Op-ed, ARA sporta

Op-ed, ARA sporta


CYA friends:


If you've never fired an IR-50 target with a 6 power scope, you've missed the most fun there is in RFBR score shooting.....


I went 30 years without doing it........man what a mistake by me, cause I've fallen in love with shooting the 6 power scope.


It's simply amazing how good you can shoot with a 6 power scope...


If.........................


You've got something to aim the 6 power at.


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The ARA sporta class would be a major part of that organization today, I mean thriving...


If...........................


ARA would have done this:


First, simply incorporate the IR-50 rules for the gun, itself..........7 1/2 lb, 6 power scope, etc.....etc....


Why alienate an entire segment of big time RFBR by concocting a new set of sporta rules?



And then..........................


Simply make the ARA sporta target so a 6 power scope can be aimed at it...


No change in scoring......no change in the size of the ARA target.......just make it so you can see it with a 6 power scope.




So I did this:






And then here's the doodle.






If ARA would have follow this path, ARA sporta would be thriving today.......big time......


Cause shooting the 6 power scope is such fun.......I wasted 30 years not doing it...


Now I'm hooked.....


Your friend, Bill Calfee

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I haven't had this much fun in years, as I have working with a 6 power scope.....


It blows my mind how well one can shoot with a 6 power scope.....


Man, it is such a joy....

Not only for sporta

Not only for sporta


CYA friends:


This ARA sporta target, designed so a 6 power scope can be aimed at it, could also be used for unlimited.....


It's the same ARA bull, same scoring.....just has the bold outer ring for 6 power scope use.....


IR-50 uses the same target for sporta and 3-gun/unlimited.






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Now.......if ARA would produce this new sporta target, even if they never try to revive ARA sporta.....


Oh it could get so good........


Here's why:


At some ARA match, someday, I guarantee, that some "player" will install a 6 power scope on their ARA unlimited rifle......someone like a Tom "Mr 2500" Wilkinson, for example...


And when they sit down with their 6 power scope, and clean the clocks of the folks with their big 55's.......ooooh dogies......oh that'll hurt.


And it will happen......


And I'll tell you why it'll happen......


Cause you can literally shoot as accurately with a 6 power scope as with a 55........


I wouldn't have believed it until the last few days........



Now I do......cause I've seen it for myself.......after 30 years....


Your friend, BC

_______________________



I mounted my K-6 on my 40-X pistol and shot it this evening.......


CYA friends, if you haven't tried shooting with a 6 power scope, you've got to, soon.......


It will blow your mind.......


And it'll make you scratch your head.......cause you'll start to wonder "what is actually what", when it comes to scope requirements for ultimate accuracy.

Bill Calfee said:

Not only for sporta


CYA friends:


This ARA sporta target, designed so a 6 power scope can be aimed at it, could also be used for unlimited.....


It's the same ARA bull, same scoring.....just has the bold outer ring for 6 power scope use.....


IR-50 uses the same target for sporta and 3-gun/unlimited.


View attachment 1737



___________________________



Now.......if ARA would produce this new sporta target, even if they never try to revive ARA sporta.....


Oh it could get so good........


Here's why:


At some ARA match, someday, I guarantee, that some "player" will install a 6 power scope on their ARA unlimited rifle......someone like a Tom "Mr 2500" Wilkinson, for example...


And when they sit down with their 6 power scope, and clean the clocks of the folks with their big 55's.......ooooh dogies......oh that'll hurt.


And it will happen......


And I'll tell you why it'll happen......


Cause you can literally shoot as accurately with a 6 power scope as with a 55........


I wouldn't have believed it until the last few days........



Now I do......cause I've seen it for myself.......after 30 years....


Your friend, BC

_______________________



I mounted my K-6 on my 40-X pistol and shot it this evening.......


CYA friends, if you haven't tried shooting with a 6 power scope, you've got to, soon.......


It will blow your mind.......


And it'll make you scratch your head.......cause you'll start to wonder "what is actually what", when it comes to scope requirements for ultimate accuracy.

Click to expand...

Bill,

Many of the IR 50/50 sporter shooters will agree with you about the fun factor with the 6.5 power scope. That, and the light rifle put the shooter back into the game. For those that like to actually shoot the rifle.

But here is the difference. With a high power scope (40X +) you can tell exactly how much hold off you have in the wind. With the 6.5 scope you can tell you have hold off, but exactly how much you can't tell because you can't see those small rings.

Put another way, shooting a 6.5 power scope in the calm, and indoors, is as much fun, but not quite as precision as shooting higher power scopes. In the wind there is no comparison.

