NEW From Zermatt Arms - RimX Actions

[padom]

I didnt have a ton of time today after getting up at 3:45am and at a client by 5:30, but I wanted to run out real quick and rip through a bunch of lots to see what this barrel likes for the next range session.

I shot something like 35 or so different either ammo types or lots.

Next session I'll concentrate on the ammo that shot best today which is Midas+, R50 and RWS Special Match...

22" ACE 1.2" Straight
22LR Match Eachus Chamber
Manzella Precision

 

[AGrizz]

Mike Manzella certainly does a beautiful job on all the barrels he produces. When you have the time to sit and shoot those groups should be all cut to about half that size.

 

[juliang]

I .listened to the census here and now have 2 genuine RimX mags with the RimX extensions. 500 rounds later I still have total reliability. Regarding my Manzella/Ace barrel... It has shot SK+, SKM, SK LR, Wolf and Eley match well. Doesn't seem picky which is great. Lapua long range however, not so much. I was shooting some Eley Match this morning and apart from me, it was a good combo. This rifle shows me how much I suck. I love the action, it's a joy to shoot. Typical 5 shot group....... the flyer is always me. I'm working on it. 2 pics of the same target. Maybe not good for some of you, but in general I am encouraged. This is at 100 yards, 50 is too easy!!

 

[Eagle1899]

Mike Manzella spun me up a Green Mountain blank with Padoms Eachus chamber. It shoots great!!! Mike is great to work with. I've shot a pile of different ammo through it and I haven't found any that it will not shoot. The interesting thing is my SD has dropped significantly from the previous barrel I was using. With all ammo. To say the least I'm very happy with it.

 

[allan harris]

Does anyone here have a Rim X in an MDT Timbr Frontier Stock?
I'm just wondering if the Rim X mag will work with the MDT bottom metal?

 

[021411]

Not my picture. It was from Modacam’s FB post. Interesting..

 

[padom]

View attachment 8404103
Not my picture. It was from Modacam’s FB post. Interesting..

This changes the design of RimX entirely.. you now need to have a reamer and set headspace for each ammo type you plan to shoot for proper ignition just like any other rimfire that came before the RimX.

That's why the RimX design is so revolutionary for high accuracy rimfire repeaters..

I have no issues with my RimX. This isn't necessary IMHO....

Also, you now need properly timed extractor grooves for thus. There goes all your prefits. Full custom timed barrel now.. at that point why not just go Vudoo instead of voiding warranty and cutting up your bolt??

 

[021411]

Here’s another screen grab about some details.

 

[allan harris]

I agree with Padom's comments. I have a few Vudoos and would not have bought a Rim X if the original design had been like this.

 

[juliang]

Looks to me like this is just a one off custom rifle being made for Levi Sanderson. I don't see any sign that Zermatt is changing the design. I'll ask Levi.

 

[jelrod1]

The RimX is a very well made action. This conversion won’t be for everyone and that’s fine and is not the purpose . A lot of people like the idea of a Vudoo with a RimX mag. I more like the idea of a RimX as the base. I just took the things I liked the most from both and put them together to create an option. This particular one is my personal rifle and I also added some other modifications for experimentation. Zermatt is not changing anything here. I get asked for a lot of things and these are merely options for the ones that want them.

 

[padom]

I .listened to the census here and now have 2 genuine RimX mags with the RimX extensions. 500 rounds later I still have total reliability. Regarding my Manzella/Ace barrel... It has shot SK+, SKM, SK LR, Wolf and Eley match well. Doesn't seem picky which is great. Lapua long range however, not so much. I was shooting some Eley Match this morning and apart from me, it was a good combo. This rifle shows me how much I suck. I love the action, it's a joy to shoot. Typical 5 shot group....... the flyer is always me. I'm working on it. 2 pics of the same target. Maybe not good for some of you, but in general I am encouraged. This is at 100 yards, 50 is too easy!! View attachment 8403354View attachment 8403355

What length is your Ace? Did you chrono your ammo ?

