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December 4th, 2022

Sunday Gunday: December Pride & Joy Rifles

tactical paint painting pride joy rifle shooters forum
New .300 WSM F-Class rifle, with stock finished by Forum member Cigar Cop.

One of the most popular features of our Shooters’ Forum is the ongoing Pride and Joy Rifle thread. Since 2009, Forum members have posted photos and descriptions of their most prized firearms. Here are some of our favorite “Pride and Joy” rifles recently showcased in our Forum. Do you have a gun you’d like to see featured there? Register for the Forum and you can add your favorite gun to the list.

We hope these “Pride and Joy” rifles may provide inspiration for our readers, whetting their appetite for their next competition, varminting, or hunting rifle project.

Eliseo Tubegun in 7mm SAUM with Pierce Action, Bartlein Barrel

tactical paint painting pride joy rifle shooters forum

Here is a striking camo-finished Elesio (Competition Machine) Tubegun chambered for 7mm SAUM. Note the block fitted to the tubular fore-end so the rifle rides smooth and steady on the Rodzilla T-Rex joystick front rest. The proud owner, Forum member Aeon, tells us: “This is a Gary Eliseo RTM chassis with pickle forks. It has a custom Ceracoat paint job to match my sling gun.” Key components are: Pierce Engineering long action tube receiver, Bartlein 1:8.5″-twist barrel, Jewell trigger set at 2 oz., and Vortex Golden Eagle scope in Vortex rings. Aeon adds: “The chamber was cut by Mark Chesesbro of Chesebro Rifles. Mark throated it very long so the the 180gr and 184gr Bergers would sit where they belong.”

Tuning the 7mm SAUM and Recoil Reduction
Owner Aeon tells us: “The 7 SAUM was as easy a gun as I have ever shot to find a good load for — H1000 gave great consistency and tuning was not hard. However, the challenge in shooting this rifle was recoil management. The 7 SAUM has a punch to it and I found myself having trouble finishing three relays without form problems in the last relay. I considered getting a RAD Pad but that would have required expensive machine work. I stumbled on a recoil pad that is uniquely effective, the Falcon Strike. Sent the pad to Gary Eliseo and he sent it back with the butt plate machined to fit. Complete game changer! The rifle is a dream to shoot now with a big reduction in felt recoil.”

Ultra-Accurate 6.5×47 Lapua — Stiller Action, Bartlein Barrel

tactical paint painting pride joy rifle shooters forum

This gray and blue beauty belongs to Forum member Farmer Dave. He posted: “Got this 6.5×47 Lapua back from my smith about six months ago. It’s the most accurate rifle I have ever owned.” This rifle features: AG Composites CF stock, Stiller TAC 30 action, Bartlein 5R barrel, TriggerTech Diamond trigger. On top is a Trijicon Accupower riflescope.

Henry .45-70 with Modern Buttstock and M-LOK Handguard

tactical paint painting pride joy rifle shooters forum

Here is member Quest45’s handsome lever-action Henry .45-70 Gov and Glock 40 10mm. About his two guns he posted: “All I need is a can of bear spray”. The rifle is fitted with a red dot sight, ammo caddies, Ranger Point M-LOK handguard, and a modernized modular buttstock. These upgrades make it a thoroughly-modern Henry lever gun for the 21st Century.

A .243 Winchester Hunting Rig that Nailed Scottish Roe Buck

tactical paint painting pride joy rifle shooters forum

Forum member John V. from Scotland showcased a successful hunt with his .243 Winchester rifle. This sports a suppressed, 26″ MTU 1:7.5″-twist barrel. He loaded Sierra 100gr Pro-Hunter bullets, and took this nice Roe Buck at 240 yards through a gap in the foliage.

Ultra-Low Profile 6 PPC for Short-Range Benchrest

tactical paint painting pride joy rifle shooters forum

This handsome rifle, which belongs to Forum member J.J.Coe, represents the state-of-the-art for 100/200-yard benchrest rifles. It is chambered (no surprise) for the 6 PPC cartridge, which dominates the short-range game. In features a super-low profile carbon composite stock. Note how the vertical centerline of the stock is very close to the barrel. This keeps the center of gravity low and helps the rifle recoil smoothly with less hop in the bags. Note also the tuner on the barrel.

