James M.
New member
On this Memorial Day,I would like to dedicate this post to the late Earl Biesecker of Wauwatosa, WI. Although Mr. Biesecker survived the action during WWII, he is still one to be remembered on this day. He was a "belly" gunner on a B-24 Liberator during the bombing of Germany. He, like many of our heroic airman, was reluctant to talk about his role in the war.
After the war Mr. Biesecker graduated from Purdue University with an engineering degree. I got to know him through his hobby of gunsmithing. A friend showed me a beautifully built varmint rifle that had "EB" engraved on the bottom of the barrel. I asked who did the work on the rifle. I was told that Earl Biesecker of Wisconsin did the work. This was in 1993. I called Mr. Biesecker and asked if he would build a varmint rifle for me. I had recently discovered prairie dog shooting and wanted a rifle worthy of being in the company of the fine rifle of my friend's.
Mr. Biesecker built that fine rifle and several more. Over the next several years we became long distance friends and talked quite often.
In 1996, I became interested in Benchrest shooting, and contacted Mr. Earl about building a BR rifle for me. He agreed and I began collecting the parts. I chose the small Hall action/Hart barrel/ McMillan stock/Jewell trigger/Leupold scope. In his basement shop, Mr. Biesecker put the rifle together in record time and I tried it out at the LA State 3-gun championship in February 1997. The rifle shot wonderfully and I managed a 0.097 "screamer" with it. He built several more for me on both Panda and Rosenthal actions.
In 2006 on the way to the SS, my friend Richard Milton and I detoured to visit the Krieger factory and to visit with Mr. Biesecker. That was a very good decision. He was a friend of John Krieger and met us at John's place.
In 2009 Mr. Biesecker passed from this world, but he will not be forgotten. He was a member of the USA's greatest generation and I am proud to call him a friend. James Mock
After the war Mr. Biesecker graduated from Purdue University with an engineering degree. I got to know him through his hobby of gunsmithing. A friend showed me a beautifully built varmint rifle that had "EB" engraved on the bottom of the barrel. I asked who did the work on the rifle. I was told that Earl Biesecker of Wisconsin did the work. This was in 1993. I called Mr. Biesecker and asked if he would build a varmint rifle for me. I had recently discovered prairie dog shooting and wanted a rifle worthy of being in the company of the fine rifle of my friend's.
Mr. Biesecker built that fine rifle and several more. Over the next several years we became long distance friends and talked quite often.
In 1996, I became interested in Benchrest shooting, and contacted Mr. Earl about building a BR rifle for me. He agreed and I began collecting the parts. I chose the small Hall action/Hart barrel/ McMillan stock/Jewell trigger/Leupold scope. In his basement shop, Mr. Biesecker put the rifle together in record time and I tried it out at the LA State 3-gun championship in February 1997. The rifle shot wonderfully and I managed a 0.097 "screamer" with it. He built several more for me on both Panda and Rosenthal actions.
In 2006 on the way to the SS, my friend Richard Milton and I detoured to visit the Krieger factory and to visit with Mr. Biesecker. That was a very good decision. He was a friend of John Krieger and met us at John's place.
In 2009 Mr. Biesecker passed from this world, but he will not be forgotten. He was a member of the USA's greatest generation and I am proud to call him a friend. James Mock
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