IR 50/50 Sporters

[PWNolan]

I saw this thread awhile back and finally took the time to read it. I've been interested in the IR Sporters since they first started doing the integral tuners years back. I'd love to own one just to have. I even have a 6X BR scope I could put on it. Unfortunately, I'm in Texas and there's no IR50 matches here. So as cool as it would be to have one of these sporters, it wouldn't be very practical if I couldn't shoot it in matches. It's fun to think about though. Maybe I can shoot one one of these days just learn what it's like. In the mean time, I guess I'll continue to live vicariously through all of you and this thread

 

[linekin]

I saw this thread awhile back and finally took the time to read it. I've been interested in the IR Sporters since they first started doing the integral tuners years back. I'd love to own one just to have. I even have a 6X BR scope I could put on it. Unfortunately, I'm in Texas and there's no IR50 matches here. So as cool as it would be to have one of these sporters, it wouldn't be very practical if I couldn't shoot it in matches. It's fun to think about though. Maybe I can shoot one one of these days just learn what it's like. In the mean time, I guess I'll continue to live vicariously through all of you and this thread

Pat, I liken sporter shooting to shooting using aperture sights as I'm sure most will. It really isn't as hard as some would make out using a 6x once you put it in that perspective.
The past several years I've seen some darn good sporters selling for pennies on the dollar. Mostly at National matches, but online as well. Keep your eyes open & one will show up.
Keith

 

[PWNolan]

Pat, I liken sporter shooting to shooting using aperture sights as I'm sure most will. It really isn't as hard as some would make out using a 6x once you put it in that perspective.

Hi Keith,

I shot in a 4P league for a few years back in IL and I really enjoy shooting aperture sights. So the 6X with dot thing at 50 yds sounds like a fun challenge. I was going to sell that 6X scope but I think I'll hold onto it for awhile

 

[tim]

I saw this thread awhile back and finally took the time to read it. I've been interested in the IR Sporters since they first started doing the integral tuners years back. I'd love to own one just to have. I even have a 6X BR scope I could put on it. Unfortunately, I'm in Texas and there's no IR50 matches here. So as cool as it would be to have one of these sporters, it wouldn't be very practical if I couldn't shoot it in matches. It's fun to think about though. Maybe I can shoot one one of these days just learn what it's like. In the mean time, I guess I'll continue to live vicariously through all of you and this thread

Put a variable on it and shoot it UNL. Been done before without compromise…..honest.
Besides, you can then beat the bushes and get something going in IR.

 

[tonykharper]

Warning: if you take up shooting sporters it can become addictive. Sporters require the shooter to be involved with the complete shooting process. You can't just hook up a bungee and touch the trigger.

When you become intimately involved in the shooting process you take total responsibility for where your bullets land. When successful you get a feeling of accomplishment unlike anything you receive when you are just touching a trigger.

Shooting is an all-offense sport. There is no defense. It is you against the target. You have no control over what other shooters do so they don't affect your personal outcome. You can win a match and know you screwed up and you can lose a match and know you did your best.

When you lose, you lose. Don't blame the bullets, don't blame the rifle. They didn't ask to be there, you brought them.

If you can't make them work bring different next time. But whatever take responsibility for your outcome.

It is the thrill of victory AND the agony of defeat that make this such a wonderful sport.

Sporters will bring you to this realization quicker than any other part of RFBR.

TKH

 

[PWNolan]

Warning: if you take up shooting sporters it can become addictive. Sporters require the shooter to be involved with the complete shooting process. You can't just hook up a bungee and touch the trigger.

When you become intimately involved in the shooting process you take total responsibility for where your bullets land. When successful you get a feeling of accomplishment unlike anything you receive when you are just touching a trigger.

Shooting is an all-offense sport. There is no defense. It is you against the target. You have no control over what other shooters do so they don't affect your personal outcome. You can win a match and know you screwed up and you can lose a match and know you did your best.

When you lose, you lose. Don't blame the bullets, don't blame the rifle. They didn't ask to be there, you brought them.

