Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by GPostal » 22 Feb 2015, 7:50 pm

yes paper mainly as where I live all wildlife are generally someone's pets...........................
I shot cci copper hollows. see last target
Some .22's--Lots of 303 Lithgows--Tactical Mosin--7mm and an 8mm--Underover--Farmers Shottie--Angel and Omark
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by hotmetal1000 » 26 Mar 2015, 8:02 pm

Hi guys, new to the forum here.
I'm interested in how GPostal and CustomPC have got on with your Lithgow's?
I too have one and it has been a mixed bag. A friend also had 1, well 2, he sent the first one back under warranty and received a replacement. He has since given up on the Lithgow and traded it on another .22.
Check your headspace on the Lithgows both mine and my friends bolt closed easily, no resistance at all, on a no go gauge.
Both of our Lithgows too sometimes won't/wouldn't feed the last bullet from the magazine. The bolt will go over the top of the bullet and then when you pull back again will stand the bullet up in the magazine. Seems to be mainly the SK brands of bullets that do it.

So with mine I have floated the barrel as it wasn't done satisfactorily. I have changed the trigger springs with the Lumley springs which took the creep out of the trigger and was a huge improvement to the trigger. I had the headspace fixed, just a shim in the bolt and I have also done the stock stabilizer and Matchgrade bedding from Terminal Ballistics.
At first my Lithgow shot pretty much as above, no real consistency that I could find. After starting to argue (I call it arguing) with it, it would throw the first shot and then group nicely. I thought after bedding the rifle I had it pretty much sorted and seemed to be shooting and grouping well but the last two weeks it has started throwing the first shot and then grouping again.
See photo, yes that is the first shot to the left, very edge of the paper and then the next 4 shots is in that one hole.
Anyway I've tightened all the screws up further tonight, action and scope screws, I'll try it out on the weekend and if it hasn't improved I'm going to part ways with my Lithgow. At this point in time I'm quite disappointed with it which is a shame because I do like everything else about it especially being Australian made.
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by CustomPC » 26 Mar 2015, 11:45 pm

Hi hotmetal,

My Lithgow is performing ok. It's no Anschutz but it is a consistant grouper with no drastically wayward shots.

I have tried a lot of the premium match ammo from Lapua, RWS, Eley, Norma and SK. They are all the same at about 15-20mm groups. The cheap CCI and Win T22 ammo is 1.5" at best. The Federal 922A is also mostly 15-20mm groups but occasionally it throws me a bone with an 8-9mm group. Im mentioning the part number because some of the first boxes i bought from the range were labeled "Ultra Match" but now the same part number is "Match". The "ultra match" is now part UM2 and i want to try some but at $30 a box it'll have to wait.

I haven't checked the headspace on my rifle but I can say it feeds perfectly from the magazine. I do get the occasional empty case bouncing back into the ejection port which needs to be cleared and the fastest way is to drop the magazine and let it fall out the bottom.

After my previous posts i discovered something that was effecting the bedding. On my rifle, the bottom of the magazine well was touching the stock at the bottom of it's inletting. This meant that the action wasn't seating properly in the bedding 'V's because it was rocking on the magazine well and it was impossible to get consistent torque on the stock screws. I deepened my stock's inletting underneath the magazine well with some careful dremel work and the action seats nicely and now torques down well. I also needed to shorten the front screw slightly and remove some material from the barrel channel to improve the float.

I told the Lithgow factory about my bedding issues and they replied saying the engineers had checked and found i was right and It has been addressed.

My stock flexes at the forend and i've been meaning to use the Stock Stabilizer. I will also bed it eventually. Do you have any pictures of your bedding job.

I wasn't too happy with my scope and i was thinking it may have been the reason for my inability to tighten the groups. I had noticable parallax and the side focus ranges were way off (eg. the side focus scale said 150yd at 50m).
Yesterday i found that my ocular focus was wrong. I was compensating for the badly adjusted ocular with the side focus so the image was clear but not ideal. I also found i had the scope slightly to far forward and i wasn't getting a sharp edged circle in the view. Now that i had adjusted both correctly the Side focus is very close to the actual range and i don't detect the parallax anymore. I'm itching to get back to the range and see what difference it makes.

