How I got started in Benchrest Shooting

W

wolf gray

Guest
As per Steve Grosvenor's request, here is the new thread "How I got started in Benchrest Shooting. (By the way, good idea Steve)
I was a Sporting Clays shooter (6 years worth) when one of my sporting clays buddies asked if I knew where he could sight in his deer rifle. I told him I had belonged to the San Angelo Gun Club since the early 70's and we could go out there. We went to the range and the Benchrest bunch had the 100/200 yard reserved for a Benchrest Match. I told my buddy we could use the 100 yard range and did that. After a few shots I told him we were wasting our time, no one around here sights in for just a 100 yards, "lets go see what those guys are doing". After watching the match I met Glen Wood and he entrapped me into the game. Two weeks later I had my 1st used 6PPC and a week after that Glen had me order nearly everything in the Sinclair catalog! Have been shooting and trying to learn the game ever since. I have met a lot of nice and helpful people in this game and hope to continue for a long time.

Best,
Dan Batko

"Where are we going and why am I in this basket?"
 
I grew up hunting fox in NW IA. One of my good friends in HS is Steve Grosvenor's cousin. Steve and I did some hunting together through the years. One day Steve called and said he had talked to a guy named Francis Becigneul. Francis had told Steve about the Postal Tournament. I thought "What the heck? How hard can this be?" Shot my first match off of a 3 legged card table, down the rows of a corn field, with no rear rest and a pillow for a front rest. Got my ass kicked. It was awesome.

Bought my first BR rig off of this site through a guy named John Thomas in KY. He had it mailed to Mike Bigelow in IA, to be checked out, before he cashed my check. Neither guy had ever met me before, but both agreed to help me. Shot my first match the next season in Webster City, where people like Mike Bigelow, Al Nyhus, RG, Dave Halblom, Ron Berg, Craig Nagel, Stan Ware, LaVern Nelson, Don Crunk, etc shared their time, and in some cases money, with me. The more matches I attended, the more people would help me.

Without the kindness of others, I would still be shooting fox and thinking I was a good shot. And..it wasn't just one act of kindness, all the pieces fell into place. I really don't think there is just one thing we can do to get more people into Benchrest. All the pieces of the puzzle have to fit together. But boy, is this a sweet puzzle.

Jason Stanley
 
Last edited:
How I Got The Bug

Back in the mid 90's. I decided to get into something that did not involve severe bodilly harm if I made a bad decision. Since I shot Rifles, (for fun) and Pistols, (local competitions), back in the '70's, I figured I would get into some type of Competitive Shooting.

I could remember as a kid seeing pictures of "Benchrest Rifles" in magazines, huge barrels, stocks that looked like a RR Cross Tie, and was intrigued.

I went to a GunShow and bought a real live benchrest rifle;), a 40x in, of all things, 25-06.

Multiple trips to the old Lake Houston Gun Club convinced me that I was on the wrong track, a shooter named Steve Turnipseed showed me some things, and I went and had a barrel put on the 40x in 6BR. I shot that in some local matches, and then met Glenn Newick, who, by all accounts, became my mentor. Keep in mind, at this point, I thought PPC stood for Police Proficiency Course.

He steered me in the right direction, and with my machinist background, I caught on pretty quick. I dove right into the deep end and never looked back.

In 15+ years, I have seen a lot come and go. I hope I have another 15 years in me to see more come, and go..........jackie
 
My Start in Bench Rest Shooting

Well, let’s see. It was 1986 when I first started bench rest shooting.
I had always been an avid shooter with my Dad and me spending many hours shooting together. He had a couple of custom chambering’s from the very early 50’s. A 22 Varminter (now known as a 22-250) and a 257 Roberts Ackley Improved. They both shot extremely well for hunting rifles.

We kind of went in partnership on a 22-250 re-barreled by Harold Broughton with a match grade Shilen barrel on it. What a fine shooting rifle. We worked up many a load, striving for that “one hole” group. Many hours, many memories were had on the range with my Dad.

