Well I added a rimx to the rimfire collection. The end goal will be a lightweight hunting 22 but just narrowing down the barrel. I was able to snag a 1:14 twist 22” to play with for the time being and have a spare 1:10 twist 22” ks barrel laying around im spinning up as well to play with. Looking forward to this
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Has anyone found a source for replacement RimX magazine springs? Preferably extra power or a couple coils longer. I was talking to another member here and he troubleshot his bullet shaving issue to be a weak spring when a plus 3 extension was installed. Put the original mag floor plate on and the problem went away. Basically not enough tension upwards on the follower to push the top round completely into the extractor groove. @Zermatt Arms
Here's mine. PVA 24" 12-twist Lothar Walther w/ Eachus match chamber, Triggertech Diamond, Vortex Golden Eagle w. Ivey 200moa mount, in a MDT Timbr stock.
I am liking that Timbr stock... maybe I'll keep mine lol.
17WSM set up is my new personal favorite for pdoggin!!
Howdy All!
A quick question about the Rim-X magazine fitment. I have a MDT ACC Elite chassis, and it has it's own adjustment. I noticed that it takes a significant amount of force to chamber the first round or two of a magazine. I tried to adjust the seat depth of the magazine, but it's hard to tell whether the bullet is contacting the mouth hole (for lack of better terms) on the way into the chamber because I have to cycle the bolt rather quickly in order for it to not bind or send the loaded round flying loosely into the jamming space in front of the bolt. Before I fubar anything, does anyone have any recommendations on how to properly do this?
Jerry
A quick question about the Rim-X magazine fitment. I have a MDT ACC Elite chassis, and it has it's own adjustment. I noticed that it takes a significant amount of force to chamber the first round or two of a magazine. I tried to adjust the seat depth of the magazine, but it's hard to tell whether the bullet is contacting the mouth hole (for lack of better terms) on the way into the chamber because I have to cycle the bolt rather quickly in order for it to not bind or send the loaded round flying loosely into the jamming space in front of the bolt. Before I fubar anything, does anyone have any recommendations on how to properly do this?
Jerry
Adjust your mag height to close most all of that gap. Maybe leave .030" or so.
I've found in mine, you want them barely snug, but not tight that you have to push hard to latch them in.
ymmv.
Just got a KRG Whiskey 3 stock for the Rimx that I have coming.... now I need to decide on a barrel. Bartlein, krieger, or lilja...... and a length.
Any thoughts ?
Any thoughts ?
I own Bartlein and Douglas and like both just fine but my two favorites are Benchmark and Shilen.
Only Bartlein was available in the 26" length I wanted for my Vudoo when I ordered it.
I've seen some unbelievable groups shot with several different 1.25-diameter Shilen barrels, lately, so one of their barrels would definitely be my choice right now.
JMO, of course, which doesn't mean all that much, nothing wrong with your list.
I like large1.25 diameter and long 25" and 26" barrels best, just because I love how they look!
They balance great with my favorite Foundation stocks also.
I have a early (sn 36) rimx action that I had built by Ga Precision. Have a muller works mtu 1:13 8 groove barrel finished off at 22.25 inches. It is a full custom rifle and my most accurate of any rifle I own. I have 2 vudoos and have had a bunch more in the past. This one is my favorite. Once I got a new extractor and tensioner it has been 100% reliable. Big fan of the mullerworks barrel
Can't wait to get mine and give it a try. Will look into the shop here in town and see if they have any Douglas barrels or anything else. Now that the parts are showing up I am getting anxious to get the action in my hands.I own Bartlein and Douglas and like both just fine but my two favorites are Benchmark and Shilen.
Only Bartlein was available in the 26" length I wanted for my Vudoo when I ordered it.
I've seen some unbelievable groups shot with several different 1.25-diameter Shilen barrels, lately, so one of their barrels would definitely be my choice right now.
JMO, of course, which doesn't mean all that much, nothing wrong with your list.
I like large1.25 diameter and long 25" and 26" barrels best, just because I love how they look!
They balance great with my favorite Foundation stocks also.
Planning on some local NRL22 matches as well as general shooting and hunting.