 

[juliang]

What length is your Ace? Did you chrono your ammo ?

Hi, Mike just called me and explained the situation. My Ace is 24" and putting Eley match at 1120 fps, my 21" Lilja barrel CZ puts the same ammo at 1130. I did show a flier in the photo but attributed it to myself. I shot it a fair bit today out to 300 yards and was very impressed. I'm off work again tomorrow so I'll try a few 100 yard best groups here at my place. I guess I've put about 600 rounds thru it. Super impressed that Mike called me and I hope your situation is resolved soon.

 

[padom]

Hi, Mike just called me and explained the situation. My Ace is 24" and putting Eley match at 1120 fps, my 21" Lilja barrel CZ puts the same ammo at 1130. I did show a flier in the photo but attributed it to myself. I shot it a fair bit today out to 300 yards and was very impressed. I'm off work again tomorrow so I'll try a few 100 yard best groups here at my place. I guess I've put about 600 rounds thru it. Super impressed that Mike called me and I hope your situation is resolved soon.

Mine is good to go. Just took a few rounds to settle in. I only had it out once before today for a quick session. I'm at 635rd after today's session and it's really hammering.

Here is today's target @ 50yd. I scrubbed it clean after putting 500rd down 2 days ago before today's session.

Started with the CenterX bottom row shooting left to right.. it really tightened up after those first few groups..

All 30rd AGG's in the 0.2s with multiple groups in the 0.1s. Smallest group just a hair over 0.100 measuring 0.106.

Midas and R50 really hammering. Gonna scrub it clean again tonight and shoot some 30rd AGG's @ 100yd and 10 shot 200yd groups tomorrow...

This ACE barrel is really settling in.

One thing to note. My barrel is different from Julian's. I ordered mine custom directly from ACE with a taper lapped choke @ 22" .... for comparisons sake








This was the best 5x5 30rd AGG R50 lot top row 54-7YR-517.. 1090 SD 4.4 over 30rd!

 

[padom]

Didn't make it back out Friday. Headed up to the mountains for the start of the March Brown hatch instead.

Just gave it a good cleaning. Gonna get it back out tomorrow.

 

[Cement Bench]

how dare you have other interests or hobbies

Just kidding bro

 

[marc.south1972]

NRLX MATCH

 

[Zermatt Arms]

For anyone interested, we've released our newest product today, The Matterhorn Chassis. Information can be found here: https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/zermatt-arms-chassis-the-matterhorn.7218457/

 

[fiddlefadel]

Didn't make it back out Friday. Headed up to the mountains for the start of the March Brown hatch instead.

Just gave it a good cleaning. Gonna get it back out tomorrow.

I share the same love for fly fishing

 

[021411]

Looks like DPG is doing the extractors now as well.

 

[Criver600]

The extractor mod.....things that make you go hmmmm. The RimX in the McMillan has 17,000 + rounds on it. I have had to stop and remove a round ahead of the bolt 3 times and each time I was to blame. Not an issue.
I've heard of knumbnuts knocking the bolt down over the rim of a cartridge and breaking the extractor. No shit! You should know what the result will be every time.
The rifle in the AT-X chassis has 2500 rounds no issues. Here is the key to flawless RimX operation if the bolt has gone forward (contacted the rim of the cartridge) never pull it back. Wait until your in position to shoot (no sky-loading) push the bolt home and go on.
Downgrade to the Zermatt original extractor

 

[021411]

I have 2.5 PRS Rimfire seasons on my RimX and maybe less than 5 occurrences of pushing a round in without it under the extractor. Those are rookie match numbers to many but I have a shit load of rounds through my RimX. I’m good with that and find it as a non issue. But what these extractor mods do IMO is take away any special “procedures” that need to be done while on the clock. It’s not a big deal to me one way or the other which style of extraction you want to go with.

 

[Arkansan]

I just watched on of the videos. Now having had a chance to shoot my Vudoo, I prefer the Rimx action and like the fact that the mod allows for single shot loading. I will contact him to find out how this will impact his ability to do prefits.

