Title changed x2: Grey Birch Customer Service, and Fusion Incredible

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kombatkyle

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I've tried about 12 different ammos in my 10/22 with 12" Grey Birch barrel, including CCI SV and had absolutely horrible groups... Until I got a 50rnd box of Eley Force to try from a friend.

The thing went from ~3" groups full of fliers at 50yds with basically anything i tried, to 1/2" groups... I need more of this ammo. I cannot find it in stock ANYWHERE. Anyone know of a place currently stocking? or an equivalent ammo i should try instead. Edmonton area even better.

EDIT: I got my answer for the ammo question i had, but i'm getting some good info on diagnosing my accuracy issues now. Changed title to maybe have others chime in on my specific dilemma.

Ruger 10/22 ~15 years old
Magpul Hunter Stock
12.5" Grey Birch Shrike Stainless/Carbon barrel
BX Trigger
Ruger Weaver Base
Weaver Rings
Simmons 3-9x40 22mag Scope

Barrel is fully floated by using a few pieces of foil tape right on the bottom of the V-Block to ensure the barrel doesn't touch the stock anywhere. Scope rings are good and snug. Accuracy testing has been with a caldwell rifle stand to ensure consistency, but i'm a pretty damn good shot with any other rifle - so it's not me lol.

Any other ideas? The barrel wasn't super impressive to look at straight out of the package... I had to lightly file off quite a bit of burring at the ejector slot... The crown is pretty not-nice looking for such a pricy barrel, but i can't see that having such a drastic effect, and now with the recent good groups i'm at a loss for what to try next.
 
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That's a bit concerning at 50 yards, any modern 22 should be getting you 1 inch or under. Is it in the original stock? Double check the barrel fitment maybe. Have you tried any SK offerings? Force is my favorite high velocity ammo, check all your Canadian tires if you haven't already. Federal auto match is pretty good for bulk ammo even Aguila for semi auto HV. Cci AR tactical is also a stand out sleeper and the popular mini mag. Try some different SK tho I noticed it's coming back in stock.
 
kmoney159 said:
That's a bit concerning at 50 yards, any modern 22 should be getting you 1 inch or under. Is it in the original stock? Double check the barrel fitment maybe. Have you tried any SK offerings? Force is my favorite high velocity ammo, check all your Canadian tires if you haven't already. Federal auto match is pretty good for bulk ammo even Aguila for semi auto HV. Cci AR tactical is also a stand out sleeper and the popular mini mag. Try some different SK tho I noticed it's coming back in stock.
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I've got the Magpul Hunter stock, 12.5" Grey Birch Stainless/Carbon barrel (i was not super impressed by the finish on this, it looks beautiful but i had to file burrs off the ejector slot... for the price that seems goofy to me), and BX trigger. I shimmed the action with some foil tape right under the V-block so that the barrel is fully floating all the way. I don't have the forward barrel support thing in the stock... I haven't tried that.

The barrel is clocked properly so there is no issues with ejector hitting it or anything, the bolts are snug and its fully seated in the receiver.

I haven't tried any SK yet. I've tried Remington Golden Bullet, Winchester's bulk #### (333/555), CCI Blazer, CCI Standard, CCI Mini Mag (these, surprisingly to me also sucked in my gun), Sellier & Bellot Standard, Sellier & Bellot Canadian "Match" and the Eley Force. I can't remember any others off the top of my head.

I thought for sure my problem was with the gun, until i tried that Eley and it shot like a laser... I might just be super unlucky in the gun/barrel i got, or are Grey Birch barrels known to be princesses about what you feed them? No idea, but now that the Eley shot so well i figured maybe it wasn't a tuning problem after all.

Edit: I should add, i've tried the majority of these rounds with a stand/bags and i'm a pretty damn good shot with all my other guns - so it's not me lol.
 
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North Sylva is an importer of Eley (and Lapua/SK). Try asking them on forum here. Also ask about SK Long Range, I've been waiting for that forever. As mentioned SK makes some very good ammo. Try Standard Plus (yellow box) if you can find it. TC
 
I have a Grey Birch 12" barrel that originally shot terrible at first (at ~20 yards it was >2") and that was using a variety of ammo, some of which was Eley force. I contacted Grey Birch, they said to ensure everything was torqued to spec and had mentioned checking head spacing as I had different brand of receiver and bolt (Dlask TUFF and Kidd bolt). I took it apart, put it back together and torqued things down as spec'd went to the range to run some more ammo through it. Right now it's ~1" at 50 yards using a few different types of ammo (CCI Std vel, Eley Force, SK Std Plus). I'm really sure I had it torqued to spec at first..........but perhaps it just needed some break in before groups tightened up.
 
shimmer said:
I have a Grey Birch 12" barrel that originally shot terrible at first (at ~20 yards it was >2") and that was using a variety of ammo, some of which was Eley force. I contacted Grey Birch, they said to ensure everything was torqued to spec and had mentioned checking head spacing as I had different brand of receiver and bolt (Dlask TUFF and Kidd bolt). I took it apart, put it back together and torqued things down as spec'd went to the range to run some more ammo through it. Right now it's ~1" at 50 yards using a few different types of ammo (CCI Std vel, Eley Force, SK Std Plus). I'm really sure I had it torqued to spec at first..........but perhaps it just needed some break in before groups tightened up.
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That's good to know. I emailed them regarding horrible accuracy, as they 'guarantee' a certain level of accuracy. I installed the barrel myself and *didn't* torque it to any particular value, i just got it snug plus a little bit on the allen key - going back and forth between the v-block bolts like i'm doing lug nuts on a car for even pressure. Worth noting that i did not need to put the barrel in the freezer or heat up the receiver as some folks need to do when installing aftermarket barrels, it just slid right in, snug with no noticable play, but not tight. I've put a fair bit of ammo through it so far but not high volume, i got frustrated by the fact that it was shooting so poorly so i've been shooting a box of this and a box of that looking for something thats not horrible. Maybe tomorrow i'll go pump a few hundred golden bullet through it and see if i can put those inside a 1" square now... I doubt it... but there is hope.

