TargetTalk

Looking at the 21" Lilja offering for Anschutz rifles and wondering how people have found them in use. I've heard mutterings about the shorter barrels being ammo fussy, but a lot of people like them with a tube for 3p. I'm currently shooting a 1913 with a 6" Uptagrafft tube for prone and kneeling, and removing the tube for standing.

Was thinking of going for something I don't need to change around between positions and was thinking of the Lilja barrels, either the 27" on its own or the 21" with a tube, around 8". The Lilja itself seems slightly lighter profile than the 1913, from seeing them on friends' rifles. Would others agree that's the case? If so, how would the 21" barrel with 8" tube compare weight wise with the 1913, or the 27"? Would either bring the balance point back a decent amount over a stock 1913?

I've seen great test results from some of the Lilja barrels, but I'm not limited to them either, and while they're available here at a good price, I'd love to hear other suggestions too. For instance, Border are quite easily available too, and have a very good reputation.

So for someone who's shooting 3p, but wants to bring a bit of the weight back over a standard 1913 while ideally keeping the sight radius the same in all positions, is there a handy solution, or am I chasing a weird dream here? I think I could live without the tube if I had to, but I've been shooting so well with it over the past while that I'm kinda loathe to lose it too. I don't know whether it's the weight forward or the sight radius extension (I'm 24 with excellent eyesight, so it's not an age/compensation issue) but it does seem to make a difference, even if it's only perceived.

At a rough guess a 21in Lilja would be about 1/2-1lb lighter than your 1913. So yes it would bring the point of balance backwards. My fairly rusty maths leads me to say the 21in barrel has slightly lower volume than an Anschutz 1907 barrel, which is about 300g lighter than a 1913, so it should be a touch lighter still (that is if Lilja's stainless is a similar weight to Anschutz's steel).

If you like the 1913+6in tube for prone, a 21in barrel + 12in tube would give the same sight radius, and if you went for a tuner tube, the weight would be closer. You could then switch to a standard 6in tube for standing.

That said, if your 1913 is shooting well, it might be worthwhile sourcing a sapre action to rebarrel. That way if you don't like the shorter barrel, you can go back to old set up with no hassle.

I got to handle a 1907 in the same stock recently and was really impressed with the balance. Ideally I'd like a bit more sight radius though, hence looking at the Lilja option. The Lilja is a straight .900" profile, which seems pretty close to the 1907 (which is 22mm diameter if I recall correctly), hence thinking either a 21" Lilja with about an 8-10" tube or a 27" Lilja might be good options. I could always have the 27" Lilja cut down and rechambered at whatever length I want, too of course.

I guess one interesting question would be what's the best way to maximise sight radius and keep balance back in the one package, while keeping something manageable for standing.

Hard to say with international finals being comprised of about 50% Bleikers these days, but it seems like it's impossible to be really competitive with a standard length barrel and no tube in prone. As far as I recall, the Bleikers are just slightly longer than a standard sight radius with the standard length tube on them, but it's hard to say where the magic is in there really.