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January 20th, 2009
Tom Manners of Manners Composite Stocks had a wide selection of stocks on display at SHOT Show. The Manners stocks, with carbon-fiber layup, are extremely durable and stiff. The fit and finish is excellent, better than you’ll find with most fiberglass stocks. The designs work really well when shot from bipod, making the Manners T-Series stocks (T, T1, T2, T3, T4, GAT, T50) ideal for tactical use. Jason reports: “These are extremely strong stocks. I really like the T 2/3/4 stocks. The T2 is my favorite. It features a McMillan A5-style front with an A3-style rear.”
New Low-Profile ‘Fish Belly’ F-Class Stock
Jason was impressed with the new Manners F-Class stock. Tom says: “The shell is 100% carbon fiber with a molded-in action and barrel area. This design features a very long, stiff fore-end. From the back of the action to the tip of the fore-end the stock measures 27″ long which is around 7 1/2″ longer than our T4 stock.” The idea is to provide a “longer wheelbase” to better balance the long, 30-32″ barrels favored by many F-Class competitors. The front half of the fore-end is very thin (from top to bottom) to achieve a low profile on the bags. Much thought has gone into controlling fore-end flex. Manners’ design achieves greater vertical rigidity (less deflection under load) through an innovative “fish belly” design. The rounded undersection, like a canoe hull, strengthens the fore-end considerably.
Rimfire Stock for Tactical Cross-Training
Tom also had on display a new stock set up for the SAKO Quad switch-barrel rifle. Finished in “digital camo”, this stock has the “fit and feel” of Manners’ T-Series centerfire stocks. This lets you maintain the shooting position of your centerfire tactical stock when you switch to the SAKO Quad rimfire for low-cost training sessions.
November 27th, 2008
We first featured Henry Remple’s Canadian-made F-Class bipod last winter and we still receive many questions about this product. Nick-named the “Ski Bipod”, this impressive unit offers unrivaled stability from an ultra-wide footprint. The height of the bipod is adjustable as is the distance between the runners or “skis” that contact the ground. And there is a cant adjustment allowing the rifle to be leveled on uneven ground. The reason Henry used ski-like runners rather than flat pads is that this allows the rifle to slide slightly reward during recoil. That eliminates much of the hop and rotation associated with conventional bipods.
Forum member Keith Skjerdal reports: “A lot of F-CLass guys in Canada are using the Ski Bipod made by Henry Remple out of Calgary. It is very well made and steady as a conventional pedestal rest. Even some guys in the USA and Britain have them now. If you want the best, this is it, in my opinion. This makes the trip to the mound easier than with a big pedestal rest. Downside? Well, since the Ski Bipod attaches to your rifle, it counts in your total weight under the rules. The Ski Bipod adds roughly 3.5 pounds to your gun’s weight. The cost is around $400-420 Cdn (this basically covers the cost of materials and all that milling work.)
To get one, contact Henry Rempel from Calgary. He does not have a web site. His home phone number (after 7 pm) is 1-403-272-8416. I think his email is henry.rempel [at] hotmail.com.”
Photos Copyright © Richard Dreger, used by permission.
September 5th, 2008
The F-Class Nationals are coming up soon. The Fifth Annual F-Class Championship will be hosted Sept. 30 – Oct. 4 in Lodi, Wisconsin (Winnequah Gun Club). Over 140 shooters are expected to attend. The Course of Fire at the F-Class Nationals requires shooting at multiple distances. That means you’ve got to carry your rifle and rest back and forth to various shooting positions. With rifles that top 20 pounds, it’s no fun to haul a super-heavy front rest around. Butch Lambert has come up with a solution — a special light-weight front rest.
Lambert Crafts Light-weight Front Rest
At the request of Larry Bartholome, current member and former captain of the U.S. F-Class team, Butch Lambert of Shadetree Engineering & Accuracy (S.E.A.), has designed and fabricated a lightweight yet stable front rest prototype. Larry wanted a unit that was less burdensome to haul between firing lines than the typical cast-iron or “heavy metal” front pedestal. (That’s Larry with his spectacular “Captain America” Shehane red, white, and blue MBR Tracker stock.)
