My old Anschutz rifle

[r_shehan]

I have a 1964 match 64 model Anschutz .22 WMR rifle. It has been reasonably well looked after to this point, and amazingly enough, is the same age as its owner!!

The stock and action / bolt etc are in good condition, but it shoots pooly (2-4 MOA with no rhyme or reason). It has now been floated and bedded to see if that helped - it hasn't. Looking down the barrel, the rifling looks very indistinct (as compared to other Anschutz barrels I have looked down lately). This is not very scientific, but gives me the impression that the barrel is cactus.

I don't want to sell the rifle (or scrap it) as it is a nice weight, and balances very nicely in the hand.

Questions:

1. New barrel options for this rifle, either off the shelf, or made to order etc?

2. I am in Australia, so may be some issues with costs etc depending on where the options (from 1) are located.

3. Have found a barrel blank located at e-gunparts for a reasonable pricec. I can probably have this shipped at a reasonble cost. Anyone deal with this crowd?

4. The pricing issue is that the rifle, scope, bag and 400 rnds of ammo cost $100 AU dollars. That is about $70 US. I am hoping for a sensible, practical and cost effective solution to my dilemma.

The rifle will be toted in the field, as well as do some plinking and training work for some young shooters. SO needs to have a sporter or slightly heavier barrel, about 20 inches in length.

Any advice is most welcome.

 

[Jim K]

First, could the rifle simply need a good cleaning to get out old fouling? I don't know what cleaners you have available, but one of the electric cleaners should do the job.

Then some maybe bad news. When the .22 WMR was new (1959), many makers started out using the same mild barrel steel for that round as they had always used for .22 LR. They later found out that the jacketed, high velocity .22 WMR was a different breed of cat and that the .22 LR barrels would not stand up. A 1964 rifle might well fall into that category.

Now more not great news. To send you a barrel, Gun Parts Corp. would need an original or certified copy of an import certificate from the Australian government. I have no idea what complications might be involved in getting that. I suggest you find out the name of the Anschutz importer in Australia and contact them. If you can't find the information locally, try Anschutz by e-mail at "[email protected]" and ask them who the importer is. If there is none, they may be able to offer some suggestions about your rifle.

Jim

 

[Jim K]

Try www.targetriflesa.com they might be able to help.

Jim

 

[r_shehan]

Thanks Jim,

I have cleaned the thing so much, I might have shortened its life by a few hundred rounds. Firstly used some JIB cleaner that the gunshop guy recommended - it is not worth two knobs of goat sh*t (I will be taking it back for a refund). I have two goats that we use as lawn mowers (not moo'ers, they are bigger so know what goat poo is worth.

Now have some 7.62 (as I will also be using it for my lovely old / new to me Paramount target rifle anyway), got a fair bit of copper out of the Anschutz with it. The previous owner is a very competent F class shooter, and had already gone through the same things with the rifle. He sold it due to not using it, and also it not shooting that well (mind you F Class shooters are well known to be anal about pretty much everything - flames welcome).

So, I see my options as being: use it for ratshot, get another barrel, or use it to bash foxes over the head - if I can run fast enough.

I see your point about the barrel material, makes a lot of sense as it looks like it has done a lot of work. After having seen down the barrel of a (both Anschutz) model 1450 and also a 1441 in the past few weeks (both .22 LR of course), they have a LOT more rifling than mine does.

It is a lovely action - the match 64. Been looking at a few new rifles to gauge options, most are crap to say the least, including ones from the US, europe and asia. Mind you, after playing with the silky smooth Paramount, even the match 64 is "no match"

I will try to get hold of Anschutz and see what they come up with, and also TRSA as suggested. I will post the outcome, if there is one.

 

[r_shehan]

Follow -up post:

While at the range yesterday, I had a very experienced rifle shooter have a look at the rifle / barrel. He put a fairly tight patch through the bore, on having a feel of this, my friend noticed the barrel has a slight bulge about 6 inches ahead of the chamber. There is little doubt that this is causing the accuracy problems I am experiencing.

So, it looks like a new barrel no matter which way I go.

So, any more suggestions from viewers / readers / lurkers? I have been quoted over $700 AU to get a new barrel, and have the action threaded rather than using the push fit / pin setup now in place.