Whats Your Choice of Barrel Tuners for 22 Precision

[snapper1]

I have a Spearhead tuner on a 20 in factory T1X barrel (KRG Bravo chassis, 1 lb trigger, Riton 5x25 scope). Found 2 adjustments that gave me better results at 100m, but ran out of ammo...Now, if I can find RWS Rifle Match somewhere I'll play with it again when spring comes...
Cheers

 

[Canadiankeeper]

Only when a shooter has a good rifle/barrel and ammo that shoots very well should he consider getting a tuner. And once he has one, it usually involves a good amount of testing for the best tuner adjustment. Anything else is just spinning the tires.

This is my understanding also. I have played with the idea of praying that some CCI standard would shoot ok and a Tuner could turn it into match ammo though, a few range sessions and the tuner would have paid its self off with the cost of match rimfire ammo! lol

 

[Grizzlypeg]

I have trouble believing that on a heavy barrelled 22 rimfire, that barrel oscillation is a significant source of inaccuracy. And that by moving the weight slightly alters that oscillation enough to improve accuracy. I can readily accept that on a high pressure centre fire cartridge, the barrel oscillates enough that finding a node might make a difference, but I am skeptical about a heavy barrelled 22 rimfire. I remain open minded, but a better barrel and better ammo would do more for me than a tuner (I speculate!).

 

[Canadiankeeper]

I have trouble believing that on a heavy barrelled 22 rimfire, that barrel oscillation is a significant source of inaccuracy. And that by moving the weight slightly alters that oscillation enough to improve accuracy. I can readily accept that on a high pressure centre fire cartridge, the barrel oscillates enough that finding a node might make a difference, but I am skeptical about a heavy barrelled 22 rimfire. I remain open minded, but a better barrel and better ammo would do more for me than a tuner (I speculate!).

Airgun

50 Cal

A good one with a transparent suppressor but you can see the barrel move in the ulti high speed

 

[Leuchtkafer]

I have trouble believing that on a heavy barrelled 22 rimfire, that barrel oscillation is a significant source of inaccuracy. And that by moving the weight slightly alters that oscillation enough to improve accuracy. I can readily accept that on a high pressure centre fire cartridge, the barrel oscillates enough that finding a node might make a difference, but I am skeptical about a heavy barrelled 22 rimfire. I remain open minded, but a better barrel and better ammo would do more for me than a tuner (I speculate!).

I appreciate your expression of healthy skepticism, and keeping an open mind. A wise man knows that he knows nothing. It doesn't really matter what anyone tells you, there is no substitute for seeing it first hand with your own eyes, that is the condition in which one genuinely learns something. You just haven't had the experience yet, that is all. My PRS rifle has a 0.900" barrel, I've got some ammo that will string 4" vertical at 100 yards in it. This ammo might not be the best, but it'll shoot 1.5"-2" groups in other rifles. What else explains this ammo in that heavy barrel stringing vertical so badly? If you didn't live so far away I'd invite you to the range to see it yourself.

There is a clear consensus on tuners, but there are also quite a few loud voices out there muddying the waters with ignorant views. It makes for a very confusing environment for one to dip their toes into. If one sticks with it and tries out many things, eventually something should click and things will start to make sense. It comes back to that first hand experience thing. I don't have a magic formula to offer anyone, I'm only experimenting and hoping to find something that works myself. Come up with an idea, try it out, see what the results are, come up with a new idea and repeat. Sometimes people will give up on it before figuring it out, and in frustration they'll start saying things like tuners are a "myth". It's unfortunate that they feel the need to poison the well. Others might say tuners don't significantly improve groups. That is a misguided assertion and paradoxically, both correct and incorrect. In certain conditions, there isn't a significant improvement to be had, making the statement correct. In other conditions, a tuner absolutely can make a significant improvement, making the statement objectively false. There is also everything in between the two.

One thing I do know is that putting a random style/weight of tuner on a random barrel length/profile is unlikely to result in success. I haven't done anywhere near enough work to even begin to suss out what weight, and distance that weight should hang past the muzzle, is appropriate for the different barrel styles. If you try something and it doesn't work, it doesn't mean that tuners don't work, it just means that was the wrong setup for the barrel. There's a lot to consider, so be careful around those who loudly proclaim it's one thing or the other, they often don't have the experience and understanding to support what they profess.

