Bean field Rifles

[Gabe22BR]

Here’s my bean field rifle

 

[Carl S]

I have a little input of my own on it from a very long time ago. Years ago when I came to NC, I had heard the term Beanfield Rifles. Coming from the hills of W.Va, I had always been interested in rifles that could reach out. Growing up groundhog hunting, an accurate rifle was a must. Deer season would roll around and a shot in the woods could be inside of 100 yds or you could step out on a ridge top and shoot across a hollow 600yds.

When I relocated to NC and noticed my first bean fields, I thought you just can't shoot that far. How is it that flat. Did not take long before I learned about elevated stands and long range rifles. I was fortunate to have been involved in the USPSA shooting sports and had done okay in it. I got to shoot with Layne Simpson (Shooting Times). at one of the SC State Championships. Layne was a very well established shooter. Well, Layne had done the first 7 STW story for Shooting Times.

Kenny Jarrett was the rifle builder in that article. Kenny had been successful in benchrest. Layne said, give Kenny a call. I did, but I could not afford a complete Jarrett Beanfield rifle. Kenny agreed to rebarrel my action with a Schneider barrel in 7 STW. I acquired the action from Kenny and it shot okay. A local gun shop owner that I knew was a world traveler and had been on many safari's. When Mark found out that I had a Jarret rifle, he wanted it more than I did.

Back then, there was not any 7 STW brass, you had to neck down the 8mm Mag brass. I enjoyed the caliber and at my first Charlotte NC gun show, I was lucky enough to have met a fellow that had a couple of custom rifles set on a table. His rifles were very impressive. He was a one man shop set up in his garage. He had some benchrest experience also. After much conversations and this custom rifle builder, he agreed that if I could get him my action, a Remington Model 78, a cheaper model with less frills of a 700 action, he would build me a complete rifle to his specs.

That rifle artist was our very own David Tooley. The STW at that time still did not have the factory brass and the heavy for caliber bullets did not exist like todays standards. Sure the 160 gr and the big 175's were the biggest bullets, and no where close to the streamline missiles of today's standards. The rifle that David built for me was $900 back then, which was pillared, McMillan stocked, Schneider barreled work of art. Accuracy was unbelievable, shooting in the .2's

When I would run into Layne again, we would joke about how much he cost me by the 7 STW story. David Tooley is still a friend that I still need to go visit sometime now that he is even closer. And we all know how well David has done. David now's accuracy inside and out.

My WVa boy introduction to the BeanField rifle.

Dave does build excellent rifles.no doubt about it.there has been lots of them this side of the pond.proven in competition from 100-1000yds.i have seen them shoot. i have rebarreld some and the the machining is excellent.one I have done recently.

 

[PopCharlie]

I believe Clay Spencer used to build a bean field rifle as well.

PopCharlie

 

[Gary in MD]

Yea, I fell for the 7mm STW after those first couple articles came out. I had Bobby Hart put one together for me on a first generation Remington Sendero. That thing would shoot bug holes with a 140 grain ballistic tip at over 3400 fps.

 

[moorepower]

There are places where you are over 400 yards away with zero cover.

 

[vonb]

Funny how times have changed. Beanfield rifles were souped up, accurized rifles. I used a .30-06 back then that was at best a 1.5 MOA rifle. I was young and couldn't afford these high-end rifles. Fast forward to today and with modern CNC, more factory options are available and provide the accuracy of a "beanfield rifle".

 

[AckleymanII]

In what I believe was 1988, I read Lane Simpson's article on the 7 STW, had PTG design a reamer around Winchester 7 STW brass with .030 freebore. We were forming Brass with R#22, Fed 215's with 8 Rem mag brass with the old 120g Nosler Solid base lead tip on that first Hart 9T, 27" #5 contour, groups fire forming with a range of charges of R#22 were groups were no larger than .375

Later on, 26" 9T Hart barrels shot the 140g Nosler C/T bullet at 3650..IMR 7828. An 11T, three groove Pac Nor shot the same 140g Nos C/T bullet at 3700 fps, both barrels grouped in the 2's. Brother killed a 360 lb white tail in Kansas at 550 yards with his, 11T, DRT.

ON a whim, later on, I worked up loads for the 120g ttsx and the 120g Nosler Ballistic tip with both R#22 and IMR 7828. Velocity ran between 3850-3900 with groups smaller than 1/4" on three shot groups.

