I got my very first .22 rimfire rifle after I was able to prove that I could behave myself with a 5 mm Sheridan pellet rifle. No, no, I was much younger than 37.
That first .22 rimfire rifle was the beginning of a life long infatuation with .22's. I have never gotten over it or met a .22 rimfire firearm I didn't like, including this misfit:
I'm continually interested in making these rimfire guns shoot better and have an insatiable desire to find out how they work, or why they don't. I have found it quite interesting to actually slug .22 rimfire bores, especially on a customer gun when they tell me it won't shoot accurately. The best slug used to get the size of a .22 rimfire bore, is an actual bullet from a .22 Long Rifle cartridge. Here's an inertia puller that I made up just for that purpose. NO! Of the 100+ bullets that I've pulled using this device, not one cartridge went off. Nothing touches the back face of the cartridge case so the rim can not be crushed to detonate the primer. Anyone who says a cartridge will go off, has NEVER used an apparatus such as this:
So why slug a .22 rimfire barrel? Well, as a slug is pushed through a rimfire barrel, you will be able to feel tight and loose spots along the bore. If the muzzle end is quite loose right at the point that the slug leaves the barrel, accuracy will not be so good. If the muzzle end is tight, you will in all probability have a really good "shooter". In cases where the loose area can be cut off and the muzzle re-crowned, you will end up with a much better shooter.
.22 bullets will maintain the size that they've been reduced to and will not expand when a slightly larger bore area is encountered, so when you slug a bore with a .22 bullet, it will measure the bore in its tightest condition.
That first .22 rimfire rifle was the beginning of a life long infatuation with .22's. I have never gotten over it or met a .22 rimfire firearm I didn't like, including this misfit:
I'm continually interested in making these rimfire guns shoot better and have an insatiable desire to find out how they work, or why they don't. I have found it quite interesting to actually slug .22 rimfire bores, especially on a customer gun when they tell me it won't shoot accurately. The best slug used to get the size of a .22 rimfire bore, is an actual bullet from a .22 Long Rifle cartridge. Here's an inertia puller that I made up just for that purpose. NO! Of the 100+ bullets that I've pulled using this device, not one cartridge went off. Nothing touches the back face of the cartridge case so the rim can not be crushed to detonate the primer. Anyone who says a cartridge will go off, has NEVER used an apparatus such as this:
So why slug a .22 rimfire barrel? Well, as a slug is pushed through a rimfire barrel, you will be able to feel tight and loose spots along the bore. If the muzzle end is quite loose right at the point that the slug leaves the barrel, accuracy will not be so good. If the muzzle end is tight, you will in all probability have a really good "shooter". In cases where the loose area can be cut off and the muzzle re-crowned, you will end up with a much better shooter.
.22 bullets will maintain the size that they've been reduced to and will not expand when a slightly larger bore area is encountered, so when you slug a bore with a .22 bullet, it will measure the bore in its tightest condition.