The picture below shows my results on a good day when i'm shooting well. The ammo is Norma 2, Eley Match and Federal 922A

Target_27-02-15_Norma_Eley_Fed.jpg
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by Chronos » 27 Mar 2015, 9:08 am

Thanks for the post CustomPC. Disspointing to hear you've had some issues with your rifle bedding. If I remember correctly they are bedded on four little "bumps" moulded into the stock, are you saying the action was resting on the magwell and not touching one or more of the "bumps"? I assume that means the action could rock left and right on the magwell.

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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by Warrigul » 27 Mar 2015, 9:43 am

CustomPC wrote:
I wasn't too happy with my scope and i was thinking it may have been the reason for my inability to tighten the groups. I had noticable parallax and the side focus ranges were way off (eg. the side focus scale said 150yd at 50m).
Yesterday i found that my ocular focus was wrong. I was compensating for the badly adjusted ocular with the side focus so the image was clear but not ideal. I also found i had the scope slightly to far forward and i wasn't getting a sharp edged circle in the view. Now that i had adjusted both correctly the Side focus is very close to the actual range and i don't detect the parallax anymore. I'm itching to get back to the range and see what difference it makes.


I have found this a few times over the past couple of years with people having trouble, it seems to be more prevalent with the smaller side parallax correction focus knobs that when it was on the front objective housing.

One thing that does help is one of those stupid looking big side wheels, but I have decided to give side parallax adjustment a miss in future.

Many shooters out there are unaware what parallax is and how to adjust a scope when they have that option.
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by CustomPC » 27 Mar 2015, 10:06 am

Chronos wrote:If I remember correctly they are bedded on four little "bumps" moulded into the stock, are you saying the action was resting on the magwell and not touching one or more of the "bumps"? I assume that means the action could rock left and right on the magwell.

Chronos


The action was resting on the mag well and wasn't seating into the "V" formed by the front bedding blocks. It could rock lengthwise on the mag well before the screws were torqued down. When tightening the action screws it felt a bit spongey. Either the action was bending or the plastic mag well was being deformed under tension.

Now that i've made the clearance for the mag well the action drops straight into the bedding blocks and doesn't rock at all. When i torque the screws they tighten properly. The action is seated about 2-3mm deeper into the stock now.
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by Fry » 27 Mar 2015, 1:02 pm

hotmetal1000 wrote:Hi guys, new to the forum here.


Welcome :)
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by crush » 27 Mar 2015, 1:03 pm

hotmetal1000 wrote:I too have one and it has been a mixed bag. A friend also had 1, well 2, he sent the first one back under warranty and received a replacement. He has since given up on the Lithgow and traded it on another .22.


Well that sucks :|
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by hotmetal1000 » 27 Mar 2015, 6:48 pm

Hi Guys,

CustomPC, mine also was touching the magazine well on the stock. I discovered this when I placed the barrel into the stock without the recoil lug in place, it rocked on the magazine well and didn't make contact with all 4 bedding "bumps".
I also checked how many turns the screws took before bottoming out without the stock on and then counted the turns as I tightened the screws with the stock on and discovered that the screws were bottoming out.

I don't have any pictures of my bedding to post sorry. I bed mine basically from the recoil lug forward including the first 1" of barrel. After bedding it really improved the groups across all ammo I had to try with at the time.

Most of my fore end play I found come from the stock where it thins down for the action. Before bedding I glued some aluminium into the stock under the action to stiffen it there, which helped but by far the best thing was the bedding.
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by deye243 » 27 Mar 2015, 7:57 pm

trekin wrote:Na, mate, that's from when they twist the freshly cast barrel tube round and round to get the rifling on the inside.


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by Korkt » 30 Mar 2015, 8:48 am

hotmetal1000 wrote:I also checked how many turns the screws took before bottoming out without the stock on and then counted the turns as I tightened the screws with the stock on and discovered that the screws were bottoming out.