 

[Meroh]

I appreciate your expression of healthy skepticism, and keeping an open mind. A wise man knows that he knows nothing. It doesn't really matter what anyone tells you, there is no substitute for seeing it first hand with your own eyes, that is the condition in which one genuinely learns something. You just haven't had the experience yet, that is all. My PRS rifle has a 0.900" barrel, I've got some ammo that will string 4" vertical at 100 yards in it. This ammo might not be the best, but it'll shoot 1.5"-2" groups in other rifles. What else explains this ammo in that heavy barrel stringing vertical so badly? If you didn't live so far away I'd invite you to the range to see it yourself.

There is a clear consensus on tuners, but there are also quite a few loud voices out there muddying the waters with ignorant views. It makes for a very confusing environment for one to dip their toes into. If one sticks with it and tries out many things, eventually something should click and things will start to make sense. It comes back to that first hand experience thing. I don't have a magic formula to offer anyone, I'm only experimenting and hoping to find something that works myself. Come up with an idea, try it out, see what the results are, come up with a new idea and repeat. Sometimes people will give up on it before figuring it out, and in frustration they'll start saying things like tuners are a "myth". It's unfortunate that they feel the need to poison the well. Others might say tuners don't significantly improve groups. That is a misguided assertion and paradoxically, both correct and incorrect. In certain conditions, there isn't a significant improvement to be had, making the statement correct. In other conditions, a tuner absolutely can make a significant improvement, making the statement objectively false. There is also everything in between the two.

One thing I do know is that putting a random style/weight of tuner on a random barrel length/profile is unlikely to result in success. I haven't done anywhere near enough work to even begin to suss out what weight, and distance that weight should hang past the muzzle, is appropriate for the different barrel styles. If you try something and it doesn't work, it doesn't mean that tuners don't work, it just means that was the wrong setup for the barrel. There's a lot to consider, so be careful around those who loudly proclaim it's one thing or the other, they often don't have the experience and understanding to support what they profess.

I have been looking at tuners for Rimfire off and on for a lot of years.

There is consensus, but certainly not for a universal benefit; consensus is that they help a little or a lot for some, they don't help for others, One brand of the high quality/priced ones does not seem better than others, neither is one brand worse.

I don't go to casinos, so the idea of dropping a chunk of change with maybe a 50:50 chance of seeing a measurable improvement; and maybe a 10% chance of seeing a drastic improvement.

Anecdotes are great, but at this point in time, I am not yet willing to drop a chunk of change on the random chance it will help me. I still believe I am the weakest link, and a tuner will not help me.

 

[Leuchtkafer]

I have been looking at tuners for Rimfire off and on for a lot of years.

There is consensus, but certainly not for a universal benefit; consensus is that they help a little or a lot for some, they don't help for others, One brand of the high quality/priced ones does not seem better than others, neither is one brand worse.

I don't go to casinos, so the idea of dropping a chunk of change with maybe a 50:50 chance of seeing a measurable improvement; and maybe a 10% chance of seeing a drastic improvement.

Anecdotes are great, but at this point in time, I am not yet willing to drop a chunk of change on the random chance it will help me. I still believe I am the weakest link, and a tuner will not help me.

Yeah when you boil it down a tuner is an adjustable weight, brand is of little relevance. It only matters that the design puts the appropriate amount of weight the correct distance past the muzzle for the particular barrel it is fitted to. That is the big question for which there is practically no guidance. For the barrels typically used in benchrest, 24-26" 0.850"-0.900" straight profile, the Harrells seems to be the way to go. Outside of that, you're on your own.

Plenty to consider on whether or not to use one. What kind of shooting do you do? Is it competitive? Are tuners even allowed in that competition? Are you able to achieve a competitive level of accuracy by ammo testing alone? Outside of benchrest, just ammo testing should get a shooter where they need to be. As a matter of personal interest for casual shooting, I can appreciate financial considerations when a certain outcome is not guaranteed. Buy it and try it isn't a very compelling prospect ¯\_(ツ)_/¯