Tuners - clamp v threaded

[kelbro]

I see that tuners have gained a lot of popularity and I am curious about their effectiveness.

Why would you choose one over the other between clamped and threaded?

I'm sure that you would start load development with the tuner attached but do you start at 'zero' and work out or in the middle and work in and out?

How much improvement should one expect with either style?

Thanks

 

[Fast14riot]

I would only use a clamp on if the barrel wasn't big enough for threading. Develop your load as best as possible with the tuner set at zero. Dialing in vs out depends on conditions and your tune. You need to shoot a tuner test to see what it does as you turn it.

 

[Bill Norris]

Most recommend moving the tuner away from against the muzzle to allow ample distance. Cortina instructs to begin with the tuner flush with the barrel or adapter and move inward to find tune. Ezell instructs to turn one complete rotation away from the muzzle and then move outward to find tune. Develop the load to max accuracy with tuner installed but at a known zero point. Once the load is tuned then begin turning the tuner to find that sweet spot.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I see that tuners have gained a lot of popularity and I am curious about their effectiveness.

Why would you choose one over the other between clamped and threaded?

I'm sure that you would start load development with the tuner attached but do you start at 'zero' and work out or in the middle and work in and out?

How much improvement should one expect with either style?

Thanks

It's pretty amazing how much inertia occurs when we fire even a small caliber cf rifle. So the obvious reason is to prevent it from slipping, even in the least bit. Even .001 of movement affects tune. That quick snap of the gun recoiling is wayyyy stronger than you'd think, at first glance. There are other reasons as well as work arounds in regard to any slippage. I'm happy to discuss tuners with you by phone. Shoot me a pm and we can talk about it in detail tomorrow, if ya want.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Most recommend moving the tuner away from against the muzzle to allow ample distance. Cortina instructs to begin with the tuner to flush with the barrel or adapter and move inward to find tune. Ezell instructs to turn one complete rotation away from the muzzle and then move outward to find tune.

Actually...a half to a full turn out are my instructions. This seems to get confused a lot but it's not a huge deal. Bottom line, a half turn out from bottomed is more than enough but there's no way for me to time the numbers on the tuner to every bbl threaded but every smith. So most people come out a half turn plus whatever it takes to bring "zero" back to the top. There's still room in a half turn to have about two sweet spots, believe it or not. Just in that half revolution. And bunches more in front of it! We're just moving from anti-node to anti-node when we are in tune at one of those sweet spots.. and frequency just repeats over and over. I prefer near the back for more thread engagement and support. Really, tune can and does repeat up and down the full travel of threads but I could tune a rifle in under a revolution every time. More like, under a half and often under/about 1/4 of a turn once ya know what you're looking for. Short range guns, due to bbl stiffnes, are usually about 8 marks(.008) between sweet spots and my standard model tuner has 32 marks around it....So, 1/4 turn in this scenario. It's actually very predictable. LR guns are usually about 10 marks between, fwiw. So, not a lot of difference even with seemingly drastic differences in bbl contours. It's not so much the actual contour as it is the relative stiffness and we gain or lose stiffness much faster with length than we do diameter. Again...fwiw.

 

[jackieschmidt]

A clamp on tuner on a center fire barrel will probably slip.
Considering how small of an increment in movement in either direction can change the tune, it’s best to have the tuner threaded with some upended of positive securing.

 

[kelbro]

Threaded just makes sense. I noticed some clamp-on tuners out there and it had me scratching my head for a minute.

 

[VA_XTC_Shooter]

On 300m rifles in 6BR we use clamp on.

 

[Lifesfordeath]

Never had a clamp on slip on my creedmoors, 22's or 308 and all have worked very well for me.

Didn't want to thread a couple of my rifles but I bought a Borden 308 that was threaded and the tuner worked good as well for it (FCP's tuner)

I'd say go either way, they both work but the clamp on, harrells style, doesn't require threading and was more appealing to me and saved me some $$$ vs having to get a barreled chucked up and shaved...

 

[xr650rRider]

At least for rimfire, If you read "The Art of Rimfire Accuracy" by Bill Calfee, he believed threading the muzzle destroyed accuracy. You had a taper lapped barrel and cut and crowned at the tightest spot, then thread and bore opened up negating the effort. So most rimfire used clamp-on tuner. Now it's all about running a suppressor so threading is in vogue.

Post was for @jackieschmidt
https://benchrest.com/forum/threads/threaded-muzzle-calfee.50631/post-398100

 

[Rob01]

I see that tuners have gained a lot of popularity and I am curious about their effectiveness.

Why would you choose one over the other between clamped and threaded?

I'm sure that you would start load development with the tuner attached but do you start at 'zero' and work out or in the middle and work in and out?

How much improvement should one expect with either style?

Thanks

All mine are threaded. I use the ATS tuner on the centerfire so I can put a suppressor or brake on over it. Have also used them on my rimfire and they work good as well.

Not going to get in the whole “threading a rimfire” debate but it’s never hurt any of my Vudoo barrels that have been threaded. All are very accurate. The last pic below was one with the ATS tuner and a thread protector.

The first two pics are tuning some factory Hornady 140 ELD ammo in my 6.5 Creedmoor. Two lots. The first lot tuned in one adjustment. The second took a few more. I started on target #2 and then ended on #1. You can see the shots coming together. The second pic is a groups with the first lot. It’s 5 shots using a 6th bullet hole as the aiming point. Tuned well.

Tuners will always be a big debate so best to just try it yourself and see if they do what you want or not.