TargetTalk

Jiri,

250 Euros is a very good price for that rifle.

If the barrel does not have a specific model number, then it is a 1613. Anschutz marked all their Match 54 rifles "Modell Match 54" from the mid-'60s until the 1800 rifles in 1980.

Ok, thanks. I´ll go and take a look at the Anschutz some day. Maybe tomorrow.

Drove to take a look at the rifle.
Barrel and action look clean. Felt goes thru with consistent pressure w. slight increase just at the end. Rifle comes with sling, filters and replacement sight parts. Someone has cut the hook off from buttplate.

No markings on barrel, serial no ends with X.

So I told the salesman I will buy this when I get the permit from police.

Jiri,

when you say there are no markings on the barrel, do you mean none at all?

A 1613 should be marked "Anschutz-Modell Match 54 Cal. .22 Long Rifle" at the top, about half way along. There should also be the proof marks on the left hand side, at the breech end; an eagle (W Germany), and antler (Ulm proof house), and two letters (the year). You may need a lens to see read the proof marks. The letters for this rifle would be HK (1979), HI (1978) or IA (1980).

No markings at all means a replacement barrel. Or possibily the original barrel has been removed, and replaced upside down, so the factory marks are hidden.

clean and tidy is good. I hope you enjoy your new rifle.

There were no markings.. that I noticed.
If the barrel has been replaced, there must have been a reason to do so. Doubt someone has taken a good barrel out of this rifle and installed it on other frame..

Did anschutz use some specific type of crowning at the end of barrel?
ie. something else than just machine the end perpendicular to barrel axis in a lathe?

I tried to search for 1613 manual, but didn´t find one at the Anschutz website.

If I get the permit next week, I´ll go buy the rifle next saturday.

Jiri,

a factory barrel should be marked as in my last post.

Anschutz have used a recessed crown since the late 1950s. The recess is perpendicular to the bore axis, and there is a chamfer around the end of the rifling.

I can't find a 1613 manual on the website either. You could use the 1981 1807-1813 manual. Your 1613 is very similar, and trigger adjustment/bolt disassembly is identical to an 1813.

Hi Jiri,

so it seems the barrel is not the the original factory build in barrel. That must not mean the rifle is bad or there is something wrong with the rifle. There are some rifles out with exchanged barrels. Reasons therefore are worn out or damaged barrels and sometimes the owner would only increase the performance of his rifle with a good custom barrel. Sometimes these custom barrels are less picky if it comes to different brands and lots of ammo.

But on the other hand the price of this rifle seems really low and there could be a reason for, even i don't know the street prices in Finland for used match rifles like that.

So it may a good idea to test that rifle in a testing rig if you have the possibility. And take again a closer look at the rifle. Are all the clamping screws working? Are there any hairline cracks in the stock? As Tim S noted, the but plate is modified and for me the cheek piece looks also modified or exchanged. But this are all no reasons not to buy the rifle, if it is otherwise in good condition. As we said the price is really good.

The missing hook is not a real problem if it comes to starting prone shooting. It is in my opinion yet better not to start with a hook at first and some shooters never use a hook in prone. What you could need were a better hand stop and maybe the also on that rifle as ever missed palm rest. But the last is also not a must have. Many shooters don't use a palm rest on a match rifle.

Last question about the barrel. Could you see there some threat holes on the top rear side and near the middle and as Tim noted, if the barrel was rotated then there must be also a threat hole on the underside of the front side for the dove tail holding the front sight. Sometimes especially some bench rest shooters do that rotating of the barrel by 180 degrees for better performance. It is called indexing the barrel. Others think its only a kind of black magic.


What does the seller told you about the legend of the rifle? Maybe he can tell you the name of the former owner so you can ask him about the modifications.


Regards

Frank

Salesman in the gunstore where rifle is on display said that one ~80 years old man had brought this rifle and anschutz .22 biathlon model rifle to them to be sold.

Biathlon rifle had asking price of just under 400€ and salesman said it was sold just couple of hours after he put the picture to their website.
That rifle was waiting for the buyer to get a buying permit, so it was still in the store. Metal parts looked good, but stock looked like it had seen it´s share of biathlon training and competitions.

Price level here:
Anschutz 54 Super Match - 380€ (link to picture didn´t work)
Anschutz 1413 Super Match 54 - 600€
Anschutz m 54 MATCH, n:o 1204xx - 600€

I´ll call the store next week and ask if they are willing to say who the owner is so I could contact him.