:problem:

I suspect there had to be some hickups in the design/build process for the lithgows.

They started advertising then took ages to release the things, now they seem riddled with problems.
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by stefo » 31 Mar 2015, 4:20 pm

Hi guys, can anyone tell me what size rings to buy ??
just got my crossover !!
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by TheDude » 31 Mar 2015, 5:15 pm

stefo wrote:Hi guys, can anyone tell me what size rings to buy ??
just got my crossover !!


What scope you putting on it? I found leupold mediums worked well for mine with a 4.5-14x40 vx-3
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by stefo » 31 Mar 2015, 5:50 pm

I bought the bushnell AR optics 2-7x32
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by CustomPC » 31 Mar 2015, 6:42 pm

Stefo,

Low rings will fit with heaps of clearance with that scope. I had the same scope before i upsized.

The Burris Zee and Warne Optima are both excellent and great value at $60 a set on ebay.
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by samf » 01 Apr 2015, 10:48 am

CustomPC wrote:The picture below shows my results on a good day when i'm shooting well. The ammo is Norma 2, Eley Match and Federal 922A


That Ultra Match looks good to me 8-)
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by stefo » 01 Apr 2015, 11:29 am

What i need to know is what size rings to get that will fit on my crossover ??

I know the diameter of the ring has to be 1" for my scope but what is the measuremnt of the bottom bit...

Sorry im fairly new to guns
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by CustomPC » 01 Apr 2015, 12:05 pm

stefo wrote:What i need to know is what size rings to get that will fit on my crossover ??



You need rings which are the right height to mount your scope as low as possible but still have some clearance between the Ocular (front) lense and the barrel.

It can get very confusing as one manufacture's Low, Medium & High Rings will be different to another manufacture's low,medium and high. Most manufactures list the height from the base of the mount to bottom of the scope tube for comparison.

The Crossover has Weaver style bases so you need weaver style rings. The CrossOver's bases are quite high so you can usually use low rings for most scopes up to a 44mm Objective. Your AR Optic 2-7 is a 32mm objective so you'll have no problems with low rings.

I have a CrossOver and I have had your exact scope mounted on it so i can be very specific.

These will all fit your rifle and scope. They are ordered from lowest to highest.

Weaver Grand Slam Medium Matte Part 49303
Burris Zee 1" Low Matte Part 420083
Warne Optima Low Matte Part 200M for fixed or 200LM for quick release.
Leupold PRW or QRW Low Matte.
Last edited by CustomPC on 01 Apr 2015, 8:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by RealNick » 01 Apr 2015, 2:27 pm

CustomPC wrote:I have a CrossOver and I have had your exact scope mounted on it so i can be very specific.


Well that's a happy coincidence :lol:
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by stefo » 01 Apr 2015, 7:45 pm

CustomPC wrote:
stefo wrote:What i need to know is what size rings to get that will fit on my crossover ??



You need rings which are the right height to mount your scope as low as possible but still have some clearance between the Ocular (front) lense and the barrel.

It can get very confusing as one manufacture's Low, Medium & High Rings will be different to another manufacture's low,medium and high. Most manufactures list the height from the base of the mount to bottom of the scope tube for comparison.

The Crossover has Weaver style bases so you need weaver style rings. The CrossOver's bases are quite high so you can usually use low rings for most scopes up to a 44mm Objective. Your AR Optic 2-7 is a 32mm objective so you'll have no problems with low rings.

I have a CrossOver and I have had your exact scope mounted on it so i can be very specific.

These will all fit your rifle and scope. They are ordered from lowest to highest.

Weaver Grand Slam Medium Matte Part 49303
Burris Zee 1" Low Matte Part 420083
Warne Optima Low Matte Part 200M for fixed or 201M for quick release.
Leupold PRW or QRW Low Matte.


thank you so much for taking the time to explain to me mate, may I ask why you got rid of the bushnell ar scope ?
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by CustomPC » 01 Apr 2015, 8:51 pm

stefo wrote:
may I ask why you got rid of the bushnell ar scope ?


Purely because i'm 100% a range shooter and i wanted more magnification for target work. I sold the AR Optic to help fund the larger scope.