Already have a Tract Torric I am going to go on top, along with a Bix N Andy TacSport trigger along with the Whiskey 3 stock. The barrel is the only question is the barrel choice. Talked to my local shop and they have Bartlein, Kriger, and Lilja for the 22lr barrels. So that is who I have to choose from
Already have a Tract Torric I am going to go on top, along with a Bix N Andy TacSport trigger along with the Whiskey 3 stock. The barrel is the only question is the barrel choice. Talked to my local shop and they have Bartlein, Kriger, and Lilja for the 22lr barrels. So that is who I have to choose from
RimX - Lothar Walther 17WSM 18" Prefit - Trigger Tech Diamond sitting in a Cadex Strike Nuke
Ammo has definitely become the issue with the 17WSM, I have a bit stashed yet but Winchester needs to make another run of brass soon LOL
It's been a while since I've been to the range. Work has been insanely busy the last 6 months.
Caught a 51F sunny day today and decided to shoot this Manzella Precision Bartlein RimX @ 100yd. Shot the same lot of CX that shined at 50yd and tested a new lot of R50.
Wasn't as calm as I would have liked with a 7mph gusting cross wind but this R50 really shined!! Looking forward to testing this barrel at 200-400yd in the near future.
All groups we're shot @ 100yd
These are two 10, shot groups with CX lot.. groups measured 0.83 and 0.86
And these are the new R50 lot groups
0.809 - 0.223 = 0.586
This is 4shots before I caught a gust that blew the 5th..
0.437 - 0.223= 0.224 4 shots
0.687 - 0.223 = 0.464
This was the CenterX
0.735 - 0.223 = 0.512
Caught a 51F sunny day today and decided to shoot this Manzella Precision Bartlein RimX @ 100yd. Shot the same lot of CX that shined at 50yd and tested a new lot of R50.
Wasn't as calm as I would have liked with a 7mph gusting cross wind but this R50 really shined!! Looking forward to testing this barrel at 200-400yd in the near future.
All groups we're shot @ 100yd
These are two 10, shot groups with CX lot.. groups measured 0.83 and 0.86
And these are the new R50 lot groups
0.809 - 0.223 = 0.586
This is 4shots before I caught a gust that blew the 5th..
0.437 - 0.223= 0.224 4 shots
0.687 - 0.223 = 0.464
This was the CenterX
0.735 - 0.223 = 0.512
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Looks like Im going to test 2 Shilen barrels soon. Both their 16 and 12 twist ratchet rifling blanks with my reamer.
Looking forward to seeing how they compare
Looking forward to seeing how they compare
I have a Shilen 1:16 ratchet/taper-lapped barrel on the RimX I put together (MDT ACC / TT Diamond / Vortex Gen-3 6-36x56) after Thanksgiving.
I was hugely disappointed at the slow velocities of known ammo lots from the 26" barrel - 50fps or more lower than with my 19" Vudoo (Ace barrel). This put my Vudoo-lot-tested Center-X at 1030fps, down from 1080. I have a few remaining bricks of old Lapua-sourced Wolf Match Target (rebranded SK Standard+) which is known-slow; this was well down in the 900s in high-40s temps!
So, after maybe 500-700 frustrating rounds, the barrel was "bobbed" down to 22" with threaded muzzle - 5/8x24 for the heavy barrel instead of the rimfire-typical 1/2x28, since I have a KSS tuner I decided to try. The shorter barrel gives me 30fps higher velocity with all tested ammo brands - 20fps slower than in my Vudoo but not so ridiculously slow as before. The barrel now has 1000 or so rounds on it - it's a keeper.
I guess the lesson learned here is 1:16 Shilen ratchet/taper-lapped barrels seem a little slow - a buddy of mine built the same rig at the same time, and his velocity results were very similar to mine. Conversely, another friend has a 26" Proof prefit on his RimX that shoots amazingly well and gives higher velocity than the 22" Ace barrel he had on his Vudoo.
I have a 22" Shilen Select barrel on my RIMX and it is 20-30 fps slower than my factory Bergara B14R with same ammo. I was wondering if I had chrono issues so glad you posted this!
It is hard to say 100% but it seems a 16tw is more accurate at 50. At 100 it is a toss up. 2-400 seems to favor the 10tw.
