ment Jack O’Connor made many years ago when he was touting the virtues of the light hunting rifle for African safaris in contrast to those hanging onto the idea that the rifle had to weigh 10 to 12 pounds and insisted that the weight never bothered a “real man.” Jack, with his dry sort of wit, noted that a rifle’s weight probably didn’t make much dif- ference to a real man because the laws of physics clearly stated that the weight of a rifle made no real difference, especially when someone else was carrying it for you. And so Jack’s comment about light and heavy guns was documented. Going back to how we got to
where we are today with our varmint rifles, we have to go back again to how it all started. When the varmint hunters got together to test their rifles against those of others, the birth of bench rest shooting and registered matches took place. Competition being the driver of invention, the race was on. We wanted to know what it actually took to make a rifle accurate. So work began by indi- viduals who experimented with barrels, stock design, means of bedding, and dif- ferent types and shapes of bullets. You might say the birth of today’s varmint rifle sprang from the three Bs: “Barrels, Bullets, and Bedding. It was rather well-accepted that
for the guns to shoot accurately and consistently the barrel had to be straight and smooth. While there were several custom barrel makers who came onto the scene about the same time, the three that stuck in those years of the ’60s were Clyde Hart, Ed Shilen, and Pat McMil- lan. They seemed to have the barrels that were dominating the benchrest game and for a serious varmint hunter this is where we went for hunting rifle barrels also. They figured out how to make the barrels straight and how to lap them micro smooth. This was done mostly by hand lapping. This was an important point as we moved forward. Also, this was the era when the
stocks began to change. For years we had used wood stocks. But even the driest of wood was subject to warping. And it was quickly established that if the stock changes any at all, especially under the receiver, the rifle would not shoot consistently. And since many of the varmint hunters also were bench rest competitors they were more de- manding of the equipment because they
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realized what a rifle could actually do when everything was right. To cure the movement of the wood stock we used laminated wood made up of 1/8-inch laminations A New York stock maker by the name of Bob Stienhour produced some excellent laminated stocks, one of which I still have on a custom 219 Don- aldson Wasp. Many of the laminated stocks you see today came from the pattern designed by Bob. Then the innovators entered the
game and someone had the nerve to make a competitive rifle stock out of “fiberglass.” Quickly the advantages and possibilities of a composite stock were seen. It could be lighter in weight, which allowed more weight in the bar- rel, and would eliminate any warping problems we had with wood. The early stocks varied in strength and hardness and some problems persisted. But the virtues far outweighed the problems. This created an industry that included people like Lee Six, Gale McMillan, Brown, and others. To eliminate the perceived problem of the action beating itself into the stock, pillar bedding was put into the composite stock and most, if not all, of our bedding problems were eliminated. During this same era of better bar-
rels and better stocks, one of the next big advances came about when more people began to demand better bullets. The custom bullet makers were the ones winning most of the matches. If you had bullets made in dies by Clarence Detsch, Ross Sherman, Homer Culver, or Ferris Pindell you had an advantage. The fac- tory bullet makers like Sierra, Speer, and Remington saw the demand for better bullets and began to put more emphasis on tolerances and better factory bullets were born. Realizing shooters and var- mint hunters were becoming more de- manding is what led to the great factory, and custom, bullets we have today. Our shooters and hunters are much more sophisticated today and expect their equipment to deliver when they lay it on the line. Those great Berger bullets we shoot today came about because of Walt Berger’s knowledge gained from years of shooting varmint-type rifles. All that knowledge derived on the benches and in the varmint fields was picked up by our modern manufacturers of guns, bul- lets, barrels, stocks, and even the scopes. When we started shooting ’chucks
Come test your shooting skills at the 2011 V.H.A. Jamboree held in Fort Pierre, SD.
Enter the 100-yard fun shoot organized by Terry McQuoid or give the Shootout a try. Jamboree starts July 25, 2011.
Youth shooters that participate will be entered into the drawing.
Shooters must be 16 or younger to be entered into the drawing. Previous project rifle winners are not eligible.
The Dusty McQuoid Memorial Project Rifle Three chances to win!
This award was founded by Terry McQuoid in 2008 in memory of his wife. Call 800-528-4868 for more information. From Left:
Tucson Baker, Terry McQuoid and Teddy Lopez.
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