Old Benchrest Rifle?

C

Chism G

Active member
Stopped by a friends place today, just to chat. He showed me a rifle that he had just come into possession of.

The unverified story, is that The Rifle previously belonged to a Benchrest shooter who allegedly won something, shooting the Rifle, in a big registered match back in the 70’s.

That's the story I was told. I may get a chance to speak, personally, with the previous owner, to get his side of the story and a complete history of the Rifle.

It is a Wichita Mini. serial # 091. It has two bolts. a .222 and a .308. You have to remove the bolt to load a round into the chamber. It feels like it might weigh more than 13.5lbs. I’ve never seen a butt stock design, like the one in the picture. This Rifle is in like new condition. It appears to have been fired very little.

This is not a for sale ad. This post should probably be in the Benchrest History thread.

What can ya’ll share about this model Rifle as it relates to Benchrest Competition?



















Glenn
 
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Glenn,
Interesting rifle. I have read about the action where you had to remove the bolt to load a round which
must be hell for a runner! What caliber is it chambered for? The stock would probably not be legal in
BR LV or HV today, would it? Maybe you'll get the chance to shoot it and give us a report.
Regards,

Joe McNeill
SW Arkansas
 
Old Rifle

Joe......,I did notice that there is no bolt release on this model. So, that being the case, speed(Shooting fast) would have been relative to shooter skill, In my opinion.

The Serial number,#091,on the action, indicates to me that this Rifle could be an early production,Wichita mini.

The Stock design looks more like somebody’s experiment. Just guessing. The paint job looks new. A benchrest shooter thinking outside the box ,maybe. Heck I don't know.

When were these Wichita Mini actions made? I saw one listed on an old match report from the 70’s.



Glenn
 
That is the old Wichita action. Bob Strawhorn had one. You had to remove the bolt every time in order for it to go BANG, His was a PPC bolt face, Mini Action they were called.
 
Thanks Bill. The Rifle in the picture has a .30 cal barrel on it and as shown, two bolts.

Any ideas about the stock design?




Glenn
 
Stock from the late 1970's by Lee Six know as the Walt Berger style-pattern. But I have been know not to know it all!
 
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Thanks Mike. The first thing I noticed about the Rifle was the stock design. Very interesting.

I found a link to Wichita Arms/History.
www.wichitaarms.com (click on History)

Interesting,there is no mention of the Wichita "Mini"Action. In my opinion, the "mini" is a very unique action design.

I will try to move this thread to the History section. i think qualifies.



Glenn
 
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old Benchrest rrifle?

I remember those quite well.

They were made to help make rifle weight in light varmint class/

That,s before the fiberglass stocks.

That was before the speed shooting started.

Its for pickers who take their time shooting their groups.
 
My biggest problem is that I remember T.J. Jackson and was good friends with Lee Six, GOD, rest their souls.
Funny story, T.J. was at a match in Knoxville and we had traveled all night to get there. Larry Earp had promised us to a parking space in the Mobile Home grounds even though I went with my pop-up camper, which was 22' long. There were 7 of us and we got there about 8:00am, setup camp and then went to bed. Well needless to say we woke up about 6:00pm and partied. Well T.J. went to Larry the next morning complaining that he couldn't sleep because of the noise. Not that Canadians would ever party.
 
I think Lawrence Bolain from Wichita, Kansas used to shoot an action similar to that one at Okie Shooters in the 80's. I don't think his action was that long though. I thought his action was about 6 inches long. Is the barrel on this one recessed down inside the receiver similar to a Teddy? If so, they may have just cut the front ring off of Lawrence's action. It's been a long time since I saw it so don't remember for sure. I don't think there has ever been any rule about how wide the butt of the stock is, just the angle. My guess is that the rifle would be legal to shoot in whatever weight class it would belong. You'd have to have an owl ear rear sandbag. I think Protector used to make them and they may still for some of the long range rifles. Being legal to shoot in class, it certainly wouldn't fit my shooting style. You'd definitely have to be a picker to shoot it well.
 
old benchrest rifle

It could possibly have a sleeve Mike The photo,s aren't that good as to a close up.
Many were sleeved . your correct the action was pretty short. something like a 600 length or shorter.
iT was a bit hard to make weight with the wood stocks in the 70,s
Aluminum sleeves were the order of the day. To increase bedding area.
 
Mike...the threads inside the Action front is recessed, as you suspected. How much..I don't know. The Action measured 7" according to my tape measure.:)

From a historical perspective, this rifle is a perfect example of the evolution of benchrest components.

It has its place in the Sports History.



Glenn
 
Old Benchrest Rifle

I had one of these back in the early 80's. It was referred to as a "shell holder" action. Mine was quite a bit shorter than the one pictured and had a 308 BF.
 
Mini

Chism -

Howdy !

I was not able to bring-up your pics, but sounds like you have a Wichita "Mini" action; which is a " shell holder " type action.... as was mentioned.

I've had 2 of these. They are a 3 lug, per se.

Fred Sinclair talked me into trying one of these on my first BR rifle. It was one of the first .22 BRs out there. Worked for my style of shooting.
I read that some gal once set a 1,000yd record shooting a rifle w/ a Mini action.

Wichita made my second Mini for me, by assembling a clutch of individual parts @ their shop; in 2008.
Last I heard, they'd still so a similar thing for someone desiring to shoot this action.

Thesez'd be great for use on something like a " Bullpup ", allowing one to maximize barrel length.

I also shoot a Wichita WBR1375 ( s/n 15 ). Great actions, all.


With regards,
.357Mag
 
Thanks for the info 357mag. The Action is, in fact,a Wichita "Mini". with two bolts. (.222 and 308)


PM me, if you would like photos e-mailed.



Glenn
 
Old Benchrest Rifle

Glenn
Thanks for posting the rifle. I am waiting for the right time to go out and shoot It. I will call you to come along. Danny
 
DannyK said:
Glenn
Thanks for posting the rifle. I am waiting for the right time to go out and shoot It. I will call you to come along. Danny
Click to expand...




No Problem. Thank you for sharing with the rest of the World. I can say I've seen a Wichita Mini.




Glenn
 
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