Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Anschutz 54 Match Rifle Issue

I have a mid-1970's Anschutz 54 Match rifle that doesn't perform as well as I feel that it should. I've tried all brands of ammo (Wolf Match Extra, Eley Club, Geco Rifle, Lapua Center-X, Norma Match-22 , RWS Target Rifle, Federal Target, CCI Standard Velocity, Winchester T-22, etc.). When a different type of ammo was tried, I shot a minimum of 20 rounds of that brand before the testing commenced. I wiped the bore with Hoppes No. 9 and a proper patch before the testing started. No wire brush or a JB Bore stuff has been used.

At 50 yards, with a proven Unertl 20x scope, a 5-shot group would do maybe 1" at best. What is the norm was 2 or 3 better than that (1/2" or so) with a couple fliers. Using Anschutz iron target sights at 50 feet showed similar inconsistencies.

The rifle has a factory barrel that has an enlarged terminal end that has a connector ring that you can feel when running a patch through it.

I'm wondering if it's the ammo; carbon buildup near the chamber or enlarged end connection, or maybe something else. Maybe a barrel tuner would help?

As fate would have it, I have a friend who is experiencing a similar problem.

I've always experienced excellent accuracy form Anschutz rifles.

Any experienced thoughts or ideas to help solve the problem would be appreciated.

Have you checked/played with the tension on the action screws? Too loose or too tight can make a big difference. Many different opinions on frequency and methods of barrel cleaning but I wouldn't hesistate to make a few/several very careful passes with a clean bronze brush down the barrel.
I used to only make a few passes with a patch and solvent but was amazed at the funk that came out with a few brush strokes...

"The rifle has a factory barrel that has an enlarged terminal end that has a connector ring that you can feel when running a patch through it. "

What do you mean by connector ring? Are you feeling a loose spot when a tight patch is pushed through? I have a 1607 that shoots like crap (1 1/4" @50yd) but it has a loose spot right at the start of the larger diameter at the end of the barrel. Sounds like that is what you are describing. If that is the case, a new barrel is in order, cut off the offending portion if it will leave enough barrel length, or back-bore to the loose spot and re-crown. I will be trying the latter before replacing the barrel if that doesn't work.

Maybe all it needs is a recrown?

Follow the attached below to a pic of the barrel end. It must be some sort of an accuracy enhancement? When I run patch down to the end, I can feel a "ring" were the barrel gets larger

The screws were tightened with a torque wrench by a fellow shooter who also shoots Anschutz rifles.

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/...tryq.jpg?1472495732398&1472495732681

What I am seeing is a sight block for a front sight.

Usually Anschutz barrel rifling is slightly tighter at the front end for a "choke effect", not larger as you are describing.

If you look closely you can see the sight block and the enlarged outer diameter of the barrel in this link, this has been typical of Anschutz for years.

http://www.anschutznorthamerica.com/uploads/1/9/9/7/19975381/2527159.jpg?948

drover

Okay. Thanks for the correction. I learned something that should have been apparent to me.

Any chance that it can simply leaded up? Maybe a really thorough cleaning.

X2
No telling how it's been treated over the years with different types of ammo.Give it a through cleaning with a better lead solvent.

The only other thing you might try is replacing the firing pin spring. It could be getting inconsistent strikes but it should still shoot way better than what you are getting.

I've owned them and at 50 yards with good ammo that rifle should be capable of a 50X shot group. That's 5 in the X that's the diameter of a 22 caliber bullet.


You might also want to check out www.rimfirecentral.com

This seems all wrong to me. I think it's possible that the bore is all crudded up and that might be where you're feeling a tight bore. Maybe the "loose" portion of the bore is the only part that is NOT crudded up. It may not fix the problem you are describing, but proper cleaning surely couldn't hurt a thing.

I have pretty close to exact same gun from same time period with the same scope, with a tad less magnification. at 50 yards, 5 shots, it will do 1/4 inch center to center with rws rifle. Some times more and some times less, but never an inch.

I have no idea what a "conector ring" is. I dont feel anything when I pull a patch through a clean bore. Smooth as glass.

When I got mine,I looked very carefully at the muzzle to verify there was not any noticeable cleaning rod wear.

I think a thorough bore scrubbing should be your first order of business. Again, TONS of differing opinions out there in regards to .22 barrel maintenance, with a lot of it being never touch them till accuracy falls off..
I was surprised at the amount of fouling that came out of mine with a few brush strokes. Up till then I had always just run a few wet patches every 1000 rounds or so and figured that was good enough..
As with fourbore, I have the same era Annie and it's even had about 4" and the Anschutz "cone" lopped off..it's the pink one in the pic. It can hang with the rest of the herd in our informal bragging rights shoot offs..There no doubt yours should be shooting better than it is.
Rifles 1, 4, and 7 have all been chopped with no adverse effects on accuracy. If you look closely at the rest you can see the flared end for the sight block like yours has. Save for the blue barrel which is actually a pressed on shroud of some sort..

Certifiable, that is a heck of a nice lineup of rifles there.

Obliged fourbore... We like to shoot some rimfire

I'm impressed with you guys! Your willingness to help; your knowledge; your insights, and your 22 rifle fire power are certainly awesome!

I have been reading up on cleaning the bore. I'll try that first.

Many thanks---I'll let you know how a make out.

The larger diameter on the muzzle end is designed to give a slight choke which helps accuracy. If as you push a tight, lubed patch down the bore from the chamber end it gets tighter at the larger diameter near the end of the barrel it is correct. If the patch gets loose any where down the bore, you have a ringed bore and it isn't likely to shoot well. My rifle as mentioned has a 1/2" long loose spot where the larger diameter portion begins and won't shoot less than 1 1/4" at 50yds.

I'll do some checking of the bore. I assume that not much can be done for a ringed bore.

Thanks for the info, gzig5 !

If the ring is near the muzzle like mine is, you can counter bore back past the ring and re-crown. If it is further back you can cut the barrel off in front of the ring as long as it will leave you with 16+" of barrel from the bolt face. Short barrels shoot just fine and a bloop tube can be added for iron sight radius extension if needed. I'll be doing the work so it's cheap to me, but if you can have it done for less than $100 it might be worth the chance if the rest of the bore is good. A quality re-barrel job is $300+ depending on the blank and who does it.

More great options. Thanks!

I cleaned The 54 match thoroughly with Hoppes/Rimfire Blend; Kroil; and JB paste. Lots of black coming out with each cleaning.

I decided to take it to the range, and it shot dramatically better! Some 5-shot 50 yard groups were under 1/2".

Now the question is, "how much barrel cleaning can I do, and not harm the barrel?

Sounds like the cleaning helped. But don't forget lock time. Old rifles are some times helped with new springs. Hasbeen