Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Any remington 541 shooters here?

I picked up a 541 T HB in a trade recently. I'd like to hear from some of you that have them? It's one gorgeous rifle. I've mounted a scope but haven't had a chance to get to the range yet.

I have 4 541's. A HB like yours, a 541-T Sporter, a 541-S, and a 581 with 541 parts. The 541 are exceptional shooters, especially with target or match grade ammo. They can be made to shoot even better with some work, but generally they are tackdrivers right out of the box. Also, they hold their resale value quite well.

I have two 541s .22s....one original and one that has a custom maple stock added. Love these guns for accuracy

PennDog

K22 said it all. Excellent shooters out of the box that hold their value very well. Considering what high quality 22's cost now, they are still a good buy. My 541s would be one of the last rifles I would ever sell.

Thanks for the replies gentlemen. I've never had many rifles that I would say have a permanent home but I believe this one will be staying. I've had numerous 77/22's and a 77/17. While they are very nice rifles. They can't compare to the 541.
Now I'm looking for more.

Love the gun but I hate the plastic mag.

While I may not dispute that, I must admit that after 25yrs. the mag. still work great, never rusted, and feed ramps never got bent.If I had any complaints about the plastic mag. it would be that it doesn't fit flush to the bottom of the stock.

I finally quit procrastinating and sent my 541-THB off to Brian Voelker for the works. Wanted to make a great rifle even better. Here is a pic of the new/old rifle with my Weaver T-36 mounted on it:



Unfortunately, I had knee replacement surgery on January 8th and I did not have time before the surgery to give it a solid accuracy testing session. However, I did get to use this rig in our local 50/50 Sporter Silhouette Match the weekend before surgery and shot my best offhand score ever with it. Said score was only good enough for second place but at least I lost by only one animal to my best friend, who was having one of his "on" days. I left 9 of the 50 animals standing and he left 8.

Still may be a couple of more weeks before I feel like going to the range. Quite frustrating. Oh well, I will concentrate on rehab and just keep thinking about how much that new metal and plastic knee will help me with my shooting in the future.

Here is the list of mods and cost of each:

Rebuild - threading action & barrel, lapping lugs, deburr bolt, recrown, chambering = $195.00

700 Remington style recoil lug = 30.00

Second action screw installed = 30.00

Trigger rework (mine now measures 13.8 ozs on a Lyman trigger gauge) = 25.00

Pillar bed front and rear screws = 75.00

Cleaning rod guide = 18.00

Shipping = 25.00

Total = $398.00

I sent him the rifle in early September and got it back December 26th.

Oh, here is a YouTube show of the aforementioned 50/50 fun match:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkJi4fHMpKM&feature=channel_page

Where's the bolt release on the 541?

I figured it out....AARRGGG

I have a few mags for my 541 and I did have a problem with the original. I was loading the mag and it split into two pieces at the seam. I think the 541 is one of the best 22lr made except for the darn mag. I wish Remington would offer it again.

The 541 is the best American 22 bolt gun ever built . The only 22 rimfire that can compete with Anschult(spelling)

Not to sure I would go that far out on a limb. I've got 2 Sako Quads and a KDF K22 that will do that.

I owned a 541S in the 80's and loved it. However I'm sure some Kimber/Cooper/Winchester 52 Sporter owners would dispute that statement. Not bad in it's (original) price range though.

Not to much coffee and a scope with A/O with some match ammo
bed gun,this was my much cheeper 581 Rem this week at 50 yards
there is 7 shots I usually shoot 5 shot groups but had 2 bullets left to empty box kinda wish I had a 10 shot group but I am sure I would have opened group way out.buy gauge to check rim thickness helps. you will love your new 541 " class="post-image" style="height:auto!important;max-width:100%!important;"/>]

You got a DANDY! I've got two; haven't even tried one of them yet.. But the other's the most accurate 22 I've ever had. Stoked with Eley ammo, 5 shots are one slightly ragged hole at 15 yds..

Just treat the magazines gently..

Had a 541S and a 581 years ago, but let someone talk me out of them. Got starry eyed for some new toy......

I already love it and haven't even fired it yet.The 541 just shoulders well. What blows my mind is how well balanced the 541 is. The 541 doesn't feel any heavier than my 77/22 sporter with four inch difference in barrel lenth. I'm sure that's due to the 77's action. It's quite a chunk of metal compared to the 541.
How do most of you prefer to bed the action on the 541? Pillar or glass? Any other tinkering how to's are appreciated as well.
Thanks

I glass bedded my 541-S, but pillar bedded the 2 541-T's. As for additional tweaking it depends on what you want to spend. If yours only has the single action screw, then adding the second action screws is a plus, especially if your going to pillar bed it. Lightening the trigger pull will help the accuracy also. The biggest improvement would be to have the receiver and barrel threaded, with a match chamber being added to the barrel along with a new crown on the muzzle.