After my Dad passed away I spent a lot of time shooting IHMSA pistol competition, where I met the late Gary Sandlin. We became good friends and enjoyed the pistol shooting. Well Gary was also a bench rest shooter! He invited me to watch one of the local Club Matches that were held on a monthly basis. Not one to just watch, I brought my trusty Harold Broughton built 22-250 to the match, topped with a 4 x 12 Leupold scope. Gary told me I wouldn’t be the least bit competitive, but I wanted to try anyway. He was right; my gun wouldn’t hold a candle to the fine rifles and shooters at the match that day. A few that was there was Larry Baggett, Charles Huckeba, Cecil Tucker, Leon Gass to name a few.

After the match was over Gary had saved 11 rounds, didn’t clean his rifle and asked if I wanted to shoot a couple of groups with it. Hell, yes! I’d only pulled the trigger on one 2 oz. trigger before and it was over before I even thought I’d started!
Well I settled in at the bench with Gary’s 6PPC. He told me “just watch the flags, and do the best you can”. The first 5 shots were blowing my mind. Heck, they just went into a tiny hole! Gary looked at it and just smiled. Try another group. I started with the second group, carefully watching the flags and trying my best. Again, the bullets would just go in the same hole. I had shot 5 shots and had one more round left unfired in his block. I held over just a tiny bit to see what would happen and it “egged” the group. I was still in awe of the rifle.

Gary and I went down and pulled the targets and he said “let’s measure them”.
The first group measured .136; I still couldn’t believe the results. The second group, which I put 6 shots in and intentionally held over just to make sure the bullets were actually getting to the target….measured .135. I was hooked! Got to have me one of them bench rest rifles.

When I got home that evening, I called Harold Broughton and talked to him about getting a rifle. He said he had a fine shooting rifle that he’d make me a good deal on. I sold a few of my hunting rifles and had me a brand new bench rest rifle the following weekend. What fun and what a game!

Brad Calhoun
 
I started shooting BR in 88 and got be be friends with Myles Hollister and spent many hours on the phone . He helped me get started making bullets - due his selling and getting a new set of dies every time I needed more bullets. I started shooting pistols in 1965 and after a few years I wasn't steady enough on my feet to shoot the scores to be able win. That's when I got Clarence Hammond to build me 2 guns. After that , all my factory guns set in the safe. I have some thing to pass on to my grand sons. I have tried to shoot every BR range in the US - I think I still like 7 or 8. I just got a set of 30 cal bullet dies from Bill Niemi-{ For My Friend -Paul Bowers} and they came in about an hour ago - now I have something to do this winter. Benchrest is a VERY addictive sport and If you like shooting guns in competion and all the things related to BR - it can consume many hours of your time and keep you busy in your retirement.
 
I was what I thought was a fanatic at hunting. Whitetails with my Rem 788 22-250. Realized that was not enough rifle so I bought a Browning BLR in 30-06 and put Redfield 4X scope on it. Dad reloaded and it was a full case of 4064 with a 150 gr bullet. One of those Lee hand presses with the scoops. He graduated to a scale and it was still full cases to let them bullets rip. He cared less about accuracy but wanted speed and ENERGY. I decided I would start shooting some target with the 30-06 and 22-250 but could not wait for dad to reload so I took his reloading supplies and went home. He had showed me some of the basics, even though he had some bad practices. I felt I was a pro. I used to frequent the local gunshop and talked a lot about reloading and accuracy with the owner Rob and his employee Travis at the time. Travis got me into slowly buying the measuring tools. I then realized that a lever action was not the rifle for accuracy but I needed a bolt. I traded the lever in on a Sako TRG in 30-06. What a SWEET deal. No matter what load i put in the case, be it powder or bullet combination it would flat out shoot and with MAX loads plus. It kicked and kicked like a mule. I decided to work with the Rem 788 and soon realized I wanted a trigger and more for it. I ended up trading it in on a used Rem 700 22-250. Played with it for a few years until I cannot remember who told me about this site. Thru the site a met a few Canadian shooters. Jeff Wardlow to start. Then Joe Ponto. While on vacation in Western Canada I made a trip up to Edmonton to get some Berger bullets from Joe as he had them and appeared to be the only guy at the time to get them. While there he showed me his BR rifle. I fell in love with it and from that moment I had to have one. The plan was buy the time I was 45. I had it about 1.5 years later at around 39 or 40. The rest is history. I had a rifle built by Dennis Sorensen. I chose my components with Jeff's input having NEVER pulled the trigger on a BR rifle or even being to a match. I thought I did quite well. Bat action, Jewell, Weaver, Speedy BRX and Canadian made Gaillard barrel. I attended my first match One year later at the Canadian Nationals not having an idea what to expect. I was middle of the pack after the weekend. The following shoot I shot my first and only screamer to date at 200 yards a .213.