Other than the steel center hub, the rest is built from aircraft-grade 6061 T-6 aluminum, which can be TIG-welded and hard-anodized. To keep weight down, the three horizontal legs are hollow tubes with flutes or slots milled top and bottom. Butch sent us these photos of the new rest, noting: “It weighs 2.25 lbs without the top. I set one of our unfinished rest tops on it. I moved the back leg to the front to get it out of the way. Larry is ‘wrong handed’, so I made it left-handed. I hope to get it TIG-welded together next week and plated. It is definitely easy to lug around, but I prefer something heavier for benchrest shooting. For F-Class, under a 22-lb rifle, Larry believes it should work well.”
July 22nd, 2008
Bob Boch, current captain of the U.S. F-Class Open Rifle Team, has posted a new multi-distance F-Class record, a fantastic 449-32x. The new record was shot at the Forbes Rifle & Pistol Club in New York state. This was the “long-range” Palma-style match with targets at 800, 900, and 1000 yards. The Palma course of fire is 15 shots at 800 yards, 15 shots at 900 yards, and 15 shots at 1000 yards. Unlimited sighters precede the 800-yard stage, there are two sighters for 900, and two sighters for 1000.
Bob was shooting a 6.5-284 with a 30″ Bartlein barrel, 5R rifling, 1:8.5″ twist, 1.250″ straight contour. Barrel fitting and metal work was done by Warner Tool Co. in Keene, NH. Bob says: “My 6.5-284 load consist of the best bullet ever made, the 140 grain Berger VLD, behind 48.4 to 49.0 grains of H4350, depending on the particular barrel I am shooting. I have been shooting Norma brass in the past six months.
 Setting the Record — Just one “9”, On the Very Last Shot
Bob reports: “The conditions were good in my opinion, but conditions are like beauty, it is in the eye of the beholder. It was hot and humid, over 90 degrees by the time we got to the 1000 yard, with probably 90% humidity. Lots of grumbling on the line. The wind was light, but the flags are in the trees on the Forbes range. Very little if any use. It was overcast at 800, sun breaking in/out at 900 and very sunny by the 1000. Mirage varied between boiling, running and disappearing. The 9 was my 45th shot. The rifle/ammo performed superbly, the 9 was operator error for sure. Last-shot-itis or missing the change, you take your pick.”
Congratulations to Bob for setting an impressive new mark for the F-Class open division. A retired mechanical engineer, Bob was born in Hungary and moved to the United States in 1964. He has been involved in all kinds of shooting including pistol silhouettes, IPSIC and combat sniper rifle in various parts of the country. He has been shooting F-Class since 2001. Bob won the 2007 U.S. F-Class Open National Championship in Raton. He was a member of the 2005 U.S. F-Class Team and placed 7th in the individual World Championship, plus was a member of the 4-man team that won the Rutland Cup at the World Championship in South Africa. Bob also won the McDonald Stewart Grand Aggregate in the F-Class final of the 2007 Canadian Fullbore Championship.
June 9th, 2008
Competing at the NRA Long-Range Regionals this weekend, Charles Ballard of North Carolina shot a new, pending F-Class Open record of 200-13X at 1000 yards. Charles also won the Regionals. Charles was shooting a straight .284 Winchester with 180gr Bergers and H4831sc powder. His rifle was smithed by Ray Bowman of Precision Rifle & Tool.
Charles told us: “It was about 103 degrees when I shot the 200-13x. The wind was running left to right, with 3-4 mph let-offs. But the velocity changes were pretty easy to read from the mirage. I dialed down the scope to 25-power and really locked into the mirage. Then, I got in a zone. I had a lot of confidence in what the mirage was telling me and I never took my head up and looked around at the flags. As soon as the spotter came up and it looked right, I broke the next shot — no hesitation. I probably shot the whole string in under 9 minutes. At about round 15, I started thinking that this might be a record and my heart really started pounding.”
The .284 Win for F-Class
Charles reports: “This rifle project began several years ago. I wanted a cartridge that would launch the high-BC, 180gr 7mm bullets with barrel life superior to that of a short mag. I read the article on this site about Jerry Tierney’s .284 and the cogs began to turn. After speaking with Mr. Tierney at the 2006 F-Class Nationals I decided this was the caliber I was going with, despite several shooters telling me I would not be able to obtain the desired velocities.
