Where do all the old bench guns go?

Pete Wass

Pete Wass

Well-known member
When one thinks of all the new rifles that are built every year it begs the question, where are all the old ones? One never sees that many for sale on the classifieds. Where are they all? They certainly are not in the hands of new shooters.

Pete
 
Well pete, my therory is just because you build a new gun or 2 doesn't necessarily mean youe have to sell the old one! I just keep the old one's and when I get a chance I will rebarrel an older gun and keep it as a backup gun.
 
I am new and starting out with an older gun. Bat S-7 rb/lp 0-eject in a Mcmillan stock Speedy design. One day I am sure it will be my back-up. But for now I REALLY like this one ....:cool:
 
Pete, I assume you mean rf guns being as you asked in this forum. I wonder how many there really are in the scheme of things. We're a pretty small group now & I'll bet it was pretty small back in the day.
I see some early rfbr come up for sale pretty often on other sites, both heavy guns & sporters. The pages aren't full of them but they do show up.
I've also seen quite a few at the larger matches I'd been too.
As was mentioned I think some are kept as a spare for either a backup or for others to borrow.
I'll also bet that some are kept just for occasionally shooting them. I don't think people lose the bug so to speak.

Keith
 
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The lucky ones get adopted by new shooters; the others have to go to the land of misfit toys.
 
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Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to adopt your's. If I can use it as well as you did it will be a great addition to the family.
 
There always seems to be a vast inventory of used Bench Rest Guns over at The Shooters Corner in New Jersey. There are plenty of used rifles for sale on specialized sites too rather than on the more generic guns sights like Gun Broker etc. My limited experience so far with matches also indicates that some horse trading goes on when like minded people assemble with all their toys.

Bob
 
Amen, I saw a nice Gordon Eck build that had just shot a 248 on usbr target change hands at our last match.
 
There are a awful lot of them sitting in gun safes.
 
The kids/grand-kids seem to collect those rifles that I don't shoot as often as I used to. Kinda goes like this....Hey dad/grandpa can I borrow a gun for a while....That's the last i see it.:)
 
I wonder the same pretty often. I was looking for a take off barrel not that long ago and was shocked that that they weren't readily available. I guess there are more tomato gardeners than I thought. :D
 
This may come off as sounding negative but here goes anyhow. Most of the time when a used bench gun comes up for sale the first thing you hear is - Try it first, then it should be a proven winner or don't consider it. This would be great if it would always happen. The truth is that a very small percentage of the bench rifles out there have won major matches. This doesn't mean they are not very accurate rifles, just not good enough to win on a national level. Or they just haven't been shot by the right shooter. I would like to think I have a couple rifles like that. I'm the weak part of the equation and that can only be fixed by selling them to the right shooter. Remember this is only my opinion and it didn't cost you anything. Wayne
 
Good point

lion said:
This may come off as sounding negative but here goes anyhow. Most of the time when a used bench gun comes up for sale the first thing you hear is - Try it first, then it should be a proven winner or don't consider it. This would be great if it would always happen. The truth is that a very small percentage of the bench rifles out there have won major matches. This doesn't mean they are not very accurate rifles, just not good enough to win on a national level. Or they just haven't been shot by the right shooter. I would like to think I have a couple rifles like that. I'm the weak part of the equation and that can only be fixed by selling them to the right shooter. Remember this is only my opinion and it didn't cost you anything. Wayne
Click to expand...

I have had more than a half dozen custom bench rifles built over the past couple of decades. I have bought at least that many used from other shooters. It is always a crap shoot as to rather they will perform. I have been fortunate in having owned some very good ones, most of them Centerfire but the end result is the same. I have only owned one Dog out of them all that would not consistently shoot at a competitive level. Except for that one, all the others were either great or fixed to be great.

From my experience, it's mostly about good and or great barrels. Generally, fitting a great barrel to whatever is to hold it is the key. If one thinks about it, barrels are quite a bit less expensive than ammo so any reasonably good platform should do one good service. I have had good results buying used rifles with some of them either having set records or won big events in the hands of other shooters.

So I guess it begs the question, how much weight goes to the operator vs the rifle? I think one can generally trust a seller but be prepared to re-barrel, so bargain accordingly.

Pete
 
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Success in this game has always been a combination of shooting skills, rifle, ammo. You can't win without having acquired all three. IMO, it all starts with a good rifle/barrel. You need a known good shooting/tuned rifle to properly evaluate ammo. Good ammo shot thru a bad rifle will give bad results, bad ammo thru a good rifle will act the same. Also, it's hard to acquire the skills and confidence to succeed in this game without a good rifle and good ammo. A good rifle is one that shoots predictably. Some may be more wind sensitive than others, but as long as they are predictable and react as one would expect due to the conditions, then the rest is up to the shooter to learn to recognize conditions and to determine the proper hold-offs to put them in the middle. The problem with most beginners is that they don't know where the problem really lies. Having a good shooter shoot your rifle with known good ammo will be enlightening. If a shooter struggles with a rifle yet another shooter drills the center with it, we then know the problem. When I was testing rifles for Gorden Eck, I saw rifles get shipped out that I knew were winners, only to never witness the customer ever doing that much with them. I have also shot rifles that other shooters were struggling with and complaining about only to drill centers with them. It takes a "competitive shooter" to really evaluate a rifle/ammo combo. A poor or mediocre shooter will likely never know what they have and will likely mess up a good rifle by futzing with it. I call this chasing one's tail. Many shooters have egos that will question their skills as a last resort, if ever. If a beginner acquires a good rifle and trusts it and assumes the misses are their fault, they will, IMO, be in the best position to really learn this game.
 
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Pete

I don't know about RF but I've had to outstanding CF barrels and with them it seemed most of the time I could do little if any wrong.
 
Not a True 22 BR But It Suffices Nicely

I just started into 22 BR a short while ago. I have been using my 1950 Remington Model 37 Rangemaster with a Lyman 20X Targetmaster scope. The action is pillar bedded in West Epoxy and I just installed a Harrell tuner. I did machine an additional 1 1/2 oz aluminum weight for the tuner. I also machined a Delrin sled which is mounted to the rail. I am just starting to succeed with reading the wind. Scores are coming up. Despite all, I am having a ball at three score and six years of age. Great new friends and most are excellent shooters. The 37 suits me fine. I especially like the fact that it was made in the month and year I was born, so we have something in common.
 
Benchrest Conversions

I've had three conversions, one CMP 40x custom stock, trigger and tuner & two 37 Remington's...sold ol'precious and the new owner put her back in factory original parts then put it where the sun don't shine lessen he opens the gun safe door !

I now have Gambler a beautiful conversion 37 rem. made in 1947 two years older than me, Butch H. used the factory stock, trigger & barrel I dreamed up 17 coats of jet black acrylic enamel and 14 ivory inlays plus polished engraved aluminum metals ...it will compete !

I might buy a stiller or a used turbo just for kicks, but my heart is in the 37s :D
 
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