While during the learning process and the early years of this site, I made a FOOL of myself questioning you guys about actions and why my SAKO which was as smooth as the skin on a womans back was not good for BR. Man did I get put in my place. I was smacked down but got up dusted off and carried on. So in all it was the guys of this site, Jeff Wardlow and Jow Ponto who gave me the bug. At present my buddies Rick Pollock and Dan Opel are the guys who keep me going and give me that kick start when I am down and out about my shooting performance. Jeff does chime in from occasion. Anyways that is kind of my story.

Calvin
 
Last edited:
Back in the early 90's I used to borrow a fellow shooters Precision Shooting Magazine, and read all the back issues he had. Benchrest Shooting and Benchrest Rifles had my attention and really interested me...........and boy how I wanted a rifle that would shoot like the rifles described between the covers of Precision Shooting.

One day in '98 while cruising the Internet I found a website "Shooters Corner" and he had a L/H Benchrest rifle for sale. Following a few phone calls to Bob White and an International funds transfer.........that really hurt the bank balance, at the time as it was NZ$1.00 = US$0.47. Next was all the paperwork to get the rifle into New Zealand, at this point to my knowledge there were no Benchrest matches being held in New Zealand. (I have to say the paperwork involved 10+ years ago to get stuff out of the USA was a lot easier)

Well with all this done I told a fellow shooter that I had bought a real Benchrest rifle to see what an accurate rifle could do and it was on it's way to NZ, he informed me that there were Benchrest matches being held in NZ and the next match was in Nelson. I got given the phone number of a couple of the BR shooters and talked to them about the match, front rests and other things. Even though my BR rifle hadn't arrived by the time the match was held I turned up and shot a 223 I had......I had a ball even though I finished last.

Since then I've been hooked and have travelled many thousands of miles to shoot in matches and have made some great friends, tasted some mouth watering pecan pie and spent almost all my money..........and I'm looking forward to many more years of pie and shooting..........Ian
 
I have always been interested in benchrest. From 1958 to 1963 I shot NRA 4-position as a junior. I always liked the few times when I went to practice at a range where there were benches, but found I could shoot better prone than off a bench. "Why" kept bouncing around in my mind.

After university, I worked in a job that didn't pay much, then started a business -- again, not much money. I'd buy Rifle magazine and pour over Warren Page's book. Finally, I found that one of the local ranges had informal benchrest matches, and went to watch.

One of the guys there -- a number of the shooters were NBRSA regulars -- wanted a James Messer built rifle. He had a 40-X smithed by Charlie Joines, and he won a lot. He offered me that rifle for $800, including a spare barrel, dies, some Cheek bullets, Sako brass, and an almost full 8-pound jug of 322 for $800. I maxed out both the credit card and the "ready reserve" in my checking account and bought it.

Well, now I can shoot far better off a bench than prone, but all that did was transfer the "why" to other things. Winning is nice. You feel good for a day or so. But for me, trying to figure out what makes a more accurate rifle is a lifetime's enjoyment.
 
