77/22

HD5 · January 12, 2005, 09:09 AM

I have a 77/22 I bought used several years ago and it has never been accurate.
I let it sit for a long time and a couple of weeks ago I decided to work on it.
I free floated the barrell and it did not help, I changed scopes to see if that was the problem. I have been using simmons or tasco cheaper scopes on it, however I don't think that is the problem. I hate to take my leupold or burris off of something else because I have them set where I want them.
I had talked to a gunsmith about cutting the last inch or so off of the barrell to see if the rifling had been messed up by improper cleaning before I got it. that was four or five years ago and he moved away and there isn't a gunsmith around here.
I have a metal cutting horizontal bandsaw, can I cut the barrell off and not ruin it?
Dumb question : what does the crown do ? protect rifling? can I crown barrel not having machinist equipment?
BTW it shoots about a four inch group at 50 yards all over the place
Thanks
Dan

steveno · January 12, 2005, 09:33 AM

before you start cutting have you tried different brands of ammo? my 77/22 will shoot under an inch with Winchester Power Points , Wildcats and CCI velocitors. I have never even had the stock off and I bought this rifle when it first came out however many years ago that was. I have a Burris 1 3/4 x 5 scope on it

mete · January 12, 2005, 10:41 AM

Cleaning damage to the end of the barrel should be visible. You can cut the barrel with any hacksaw - however - the end of the barrel ,crown , is critical and if that's not cut properly you'll never get accuracy.While the crown can be done by hand it's not a job for anyone without experience and knowledge. Even on a lathe you have to know what you're doing...Did you just free float the barrel or also glass bed it ? How many types of ammo have you tried ? Are the scope mounts secure ?

HD5 · January 13, 2005, 07:55 AM

The scope mounts are good and solid. I only floated the barrell, I didn't glass bed it.
I used a small amount of JB weld (on the stock) where the barrel attaches to the receiver otherwise the barrell would touch in one spot.
I thought free floating it would help because the barrell was very tight against the end of the forearm.
I am going to stop and buy a variety of ammunition on the way home tonight and see what happens. I have been trying remington and federal.
Hopefully I will get to shoot in a day or two it has been raining here in Missouri for days and its supposed to get extremly cold tomorrow.
We have had some weird weather here, the mosquitos have been about to carry me away when I feed my cows. That aint normal for January.
Dan

cntryboy1289 · January 13, 2005, 10:52 AM

My 10/22 was bouncing them all around until I tried some Wolf Target ammo. It now shoots a consistent 246-8x out of 250 in the bench rest deal on RFC.com. It will shoot better if I can hold it.

dfaugh · January 14, 2005, 08:11 AM

But with all the 22s I've owned, I always went and bought 1 box of every available type of ammo. Some shot groups twice as big as others. As mentioned, .22s can be very ammo sensitive....In most any of mine, the most accurate loads tend to be from 38 or 40 grain, standard velocity ammo(and never Remington, which never seems to shoot well, had best results with Federal, CCI and Win target loads, in that order), so you might start there....If you do have a bad crown, this will kill accuracy....I bought a set of crowning tools from Brownells...Initial cost for cutters and handle is high($80 IRRC), but then you only have to invest in the correct caliber pilot, to do another caliber.

January 12, 2005, 09:09 AM	#1
HD5 Junior Member Join Date: December 10, 2004 Posts: 7	77/22 I have a 77/22 I bought used several years ago and it has never been accurate. I let it sit for a long time and a couple of weeks ago I decided to work on it. I free floated the barrell and it did not help, I changed scopes to see if that was the problem. I have been using simmons or tasco cheaper scopes on it, however I don't think that is the problem. I hate to take my leupold or burris off of something else because I have them set where I want them. I had talked to a gunsmith about cutting the last inch or so off of the barrell to see if the rifling had been messed up by improper cleaning before I got it. that was four or five years ago and he moved away and there isn't a gunsmith around here. I have a metal cutting horizontal bandsaw, can I cut the barrell off and not ruin it? Dumb question : what does the crown do ? protect rifling? can I crown barrel not having machinist equipment? BTW it shoots about a four inch group at 50 yards all over the place Thanks Dan

January 13, 2005, 10:52 AM	#5
cntryboy1289 Senior Member Join Date: July 19, 2004 Location: Ms Posts: 1,160	try some Wolf target rounds. My 10/22 was bouncing them all around until I tried some Wolf Target ammo. It now shoots a consistent 246-8x out of 250 in the bench rest deal on RFC.com. It will shoot better if I can hold it.

January 14, 2005, 08:11 AM	#6
dfaugh Senior Member Join Date: January 17, 2002 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 1,715	You don't mention what you mean by "accurate" But with all the 22s I've owned, I always went and bought 1 box of every available type of ammo. Some shot groups twice as big as others. As mentioned, .22s can be very ammo sensitive....In most any of mine, the most accurate loads tend to be from 38 or 40 grain, standard velocity ammo(and never Remington, which never seems to shoot well, had best results with Federal, CCI and Win target loads, in that order), so you might start there....If you do have a bad crown, this will kill accuracy....I bought a set of crowning tools from Brownells...Initial cost for cutters and handle is high($80 IRRC), but then you only have to invest in the correct caliber pilot, to do another caliber. __________________ "If you Listen to Fools, the Mob Rules" "No one has the answer, but one thing is true. You'e got to turn on evil, when its coming after you. You've gotta face it down,and when it tries to hide, you've got to go in after it, and never be denied. Time is running out...Let's roll. Let's roll for freedom, let's roll for love. We're going after satan, on the wings of a dove. Let's roll for freedom, let's roll for truth. Let's not let our children grow up fearful in their youth."

January 12, 2005, 09:33 AM	#2
steveno Senior Member Join Date: June 18, 2004 Location: Minden , Nebraska Posts: 1,407	before you start cutting have you tried different brands of ammo? my 77/22 will shoot under an inch with Winchester Power Points , Wildcats and CCI velocitors. I have never even had the stock off and I bought this rifle when it first came out however many years ago that was. I have a Burris 1 3/4 x 5 scope on it

January 12, 2005, 10:41 AM	#3
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	Cleaning damage to the end of the barrel should be visible. You can cut the barrel with any hacksaw - however - the end of the barrel ,crown , is critical and if that's not cut properly you'll never get accuracy.While the crown can be done by hand it's not a job for anyone without experience and knowledge. Even on a lathe you have to know what you're doing...Did you just free float the barrel or also glass bed it ? How many types of ammo have you tried ? Are the scope mounts secure ?

January 13, 2005, 07:55 AM	#4
HD5 Junior Member Join Date: December 10, 2004 Posts: 7	The scope mounts are good and solid. I only floated the barrell, I didn't glass bed it. I used a small amount of JB weld (on the stock) where the barrel attaches to the receiver otherwise the barrell would touch in one spot. I thought free floating it would help because the barrell was very tight against the end of the forearm. I am going to stop and buy a variety of ammunition on the way home tonight and see what happens. I have been trying remington and federal. Hopefully I will get to shoot in a day or two it has been raining here in Missouri for days and its supposed to get extremly cold tomorrow. We have had some weird weather here, the mosquitos have been about to carry me away when I feed my cows. That aint normal for January. Dan