Lilja tight bore rimfire barrel?

PUP · March 11, 2008, 04:43 PM

I am looking at purchasing a lilja tight bore 22 rimfire barrel blank to build a heavy barrel for my remington 504.
Has anyone had any experinces with these barrels.

Bolosniper · March 11, 2008, 05:52 PM

Dan Lilja makes a very good and competitive 22 rimfire barrel. It is a 4 groove, tight bore configuration that has been very successful.

Scorch · March 12, 2008, 12:44 AM

Lilja 22LR match barrels have tighter bores than most 22 cal barrels (.218" IIRC). They shoot very well.

Martyn4802 · March 12, 2008, 05:06 AM

One of my shooting buddies up here had a Lilja tight bore 22 Rimfire barreled rifle built by Butch Hongisto that was a screamer. He won lots of matches with it, including shooting a 248 on the RBA target at 50 yards. The RBA target is the most difficult of all 22 Rimfire targets to shoot having a .10" diameter 10 ring.

Martyn

PUP · March 12, 2008, 06:59 AM

Thanks for the info. It makes me more confident about this choice.What chamber reamer would be best?

Scorch · March 12, 2008, 12:06 PM

Quote:

What chamber reamer would be best?

Match chamber. If you are going to have a tight bore, you need a tight chamber for best results.

PUP · March 12, 2008, 01:24 PM

What match chamber is best?
I have found at least six different ones.
The rifle will be built on a remington 504 action and will be used for indoor
50FT and outdoor 50YRD and 100YRD three position heavy rifle competitions.

**Unclenick** · March 12, 2008, 07:52 PM

Pick up a copy of Precision Shooting and write to Bill Calfee via the editor. Bill has built quite a number of the top prize winning .22 bench guns, and likes the Lilja barrels. He could probably recommend a chamber for you based on your action with that barrel. I know he likes to burnish his chambers after cutting, with a special tool. It is also worth going back over past issues of PS to learn how he slugs the .22 blanks to figure out which end will be the muzzle and which the chamber, and also how much to cut off the blank at each end? Besides, his folksy writing style makes for an extremely entertaining read.

Regarding the tight barrel, a lot of cast bullet shooters find they need the hard cast bullets about 0.002" to 0.003" over groove diameter for best rifle accuracy, rather than the traditional 0.001" over. It's a statistical observation, not a theoretical notion, and nobody knows why that should be true, just that it can be measured to be so. With the softer swaged lead in the RF it makes sense that number could be bigger. Certainly the soft lead squeezes into the barrel pretty easily, and I expect Dan Lilja has come up with his groove diameter just as empirically as the cast bullet guys came up with their bullet oversizing number. That's good. It means it works based on test experience rather than theory, also.

If you don't want to wait for Calfee's response, ask Lilja. He probably knows what Calfee is using.

PUP · March 13, 2008, 07:03 AM

Thanks for all the info. It is very helpful.

johnbt · March 13, 2008, 08:57 AM

He's working on an article for Precision Shooting according to what he's said on BRC. As far as reamers, I can't remember all of the details scattered throughout his posts. For instance, see post #26 at http://www.benchrest.com/forums/show...t=48126&page=2

(Note that he has others post his comments for him, but he signs them.)

That reminds me, I need to renew my 2-year subscription to PS.

John

March 11, 2008, 04:43 PM	#1
PUP Junior Member Join Date: March 8, 2008 Posts: 8	Lilja tight bore rimfire barrel? I am looking at purchasing a lilja tight bore 22 rimfire barrel blank to build a heavy barrel for my remington 504. Has anyone had any experinces with these barrels.

March 12, 2008, 12:44 AM	#3
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	Lilja 22LR match barrels have tighter bores than most 22 cal barrels (.218" IIRC). They shoot very well. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

March 12, 2008, 05:06 AM	#4
Martyn4802 Senior Member Join Date: June 12, 2007 Location: Grayling, Michigan Posts: 737	One of my shooting buddies up here had a Lilja tight bore 22 Rimfire barreled rifle built by Butch Hongisto that was a screamer. He won lots of matches with it, including shooting a 248 on the RBA target at 50 yards. The RBA target is the most difficult of all 22 Rimfire targets to shoot having a .10" diameter 10 ring. Martyn __________________ US Army Retired NRA Benefactor Life Member JPFO

March 12, 2008, 01:24 PM	#7
PUP Junior Member Join Date: March 8, 2008 Posts: 8	What match chamber is best? I have found at least six different ones. The rifle will be built on a remington 504 action and will be used for indoor 50FT and outdoor 50YRD and 100YRD three position heavy rifle competitions. Last edited by PUP; March 12, 2008 at 03:49 PM.

March 12, 2008, 07:52 PM	#8
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	Pick up a copy of Precision Shooting and write to Bill Calfee via the editor. Bill has built quite a number of the top prize winning .22 bench guns, and likes the Lilja barrels. He could probably recommend a chamber for you based on your action with that barrel. I know he likes to burnish his chambers after cutting, with a special tool. It is also worth going back over past issues of PS to learn how he slugs the .22 blanks to figure out which end will be the muzzle and which the chamber, and also how much to cut off the blank at each end? Besides, his folksy writing style makes for an extremely entertaining read. Regarding the tight barrel, a lot of cast bullet shooters find they need the hard cast bullets about 0.002" to 0.003" over groove diameter for best rifle accuracy, rather than the traditional 0.001" over. It's a statistical observation, not a theoretical notion, and nobody knows why that should be true, just that it can be measured to be so. With the softer swaged lead in the RF it makes sense that number could be bigger. Certainly the soft lead squeezes into the barrel pretty easily, and I expect Dan Lilja has come up with his groove diameter just as empirically as the cast bullet guys came up with their bullet oversizing number. That's good. It means it works based on test experience rather than theory, also. If you don't want to wait for Calfee's response, ask Lilja. He probably knows what Calfee is using. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

March 11, 2008, 05:52 PM	#2
Bolosniper Member Join Date: September 10, 2005 Location: Dillon, Montana Posts: 70	Dan Lilja makes a very good and competitive 22 rimfire barrel. It is a 4 groove, tight bore configuration that has been very successful. __________________ Mike McIntyre VP Operations MPI Rifles, LLC [URL=http://www.mpirifles.com]

March 12, 2008, 06:59 AM	#5
PUP Junior Member Join Date: March 8, 2008 Posts: 8	Thanks for the info. It makes me more confident about this choice.What chamber reamer would be best?

March 13, 2008, 07:03 AM	#9
PUP Junior Member Join Date: March 8, 2008 Posts: 8	Thanks for all the info. It is very helpful.

March 13, 2008, 08:57 AM	#10
johnbt Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 1999 Location: Richmond, Virginia USA Posts: 6,004	He's working on an article for Precision Shooting according to what he's said on BRC. As far as reamers, I can't remember all of the details scattered throughout his posts. For instance, see post #26 at http://www.benchrest.com/forums/show...t=48126&page=2 (Note that he has others post his comments for him, but he signs them.) That reminds me, I need to renew my 2-year subscription to PS. John