First off I just wanted say as a new member here, PRS/NRL shooter, and this being only the third threaded started in the PRS/NRL/LR section, I think it's awesome that Jerry and the others have made space for the PRS/NRL community here on Rimfire Accuracy! Personally I think it's awesome to have a forum of the benchrest community where they squeeze every bit of precision out of a rimfire rifle and have several years of experience/knowledge doing it, can hopefully teach and share some that information with the newer PRS/NRL rimfire community.
So with that said, I wanted to start a topic where hopefully BR builders like Mr. Stiller himself and PRS/NRL builders like David of DI Precision can chime in together for guys that want a better understanding of chambering/setup of rimfire rifles. It seems (to me personally as least anyway) most manufacturers and gunsmiths that are rebarreling/cutting prefits and are catering to the PRS/NRL community got their start in the market building those products for the centerfire side of the sport. With that said it seems most of them simply carry over the same care and methods they've used for chambering centerfire barrels to their rimfire counterparts. That maybe ok (not meaning to drag anyone through the mud), but when I have visited with rimfire shooters and gunsmiths or read topics on rimfire benchrest centered forums such as this one, there seems to be more variables or details that need to be considered. Often when I bring this up to my fellow competitors it seems they just want to sweep those rimfire specific variables/details under the rug with "do you really think that matters" or "thats the black magic of rimfire" not really taking the time to understand how those variables/details work. Personally for myself and a few of the other shooters in my circle we have started reaching out to gunsmiths with a good reputation for building rimfire benchrest rifles to have our rifles rebarreled, and for the most part have a better understanding of the mechanics of a rimfire rifle, as well as better performance from them in doing so.
So finally the nutshell of my long winded post, what variables or details should go into chambering a precision rimfire rifle, and how do they interact with the ammo and rifle components so the shooter can better plan their build, maintain, and troubleshoot for their rifle?
Does barrel length matter in relation to the bore after slugging or other method of gauging it?
What's the ideal headspace for the given ammo they may plan to use?
What's the effects of a shorter .030 bullet engagement or something deeper that goes well into the drive bands?
Does leade angle matter in relation to which brand of ammo is used?
What's the effects of cleaning only the chamber/carbon ring versus the whole bore?
Is there any difference chambering a single shot versus a repeater?
What is considered "broken in or seasoned" and roughly number of rounds to do so?
Any other details that may not pertain to centerfire, but make a difference in rimfire, or do they really?
Thanks again!
So with that said, I wanted to start a topic where hopefully BR builders like Mr. Stiller himself and PRS/NRL builders like David of DI Precision can chime in together for guys that want a better understanding of chambering/setup of rimfire rifles. It seems (to me personally as least anyway) most manufacturers and gunsmiths that are rebarreling/cutting prefits and are catering to the PRS/NRL community got their start in the market building those products for the centerfire side of the sport. With that said it seems most of them simply carry over the same care and methods they've used for chambering centerfire barrels to their rimfire counterparts. That maybe ok (not meaning to drag anyone through the mud), but when I have visited with rimfire shooters and gunsmiths or read topics on rimfire benchrest centered forums such as this one, there seems to be more variables or details that need to be considered. Often when I bring this up to my fellow competitors it seems they just want to sweep those rimfire specific variables/details under the rug with "do you really think that matters" or "thats the black magic of rimfire" not really taking the time to understand how those variables/details work. Personally for myself and a few of the other shooters in my circle we have started reaching out to gunsmiths with a good reputation for building rimfire benchrest rifles to have our rifles rebarreled, and for the most part have a better understanding of the mechanics of a rimfire rifle, as well as better performance from them in doing so.
So finally the nutshell of my long winded post, what variables or details should go into chambering a precision rimfire rifle, and how do they interact with the ammo and rifle components so the shooter can better plan their build, maintain, and troubleshoot for their rifle?
Does barrel length matter in relation to the bore after slugging or other method of gauging it?
What's the ideal headspace for the given ammo they may plan to use?
What's the effects of a shorter .030 bullet engagement or something deeper that goes well into the drive bands?
Does leade angle matter in relation to which brand of ammo is used?
What's the effects of cleaning only the chamber/carbon ring versus the whole bore?
Is there any difference chambering a single shot versus a repeater?
What is considered "broken in or seasoned" and roughly number of rounds to do so?
Any other details that may not pertain to centerfire, but make a difference in rimfire, or do they really?
Thanks again!