Info on Wichita action

[ik6243]

I have a left handed Wichita action in my collection, but I am not particularly familiar with the history of Wichitas, so I am hoping someone on here might be able to shed some light on anything about this particular Wichita.

The serial number on the outside of the action is not standard (I'll address that at a later date), but there is a (serial?) number stamped on the tang which I do not have a photo of at the moment.

From what I understand, the bolt is a Wichita Benchrest model, ignoring the modified shroud to accommodate a lower rearsight position.

I have not been able to find any other Wichitas with dovetails - the one on this looks very original, although the builder of the complete rifle was a toolmaker by trade, so likely had the skills to do a very good job and refinish the surface.

There appear to be some Wichitas with a tang that is flush with the end of the bolt - are these newer or later?

I can provide the 3 digit number on the tang on the weekend if that is any use in identifying the original manufacturing year or so.

Thank you.

 

[Leeman]

If the rear sight is sat on the same type of dovetail visible at the front of the action, they appear to be the same as found on any BSA or Anschutz smallbore target rifle. Maybe the dovetail was salvaged along with the stock? I still have a few odd ones from messing around with different front and rear iron sights/scope heights.

A friend of mine used to own a Wichita, I'm sure he said Arthur Clarke used to import them into the UK but I could be mistaken on that. The one he used to own had a side plate for the rear sight as you would normally see on most older fullbore rifles rather than mounted on a dovetail.

I'm not sure why the shroud has been scalloped out as that particular sight doesn't seem to need the clearance, unless it's for the iris, difficult to see in the photo. Maybe the original rear sight was side mounted and went lower as your current RPA tracker is far more recent than the rifle I wound think. As with most rear sights on dovetails, they are fairly high anyway compared to a side mount. The Wichita shroud was certainly one of the biggest and ugliest, in my opinion anyway, but at the time, with the three lug bolt, certainly different to what else was available.

Finding spare parts if you ever need them will be your only real issue.

 

[TRSR8]

That is a Wichita 1375 which was one of the first custom BR actions back when many were still sleeving 700’s, 40x’s. They were nicely made, when they came they were $325. Those were offered along side a shellholder action and a bolt actioned IHMSA pistol. Fred Sinclair built many BR guns on them, built me 2.

 

[Mfitz717]

That is a Wichita 1375 which was one of the first custom BR actions back when many were still sleeving 700’s, 40x’s. They were nicely made, when they came they were $325. Those were offered along side a shellholder action and a bolt actioned IHMSA pistol. Fred Sinclair built many BR guns on them, built me 2.

I have one in 7mm rem mag. I’m thinking about having the barrel changed to a short mag and a McMillan stock.

 

[ik6243]

If the rear sight is sat on the same type of dovetail visible at the front of the action, they appear to be the same as found on any BSA or Anschutz smallbore target rifle. Maybe the dovetail was salvaged along with the stock? I still have a few odd ones from messing around with different front and rear iron sights/scope heights.

A friend of mine used to own a Wichita, I'm sure he said Arthur Clarke used to import them into the UK but I could be mistaken on that. The one he used to own had a side plate for the rear sight as you would normally see on most older fullbore rifles rather than mounted on a dovetail.

I'm not sure why the shroud has been scalloped out as that particular sight doesn't seem to need the clearance, unless it's for the iris, difficult to see in the photo. Maybe the original rear sight was side mounted and went lower as your current RPA tracker is far more recent than the rifle I wound think. As with most rear sights on dovetails, they are fairly high anyway compared to a side mount. The Wichita shroud was certainly one of the biggest and ugliest, in my opinion anyway, but at the time, with the three lug bolt, certainly different to what else was available.

Finding spare parts if you ever need them will be your only real issue.

Thanks.

The dovetail is cut into the action. The front dovetail block appears to be stolen from a BSA or Anschutz, as you say.

The Arthur Clarke ones used a side-mount bracket attached using the two scope-rail screw holes on the top, similar to the Warner rearsight adapters. I've seen one which uses the existing holes for the bolt catch and an additional screw hole to mount a side-mount plate on the side, with longer screw and pin for the bolt catch.