Competition today is at such a level no one that wants to win will down grade their chances by giving up vision.

Except maybe Chuck, and he is a miracle, no doubt about it.

TKH

Friend Tony "TD Junior" Harper

Tony K Harper said:

Bill,

Many of the IR 50/50 sporter shooters will agree with you about the fun factor with the 6.5 power scope. That, and the light rifle put the shooter back into the game. For those that like to actually shoot the rifle.

But here is the difference. With a high power scope (40X +) you can tell exactly how much hold off you have in the wind. With the 6.5 scope you can tell you have hold off, but exactly how much you can't tell because you can't see those small rings.

Put another way, shooting a 6.5 power scope in the calm, and indoors, is as much fun, but not quite as precision as shooting higher power scopes. In the wind there is no comparison.

Competition today is at such a level no one that wants to win will down grade their chances by giving up vision.

Except maybe Chuck, and he is a miracle, no doubt about it.

TKH

Click to expand...

_____________________________________


CYA friends:


"When E F Hutton talks, people listen", as the old TV commercial says.


Tony IS the E F Hutton of Sporta shooters.


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Yes, in my very limited experience with a 6 power, hold offs are tough....


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What blows my mind, is, I'm shooting a pistol.......where every round is a new world.......no such thing as shooting groups RTB.


Tony, if ARA would have adopted the IR-50 sporta rules for the guns, then configured the ARA bull so it can be aimed at with a 6 power, it would be thriving today.

I've gots to know what shooting an ARA card with a 6 power is like.......and I know a bunch of other folks would like to know, too.


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Now.........................


CYA friends, X's are accuracy.........I've preached this for years...


Tony "TD Junior" Harper kicked out a Sporta 6 gun, now hang on to your hats, with 107 X's......


That's right, 107 X's with a sporta.....


And I believe it was outdoors....?


I believe the indoor 6 gun sporta record is only 97 X's.........?





TDX, I knew when I tested Junior that he was bad........but 107 X's bad........my gosh.


I wish I could go back to 2011 and shoot Junior with a 6 power.......just to know......


But back then I had absolutely no desire to shoot my sportas with a 6 power...


My job was to test them for accuracy, so I used big scopes....



But today I'm eat up with shooting the IR target with a 6 power.......even with my pistols...


And I am going to figure a way to shoot some ARA cards with a 6 power....


Tony, it's the most pleasurable shooting I believe I've ever done over these last 30 years....


Cause it's mind blowing how accurate one can actually shoot with a 6 power, if one has something to aim at, that one can see.


Your friend, BC

________________


PS:


TDX, you're right about the Chuckster........how he's dealing with his loss of vision issues is a miracle.....


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TDX, here's a picture of Junior's first range test, before I put the graphics on the stock.......

I had forgotten I had photographed that first range test......kind of a historical picture I thought you'd enjoy seeing...bc


By the way, this is when Shilen first started producing the Calfee 2nd Generation sporta contour barrels.....


Those first Shilen 2nd Generation ratchets were simply killers......like on Junior.


The Calfee 2nd Gen sporta profile is the best sporta profile we've ever had, because there are no tapers in the profile...


This makes taper lapping so much easier to do accurately.......


Oh well, "Where have all the flowers gone............................long time passing"

The first use of my double lobe MD on a sporta...

The first use of my double lobe MD on a sporta...


CYA friends:


I started using my double lobe muzzle device on TD Junior.


My double lobe sporta muzzle device, allows me to correct the weight head if I remove too much as I set it...


Before my double lobe sporta MD, when a schmidt was setting the MD on a sporta, if he/she removed too much weight, the only way to correct it would be to deepen the back bore, and re-crown....


And doing that is a double bad hassle....



So, I developed my double lobe sporta MD.........


And then, if I removed too much weight during testing, I could correct it without deepening the counter bore and re-crowning...






Your friend, BC

Bill Calfee said:

The first use of my double lobe MD on a sporta...


CYA friends:


I started using my double lobe muzzle device on TD Junior.


My double lobe sporta muzzle device, allows me to correct the weight head if I remove too much as I set it...


Before my double lobe sporta MD, when a schmidt was setting the MD on a sporta, if he/she removed too much weight, the only way to correct it would be to deepen the back bore, and re-crown....


And doing that is a double bad hassle....



So, I developed my double lobe sporta MD.........


And then, if I removed too much weight during testing, I could correct it without deepening the counter bore and re-crowning...


View attachment 1741



Your friend, BC

Click to expand...

