I know nothing about Vintage bench rest. But, just from the title, I do not understand how a tricked out 10/22 fits that program. Vintage brings to mind classic 37 Remington and 52 Winchester and maybe an early 54 Anschutz. Can you explain how a tricked out 10/22 fits this format?
Don
No, I can't explain the reason. There are two classes, Sporter and Target rifle. Sporter is a run what you brung class intended as an entry point and included autoloaders under the perception that they couldn't run with the target rifles. Trouble is, it didn't exclude custom autoloaders, and after the end of last season a mini arms race was held over the winter. Like I said before, I think splitting the class out so soon was a little premature as there are several bolt gun shooters that are dropping one to three points with high x counts.
Here's the thing about the Kidd Supermatch - it's a 100% custom rifle. As near as I can determine the only factory part is the safety selector and maybe the magazine detent and release, and I'm not real sure about the detent. The receivers have an extra lug incorporated at the aft end.
All of the shooters in our group with guns based on Ruger receivers but Clark or Kidd internals and barrels shoot about as well as the full up custom rifles. They shoot well enough to win a match, and that has been demonstrated.
Strangely enough, a rifle such as a Model 37 or Model 52 or Walnut Hill falls into the Target rifle class. Right along side more modern Anschutz or Walther rifles. Flat bottom benchrest forearms are not permitted; the rifles should be a prone or position shooting gun. I used a 1408 running boar rifle last year and fought the roll in the bags all year. Last week I installed a three position stock on the gun in hopes of fixing the roll, but I added some cast off that adds a new problem about as bad as the old stock. One shooter did very well with an original Walnut Hill last summer, so that also set off a scouring of the country side for rifles.
I figured a vintage game with a sporter class ought to limit scope magnification to something we're more likely to find in the woods, but that received a cold, cold reception last winter.
So it comes down to shooting and having some fun while trying to win or place well.
The rules our club uses are here:
www.vintagebenchrest.com . Other clubs have different rules.