New Railgun Forum

[Wilbur]

Here it is guys and gals!

[Tim Singleton]

When did the first Rail type gun appear? Who built it?

[geo.ulrich]

When did the first Rail type gun appear? Who built it?

Earliest one that I am aware of is the one Dr. Mann used in his testing. Early 1900's......

[redlabel]

where could a person find some railgun plans

[Ian_Owen]

Redlabel, here is a link to rail gun plans for sale.

http://mac.uptime.org/mpr/drawings.htm

[Travelor]

Wilbur, thanks for setting up this sub forum. I am brand new to true benchrest and fascinated by Dusty Stevens rail gun.

[Mr.T]

Now it would be great if people posted some picts maybe for start move the Railgun thread from centerfire into this section.

[James M.]

Mr. T, although I am not a railgun shooter, I am fascinated with the designs out there. The most common one seen on the line is the Jay Young model. Also, there are many built by Don Powell (he says that he is not building any more). There are shooters who build their own but don't sell them...like Mike Bryant and Don Mulhall. Some that have caught my attention over the years are the late Butch Fisher's (Butch's Bore Shine) and Tom Dickson (BAT Machine). They departed from conventional design and built truly unique rails. Mike Bryant once told me that a rail must be a labor of love and it is never quite completed. I wonder who has that beautiful yellow machine that Butch built in the 90's. James Mock

[Mr.T]

I am one of those DIY guys, so far i built number of coaxial rests, many more stocks both Br and tactical and am actually just finishing 4 types of actions (and 2 triggers) from .22lr to .408CT , but as i am from Europe info on rails is hard to come by , i see Young and many others base their rail tops on an I beam construction which is probably simpler and cheaper way to go . But i am going for a Rail machined from aluminum billet. I did get some head start from my friend Speedy that helped me out with details on his X wing railgun.
My rail will serve to play and test stuff so i could really build a much simpler rig, but i would really like to build a full on race railgun and then play with top 'accesories'

[Jay Young]

I am one of those DIY guys, so far i built number of coaxial rests, many more stocks both Br and tactical and am actually just finishing 4 types of actions (and 2 triggers) from .22lr to .408CT , but as i am from Europe info on rails is hard to come by , i see Young and many others base their rail tops on an I beam construction which is probably simpler and cheaper way to go . But i am going for a Rail machined from aluminum billet. I did get some head start from my friend Speedy that helped me out with details on his X wing railgun.
My rail will serve to play and test stuff so i could really build a much simpler rig, but i would really like to build a full on race railgun and then play with top 'accesories'

Mr.T I posted some pictures of plate top rails that I built for testing purposes and for competition,The plates are more expensive than the I-Beam but the I-Beams are a whole lot more work by the time you machine them down to size and true them up, I would rather do plates but people like the design of the I-beams and they do work good, I believe the plate type tops are great for different set ups. good luck…J

[Mr.T]

Mr Young I see that you use side mounted guide rails even on the plate tops , why is that wouldn't it be easyer to machine the 'seats for all 3 rails in one plane.

[Chism G]

Wilbur,thanks for testing the interest level for this new site. I think its worth a try,at least.

My first Rail Gun was a used Clarence Hammonds. The previous owner/owners had modified the original design. I showed a picture to Mr Hammonds and he confirmed my observations.

The first time I shot it in registered competition, The first group, a ten shot match at 100yds was a .161. After that first match I was in 1st or 2nd place. By the end of the day,I managed to shoot myself from the Penthouse to the Shiit House.

Was it the guns fault? probably not. after that match,I never could get it to shoot any smaller than a 1/4 inch 10 shot group.


A fellow shooter/friend called me and told me he had a brand new Young Rail for sale,if I was interested. He apparently had heard about my frustrations. I bought the Young Rail. It was still in the shipping box,with papers. It is a beautiful piece of work and a little lighter than the previous Rail. I had kept the action and two new barrels from the previous Rail. Neither of the two barrel contours fit properly in the Young Rail. I've shot the Young Rail in Competition,but it was fitted with my idea of home made spacers to make the V-clamp work. It shoots like it might be something that I did.

During the off season,I'm getting a new barrel(Blank) and I'm leaving my Rail Gun with somebody that knows what they are doing.



Glenn

[Chism G]

The Rail Gun pictured below was designed and built by John Jones back in the 1980's.

John took this Rail Gun to the NBRSA Nationals,Held in South Carolina,in 1985-1986. He won the UL Grand. This Rail was a hernia making hunk of metal. I saw it at a match at Tomball,Tx. Photo courtesy of Turk Takano.
http://www.benchshot.com/

UPDATE;

John's Rail was a prototype design that employed a 13 round magazine and a,special order, dual port Stolle action. The barrel was epoxied to a sleeve,which made it a PITA to remove. A last minute,NBRSA, rule change banned the use of magazines on unlimited Rifles. The "need for speed" was the order of the day,when John came up with his Rail design. Too bad,the magazine idea, never got tested in registered Unlimited competition.






Glenn

[Chism G]

Posted by Lawrence W.....http://www.angelesbr.com/gallery.html

Posted by A. French.......http://benchrest.com/showthread.php?...ead&highlight=

http://www.benchshot.com/....Courtesy Of Turk Takano

[Chism G]

Here are a few Designs from Down here in Texas. These are a perfect example of "Unlimited", A freedom of expression like in no other BR Class. I don't know who all the builders are,but you can get an idea of some of the design concepts. When all rail gun designs evolve to the point of "Look A-Likes" its time to rethink the Class title,"Unlimited". My opinion of course.

Mike Bryant,Larry Baggett, John Horn(Owner)



Jerry Hensler(Owner/Designer







Dont remember the owner