Bench Rest Pistols

Howdy

Trooper ,
As far as I know , they don't . I am sure the local clubs would allow you to shoot with them on the monthly matches , like the club I am starting to shoot with , Colorado Rifle Club , Byers , Colorado . But because of the Rules , will not allow Pistols to compete with the rifles in regional , or higher level Matches . Check with your local clubs ,, I'm sure they will allow you to shoot the local events .
Thanks
 
Thanks Vince for the info. yep i am shooting local clubs now, kinda would like to step up to the next level. well any way maybe they will start up bench pistol again one day. i have a Panda Cub PPC that shoot like my rifle.
 
pics

Gents
Post some pictures if you can , would love to see your rigs... As in Long Guns , These Short Guns are usually really nice to look at....And please include yourselves in the pictures ...nice to see who's pulling the trigger also...
Thanks
 
Pistol Stocks

Are the Lee Six Pistol Stocks still available..?
Thanks
 
Call Lester to see if he still has any of the McMillan stocks. I'd bet he has a few stashed away.

The discipline died out after just a few years of a couple of clubs trying to promote it. Out west it was Visalia. I remember that we shot 2 or 3 times, probably 1999, 2000, and maybe 2001. The most we could ever muster up was 5 or 6 shooters. There was the usual grumbling from some rifle competitors about having pistols on the line but that is always the case when something new is tried.

I doubt if you could interest any of the old guys in trying it again. You need a younger generation who are willing to fight the battles necessary to get something new recognized by the two organizations.

There is no doubt that the pistols could shoot. The hard part was mastering the bench technique. They had to be held just right and each was an individual depending on the stock configuration. And the stock configurations were something to behold. Nothing ordinary at all. Every shooter had his own idea of what would work. Everything from the ordinary to the bizarre.

You probably won't find many photos of the early pistols because many of them have been broken down and re-built into rifles. Mine is now a live varmint rifle.

The talk about using rifle actions for a pistol is confusing at best. My gun started life as an XP-100 pistol, was made into a Benchrest rifle, then I made it into a Benchrest pistol, and it's now back to being a rifle. I'm not sure how ATF&E would treat it but I'll bet they would not want to be involved in making any kind of legal determination. I do know that we were VERY STRICT in those early days. No rifle actions of any kind were allowed.
Ray
 
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Ray;
I was told this year that in order to build a pistol the action had to have been originally built as a pistol or registered as a pistol action. With that said I would want to have that in writing before I built a pistol on a rifle action. Iron bars are just not my thing. At the same time I was told that one could no longer stamp the action serial number on the outside of the sleeve.To be legal a slot has to be milled in the sleeve to reveal the original stamped serial number. Somebody must have robbed a liquor store with a sleeved Remington. Both of these statements made absolutely no sense to me so they are probably fact.

Mike Swartz
 
Mike

I recall that we discussed that rifle/pistol action thing quite a bit before we made our pistols. No one was quite sure what the legality was so we agreed that only pistol actions would be allowed. XP-100, Contender, Wichita, Cub, and RFD. And everyone was careful not to use the phrase "rifle action" in any conversation. I don't remember any Savage Strikers. Maybe they weren't being made then? Barrel lengths were also very carefully measured.

We kind of wondered if an ATF&E agent would show up at the first match hoping to catch someone breaking the law but if there was one there he didn't let himself be known. There were a few curious bystanders and one of them could have been an agent. I would not have put it past them to try to nab somebody.

I have two sleeved Remington actions and I made a cut in the sleeve to expose the serial number. I don't really know if it is legally required but, as you said, life is not fun behind bars and it's not worth taking a chance.