I've always been a hunter... deer, small game, groundhogs were my favorite. Spend whole summers on grandma's farm trying to wipe 'em out. In 70's ,after college, I had Sakos. Sauers, Steyrs & trying to get tiny groups with them. Joined Guthsville Gun Club around this time and saw my first BR rig...it had a yellow stock. I know now from the IBS photo archives it was Gary O'cock who was practicing for matches that they held there. Contacted Remington Rep. on how to get one of their XBBR's .... but as I remember they had just had a strike and customs were hard to get.
Fast forward to around 2000, NE Pa housing boom curtailed groundhog shooting, but made up for that by shooting paper/ water bottles at deer camp range. Finally meet up with Roger Gower, a long time friend of a cousin, an accomplished BR competitor from the early '80's (he only lives 5 houses up the road). Hanging around his shop, I began to learn why I never could achieve consistant results in accuracy. His son built me a 6PPC LV on a 700 action, and I attended IBS matches shortly thereafter.
Talk about being a small world, at the local (Bowmanstown) match I meet Al Weaver (a distant relative who I hadn't seen in 35 years) and also Ken Livengood who was my neighbor growing up.
It doesn't end there, recently I have learned that another distant relative, Tracy Ross, from Nebraska, is also an IBS competitor. Every year at Christmas, when Tracy visits,we try to get together to shoot my latest BR rig.
I feel very fortunate to live near the center of so much BR activity, but lately ( this past year) with the economy as it is, I only attended Bowmanstown matches (11 miles distant). To get the most bang for the buck I do shoot 2 guns at these score matches.
Like deer camp it is the comraderie that keeps me coming back,and the technical support of those like Roger, Al, Ken, Dennis Collins, and the late Vince Pastorella to name a few.
 
Last edited:
You could say that a Shilen select match barrel got me headed toward benchrest. I had a friend Joe Archer who worked in a machine shop put a Shilen s/m #7 contour barrel on a Falling Block Works action in .22-30/30. We took it out to shoot it and sight it in the first 3 shot group that it shot was a .25" As with Dan, I wound up buying most of the stuff in the Bob Pease catalog (that shows how long ago it's been) trying to get the FBW to reproduce that first group. Very seldom did it come close. The next rifle was a 700 action that I sent to Hart Rifle Barrels to have a sleeve put on it and have it barreled to .22 BR. While it was there I changed my mind on the caliber and it was changed to a .22 PPC .246" neck and I ordered a McMillan benchrest stock blank from them as well. I don't remember for sure, but not including the cost of my action. The total bill from Hart for the sleeve, barreling, m-16 extractor installation for PPC bolt face, barrel and stock blank was $400. When I glued it into the stock, I had a benchrest rifle. I had the idea when I built the rifle that it would serve a dual purpose, shooting prairie dogs with it and shooting benchrest matches. I found that Okie Shooters was holding matches in some place called Luther, Ok and wrote Dennis Wagner who was the clubs director at the time. There was no such thing as e-mail. My wife and I found our way to the match where guys like Larry Englebrecht, Dennis Wagner, Rex Reneau, Lawrence Bolain, Red Cornelison, Wayne Blacketter, Don Creach, Mike Bishop and his traveling partner, the guy with the curly red afro and yellow short shorts was running around (L. S.). She left me at the match and went back to OKC. She never would have found her way back except for the stream of vehicles leaving after the match was over. That rifle never shot another prairie dog as that was too much of a waste of a good shooting rifle, the ski boat rotted down and all efforts were put into shooting benchrest. I wound up going back the next month to the next match and was lucky enough to win the small group at 200 yards. Rex's wife was making ceramic coffee cups with NBRSA on one side and a shooter sitting at a bench on the other for the match awards. I still have two of the cups. The next year I was able to make it to Midland to shoot the HV and LV of the '83 nationals. When I found out that the .22 PPC couldn't be shot in the SP class, the .22 barrel came off and Joe put on a 6 PPC barrel for me. He got started shooting probably about the time he installed the 6 PPC barrel for me. Been lots of barrels since then, custom actions replaced the sleeved Remington. By the way at that first match, sleeved Remington's were the norm. There were very few custom action rifles.

Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Never thought I'd wind up with a shop full of machine shop equipment just because of shooting that first benchrest match.
 
