Has anyone lapped and recrowned 10/22 factory barrel?
- Thread starter 358Scout
- Start date
It depends on how it's done. Some folks mistakenly think that running a brass screw with lapping compound on the crown gives them a match grade crown.... no....
To get a true match crown, lapped or cut, you need to mount the barrel in a lathe and then adjust it to get the last few inches of the bore running as close to truly axial as one can measure with the finest instruments. THEN you single point cut the crown to ensure that the lip is totally square to the axis. If it receives some careful lapping following that then all the better. But with a good sharp cutter this should not be needed.
Lesser solutions all need to be evaluated for their ability to ensure total squareness to the bore before the results from any such work can be examined.
My own results from a factory barrel have shown me that ammo selection and learning to correctly shoot from a supported bench rested position are far more larger factors than my barrel. Even without trying some different ammo my stock carbine is already shooting loonie size groups or better at 25 yards. By "better" I mean that most of the 10 shots are in a group roughly the size of a quarter or smaller with one or two "flyers" that open the group out to something like a loonie size. My TacSol Xring makes pretty much dime size groups with the "flyers" opening things up to something close to a quarter.
This is all from only shooting Blazer. I don't have any other ammo except for sub sonic stuff to try. And I'm saving that for my bolt action rifles.
Indicators from the web are suggesting that I can play with barrel bedding and other tricks to tune the barrel. All of which I will expect to produce as much or more change than altering the muzzle crown. On top of this I'm also still learning that shooting from a rested bench position is not as easy to do as one would think. Anyone that thinks accuracy from resting the gun on a bag or block is automatic is fooling themselves. There is very much of a skill to it to match what the better benchrest guys can do. So perhaps start by being honest with yourself on all these counts before you worry about that last couple of % that might be had from re-crowning the barrel.
To get a true match crown, lapped or cut, you need to mount the barrel in a lathe and then adjust it to get the last few inches of the bore running as close to truly axial as one can measure with the finest instruments. THEN you single point cut the crown to ensure that the lip is totally square to the axis. If it receives some careful lapping following that then all the better. But with a good sharp cutter this should not be needed.
Lesser solutions all need to be evaluated for their ability to ensure total squareness to the bore before the results from any such work can be examined.
My own results from a factory barrel have shown me that ammo selection and learning to correctly shoot from a supported bench rested position are far more larger factors than my barrel. Even without trying some different ammo my stock carbine is already shooting loonie size groups or better at 25 yards. By "better" I mean that most of the 10 shots are in a group roughly the size of a quarter or smaller with one or two "flyers" that open the group out to something like a loonie size. My TacSol Xring makes pretty much dime size groups with the "flyers" opening things up to something close to a quarter.
This is all from only shooting Blazer. I don't have any other ammo except for sub sonic stuff to try. And I'm saving that for my bolt action rifles.
Indicators from the web are suggesting that I can play with barrel bedding and other tricks to tune the barrel. All of which I will expect to produce as much or more change than altering the muzzle crown. On top of this I'm also still learning that shooting from a rested bench position is not as easy to do as one would think. Anyone that thinks accuracy from resting the gun on a bag or block is automatic is fooling themselves. There is very much of a skill to it to match what the better benchrest guys can do. So perhaps start by being honest with yourself on all these counts before you worry about that last couple of % that might be had from re-crowning the barrel.
I used a brass bolt and lapping compound on a 45-70 of mine. It worked great for my intended purposes. If I was a match shooter id probably spend the cash on a proper smith.
If you crown is damaged or gun is inaccurate and you think the crown is the issue id have at her with the brass bolt method. I mean what's the worst that can happen? yull have to take it to a Smith for a recrown.
My 2 cents. I is a factory 10-22 we are talking about not some million dollar rig
If you crown is damaged or gun is inaccurate and you think the crown is the issue id have at her with the brass bolt method. I mean what's the worst that can happen? yull have to take it to a Smith for a recrown.
My 2 cents. I is a factory 10-22 we are talking about not some million dollar rig
Well you're not the first and certainly not the last that will do the brass screw trick and notice a gain. And for a nicked or other damage provided the crown is square it can sure help.
The issue is that if one is wanting to find out if the barrel is as good as it CAN be there's always that question of if the crown is dead on square or not. The brass screw lapping won't automatically square the crown up. It'll simply set the crown back a hair and sharpen up the lip. A key part for sure. But one is then still left wondering if the crown is square or not. And if there is more improvement hiding in the crown or not.
The issue is that if one is wanting to find out if the barrel is as good as it CAN be there's always that question of if the crown is dead on square or not. The brass screw lapping won't automatically square the crown up. It'll simply set the crown back a hair and sharpen up the lip. A key part for sure. But one is then still left wondering if the crown is square or not. And if there is more improvement hiding in the crown or not.
Re-crowning, if you have a good lathe with a 4-jaw chuck and the right measuring tools, is much faster than doing anything else with the suspect 10/22 barrel. If it isn't shooting as well as it should, investing 10 minutes (if that) in properly re-crowning the barrel is not a huge thing.
I agree with BCRider: better quality ammunition will usually make a bigger difference than the re-crowning process. But if there is a defect, the crown is the obvious and most accessible solution.
Has anyone here had any experience with those little "expansion dies" that you can use to standardize (and expand) 22 rimfire ammunition? There is one that uses the hollow point (make it bigger and swell the round in a die) and one that you can just "whack" (sounds wholesome) to flatten a bit and expand. I have heard good things, but those are on parts of the internet where there are more shills than real people. As Abraham Lincoln wrote in his blog, "You can't always believe what you read on the internet."
I agree with BCRider: better quality ammunition will usually make a bigger difference than the re-crowning process. But if there is a defect, the crown is the obvious and most accessible solution.
Has anyone here had any experience with those little "expansion dies" that you can use to standardize (and expand) 22 rimfire ammunition? There is one that uses the hollow point (make it bigger and swell the round in a die) and one that you can just "whack" (sounds wholesome) to flatten a bit and expand. I have heard good things, but those are on parts of the internet where there are more shills than real people. As Abraham Lincoln wrote in his blog, "You can't always believe what you read on the internet."
