My new benchrest rifle...



The fore end before checkering was complete. All done and set to go now.

There's an escutcheon that covers the hole.
 


I got this pic from Chuck Grace Sunday. The gun is completely together and is now on it's way home via UPS Second Day. (Don't ask what that cost.)

We have a match at the club Saturday so I am going to be really busy as soon as it gets here.

Right now I'm lighting candles, making sacrifices (The wife got really mad about the cat.) and praying fervently that it will shoot the way it did in the pattern stocks.

We'll know more after Sat.
 


This is the best picture I have so far of the completed gun. Anybody coming to the ICSC match tomorrow will see it.

The flash washed out the color a bit on this one. The actual color is like the pic of the rear half of the gun above.
 
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Beautiful rifle!! Almost too pretty to shoot. I'm guessing that is a rubbed oil finish ?

It was wet sanded after finishing. I'm going to hand rub a couple of coats of Gun Savr on the stock when I'm done fire formimg brass and have done load work up. When that's done I will have time to put the finish on and wait for two or three days for each coat to dry. There a few details that need attending to before I declare it done.
 


Matt Dardas took this pic at the first match I shot it in. All my shooting "stuff" fits in the back of the little red car with the handicapped plates.
 
What a beautiful

rifle! I love the Unertl treatment. Good luck with in after you wring it out a bit. --Greg
 
rifle! I love the Unertl treatment. Good luck with in after you wring it out a bit. --Greg

Wringing it out starts today. I have to fireform the rest of the brass, set up the size die and start load work-up. (Neil Jones charged me a ton for that die.) The gun showed a lot of promise Saturday till the wind started blowing 20 mph, gusts to 32 mph. (per the weather channel.) I haven't shot much in the last three or four years and wind like that I can't cope with. I need a lot of practice.

Little things... I'm having trouble adapting to the trigger... it's expensive but it's not a Jewell. Also having trouble getting the scope crosshairs perfectly focused and completely getting rid of the parallax. This is just detail stuff that can be worked out. Next winter I'm thinking about sending the scope out to Ackermann and getting it bumped to 12X and getting a 1/2" dot. Cheryl says she can do it.

This is fun... I honestly think I can shoot a 250 with this when I get my act together. Gonna be a busy summer.
 
Barrel rotation ?

Dick

Your #1 looks great. A lot of nice custom touches .

You might be able to find a higher power eyepiece for your Unertl.

Unless the rules limit you, I would go more than 12X.

Hal
 
I am not a camera expert and I will have to say that this is the best (luckiest) photo that I have ever taken. That Unertyl scope is sure looking fine on top of Dick's very sharp Ruger. He sure had a lot of lookers at the match!

Matt
 
Dick

Your #1 looks great. A lot of nice custom touches .

You might be able to find a higher power eyepiece for your Unertl.

Unless the rules limit you, I would go more than 12X.

Hal

"Custom touches"... Everything is new except the action, even the trigger. It was a .458. 12X is a compromise. I may want to take it in the field and try to get a woodchuck or two. We have no rules in our matches that specify scope power. Our general rule is.. "If it looks like a benchrest rifle, you are in the benchrest class". "If it doesn't look like a BR gun, you are in Factory Class".

The barrel has a one in fourteen twist. This was meant to be a competition gun from day one and that's what I use for 52 gr. match bullets.

As soon as you make rules, you eliminate people who might want to come shoot. That ain't what our matches are about.
 
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Isabella County Sportsmans Club BR matches...

Michigan shooters... pay attention. Our matches are centrally located just west of Mt. Pleasant. We like to think that they are friendly, fair and fun. We give better than normal prizes this year since Jay's Sporting Goods decided to sponsor us. Winning either class will get you a Jay's gift certificate, twenty bucks cash from the club and one of the neat pins that Matt ordered for us.

If you are interested, contact me or Matt (pikedrop) and we will get you match schedules that have both a map and directions. The club is easy to find.

This year we have a special bonus... I have been elected, like it or not, to stop on my way to the match and pick up donuts from Cops and Doughnuts, the world famous bakery in Clare. I thought I got a ton of them last match and they just flat out disappeared. Screw the match... the donuts are worth the trip.

Matty... have some respect. Unertl is spelled... U-n-e-r-t-l.:)
 
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Michigan shooters... pay attention. Our matches are centrally located just west of Mt. Pleasant. We like to think that they are friendly, fair and fun. We give better than normal prizes this year since Jay's Sporting Goods decided to sponsor us. Winning either class will get you a Jay's gift certificate, twenty bucks cash from the club and one of the neat pins that Matt ordered for us.

If you are interested, contact me or Matt (pikedrop) and we will get you match schedules that have both a map and directions. The club is easy to find.

This year we have a special bonus... I have been elected, like it or not, to stop on my way to the match and pick up donuts from Cops and Doughnuts, the world famous bakery in Clare. I thought I got a ton of them last match and they just flat out disappeared. Screw the match... the donuts are worth the trip.

Matty... have some respect. Unertl is spelled... U-n-e-r-t-l.:)


I thought it looked wrong when I sent it!
 


After a couple of days of shooting I decided to rub another coat of finish on the stock. It will be in the vise for a couple of days till it's perfectly dry. I have a hundred cases that need cleaning and sizing whilst I wait... next match is Saturday. Lots to do.
 
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wonderful

Thanks for sharing your wonderful story of your beautiful rifle. May I suggest that you post your photos with descriptions to your Profile?
With your "old" technology, you can teach many of us how to shoot a rifle from the bench.
Thankyou.
 
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