Shilen Ratchet for smallbore competition?

[BowChamp]

Wow. If you think anyone can win in SB prone competition with "less than RFBR accuracy", you may want to venture outside your discipline.

Shilen barrels are great, but to the OP Benchmark barrels are also equally good. Unfortunately, its the luck of the draw though. These manufacturers tend to put the odds in your favor though!

kev

First off let me say, I'm new to this 22 LR game and know nothing and I'm learning every day.

Shilen and Benchmark were the two barrels I was looking at when I got my rifle. At the time I couldn't get the Benchmark at the length I wanted so went with the Shilen. I've heard good thing about Benchmark.

 

[BowChamp]

Question to those who have bought and used Shilen barrels. I bought this barrel and was shocked to see this. I been a Benchmark user since day one and I strayed and bought my first Shilen I hope I don't regret it.
FYI, I was told this is fine since an inch is normally cut off. I just don't know

Lee

Mr. Lee
Cold you tell me what I'm looking at in the first pic. Does this barrel have a liner? Looks like stainless on the outside and a different metal on the inside.

 

[tmwinds]

Question to those who have bought and used Shilen barrels. I bought this barrel and was shocked to see this. I been a Benchmark user since day one and I strayed and bought my first Shilen I hope I don't regret it.
FYI, I was told this is fine since an inch is normally cut off. I just don't know

Lee

Yes, Shilen tells you to cut about 1” from the breech and muzzle.

 

[mgdietrich]

Question to those who have bought and used Shilen barrels. I bought this barrel and was shocked to see this. I been a Benchmark user since day one and I strayed and bought my first Shilen I hope I don't regret it.
FYI, I was told this is fine since an inch is normally cut off. I just don't know

Lee

Wouldn’t bother me at all, they have to lap the barrel. Those ends are going to be cut off.

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

Mr. Lee
Cold you tell me what I'm looking at in the first pic. Does this barrel have a liner? Looks like stainless on the outside and a different metal on the inside.

The first picture is what is the crown end. and your observation is what I thought too! I just never seen a barrel that looked like that rather unfinished.

Lee

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

Wouldn’t bother me at all, they have to lap the barrel. Those ends are going to be cut off.

So, you seen it this way before and I am talking about what is the crown end. the chamber end looks normal and like other Benchmark blanks I have bought.

Lee

 

[flatlander]

I've used several Shilen ratchets on V22S & CZ 455 & 457 actions, both for myself and customers, but I don't think I've ever seen the muzzle end of any of them quite that rough-looking. But since I'm always going to part-off at least an inch at the muzzle (and breech), I guess it really doesn't matter much what it looks like.

I'm also a Krieger fan (CF & RF), though I've yet to try one on either of the V22S single shot actions. Out of curiosity, once I've shot the Shilen & Benchmark barrels I mentioned enough to know what they're capable of, I'd consider doing a Krieger for one of them just to find out how a good cut-rifled blank performs relative to premium button ones. Only downside to experimenting with a bunch of barrels 'just because' is having to take or send them to Mesa in order to get a supply of Lapua ammo.

 

[linekin]

Question to those who have bought and used Shilen barrels. I bought this barrel and was shocked to see this. I been a Benchmark user since day one and I strayed and bought my first Shilen I hope I don't regret it.
FYI, I was told this is fine since an inch is normally cut off. I just don't know

Lee

Lee, below are a few cutoffs I’ve had over the past several years. All Shilen & Benchmarks. The Shilen’s are sometimes rough, compared to Benchmarks no doubt. I wouldn’t worry about it personally.
I’ve had a couple similar to what you have & both shot fine.
If I had to guess mine would be that its the end of the bar stock they use before cutting it into barrel length???
Keith

 

[Jud96]

Are Mullerworks barrels still popular amongst rimfire shooters? I seem to remember them being talked about a lot a few years back. Thanks

 

[dgeesaman]

My comments based on the amount of Eley I see being used. If they're using Eley it can't be that tough.

At the moment the average case of Lapua Center-X/Midas+ is better than the average case of Eley Match/Tenex. I hear this from other competitive shooters and my own testing reflects that.

My complaints about Eley are that I find very few lots that perform well and I also experienced many ftf in some lots. There is more lot to lot variance. But a few lots do perform well, and maybe I’m not getting access to the best lots at all.

That said, Eley is more available and since lot testing is a huge factor, I can easily see competitors who make it work with Eley.