I don't keep my rifles with me so difficult to really tell, but having had a closer look at my photos, the shroud is lowered to meet the flats on the bottom of the dovetail. I guess this confirms that the dovetail is a later addition.

 

[Jerry Wick]

It's possible that whoever modified the shroud also cut the dovetail into the receiver.

 

[geo.ulrich]

the serial numbers were on the tang originally

 

[ik6243]

the serial numbers were on the tang originally

Ah I see, thanks. I guess that is the original Wichita serial number then. There is another serial number on the side, but that's the next part of the story which I'm more familiar with.

Does anyone know if Wichita Arms is still active? I see their website is still online.

Perhaps they might be able to tell me when the action was made based on the serial number and who it was sent to in the UK, if not Arthur Clarke.

 

[dhagerty40]

Ah I see, thanks. I guess that is the original Wichita serial number then. There is another serial number on the side, but that's the next part of the story which I'm more familiar with.

Does anyone know if Wichita Arms is still active? I see their website is still online.

Perhaps they might be able to tell me when the action was made based on the serial number and who it was sent to in the UK, if not Arthur Clarke.

wichita has a website but the company has been sold twice in last 2 years and not sure if they are doing anything. The website has a phone number on it though and some parts schematics as they call them.

Do not expect much. Nolan Jackson was the original owner of wichita and he was not known for keeping good records!

Wichita Arms – ..and it's right here in… Texas!

I have a Wichita Silhouette pistol that it is time to rebarrel and looking for a gunsmith to do it!

 

[Leeman]

Just a thought but you could trawl through the Precision Shooting magazine archives which covered benchrest shooting through the various decades that the Wichita was in production. There may be information on the actions or rifles in articles or adverts. I have a collection of the magazine from the early nineties but I don't recall any information on Wichita from that period onwards so you could focus on issues prior to that if you were interested.

Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Texts, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

archive.org

 

[Will Henry]

I bought and used Wichita actions in the late'70's and early eighties. I've recently been fooling around with a Wichita Mini which I first used in 1980. The 1375 action was a very good one for the time. In fact, I think it would still be a viable choice, if it were available. WH

 

[ik6243]

Just a thought but you could trawl through the Precision Shooting magazine archives which covered benchrest shooting through the various decades that the Wichita was in production. There may be information on the actions or rifles in articles or adverts. I have a collection of the magazine from the early nineties but I don't recall any information on Wichita from that period onwards so you could focus on issues prior to that if you were interested.

Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Texts, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

archive.org

Awesome! Thanks for sharing that.

 

[357Mag]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing that.

Ike -

Howdy !

The first ad I noted for the Wichita WBR1375 action appeared in “ Precision Shooter “ magazine’s Dec 1976 issue. The Wichita ad appears on pg 18.

Accuracy riflesmith Fred Sinclair went full-time, working out of his converted garage shop Summer 1976.

I was lucky enough to have Fred Sinclair located 6mi from my house. I wanted to have him assemble a full tilt, benchrest-grade varmint rifle for me, for m use in shooting NE Indiana groundhog. This included having Sinclair chamber then rifle in a new .224” cal
wildcat of my own design. Pretty heady stuff, for a 22.75 y.o. Indiana farm boy !

Fred talked me into going with a then-new Wichita WBR1375 benchrest action, instead of using an XP-100 action w/ a Davidson sleeve. Mine is s/n 015, which is stamped into the Lt underside flat of the bolt shroud; and into the topside aft rear end of the tang.
My action’s tang appears to be approx 3/8” longer than the end of the bolt shroud.

I sent the action in to Wichita for a health check, after I had been shooting it for 26+ yr, and prepatory to installation of a new barrel. While my action came to me originally with no logo of any sorts on it, Wichita stamped my action w/ their bullseye logo while they had it in their shop, and also treated the action to an external re-finish.

Sinclair put an M-16 style extractor in mine, but also told a Sako type extractor was on option. My .224” cal wildcat was formed by necking-down .35 Remington, and we felt it would help w/ extraction of the slightly smaller diameter rim of the case, as my action’s had a .308 bolt face.