The 140g Nosler C/T with a muzzle velocity of 3650-3700 does not suck at 700 yards on does that I shot.

In today's world, HIgh BC bullets rule the market advertising.

For me, it was a difficult concept to shoot deer on a beanfield or clear cut while sitting in a tree stand with the wind blowing the tree. Rifle control in many of the deer stands is pitiful to nothing, you must get that elbow supported.

Remington Brass in the 7 STW is really soft, and you are lucky to get 3550 fps with only one firing on the brass with the 140's.

The best brass I ever formed for the 7 STW was from PMC 300 Weatherby brass, tough as an anvil.

 

[cuznguido]

Now I will have the whole crowd rolling on the floor but: 30-378 Weatherby, with a GOOD barrel, 168 to 210 grain bullets, and save a bunch of money. I would recommend you try it before you laugh.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

You dont have to "justify" stuff in a free marketplace. Build what you want. Price it how you want. If it sells it tells you something. If it does not sell, it also telks you something. Whether it be custom cars or custom rifles. If you dont want it, dont buy it.

No, no..They don't have to justify any asking price. But I have to be able to justify any purchase of that size to myself. Impossible. I can't. I know what goes into a top of the line build...and I can't justify that price for one. You may be able to but I can't.

 

[3Sigma]

I was a kid when the "beanfield" concept was in the outdoor magazines. All I had used was a Model 94 30-30 and my dad's sporterized 1903 with open sights. A 500 yard shot seems like a mile away, and I loved the idea.

In High School, shot my buds 700 a Sendero in 7 Mag at 200 yards and didn't care for the weight or recoil. Was going off to school anyway, so shooting and hunting were a backseat to school, beer, girls, and motorcycles.

Today, the concept has evolved to guys shooting elk 1000 yards away or building 300 PRCs that weigh 6 lbs with a scope. Neither one makes sense to me.

Anyone needing to make a shot like that where I just picked the wrong place to sit. 50 to 300 yards is a perfect range, pushing to 500 if the wind is right and I have a good position (ie not in a tree stand)

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Probably similar to what we call a "canyon rifle" out west. Just a heavier magnum rifle meant for long shots. Bean fields are flat and have a lot less wind then the mountains so Id certainly build a lighter cartridge for that use. My favorite for a canyon rifle is a 338 lapua improved.

 

[drop_point]

Of course, Remington has the "Sendero" series of rifles, or at least they used to anyway.

 

[cuznguido]

Of course, Remington has the "Sendero" series of rifles, or at least they used to anyway.

IMO some of the best Remingtons.

 

[sdeal5]

Troupe’s post took me down memory lane also. I still have a copy of Simpson‘s Shooting Times article. At that time we had depredation permits available through our local game warden. We were experiencing a severe, prolonged drought, and the deer were coming by the 100’s to eat our crops. Nearest cover to set up was about 300 yds and shots were much longer. This was well before the advent of hand held RF’s, so we had different colored stakes to mark the distances in 100 yd increments. When I read about the STW, I figured it would extend the point blank range and it did. I contacted Mr Tooley and he built me two STW’s ……one on a Sako action and one on a 700. Both were exceptional shooters, but what I most remember is what a gentleman Mr Tooley was to work with.….knowledgeable, honest, and went the extra mile to insure customer satisfaction. I read very carefully when he posts on here because he knows of what he speaks. All of the deer harvested were field dressed and given to the needy, many to a nearby orphanage. I would have to look back at records for load data. I just remember that if properly zeroed at 100yds( 2.75” high IIRC) I didn’t have to worry about any hold over until the target was out past 450. It was a remarkable cartridge for the time, and is still pretty darn good.

 

[AckleymanII]

7 STW and the 28 Nosler are Twins....so you know.

 

[Louisiana Shooter]

As are their wildcatted brothers the 257 STW and the 25 Nosler............

 

[Knotwild]

I bought a rifle (trued 700, 280AI, Schneider barrel, McMillan stock, Swarovski 3x12x 56 objective). It was $1900 in 1985. After going up and meeting Kenny I began to hang out there and sometimes tune rifles. I met Layne Simpson there, Neil Bonnet, Dale Earnhardt. Some of his other customers included Hank Williams Jr and there was a guy in NC that owned a massive amount of Coke stock. The most interesting customer was a 13yo kid and his parents would have a chauffeur drive him in to buy stuff.