The AR Optic was actually a pretty good value scope. It was clear and sharp and worked great. It would be a great scope for hunting and the Tacticool styling suits the Lithgow.

I'm now rocking some Weaver Tactical Rings on my Lithgow. Total Overkill i know but I like how they make the rifle look tuff.

These are Weaver Medium rings which are .280in (7.1mm) high and that's a 44mm Objective (actual size is 51.5mm). There is 3.5mm gap between the scope and barrel.

Crossover right view with weaver tactical rings.jpg
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With these Burris Zee Low rings and the same scope the gap was about 1.5mm. It was so close i couldn't fit the scope caps.

Crossover Right Side with Burris Rings - Small.jpg
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by Redwood » 02 Apr 2015, 10:03 am

Is the stock there standard synthetic?

Looks a little different or something like it's soft touch.
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by CustomPC » 04 Apr 2015, 11:45 pm

Redwood wrote:Is the stock there standard synthetic?

Looks a little different or something like it's soft touch.



Yep, standard stock.

Just my crappy non-professional lighting.
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by CustomPC » 05 Apr 2015, 12:04 am

Just came home from a long session of ammo testing, this time with a new Meopta Scope which was a huge improvement as far as sighting goes. I installed the scope Yesterday and bore-sighted it at 15m by placing the target outside and aiming down the hallway and into the yard from my lounge room.
My first shot of the day was just 3mm to the left of the aiming mark at 15m. Pretty chuffed with that.

Along with a bunch of ammo that i have used before I tried 3 new types of ammo during todays session.
Eley Edge
Eley Subsonic HP
Federal Ultra Match UM22

The Eley Edge performed pretty well. The first group was 13mm and then it started open up some.
The Eley Subsonics were excellent with several sub-10mm groups.
The Federal Ultra Match UM22 were pretty good but not as good as the Federal Match 922a which are still the ammo which outperforms all others in my Crossover.

After putting 1000 rounds through my rifle since January I'm done with ammo testing for now.
I've settled on the Eley Subs as my standard round as they are almost half the price of the Federals and shoot almost as well.
I'll probably use federals for any competions i may enter.
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by Humir » 05 Apr 2015, 11:21 am

CustomPC wrote:I installed the scope Yesterday and bore-sighted it at 15m by placing the target outside and aiming down the hallway and into the yard from my lounge room.


Just don't let your neighbours see you do that. You'll get busted for being 'scary' :roll:
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by GPostal » 15 Apr 2015, 7:36 pm

Heya folks
thanks for all the new input, a really interesting read - I haven't shot lately so no news but will have some real soon I hope.

Just read this on the Lithgow LAAAAG website and had a chuckle..........

"Customer Safety Notice

It has come to our attention that some customers have modified their LA101 CrossOver rifles.

The safety of our customers is our Number 1 priority!

Please note that the use of any non Lithgow Arms parts has the potential to compromise the safe operation of the rifle. Lithgow Arms strongly recommends the use of Lithgow Arms parts only.

CrossOver spares are due for delivery from Lithgow Arms on the 9th Feb 2015 to Winchester for their distribution to their dealers.

Stay safe and happy shooting."


Link http://www.lithgowarms.com/customer-notice/
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by BBJ » 16 Apr 2015, 12:48 am

I'm not up on the Lithgows, what are these "modifications" they're calling out exactly?
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by TheDude » 16 Apr 2015, 6:58 am

BBJ wrote:I'm not up on the Lithgows, what are these "modifications" they're calling out exactly?


I think its the aftermarket trigger springs.
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by ebr love » 16 Apr 2015, 3:25 pm

The Factory Lithgow spring is something like 4.5 lbs, pretty heavy.
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Re: Lithgow LA101 Crossover .22 -- New Rifle Range Report

Post by deye243 » 16 Apr 2015, 3:32 pm

and more creepy than any cz i have ever played with bloody disgusting considering what the price is and there made in oz

i expected better from an Australian company

ebr love more like 4.5kg if the two i looked at in the LGS is anything to go by
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