Done For The Season

Finished Smallbore 4-position on Monday night. Finally met my goal of scoring 350 out of 400 possible for the first time with my scoped Winchester 52B. This has been my first season using a scope, and I found out the hard way that a rifle built in the late 1930's wasn't engineered with optical sights in mind (I'm the only one in my competition group that seems to have a thing for playing with curious and relics). I suspect that with it's heavy bull barrel, wide forearm, and six position screw-in sling swivel placement at the far end of the stock, my particular rifle was intended for 100 yard prone shooting that I've seen in vintage advertising in E-Bay. It now has a standard handstop, courtesy of a member of my local gunclub who is also a talented machinest. The channel for the handstop was ordered from Champion Shooters Supply, with the inletting and fitting done by this gentleman. Looks like it came from the Winchester factory except for a lack of wear. Had to rework the the right hand grip, as it had been customized by filing away the wood for finger recesses of a previous shooter. While well done, the gentleman had hands of a different size than mine. Since the stock had already been altered, I've worked it to fit my hand better, as the collector value of the stock is shot. It is now uglier, but better fitting for me. So, my score has increased as I've fitted the rifle to my ample frame over the season. Sadly, holding a 12 pound single-shot steady in the standing position without having purchased a shooting coat yet is singulary difficult. It's next on the list, if I can find one that allows for a beer gut. Ah well, spring is around the corner; let the Garand Match training begin!