Do-it-Yourself Paint Job, Done in the Bathroom at Home

tactical paint painting pride joy rifle shooters forum

Many eye-catching rifles start with a great paint job. Forum member JHN did this job himself. He posted: “Went to local paint shops, some cost a two-month work income, some said guns were a ‘no-no’. So I did it myself — my first Candy Apple red. Base collar is gold metallic, followed by the red. I didn’t have a good paintwork place so I had to improvise. Our bathroom has nice concealing in the summer — a perfect paint booth. So I only have to apologize about some red flakes in our bathroom.”

Mauser M96 with Quilted Maple Stock — for the Wife

tactical paint painting pride joy rifle shooters forum

We like this handsome quilted Maple-stocked Mauser belonging to Forum member Steel Mover. He posted: “Some like synthetic and some like wood — I have both. Here is the wife’s quilted Maple 96 Mauser 6.5×55. I was working in the shop, wife walked through and said ‘You are building that for me aren’t you?’ Well ‘Yes, dear’ I said of course … so I Lost my rifle.”

Patriotic .284 Shehane F-Open Rig

tactical paint painting pride joy rifle shooters forum

Forum member 1shot is proud of this new F-Classer: “Just got my first F-Open rifle finished chambered in .284 Shehane. It features a Kelbly stock w/RAD system, Shilen 1:8″-twist ratchet-rifled barrel with EC Tuner, and X-treme 2-stage trigger — all mated up to a Kelbly Panda action. I think this dog will hunt!”

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December 4th, 2022

Top Gear Choices for 100/200 Benchrest — The Winning Formula

IBS Group Benchrest Nationals Jeff Stover IBS

The Rifle for Short-Range Benchrest Competition

Hardware Choices: Actions, Stocks, Barrels, Optics and More
Tech Talk by Jeff Stover

This article was prepared by past IBS President Jeff Stover based on results from the 2019 IBS 100/200 Group Nationals held August 12-17, 2019 at the Holton Gun & Bow Club in western Michigan.

Let’s examine the Top Ten rifles from the 2019 IBS Group Nationals in the 10.5-lb Light Varmint Class. We’ll focus on the most popular rifle components — the choices for Actions, Stocks, Barrels, and Scopes.

IBS Group Benchrest Nationals Jeff Stover IBS

IBS short range 100/200 group benchrest
Hall of Famer Jeff Gaidos taking aim at the 2018 IBS Group Nationals. He has a low-profile carbon-fiber stock with a Leupold fixed-power scope.

For some years now, BAT has been the predominant action. This year BAT actions held nearly 100% of the Top Ten places in all the Bag Gun equipment lists. Bruce Thom’s Idaho-crafted actions, except for a couple stray actions in Heavy Bench, swept the top rankings.

IBS Group Benchrest Nationals Jeff Stover IBS

Next, look at barrels. Bartlein or Krieger seem to rule with upstate New York’s venerable Hart barrels as competitive. Shooters tend to go with winners, so Wayne Campbell and Jeff Peinhardt dominate as gunsmiths for the top benchrest shooters.

In stocks there seems to be variety, but there is some commonality. The Scoville and Scarbrough stocks, both Michigan-made, are laminated wood (balsa and other wood) with carbon fiber and wrapped in carbon fiber. The Scoville stock on my 10.5-lb rifle weighs 18 ounces but is full size with a nice long fore-end. Bob Scarbrough makes a very similar product. Both are winners — it’s a choice of Ferrari or Lamborghini. The Roy Hunter and Terry Leonard stocks among these top rifles take a different route to winner’s circle. Both are wood (cedar or other), but super high-tech as they are laminated with carbon fiber. They are beautiful to boot. High-magnification Leupold, March, and Nightforce scopes rule the roost among benchrest optics.

IBS Benchrest rifle stock tuner

IBS benchrest loading table powder

Bullets and Powder

Bullets are important. Really important. A hot bullet gives you “Teen Aggs” and lots of trophies. An average bullet does not. Most of these are 68 grain 6mm boattails. The Peinhardt (StaMoly Precision) bullet is well represented on this list, but some top shooters make their own as you can see. Bullet jackets are likely StaMoly or J4. For powder, nearly everyone shoots Vihtavouri N133 except a few guys running LT30/32 or surplus 8208.

Vihtavuori N 133 N133 powder reloading

IBS Benchrest wailing wall targets

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