Buying a seconhand target rifle.

[BobSki]

Tim,
Many Many thanks for taking the time to educate me in this matter, I honestly and sincerely appreciate it. There are a couple of Match 54's for sale and an 1813, from what you have said, I will stick to the match 54 and now feel much more confident in what I should be looking for. I will print this reply off and take it with me whenever I go to view a rifle.

Once again mate, many thanks for helping me out.

Kind Regards
Bob

[tim s]

Hello Bob,

don't mention it.

If the chocie was between a Match 54 or an 1813, I'd go for the 1813.

Most rifles described as Match 54 are the older 1954-1980 14 series, usually the entry-level 1407 Standard or 1411 Prone models; the 1813 (which was Anschutz's flagship model from 1980-1987) has an even better trigger, and a fully adjustable stock. If barrel mileage is the same, the 1813 should be more comfortable to shoot, and so give better scores.

The down side to the 1813 is that it's heavy (around 14lb), and you need someone to help you adjust the stock to fit your position (preferably an NSRA qualified instructor, but an experienced club member will do).

Tim

[hwtyger]

If you use normal ammo, you wont wear out any .22 matchrifle any time soon
2 bullets in the barrel, a bulge...wouldnt worry about that either, as matchrifles are singleshot, and you 'cant' reload .22LR. Havent heard of 1 single problem like that.
Even if it wás a clubrifle, it'll still be accurate and outshoot you. As I said, those things dont wear out easily! I have 2 Anschutz rifles(1808, 2002), 1 walther(kk100).
If the stock has many damages, that cán be a sign of an ex-clubgun.
You can feel the bolt for wear (in closed position). You can also look for signs of wear on the shiny bolt surface itself.
If you REALLY want to know? There áre 'calibers'for .22LR, go and no-go's. But I cant recall anyone ever being able to close the no-go.(=worn)
Check for pistolgrip stock cracks.
They dó wear significantly faster with high velo ammo.
You can spot rust if you clean the barrel out with a feltpad (brown). But wouldnt expect much rust though, as they're matchguns, not hunters used in open rain.

But besides the obvious? Dont worry too much about buying a .22..

[tim s]

If you use normal ammo, you wont wear out any .22 matchrifle any time soon
2 bullets in the barrel, a bulge...wouldnt worry about that either, as matchrifles are singleshot, and you 'cant' reload .22LR. Havent heard of 1 single problem like that.
Even if it wás a clubrifle, it'll still be accurate and outshoot you. As I said, those things

Bulges can and do happen, although they are thankfully rare. I don't agree that a single shot rifle is less likely to be bulged. All it takes is firing two shots without scoping each, or assuming the previous shot went through an existing hole; both happen quite often, and if the first round was faulty (and it does happen that the loading machine misses a case, leaving it uncharged), you may have a bulge.

[BobSki]

Thank you gents, for being so very helpful.

I did like the look of the 1813 Tim and at the moment, its main use will be bench rest shooting, maybe other disciplines at a later stage, so the 1813 sounds like it would be the better bet.

Kind Regards
Bob

[tim s]

Bob,

if it's for BR, then the fit of the stock doesn't matter, I had it in mind that you would be shooting prone. An 1813 would be younger than most plain "match 54" rifles, which could translate to a lower round count.

[Peter Pig]

If you use normal ammo, you wont wear out any .22 matchrifle any time soon
2 bullets in the barrel, a bulge...wouldnt worry about that either, as matchrifles are singleshot, and you 'cant' reload .22LR. Havent heard of 1 single problem like that.
Even if it wás a clubrifle, it'll still be accurate and outshoot you. As I said, those things dont wear out easily! I have 2 Anschutz rifles(1808, 2002), 1 walther(kk100).
If the stock has many damages, that cán be a sign of an ex-clubgun.
You can feel the bolt for wear (in closed position). You can also look for signs of wear on the shiny bolt surface itself.
If you REALLY want to know? There áre 'calibers'for .22LR, go and no-go's. But I cant recall anyone ever being able to close the no-go.(=worn)
Check for pistolgrip stock cracks.
They dó wear significantly faster with high velo ammo.
You can spot rust if you clean the barrel out with a feltpad (brown). But wouldnt expect much rust though, as they're matchguns, not hunters used in open rain.

But besides the obvious? Dont worry too much about buying a .22..

About 30 years ago I bought an Anschutz 1807 with a bulged barrel, I was in a dealers tent at an open meeting while a lady shooter was negotiating the sale of her rifle because she was to have a operation and would be unable to shoot for two years.
I bought the rifle from the dealer, the first time I put a cleaning rod it jumped,just as Tim has described.
This was shortly before the Bisley meeting so I visited the Anschutz service van at the meeting and asked for there opinion, to be told it had a bulged barrel, and would cost £X to put right, I asked how this could happen and was told a round was fired with only primer, the shooter thought the round had missed the target, then fired another shot, hence the bulge.
I traded the rifle in after Bisley with the same dealer and got a new Walther GX 1, and that never would eject spent cases, but that's another story.
Peter

[tim s]

About 30 years ago I bought an Anschutz 1807 with a bulged barrel,
Peter

Naughty Dealer, he should have known better!

[BobSki]

Naughty Dealer, he should have known better!

Well, the imediate use would be a bit of BR, but you never know, I may weell get back into a bit of prone or 3p shooting too, so the 1813 sounds like a good bet. All i have to do now is find a decent one. There is one advertised at a shop local to me for £625. I'm not sure if this would be a reasonable price though as I have no experience of these things.

Kind Regards
Bob