter but have been involved with the small calibers most of my life. I know how it feels to have just one shot go unexpectedly out when you got a great target going in a match. I’ve now shot enough and have experienced those rare highs when they handed me a first place ribbon and high X count sticker to losing a shot or two for unexplained reasons. Trust me, I’ve competed in centerfire benchrest and ran out of excuses long ago. I accept my bad shots and am not ashamed to confess my poor shooting but I do struggle when I’ve done my part with the conditions and gun handling and yet a bullet sails way out, that my friend is tough to take. But I do…we all do.
Like I said I’m relatively new to the match rimfire but not to the wonderful small calibers. I’ve actually devoted most of my life to them. What started out as an unknown writer to buy barrels and bullets turned into a life long passion for the small calibers. So much so I even started my own magazine Small Caliber News so I could get our small caliber projects out on our terms. The freedom and speed of these forums to share our information are really unbelievable compared to the old days. It’s not an easy thing to start a magazine but my gamble paid off and helped us launch a lot of new small caliber products such as the twenty calibers and even the 17 HMR.
Through the magazine I met a lot of very interesting and knowledgeable people from around the world but none more interesting than my friend Frank Tirrell. From the very first call to our most recent Frank would say “listen to me son” which meant shut up I’ve got something technical to discuss with you! Frank doesn’t mix words and once he dedicates himself to a certain project he won’t quit until it’s solved. As an engineer, unlimited centerfire benchrest shooter and after working with Ed Shilen for years Frank is Mr. Precision. When he retired from Shilen Rifles he built his own test tunnel and range to just test rimfires to the highest standards. I still can’t figure out why he ever called me as my experience with a rimfire was testing a Kimber and telling a story about my squirrel rifles. We put a few high grade rimfires on the cover over the years but as you know a full blown match rimfire is a totally different game. One day Frank called me while I was deep into testing a new twenty caliber cartridge. He went on and on about some lead ring problem he was having in his unlimited rimfire test rifle. That’s right he built an unlimited test rifle just to figure all this rimfire madness out. I think during our conversation he could tell I was losing focus and for the first time said “ listen to me son” with a few choice words thrown in! This lead ring thing was now driving both of us nuts and I was running out of shooting time so to get him off the phone I said I’ll send you some of our super duper Woodchuck Den lube. He cussed a little more but eventually hung up. Then about a week later the phone rang and it was Frank and he said son you have done something that has never been done in over a hundred years…I said Frank what are you talking about…. he said I’ve been using your product you sent and there is absolutely no lead ring! He was bore scoping every single round! That was just my first match rimfire project with Frank. We had solved the lead ring issue but it didn’t take Frank too long to realize there was just so much we could do with the match ammo that was available. Frank soon figured out many of the issues with the match ammo and what it would take to solve them. There were some that I couldn’t publish like the “Match Rimfire Myth”. To prove all this was another big challenge and he called one afternoon again while I was again at the range testing and said “listen to me son” we have to make our own match ammo. I said how we going to do that…he said I’m not sure but I think I’ve got the correct case length figured out but need precision bullets. He went on “son your a precision bullet maker and I need your help”. I said Frank I make precision match centerfire bullets not lead bullets. He said I’ll send you a print you can order the dies and hung up. Frank had really helped me a lot I think at that time he had wrote nine articles on match rimfires for our Small Caliber News magazine and he was on our technical team. I owed him. The bullet print arrived and I reached out to one of our tool and die makers for help. He agreed to make the dies and I paid for them. Frank had shorter rimfire cases ordered from one of the leading match rimfire companies but unfortunately in the end they backed out. We were still able to move forward and see some outstanding improvements over the match ammo of the day which Frank told me recently was better than any match ammo made today! Over the years Frank figured this match rimfire madness out and knows the formula to true match rimfire ammo.
So how do we make Franks and every match rimfire shooters dream of true match ammo come true? Well I’ve been down this road many times before. When I started my own magazine to really help me launch the twenty calibers naysayers told me it would never fly, when I worked behind the scenes to help Hornady in successfully launch the 17 HMR which by the way broke every conceivable ammo and firearm production records when people including some I can’t mention even today said we were crazy. I could go on and on but I was able to bring people and companies together to successfully produce new small caliber products. Frank knows the path to rimfire precision and I know there are enough influential people out there who could make this happen. I can already hear the doubters but remember we can all use our existing shooting platforms just have new barrels or old ones set back. And before some chase me out of town let me say I’m not trying to replace our beloved old 22 rimfire just add a true match rimfire totally designed from the ground up. Project S-MATCH
Todd A.Kindler
Founder & Editor of Small Caliber News
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