Local gunstore wouldn´t say where they received the used Steyr FP and MC55-1 free pistols I bought from them during last two years. Maybe this other store can share this information.

There was a little plastic bag with rifle containing box of sight parts. In that bag were also two wood parts. Maybe two different palm rests?

I didn´t notice any threaded holes on the barrel. Crown on this barrel was straight. So barrel is not original.

My shooting club has a machine rest that is used to test accuracy or smallbore rifles and pistols. But I can´t test this rifle before buying it.. :(

Just a thought, but if the barrel is a replacement, could it be a Valmet? These would be locally available. All the Finnish Lion rifles I have seen have a flat 90 degree, crown, and from memory have no markings (other than the proofs).

The older Finnish Lion Free rifles had 70-73cm barrels, so after machining to fit an Anschutz action (and rechambering) the 68cm length that Jiri reported would be right.

I'd be interested to see how it shoots.

I got phone number of previous owner from gunstore, so I called him.

He is 79 years old now, but still active in shooting and loads his own rifle cartridges.

He said he put this rifle for sale because he doesn´t shoot with it anymore. It is just too heavy for him and diopter sights don´t work well with his eyesight. He shoots with hunting rifles and one biathlon .22. All have optic sights. That biathlon rifle that I saw in the gunstore is actually his friend´s rifle.

Owner had bought this rifle in september of 1986 from my clubmate.
He didn´t remember how old gun was back then, but he said original barrel has text: "Anschutz Modell Match 54 22lr"

He shot with it for some years as it was. Then there were some questions about accuracy of original barrel. Some defect was found somewhere in the barrel. Maybe a bulge or some other bad spot..

So one Finnish gunsmith, Erkki Mäkinen made a new barrel and installed it in this rifle sometime early 1990´s. I asked if gunsmith had used a barrel from Finnish lion or something. Answer: No, Mäkinen made new barrel from solid steel. Erkki Mäkinen (retired years ago) is well known here for his rifle barrels.

Owner started having medical problems quite soon after barrel was replaced so he didn´t shoot much with it. Said less than 5000 rounds of Lapua Master and Dominator fired with new barrel. Rifle always cleaned and oiled after shooting.

Rifle was never bench tested by the owner, but he was happy with it´s accuracy.

The early 1990s is about the same time my 1813 was rebarreled, although mine is a stainless Shilen not a chrome-moly Makinen. I wonder how Mr Makinen made his barrels?

5,000 rounds is a nice low figure, and regular cleaning is good too. I hope it shoots well for you.

Found one forum writing (in finnish) that says "Mäkinen uses cut-rifling"
Another comment says he used machines bought from Tikkakoski factory.
Don´t know how accurate that information is..

Got the buying permit today. I´ll go buy the gun this saturday.

Hei Jiri,

i would say there is no much risk buying that rifle for that price.

The system looks fine and seems to me in good condition and it doesn't need much skills to make the stock also look a little bit more shiny, if you like that. You can find some nice pictures here in the forum of some polished Anschutz wooden stocks. For me it looks always good if you paint the punched surfaces black like the newer Anschutz models.

And i'm sure you can also easily sell this rifle for the same or higher price, if it after all doesn't satisfy your expectations. You know, it is this legendary X-Rifle. ;-)

But i'm sure, it will.


Regards

Frank

JiriK,

From what I can see I don't believe your hook was cut off. That hook and prone plate was made two pieces that screw together. The "tail" appears to be unscrewed and the entire hook/prone assembly less the "tail" put on upside down.

Good luck - BJM

Bought the rifle yesterday.

Took a closer look at it, with camera:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nm73hirgmckjl2p/BdwKsSOnUQ

Then pushed a bullet through the barrel. Force needed was pretty consistent until few cm before barrel ended where a tighter area begins. Whole barrel including chamber is close to 70cm long.

Now I´m thinking about cleaning rear sight and trigger assembly and applying new grease/oil. Does ultrasonic cleaner work well with this type of parts? I don´t have any special ultrasonic cleaning liquids. I use hot water and hand dish washing liquid to clean used .32 brass for reloading.

I´ll try to go to shooting range tomorrow. I have a feeling I´ll need some kind of sight risers etc.

Hi Jiri,

the rifle looks to be in pretty good condition. The trigger is a little dirty, but this is quite common.

From the serial number, I'd say the action was made 1979; the trigger is marked 71 for 5071, so it's a 1613. If you use the ultrasonic cleaner, you may need to be careful about the crosspins. These are held in place by red epoxy, but work loose over time (newer Anschutz triggers have c-clips on the pins). After cleaning add a drop of oil to the pivots.