If you can't make them work bring different next time. But whatever take responsibility for your outcome.

It is the thrill of victory AND the agony of defeat that make this such a wonderful sport.

Sporters will bring you to this realization quicker than any other part of RFBR.

TKH

Thanks Mr. Tony! I haven't posted here much but I've been around awhile. My love for 22 LR started over 30 years ago when I first learned of BR50 from reading Precision Shooting magazine. I was in my mid 20's back then and had a ball shooting BR50 targets with my old Remington 513T with a 24X target scope mounted on top. There weren't any actual BR matches in N. IL so eventually I started shooting smallbore silhouette, CMP Rimfire Sporter, shot in a 4P league, and more recently dabbled in NRL22/PRS22. I continued to follow RFBR throughout the years and shot quite a few USBR targets (again informally) until I moved to Texas a few years ago and eventually found ARA matches near where I'm living. So I'm finally getting to shoot the matches that I wanted to participate in back in the beginning.

I just bought another unlimited gun for ARA matches. So I'm not in a position to buy anything else at the moment but at some point I'll start keeping my eye out for the right IR50 sporter. Actually I already have a Remington 541X with a modified stock that Brian Voelker reworked that shoots much better than it should and has produced some really high USBR scores but that has an old Time Precision tuner on it. Otherwise I'm pretty sure it would qualify for IR50 Sporter class. I'll have to pull it out and see what it weighs. I'd be surprised if it was over 7.5# with a scope

Anyway, thanks for the cool thread on IR 50/50 Sporters. I've been interested since Calfee first started doing the profile, became more interested when Eck was building them, and now I'm interested once again after reading this thread

EDIT: I weighed the little Remington and it's almost 7.5# without a scope. So not as light as I thought it was. Still a fun little gun to shoot and surprisingly accurate for what it is. I'll shoot it sometime soon just for kicks

 

[PNW Skipper]

Like Pat I live in an area of the country that doesn't support IR 50/50 competition, but find the challenge of the sporter class fascinating. Coincidentally, I have recently set aside a 6x Leupold in hopes of eventually crossing paths with a sporter on offer. I have been shooting the IR 50 target a lot this year at 50m for another competition (with an unlimited rifle) and enjoy the challenge of that target outdoors, with wind, and temperatures from 15-95F.

 

[PedroS]

Warning: if you take up shooting sporters it can become addictive. Sporters require the shooter to be involved with the complete shooting process. You can't just hook up a bungee and touch the trigger.

When you become intimately involved in the shooting process you take total responsibility for where your bullets land. When successful you get a feeling of accomplishment unlike anything you receive when you are just touching a trigger.

Shooting is an all-offense sport. There is no defense. It is you against the target. You have no control over what other shooters do so they don't affect your personal outcome. You can win a match and know you screwed up and you can lose a match and know you did your best.

When you lose, you lose. Don't blame the bullets, don't blame the rifle. They didn't ask to be there, you brought them.

If you can't make them work bring different next time. But whatever take responsibility for your outcome.

It is the thrill of victory AND the agony of defeat that make this such a wonderful sport.

Sporters will bring you to this realization quicker than any other part of RFBR.

TKH

Couldn't say it better.

Thanks Tony, you summarised so well the "art of shooting".

 

[todde]

I think there is several that feel like they are up for the challenge of shooting sporter class but have no place to shoot competition. We would start on a new build tomorrow if we had places within reason to compete with one. I liked shooting the sporter I had so much I shot it in ARA unlimited in 2017. Its a shame its not more popular.
Todd

 

[PWNolan]

So....I own at least part of a IR50 Sporter rifle now. Kind of silly but my friend Doug was going to sell this P94S Sporter barrel for a very reasonable price. He had offered it to our group and I declined at first. Then he made me an offer I couldn't refuse and sent it to me knowing full well that I didn't have a P94S to use it on

I know this is a long shot. Since the barrel has no markings does this dog knot look familiar? Any idea who the maker might've been? The barrel's about 23.5" inches long, 6 groove, and it has a cone breach. I haven't slugged it but the bore looks great. It couldn't have been shot much