 

[Baron85]

Just picked up a Rimx barreled action with Manzella green mountain barrel and lothar walther barrel. I was told it is the older style action, I can’t find any info on old vs new rimx action.

Can anyone explain to me what the differences are and if there are any updated parts I should be ordering while I wait for it to show up?

 

[021411]

Just picked up a Rimx barreled action with Manzella green mountain barrel and lothar walther barrel. I was told it is the older style action, I can’t find any info on old vs new rimx action.

Can anyone explain to me what the differences are and if there are any updated parts I should be ordering while I wait for it to show up?

What’s the serial number range? I don’t know of any changes other than tweaking of the extractor material or process when they were having issues way back when.
Also I know timing of the barrel can vary when it comes to engraving the barrel based on serial number range.

Edited to add: you can always “rebuild” the bolt with parts. Firing pin, tensioner, extractor

 

[Criver600]

My early action serial # is under 200, the new one is 2700 something. No difference at all. Surgeon bottom metal in the McMillan, and Accuracy International Magwell in the AT-X. My TS Customs pre-fits are perfect with either action.

 

[Baron85]

Excellent to hear. I’m looking forward to trying my hand at the rimfire game. Moving to Houston in the next month or so and seems there is alot more rimfire matches than centerfire stuff in the area.

 

[021411]

Excellent to hear. I’m looking forward to trying my hand at the rimfire game. Moving to Houston in the next month or so and seems there is alot more rimfire matches than centerfire stuff in the area.

We have 3 PRS Rimfire Series matches a month you can shoot. TX Precision Matches, Walker County Benchrest, and Trinity Armory. All are within 1.5 hours of the greater Houston area. There’s also RTSS Gun Range monthly match if you want to drive north to Corsicana.

As far as centerfire, you can do TX Precision Matches or Anderson.

 

[Franko]

Just picked up a Rimx barreled action with Manzella green mountain barrel and lothar walther barrel. I was told it is the older style action, I can’t find any info on old vs new rimx action.

Can anyone explain to me what the differences are and if there are any updated parts I should be ordering while I wait for it to show up?

The first batch of actions had something wrong with the material of the extractor and it caused them to prematurely fail. Later actions had that issue addressed. That is the only issue I am aware of. I had one of the first batch of actions and Zermatt made it right with me as soon as the issue was discovered.

 

[MC56]

the extractor mod is cool but I feel like it's a non-issue if you tune your mag height appropriately. My understanding is that the whole point of it is to be able to buy prefits without extractor cuts.

 

[EagleEyeShooting]

Having built many Rim-X's, IMO the quality of the action speaks for itself and is still our shop recommendation for a custom build. Even with the extractor mods, the action tennons are threaded very close to one another that building a "prefit" with 15* angled extractors grooves similar to the B14r will still time up.
However, what I have seen with prefits is a coin toss for accuracy and reliability. Relying on that barrel makers to hold tight tolerances. For those that aren't aware, the Rim-X bolt only allows for .045" headspace as designed with the barrel tennon touching the bolt face. Headspace plays a huge factor for accuracy. Holding 1 thou tolerances on a production run, from expirence requires a special talent

I personally have over 10k rounds through my Rim-X before this mod. With having to change the extractor only once. Like others mentioned, it's a reliable system if you understand how to maintain it during a course of fire. Their are still times either self induced malfunction or not that I had to spend time on the clock clearing it. IMO having this mod regardless who's doing it, as a competitor, is just added reliability for a fantastic 22lr action

 

[jbell]

Having built many Rim-X's, IMO the quality of the action speaks for itself and is still our shop recommendation for a custom build. Even with the extractor mods, the action tennons are threaded very close to one another that building a "prefit" with 15* angled extractors grooves similar to the B14r will still time up.
However, what I have seen with prefits is a coin toss for accuracy and reliability. Relying on that barrel makers to hold tight tolerances. For those that aren't aware, the Rim-X bolt only allows for .045" headspace as designed with the barrel tennon touching the bolt face. Headspace plays a huge factor for accuracy. Holding 1 thou tolerances on a production run, from expirence requires a special talent

