My (New to me) 541T

[steveyacht]

Well, finally got it yesterday! It may not meet the requirements for Hunter Rifle...... No barrel taper, trigger may be too light (no way to measure it) and may be too heavy, but I really don't care! Previous owner says that it shoots best with Lapua Midas Plus, with the next best results of Eley 10X. It has a 1/4 MOA dot, which I will most likely have changed to at least a 1/2 or larger..... as soon as I can see some examples in person. The Barrel is a stainless steel Broughton that is marked Rem 541 Voelker 22LR Match Broughton 16 TW 5C. If anyone can decipher those markings I would appreciate it. Again, according to the previous owner, the action has had the complete Voelker cusomization re work, another action screw as well as totally free floating the barrel, bedding, crown on barrel, action and trigger work. If anything, I would like to make the trigger a bit heavier, I can work on that later. Hopefully Sunday I can get to the range and sight it in.

Speaking of sighting in, what is the best range (in meters) to sight in at?

If you can't tell, I am very excited by my new toy!!! Thank you all for your help and advice!!!

Steve

[BCloninger]

That is beautiful! How does it shoulder for you?

[Boyd L.]

...The Barrel is a stainless steel Broughton that is marked Rem 541 Voelker 22LR Match Broughton 16 TW 5C. If anyone can decipher those markings I would appreciate it....

16 TW= the barrel is rifled at a 1 turn in 16 inches twist rate.
5C= I believe this is a particular style of rifling cut (design) used in this barrel.
I'm not certain but I believe the "Voelker 22 LR Match" designation may refer to a match chamber cut with a reamer made to Mr. Voelker's specifications.

Looks like a great start into Standard. Don't discount the 1/4 inch dot too soon.

Good luck.

[steveyacht]

...The Barrel is a stainless steel Broughton that is marked Rem 541 Voelker 22LR Match Broughton 16 TW 5C. If anyone can decipher those markings I would appreciate it....

16 TW= the barrel is rifled at a 1 turn in 16 inches twist rate.
5C= I believe this is a particular style of rifling cut (design) used in this barrel.
I'm not certain but I believe the "Voelker 22 LR Match" designation may refer to a match chamber cut with a reamer made to Mr. Voelker's specifications.

Looks like a great start into Standard. Don't discount the 1/4 inch dot too soon.

Good luck.

Boyd, Thank you! I won't be sending the scope out anytime soon, I have to at least shoot it first! Now that you mentioned the 1 in 16" twist, how will that effect my ammo choice, if at all?

Thanks!

Steve

[Bob259]

Sweet!!! Great choice

[Innocent]

Steve, for ammo testing, group test 5 and 10 shot groups at 100 meters. As for sighting in with that scope, sight in at 40 meters, set your scope turret to zero, then pigs (60m) should be up about 6 to 8 clicks (2 minutes), turkeys (77m) should be up another 8 to 12 clicks (4 to 5 minutes above 0), and rams at 100 m should be up another 8 to 12 clicks or 7 to 9 minutes above your chicken zero. The ammo and range lighting etc will dictate the actual zero for each animal.
Beacutiful rifle.

Mary

[BCloninger]

Mary, any thoughts on the legality of that barrel for Hunter class?

[Boyd L.]

......
Boyd, Thank you! I won't be sending the scope out anytime soon, I have to at least shoot it first! Now that you mentioned the 1 in 16" twist, how will that effect my ammo choice, if at all?

Thanks!

Steve

1 in 16 seems to be the current "standard" or most common twist.
A gunsmith friend has a 1in17 that he took off a custom 40-X bench gun and replaced with a 1 in 16. He mentioned that the 1 in 17 barrel shot better in colder temps. From what I've heard, read, (and maybe dreamed...) 1 in 16 seems to be the best compromise for best acceptable accuracy from the widest range of velocities in the widest range of climatic conditions. I own a dozen or so rimfire rifles and I have never checked the twist rate on any of them, though I suspect most are 1 in 16 inch twist.
Lots of variables will affect your accuracy. Try a few lots of whatever standard velocity ammunition is available locally and I'm sure you'll find the ones your rifle will shoot best.