The action of choice was the 1.55″ round BAT MB. The MB model’s extended front end (allowing more barrel support and more bedding surface) was also a determining factor. The barrel is a 32″, 1.250″ straight contour Broughton 5C. As my gunsmith Ray Bowman says, “the Broughtons just shoot”. The chamber was cut with a reamer made for Lapua 6.5-284 necked up, throated for the 180s. The laminated stock is Precision Rifle & Tool’s F-Class. This low-profile stock has full adjustment and an extended, super-stiff fore-end. It rides the bags better than any stock I have ever shot.
Berger 180s at 2900 FPS, with Single-Digit ES
Ballard’s match load, 54.5 grains of H4831sc with Berger 180s, runs 2900 fps with an ES of 7 and SD of 2. Charles noted: “It took a lot of development work to get to that ideal load, but the velocity consistency really helps at 1000 yards.”
Charles noted that his gun likes to shoot well-fouled. “This Broughton barrel seems to shoot best at 50-150 rounds after it’s been cleaned. The vertical tightens up. Since the last cleaning, I had about 60 rounds through the barrel when I shot the record string. I credit Jerry Tierney for giving me the idea to go shoot an entire match without cleaning.”
May 10th, 2008
In mid-2008, Sinclair Int’l released an all-new, super-wide bipod system for F-Class, Tactical, and Varmint shooters. Initially priced at $165.00, the Sinclair F-Class bipod was (then) a steal. The price is now up to $199.95, still a good deal in our opinion. And now you can get the bipod in either a silver (aluminum color) or matte black finish. On a tactical rifle, the low-gloss black looks great.
New Wider, More Versatile Design
Sinclair’s previous F-Class bipod was popular but shooters wanted a wider “wheelbase” and the ability to work with 3″-wide forearms. Sinclair’s new unit offers these features and much more. The new bipod is lower, lighter (36 oz.), and easier to mount than the previous model. The new unit attaches via a captured pin system that works fast and can’t get lost. After engaging the pin, two adjusting knobs then clamp the fore-arm onto a felt-lined bracket for a secure fit. The bipod will accomodate up to 3″-wide fore-ends (and even 3 3/8″ without canting adjustment).
Adjusts for Height and Cant Angle
The new Sinclair bipod features a large rotating lever that allows you to adjust rifle cant angle easily. Vertical height adjusts from 5.5″ to 10.25″, and the leg heights are independently adjustable — an important feature when shooting on uneven ground.
The folks at Sinclair did their homework. This is a completely redesigned system that offers an easily-adjustable, highly stable platform in the field. The unit is well-built, with all the adjustments you want and need. Given the quality of the design and materials, we think it reamains a good value, though the price has gone up since this “second generation” Sinclair F-Class bipod was introduced last year.
The new Sinclair Bipod appears to be a serious rival to the Canadian “Ski” Bipod (shown below), at roughly half the price.
December 12th, 2007
Here’s a product that should interest all F-Class shooters. It is a new bipod that offers unrivaled stability from an ultra-wide footprint. Nick-named the “Ski Bipod”, this impressive unit is custom-crafted by Canadian Henry Rempel, who also conceived the design. The height of the bipod is adjustable as is the distance between the runners or “skis” that contact the ground. And there is a cant adjustment allowing the rifle to be leveled on uneven ground. The reason Henry used ski-like runners rather than flat pads is that this allows the rifle to slide slightly reward during recoil. That eliminates much of the hop and rotation associated with conventional bipods.
Forum member Keith Skjerdal reports: “A lot of F-CLass guys in Canada are using the Ski Bipod made by Henry Remple out of Calgary. It is very well made and steady as a conventional pedestal rest. Even some guys in the USA and Britain have them now. If you want the best, this is it, in my opinion. This makes the trip to the mound easier than with a big pedestal rest. Downside? Well, since the Ski Bipod attaches to your rifle, it counts in your total weight under the rules. The Ski Bipod adds roughly 3.5 pounds to your gun’s weight. The cost is around $400-420 Cdn (this basically covers the cost of materials and all that milling work.)
To get one, contact Henry Rempel from Calgary. He does not have a web site. His home phone number (after 7 pm) is 1-403-272-8416. I think his email is henry.rempel [at] hotmail.com.”
Photos Copyright © Richard Dreger, used by permission.
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