I personally have over 10k rounds through my Rim-X before this mod. With having to change the extractor only once. Like others mentioned, it's a reliable system if you understand how to maintain it during a course of fire. Their are still times either self induced malfunction or not that I had to spend time on the clock clearing it. IMO having this mod regardless who's doing it, as a competitor, is just added reliability for a fantastic 22lr action

I agree, the fixed extractor of the RimX is IMO a solution looking for a problem. A prefit in a centerfire is a good idea that if executed properly works well, however headspace is so much more critical with rimfire the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. I have owned a few RimX builds and used some prefit barrels for them & all gave very good accuracy. I do think there was a little accuracy left on the table. I wish I had taken the time to have one of the barrels I owned set back and headspaced specifically to the action just to see.

The big hang up I have with the RimX is the design of the cocking piece. The bottom is flat which increases the drag on the sear no matter how well the trigger is timed. Lock time is very critical for rimfire, as is consistent firing pin impact force. The dragging cocking piece is not optimal to maximize accuracy. But maybe that is just a me thing as I don’t hear much people talking about it…

 

[Baron85]

Picked up my first rimx today. Everything on the rifle was picked up used off here. Unfortunately in the middle of moving so likely won’t shoot it for at least a few weeks. Very happy with how it turned out so far. Matches my match rifle balance perfect.

Blown away with how smooth the action is and how flawlessly it cycles rounds from the mag.

Barrel is a Manzella precision green mountain 25” 1.2 straight

 

[padom]

These ACE barrels are really hammering! Also nice that the lead times on them are short, even for custom ordered blanks. Manzella has 3 M24's and 1 VCC contour ACE RimX barrels left in stock when I was talking to them yesterday.

 

[Stevenhansell]

These ACE barrels are really hammering! Also nice that the lead times on them are short, even for custom ordered blanks. Manzella has 3 M24's and 1 VCC contour ACE RimX barrels left in stock when I was talking to them yesterday.

My 24 inch 1.2 straight Ace is supposed to arrive at the house today. Can’t wait to get it put together. Manzella was great to work with.

 

[padom]

My 24 inch 1.2 straight Ace is supposed to arrive at the house today. Can’t wait to get it put together. Manzella was great to work with.

You'll be happy, all reports I've gotten are they are winning comps and shooting amazing. Mike is great to work with.

 

[021411]

You'll be happy, all reports I've gotten are they are winning comps and shooting amazing. Mike is great to work with.

Yeah he’s trying to get me to try Ace next. He has my MullerWorks blank right now.

 

[padom]

Yeah he’s trying to get me to try Ace next. He has my MullerWorks blank right now.

I have a second ACE blank. I may do it up for RimX and compare the 1.2" straight vs the thinner barrel with a tuner to see if any difference.

 

[chillywig]

Well after doing a lot of reading about different prefits I was wanting to try a new barrel too. I ordered a 24" threaded Ace VCC from Manzella to see if he could work me a little magic. Finally made it to the range this eve. 5 shots to get on paper. Then this upside down dork target. I started shooting in the middle. 1st 30 rounds chrono was showing some weird speed things happening. After 30 shots gun settled in. Out of next 15 5 round groups 11 were in the 0.2s with the 2 lots of center X I have nearly full cases of. Very positive experience working with Mike.

 

[anon]

@Criver600

Which scope bases are you using?

How high are the M40 rings?

I'm guessing the AT-X is a 1.2 or 1.25 straight barrel. Does it make any contact with the forend?

Which tuner is on the AT-X?

Do the mags work well in the AT-X AICS chassis? Did they require much tuning, and are they sensitive to pressure being applied to them?

Thanks.

 

[Criver600]

@Criver600

Which scope bases are you using?

