This is something I have become aware of only recently due to continually searching for worthwhile YouTube videos to watch.

“Tuners” are barrel attachments, usually at the muzzle, that can often be adjusted with the intention of improving precision (ability to shoot small groups). According to the videos, they can (sometimes?) make significant differences. I recall one video about a particular tuner that was evidently responsible for reducing a rifle’s groups at 100 yards from nearly 3/4 inch to less than 0.25 MOA, albeit based on a very limited sample (one).

Other than specific videos, though, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen them in use otherwise, either in person or in competitions such as the National Rifle League series.

So my question to other precision rifle shooters is: Do you ever use barrel tuners? Do other shooters you know or observe them? What do you think of them, pro or con?

they were all the rage not too long ago in the Smallbore crowd,
some called them bloop tubes,

Precision Shooting had a few articles on them years ago, (or it may have been Accurate Rifle)

the BOSS system on the Browning and some Winchester rifles were another type,


here is some info, from another forum

https://forum.accurateshooter....bloop-tubes.4009287/

No personal experience but most of the competitors at our local rimfire benchrest matches use them. I believe they told me they were out of production, brand name began with an 'H' (?) "Harrell"?

When I was shooting smallbore, a few guys tried tuners, but they weren't that common in prone or 3P matches.
"Bloop tubes" were just a lighter weight barrel extension to increase the sight radius. They weren't adjustable, although they may have changed the barrel harmonics when on or off the gun.

I have one on my anni and kimber 82g

they are made by harrells' precision
http://harrellsprec.com/index....l-rimfire-tuners-403

They allow you to buy a case or two of the same 22lr ammo and work the harmonics to best fit that round.

I've had decent and repeatable results from using a barrel dampener such as this:

Limbsaver product at Amazon

It isn't what the OP asked about, but it is a barrel accessory and I found it did make a difference in group size at 100 yards.

As a hunter & casual shooter, never had an interest. I will say, a firearm can shoot markedly different with various bullets & loads.

I’d say the answer would be in before & after testing, controlling the variables.

I have a Harrell's tuner brake. Bought it for my ARC Nucleus rifle. When I received it, I learned that my barrel is too fat at the muzzle end (Palma contour) to screw on all the way while also allowing for full range of adjustment. I still have it sitting on a bookshelf - meant to return it but completely forgot. I'd use it for my 308 if it wasn't bored for 6.5mm.

I have a buddy who shoots F Class (F-PR) and PRS. His 6.5x47 Lapua barrel had one last time I saw, but he mentioned wanting to get away from them, at least until he was at a point where he could have a "just" F Class rifle. His 6 Dasher barrel, if I recall, does not.

I have met and shot with Brian Bowling (he's a friend-of-a-friend). He uses one.

I can see the utility for competition. For most anything else, I think it's too much effort. At least for what I do, I think a good, well-designed brake is far superior.

(Edit: class)

Thanks for the comments thus far.
What somewhat surprises me is their use on .22 rimfire rifles. I guess I shouldn't be, but I would not have expected them to make much difference on an often heavy barrel with such a light-recoiling cartridge.

Always learning something new.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Thanks for the comments thus far.
What somewhat surprises me is their use on .22 rimfire rifles. I guess I shouldn't be, but I would not have expected them to make much difference on an often heavy barrel with such a light-recoiling cartridge.

Always learning something new.

They can tame down a 10 shot 1 inch group down to about point .35 to .37 if I do my part. I typically use geco sub sonic rifle match or cci standard. Not the most high end ammo, but it is a significant improvement.

Funny you should start a thread on this subject.

At the last Nationals this summer, I bought a tuner from Erik Cortina for my F-TR rifle. Fast forward a month or so and I had my gunsmith install it on my current barrel. I read all the instructions from Erik, even after talking with him about how it works and so on.

So, this past weekend I did two sessions developing a new load for my match rife with a new powder.

The first run was a ladder test looking for an optimum powder weight. I cam up with 2, quite a bit apart from each other, as I would expect. So I loaded 35 rounds of each weight and went back to the range. I got an MV for both loads and then go down to business with the tuner.

I should say that the two loads from the ladder test were not very exciting and I was a little bummed out, but the component crunch is reality.

Running my tests with the tuner, I found a setting for each load (different setting) that made each load shine. It was almost magical and it save the day for me. As it turns out, the top end load matches the MV of my current load and that's the one I am going to use. I am giving no details of the load, lest I hear (read) comments about high pressure.

So, I am a believer, but my experience is very small. One long session with two loads and I saw the results. I will be using this load at the next 1000 yard match and we will see how it works out. Fingers crossed and bolts closed.

quote:

Originally posted by NikonUser:
Funny you should start a thread on this subject.

From time to time I do like to remind myself—if no one else—that this is a gun forum, and even if I get criticized for asking questions that very few people have any interest in.

Yeah, my comment was more of "funny that you mention that as I was just discussing/doing/experiencing (insert activity here) at this exact time."


In other words, a happy coincidence.

quote:

Originally posted by NikonUser:
In other words, a happy coincidence.

Oh, yes. I did understand that.
I was merely expressing in a backhanded way that it's sometimes almost possible to forget what the forum was established for if we never leave the Lounge section, and how I'm trying to do my part to remind us of what that was. Even if my questions and comments are often of very limited interest—which I actually thought this topic might be.

