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

You need proper equipment.Get you a rod guide. You won't hurt it with proper cleaning.
http://www.championshooters.com/home/css-online-shop


After you have ALL the old lead and carbon out only shoot good quality target lubed ammo and you won't have this problem again. You will likely get your best groups after about 50 rounds of a good ammo the gun likes. You should get 1/4" or better at 50 yards. Wolf MT and SK Standard Plus are good economy ammo.

Glad you are getting it straightened out.

Here are some more ammo sources.
http://www.iss-internationalshootersservice.com/
http://www.goodshootinginc.com/
http://www.killoughshootingsports.com/index.php/ammo.html?p=3

What ammo are you shooting now? Just a word of encouragement,my Annie shoots 3/4 or so at 50 yards with cheap ammo but 1/4 or so with the good target stuff it likes.

Wolf Match Extra (best groups), Eley Club, RWS Target Rifle, SK Match, SK Standard Plus, Geco Rifle, Norma TAC-22, Norma Match 22.

Lot samples of Lapua Center-X are on the way.

The springs replacement may also be a great suggestion. This 54 Match is very sensitive to doing everything (breath control, trigger pull, concentration, etc.) absolutely correctly. My other target rifles aren't nearly as finicky.

I bet it shoots even better with new springs.

What springs should be replaced? Just the firing pin spring? Also, should the firing pin spring be the regular proper diameter spring; or "loaded" 2 spring set, whatever that is?

https://www.jnpgunsprings.com/

Get a hold of these folks. They should be able to help you. Hasbeen

Okay. Also Wolff makes replacement springs.

Back on the cleaning. If JB is involved and I think you said it was, one will generate "black" until well after the cows come home. That stuff just turns black with a pass or two down the bore, and you will never experience a white swabbing patch. Find a buddy with a bore scope, or just look at the muzzle end with Q-tip and a flashlight. If one sees dime bright steel, he's there.

Waxed and/or coated slugs seldom give one any issues. Bare lead, however, has some potential for leading.

Like said above. After a cleaning, mine need 15 or 20 rds to settle down. Thereafter, I'd not clean until accuracy falls off or one's in an environment that experiences some serious temperature/humidity swings.

what's the Q-tip and flashlight technique, 1minute? I'm not familiar with it.

yes, JB will generate black all day and all night long.

Only good for looking at about 3 inches of bore, but poke Q-tip in to maximum depth, and then shine a flashlight down. White cotton bounces enough light around to illuminate the bore.

Okay, I'll try it. THANKS!!

I have just received & installed a new firing pin spring, and will report back on it after I test it in the next several days.

New firing pin spring installed. Today, I put about 100 rounds down the tube at 50 yards...Lapua Center-X (a known accurate lot); Wolf Match Extra (also an accurate lot); Eley Club; Geco Rifle; RWS Target Rifle.

Groups shrunk slightly, but nothing to write home a about.
Still have a flier or two in a 5 shot group.

Different scope tried---a 24x Fecker.

If you're anything like me, you're prone to falling into bad habits and practices without realizing it. My most accurate rimfire is a Model 52 repro, and I have found that getting the best out of it is very demanding. I have to consciously make myself grip the rifle the same and make sure I'm not pushing the buttstock to maintain sight (scope) alignment. If I do everything right, I can get five shots in a quarter-inch or less at fifty. But if I'm being sloppy, groups over a half-inch are not uncommon.

Agreed with RiverRider that form is everything. I shot two 22's and 2 center fires today. The Annie is the only one that didn't perform well.

The H&R 12 target that I shot had a 5 shot one hole group with Lapua Center-X at the end of the day.

Yes, the Annie is touchy, and won't tolerate sloppiness.

I sympathize with you in your frustration.

There is one other thing I can think of that might hold some potential for a solution---headspace. I am not familiar with the Anschutz 54, but I had a 541-T that had just a bit of excess headspace. The bolt in the 541/581 is two-piece and I was able to assemble it with a shim in between the two parts to decrease headspace a bit, and it seemed to help.

I have also done a bit of rim thickness sorting with some rimfire ammo. I used a Stoney Point bullet comparator set with the .24-caliber insert and used this to measure. It may not give good absolute measurements, but I think it's an effective technique for sorting. Measurements seem to range from 0.040" to 0.043" and you might gain some insight by sorting and shooting the stuff with the thickest rims and comparing to accuracy of ammo with the thinnest rims. That's no solution to the problem, but like I said, you might gain a little insight that could help you determine what the problem may be and then correct it.

I had to drill out a little material in the comparator body to accommodate the length of a .22 LR round.

Best of luck...and please let us know what the problem turns out to be---I hope you figure it out!

I do sort all of my ammo by rim thickness. Oddball variant ammo are used for coating the barrel.

I'll look into the headspace issue---THANKS FOR THE SUGGRESTION!!

At this point, it's probably going to a local (2 hours away) gunsmith who specializes in .22 target rifles.

I did speak by phone with a local Western PA gunsmith, who specializes in building .22 bench rest target rifles.

I explained my dilemma, and the first question that he asked was, "are you trying to shoot bench rest competition with an all position rifle?" If so, you're probably fighting an uphill battle, because of stock design, stock cast off, etc.

He said that there are some shooters who can do it, but the average shooter will indeed experience inconsistencies, including fliers.

Anschutz 54 traded to a position shooter.