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Friedrich's Fearsome Threesome--Three Rifles, All Tack-Drivers
Joe has three ultra-competitive rifles in his arsenal now, featured in the above photos. The purple gun is a Suhl 150 he purchased used. It was re-barreled by Bill Calfee. With that rig (factory trigger and all), Joe captured the 2006 ARA Aggregate Championship. Not satisfied with that success, Joe commissioned Bill Myers of Luray, Virginia to built a new gun for the ARA unlimited class. This rifle, in "Sierra Rainbow" colors (center photos), proved to be a winner from the get-go. With his first Myers-built rifle, Joe shot his 2500 perfect ARA score, and a 4-target Aggregate of 9850 points, (2450, 2500, 2450, and 2450 for an Average of 2462.5). This gun features a Turbo Action, Benchmark 2-groove 1:16.5"-twist barrel, Jewell trigger, and Myers-pattern laminated stock cut by Bruce Baer. Joe's latest ARA rifle (right photos) is another Bill Myers creation, virtually identical to the record gun, but with a red, gray, and khaki color scheme instead of the "Sierra Rainbow" purple, green, blue, orange, and turquoise pattern.

Joe lining up the Record Gun using his Miller 'Uni-Rest' with Fudd top. At the rear is a black, elastic ankle weight used for balance.

Friedrich's Formula for Success--Practice, Equipment Optimization, Mental Preparation EDITOR'S COMMENT: When preparing this story, I noted that Joe Friedrich is not the typical "weekend warrior" shooter. When he is not shooting rimfire rifles, Joe helps run a Go-Kart racing team which he sponsors. Joe also is involved in racing radio-controlled model cars. One can see how the racing influences his approach to shooting. He has a back-up rifle, just as a race-team will have a back-up car. He is constantly testing and tuning new equipment, just like race teams do. In the past month alone, Joe has acquired a new $2100 March Scope, and an Ahrens one-piece rest. And as soon as he got his hands on that rest, he began experimenting--adding weights to the base to increase its stability. Just as a race car is never "fast enough", Joe's rifles are never "accurate enough". He is relentless in pursuing a little more accuracy, or a better state of tune. Elsewhere we note how Joe practices, in all conditions, day in and day out. It's no wonder his shooting skills have advanced so rapidly. Joe also, like a pro athlete, consciously works to improve his "mental game" and performance under stress. If you study the best race drivers, or tennis players, or golfers, they all have a program to improve the "human software"--the mental and psychological side of their game. Employing strategies from Lanny Basham and other experts, Joe works to keep his "mental game" in tune, just as he works to optimize his equipment.

Practice Makes Perfect
Just as Tiger Woods revolutionized golf with his fitness regime, and countless hours of practice, Joe Friedrich brings an uncompromising commitment to the sport of ARA rimfire benchrest. While he has an easy-going personality, Joe is dead serious when it comes to shooting. Joe practices as hard and as often as any shooter this writer has ever interviewed, and that includes some Olympic shooters and action pistol champions. Last year, Joe was shooting five days a week, and even now, he's behind the trigger at least three days a week. Joe estimates, over the last 2.5 years, he's sent 70,000+ rounds downrange. All that practice has given Joe an uncanny ability to judge conditions and read even the smallest changes in the wind. Joe's hard work has paid off. Starting as a self-declared "casual shooter", in just three short years he has progressed to become one of the leading rimfire masters in the nation. With this level of preparation, Joe told us he believed "it was just a matter of time before that perfect 2500 came together," and he was right. During his practice sessions he rarely shoots less than a 2350, and he has shot quite a few 2500s in practice as of the date of this article. Just two weeks ago at a match he delivered another impressive set of four targets: 2450, 2400, 2400, and 2400 for a 9650 total. That kind of consistency is the reward of hard work, but it also requires the best equipment and a willingness to constantly experiment and refine his gear. Click HERE to watch Joe shooting his record gun at his 'Open Grove' range.

When asked his advice for new shooters, Joe observed: "Get out to the range and get comfortable with your equipment. Flags are a must for rimfire, if you do not own them, purchase new or used, if you do not have the funds, get creative till you can afford them. Keep notes on your progress, work on being consistent with set-up, seat position, head placement, trigger control etc. Keep it simple, have fun, be patient, and practice, practice, practice in all conditions."