Erik Cortina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ergyzPBVTWc

I have zero experience with rifle barrel tuners but have off and on contemplated these gadgets and the mathematics/physics of the vibrational modes(plural) evoked upon ignition. Now, having seen this topic surface here I cannot resist digging into it a bit. A number of years back one of my teams was deeply into non-linear FEA and in good natured competition with others using LLNL's Dyna FEA software mentioned in the paper (we preferred and used the commercial MARC FEA software but that world has moved on ferociously). For any who have a deeper curiosity, here is the best paper I have found, so far, on this topic. It is very enlightening and seems exhaustive. It has excellent illustrations following the extraordinary long history of the study of the inflicted trajectory variability phenomenon and endeavors to overcome it. It is a tad long however, and the "rimfire" in the title has little bearing on the content until some confirmational shots near the end. One prominent standout for me is that the tuner 'fix' only works for a selected fixed distance. It's a good starting point at the least.

http://www.geoffrey-kolbe.com/.../tuning_a_barrel.htm

I have a precision barrel tuner on my Anschutz Model 1409 target rifle that I use for 50m benchrest here in UK. It works as advertised with the ammunition that I use.

I paid $50 for the rifle about fifteen years back, as it was going to be scrapped - rusted all over and with peeling stock finish. I cleaned it up - with a lot of hard work and great care. It shoots a five-shot group of around 1/4 - 5/16ths inch at 50m on a calm day.

You can see it on my Youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddXPYYh1yuw

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tacfoley,

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:
I have a precision barrel tuner on my Anschutz Model 1409 target rifle that I use for 50m benchrest here in UK.

Please let me know if you prefer I don’t post this earlier photo of yours, tac, but it’s such a beautiful rifle that it’s hard to believe it’s a rescue gun.
I had obviously seen it before, but didn’t realize the muzzle device was a tuner.





Thanks again for all the comments. As I say, always learning something new here.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:
I have a precision barrel tuner on my Anschutz Model 1409 target rifle that I use for 50m benchrest here in UK.

Please let me know if you prefer I don’t post this earlier photo of yours, tac, but it’s such a beautiful rifle that it’s hard to believe it’s a rescue gun.
I had obviously seen it before, but didn’t realize the muzzle device was a tuner.





Thanks again for all the comments. As I say, always learning something new here.

A big thank you for posting the pic for me!!! At the risk of boring everyone here fartless, here is the story.

Back around 2005, my gun club was trying to raise some funds to buy a couple of CZ club guns for noobs to cut their teeth on, and we were getting rid of three or four much older BRNO versions from the 50 and 60s - all really beaten up, trust me. However, I'd not looked in the one gun safe in the corner of the basement and to my amazement, it held THIS Anschutz rifle, devoid of sights and in a sorry state. Every visible metal part was covered with a very fine layer of light rust, looking like a dusting of cocoa powder, and the stock finish was most either peeling off, or gone entirely. Pulling it out revealed that the alloy butt unit was caked in alloy corrosion, which could be rubbed off, it was so bad. Without much hope, I read the log inside the door, which showed that the last time it had been used was May of 1980, around 25 years previous... I pushed a cleaning rod up the bore, and a 12" long oil-encrusted dust bunny came out and the bore looked really good, so I put my Anschutz air rifle sights on it, put it on the firing point, and put five shots through it, so see if it still 'worked'. Those five shots went into a ragged hole at 25 yards. I offered the club secretary to buy it - give me £25m he said, and it's yours. Luckily, I had a spare opening on my FAC for a couple of .22 rifles, and took it home.

After a week or so looking at it, I borrowed an Anschutz torque wrench off our serious .22 prone squad to get the king bolt setting right, and took it apart.

I took care of the metal first - remembering that bluing is only rust in a fancy suit, I cut up a few Birchwood-Casey lead-removing cloths of the kind used to clean up stainless finishes around revolver chambers [that's what I use them for, anyhow], and VERY carefully went to work on removing the rust. It worked perfectly - as you can see in the video.

The stock was simply a matter of removing what was left of the finish, and in the absence of Min-Wax, I used around 20 coats of Tung oil to get the finish you see. The faint rectangle on the butt is from where the gun rested against a soggy rubber pad in the safe, and just will NOT come better, and the cuts in the wood on the cheekpiece, seen on the video, are too deep to fill without still showing..The butt-hook unit was recovered by vigorous use of Mothers metal polish, gotten for me by a ex-pat American pal who can still use the local airfield PX - I can't now I'm retired and no longer an entitled person.

The scope came from a gentleman in Maine, who was selling it on GB around 2010. It's a Tasco Model 707 x16 from the late 60's, and is as clear as new. And here's a link to SIG forum - when it arrived here in England, to my astonishment the packaging held TWO similar scopes, the other a x18 - equally like new. I called up the vendor to ask what was going on, did he realise he'd sent me TWO scopes?

Yes, he did, bless him. His answer nigh-on floored me at the time.

'I've been watching you for years on a number of US gun forums, especially SIG forum and Gunboards, and I like your stuff. I'm going blind from diabetes and general old age, and can't use them any more, but YOU can. Please enjoy them in good health.'

I didn't know what to say, except to express my gratitude for his generosity to a furriner.

Apologies for the story, and thread-drift, but you brought it on yourself!!

...and thanks again for posting my pic.

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:

The scope came from a gentleman in Maine, who was selling it on GB around 2010. It's a Tasco Model 707 x16 from the late 60's, and is as clear as new. And here's a link to SIG forum - when it arrived here in England, to my astonishment the packaging held TWO similar scopes, the other a x18 - equally like new. I called up the vendor to ask what was going on, did he realise he'd sent me TWO scopes?

Yes, he did, bless him. His answer nigh-on floored me at the time.

'I've been watching you for years on a number of US gun forums, especially SIG forum and Gunboards, and I like your stuff. I'm going blind from diabetes and general old age, and can't use them any more, but YOU can. Please enjoy them in good health.'

Wow, what a story. And it speaks to the topic of another thread here about whether you can really get to know a person about what they post. Obviously, the person got to know you very well. I don't even think he interacted with you much in back and forths but just from coming across your posts.

Great story and beautifully restored rifle!