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Really considering hard having Travis at TS Customs build a Rim-X .22 for me.

Just need to decide on JAE (what my Mausingfield has) vs Foundation, and what stock to get.
I went foundation! I’ve never fondled one but I’m looking forward to it. Travis actually recommend I call Greg at Primal Rights as he had a few options readily available.
 
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Lefty 17WSM, and probably the last lefty we will ever stock/sell is available.

vasjtPGh.jpg
Why probably the last left?
 
What's the consensus on proof prefits?

Very easy to source one, and quite affordable, but will I regret it? Carbon would be preferred (my young son would benefit from a lighter setup), but are the steel barrels generally more accurate?

Should I spend more to get a higher quality barrel? Or would a more expensive barrel not necessarily be more accurate?
 
What's the consensus on proof prefits?

Very easy to source one, and quite affordable, but will I regret it? Carbon would be preferred (my young son would benefit from a lighter setup), but are the steel barrels generally more accurate?

Should I spend more to get a higher quality barrel? Or would a more expensive barrel not necessarily be more accurate?

From my experience the Proof provide good accuracy but not as consistent or forgiving across a wide range of ammo like Bartlein, Krieger or Benchmark..
 
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Or bison tactical, I have no experience with them personally but heard good things

 
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I've used several Krieger barrel blanks on my Stiller, 40X, & Vudoo rifles, with excellent accuracy across the board, in two contours from #4 sporter up to Rem sendero. The sendero is a little lighter than the VGW Kukri, and the #4 sporter was used on a lighter weight V22 sporter in a Manners EH2 stock that still came in at 9lbs. I much prefer barrels no shorter than 22". My original V22 repeater, with a 22" Krieger sendero in a Manners PRS1T stock, with an Athlon Cronus 4.5-29x56 scope weighs just a hair over 12lbs. With my old, worn-out shoulders, that's as heavy as I want to deal with, so when I read about guys using a heavy bbl contour in a chassis and then having to add weights to get the balance they want - and winding up with a 22RF weighing around 20lbs, I just shake my head, because the idea of dealing with that much weight makes my shoulders ache just thinking about it...lol To each his own...
 
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@flatland1
Aren’t you the proud owner of the straight pull anschütz ? If so, you need no RimX or Vudoo 🤣😂
 
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Or bison tactical, I have no experience with them personally but heard good things


Bison Tactical prefits are chambered by Modacam Custom Rifles. It's probably the best prefit out there.
 
My local Scheels currently has a fair amount of SK Rifle Match in stock. I only have parts on order (and haven't even decided on a barrel yet, but it'll be from one of the names in this thread) for my build, but is this something I should buy a bunch of while I have the opportunity?
 
My local Scheels currently has a fair amount of SK Rifle Match in stock. I only have parts on order (and haven't even decided on a barrel yet, but it'll be from one of the names in this thread) for my build, but is this something I should buy a bunch of while I have the opportunity?
if it's a decent price then yes

even if you only use it for the first 1-2k through the gun to break in. if the gun loves it then great. if not nbd its good training/break in ammo
 
if it's a decent price then yes

even if you only use it for the first 1-2k through the gun to break in. if the gun loves it then great. if not nbd its good training/break in ammo

With the right lot...SK+ and RM have shot with the best of them....its just taken more lots to find a great one that performs at 100yd and beyond.... CX an R50 has been much more consistent and a lot less lots to test...

At 50yd...they all shoot really good in a good RimX barrel...
 
With the right lot...SK+ and RM have shot with the best of them....its just taken more lots to find a great one that performs at 100yd and beyond.... CX an R50 has been much more consistent and a lot less lots to test...

At 50yd...they all shoot really good in a good RimX barrel...
Yup. I've had SK ammo perform good at 50 and good at 100+ and CX perform trash at 50 and somehow perform match winning good at 100+

Thats the fun of rimfire

And right now...get what you can and make it work
 
Back in 2016, I could still order lot samples of SK from wholesalers, and I'd buy two boxes of as many lots as they had, as long as they had a few unbroken cases of those lots. I had to test at least a dozen lots of Rifle Match before I found one that I felt was worth buying in quantity, and had the good fortune to find two cases of that good lot at a supplier who was running a dealer special on it, with free freight & insurance! I knew it was a good deal back then, but with today's shortages, a deal like that would be like striking gold. It took testing about the same number of lots of Lapua Center-X before I found a really excellent lot, but due to poor luck & timing, there was no more of that lot available by the time I'd tested & found it. I don't pretend to know which factors have been most to blame for the current shortage of SK/Lapua ammo, but I sure do wish we were still able to buy & test lot samples with the ease that was common 6yrs ago. The ammo shortages have taken a lot of the fun out of owning several precision custom barreled rifles.
 
