Beginner - Rimfire Benchrest

[Kenny]

Steven,

HAH...they are all just trying to out dazzle each other......seppo land is where the snake oil salesman started out ya know

Sean,

Heyyy did ya see the planet alignment a few months back ? with the moon it made a dirty great smiley face

Gawd was it me that started this sillyness.......

KY

[chris.tyne]

Yep Sean you are on your own with this one
"Barrel Tuners are purely cosmetic and pretty much a device used to intimidate and dazzle fellow competitors, they are just another gadget that you don't need and are generally sold by snake oil sharman".
I do believe that for the person starting out they are best left till later on,just Ad's confusion to the inexperienced.
A wind indicator/indicators of some description is one of the biggest aces that you will play,look at the flags,fire a shot and see where it impacted now look at the flags again and see where it impacted and most importantly WHY it went where it did otherwise you are just wasting ammo and guessing (like I do most of the time).
I went halves with a bloke in a set of BRT flags as well as purchasing an extra flag assy so that we had 3x complete flags each........................had to swallow hard to justify the cost but it was under $400 each and compared to what I spend on my limited budget in a year it was one of the best $400 that I have spent.

Sean you said "don't use brass brushes because over-time you may score the bore".
Sean trust me when I say they don't make centerfire barrel out of a different material to the rimfires,not saying that they necessarily need a bronze brush but a wise man once told me that sometimes to remove the lead buildup in the leade that a bronze brush rotated a couple of times wont hurt.....................and a lot of centerfire barrels have been cleaned with bronze brushes over the time...........didn't hurt them as much as incorrect cleaning technique .
As I have said if you can get someone who is knowledable and will help you it will take heaps of the learning curve.............................most of all have FUN....
And just so there is no confusion I have not won anything of importance................cept a sculling comp at the pub once .......but thats another story.

Regards Chris.

[Curtley78]

I will admit that the barrel tuners certainly have a cult like following.

I guess for every ten that don't believe that barrel tuners work there would be another ten that attest they do.

We have a few blokes in our club that have trialled the bobby dazzlers and three of them concluded that they don't work. I recall one in particular member of our club that owns an Anschutz 2013 that shot ten five shot groups with the said tuner and then shot another ten five shot groups without it and there was no substantial improvement in his group size.

I am also dead certain that in our club comp last year that a competitor from another club was using one of these, I also know that his particular rifle did not perform to the operators expectations and that for an A grade shooter he scored very poorly, having been beaten by a female B grader with a 45 year old rifle

I am always skeptical of what comes out of the States, especially when it comes to the latest 'craze' given that a large percentage harbor some kind of mental disorder and seek guidance from psychologists, whilst the other half are extremely paranoid and on some form of medication.

I dropped one shot last tuesday night and at first wondered what had gone wrong, later on in the evening I recalled that a certain member had distracted me whilst shooting and this occurred whilst re-adjusting the rear bag for the first shot on the last sight picture.

I also find it ironic that individuals can spend big dollars on custom rifles and the latest gadgets such as barrel tuners and still be brassed off by old Walthers and Annies.

[chris.tyne]

Sean of the ten that don't believe in the tuner how many have actually had one,more like a friend of a friend had one for a week and the thing didn't shoot........and I have seen it happen numerous times,that's why for the bloke/woman starting out they are better left till you have a better understand of the why's and why fors.............each to their own .
As for being beaten by a woman or a old rifle................................get used to it cause it happens.


Regards Chris

[Ackley Improved]

I also find it ironic that individuals can spend big dollars on custom rifles and the latest gadgets such as barrel tuners and still be brassed off by old Walthers and Annies.

Yes it does happen.. but you put a good shooter with old rifle, and poor shooter with a $$$ rifle, and see who wins! The good shooter will always win!

You give the same shooter the old rifle and a $$$ rifle, and due to components etc, the high $$$$ rifle will most likely be more consistant, hence producing better results.

If the high dollar rifles did not perform better on average, why do you think so many are out there? There is certainly a few Annies out there shooting very very well, but at the top level these Annies might just be sporting a Lilja or something else!

Also, as far as I have heard/read, tuners do work on rimfires.

Cheers
AI

[Curtley78]

As for being beaten by a woman or a old rifle................................get used to it cause it happens.

Chris,

That old rifle happened to be mine and I'm certainly over the moon that Leanne has toweled down a few competitors with it, she has been using it this year and should pick up third place in our clubs annual comp unfortunately I have been unable to knock off the leader so I will pick up second fiddle.

The bloke who will get first place is using a stock standard 54 Anschutz.

Regards

Sean

[Ackley Improved]

Sean

At these matches you are talking about.... how many top rimfire shooters are shooting there? what are their names?

Curious thats all!

I will let you all know about rimfire BR very very soon.... could be lots of F words!

