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Tuner Advice
- Thread starter jim
- Start date
Fotheringill
New member
I JUST started messing around yesterday.
I have one setting using the Hopewell method done only with one weight and one setting using Purdy PR, which requires the small weight. I have the three weight set and found another almost perfect setting using one large weight and a pretty good one using all three weights. Good luck and now you have another place to spend money on ammunition.
I have one setting using the Hopewell method done only with one weight and one setting using Purdy PR, which requires the small weight. I have the three weight set and found another almost perfect setting using one large weight and a pretty good one using all three weights. Good luck and now you have another place to spend money on ammunition.
Steelhead1
G Vanlier
Ok So I have a question about how you get the tuner working at its best. Do you get the tuner shooting at its best , and then add the weights to see if it does better? or do you add the weights and start all over dialing it in? my neighbor has one of harrells tuners on his Anschutz and he has it dialed pretty good but from looking at his targets I don't think he is quite there yet and I am sure he knows nothing about the weights. I am considering one of these tuners for a Kimber 82G but I am still on the fence as to whether or not they work that well!
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D
Dave Shattuck
Guest
Steelhead1,
To answer your question: unless you have the very rare and far between "Hummer" for a barrel (which almost never happens, especially with a "factory" gun) a tuner will definitely improve your accuracy from where you're at now. And, if you had a "Hummer", you wouldn't be asking the question because all shots would land in one-hole all the time. I also have a Model 82G which 19 years ago I had set up for bench rest, and other than for the trigger, which can be improved with a little time in the shop, they're nice guns.
Jim,
You are looking at this the wrong way. It doesn't matter what action you have, but rather what the make and configuration of your barrel is. If you have a Factory barrel, and there were some great factory Suhl barrels out there that were simply incredible like the one on Gary Mitchell's "Ole Blue", then you've got a good starting point. But if you had one of those, you wouldn't be asking this question because most likely you'd be satisfied with your results without needing a tuner. And if you have a replacement barrel, each manufacturer does things differently, so just because one person finds one thing with there tuner doesn't mean the same will hold true for yours. But at least it will give you a starting point.
For instance: I've owned 2 Suhls in my time with both having replacement barrels: one had a Lilja 1:17 tight bore, and the other a Broughton 5C Reverse Taper of the same twist rate. Both had Harrell Tuners on them. The one I now have shoots best with a lower number setting and no added weight where the other shot lights out with a mid-range setting and after adding the Bill Calfee recommended 3 steel washers (requiring drilling and tapping). And when I say it shot lights out, I mean it was because of that gun I made it into the Hall of Fame. It carried me near the top of the heap for years before I was stupid enough to sell it (at a premium price) thinking I could repeat it's accuracy with the Suhl I'm now using. Didn't happen though, but thank God I shot it for as long as I did! Of course, enough can't be said about how much Lot Testing of ammo has to do with a guns overall accuracy, cause without good ammo, the tuner setting won't be the answer. Both have to work together when trying to wring that last bit of accuracy out of your gun.
It's all a game of trial and error when it comes to the tuner, so good luck. I would recommend buying the broadest array of screw-on weights for your tuner (Dan Killough sells a good selection, at a good price) then go from there.
Good luck,
Dave Shattuck
To answer your question: unless you have the very rare and far between "Hummer" for a barrel (which almost never happens, especially with a "factory" gun) a tuner will definitely improve your accuracy from where you're at now. And, if you had a "Hummer", you wouldn't be asking the question because all shots would land in one-hole all the time. I also have a Model 82G which 19 years ago I had set up for bench rest, and other than for the trigger, which can be improved with a little time in the shop, they're nice guns.
Jim,
You are looking at this the wrong way. It doesn't matter what action you have, but rather what the make and configuration of your barrel is. If you have a Factory barrel, and there were some great factory Suhl barrels out there that were simply incredible like the one on Gary Mitchell's "Ole Blue", then you've got a good starting point. But if you had one of those, you wouldn't be asking this question because most likely you'd be satisfied with your results without needing a tuner. And if you have a replacement barrel, each manufacturer does things differently, so just because one person finds one thing with there tuner doesn't mean the same will hold true for yours. But at least it will give you a starting point.