Anyway, not sure what I'll do with the barrel yet. It's just a spit wad gun for now

 

[George Atkins]

So....I own at least part of a IR50 Sporter rifle now. Kind of silly but my friend Doug was going to sell this P94S Sporter barrel for a very reasonable price. He had offered it to our group and I declined at first. Then he made me an offer I couldn't refuse and sent it to me knowing full well that I didn't have a P94S to use it on

I know this is a long shot. Since the barrel has no markings does this dog knot look familiar? Any idea who the maker might've been? The barrel's about 23.5" inches long, 6 groove, and it has a cone breach. I haven't slugged it but the bore looks great. It couldn't have been shot much

Anyway, not sure what I'll do with the barrel yet. It's just a spit wad gun for now

Get a good MD/PAS action to attach it to, like a CZ452.

 

[PWNolan]

Get a good MD/PAS action to attach it to, like a CZ452.

The diameter of the chamber end is too narrow to work on a 452. Besides good triggers are too hard to come for the 452. I see P94S come up for sale every once in awhile. I'd probably just go with that

 

[tim]

The lug on the end looks odd, not really the way they typically are.
I’d guess a hobbyist DIY, know of no serious Sporter smith that ever did one like that.
Now , I know you probably don’t want to hear this but I would re think investing in a P94S platform, unlikely to be happy with that.
I would bide my time and see if you can score a bonafide IR sporter. It may well end up your favorite.
I know you are going to hesitate on the relative cost factor but remember, not that long ago you were only going to shoot factory and if memory serves you now own two UNL rigs.
Once you realize you’ve officially taken the bait and you’re now hooked, everything becomes easier Pat.

 

[PWNolan]

@tim my feelings from the start were that I'd prefer to have a IR sporter that's built on a current action. However, a P94S has been on and off my want list for several years. I wouldn't put a lot of money in one but having one and putting this barrel on to to play around with would be interesting to me. Would I prefer a better build? Of course I would but the likelihood of me participating in an actual IR50 match are really low at this point. The P94S would be another gun to play around with no different than my Anschutz sporters or any of my other 22 rifles

I didn't think that lug looked like the others I've seen. That's why I thought maybe there was a chance someone recognized it

FWIW, only shooting ARA factory class was never my plan. I've wanted to shoot UL type rifles since the mid 90s. After I bought the 10X back in March the plan was to shoot factory class for the remainder of this years while I learned the new gun and gathered equipment to shoot ARA UL. As you know that plan was short-lived and I moved to UL after shooting only two factory class matches this year.

 

[Slowshot]

I agree the "Sporter Class" has lost its way. If the idea was to create a class that had rifles a normal person would use on a squirrel hunt, then that concept has certainly been lost. I still plan to shoot my CZ 452 American as a sporter class rifle this coming spring. Even with the Don Stith "Sporter Class" stock I have for it, I do not expect to really be competitive. It's a shame really.

 

[tonykharper]

@tim my feelings from the start were that I'd prefer to have a IR sporter that's built on a current action. However, a P94S has been on and off my want list for several years. I wouldn't put a lot of money in one but having one and putting this barrel on to to play around with would be interesting to me. Would I prefer a better build? Of course I would but the likelihood of me participating in an actual IR50 match are really low at this point. The P94S would be another gun to play around with no different than my Anschutz sporters or any of my other 22 rifles

I didn't think that lug looked like the others I've seen. That's why I thought maybe there was a chance someone recognized it

FWIW, only shooting ARA factory class was never my plan. I've wanted to shoot UL type rifles since the mid 90s. After I bought the 10X back in March the plan was to shoot factory class for the remainder of this years while I learned the new gun and gathered equipment to shoot ARA UL. As you know that plan was short-lived and I moved to UL after shooting only two factory class matches this year.

PWNolan,

I happen to have a P94S laying around. It was built by Bill Myers. It has a very good Walther barrel, makes weight, and the extremely hard to find Jewel trigger. It also has a Don Stith BR stock. It isn't doing anything for me if you are interested let me know. I think I still have the original stock as well.