I have wanted to shoot side by side with a 16tw then swap guns and repeat at a few different distances.
All comparative shooting has been competing on the clock so it is hard to tell which gun actually shoots better vs shooter.
100 and 300y results at the link.
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My 24” Shilen shot my Center X about the same 1030-1050fps. In all honesty I haven’t been very impressed with mine as far as accuracy. My 21” Green Mountain barrel shot a bit better over a wider selection of ammo than this Shilen is so far.
Get your long britches and tick spray, we goin' in the weeds. This is long - but the lessons I've learned are worthwhile for anyone traveling the rimfire road.
Your issue may not be the barrel per se. My current satisfaction with my RimX was preceded by weeks of frustration... had anyone asked me three weeks ago, I'd have parted with the rig for cheap and not looked back. Here's the story.
I had two problems, not just one: chamber and scope.
Chamber:
My Shilen barrel started as a 28" blank cut to 26" and chambered by my longtime friend and gunsmith well-known & respected in our region for his centerfire barrel work. I wanted a near-copy of the RimX he had built for himself - but he ("Smith") was reluctant to do the chamber work because of his relative inexperience with .22s and the relative difficulty (compared with centerfire) of machining with a tiny .22LR reamer. But his RimX with 26" Shilen that he chambered is a shooter, and he agreed to do my barrel as well as its literal twin for another buddy ("Buddy") of mine.
So Buddy's RimX is in an MPA BA-Comp chassis, mine in MDT ACC. His barrel is 22" while mine started at 26." Both have Trigger Tech Diamonds and mount gen-3 Vortex Razor 6-36x56 scopes.
Neither rifle would shoot anywhere near what they should. With a wide variety of mid- to top-tier ammo labels, three or four shots of five would be touching at 50 yards, and then one or two would land 1/2" away. Mine was horrible at 100 yards - ridiculous vertical dispersion. Buddy's was a little better but not much. The ES/SD values of ammo we tried were all in line with their various price points - just slower.
Now, Smith as conscientious and meticulous in his work as any human can possibly be. He and I talked at length; he explained all the research he had done, from Bill Calfey's "The Art of Rimfire Accuracy" to discussions with other smiths to his own experimentation with custom reamers and such. He and I consulted other smiths and experienced rimfire competitors we know.
More than one person wondered if a dragging trigger sear was in play. But Ray at Zermatt said Trigger Tech triggers were usually a solution to this issue, not a cause. So we swapped in a Huber trigger he had in the shop. No difference in performance.
RimX's 6-o'clock-positioned firing pin's open "channel" is prone to pick up lube goo, especially in cold weather. I polished the edges of that channel with 2500-grit automotive sandpaper, insuring that running the bolt left as little marking on the bullet as is possible for a repeater. Again, no improvement in the flyers.
I couldn't live with the slow velocity I was seeing in my last case of lot-tested Center-X, so Smith cut the barrel back to 22 inches. Velocity increased 30 fps with the different ammo labels, but inconsistent performance remained.
One of my buddies mentioned Modacam Custom Rifles, which is a little over 2 1/2 hours' drive time from my home. I made an appointment with @jelrod1 and left my rifle with him. He pulled the barrel and checked everything including slugging it again (as had Smith), and, as anyone who knows him would expect of Smith's work, found everything to be correct - except for what appeared to be a small concentric ring just in front of the chamber that could have been mistaken for carbon. I had checked for this sort of thing... the ring was so small that I hadn't seen it. So Jonathan touched up the chamber - just touched up, no setback- with his reamer. He screwed the barrel back on my action, mounted it in his chassis, mounted his scope, and tested with my Center-X ammo.
The result was two 5-shot ragged-hole groups at 50 yards - I have the test target. Second group was 1/4" at most.
Yay. I drove back over, picked up my barreled action, stuck it in my chassis, mounted my scope, hit the range.....
... and cussed all the way home. Flyers. Not as bad as before, but they were still happening.
So I swapped my barreled action into the MPA BA Comp chassis that has held my Vudoo for four years. Still Flyers.
So I pulled off the gen-3 Vortex Razor and replaced it with the identical scope off my Vudoo.
Bingo. Flyers all but disappeared.