How high are the M40 rings?

I'm guessing the AT-X is a 1.2 or 1.25 straight barrel. Does it make any contact with the forend?

Which tuner is on the AT-X?

Do the mags work well in the AT-X AICS chassis? Did they require much tuning, and are they sensitive to pressure being applied to them?

Thanks.

Scope Base on both rifles is a Murphy Precision 30moa, 8" long
M40 rings Nightforce 1.125
Barrel contour on both rifles is Bartlien's #14, no contact you can run 1.25 in the AT-X
AT-X tuner Warner Tool Co.
Mags run flawlessly, not sensitive at all. M40 has Surgeon bottom metal

 

[anon]

Thank you very much. The AT-X is pretty much exactly what I was wanting to do. Nice to see it working.

 

[chillywig]

I shot some 100 yard groups this eve. Good conditions. Close to no wind.

Not sure what kind of average I should say "that's good enough" ??? Seems I always want better

Probably need to work on leveling my scope as I just changed the mount. Dialed up 1.9 mils. 50 yard zero I felt was a touch left...

 

[padom]

For anyone looking for a RimX barrel, I was just talking to Mike over @ Manzella Precision.

He said he just sold his last ACE VCC contour RimX barrel and has 3 ACE M24 RimX barrels left in stock.

He's doing a July 4th sale. $25 off his normal RimX barrel price, target crown or muzzle threads included and free shipping. Your choice of finish length up to 26".

This sale is on the last 3 ACE M24's he has left. When these last 3 sell the sale is over.

 

[chillywig]

I've been away with the family for a few days. Just got home and received a Garmin arca mount and wanted to put in on my rimx to check it out. Got the rifle out and noted the thread protector was not tight, backed itself off almost a whole turn. Wonder how a thread protector that works itself loose while shooting for groups changes things???

 

[021411]

Put some more rounds through my new barrel from Mike at Manzella Precision. This time it’s a 25” MullerWorks 13 twist. For the record I am not a shill for him or get any kickbacks or discounts. He’s just super easy to work with and an all around nice guy. I have paid full price for all the work he’s done so far which have been 3 RimX barrels. I just wanted to be clear about all that.

I ran some Eley Semi-Auto Benchrest through it which has been lot tested on another rifle. The numbers below are through the new barrel. The two targets were at 200y and 300y. The 200y group was shot holding about a mil off the left edge. It’s roughly 1.75”. The 300y group is about 3”. I’m not mad at them. I’m sure this barrel will get even better. It has less than 300 rounds through it to date.

 

[Csafisher]

That’s pretty solid. The random lots of eley semi-auto benchrest and ultra long range I’ve tried in my MW 13t shoot like a shotgun. But the es was double yours and the sd triple….

 

[021411]

That’s pretty solid. The random lots of eley semi-auto benchrest and ultra long range I’ve tried in my MW 13t shoot like a shotgun. But the es was double yours and the sd triple….

Most of the lots I’ve purchased of Semi-Auto Benchrest to test have been very good numbers wise. I usually don’t see higher than 8 SD and 30-ish ES. Although I do shoot SK/Lapua, Eley has been my go to. It’s just easier to get and lot test since you can get single boxes.

 

[Stevenhansell]

I’ve got about 200 rounds through my Ace barrel that Mike did and I’m super pleased so far. He does great work.

 

[Blwxxzy]

For anyone looking for a RimX barrel, I was just talking to Mike over @ Manzella Precision.

He said he just sold his last ACE VCC contour RimX barrel and has 3 ACE M24 RimX barrels left in stock.

He's doing a July 4th sale. $25 off his normal RimX barrel price, target crown or muzzle threads included and free shipping. Your choice of finish length up to 26".

This sale is on the last 3 ACE M24's he has left. When these last 3 sell the sale is over.

I bought one and he said he still has 2. I emailed Mike the length I wanted with a target crown yesterday, and he already sent me pictures of the finished barrel. It will ship Monday.