That's what I'll likely do with my two V22S rifles - if these frickin' high pressure domes ever stop building and keeping our temps up in the triple-digit range so I can get a few hundred rounds fired through the new Benchmark 3-groove I put on the older single shot, and the Shilen ratchet I used on the new single shot in the nice English walnut stock that I posted photos of here. Would like to go into next shooting season with good ammo for both rifles. Still have several bricks of the lot of Center-X that I bought after having them test my old original V22 repeater a couple of years ago. And that ammo is pretty good in the two single shots, but if nothing else, it'd be interesting to find out whether the Benchmark & Shilen like the same lot of ammo...
 
Back in 2016, I could still order lot samples of SK from wholesalers, and I'd buy two boxes of as many lots as they had, as long as they had a few unbroken cases of those lots. I had to test at least a dozen lots of Rifle Match before I found one that I felt was worth buying in quantity, and had the good fortune to find two cases of that good lot at a supplier who was running a dealer special on it, with free freight & insurance! I knew it was a good deal back then, but with today's shortages, a deal like that would be like striking gold. It took testing about the same number of lots of Lapua Center-X before I found a really excellent lot, but due to poor luck & timing, there was no more of that lot available by the time I'd tested & found it. I don't pretend to know which factors have been most to blame for the current shortage of SK/Lapua ammo, but I sure do wish we were still able to buy & test lot samples with the ease that was common 6yrs ago. The ammo shortages have taken a lot of the fun out of owning several precision custom barreled rifles.
I'm not able to test lots or send a rifle to Lapua and I have to always buy by the case. Of course if I had money to burn I could do all of these things but in reality they are quite impractical for my location.

I am currently comparing SK Rifle Match, Long Range Match and CX trying to determine if CX, bought by the case and untested, is worth risking the 60 percent premium. My question to you is not how many lots of SK or CX it took to get a winner but how frequently did each brand turn out to be a real stinker. There is nothing worse than realizing that I have a real loser case to work my way through ... that is two months of hell.

Not all bad in the north though, temps in the low 70's.
 
I'm not able to test lots or send a rifle to Lapua and I have to always buy by the case. Of course if I had money to burn I could do all of these things but in reality they are quite impractical for my location.

I am currently comparing SK Rifle Match, Long Range Match and CX trying to determine if CX, bought by the case and untested, is worth risking the 60 percent premium. My question to you is not how many lots of SK or CX it took to get a winner but how frequently did each brand turn out to be a real stinker. There is nothing worse than realizing that I have a real loser case to work my way through ... that is two months of hell.

Not all bad in the north though, temps in the low 70's.


The higher priced, higher quality ammo less lots to find a winner vs the cheaper stuff....I've had more consistent luck with SK+ vs RM finding stellar lots bur CX way more than SK flavors...

You aren't stuck with those cases.. post them up for sale.. what doesn't shoot good in your barrel may shoot lights out in someone elses....I've seen it time and time again...
 
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I'm not able to test lots or send a rifle to Lapua and I have to always buy by the case. Of course if I had money to burn I could do all of these things but in reality they are quite impractical for my location.

I am currently comparing SK Rifle Match, Long Range Match and CX trying to determine if CX, bought by the case and untested, is worth risking the 60 percent premium. My question to you is not how many lots of SK or CX it took to get a winner but how frequently did each brand turn out to be a real stinker. There is nothing worse than realizing that I have a real loser case to work my way through ... that is two months of hell.

Not all bad in the north though, temps in the low 70's.

how bad is 'bad' lot of the higher end ammo in this game with an otherwise good rifle?
 
how bad is 'bad' lot of the higher end ammo in this game with an otherwise good rifle?
Ten shot groups at 50 yards should hold 12mm outside to outside and no more than a couple surprises per box, one complete surprise and a couple others that don't result in a dropped point is acceptable. Any worse than that and it is an exercise in patience to get through the case.

Good question. These are only my expectations. Long range guys would likely have different metrics.
 
Ten shot groups at 50 yards should hold 12mm outside to outside and no more than a couple surprises per box, one complete surprise and a couple others that don't result in a dropped point is acceptable. Any worse than that and it is an exercise in patience to get through the case.