Scope:
This is my second gen-3 6-36x56 Razor. I really don't want to hear "well it's a Vortex, of course it broke" because I also had a $13k skeet gun whose barrels rusted black in half a wet day's shooting and had to be replaced, and I drove a Porsche for several years that shipped with one tire the wrong size. If it's made by humans, it can be messed up. Historically, Razors have been hugely reliable wrt tracking and reliability.
So Vortex turned the scope around in a week, finding a loose lens and replacing the erector, also fixing the early-release scopes' gummy turret feel. Now the turrets feel like my remaining gen-2 Razor (I've had three, two of them upgraded to gen-3s).
Results:
I've put maybe 400-500 rounds through the rifle since Jonathan worked his magic on the chamber. Accuracy just keeps getting better. Yesterday, I tried Eley Ten-X, no-longer made Eley Edge, and CCI SV. The Ten-X gave me a couple of 1/4" center-to-center 5-shot groups at 50 and 1/2-3/4" groups at 100. Even CCI SV kept all rounds commendably tight - sometimes amazingly so - with the exception of one round that landed 2" out of the group at 50...
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So that's the story. My main lesson from this, which Smith had emphasized early on, is that chambering a .22LR is a really persnickety thing to do. I will be surprised if Smith does any more rimfire barrels; he stands behind his work and was very bothered that Buddy's and my rifles didn't meet the accuracy he expects from his work. He and I have been friends longer than he's been my riflesmith, so we have chalked this up to experience.
The season's first little 50-100-150 yard gallery-style rimfire match is set for 12-March. I'll be shooting the RimX. I've been at or near the top of the leaderboards of this little series for three years with my Vudoo - so to say I'm gonna shoot the RimX says I have confidence in it!
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I hope a few readers find this epistle useful. It's been an interesting trip.
Serious question. How is 50fps a problem? Does it affect accuracy? Thanks
I have about 1,500 rounds through my new to be RimX with Proof stainless barrel. I had not seen it mentioned before, so fyi - if you use the RimX bore guide, place something above the trigger to keep any solvent from dripping into it. The bore guide starts right at the trigger, and I got some C4 down into a brand new Bix’N Andy trigger. It started causing problems about 1,000 rounds in.
I’m an expert now at taking the trigger out to disassemble and clean it. I also will have a RimX bore guide for sale soon as I will only use a patch worm to clean it from now on.
And because who doesn’t like pictures - mine absolutely loves Eley flat nose ammo. I have some practice 100 (discontinued, unfortunately), and Team. This is the practice 100 at 100 yards. The 50 yard results were .4” edge to edge. Really awesome.
I’m an expert now at taking the trigger out to disassemble and clean it. I also will have a RimX bore guide for sale soon as I will only use a patch worm to clean it from now on.
And because who doesn’t like pictures - mine absolutely loves Eley flat nose ammo. I have some practice 100 (discontinued, unfortunately), and Team. This is the practice 100 at 100 yards. The 50 yard results were .4” edge to edge. Really awesome.
Near 5% velocity reduction requires half a mil more elevation out to 150 yards or so, increasing to 2.5 more mils at 400 (the longest distance for which I collect dope). At longer distances, .22LR bullet drop is dramatic - 1.5-2+ inches per yard from 300 to 400 yards. The additional 50fps velocity doesn't make much difference at all, but it doesn't hurt either.
At the lower velocity, an additional 0.2-0.5 mils of windage are needed to counter a full-value 5mph wind at 100-400 yards... and wind is practically never constant so reducing any needed wind correction is a Good Thing.
Quite a few of the folks I shoot with feel the lower velocity does not matter significantly from accuracy or even trajectory perspectives. Maybe not from an absolute basis, but I simply didn't want to lose those fps. Pure personal preference.
