Oh boy, I have neglected this thread (but you can find me on Rimfire Central where I've kept current with this baby). I'll start with what everyone wants to see and hear, she shoots awesome now! Details of what's gone on will follow, peruse if interested in the troubleshooting that went into it, might help ya with your own rifle. I determined the factory barrel to be a dud, never gunna shoot right (How many times have you guys heard this from me? But it's true... I'm a Dud Magnet) so I sought a replacement barrel. Contacted a gunsmith in the USA about making a custom barrel for it, he offered a new factory barrel he'd taken off a customer's build project and assured me he thoroughly inspected it and it was flawless. The price was right and accuracy expectations of a good Anschütz barrel would surely satisfy me so I went for it. It took nearly 3 months to import but she arrived safe and sound. Results of today's ammo testing, everything shot at least decent and a distinct preference shown for Lapua. I tested 8 Ammos, 5 five-shot groups each. Ran a couple dry patches when switching brand names. I don't give the first groups on the left much weight as they are blowing out the previous ammo's lube and yes, this affects even the same manufacturer but different offering (I.E RWS R-50 to R-100). Total average = 0.455" Nice!
So I'll stick with Lapua (Time to re-order) and play around with action torque and barrel bedding.
At 100 yards X-act showed vertical issues while Midas + fared much better. While X-act might be the better 50 yard performer the "tune" seems to be off at 100y. A barrel tuner would be interesting, would likely improve the Eley performance as well, but just doesn't suit a sporter rifle and I would not be allowed to use it in Silhouette competition so I gotta find what works without one.
The final straw for the original barrel was this last test. I fully bedded the barrel channel with removable support pads. Wax was applied to the barrel channel to allow the pads to be popped out easily and they were separated in the bedding setup to come out individually. The purpose here was to attempt "tuning" in the barrel with bedding.
A chronograph was used to record data on the groups and see if any pattern was evident with respect to hot or weak rounds and point of impact. Shots 1-5 were for sight in off target, 6-10 are the first group top left.
Conclusion was muzzle velocity had no apparent correlation to POI, flyers were random. Removal of barrel pads had no apparent effect on groupings, "tuning" had failed. Out of 30 groups, only 3 made it under 1/2", barely, in the high 0.49's. This barrel is a DUD! Slugging assessment found several tight/loose spots ahead of the chamber and just before the muzzle. No visual defects apparent with the borescope regarding bore finish or chambering. It's crazy, the slightest imperfection and rimfire barrels can be duds. She now wears a 1416D HB barrel, had to open up the barrel channel slightly to fit it as muzzle diameter went from 0.65" original to 0.73". I did all the gunsmith work on it myself, removed the old barrel and glued in the new one. Man, that is satisfying!
