Mike Walker Passes Away

[JamesinAsheville]

Got a call last night that Mike had passed on about 7:30 yday morning.
When I was there a few months ago he was still working on a new rifle. WOW
He sure will be missed....wish I could have met him sooner.

 

[LHSmith]

Sad news. He was a super design engineer that helped develop a projectile that would penetrate the German Tiger tank in WWII, saving many lives and perhaps shortening the war. He was a great firearms engineer that greatly contributed to the their safety and accuracy. I am going to take my Rem 700 222 and shoot a 21 round group as a salute to Mr. Walker. RIP Mike.
A few other notable contributions: Developed the Remington 721,722, and 700, 40-x actions, the .222 Rem. Cartridge, the first successful method of button rifling, early developmental work on VLD bullets, founding member of the IBS and NBRSA, and created Precision Shooting magazine.

 

[GSPV]

Another great passes on. We are diminished.

 

[bheadboy]

as a novice beginning br shooter in the mid 60's Mike was gentle, full of helpful advice, kind and very pleasent to be with.
God bless

Bob

 

[Desert Fox]

Doing things that he love best... til the end. RIP Mike Walker.

 

[jonbearman]

My sentiments to the family and I just feel for him as they sampled his interview to make remmy look bad but I know he was a true blue gun afecionado to the day he passed.We will miss hime but he lives on in the hunting world as one of the very best.

 

[Tom Brush]

I too shot benchrest with Mike in the 60's. I did not know him well but he was always a gentlemen and highly thought of. May he rest in peace.

Tom Brush

 

[NateHaler]

If I'm not mistaken, Mike Walker was involved in the 6mm BR, the very cartridge after which this site is named. He and Jim Stekl -- another Remington legend. Maybe other readers can add to the story.

 

[Outrider27]

Had the privilege of meeting him a few times in the '70s. A gentleman and a scholar. RIP Mike; you will be missed.

 

[bheadboy]

Nate,

Mike was director of research and the custom shop at Ilion, Jim Stekl worked with him. they both shot BR at that time. Jim first put a 308 neck on the 300 sav, as it was shorter than the 308 case, then shortened it to 1.5 inch at Mikes suggestion as it shot well in a few matches but still had too much recoil.

(Wally Hart was shooting a 308 with very good results but most found the recoil too much off the bench)

if i remember Jim shot the sav version first at Fassett, as a 30, then later the 30 shortened to 1.5" - after that the 7 version was tested and it was a love at first sight, the xp 100 was prodeced in that caliber, and there you go as the 6 and 22 evolved. the first cases were large primer as they were all converted,

then Mike convinced Rem to produce the brass with small primer as in the custom shop, the 40xbr and xp100's it was a better combination of primer powder capacity, they did a run of the brass with small primer pocket.

i may be wrong as to some of the timing sequence but this is what i remember.

Bob

 

[Lazydays]

Sad news. He was a super design engineer that helped develop a projectile that would penetrate the German Tiger tank in WWII, saving many lives and perhaps shortening the war. He was a great firearms engineer that greatly contributed to the their safety and accuracy. I am going to take my Rem 700 222 and shoot a 21 round group as a salute to Mr. Walker. RIP Mike.
A few other notable contributions: Developed the Remington 721,722, and 700, 40-x actions, the .222 Rem. Cartridge, the first successful method of button rifling, early developmental work on VLD bullets, founding member of the IBS and NBRSA, and created Precision Shooting magazine.