Wichita’s became well known for being the stiffest action out there @ the time, proven by
dedicated tests performed by knowledgeable technicians. The WBR1375 operated w/ a flat bolt face, and Wichita said the could have put a small amount of cone on the bolt; if I really wanted it. I ended up staying w/ the flat face bolt.

Wichita also pinned the recoil lug to the action, as they did not come configured that way as standard.

Ken Farrell made a 20moa scope base for me, and noted that my early WBR1375 had a slightly closer mount screw spacing for the aft set of mount holes…. than did comparatively newer Wichitas. I elongated one of the aft mount holes in the base to make it work for my action. When I called Ken originally to check pricing for a custom 20moa mount, he told me he had one I already sitting in his shop… after a UK gentlemen backed out of purchase on the one he had ordered. Ken was happy to sell me the mount @ a huge discount…. and we found out the variance in the aft mount bolt spacing during my purchase’ phone call. It was just too good a deal to pass up !

Wichita’s were 3 lug well before that became en vogue. They accept Remington 700 pattern triggers. I mount mine w/ a trigger hanger.

I had 2 of the Wichita “ Mini “ actions. The original action Fred used to make me one of the first .22BR bench guns seen.

I am preparing to change out my action’s firing pin spring. A former Wichita tech told me I could use a replacement M700 spring. I’m going to try the 2pc Tubb spring.

Best of luck on your endeavors !


With regards,
357Mag

 

[ik6243]

Thanks for all the replies.

Here are more photos of my Wichita.

I am only aware of the story of this rifle after it got into the hands of a certain gunshop in the UK, so this has been very useful in getting the backstory of the original action.

What this rifle is, is a Wichita action worked on by Accuracy International and rebuilt into a 300m free rifle. Malcolm Cooper, of the original Accuracy International target shooting shop in Portsmouth, used to use Wichita actions for 300m before he joined forces with Dave Walls and Dave Caig who built their own prototype actions using unfinished Walther JR rifle blanks. Accuracy International were responsible for a few Wichita actions rebuilt into 300m rifles back in the day and this one is the only one that made it onto the Accuracy International logs after they had begun prototyping their own.

It retains its original Wichita serial number on the tang and I will check if it is on the shroud too. IIRC it is 3xx, so clearly not particularly old. The UK proof mark on the barrel is 1982. There are other marks on the barrel where the UK proof marks have been stamped over, but difficult to determine what they say as they look to have been linished over.

@357Mag - the tang on this also protrudes beyond the bolt shroud. Is this specific to the 1375s or a particular period of their production? I'm pretty sure I've seen some that are flush.

Below is a photo of another Wichita worked on by AI.

It is quite apparent where AI got inspiration from for their later production models in terms of the 3 lug bolt design and the use of a large shroud to encase the rear of the firing pin assembly.

The large leaf spring extractor design on production AIs is an inspiration from the old round Grunig & Elmiger actions. I have a few old spare 308 bolts that I am considering getting bushed to take a 223 sized case, using a 223 Grunig & Elmiger extractor.

Factory AI triggers are a development of the old Anschutz 14xx triggers and are extremely similar in design to the later Grunig & Elmiger triggers found on the ST200 and FT300s, the same ones that LRI modify for custom builds. David Tubb's epic T7T trigger is also very similar to the Grunig & Elmiger trigger.

 

[357Mag]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing that.

IK6243 -

Howdy ! Thanx for the response. Nice to hear from you!

I will be the first to tell you that I am not the “ font of knowledge “, as regards Wichita actions. I have only seen in- person one ( mine ) Rt hand bolt WBR1375. Years ago I did see and briefly handle one of their 1200s.

All I can tell you about WBR1375 tang length is that mine is around 3/8” longer than the end of the bolt shroud.

FWIW-
The Wichita ad in Dec 1976 Precision Shooter has pics of both Rt and Lt bolt handled WBR1375s. Both actions pictured appear to have the same aft tang length that my action has.

Maybe AlNyhus here @ accurateshooter can tell you more ? Worth a try.


With regards,
357Mag