I was also considering putting in the forward barrel support in the magpul stock and playing with pressures on that. The barrel is fully floated using a little bit of foil tape as a shim right on the bottom of the V-block, but i've heard that some like the forward barrel support. I don't like the idea pressure on the forend of the stock being transmitted into the barrel, but i guess if it works, it works.
 
It's almost not worth doing a barrel swap on an older receiver when a new 10/22 receiver is so cheap. Also, if you buy one of the Grey Birch receiver-and-barrel deals then they come already joined the way they were meant to be.

Another thing to check is that the barreled action isn't rocking in the stock. With only that one bolt in the middle holding things together it's possible for the receiver to tip up a bit especially when the barrel is free-floated and not applying any pressure forward of that only attachment point. Hopefully it's not flopping a wee bit as you fire!
 
I will pretty much echo Post #10 - was my similar experience with a Ruger 10-22 - a "cheapest" way to improve accuracy - foil tape on sides of action - near the rear, to eliminate left/right movement of the action within the stock - mine took 13 layers - 7 on one side, 6 on other - is a sliding "press fit" into the original stock now. I also did three (?) wraps of electrician vinyl tape around the barrel - right at the fore arm tip - to keep it centered in the barrel channel and some support to resist that single action screw. This one still has the barrel band, so I relieved underside of that, so is not touching barrel. It sounds hokey and probably not like more expensive "tuning", but it worked - I have aperture rear sight on it, and even I can show better groups with it now, versus before ...
 
kombatkyle said:
....

Any other ideas? The barrel wasn't super impressive to look at straight out of the package... I had to lightly file off quite a bit of burring at the ejector slot... The crown is pretty not-nice looking for such a pricy barrel, but i can't see that having such a drastic effect, and now with the recent good groups i'm at a loss for what to try next.
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Not so sure about the part that I bolded, above - on other rifles here, the crown - the very last contact between barrel and bullet - is VERY important for the kind of groups that I am getting - should be sharp and dead nuts concentric with the bore centre-line for an even bullet release - to the extent is about first thing that I inspect on new-to-me rifle, and "touch up" with a Brownell's hand tool, if it looks a bit "iffy".
 
Potashminer said:
Not so sure about the part that I bolded, above - on other rifles here, the crown - the very last contact between barrel and bullet - is VERY important for the kind of groups that I am getting - should be sharp and dead nuts concentric with the bore centre-line for an even bullet release - to the extent is about first thing that I inspect on new-to-me rifle, and "touch up" with a Brownell's hand tool, if it looks a bit "iffy".
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^agreed. I'm of the opinion that chasing accuracy with a semi/blow-back action is already an uphill battle, so you do have to consider everything working against you. A damaged/flawed crown will definitely be an issue. My understanding is that if the gas can't escape uniformly around the bullet as it exits the barrel, the bullet can easily be blown off course. Perhaps there is a better explanation, that's how a smarter guy explained it to me. lol Anyhow, I once bought a used 17HMR that patterned like a shotgun, wasn't until I inspected it closely and discovered the crown was damaged=likely from careless use of a cleaning rod. Ever since, when contemplating a used gun...I request to see close-ups of the crown. I even look at the crown on new guns, and almost exclusively use pull-through cleaning systems. (I like the "Patchworm" from 20/20 concepts)
 
I have a few of them … Eley force has worked the best in all of them …. I have used 2 sided carpet tape to stabilize the receiver in the stock ... back, sides or v block as mentioned ... they are a fun gun but a tack driver would require a lot of work .... start with the trigger .... biggest bang for your dollar ... my 2 cents ...
 
Crowca3 said:
I have a few of them … Eley force has worked the best in all of them …. I have used 2 sided carpet tape to stabilize the receiver in the stock ... back, sides or v block as mentioned ... they are a fun gun but a tack driver would require a lot of work .... start with the trigger .... biggest bang for your dollar ... my 2 cents ...
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I've got a BX trigger in it and it was a noticeable improvement in feel over the stock one.


Here are some photos for you guys.

The crown:
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You will need an "expert" to comment about the crown - guessing that I could do similar with a jack knife?? Is not what I would expect to see ... But if you are getting satisfying groups, then that is what counts - "holes in target do not lie".
 
This thread is about how #### my groups are haha. I had a few really good groups with the eley, but the 1 box isn't enough to be conclusive, and i don't like how the bone stock CZ can shoot exactly the same ammo into a hole a third of the the size of my 10/22 with a $300 barrel.
 
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kombatkyle said:
This thread is about how #### my groups are haha. I had a few really good groups with the eley, but the 1 box isn't enough to be conclusive, and i don't like how the bone stock CZ can shoot exactly the same ammo into a hole a third of the the size of my 10/22 with a $300 barrel.
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Check your PM's. The issues you are describing are the reason we discontinued the V Block design barrels and went to our fusion system. While we have discontinued the V Block barrels, if your issue proves to be a manufacturers defect we will upgrade you to a fusion system free of charge. Some of our earlier barrels left a little to be desired compared to the product we are putting out now that is dominating competition in Canada.
 
I've got a late model factory 10/22 with the plastic trigger housing, it has the most atrocious trigger pull I have ever encountered and accuracy reflects it.

Grizz
 
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