It's all Dan Batkos' fault

I too was a Sporting Clays shooter...in fact my favorite game was "WAR" at the 5-Stand field...Ahh the good Ole Days when a bunch of us would gather to shoot 5-Stand...it was a variant of that nicknamed "War" that I used to shoot with Dan Batko...it was my greatest joy to shoot those missed targets (Dans to be specific)...well anyway long story, shortened when Dan left the 5-Stand/Sporting Clays game...life was no longer fun...so I decided to move on to another shooting sport...It was just strange fate that I happened upon a Prarie Dog shoot at our local gun club...and there sat old Dan blastin away at paper animals...and BAM it came to me...maybe I could clean up his missed targets..!!...but no the BR game doesn't work that way so the best I could come up with was to "CROSSFIRE" on his target..just to bring back a little joy into my life..but it was not to be...Gary Dickson...beat me to it...
Life is just unfair...:D:D:D:D


Eddie in Texas
 
For me, it all started with coyote hunting here in the boring Illinois winter, and a neck injury i sustained as a teenager. Ill explain. I used to travel the country shooting registered skeet and sporting clays. We would shoot lots and lots of ammo every week just to get ready for the weekend tournament. During my sporting clays career i lived in ungodly pain. The recoil of the 12ga, browning O/U i shot was taking a toll on me and my injured neck. Most mornings it was a choir to even get my neck straight after getting out of bed. A hand full of mussel relaxers and a few Advil i would be on my way, but i was getting real tired of hurting all the time. I went back to the doctor i had been seeing since my injury and he pretty much told me to put down the shotguns, and take up bowling. Well I'm a gun person, so i had some real decisions to make. It was winter time when all this took place so i thought a brake would be fine. I soon became bored!! One afternoon i was over at moms house looking around the basement and i found dads old RCBS rifle press. I gathered all the pieces and took it home. I soon had it up and working, and i was producing some of my own 22-250 rounds for my coyote rifle. I really enjoyed making these little cases so i soon bought a second rifle, then a third and so on. about a year later i ran into an old childhood friend that was shooting benchrest. After seeing what his ppc would do i knew life would never be the same. The benchrest rifle thing was something i could do and not be sore all the time from my injury. I really started to enjoy it, and i haven't had any serious issues with my neck since. I find the rifle thing a hole lot more interesting, than i ever did with the shotguns. Now i have a family and traveling isn't an option like it once was, was i stay pretty close to home most days. I am lucky enough to have the St Louis BR club just 2 hours down the road so it works out real well!! Thats my story! Lee
 
Out BR Central host, Wilbur Harris, wrote an article on the mentality of a benchrest shooter. The link to the *Articles* is broken, so I can't include it here. I wish Wilbur or Elmer would fix that.

Anyway, one of the stories Wilbur told was about a guy who stopped by to watch a match at the old Charlotte club. He allowed that it sure looked like a lot of fun, but he couldn't afford it. Then he got into his new Ford Lariat with the 3 fancy four-wheelers in the bed and drove off.

Every time I see posts about how we need to get more people shooting benchrest and how expensive it is, I remember that story -- and the one about the jug of powder, new denture plate, and soup.

Most of the stories in this thread remind me of what Hunter Thompson wrote about the Hell's Angles. Thompson asked the president how the Hell's Angles recruited new members. He replied "We don't recruit them, we recognize them."

Keep the stories coming.
 
I became interested in Benchrest in 2008 when I renewed a friendship (after 40+ years) with Gary Hendricks (current National High Power Senior champion). Gary was best man at my wedding in 1966. At this point some background info is needed. Until 1988 I hunted, reloaded, and was an avid hiker and backpacker. That year I was diagnosed with a spinal cord tumor. As expected, trauma from surgery to remove the tumor (benign) left me with significant spinal cord damage. My right side is atrophied with my right hand and arm having limited strength and motor control. I could no longer hunt, hike or backpack. Fast forward to 2008. While visiting Gary I went with him to watch him practice high power at Pine Tree Rifle Club in Johnstown, NY (birthplace of competitive benchrest). While there he encouraged me to try and shoot his 308 hunting rifle from a bench. To my surprise I was able to shoot a decent group (for a factory rifle). He suggested I might look into and try benchrest shooting. I didn't know that benchrest was a competitive sport. I began online research into the sport and became very interested. In December, 2008 I visited Kelbly's in Ohio and ordered a 6ppc with an unusual configuration to accommodate my disability. I shoot right handed but have a left bolt, left port, right eject because my right hand and arm aren't strong enough to operate a bolt. While waiting for my rifle to be built I bought almost everything in the Sinclair catalog and started prepping 220 Russian/6ppc cases. I received my rifle in June, 2009 and began learning how to shoot benchrest.
Since then I attended a 3 day benchrest clinic and match in NJ held by Bob White (BR Hall of Fame member) where Harley Baker, Jim Borden and Jeff Stover made presentations. I have competed in club matches at Pine Tree where I am now a member. My hope is to become competitive in VFS. Because of my disability, group shooting is more difficult since I am unable to shoot fast enough to take advantage of fleeting, favorable wind conditions. I am thankful and very happy to be actively involved in something I love to do.
 