My 541 is a newer model with two action screws and another in front of the mag well. The trigger on it now is pretty good. Breaks clean at 34 Oz so right at three Lbs. I would like to fashion an overtravel stop for it. I've got to tear it down and figure out all of the mechanics of the trigger group.
Thanks for the information .

wareagle,
Your trigger should look like the one in the drawing. If so, it is the 3 screw model and has an overtravel adjustment screw.

Thanks for the picture K22. I saved it to my hard drive. It will be a great help.

I have two 581's that I had Brian Voelker work his magic on the triggers. Best money I ever spent!

..I do love my 541Thb. It shoots one hole groups with Remington Club Extra ammo and does well with most ammo. I've a couple of Kimbers that will out shoot it overall though, since they shoot most any match ammo into tight groups. All my rifles are out of box. My CZ 542 is also a very accurate gun!

I shoot a 541 X Govt Model from the CMP.

Mike

I have an old "plain Jane" 541 and would like to buy a new stock for it. Does anyone know where I could buy one? Thanks.

SDH

......Sorry, I noticed I'd flipped the model numbers for the CZ. Corrected here...

Here is a follow up to my earlier post about my Voelker customized Remington 541-THB and its Weaver T-36 scope.

Well, my knee replacement surgery was on January the 8th. After finishing my hour of leg exercises this morning, I asked Karen if she would drive me over to the range to shoot a little while. She thought that was a fine idea and we headed over just before noon.

The SK Rifle Match had shown the most promise so far in the Voelker Remington. I put a single box in the range bag and we headed for Sheffield.

We only carried the one rifle. Karen's corneal transplant of her right eye (shooting eye) was performed on January the 5th and even though her eye was showing miraculous progress, she thought she would wait a little longer before shooting.

I had placed nine 1 inch Birchwood Casey dots on the back of a 50 Foot Slow Fire Pistol Target. She walked it down to the 50 yard berm for me and stapled it up. I had taken my heavy Caldwell rest and its accessories out of our vehicle just before my surgery (no point burning gas to drag that hunk of iron around for several weeks). I didn't want to burden her with carrying that around for me today. So, we used the club's utilitarian Midway blue metal rest and rear rabbit ear sandbag. Its a functional set-up. The only 50 yard 240 USBR target I ever shot was with this bag and rest about three years ago. I skipped putting up the Caldwell Wind Flags because it seemed relatively calm (I later wished we had put them up).

I had fired over a hundred rounds of several different types of ammo through this rifle before the surgery. I wanted to give the rifle a good test with the SK Rifle Match from a clean barrel. You know, get it clean, pick one promising ammo, season the bore with that ammo, and put a couple of hundred rounds through it to comply with Brian Voelker's suggestion to "shoot it dirty". A couple of nights before the surgery, I had used the Voelker supplied rod guide, some Hoppe's #9, a couple of dozen cotton patches, a quality jag and rod, JB Bore Cleaner, and a final patch with a drop or two of Break Free CLP to prepare for this next test before putting the rifle away.

Today's results are posted below. The calm breezes turned into light gusts at time. On a beautiful mid 60s day like today these winds can sneak up on you and Karen and I shared some laughs of frustration about them.



I started with the bottom single dot and then progressed left to right through the next two higher rows (the groups are numbered in order). You wouldn't think that I would have been so excited about that first .79" group but this is the rifle that consistently would throw a 1+ inch flyer everytime from a cold barrel (prior to the Voelker rebuild) and even worse from a clean and cold barrel and this would occur after only a few minutes of cooling. The groups seemed to tighten up nicely and I thought number 9 was going to be a quarter incher after cutting the same hole with the first two shots. But, my failure to catch a crossing rear right to left front wind cost me. After the third shot disaster and the realization the wind was still holding, I took the center hold again and sacrificed the fourth shot to confirm the influence. The wind stopped and number five piled into the first two holes. I am pretty sure the next range session will result in even tighter groups.

I coaxed Karen over to the scope to look at the groups. I regretted it at first because a 36 power scope is not the optimum choice for a person that has not shot in over two and a half years (that's when the eye infection that destroyed her cornea was) to try to peer through. I made sure her seat height was correct, I adjusted her holding positions, and her cheek weld. I explained to her how powerful the scope was and how critical the eye relief was with this scope. Finally, she got a feel for it and the scope's view quit flashing between black and daylight for her. She was actually intrigued by the clear view with her "bad" eye and the fact that the target sheet virtually filled up the entire field of view.