Cheers
AI

[Aussie_bob]

Take no notice of all the bitching and carry on just get a good rest and rear bag your club should have some wind flags to use to start with.
The thing is to enjoy it.
Try some Lapua CenterX in that Sako i have found it shoots quite well in them also Eley Match.
Another thing Both SAKO & ANSCHUTZ do not recomend scrubing of barrels they say to not clean for first 5,000 rnds then clean each 10,000 rnds unless you see some dirt or crap in the barrel but good ammunition is lubed and just pushing a couple of patches through will wipe any crap out. then you will have to fire 5 to 10 rnds before the rifle will settle again.
The biggest thing with rimfire is reading the wind it has the most affect on your shooting, Barrel tuners and weights etc each to their own i don`t use them and yes i do have Gold, Silver & broze medals from rimfire Benchrest matches at both State and National Levels i started in 1999/2000 so only newcomer so i am told, have just got into centerfire in the last few years.
But wind reading has been the biggest thing knowing when to shoot and yes i still stuff up lack of concentration trying to beat a change you are better off waiting.
Just come back to add if you can get a Caldwell Firecontrol front rest they are a good cheaper way i have one and is working fine also have a heavier Wilcox rest for centerfire.

[Curtley78]

At these matches you are talking about.... how many top rim fire shooters are shooting there? what are their names? AI

G'day Trev,

I have only gotten back into rim fire the last 18 months, when I was alot younger I used to shoot prone but I am seriously thinking of seeing whether I could manage to lay on my guts again next season.

I do happen to see many fine custom rim fires being an RO at Silverdale, now I may offend some people here but the SSAA are not the be all and end all of the shooting fraternity.

Generally when they shoot the guts out of the Anschutz barrel they have to settle for a Lilja or whatever as Anschutz will not sell a barrel without an action.

I was also informed by a member of our club that had competed at the International level that many of the Olympic shooters are trying to source the older barrels, this blokes daughter couldn't find an old Anschutz barrel and settled on a Swedish made barrel. His daughter also competes at the highest level. I just can't recall the name of the barrel.

Leanne and I both shoot with the Sutherland Shire Small Bore Association, I shoot every Tuesday night and Leanne shoots on Sunday. We have about 80 competitors within our club and from that 40 would be prone shooters, then there would be another 30 that compete in BR with the remaining 10 not to fussed about it given their age and that only attend to complete their licensing requirements.

We also compete against other clubs, such as Woolahra, North Rocks, West Wyalong, Moss Vale etc another such competition is called 'Winter League' and is due to start very shortly, it is a postal competition, however the targets are shot at your Small Bore Club and then posted into the association for scoring, now, in this comp you are competing against every club in NSW but of course only those members who wish to participate.

I am not going to mention any names, I will give them that courtesy but at our last Comp three Benchrest shooters who happen to be on the Australian team attended and were hosed down by Leanne with that old Anschutz, fortunately for them Leanne was then only a B grade shooter had she of been an A grader she would have won the comp.

At least a dozen from our club have traveled down to the Nationals that are currently running in South Australia and I must say that there are no custom rifles among them or re barreled rifles except for Susie with her Swedish barreled rifle.

You should consider joining your local Small bore club given that clubs are struggling to rejuvenate their membership, you will also learn to shoot without wind flags given that the Small Bore Association only allow two and these flags are provided by the range and set at a designated distance, you will also be able to improve your technique and hone your skill.

I would be interested to see how your new rifle goes against the older classics.


Regards

Sean

[Ackley Improved]

I think I will give them a pasting..... at my local club....

I might be new to rimfire, but I aint new to BR....... the downside will be AMMO! If I am shooting against ill designed gear and inadequate rests.. I already have a advantage.....

Time will see.. I expect to be beaten, but on averages I think I might just do ok!

Cheers
AI

[Brett33]

Interesting thread
Simple answer
good rifle
good ammo
good rest
Flags and practice.

Barrel Tunner Well that is another topic. I have limited experience but the experience I have they are essential.
My Case, I am a country shooter, with very limited options for ammo, before I built my tunner I was in the lap of the gods to find ammo to shoot. When I found a good lot, buy big and hope for the best. Then the summer comp turns to winter and the ammo will not shoot.
Now I spend $14 to $18 a box (this should elimanate flyers) and tune. In my rifle I have not found a lot I could not shoot under 0.3" CTC my good stuff tunes to 0.2 CTC.
The flip side with that same good ammo, out of tune will not shoot 0.5". Practice in good conditions to learn.
Nationals RBA November 2008, Top 4 shooters, all barrel weight forward of the crown. Top 2 Custom rifles, Next 2, new factory rifles.
Sydney RBA, 5 of the top 6, barrel weight forward of the crown (the other I did not look at). 3 custom builds, 3 new factory.
I plan to shoot bench rest Small bore soon as well to see how I compare in that Field.
Brett

[Bagman]

Thanks all for the various opinions, advice and suggestions.
It's handy to get a few differing opinions on things before spending the money and finding out the hard way.
I'll leave the tuner out of the equation for the moment and concentrate on practice and trying to learnt to read the wind.

Bob, thanks for the tip on the ammo choice, I'll pick some up to try next time I'm at my LGS.
I have never been big on scrubbing a rimfire barrel, just a couple of oiled patches after each range session is all I usually do - good to see it's what the manufacturers recommend.

I'm off to the range on Sunday so hopefully I can improve on my scores last time.

[Bagman]

Hey Guys,

It seems your advice (and the practice) is beginning to pay off.
My scores have been slowly improving over the last couple of months and on the weekend everything seemed to come together.
Call it beginners luck if you like but I managed to shoot my first 200.

Now some of you guys probably shoot these all too regularly so it's nothing you get too excited about but I am extreemly pleased as I wasn't expecting a 200 for a long time yet.

Bagman

[macca]

Well done Bagman.I 'm glad you've given us an update.
May there be many more 200's in times to come.
good shooting,
Macca