I wanted a varmint rifle................

So I went to Darlo Beesley at GI Loan in Grand Island, Ne. and was looking over the various remington and winchesters for a suitable 22.250 and he told me to buy a Savage and spend the extra money on quality optics. I bought a solid action single shot Savage (forget the model #) with the 26" heavy barrel, dies, 4064 powder, some Sierra and Nosler 52gr match bullets, and a Leupold 24x BR scope. He also threw in his pet load!
I got it on paper at 100 yds and then went to work at 200. I had made some flags from 3/4" dowels with surveyors tape stapled to the top and found that at about 3550fps the rig would shoot sub 1" groups at 200 yds. I WAS IN HOG HEAVEN!.
What would it do with good bullets? After doing some research I found this site, and contacted Randy Robinette and he sent me some of his .224 bullets. WOW, when I got my mind in order and it was a calm morning the thing did .600 groups at 200!
How low could this thing go? More calls to Randy, and I bought a set of dies and press from Larry Blackmon. Those bullets shot just like Randy's, and I had made them myself!!!! More calls to Randy, and I ended up buying an RFD actioned BR rifle from his good friend Terry Meyer. They were going to the Cactus Classic and dropped it off to a friend of mine in Omaha. When I got it, and mounted a Leupold 36 on it, I did a 3 shot "dial it to the bullet hole" thing and it scared the hell out of me when the second shot of the first five shot group didn't show up on the target, but I kept shooting and my first group with a real BR rifle was a low 2. (Meyer's pet load)
That Savage sat in the gun rack for years, and never saw any prairie dog action.
Bryan
 
I was shooting in "chicken shoots" at a local club that with one of the events being a 3 shot "bench class". I only had a hunting rifle to use so I kept my eyes open for a used Sako as one fellow had one which shoot very small groups (when compared to my hunting rifles). I found one in a 22ppcUSA. My first 5 shot group using the components the original owner passed along with the rifle was a .190". About that same time, I had a subscription to Precision Shooting and behold there was an article about this Jim Borden guy out of PA. The next year was my 25th wedding anniversary and my present was to be a custom rifle. I contacted Borden, went with his recommendations, and waited for 9 months to get my perfect gun in a 6ppc. Once it arrived, I realized I needed a hot-line to Borden to get instructions for all the gizmo's that came with the gun. Thank you Jim for all your patience. I found that Maine had some clubs shooting IBS score. I joined IBS, and started attending Maine matches. That was in 2002. The guys in Maine are great and they put me on the fast track with all their help. Jim Borden continues to act as a mentor whenever I ask. The appeal and amazement for me is meeting people for the first time and finding they are ready to assist you with your every need .....to try to beat them. What other sport has that kind of class! Randy J.
 
Last edited:
I was watching a sports channel show, Browning was hosting a group shoot to promote their new "BOSS" muzzle brake system. That was the planting of the seed. I had shoot competative archery at that time for 10 years and shot skeet at a local club. Then It was Peter Wass showing up at my workplace with an IBS sticker on his vehicle 9 years ago. I found Orrington Rod and Gun and became a member. Attending factory matches with a self stocked savage and a Rock BR rest. After getting honerable mention at my first IBS match with that rifle I then joined IBS. Most of my first year was shot with a factory gun, 22-250 savage. Then from that point on my mentor Butch Randall stepped in. With help from a fellow shooter who was struggling with his rifle I happened to be in the right place at the right time to buy it. Rick Dimaro's red Panda that had won some big matches and one of the very few 250's at 300 in Damerascotta ME. The rifles pedigree and track record was stunning. Now with the help of Butch, Jim Goodie, Randy Jarvis and my bullet maker Parker Hill, I had the gun shooting competatively. After countless hours talking to myself, I aquired "STUFF" and started the next year off with nothing but the wind and myself to worry about. I have to thank my wife Steph. Her patience with me and my new passion has helped more than anything. And a Big thanx to what ever made that rifle not shoot for somebody else. :) .. Gary Long has taken care of my Old Red rifle and next year should be promissing too.
 