"The other important thing is to find a mentor. In the beginning, we all need a knowledgeable expert to lead the way. For me, that was Al Hadfield from Westport, MA. If it was not for him advising me from 3000 miles away I would have been lost from the beginning. I owe Al and in fact he will be getting my 2500 target. He stuck by me and was willing to help, and I am so grateful. Even with all I've learned, I still consider Al to be my mentor. I know there is much more for me to learn."

Hardware--The Never-Ending Quest for Better Gear
Next to his Open Grove range, Joe has a large work center the size of a small barn. Inside, Joe's "Bat Cave" is filled with equipment for shooting and racing. There's enough shooting gear to outfit a half-dozen trigger-pullers. On one bench is an armada of rear sandbags (all shapes and sizes), plus a variety of premium rests, including one-piece models from Ahrens and Miller, plus pedestals from Bald Eagle, Ken Fulgham, John Loh, and Sinclair. His favorite pedestal rest is the beefy Fulgham unit, featuring belt-driven elevation adjustment. It is one of the smoothest units this writer has ever sampled.



You'll find a half-dozen tuning devices in the Bat Cave. Joe has been experimenting with mid-barrel tuners including the Sims De-Resonator and the Henrich device. Joe used a Sims unit when he shot his 2500, but he's currently switched back to a muzzle-mounted rotary tuner only. This reflects Joe's philsophy--he is constantly testing and evaluating new equipment. He recently acquired an Ahrens one-piece rest and he just added a new March 40X scope to his collection of optics. Joe has the resources to try out all the "latest and greatest" gear, but his motivation isn't that of a collector. He buys and tests new gear as an on-going effort to obtain that "nth degree" of accuracy. This is one secret of his success--he starts with the best equipment available, then strives to make that gear even better through testing and tuning.

Joe Friedrich and the "Mental Game"
Joe Friedrich, like many successful shooters, employs motivational training as part of his approach to shooting. He has used Lanny Basham's products, including the popular book, With Winning in Mind. (Motivational expert Basham is a former Olympic gold medallist in rifle shooting. His "Mental Management" system is used by many Olympic teams.) Motivational training help shooters maintain positive focus and eliminate self-defeating stress in competition. Here are some tips from Joe on how to improve your "mental game":

"Avoid Doubt--Doubt causes more people to fail than anything else, so we must have belief in ourselves and our equipment. Belief will over-ride doubt. If you push doubt out of your consciousness and replace it with self-confidence, good things will happen.

Focus on the Positive--I hear shooters complaining about bad shots. I even hear them talking about misses while they are shooting. When I hear such comments I tell myself to ignore that negativity. If it gets too bad one needs to walk away. When I miss a shot I immediately re-shoot that target in my mind's eye, visualizing a 100. That is positive visualization. You must have positive thoughts, and use positive reinforcement not just in shooting, but in ones daily life.

Inspiration and Passion--Become inspired, and let your passion take you to new heights. Keep your dreams and imagination alive. There is nothing to stop you, but you yourself. Remember stress and anxiety are creations of our egos. Our egos are mans' worst enemy.

Achieving Balance--One must have balance in ones life. Your conscious, sub-conscious, and self-image must be balanced and work together in harmony. The sub-conscious is the source of your skills and the power to perform--whether in the shooting sports or other endeavors. All great performances are accomplished subconsciously. Your self-image (what you believe and how you act) and your performance are tied together." Click HERE for a 3-minute video with Joe giving tips on rimfire competition.



Shooting for 2500--The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection
According to the ARA's records, there have only been six certified perfect 2500s shot, Joe's 2500 being the sixth. Two more 2500 targets have been submitted as of the date of this writing, which would bring the total up to eight if those are approved. (Gary Grove shot an impressive "clean" 2500 recently in Indiana using a Calfee-built rifle with Broughton 4-groove barrel. Gary's target should certainly be certified. Link to PHOTO.) By most accounts, Joe's 4-target Aggregate stands alone at the top of the heap. There have been detractors suggesting Joe got lucky on his 2500. Well, every shooting sports record involves a bit of luck, but Joe's outstanding performance was no fluke. This writer has personally witnessed a 2500 shot by Joe in practice, and just two weeks ago Joe logged a 9650 4-target Aggregate, now pending certification.



