Pioneers of Precision Shooting — Legendary L.E. “Sam” Wilson
Sam (L.E.) Wilson actively competed in benchrest matches until he passed. He’s shown here with an Unlimited benchrest rifle of his own design.
If you’ve used hand dies with an arbor press, chances are you’ve seen the L.E. Wilson company name. You may not know that the founder of L.E. Wilson Inc. was an avid benchrest competitor who pioneered many of the precision reloading methods we used today. Known as “Sam” to his friends, L.E. Wilson was one of the great accuracy pioneers who collected many trophies for match victories during his long shooting career. His company continues to innovate — bringing out new products such as the Case Gage Depth Micrometer tool we recently reviewed.
The photo above shows Sam (foreground) with all of his children at a shoot. Behind Sam are Jim, Jack and Mary, shooting in the Unlimited Class. What do they say — “the family that plays together stays together”? Note the long, externally-adjusted scopes being used. Learn more about Sam (L.E.) Wilson and his company on the L.E. Wilson Inc. Facebook Page.
Unlimited Class was Sam’s favorite discipline, because in the “good old days” top competitors normally would craft both the rifle and the front/rear rests. This rewarded Sam’s ingenuity and machining/fabrication skills. In the “build-it-yourself” era, one couldn’t just order up an unlimited rail gun on the internet. How times have changed…
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Tags: Arbor Press, Benchrest, Hand Die, L.E. Wilson, Sam Wilson, Wilson Trimmer
they did not give a damn about ear protection in these days, did they?
nice article ”
How about some more on the old time benchrest Icon.s ?
“….Note the long, externally-adjusted scopes being used….” = Unertl Scopes!
He had very little to work with which is a testament to his success.
Tacoma Rifle and Revolver Club in Tacoma, WA still awards the Sam Wilson trophy annually.
It is shot over the 4th of July usually and consists of 40 matches in NBRSA unlimited class. Five 5 shot matches each at 100 and 200 yards, and Five 10 shot matches each at 100 and 200 yards.