Actally Mike didn't invent the round(s) that could knock out a Tiger I on a frontal hit. It was the Russians and the Brits. We had nothing that would penetrate that frontal armor till the M26 came about, and the 90mm gun was marginal on a Tiger II. Engagement yardage had to be kept under 700 yards for a 1:4 chance even then. On the otherhand the 75mm KWK L48 could engage at 1500 yards with a 1000 yard ratio of 1:2 kill. The 88mm round actually didn't penetrate as well as the tungsten cored rounds that the 75mm had been using since early 1944. The Russians were the first to get anykind of credable kills with their armor on Tigers, and it was when they adopted the 85mm round. Even then it had to be under 800 yards. The 100mm round was another story and the 122mm round was the best hull cracker there was in WWII. Later in the Korean war we came up with better rounds that would punch holes in the T34-85, but not in WWII. Untill Operation Desert Storm the longest yardage for a one shot kill was 3300 yards on a Russian T34-85 with the 75mm PAK40 mounted on a Marder. (there is actually film footage of the one shot kill on the side of the turret)

Didn't Mike Walker have something todo with the development of the Remington 32 and 3200 shotguns? Which later became the Kreigoff. I think also helped design the 541 rifle and the 600 rifle. He was a genious in his own time, and will be surely missed.
gary

 

[bheadboy]

Gary,

Thank you for the info on the tanks,
as to the 600, xp, 541t all were adaptations of the 722 then 700 then 40x which Mike designed originally for the 222, and expanded to use other calibers.

Mike was also one of the first to try a "gluded in" bbl, on 40xbr, he brought me a 6x47 at Fassett in 73 in sporter class - that had the bbl bedded and the action floated. it also had a Remington 20x scope which Mike had designed and for a period of time remington made in the custom shop in Ilion.


Bob

 

[fastergun]

Mike Walker had nothing to do with the 3200. That came out of Wayne Leek's department. Mike and Wayne were of equal rank at Remington and had no love for each other. They both reported to Sam Alvis. The 3200 was designed and developed by John Linde, a mechanical engineer originally from Custer South Dakota. John used the 32 as a basis for the design and improved some of its' shortcomings. All four of the above people are now deceased. I counted John as a friend and I worked for Wayne. Dennis

 

[butchlambert]

I am very lucky to have Mike'
s mod 37 rimfire rifle and his 722 hunting rifle in 257 Roberts. The 257 Roberts was his deer hunting rifle. I bought 3 Remington scopes from Jim Stekl's private stash last year. One 20X and 2 24X.
Mike was a very nice man and a gentleman.

 

[Lazydays]

Gary,

Thank you for the info on the tanks,
as to the 600, xp, 541t all were adaptations of the 722 then 700 then 40x which Mike designed originally for the 222, and expanded to use other calibers.

Mike was also one of the first to try a "gluded in" bbl, on 40xbr, he brought me a 6x47 at Fassett in 73 in sporter class - that had the bbl bedded and the action floated. it also had a Remington 20x scope which Mike had designed and for a period of time remington made in the custom shop in Ilion.


Bob

The old 600 actions and XP actions will always be high on my list of Remington actions. I like to think that Mike is up there shooting with Carlos Hathcock and Homer & Ferris.
gary

 

[Lazydays]

Mike Walker had nothing to do with the 3200. That came out of Wayne Leek's department. Mike and Wayne were of equal rank at Remington and had no love for each other. They both reported to Sam Alvis. The 3200 was designed and developed by John Linde, a mechanical engineer originally from Custer South Dakota. John used the 32 as a basis for the design and improved some of its' shortcomings. All four of the above people are now deceased. I counted John as a friend and I worked for Wayne. Dennis

well I'd liked to have though Mr. Walker did that one as well. I always liked that shotgun (3200). Never figured out why they did away with that line of shotguns! But if you got deep pockets you can still get the clone. My personal thought on his best stuff starts with the still amazing little .222 Remington cartridge and the 6mm Remington. I've just never seen anything that didn't shoot the .222 well in my lifetime.
gary

 

[Savage99]

The 40X and Mike Walker were precision shooting news in the 1960's and I was influenced to order a 40X in Walker's 6mm Remington International cartridge.

My purpose was to have an accurate, low recoil CF target round for our 200 yd. slow fire matches.

I wore out the factory barrel and had a Douglas put on with the same chamber.

Here it is with a test scope and the stock I got later from Remington.