The ARA employs a different type of scoring compared to most other shooting disciplines. ARA 50 targets have 25 bulls with a center 100-Ring. "Worst Edge" scoring is used, meaning a "100" shot must fall completely within the center ring plus the line separating it from the 50-Ring. See ARA Rules. You can’t just clip the 100-Ring from one side. Click HERE for official ARA target. The Aggregate is the total combined points of the day’s four targets divided by four.

"Worst Edge" scoring makes ARA shooting very challenging, as does the fact that you must shoot 25 targets in sequence, moving your aim point back and forth across the target during the 20-minute alloted time. All that movement means that it is important to have a very smooth and positive rest system, one that is reliable with a fairly heavy rifle. Under ARA rules*, gun weight and rest design are unrestricted. Many of the top competitors use one-piece rests such as the Ahrens or the Miller Uni-Rest. Joe's rifles each weigh about 17 pounds, which is typical for ARA guns, though both heavier and lighter rifles perform well.

*ARA Rules state: "1. Rifles--Any firearm chambered for the .22 Long Rifle cartridge may be used. There are no weight limits, no classes, and no dimensional restrictions to barrels, stocks, or limits on scope magnification. 2. Rests--Any rest may be used to shoot from the bench. One piece rests, separate front and rear rests, or sandbags may be used, so long as any such device prevents the barreled action from being affixed to the bench in an immovable manner."

The Two-Groove Barrel--Benchmark's Accuracy Edge Joe Friedrich has shot his best targets, including the 2500, with a 2-groove, 1:16.5" twist Benchmark barrel. Benchmark 2-grooves have definitely "raised the bar" of rimfire accuracy over the last couple of years. Bill Myers notes: "Not counting the recent pending targets, there have been three ARA 2500s shot in the last two years, and all have been with 2-groove Benchmarks." Bill explains the secret to Benchmark's performance is not just the number of grooves. "First, Benchmark has very good rifling machines, in particular a drilling machine that is better than most. Benchmark delivers a very straight bore with a very accurate twist rate. Second, the Benchmark folks do superb lapping on their barrels." Thirdly, Bill adds, "Benchmark does a great job putting choke into the barrels. Choke (i.e. bore taper) must be very constant and uniform--a smooth reduction in diameter--you don't want a sharp transition point. Benchmark 2-grooves are finished with at least .001" choke, sometimes .0011". You have to have choke to shoot in the wind, and the 2-grooves shoot better in the wind than anything else." Bill adds, "I'll use a 4-groove or 6-groove if the customer insists, but I strongly recommend the 2-grooves, and that's what most shooters want. Right now I install 50 2-grooves for every 6-groove." Bill is one of the "founding fathers" of the modern 2-groove rimfire barrel. Bill worked with Bison Barrels in Wyoming on their first two-groove rimfire barrels. Bill actually bought the original tooling for the Bison 2-grooves, and experimented with twist rate and bore dimensions to optimize that design. Bill notes: "We spent 1.5 years getting that barrel perfected. Bison has now closed, but Benchmark is carrying on with the specifications and tooling we developed."