Good question. These are only my expectations. Long range guys would likely have different metrics.

My last lot of CX testing was pretty meh, and some lots did do better than others -

1659848470281.png
 
I got a new Bartlein RimX barrel coming from Mike @ Manzella Precision for full review and testing. Ill be putting it through its paces with a bunch of SK, CenterX, Match Extra, R50 and more at 50yd, 100yd and 300yd just like I did during my full RimX review.

For those of you that dont know, Mike did all the barrel work at AI for years then at TS Customs before running his own shop full time. Mike does all his barrel work on his Doosan CNC just like he did at AI/Win Tactical and TS Customs.. Frank has a video around here somewhere when he was at Win Tactical of Mike cutting AI barrels...

Looking forward to testing. Stay tuned..


 
I got a new Bartlein RimX barrel coming from Mike @ Manzella Precision for full review and testing. Ill be putting it through its paces with a bunch of SK, CenterX, Match Extra, R50 and more at 50yd, 100yd and 300yd just like I did during my full RimX review.

For those of you that dont know, Mike did all the barrel work at AI for years then at TS Customs before running his own shop full time. Mike does all his barrel work on his Doosan CNC just like he did at AI/Win Tactical and TS Customs.. Frank has a video around here somewhere when he was at Win Tactical of Mike cutting AI barrels...

Looking forward to testing. Stay tuned..



I'm sure you will disclose in the review but what chamber, and length?
 
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I'm sure you will disclose in the review but what chamber, and length?

It will have my chamber just like all the review barrels I tested so we have an apples to apples comparison to that data and 20" just like all my review barrels as well. Same M24 contour also
 
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It will have my chamber just like all the review barrels I tested so we have an apples to apples comparison to that data and 20" just like all my review barrels as well. Same M24 contour also
Cool, I was hoping
 
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Finally got it put together 26” Bartlin heavy palm spun up by keystone. First time to the range after I got it close to being shot in. I ran 4 5 shot groups with center X. I think it will shoot, kinda wish I did 1 more group for a submission for 6-5. Didn’t have anything to measure it with but it looks tight enough to me. Should be fun
 

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Any info on RIM X action torque specs to J Allen chassis? I read 45 lbs or 65lbs?
I always run 65 inch lbs unless the chassis manufacturer recommends lower. Other reasons are its easy and consistent having a 65 in/lbs torque limiter in my kit and using a tuner I don't want to induce different harmonics by changing torque settings.
 
I always run 65 inch lbs unless the chassis manufacturer recommends lower. Other reasons are its easy and consistent having a 65 in/lbs torque limiter in my kit and using a tuner I don't want to induce different harmonics by changing torque settings.
A few thoughts on action torque. 65 in/lbs seems excessive for a remfire action. If your action to stock fit is not perfect it can put stress on the action and screws. Foundation recommends 55. I played with torque settings and found no reason to go past 50. Custom remfire actions seldom torque past 40. MY turbo is set at 38. A lot of stock/chassis builders advertise no bedding required, but this is not always true. I have torqued actions down to the point that you could feel friction on bolt movement. Problem being a high spot on the stock between action screws. Something to be aware of when using high torque settings.
 
A few thoughts on action torque. 65 in/lbs seems excessive for a remfire action. If your action to stock fit is not perfect it can put stress on the action and screws. Foundation recommends 55. I played with torque settings and found no reason to go past 50. Custom remfire actions seldom torque past 40. MY turbo is set at 38. A lot of stock/chassis builders advertise no bedding required, but this is not always true. I have torqued actions down to the point that you could feel friction on bolt movement. Problem being a high spot on the stock between action screws. Something to be aware of when using high torque settings.
I personally go first with whats recommended by the manufacturer and would not base torque requirements on the application of whether rimfire or otherwise. The purpose is to secure the action to the stock/chassis and engineering determines those torques are based on thread sizes and application. If you were to look at most open resource recommended torque charts on the internet. 1/4-28 Fine thread, ASTM A574 cap screws supplied by most manufacturers have a recommended minimum torque of 65 inch pounds (5.4 foot pounds), in order to acheive a clamp force of about 2000 pounds. The same screws in the same application are actually rated to a max clamping force of 4000 pounds torqued to 144-192 inch pound (12-16 foot pounds) depending on the whether dry or dry/wet lubed. That said, I'm not calling whatever you wish to do wrong. I'm just stating the specific reasons, why I do me.
 