Kenny said that he met Harold Broughton when he was shooting benchrest and Harold invited him to TX to learn how to build a rifle. He took him up on that. I got to meet Mr. Harold and spend a day with him in TX and he was an awesome man. At the range he used, I watched him drag a sporter 7mm Mauser AI out of his truck and make a first shot offhand hit on a 700 yard target that was a steel life sized elk.

In retrospect the guns I saw him turn out were pretty much designed around light fast bullets. BC wasn't discussed at that time in his shop. Kenny's favorites at that time were the 280AI, 243AI, and his big one was the .300 Jarrett, also on the 8mm mag case.

There are some key factors in what Kenny did.

1. There weren't many custom builders around that were known to the average every day guy. Not like
today. So, I think he first took off with an article in Field and Stream about the beanfield rifle. That's how I found out about him. Plus he was only 90 miles away.
2. There was no internet like today, but Kenny worked to put his self "out there" in the public eye and the
people he targeted were not shooters like on this board, but people like the ones who frequented the
Safari Club, rich people. Once he got you in his shop, he had you hooked because of his down to earth
country demeanor and story telling. He would invite you into his house to stay and shoot or hunt and
entertain you. He sold himself.
3. Today I think his son Jay has pretty much taken the shop over. But before that happened, Kenny
transformed what he is doing by making almost every component of the rifle he builds. Action, stock,
barrel. He calls his action the Tri-lock. The action is made in his shop on CNC tooling. The last thing I
read he is doing is coming out with the old trued Remingtons again to sell as a cheaper rifle (6K).

Business men would say he's pretty good at selecting a target customer base and a great salesman. The people I see buying from him are not really shooters. They are guys who made a ton of money and 6-12K$ for a rifle is nothing. One customer of his bought a brand new 4 row John Deere combine to pick 50 acres of deer corn. That's over $400K, so the two $12K rifles he bought are chump change.

Many of his customers don't even reload - they buy loaded ammo from Kenny - who keeps the load their rifle likes on file and custom loads it.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I have a bean field(this year) right out my shooting/loading room on my shop. It's 515 yards to my and my neighbors property line. Their place is deer Heaven but they come across on me regularly. Often though, they hang up along the fencerow. Call it hunting or not, I've got a good rest, a "beanfield rifle" in 280AI and a good spot. I practice shots around the perimeter of the field fairly often and know the ranges to several reference points. I just open the window and drop them when they cross the fence.

 

[cjames]

I used to go to Dallas Safari Club show a few years back and just drool. I liked to meet the manufactures and see the people that I watched on TV. I would watch people spend INSANE amounts of money. I would think...man, I wish I had that much money to just blow on this stuff.
Kenny Jarret walked past me and the two things I noticed was, he wasn't all dressed up like a lot of the venders there. He was just wearing a button down shirt, jeans with suspenders, and had on a ball cap. The other thing I noticed was he looked really pissed off. I'm sure he wasn't but, he sure did look like it. I thought to myself, damn... that's just like my old man.
Me and my buddies used to have a saying about gunsmiths. That, if your a gunsmith you have to stay pissed off all the time and be in a bad mood no matter what. LOL. We used to talk after we would go to the gunsmith or a gun shop and ask how it went. The reply would be, well just typical trip, he was just pissed at the world cause the sun came up this morning.
I miss those days. LOL.
But, me and my buddie used to say the same things about our dads when we were in high school.

 

[ben lurkin]

Now I will have the whole crowd rolling on the floor but: 30-378 Weatherby, with a GOOD barrel, 168 to 210 grain bullets, and save a bunch of money. I would recommend you try it before you laugh.

I have one. Just as you describe; or more accurately, my wife does. She commandeered it when we were at the shooting range wringing out some elk loads for it. 200 gr Partitions and a whole bunch of Retumbo and it’s good to go. Everyone winces at the idea of shooting it but it kicks a fair bit less than the M70 in 338 Win mag that I’ve been relegated to. Dan Dowling gave both rifles special dispensation so they both shoot very well; especially for hunting rifles!

I never had any experience with the Jarrett rifles but certainly remember the hype. I hope they were everything they were supposed to be. The cost far exceed the sum of their parts by a whole bunch of $; something I didn’t have a lot of in the 90s