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Bill Myers Reveals Rimfire Accuracy Secrets Right now, only a handful of gunsmiths are consistently turning out winning rimfire benchrest rifles. Their work is in great demand, and the waiting lists are long. Bill Myers is in that elite group. He built the rifle with which Joe shot his 2500 score, and record 4-target aggregate. Bill also just delivered a new rifle to Joe--a near clone of the record gun, with Turbo action and Benchmark 2-groove barrel. Based on early tests, Joe's new Myers-built gun appears to be even more accurate than the record gun--if that is possible. Bill Myers took the time to discuss gunsmithing and rimfire accuracy with us, covering a broad range of topics, from ammo selection to bedding. This section summarizes our discussions with Bill. Read carefully, we guarantee you'll learn something new. Talking to Bill Myers about rimfire accuracy is like discussing NASCAR with Richard Petty--Bill's wealth of knowledge is remarkable. Competitive Accuracy Editor's Note: As a centerfire shooter, with some experience with Anschutz position and silhouette rifles, I was astounded at the accuracy modern ARA Unlimited rimfires can deliver. Yes, when conditions are good, and the guns are in tune, these rifles shoot one ragged hole at 50 yards. When Bill Myers builds a rimfire Benchrest rifle he is looking for one-hole accuracy: "If a rifle can shoot three or four 5-shot groups in a row in the .130" to .140" range, it will be competitive. The best rifles are shooting in the ones. Joe's guns shoot .120s pretty reliably." Bill added that the latest batch of Eley Tenex EPS has shown outstanding promise: "I tried the new Eley from the #5 Machine and it hammered, giving me back to back zero groups--something that I've never seen before." How important is ammo sorting? Joe has a Nielson concentricity checker. He's used it, but the results were not definitive--probably because the ammo Joe uses is so good. In the past Joe encountered some rounds that impacted low, presumably because they were undercharged. Joe weight-sorted that batch and eliminated most of the errant rounds. With his current batch of Eley, he shoots it right out of the box, unsorted. Ammo Testing and Selection Bill has tested just about every brand of premium 22LR ammunition out there, but he tells us three varieties represent the "best of the best." First there is the older Federal UM1, now out of production. Bill believes this was some of the most accurate ammo ever made. Second on the list is Eley Tenex Ultimate EPS flat-base. This is what Joe shoots. At one point Joe was weight-sorting his Eley ammo, after he encountered some under-powered rounds that impacted low, but now he shoots it right out of the box. Bill says the better lots of Ultimate EPS will produce repeatable .130-.140" 5-shot groups (at 50 yards) from his rifles. Bill recently tried some of the latest #5 Machine Eley EPS from Bob Collins of C & S Accuracy. Bill reports: "This new #5 stuff is scary accurate. In my own rifle I shot back to back zero groups and I've never, ever done that before." Myer's third preferred ammo type is Lapua Master M. In some guns this will shoot a little better than the Eley and Bill noted that recent lots have been very, very uniform. Chambering--Matching Chamber to Ammo When Bill builds a rifle, he actually customizes the chamber to the customer's ammo preferences. He has a collection of reamers with leade angles from .75° to a full 2°, and the freebore is set specifically for the ammo type. So with Bill's gun, not only do you get a "match chamber" but you get a match chamber optimized in diameter, leade angle, and freebore for the ammo you shoot. Freebore and Land Contact Some of the rimfire position shooters we know have "match chambers" throated so the bullets go very far into the rifling--as much as 40 or 50 thousandths. The theory is that this straightens the bullet and provides more uniform engraving. Bill Myers builds his rifles differently. He sets his throats so the nose of the bullet is barely engraved by the rifling. "I don't want to go 20 or 30 thousandths into the rifling", Bill advised. "There is a happy medium on the chamber depth. Rimfires tend to load up the throat with bullet lube, carbon, lead, and primer residues. If you jam the bullets too far into the rifling, with heavy engraving, you'll get that build-up of lube, lead and carbon in the throat much more quickly. And that results in flyers." Barrel "Ringing" and Indexing Bill is aware of the procedures used to "ring" a barrel to find dead spots. "It's no big secret", he noted. However, he's not an advocate of this technique. He believes "barrel ringing" is not scientific and not particularly reliable. More important is to have a good barrel to start with. He says, with the Benchmarks, quality is virtually a given. According to Bill, "in the last two years, I haven't had a bad barrel." Myers does believe barrel indexing is worthwhile, and he will index a barrel on the client's request. With this process, the barrel is fitted and rotated in 90-degree increments during a course of test-firing. Bill tells us, "when barrels are indexed, you'll always find one of the four positions is dominant--it will shoot the tightest groups." One reason Bill prefers to finish barrels with a cone breach is that this simplifies barrel indexing. If the barrel has a conventional breech with extractor cuts, the cuts dictate how it must be oriented in the action. Bore Cleaning and Accuracy There