[BCloninger]

When the trouble plagued Remington 504 first appeared, many people blamed the 1 in 14.5 twist and argued that all would have been well if only Remington had used the standard 1 in 16. It seems like Remington (or, allegedly, a stubborn senior engineer) based that design choice on work done by Eley, but 1 in 16 is so established that anything else is a hard sell.

[lone ringer]

When the trouble plagued Remington 504 first appeared, many people blamed the 1 in 14.5 twist and argued that all would have been well if only Remington had used the standard 1 in 16. It seems like Remington (or, allegedly, a stubborn senior engineer) based that design choice on work done by Eley, but 1 in 16 is so established that anything else is a hard sell.

It has been said by experts that 1 in 16 is the best compromise for accurate .22, the problem is that most of the testing is done at 50 yards/meters because that is the distance where most .22s are shot in BR and International competition but if the research had included 100 yards/meters or longer distances its very possible that a different twist would have been suggested.

I had heard of that since back in the 80's and had also witnessed handguns (Anschutz single shots) with custom barrels that were 1-14 twist out shooting target rifles with 1-16 barrels at 100 yards in windy conditions so when I heard that Gary Schneider was making special barrels for David Tubb and Karen Mones rifles with 1-14 twist. I called Gary and ordered one for me with a reverse taper. I still have that barrel with the exception that it was re contoured by Mark Pharr to meet Hunting rifle requirements.

That barrel is accurate to 200 meters and several times at state matches in CA and AZ I used it to practice shooting high power chickens with it so as to save my high power ammo. The hunting rifle that the barrel is on was used by my friend Agustin Sanchez Jr. in 2008 to set the current national record of 115X120.

What I am claiming is based on my own experiences and it would take a great deal of experimenting by experts like Steve Boelter to prove the validity of my claims but I am convinced that 1-14 twist barrels perform better at longer distances and also in windy conditions than 1-16 barrels.
I can also tell you that my good friend Mike Dewey who makes some of the most accurate .22 silhouette handguns uses Shilen 1-14 twist barrels exclusively

[BCloninger]

Problems with the 504 had nothing to do with the twist rate and everything to do with ill-advised cost cutting in design and production. The 541 is remarkably different - to me, it looks like there's a lot of hand work in the locking lugs and then there are gunsmiths like Voelker with a reputation for coaxing great things from them.

[steveyacht]

Now that you have seen it, was $1,300.00 a fair price?

Just need reassurement.

[BCloninger]

[kevinbear]

There is a common process among 22lr shooters to experiment with ammunition starting with the inexpensive varieties and working their way up to what there satisfied with as far as accuracy.
As far as testing quality made 22lr firearms I believe this is the WRONG approach! Start with Tenex, there is about a 99.9% chance that the best groups will come with Tenex. That sets the standard, now try Eley black box, Lapua center X or maybe even some R100. From there it's going to come down to what your willing to put up with as far as flyers, the next level down will find you at Eley yellow box or my personal favorite for club matches- SK Match. One thing most people don't consider is that it is alot more fun to test good ammunition than crap ammunition, and in case anyones forgotten we do this for fun!
Expect groups to be well under an inch with Tenex and around an inch with SK match. If you can, shoot the groups indoors and do not use a conventional benchrest for your 541, use this type of rest with a rear bag as well http://www.midwayusa.com/product/264776 ... n-unfilled. Make certain to adjust all the parallax out of your scope and good luck!

[tenx9]

A couple of questions and observations. How action screws does an original 541T come with? I know 40x's have 2. If its now 3 there could be a problem torgueing the action. How is the action bedded? Is it on aluminum bedding blocks? Some type of Devcon bedding? Very important for accuracy. What "inch/pound" is the action torqued to? Anywhere from 30-35 inch/pounds is the norm for Anschutz or Walthers. Lastly, we all know that TENX shoots the best and would normally should under an inch at 100yds if the bedding and torqueing is right. I always felt that custom rigs with match grade stainless bbls should shoot 1 1/2" with less quality ammo. I get 1 1/4" groups at 100yds with the cheap Wolf ammo. More than acceptable for silohuette shooting. Unless your loaded or a master shooter it doean't pay to shoot TENX or the real high end stuff. Buy cheaper stuff and practice more.