Great Stories for sure

I like most enjoyed working up loads for varmint rifles and after the 2002 season I knicked the crown on my 22-250 and it was just a waste of bullet and powder till I got it fixed. Looked online to find a gunsmith that was close and Stan Ware's of SGR Custom Rifles was only a couple hours away, so I gave him a call and set up a time I could show and ask his opinion of the damage.
While standing in his waiting area, I looked around at all the Awards and targets and just asked where he shoots those at?
"At Webster" Webster City Ia is the closest Benchrest Range to our area. At the time that still sounded plenty far so he mentioned a Postal league run by Francis Becigneul, a email later and I was competing in a "On your own time, at your own pace" mail in match...just what I was looking for. Stan fixed the crown and I shot that season with that rifle, but after shooting in the factory class and looking at my scores vs the guys shooting in the VFS class and there scores, I figured either I wasn't as good a shot I thought I was or I'm missing something in the equipment category. A call to Stan solved this problem, pointed me in the direction of a switch barrel rig, (which I still shoot today) by changing barrels and stocks I can shoot both competition and still use the action for hunting...works great for me. After fall deer season I brought my rig to him and he mentioned that he was breaking in a new barrel for his VFS gun and wondered if I would like to put a few through the barrel? I'm really not sure who would ever turn down such a offer, a short walk from Stan's shop is his Private 300 yd Range, and inside the shoot house sitting on a Farley rest (which I had no clue what that was but thought it was very cool) was a Br rig his Wife painted (really amazing work) he advised me to dry fire it a couple times to get the feel for the trigger which seemed like making a feather move.

Well after 5rds that's really all it took, Francis Becigneul and Paul Becigneul were putting together a BR school for June of the following year, and by then Stan had my rig ready to go so the timing was perfect. My wife and I made it a short vacation and headed to MI where we met long time shooters that were there as Instructors the entire experience was a realization that I was gonna have a hobby and a reason to shoot all year long now.
 
Dan Batko, in the first thread you mentioned Glenn Wood. There was a Glenn Wood that shot benchrest at the Edmond Oklahoma gun club (pre-Luther Okie Shooters) in the late 70s. I think he moved to San Angelo in 79 or 80. He was in the car business. The funny thing was that his nickname at the gun club was "Patsy". If this is the same Glenn, Small world.
 
In the early '90's, one of my friends got me interested in fox hunting. One thing led to another and soon I joined the range he belonged to and found myself working more and more on the accuracy of the rifles I was using. There was a group of guys there that shot the TCL Hunter Postal league and two of them, Jim Minnig and Lynn Hansen, encouraged me to come and shoot with them. I had become acquainted with Stan Ware at SGR Custom Rifles through my brother and Stan had built me several .17 Rems. and a 243 Ackley. So, I began shooting TCL with my 243 Ackley. Jim and I decided to go to a 'real' BR match in Mason City, Iowa to sort of test the waters. Jim had a Dowling built 30X47, so he was in good shape. I called the contact info listed in PS magazine about the Mason City range. A guy named Randy Robinett was the match director and was really helpful to a couple of newbies.

Everyone was helpful and welcoming to us. Dan Hackett was shooting there and I knew him from his PS articles. We talked a bit and after the match he spent a good bit of time with me talking about scopes, etc. By the time we were headed home from our first 'real' match, I was making plans to have a honest to gawd Hunter BR gun made for the next season. Stan stepped up and did the 'smithing and I've enjoyed it ever since.

The helping hands extended by Jim, Lynn, Randy, Stan, Dan Hackett and others at that first tournament made all the difference.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top