Ray
 
Thanks

Everyone...
Thanks for the responses ... I really find these interesting , and good looking .
I am aware of how hard it is to shoot these well ...As stated ,these will shoot ... But it is the Bench Techniques that will drive you nutz...lol
I will call around and see if/who has these type stocks , But if any of you find a used or have knowledge of , I would appreciate a Buzz ...I also would like to find a older Bench Gun ... I really enjoy shooting these .
I wish I could get a interest going , or at least get the 2 organizations , to allow these Pistols to compete with the Rifles ...
But as being new to the Bench Rest Shooting sport ...I really don't understand why there's 2 big different organizations , and from I've seen / heard , they don't get along very well with each other . From what I understand they aren't even reciprocal when shooting the different matches across the country ... I don't know the history of these organizations , and what led to what ...

thanks
 
Vince

Somebody you should try to make contact with is Ron Sabo. Assuming he is still alive. Ron is/was a pistol enthusiast who wrote for several shooting mags. I think he is from Ohio but don't quote me on that. Ron shot the first match in PHX. He wrote a book titled "Ron Sabo's Long Range Pistol Handbook" published by VDK Publishing in Brunswick OH. Chapter 25 in the book is about the PHX tournament and he has photos of three guys and their pistols. (Pay no attention to the one of me. I do not photograph well).:eek:

Ray
 
Ron would definetly be one to talk to about xp type pistols. Vince...call Kelblys, they still have the mold for the BR pistols and you can have them vary the weight. The one George Kebly Sr. used was a cut off Kelbly Thumbhole stock. It sure did shoot well. He had that gun for sale the last time I was there.

Hovis
 
Still One Here

Vince,
We still do carry the BR pistol mold at Kelbly's and we have George Sr.'s old pistol for sale. It is an old thumbhole stock cut down to a pistol stock, with a blue paint job. Caliber is 220 Russian and it is a Cub pistol action! Give us a call and we will lend you a hand as to what our knowledge on BR pistols is.

As a small kid those pistols always were so cool, it is unfortunate they did not take hold in our game!
 
Cheechako...

What do you mean you don't photograph well...I've seen those police mug shots and have never seen you look better...not even in person!

Are you gonna come to the Nationals in Phoenix? Miss seeing and shooting with you...at least come by and say hello or needle Tunbridge!

Jim
 
Not exactly a BR Pistol but Mike Bryant re barreled my Savage Striker to 7 BR and added a MB. With 100 grain Hornadys it's a hoot to shoot squirrels.

IMG_1751.jpg


ML
 
Not exactly a BR Pistol but Mike Bryant re barreled my Savage Striker to 7 BR and added a MB. With 100 grain Hornadys it's a hoot to shoot squirrels.

IMG_1751.jpg


ML

That Savage just doesn't look right without the barrel nut.

Good looking gun!
 
My XP Pistols

Gents
Post some pictures if you can , would love to see your rigs... .
Thanks
I do have some pictures of the XP pistols I built for my own use back in the days when we held actual Pistol matches after practically every BR match at the old Issaquah BR range in the 70's and 80's.One is a wood stocked XP-100 made from Australian walnut.The wood was bought as 'crating lumber' and came in 1" planks and random lengths at a place called Australian Furniture Timber in Melbourne in about 1962 when we still lived there.
The other is a fiberglass stock that was painted by Scott Minue(Sp??)who was a member of our local BR club for a few years.
Why after a BR match?? Well there were no on site computers then and it would sometime take an hour or more after the match was finished,before the stat crew would have the results posted.
Problem for me to post the pictures is that I forgot how to get the pictures reduced to the size allowed in order to post them??? Anybody who can point me in the right direction???
Wally
 
Wally,
Send them to me as attachments to an email. I will post them tomorrow evening. Just make sure that the total message and attachment are under 10 megabites. If you need more than that, break them up into several emails. The bottom line is that you don't have to make them as small as required on this site, if you use a free photo hosting site like imagecave. After I upload to that site, I use their software to make a smaller copy that is about 700 pixels wide, and then copy and paste the ezcode associated with each picture into the composition window for my reply to a thread on this board. for example:
P6260357-copy.jpg
 
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how can boyd be da man

looks like a tuner on the scope

???? what is up with that

anyway I have no idea what it is and thought too silly to ask properly


jeff
 
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