For instance: I've owned 2 Suhls in my time with both having replacement barrels: one had a Lilja 1:17 tight bore, and the other a Broughton 5C Reverse Taper of the same twist rate. Both had Harrell Tuners on them. The one I now have shoots best with a lower number setting and no added weight where the other shot lights out with a mid-range setting and after adding the Bill Calfee recommended 3 steel washers (requiring drilling and tapping). And when I say it shot lights out, I mean it was because of that gun I made it into the Hall of Fame. It carried me near the top of the heap for years before I was stupid enough to sell it (at a premium price) thinking I could repeat it's accuracy with the Suhl I'm now using. Didn't happen though, but thank God I shot it for as long as I did! Of course, enough can't be said about how much Lot Testing of ammo has to do with a guns overall accuracy, cause without good ammo, the tuner setting won't be the answer. Both have to work together when trying to wring that last bit of accuracy out of your gun.
It's all a game of trial and error when it comes to the tuner, so good luck. I would recommend buying the broadest array of screw-on weights for your tuner (Dan Killough sells a good selection, at a good price) then go from there.
Good luck,
Dave Shattuck
I have and use the von Ahrens weights and I think they are an important piece of gear (kit) for our game. You may never need anything more than the std Harrell's tuner (at this year's IR50/50 Unlimited Nationals I got to see a tuner that Clint Swigert had that looked great and may have some advantages) but it is nice to have if/when you need them. I have two 10.5 lb rifles; my older Turbo was re-barreled a couple years ago and initially I wasn't happy with the results after trying to tune it with the std Harrell tuner. Sure there were spots where it shot better than others but it didn't meet my performance standard. Already having the von Ahrens weights in my shooting box, I keep the tuner at the best spot and just started adding weight starting at 1 oz. and going up 1/2 oz at a time. The more weight I added, the better it shot. When I got to where it would shoot nice round, small groups to my liking, I stopped and left it there and haven't touched it again. Once it is capable of shooting 250s with X counts above 15, I just leave it alone and stop futzing with it. If adding the weight hadn't brought this barrel around, I would have removed it and tried another barrel. You can't tune all barrels into being good performers. You gotta know when to give up on a mediocre or bad barrel.
My other 10.5 lb rifle, a 2500X, shot very well with just a std Harrell tuner set somewhere in the middle. It met my performance standards right from the start. I moved the tuner either one or 1/2 turn from that initial setting and the groups improved and once again, I just left it there and never gave it another thought. There was no reason to even try adding add'l weight to it.
I never change tuner setting from one ammo lot/speed to another and both rifles shoot my good ammo equally well. This year I have shot the Turbo in the 10.5 and 13.5 lb 3 gun classes and the 2500X in the Unlimited events. The Turbo is averaging 248-15X and the 2500X is averaging 248-14X but the 2500X has shot more 250s. The best scores this season for both rifles is a 250-19X. So you can see they are very closely matched, despite needing different things to get tuned. Nether barrel is wind sensitive.
My other 10.5 lb rifle, a 2500X, shot very well with just a std Harrell tuner set somewhere in the middle. It met my performance standards right from the start. I moved the tuner either one or 1/2 turn from that initial setting and the groups improved and once again, I just left it there and never gave it another thought. There was no reason to even try adding add'l weight to it.
I never change tuner setting from one ammo lot/speed to another and both rifles shoot my good ammo equally well. This year I have shot the Turbo in the 10.5 and 13.5 lb 3 gun classes and the 2500X in the Unlimited events. The Turbo is averaging 248-15X and the 2500X is averaging 248-14X but the 2500X has shot more 250s. The best scores this season for both rifles is a 250-19X. So you can see they are very closely matched, despite needing different things to get tuned. Nether barrel is wind sensitive.
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Steelhead1
G Vanlier
Dave & Bill,
Thank you for all the information you have both provided, I think I now have useful information, and I am going to order the Harrell's tuner and a set of weights. Iam also going let my neighbor know that he will probably be better off trying some weights also. Good info thank you.
Gary Vanlier
Thank you for all the information you have both provided, I think I now have useful information, and I am going to order the Harrell's tuner and a set of weights. Iam also going let my neighbor know that he will probably be better off trying some weights also. Good info thank you.
Gary Vanlier