what reamer

[cmillard]

thinking about doing a little BR rimfire/plinker. with many different reamers out there which one is recommended for this type of rifle? especially when shooting the wolf match extra

thanks

 

[Steve Wilson]

Somebody will be along soon with the answer. Is this for a semi or bolt gun? My gunsmith buddy Butch Hongisto builds some screamer bench rimfires and I had him work over my 10/22 a couple of years ago. He threaded the receiver, installed a new Anschutz take off barrel on it and did a new match chamber on it. It shoots 5 shot, one hole groups at 25 with Wolf Match Target, but the extractor won't pull a loaded round out of that tight chamber. No giant deal for me, you just have to drop the clip and fire the round to clear the action. Or pull the bolt back and flip it out with a pocket knife. It's my squirrel/plinking rifle.

You are probably talking about doing a bolt rifle and none of this will apply but I just wanted to mention it in case you were doing a semi auto.

 

[cmillard]

bolt

 

[gunzup]

Last year I had Pendergraft Gun Works install a new 2 groove Benchmark barrel on my 40X sporter and we used the Myers reamer to chamber the barrel. The gun shoots way better than I do.

 

[dksac2]

I like the PTG EPS reamer, it's about the tightest chamber that will take many kinds of ammo, but not all.
Just want an improvement over a stock chamber get the PTG Match, groups will be as much as .2" smaller with the EPS over the Match. The Bentz chamber is made for Semi Autos, but will chamber any kind of ammo.

What you really want is what I got from Savagegunsmithing, the smith cuts the chamber and the throat seperatly so you get the best combination for the ammo you use the most. There is no one perfect reamer that cuts the entire chamber all at once.
Cutting the chamber to fit the ammo you use the most, the rifling just hitting the first band has produced the best shooting chambers I have seen in my rifle. It's kind of a balancing act.

For ease of use, the Match or Bentz will chamber every kind of 22 LR ammo made without any problems. The accuracy will be better than the standard chamber that comes on most rifles, but not as good as a custom cut chamber for the ammo that your rifle shoots the best.
Second best choice is the EPS reamer made by PTG, it will take most of the better types of ammo, but not some of the cheap plinking ammo. There are trade off's, but it will produce tighter groups than the others mentioned, often by as much as .2".

You need to decide based on the kind of ammo you like to shoot and the price range. The ammo with a lubed bullet is the best in the ESP chamber.

What ever kind of reamer you have your smith uses, be sure he uses the PTG reamers with the pilots that are fitted to the bore and turn, not the solid pilot reamers. The reamers with the interchangable rotating pilots cost $60.00 more, but it 's worth the money in terms of getting the chamber as concentric with the bore as possible and not damaging the rifling. There are a bunch of different pilots that need to be bought also to find the one that fits your bore the best, that will cost an extra $100.00, but once they are bought, they can be used with any PTG reamer with the interchangable plots in the 22 RF, so it's a one time cost for any 22 LR reamer of the type described. The EPS works great with the Wolf RF.

John K

 

[Shynloco]

Somebody will be along soon with the answer. Is this for a semi or bolt gun? My gunsmith buddy Butch Hongisto builds some screamer bench rimfires and I had him work over my 10/22 a couple of years ago. He threaded the receiver, installed a new Anschutz take off barrel on it and did a new match chamber on it. It shoots 5 shot, one hole groups at 25 with Wolf Match Target, but the extractor won't pull a loaded round out of that tight chamber. No giant deal for me, you just have to drop the clip and fire the round to clear the action. Or pull the bolt back and flip it out with a pocket knife. It's my squirrel/plinking rifle.

You are probably talking about doing a bolt rifle and none of this will apply but I just wanted to mention it in case you were doing a semi auto.

Hey Steve,
Not all of us are fortunate enough to have Butch around. Obviously his reputation is well known even by some of us who don't compete. On the one hand, I should be so lucky! On the other, if Butch were nearby, I'd need to take out a second mortage for another safe filled with custom built Rimfire Rifles just to satisfy my craving. It would be VERY difficult for me to stay away from his place.

 

[cmillard]

what reamer would work good with the wolf match xtra?

 

[Steve Wilson]

Shynloco,

Well, as luck would have it, I'm going to Butch's today. We're going to chamber and install my new 6 Dasher barrel and ream the necks on my two 6.5x284's. Those 2 are tight necks now and I want to go to standard so I can quit turning brass. My friend Milton is taking a rifle or two to be pillar bedded and his Benelli Super Black Eagle along for a repair to the ejector.

Ought to be a real nice long day of gunsmithing voodoo.

 

[Shynloco]

Steve,
You know how to REALLY hurt a guy! I'm truly envious. I have a friend, Steve Boelter out in Las Vegas, who speaks highly of Butch, not to mentioning him in his (Steve's) book, Rifleman's Guide to Rimfire Ammunition. What absolutely drives me up a wall sometimes, is that we have some really talented Gunsmiths out here in So Cal who build truly fine centerfire rifles. But these same guys seem to know ZIP about Rimfire Rifles and certainly nobody up to Butch's caliber of talent, knowledge and hands on ability to make it happen. It was actually the Benchrest guys who got me into this incurable desease called "Rimfire Accuracy" that sends me high and wide looking to make that target look even better. Only my wife and my wallet keep the shackles on me now days.

Have fun at Butch's, but not too much fun. And for Pete's sake don't tell me how great it was. I hate to cry!

Alex