I said that there were five rounds left and asked her if she would like to try a group. She said she would. She walked down a three inch dot and stuck it on our target.

We got her all adjusted into position again and she squeezed off the first shot. With disapointment in her voice, she said that she had missed the entire target. I said, "what" and had a look for myself. I already had a clue as to what may have happened. A left over target paper was pasted under ours on the backer and the shooter was using three inch BC dots on it. I had noticed earlier that one of his/her dots was just below our target paper and there was not a hole in it. I had almost dumped some foulers in it until I decided to record the cold barrel group. Sure enough, Karen had picked the wrong dot and placed a hole in the edge of its black diamond.

After pointing it out to her and getting her back on our paper, she proceeded to make four solid hits going into .66 inch. We thanked the good Lord, the young donor's family, and the skilled surgical team for bestowing her with this second chance at vision in her right eye.

A great first day back at the range. We picked up Burger King #1s with cheese on our way home and enjoyed a late lunch on our 105 year old front porch with the sun shining and the birds singing.

I had wanted a 541 for many years and finally found a 541T a couple of years ago at a gun show. I basically traded a Rem 700 in .375 H&H for it. It was in new shape with no signs of wear on either the metal or wood. It also had a 1" Simmons 3-9x scope on it.

I put a 1" recoil pad on it to give it a 14" LOP which is basically the same as my hunting rifles. It is a great practice rifle for offhand and shooting off African style sticks.

I have two; a 541-S and 541-T. They are great rifles and probably a bargain in today's market for an accurate sporter rifle.

...The 580 (single shot version) 581 (5 shot clip fed), and 582 (tubular fed version) share the 541's reciever but are lighter less expensive models for the market's main sales area. These guns while not as astecically appealing in the wood stock, and metal polish,that's sported by the upgraded 541's, are often superbly accurate, the equal of the 541. If looking for a less expensive entry into top production accuracy these Remington models might fit the bill.
....Remington also used the same reciever to build the 590 model, chambered for the 5mm Remington Magnum.

Thanks for all replies gents. I finally got around to shooting the 541. I mounted a Simmons 4-12x40SF on it for now. It's every bit as accurate as I've been told they are. It was very informal shooting off sand bags placed on the rails of my truck bed. But the rifle would hold single ragged hole groups with Wolf Match Target ammo. It shot pretty much everything I fed it well except for CCI CB longs. They looked like a shotgun pattern.I'm going to take it out again soon to ring it out with hunting ammo only. After all I have no intention of using it as a bench gun only.

...That Wolf Match ammo has performed so well in a bunch of my 22's that I bought several bricks of it. It is perfectly suited to squirrel hunting as well! ACCURATE, and quiet..It shoots on a par with Remington Club Extra in most of my guns , and is much more affordable.

I bought 3 bricks 4-5 years ago when it could still be had for 22.00 per 500rds. The prices I'm seeing now make me wish I would have bought much more. I'm down to 9 boxes left so I'll stick with Minimags and shorts for hunting.

Nice to know about the Wolf match stuff.. I've never tried it but I will now.. Thanks for the tip.

Well honestly it's not the "Good Deal" it used to be. If you can find it now your going to pay 5.00 - 6.00 a box. There is quite abit of good rimfire ammo in that price range. But when you could get it for 22-25.00 a brick now that was a helluva bargain.

...Took the 541 out to the range today. Shot Wolf match, and bulk pack Remington golden bullet hollow points for a comparison twixt great stuff and cheap stuff. The best Wolf match groups (5 shots) were literally one hole, one such group was so small it was difficult to tell it was more than a ONE shot hole!The Remington bulk pack stuff blew my mind since it too shot one hole groups, but they were about the size a dime could cover.

....I thank you guys for bringing up this Remington 541 thread, It spurred me on to shoot the old gal that's been languishing in a safe for a few years. Now it's going on a squirrel hunt after Church tomorrow! My Kimber's will wait it out.

OlHippie, I couldn't help but notice your in Ga also. Where are you located? Maybe we could get together for a rimfire shoot.

I have a 541T sporter, it is very accurate and I love the way the rifle is balanced.

The balance was what sold me on them 15 years ago. They just beg to be shot offhand.

My one 541-s has the incredibly unique (for me) ability to shoot just about any type of ammo to the same POI and nearly the same level of accuracy....wish all my rifles did that

PennDog