are many schools of thought when it comes to cleaning rimfire rifles. Some shooters clean after every target, while others prefer to clean once a year. Bill Myers prefers to clean his rifles about every 50 rounds, and this seems to be typical of ARA shooters. Bill advises, however, "that doesn't mean these guns lose their accuracy after 50 rounds. I prefer guns that can deliver at least 100 rounds of 'maximum accuracy' between cleanings, if at all possible." Bedding--The Key to Vibration Control and Accuracy Bill explains: "I believe that a good rimfire rifle needs to have 100% contact between the action and stock to transfer the vibrations through the stock and away from the barrel. Harmonics are very critical on rimfires. This is why I do a double-bedding process to insure that the action is semi-glued into the stock. Without this the rifle is hard to keep in perfect tune. The final 'adhesive bedding' is the real secret to the rifle's performance. It has taken me a lot of years to finally arrive at this place in rimfire accuracy. I've found that this two-stage bedding process is one of the crucial aspects of a great shooting rifle." Myers is an expert on adhesives. He once worked in Fairchild Aircraft's composite bonding facility. He believes "half the epoxies used for bedding are junk--they have a very short shelf life and can become soft." He uses Loctite Steel liquid for his first bedding layer. This has a 20-year shelf life--many times longer than products such as Devcon or MarineTex. Myers believes proper bedding is absolutely critical to achieving best accuracy. "Rimfire is a vibration game", Bill explains, "the bedding must transmit the vibrations to the stock. If the bedding is not correct, the gun will go out of tune." Bill uses a two-stage bedding procedure on the action (normally, no part of the barrel will be bedded). Stage one consists of Loctite Steel Liquid and some fiberglass flock. When this has hardened, Bill will assemble the gun, tighten the action screws, and test it. Then comes the second stage of the bedding job. After removing the barreled action, Bill waxes the action and screws (to allow the barreled action to be removed in the future). Then he applies a thin coat of "Myers' Mystery Adhesive" and re-installs the action. The end result, according to Bill, is a pillar-bedded "semi glue-in" connection that mates the action perfectly to the stock. This also provides a tight seal that solvents and oils can't penetrate. When asked to reveal his "Mystery Adhesive", Bill chuckled and said "Now I can't give away all my secrets you know." Two-Grove Barrel Design and Internal Taper (Choke) Myers helped Benchmark develop its successful 2-groove design: "I decided to pursue a 2-groove rimfire barrel some years ago. With the help of Gene Rumfelt of Bison Barrels and Ron Sinema of Benchmark Barrels, we have finally established what I think is a perfect bore to twist ratio, and the right amount of choke. Made possible by the super machine work and lapping from Benchmark, these barrels are running with .001" of taper. This choke is crucial to a barrel's ability to shoot through strong gusts. Do not take me lightly--anyone shooting one of these barrels has a big advantage on everyone that is not. The records and scores over the past year and a half prove this." Cone Breech Myers estimates he's fitted 300 rimfire barrels in the last 18 months and nearly all of them have a cone breech design. (Both of Joe's Myers-built guns have a cone breech.) This design has numerous advantages. First, since there are no extractor cuts, it is much easier to index the barrel for best accuracy. Simply rotate the barrel until you get the smallest groups, then set headspace. Second, bullet lube, carbon, primer residues, and lead fouling compose less of a problem with a cone breech. On a normal breech, you'll get lube and lead build-up between the barrel and the breech face. This can also build up on the extractor and the firing pin hole. It is much easier to keep this under control with a cone breech. NOTE: Bill won't use a cone breech on barrels fitted to Rem 40X actions because of feeding issues. But with the modern rimfire actions, the cone breech is optimal. General Gunsmithing Bill Myers works on benchrest, prone, and position rimfires as well as centerfires. He's worked with all the popular rimfire actions including the barrel-block style 2013 Anschutz. He charges $250.00 to chamber and fit a new rimfire barrel, with the chamber cut for the customer's preferred ammo. This includes initial testing. He prefers to completely accurize the action first. A full accurizing job, with new barrel fitted, runs $700.00.

Joe with his New Myers-built 22LR and new Roger von Ahrens one-piece rest. Same winning formula--Benchmark 2-groove 1:16.5" barrel with a Turbo action. Competitors watch out--both Bill and Joe think this new gun may shoot even better than Joe's record-setting Myers gun. Joe is still working on the tuning, but it seems to shoot even tighter than the other rifle.

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Topics: Rimfire, 22LR, Benchmark, Bill Myers, William Myers, Joe Friedrich, ARA, American Rimfire Association, Worst-Edge, Best-Edge, Lapua Midas, Eley, Ely Ultimate, Ely EPS, ELY flatnose, 2-groove, Barrel Choke, Tuner, Fudd, one-piece rest, Uni-Rest, Roger von Ahrens rest, Bruce Baer, Laminated, 50-yard range, Video, free recoil, Rimfire ammo, Bison Barrels, Barrel Indexing, Cone Breech, Bedding.

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