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I personally go first with whats recommended by the manufacturer and would not base torque requirements on the application of whether rimfire or otherwise. The purpose is to secure the action to the stock/chassis and engineering determines those torques are based on thread sizes and application. If you were to look at most open resource recommended torque charts on the internet. 1/4-28 Fine thread, ASTM A574 cap screws supplied by most manufacturers have a recommended minimum torque of 65 inch pounds (5.4 foot pounds), in order to acheive a clamp force of about 2000 pounds. The same screws in the same application are actually rated to a max clamping force of 4000 pounds torqued to 144-192 inch pound (12-16 foot pounds) depending on the whether dry or dry/wet lubed. That said, I'm not calling whatever you wish to do wrong. I'm just stating the specific reasons, why I do me.


I've used all kinds of recommended torque specs on 22lr rifles before vudoo and rimx came about...

I tested different vudoo and rimx torque settings in my XLR chassis and found zero accuracy or consistency differences across many barrels and types of ammo....they all Shot amazing groups from 50 - 400yd....

I haven't torqued my chassis actions screws because of these findings in years....t handle hand tighten and go shoot
 
I've used all kinds of recommended torque specs on 22lr rifles before vudoo and rimx came about...

I tested different vudoo and rimx torque settings in my XLR chassis and found zero accuracy or consistency differences across many barrels and types of ammo....they all Shot amazing groups from 50 - 400yd....

I haven't torqued my chassis actions screws because of these findings in years....t handle hand tighten and go shoot
I have been shooting for over 60 yrs. Decided to buy a torque wrench 2yrs ago to see if if consistent torque settings could really make a difference in accuracy. My findings have been much like yours. Action screw torque effects vertical point of aim. Very little if any on group size.
 
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I got a new Bartlein RimX barrel coming from Mike @ Manzella Precision for full review and testing. Ill be putting it through its paces with a bunch of SK, CenterX, Match Extra, R50 and more at 50yd, 100yd and 300yd just like I did during my full RimX review.

For those of you that dont know, Mike did all the barrel work at AI for years then at TS Customs before running his own shop full time. Mike does all his barrel work on his Doosan CNC just like he did at AI/Win Tactical and TS Customs.. Frank has a video around here somewhere when he was at Win Tactical of Mike cutting AI barrels...

Looking forward to testing. Stay tuned..



I know Mike well, he does excellent work. When Mike was at AI and TS, he chambered on a TL1. His Doosan setup......blows the doors off TL1 99% systems smith's are using. Mike's chambered a handful of barrels for me, and his methods/final product is phenomenal.
 
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I was mistaken, just confirmed with Mike, tl1 at AI, Doosan at Ts. Wasn't my intention to spread any misinformation.

Mike actually chambered on a Doosan at AI as well he told me...which is what he was chamberin the barrel on when Frank was at AI and made this video....maybe he used a TL1 there before he convinced them to buy the Doosan.... the Doosan he used at AI was just a bigger model than what he used at TS and has in his shop currently


 
The real thing here: No one should care. The result is what we are all paying for. A dude can plug a chamber in with a steam powered belt driven lathe... as long as it shoots, I'm happy. There are a LOT of smiths ramming chambers in on manual lathes that shoot crazy well.

Once upon a time, you could count the good smiths in the country on one hand. Now, with the availability of knowledge and equipment... there are more than ever, and more popping up every other week.

Want to know how to choose a smith? Here's how: You find one you get along with very well, and that cares as much as you want them to care. If you are using a smith, and they demonstrate they don't care... you better go down the road, and I mean quick like.
 
Bison Tactical prefits are chambered by Modacam Custom Rifles. It's probably the best prefit out there.

Unfortunately, my experience with Modacam chambering my barrel was not positive.

I purchased my RimX .22 LR through Bison early this year, along with an 18" MTU pre-fit. The pre-fit was chambered by Modacam.

Early on, I was experiencing some ejection issues, and this prompted me to take a closer look at some things (including my chamber). Using my borescope, I immediately noticed very nasty gouging around the circumference of the throat area. This was in stark contrast to the bore, which was nothing short of breathtaking (this is my first Benchmark, and their product is simply amazing; the surfaces are extremely smooth, and the rifling impossibly crisp, and it's really a thing of beauty overall).