TKH

 

[doclu60]

The diameter of the chamber end is too narrow to work on a 452. Besides good triggers are too hard to come for the 452. I see P94S come up for sale every once in awhile. I'd probably just go with that

PWNolan,

I happen to have a P94S laying around. It was built by Bill Myers. It has a very good Walther barrel, makes weight, and the extremely hard to find Jewel trigger. It also has a Don Stith BR stock. It isn't doing anything for me if you are interested let me know. I think I still have the original stock as well.

TKH

There you go Pat. If the deal is right and Tony does in fact have the original stock, you could have a fun rifle to play with, with an extra barrel/stock and a nice trigger to boot. I only know of one (P94S) that I compete against, and it does shoot 250's on any given day. Brian Voelker owns it and shoots it very well. Brian is also a left hand shooter and running a RBRP rifle is ergonomically less of a hassle than for a right hand shooter, which I may recall? is your side of the bench. Not that big of a deal, I ran a Voelker 581 Sporter for a season and a half before going all in on a 2500XS RBLP build. The Sako action was popular for Sporter builds 'back in the day' for IR Sporters.

Have a safe New Years.........Scott

 

[PWNolan]

PWNolan,

I happen to have a P94S laying around. It was built by Bill Myers. It has a very good Walther barrel, makes weight, and the extremely hard to find Jewel trigger. It also has a Don Stith BR stock. It isn't doing anything for me if you are interested let me know. I think I still have the original stock as well.

TKH

Yes Tony we talked about it on the phone a few weeks ago. You sent me pics and it looks great. However, as I mentioned, I'm working on getting another UL gun set up and need some time before I start spending my fun money on another rifle. Sending follow up PM

 

[PWNolan]

There you go Pat. If the deal is right and Tony does in fact have the original stock, you could have a fun rifle to play with, with an extra barrel/stock and a nice trigger to boot. I only know of one (P94S) that I compete against, and it does shoot 250's on any given day. Brian Voelker owns it and shoots it very well. Brian is also a left hand shooter and running a RBRP rifle is ergonomically less of a hassle than for a right hand shooter, which I may recall? is your side of the bench. Not that big of a deal, I ran a Voelker 581 Sporter for a season and a half before going all in on a 2500XS RBLP build. The Sako action was popular for Sporter builds 'back in the day' for IR Sporters.

Have a safe New Years.........Scott

Hi Scott, Did the 541 that Voelker did for you have a sporter BR stock on it? As I mentioned previously, I had Brian do my 541X several years ago now. He threaded the barrel and action, rechambered it, and cut the barrel on a tight spot. Ive shot some remarkable scores on the USBR target with that gun. Only thing that still bugs me about it is I sliced the original stock to make it flat and I have raise my rest a good amount to get it on target. I'd prefer to have a more traditional BR stock on it, especially one with the butt in line with the forend. I haven't shot the rifle in years and I'm not sure it's worth messing with at this point

 

[doclu60]

Hey Pat, it was a 581 and yes it had an IR Sporter stock on it. I bought the rifle used from Brian. Brian built the gun many years ago for another guy we shoot with (long before I came on the scene). That guy traded it back to Brian on a new, more modern setup. It had an old Mike Turner designed knockoff stock on it. Some guy duplicated the stock and carved a handful of them. Brian bought at least one from that guy. Been so long ago Brian told me he forgot who he got it from. It had a light varmint tapered Lilja 6 grove on it, no dog knot. I ran it about one season. It shot good but was a B**** to run. Port on the wrong side and a tiny port at that! Single loading over the mag sucked, and single shot adapters are not legal in IR Sporter. I bought a single shot adapter from you for it and it helped, but match day I couldn't use it.

I just sold that rifle late spring when I acquired another Sporter with a very good track record. The 581 was a backup to my 2500XS, and now the 2500XS is my backup for the 10X X-III Sporter that became my primary. See below, I know how you love pics!!

Later.........Scott