Some competitors may have a few awesome Eley cases from a decade+ ago that continue to shoot well. A friend of mine owns a rifle that was shot in the 2012 Olympics and shot a 9.x mm group in the Birmingham test tunnel. So Lapua is not categorically the best.

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

Lee, below are a few cutoffs I’ve had over the past several years. All Shilen & Benchmarks. The Shilen’s are sometimes rough, compared to Benchmarks no doubt. I wouldn’t worry about it personally.
I’ve had a couple similar to what you have & both shot fine.
If I had to guess mine would be that its the end of the bar stock they use before cutting it into barrel length???
Keith

Thanks, Keith as I noted having used Benchmarks all this time I was taken aback as to the finish on this Shilen. I see a couple of your stubs that are not as rough but have that liner look too.

Lee

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

Are Mullerworks barrels still popular amongst rimfire shooters? I seem to remember them being talked about a lot a few years back. Thanks

between them and Shilen they are the go-to barrels in RFBR

Lee

 

[wkdickinson]

I have two Shilen rachets, one on a 1413 Anschutz that I shoot in ARA and the other on a RimX that I shoot in our club 100 yd. BR matches. Both shoot amazingly well with CX. I think the other major advantage of Shilen RF barrels, is you can usually get one rather quickly, compared 8-12 months from so many other barrel makers.

 

[kevin nevius]

between them and Shilen they are the go-to barrels in RFBR

Lee

Good afternoon Lee:

I hope you and yours are well! Regarding Muller Barrels, I only wish they were available. Where (or how) do you get yours?

Have a great summer,

kev

 

[TRSR8]

Good afternoon Lee:

I hope you and yours are well! Regarding Muller Barrels, I only wish they were available. Where (or how) do you get yours?

Have a great summer,

kev

Kev,
More available now than previously, ala Paul Tolvsted and his current moniker “ Lakeside Barrels” I believe.
Get ahold of Paul.

Tim

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

Good afternoon Lee:

I hope you and yours are well! Regarding Muller Barrels, I only wish they were available. Where (or how) do you get yours?

Have a great summer,

kev

Hi Kevin,
Sorry if I made seem I used Muller Barrels. I been a Benchmark user. but with a 12 month wait now they are rather hard to get. on Mullers I know several shooters who use them this is why I mentioned them.
the octagon will be my next barrel to try.

Lee

 

[skeetlee]

I chamber a lot of shilen ratchet barrels for my customers and they have a pretty darn good chance of being shooters. Gotta slug them before you chamber them!
Lee Gardner Precision

 

[USMCDOC]

First off, I'm not sure the Eley loyalists (prone or RFBR) would appreciate you using the percentage of Eley users at any match as a measure of lower accuracy expectations LOL. Everyone who knows me knows I bleed Lapua blue - but geeesh!

Secondly, last I looked at the RFBR match results, there were still plenty of Eley users. And I assume they are not all giving up on being competitive (as you seem to suggest)? I can't tell if you are trying to be funny, sarcastic.........or a little of both?

I am not denying that there has been a market shift in recent years, and I certainly can't speak to the competitiveness of Eley products (I simply haven't used them for over 15 years), but I am sure competitive lots still exist (and competition is a very good thing). IMHO the RFBR crowd has been late to the Lapua party.........its popularity is very well deserved, but it has been exceptional ammunition for far longer than the point in time when it became popular in the RFBR ranks.

All the best,

kev

RFBR shooters, the ones that like Eley, might be still dreaming of 2012

 

[TZaun]

Here’s some testing done at the Olympic Training Center just before the team left for the Junior World Championships in South Korea. My daughter’s Walther KK500 has been re-barreled by Mark Penrod to a Shilen Ratchet and she shoots Eley Tenex. She finished 13th overall in 3P and 10th overall in Prone. The X-ring is 5 mm and the 10-ring is 10.4 mm. No training wheels, iron sights, and shot from 50 meters away with just any old gopher gun so it can’t be that tough, right ?







Edited to add in iron sights.

 

[BowChamp]

I managed to get to the range for about an hour this weekend and try out some Eley Semi-Auto Benchrest Precision in my Shilen Ratchet barrel. I started with a cold clean rifle and shot exactly 50 rds on this PSL Target. Top left bull was first five shots of the day, shot four more 5 shot groups then shot for score.

Five group average is .262" and final score was 2100-10X.