Gosh. Where to start!
Al Mirdoch was the owner of McCracken bullets (after Terry McCracken's death in or about 1977) and made each and every McCracken bullet by hand. And he made a lot of them. They were a very good match bullet and figured heavily in every Canadian match. Al was the driving force behind the Namaka Benchrest Club near Strathmore Alberta and was, in fact, the prime mover of BR in Canada at that time (Mid-70's to early 90's). He shot at every match he ran and shot well too. In addition, he did a lot to promote Benchrest in western Canada and benchrest flourished in large part due to his efforts.
He originated the idea of the Night Shoots at Namaka in an attempt to find a time when the wind wasn't threatening to blow rifles off the benches. The night shoots were quite a marathon affair but there was some good shooting done by Al and his daughters; by everyone, in fact, except yours truly!
Al seemed to spend about 18 hours aday in his bulletmaking shop and how the heck he kept up production, I can't say. Al had a tremendous collection of BR rifles and actions and shot them all well. He was a great guy and BR in Canada lost a lot when Al passed away.
I only shot with Vic Swindlehurst one time when he travelled out from Ontario with Reg Gale (who was, at the time, editor of the BRSC newsletter) to attend the Canadian super shoot (another Mirdoch promotion). I was, back then, a young gunsmith and shooter who thought I was something but wasn't really. Vic showed me his action and talked to me just like I was worth talking to. He was a nice guy and a very talented machinist and gunsmith. This was, as I recall, in 1978.
Nobby Uno was another gunsmith and a shooter I considered to be one of my main competitors. When I think back to that period, I can't think of any shooters whose company I did not enjoy but Nobby was one I always really liked to see show up. I think I shot better when he was there! He was a very skilled builder of BR rifles and for a time most of the rifles on the line in the west were built by either Nobby or myself with the occasional American interloper! Nobby campaigned a 6BR while I favored the PPC. I usually see Nobby each year at the Kamloops BC gunshow and am moderately irritated to see that he looks just like he did in 1980 while I look more like Father Time. Nobby was a very good shooter but one who would , fortunately, choke occasionally if I needled him a bit! There were a few times when he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with the last group of the day with me being the beneficiary.
Nobby was also quite involved with Aubrey White of North American Shooting Systems in Osoyoos, BC. He worked with Aubrey in the developement of the Canadian Imperial Magnum cartridges (these were remarkably similar to the Johnny-come lately Remington Ultra Mags) and built "tactical" rifles well before they became all the rage.
With Al Mirdoch Nobby developed the 308 SLF (short little f---er) and other whimsical but effective cartridges for hunter class.
In those days we used to talk during the matches and considered the ability to ignore the banter to be a part of the game. This may have affected visitors adversely but I thought it added to the game. I recall having four shots into about .125 at 200yd at Namaka. I was just settling in for the fifth shot when I hear Mirdoch behind me saying "Leeper's got four about the size of this cigarette filter. Be a hell of a group if he doesn't screw it up." Did I screw it up? You bet I did! And I can still hear Al's cackle as that fifth shot hit well to the right! Al was also a walking library of off color jokes which he liked to tell while we were trying to concentrate on the flags.
Your Swindlehurst/Uno rifle is bound to be a good one and is a real piece of Canadian BR history.
I believe Bill Gammon knew Vic Swindlehurst real well and should be able to tell you more about him and his rifles. Regards, Bill