Howdy Bill,

That's a fine looking rifle. 107 X's, outdoors. Mind boggling.

It HAS to be a good feeling knowing, not thinking but KNOWING you have a rifle that has had everything done to it that can be done to it to make it accurate. The only thing you have to concentrate on after that is becoming the best you can possibly be.

What an amazing rifle. What an amazing shooter. I can't imagine how proud you are of both of them.

Take care,

Greg

Friend 404tbang

404tbang said:

Howdy Bill,

That's a fine looking rifle. 107 X's, outdoors. Mind boggling.

It HAS to be a good feeling knowing, not thinking but KNOWING you have a rifle that has had everything done to it that can be done to it to make it accurate. The only thing you have to concentrate on after that is becoming the best you can possibly be.

What an amazing rifle. What an amazing shooter. I can't imagine how proud you are of both of them.

Take care,

Greg

Click to expand...

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Friend 404tbang:


Tony K Harper and I have traveled a ton of Big National Event wins together.......I mean a ton....



Tony is the most prolific Big National Event winner in the history of RFBR......



I've been blessed that he allowed me to help him with his equipment all these years.


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It's all in a name.



TDX stands for "Tack Driver X"


TD Junior stands for "Tack Driver Junior"



Tony shoes horses, and the tools used for shoeing horses are called "tack".



So Tony put the word "tack", and the term used to describe accuracy, "tack Driver" together for the name of the first rifle I built for him.



This is the gun that started it all......the original Tack Driver.






One of my most cherished memories as a RFBR schmidt, was when Tony gave me his Minutemen PSL trophy, after winning Livonia...






Your friend, BC

Dear BC,

Can you please elaborate on this?
"And then, if I removed too much weight during testing, I could correct it without deepening the counter bore and re-crowning..."

Thanks

This is where it all started....

This is where it all started....


CYA friends:


Tony "Tack Driver" Harper, is the most prolific Big National Event winner in the history of RFBR.


And this is where it all started.


Tony took the original "Tack Driver", and won the 2010 St Louis ARA NATIONAL......the biggie of all biggies....


And he hasn't looked back since......nor have I....





Your friend, Bill Calfee




___________________


Tack Driver, the original bad MF...

MF stands for "much fun"........................................cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze........wink....

Been doodling....

Been doodling....


CYA friends:


Couldn't sleep last night for dreaming of pretty shooting weather so I can do some more 6 power scope shooting.....


By the way, I found an old Zeiss scope that I had lying around, which I remembered as 4 power....

So I dug it out and it's actually a 6 power...

It doesn't have a parallax adjustment......


But.....................


I got the objective lens housing unscrewed, and the lens comes with it....it's fixed to the housing.......no lock rings holding the lens....


So.....................


I should be able to parallax correct it to 50 yards....


And it is clear as a bell, and a super fine cross hair.....


Now I'm double cited.....


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Anyway, last night since I was too cited to sleep, I did some doodling.......


I love to doodle, that's why I ain't got a pot to pee pee in.......financially.......I've wasted my life doodling...




So I took the picture of Tack Driver, and brought the original E Turbo action into the modern MD-PAS ignition, Turbo world.....with some extras....







First thing I did was remove the scope bases.......



Then I drilled the third scope base hole in the front receiver ring, like the current DiOrio Turbos........for using the Calfee scope mounting method.

Then an extra.........................


I removed the scope base holes in the rear receiver ring......cause they aren't needed.......


Man, that thing looks so "in your face bad" with those rear scope base holes removed.....



(If the world done end, and one day I get hold of a new DiOrio V-3 XP action, I want Anthony to delete the rear scope base holes...)




And then I removed the 12:00 cocking ramp and cocking teat from the original E Turbo breech bolt, and installed a new DiOrio "Perfect Crescent" firing pin...


Man that thing looks bad.........



I mean, it was bad like it was......


But now it's badder..........double badder..........( not sure badder is actually a word........but it sure applies in this instance)




Now I've got to work on my 6 power Zeiss, and see if I can parallax correct it.........



Your friend, BC

A change in perspective...

Bill Calfee said:

View attachment 1754

Click to expand...

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A change in perspective....





CYA friends:


I goofed up the perspective of the gap between the off side of the stock and barrel, right at the face of the action....top doodle.....the gap is too wide....


Since the off side gap is on the other side of the barrel, the gap between the stock and barrel will be visually narrower.....bottom doodle.


It's a subtle change......


But it looks more in perspective now.....


Hey, this is the original Tack Driver.....


Man that thing looks so futuristic bad without those rear scope base holes....


Your friend, BC


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