OK DEAR! No More Pistols For A While!!

[wildcatter]

I think Jeannine is right, two new Ruger MKII Target 22,s a new Valor V-Bob, a new Ruger 45 Colt Convertible in a Stnls. Bisley, I guess enough is enough for a while??? So I am going to honor her wishes! Last week I was thinking after a tough BR Match, I been shootin this old girl a while and maybe I should update my Benchrest Rifle!! After all I did promise my wife I would not buy any more handguns for a while, and I am a man of my word.

So I decided after over 10 years on this action it MUST BE TIRED Yep I am going to retire the red panda to local small club matches, and maybe some 4-600 yard duty. She is startin to look tiered


So I picked this up at the last match, a Kelbly's Club which is pretty much the same as the old SPG Stock that has been discontinued.


And Picked up the heart 0f the project last week, a new Left port Right bolt right micro eject Panda.




and dropped everything of to my Master Stocker here in Ohio to take care of the stock work and make it pretty!! I think Jeannine is going to really think its gorgeous when its done, heck maybe she'll let me buy a new handgun to celebrate??

[NAMVET72]

Pretty Nice make It Too Shiney and Blingy Blingy you won't want to shoot it, because you will be afraid to get it Dirty or Scratch it.......................

[wildcatter]

Not to worry, I don't own safe queens! It will get more shots thru it a season than most guys shoot in there hunting rifles in a lifetime! The red gun has shot out 4 barrel's I am sure of, and its a 1999 action. We don't baby them but don't abuse them either. I go thru about 4000 primers a year in my two match rifles. I shoot from May till October, and then its time to get the hunting revolvers out!

[wildcatter]

I ask for wild and got it! I told him I wanted YELLOW and ORANGE, I got it! Now if it will just make me look as good as the old red gun din in results column.

[NAMVET72]

Are you a 18 year old again with the fancy stocks????

[Thedragonslayer]

Originally Posted by wildcatter

I ask for wild and got it! I told him I wanted YELLOW and ORANGE, I got it! Now if it will just make me look as good as the old red gun din in results column.

Very cool... I like it!!! Kind of like a 69 Charger with no wheeles and a big tail pipe!!!!

Very creative... but are they as accurate as the look???

[Thedragonslayer]

Its , I have never seen a lefty bolt set-up before. And now Im seeing them all the time.

I still like the look of both of them... VERY CREATIVE!

[wildcatter]

Originally Posted by Thedragonslayer

Its , I have never seen a lefty bolt set-up before. And now Im seeing them all the time.

I still like the look of both of them... VERY CREATIVE!

I will do my best to explain the reasoning for this build, please bear with me, as I'm an Iron Worker, not a literature scholar, or hell any kinda scolar for that matter. First off it is a right handed action, and as for the paint job I want it like I want my girls, "PRETTY" & HOT One thing before I say anything else is I wouldn't spend $400.00 dollars on a paint job for any rifle that wasn't a tack drive, fly killer whatever (MONEY MAKER) . See for this type of competition the only action capable of competing with the custom action is the single shots a repeater with a bottom cutout just isn't stiff enough, never has one finished in the top half of a match regardless of the shooter. If you want to win YOU WILL NEED THE MOST ACCURATE SETUP AVAILABLE, PERIOD. In these matches there is a "target backer", this is a piece of paper that moves horizontally behind each record target, that must have five separate holes in it to verify there are five shots on your record target.

Well these are not left bolts, The bolt is a right bolt, the loading port is a left Port, the right Micro Port is for ejection out the right side, and unlike a hunting rifle where you want the brass to sent flying, on the bench you just want it to fall out on a towel, so there is no sping powered extractor, there is a pin that hits the backside of the extractor and pushes the case free depending on how hard or fast you bring the bolt back against it. In Benchrest, EXTREME ACCURACY is required, last month at 100 yards with the red gun out of 30 shooters, and each shooter shooting 5-5shot groups in light gun and 5-5shot groups in heavy gun, there was a $100.00 prize for small group at 100 yards. I shot a .123" group in the second relay, in the morning, in light gun class. when we started heavy gun class in the afternoon I had the small group won, on the forth target in heavy gun class, one of the competitors shot a .121" group, the only competitor to top my .123" group for 100 yards. So I lost a $100.00 bill the first day of a two day match by 2 thousandth's of an inch!!! I shot the second smallest group of the entire match but who cares, it didn't matter!

On Sunday we shoot the 200 yard competition for both heavy and light gun. The same goes for the $100.00 small group of the day, but the big cash prize is for the best two gun aggregate at both yardages. With the red gun I finished in 8th place and for all 20 of my five shot groups averaged together I was only .136" larger than the first place aggregate. less than 2 tenths of an inch for 100 shots total, and 8 places apart. What I like about Extreme accuracy shooting is the winner can't get lucky and win the match, if he does he has to luck out on 20 five shot group's, not likely!!

Any way the reason for the new gun is the dual ports, less work at the bench as I take no cases out after firing, just operate the bolt with the trigger finger like any right hand gun and at the same time set the next round in the action with the left hand and close the bolt, the quickest and most ergonomic way to operate a bolt gun from the bench! The big reason for the whole gun was the stock on the red gun just doesn't ride the bags near as well as the new stock I went with, and to win and watch the conditions the gun has to (ride the bags) well, recoil exactly the same way every time. The new stock is 2 1/4" longer on the foerarm and the barrel and action set lower on the bags, lower center of gravity.

Well anyway Slayer you asked if it will shoot?? I'd say for the first day out with the barrel off my red gun which only has around 400 rounds through it, and my favorite load, you have to understand, this gun will shoot the same barrels the old gun does, or as far as that goes I can take a barrel and the same brass shot in that barrel, from any other Panda in the world, and screw it on my Panda action, and it will be head spaced to the exact same spec. as the Panda it came off of, these are true zero tolerance built custom actions!! Any way here you go this is what I expect, and as you can tell by the rounded corners, there are five shots there barely bigger than the 6mm bullet that made them.



It could be better but for the first group out of a new gun, I can live with .086" center to center! I might be able to do better if I have a little steadier or calmer wind and a day when its not raining

[wildcatter]

Here is a match at Shelby county the first relay is up and the second picture is looking downrange.




And here is one of the 600 yard ranges that the red gun is going to be converted for, and 1000 yards. Light Gun! The target boards are 4'x8' in the background.

[allrockabilly]

That's a very nice, cool looking rifle. Looks like some fun too.

I've been thinking about getting me a nice bolt rifle now...