IBS Gear Spotlight: Steve Jordan’s “Log-Splitter” Heavy Gun
Can you really make a silk purse from a sow’s ear? Would you believe a winning benchrest rifle could be constructed with a stock fashioned from a cast-off log-splitter? Well it can.
Anyone who has attended an IBS benchrest match knows that this brotherhood of shooters includes some “backyard engineers” who can build amazing things with low-cost components. Consider Steve Jordan. He has built a winning Heavy Gun with a gunstock made out of a wood splitter. Check out the photo. The butt section is in the shape of a “V” like an ax. The “V” sits on an adjustable, flat rear sandbag. The flat shaft of the wood-splitter, running horizontally, serves as the main chassis and fore-end. The barrel block sits on top (with the action floated), while the flat, forward section of the shaft rides the front bag. Not only does this “log-splitter” stock work, but Jordan has won IBS matches with it! Sometimes simple and cheap beats expensive and fancy.
Sam Hall Says the Log-Splitter Has Been “Kicking Our Tails”
Sam Hall (multi-time IBS 600-yard champion) reports: “I was not at the first match where Steve Jordan debuted his barrel-blocked, Heavy Gun stock made out of a wood splitter. From what I heard he cleaned house with it that day. When I first heard about this log-splitter rig, I thought guys were pulling my leg. But the log-splitter Heavy Gun really exists. In fact, over the past two years at Piedmont, Steve’s home-built log-splitter HG has won numerous Heavy Gun matches, out-performing nearly all the other Heavy Guns on the line, even those that cost thousands more to build.Steve made the rifle as economical as possible. Steve’s entire stock is made from a metal wood splitter. From what I understand, Ray Lowman gave him the barrel block. This rides on the shaft of the wood splitter. With this inexpensive, simple rig Steve has been kicking our tails! By the way, Steve’s Heavy Gun is chambered as a 6mm Dasher.”
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Tags: HG, IBS Heavy Gun, Log Splitter, Sam Hall, Steve Jordan
That’s one way to get around stock flex issues.
I love it. This is innovation at its best. With lighter materials it could be done for short range benchrest. The problem is the rules. The story that I heard about the rules that would prohibit this is that someone showed up with a rifle that had a long action sleeve back in the day before Remington round actions, and proceeded to kick everyone’s butt. After that they wrote a rule that made the design illegal. I think that that was because of the expense that would have been involved to upgrade everyone’s rifles. Fast forward to today, we are in the reverse situation. Conventional rifles that are competitive at the top level of short range benchrest have gotten very expensive. Something like this would possibly alleviate that problem, but we are stuck with an old rule that was probably written to protect more affordable rifles.Perhaps it is time for a rethink. If rules can be added, then they can be deleted. Perhaps it is time.
IMAGINATION!
The highest kite one can fly!