Dick saunders
- Thread starter garyw
- Start date
I am also trying to get a copy of Dick Saunders 17 loading manuany help would be appreciated. The article I read ab out him is 20 years old and he said he was a grand pop then.
Dick has passed away great guy wealth of information chambered a couple of guns for me not sure where you would find a copy of his book. The old saiuber site there was good info.
Which one?
the best one to buy or both.
Well thanks anyway. I was afraid of that, I ordered a back issue of Hand Loader June 2001 to read an article about case forming and they showed 2 of his cartridges1 The 17 Jet looked the easiest to make. and a rimmed cartridge looked cheap enough to build and put on my Encore. Having survived some of the bloodiest Texas Pan handle and eastern NM Parrie Dog Wars. I am not going to say that Ed and Doug bought us a steak dinner every time we stopped as far as in Ennis on the way home but always had coffee and doughnuts. MY 22-250 AI didn't get a new barrel every trip but at least every other trip. I always liked to buy older sleeved Bench rest riffles to shoot PD's with. once on my way home from my Deer Lease in Pipe Creek TX, I stopped in New Braunfels and stopped to see if Howard Deitz had an old sleeve gun and sure enough he did. An old 721 with a Shilen Sleeve and trigger with a Lee Six thumb hole stock. He wanted $600 for it but it was in 6 PPC which was anemic as far as I was concerned, I told him that I wish it was a BR and I would buy it. He said do you have an hour? I said yes he said do you have cash I said yes. He said go out side and watch the match and I will make it a Br for you and I did. After that I was sold on Buying old sleeved Bench guns. As a matter of fact if you have read or seen the cover of Glen Nuwick's Bench Rest primer, The cover has a picture of a guy shooting a yellow rifle with red purple an red pain splatters all over it and a giant aluminum sleeve anodized purple. that was a sleeved XP. I owned that rifle and had it rechambered to BR. The first BR became my 22-250AI any way, the original 22-250AI became a 243. 3 of us were killing 1200 dogs in 3 days of shooting. I also had a 6-284 that went thru a few barrels. One trip home we stopped and bought 6 barrels between us.
That was then this is now. I no longer get that mad t those critters. My PD arsenal consist from largest to smallest con sists of a 20 Practical, 20 Vartarg,, and a 17 Ackley Hornet. I am wanting 2 more 17's. A Squirrel for close work and for squirrel hunting an something along the lines of a Mach IV with a rimmed case. Window gunner is a very caproate name for PD shooting where it is legal. We would never turn the engine off. When the barrel got hot stand the rifle up by the A/C fent with cold air blowing on it. And turn the truck the other way o your buddy could shoot.
I was pretty lucky. I had the first version and after Dick passed away, a friend from work stopped by. He said that Dick had told him one time we were good friends and gave me his copy of the 2nd version.
Of course I didn't know Dick but it sounds he was a one in a million type guy. I am also guessing that he was a smith and an all around excellent machinist. I would say that he never intended to make money selling his loading manuals. Probably made the sharing passion for the smaller caliber cartridges and trying to introduce them to other people. I think Todd started out the same way and it became a life's work with him. Ventorino was a gun writer before getting hooked on Black Powder Silhouette game. Ventorino and Steve Garbe met and took the sport to a new level. Some gun writers lie, leave out truths and are worth less than the price of powder it would take to blow tier butts away. read JC. I was in Howard Deitz's shop one weekend And this Kid comes in carrying an old Winchester Lever action in 22 long. a small screw that held part of the magazine tube follower was missing and it wouldn't stay in. I could tell that he aggravated Howard but, it was my first5 time there o I just watched. Howard was rechambering a used bench gun that I had just bought so I wasn't going anywhere fast. this Winchester ad been reblued and anything that would un bo and says you just said lt was gold plated and all the crews were nickel or chrome. It looked a little on the hideous side to say the least but this kid was proud of it. after Howard repaired it he ask Howard how much it was worth and said it was his grand paws rifle. Howard looked over the top of his glasses and said probably about 5K the kid's eyes light up and he says how much would you give me for it. Howard says $100.
The kid gets a little belligerent and says you just told me it was worth 5K. Howard never cracks a smile or looks back up and says that's before somebody put all that gold and nickel plating on it destroyed the value. It was all that I could do to keep a straight face.
Dick was a tool and die man at Rockwell Collins till he retired. After he retired he had little time smithing, as the company found out they couldn't do with out him. They offered huge amounts of money to work on their tooling in his basement shop.
TRSR8
Silver $$ Contributor
Dick was one of a kind, first got to know him because he made popular BR sun shades but really started talking to him when I ventured into 17’s with my first Kimber 84 in a 17 MK IV.
He really pushed the envelope, destroyed a lot of stuff with hot 17’s, pushing a few to over 5000fps in the process. He was a hell of a small cal. Asset.
He really pushed the envelope, destroyed a lot of stuff with hot 17’s, pushing a few to over 5000fps in the process. He was a hell of a small cal. Asset.
After seeing a few of the Kimbers he did, I wanted one in the worst way. Didn't have the money to buy the base rifle. He barreled a couple of my 17s, but no Kimber. Love that little action.
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