I would also put the bolt in the cleaner as well. The design of the 1613 exposes it to firing residue, but makes it harder to clean. Once clean, smear a dab of grease on the cocking cam (the notch in the bolt handle collar), and on the front and back of the locking lugs. There are some recent posts in this forum on how to disassemble the bolt if you need instructions.

I would also give the barrel a thorough clean; solvent wet patches, then a solvent wet bronze brush, more wet patches until these are clean, and then dry patches to remove any traces of solvent.

I think the action has been bedded on epoxy resin; this is a desirable. The factory bedding bolts have been replaced with hex-headed bolts; these are less prone to damage, and also desirable. The two extra wooden pieces are a palmshelf for the trigger hand and a handstop.

The buttplate is odd. I have never seen one like it. I think it is a standard Anschutz plate that has been reshaped with plastic metal, and rubber. I still don't understand why a spacer has been placed between the wood and the buttplate carrier. The factory butt is adjustable for length (much more than has been added). I can only speculate that a previous owner wanted more weight at the back.

Enjoy.

I took the rifle to shooting range today.

Rifle worked well, no problems there. Definitely more accurate than me.

One old rifle shooter asked me if I had any real ammo as I was shooting Aguila "SuperExtra" standard velocity.. Even less consistent ammo than I thought when I put the box in my bag. Of course, this was my first try shooting unsupported (with just the sling) so there was no point using expensive ammo. Will take better ammo next time.

This first visit was mostly adjusting sights and sling. Got really experienced help as the clubmate who sold this rifle back in 1986 was there.

I´ll go try again next monday. Have to train airpistol now as I have competition next saturday.

I haven´t yet cleaned the trigger mechanism or rear sight.
Took the bolt apart and found some dirt there. Cleaned it.

edit: That metal spacer between wood and buttplate carrier is a true modification. adjustment nut and screw in carrier are not in use anymore. Someone has soldered a metal pipe to the spacer and drilled a hole to wood. That hex bolt in aluminium part next to wood is used to tighten this system. This allows buttplate to be rotated free and extended too.

I guess the barrel is at least good enough for now.
I have shot mostly Lapua std. club, SK magazine.
Also briefly tried Lapua Pistol King, Center-X, Aquila, Geco pistol and Sellier&bellot HV..

Shot my best groups with old Pistol King (blue box, at least 16years old cartridges) and Center-X. Took pictures of two targets I shot today with those Lapua cartridges.

Four training sessions with my new rifle and ~450 shots fired.

We have this monday competition going on. Every monday one can shoot as many 20 shot matches as one wants to. Range officials must be informed before beginning the match that following targets are scoring targets.

Last monday I got 187 points. Today 192. Of course, top guys here shoot 198..200 point scores..

Two gear questions:

- What is that ring in the rear sight? Marked with red arrow and (?)

- I shoot with thin leather glove that is made for everyday use in winter and not for rifle shooting. Since the shooting belt attachment ring was pressing against my hand and causing some pain, I searched the internet a bit and found pictures of different hand stops. Made one from 25mm aluminium round bar.
One older shooter at the shooting range tells me to remove the handstop I made and use the Anschutz part (also in picture) others say nothing. What do you say?

I bought an used shooting glove today for 10€. It is made of thicker leather and has some padding to protect my hand from that belt mounting "ring" so my diy-handstop may be obsolete from now on.

Hi Jiri,

the extra ring in the rearsight is to hold a blinder/occluder (to cover the non-aiming eye). The ring is screwed back against the eyepiece holding the blinder in place.

The larger handstop looks fine. There are many commercially made handstops, all of different shapes and size, so it's impossible to say which is best. Some like a very small stop (like the factory one in front of yours), others like something larger. So long as the handstop is not too large for your hand, is comfortable to use, and lets your wrist be straight use whatever you like.

A proper shooting glove will certainly make shooting more comfortable. Leather work gloves, are too thin. Even ski gloves won't pad the hand enough. Motorbike gauntlets can work, but are too long. I myself like gloves that have a stiff rubber coating, like the Kurt Thune Solid; I find the rubber cushions the sling very well.

Your targets look good, and hopefully will get btter with practise.

I'm intrigued by your description of the butt spacer. The original factory butt allowed adjustment for length, and the height, sideways position, and rotation of the buttplate. So I don't understand why anyone would spend time and effort to duplicate this. The spacer/adjuster does make the butt quite long; if you are tall (1.83m+) this may be OK, but if you are not so tall an extar long butt makes it harder to balance the rifle.