That's in process. He still works for a living so he was fine with letting me sort out the Shilen saga. He is also young and apparently somewhat impatient so he ordered a Proof prefit (20" or 22", I don't recall which). I don't know how well it performs, and I don't think he has enough rounds through it to really demonstrate its present or post-breakin potential, but he seems happy. He texted me last night that he's having Modacam give his Shilen barrel the same treatment as mine.
we used to shoot 243AI and 6COMP with 105s/115s at 3200 in PRS
now we shoot 105s at 2800
i also feel like it was expected to have velocity loss past the ~16-20" mark
now we shoot 105s at 2800
i also feel like it was expected to have velocity loss past the ~16-20" mark
Yep. I'm changing from 6.5CM, 140 Berger HT at 2775 to 6BR, 105 Berger HT at 2780 this year. Driven as much by curiosity to try something new as any actual practical advantage... While I can usually hold my own shooting off a bench, age & arthritis limit my ability to do PRS "rifle yoga."
And yes, .22LR velocity is expected to drop with barrel length past 16" or so... although my buddy who suggested Modacam says the 26" Proof prefit on his RimX shoots his competition ammo - I don't remember what it is - something like 20fps faster than the 20" or 22" Ace barrel he had on his Vudoo.
.22LR is a whole different world than centerfire... this RimX journey confirms my position that, if I had to give up all my rifles but one, I'd keep one of the .22s.
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Dried out C4 on any trigger will cause issues. It's a known issue. The key is not to over saturate the patch and it won't drip out. Though, I do place a peice of cut out plastic from a my kids toys packaging over the trigger area.
Bartlien barrel showed up to the shop today. Now just waiting for the reviever to show up and I should be ready to shoot. Looks like another month or so before I can get hands on.
I took my RimX out yesterday and tested some Eley Team. Out of the 5 or 6 lots, only 1 was meh. The others produced consistent results from 50 to 300. I would say it is nearing the level of my Vudoo now from an accuracy perspective.
One quick note on the bore guide- I inserted this just for the picture. I will never use it again given the location of that opening right above the trigger. Using a tight fitting jag, I could not imagine a world where any solvent would not get into the trigger. If they had only made it 1” longer…. Great rifle. Pass on their bore guide.
One quick note on the bore guide- I inserted this just for the picture. I will never use it again given the location of that opening right above the trigger. Using a tight fitting jag, I could not imagine a world where any solvent would not get into the trigger. If they had only made it 1” longer…. Great rifle. Pass on their bore guide.
A revision to this part is currently being programmed and will be in the machines in the coming weeks.
Admittedly, it was an oversight and it should have been longer from the start. We all live and learn every day.
Thanks - Ray
Do you plan to offer a bore guide trade in program?
One could make an extension for these, possibly out of delrin or similar?
I recently got 3 different custom bore guides from Mike Lukas, they all share a rear guide rod insert (rod diameter depending). That’s where this idea comes from.
I recently got 3 different custom bore guides from Mike Lukas, they all share a rear guide rod insert (rod diameter depending). That’s where this idea comes from.
His guides are excellent, I have many. Speaking of RimX, my barreled action IS FINALLY done. Order placed with zermatt in early Sept, action showed at Smith 2 weeks ago, 22" bartlein 16tw M24 cut with an Eachus chamber by Manzella Precision yesterday. Should be a shooter. Both ends of barrel were dieled into zero(seriously, 0.0000) runout prior to cutting chamber or muzzle.
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Enjoy that RimX. I had my Manzella Bartlein with my 22LR Match Eachus chamber out a few times the past week.. Hammering tiny little groups! I took it out today was banging steel in a 12-15Mph switching wind at 300yd with boring consistency but wasnt the day for shooting groups at that distance with the wind. Hoping for a calmer day the next few days to try and shoot some 300yd and 400yd groups.
I see what you did there. We don’t need another small scale bore guide. Oh - you meant the program! Well, I had to ask. I have wasted more money on even less useful things.
On that note - anyone reading this should understand that I’m just having a little fun. Ray’s reputation precedes him. He replied to an email a few weeks ago about 8 minutes after I sent it. I personally know two guys who have had issues with Eley ammo, and Ray and team have been quite responsive in getting things resolved. I still stand by my statement that the current bore guide should be avoided. But the action is proving to be solid.
Finally jumping on the 22LR bandwagon. Got myself a RimX action, Modacam barrel and dropped it into a Foundation Exodus with Bix-N-Andy trigger and Hawkins bottom metal. Just need to throw a scope on it and take it to the range to see how she does. Will be fun to shoot some 22 matches alongside all the centerfire stuff.
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