I called Fred at Bison (a very nice guy), he got me in touch with Jonathan at Modacam (also a very nice guy - this isn't personal), and, after seeing my borescope video, Jonathan acknowledged the issue and sent me a shipping label for the barrel. After receiving the barrel, he asked me if I'd mind losing a half-inch of barrel as he'd have to set it back to fix things completely. I wasn't thrilled, but I said ok (I'm not out to be difficult). Jonathan was very polite through all of this and it did seem like he really wanted to make things right (I need to give credit where it's due).

When I received the barrel back, though, I was beyond disappointed as soon as I unboxed it.

The flawless matte finish of the exterior had been all banged up. There are lots of little divots/grooves in it, some deep enough to can catch my nail in. There are chatter marks/scoring running length-wise in several spots, too. None of these are symmetrical or seem purposeful, but instead seem to be the result of rough, careless handling.

The shank looks terrible, with an uneven (almost wavy) surface and a groove around its circumference where it looks like a cut was started in the wrong place or something. The factory markings on the barrel are now abbreviated due to the half-inch being cut off (something I didn't think of when I agreed to shortening it).

The new chamber still has a small problem area in the throat, but it's much better than it was originally. It now has several lateral scratches, too, that are unsightly, but I can't see them causing any issues.

I'm really surprised Jonathan was happy with the barrel's condition and would send it back to a customer this way.

Having no faith in Modacam's work, and not wanting to miss upcoming matches, I coated the barrel in Aluma-hyde (to cover the mars), installed the barrel to the action (putting the ugly shank work out of sight), and moved on. I don't at all feel that I got what I paid for, and that beautiful Benchmark barrel certainly didn't receive the treatment it deserved.

I do well at matches, so the barrel shoots good enough. I'll just have to live with it or come up with an additional $800 for a new Benchmark chambered by someone else. However, I thought I might be able to save somebody some heartache by sharing my experience.
 
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Unfortunately, my experience with Modacam chambering my barrel was not positive.

I purchased my RimX .22 LR through Bison early this year, along with an 18" MTU pre-fit. The pre-fit was chambered by Modacam.

Early on, I was experiencing some ejection issues, and this prompted me to take a closer look at some things (including my chamber). Using my borescope, I immediately noticed very nasty gouging around the circumference of the throat area. This was in stark contrast to the bore, which was nothing short of breathtaking (this is my first Benchmark, and their product is simply amazing; the surfaces are extremely smooth, and the rifling impossibly crisp, and it's really a thing of beauty overall).

I called Fred at Bison (a very nice guy), he got me in touch with Jonathan at Modacam (also a very nice guy - this isn't personal), and, after seeing my borescope video, Jonathan acknowledged the issue and sent me a shipping label for the barrel. After receiving the barrel, he asked me if I'd mind losing a half-inch of barrel as he'd have to set it back to fix things completely. I wasn't thrilled, but I said ok (I'm not out to be difficult). Jonathan was very polite through all of this and it did seem like he really wanted to make things right (I need to give credit where it's due).

When I received the barrel back, though, I was beyond disappointed as soon as I unboxed it.

The flawless matte finish of the exterior had been all banged up. There are lots of little divots/grooves in it, some deep enough to can catch my nail in. There are chatter marks/scoring running length-wise in several spots, too. None of these are symmetrical or seem purposeful, but instead seem to be the result of rough, careless handling.

The shank looks terrible, with an uneven (almost wavy) surface and a groove around its circumference where it looks like a cut was started in the wrong place or something. The factory markings on the barrel are now abbreviated due to the half-inch being cut off (something I didn't think of when I agreed to shortening it).

The new chamber still has a small problem area in the throat, but it's much better than it was originally. It now has several lateral scratches, too, that are unsightly, but I can't see them causing any issues.

I'm really surprised Jonathan was happy with the barrel's condition and would send it back to a customer this way.

Having no faith in Modacam's work, and not wanting to miss upcoming matches, I coated the barrel in Aluma-hyde (to cover the mars), installed the barrel to the action (putting the ugly shank work out of sight), and moved on. I don't at all feel that I got what I paid for, and that beautiful Benchmark barrel certainly didn't receive the treatment it deserved.

I do well at matches, so the barrel shoots good enough. I'll just have to live with it or come up with an additional $800 for a new Benchmark chambered by someone else. However, I thought I might be able to save somebody some heartache by sharing my experience.

That's a bummer. My friend gets his back today, and my other friend and I have Vudoos being worked on right now. All with Kriegers. We'll report back how it turns out...