Part 2
In responding on which guns to take to the Raton Nats I have made some decisions. I have decided to shoot 6 PPC all the way. I shot the 99 Raton Nats and spent allot of time with Tony Boyer both shooting and socializing. Tony was minus Faye and parked his rig across from mine. I don't consider Tony much different than the other good shooters at any Nats, except that he he has 105 HOF pts. But he is the same Tony on the 1995 tape interview he made at the Super Shoot. Most of the better benchrest shooters are what their personalities are. Perry Morton called me the other night he's getting excited about next years Nats at Kelbly's. He can't make the Raton trip.
Back to my choice of guns for the upcoming Raton Nats. Most of my stuff is mix and match. The only good thing all the stuff I will be taking is smithed by 2 of my best BR buds, Bob Sutton and Gene DeLoney. Out West these are 2 good smiths.
Unlimited
For Unlimited I have made a big change for myself. I took my barreled action out of 1 Rail and put in another. Reason for this is my Wichita is real sensitive to pressure and starts popping primers if the heat rises and I can't control my powder load. So I decided go with my sleeved Remington 600 action with stainless cone head bolt Weaver 36 Scope Jewell trigger. This will have have my newest barrel. A Snake River 1.35 barrel Gene DeLoney chambered in 6 PPC. I bolted this barreled action in my barrel block turning my action so I can literally drop my shell in the action and close the bolt works every time no problems. The action was blueprinted and detailed by the Master while he was at Sierra bullets, Ferris Pindell. My Rail rides on ball bearing and metal rails. Gene said these are the best air craft quality bearings. The rail is fast, most could not shoot the gun without some time in.
Sporter & LV
For Sporter/LV I will shoot my Hall actioned 6 PPC Six stock B&L 36 Scope Jewell trigger. The gun was pillar bedded by Kurt Von Epp and glued by myself with JB. I will be shooting a Shilen barrel I call 'c'. One of 3 that Bob Sutton did for me before he moved to Reno. This is my newest barrel and I saved it for a Nats. Shoots well. For a Sporter/LV back-up I will have my 40x 6 PPC Six stock Shilen barrel Weaver Scope Jewell trigger. Screwed and glued. Nice gun Sutton chamber.
HV
For HV I will shoot another sleeved Rem 600 6 PPC that Ferris Pindell did while at Sierra. Six stock either Hart barrel Sutton chamber or Shilen barrel DeLoney chamber Leupold 36 scope Jewell trigger. The action is a DeLoney glue in, Devcon. At times this has been my hot stick. Several years ago I got in a shoot-out with Gary Ocock at Phoenix in a 200 yd event. I like going heads up with Gary he appreciates the competition. We were both shooting 2 flat aggs at 200 through 4 groups. The last group Gary did his usual routine calling me the man. I spit on his shoe and told him he was mine. Gary laughs, we both wrestled in College and asked what I weighed I told him big enough to throw him. He laughed both of us don't want to damage our bodies anymore than they already are. In the last group I shot a .374 for a .21xx agg. Gary asked if I thought I won I said maybe. He knew he won with his .341 also a .21xx agg. But that's the way benchrest is, respect the winner.
Lapua brass all the way all my barrels are .262X chambers. I will use my 6 mm bullets all the way that I made on Simonsen dies. I'll make about 1200, some for the next San Gabriel shoot. Dewey rods. Hoppes old no. 9, Butch's, Sweets, Rubbing Alcohol, cleaners, Silicone spray. Hart rest, Hoehn top, Mr D's cam Edgewood bags. And a couple thousand dollars.
All should go well. 1000 miles each way. Taking my GMC truck to the dealer today for an oil change, fuel filter, and a free truck wash. New tires last November. I run 70 lbs in my tires. My collection of George Strait tapes and a few Beach Boys will keep me happy all the way to Raton and back.
For flags I will be on Lawrence Weisdorn's Flag Rotation. Hood flags, Lawrence tails, Wind Probes.
This will be my last Post until I get back Aug 3.
Stephen Perry
