Wichita Varmit Rifle

S

Snowwolfe

Guest
Have a chance to buy one of these in pristine condition in 6mm Remington for less than $1,400. I know they are not a top of the line BR rifle but are they of good value for the money? Are they accurate? Any and all feedback would be appreciated.
Thank you
 
I have a Wichita chambered in 6x47 that I bought from a person on this board last winter. I had two more barrels from Pac Nor made for it. One is a 222 Rem Mag AI and the other a 20-223AI. I could not be happier with the rifle. I am always looking for another Wichita for a reasonable price. $1400 seems a little on the high side to me, but that's your choice. I've seen several Pandas and Teddys in that price range and they have a better resale value.

Rick
 
Having shot some wickedly tiny groups with a Wichita, I can tell you this, never judge a BR rifle by it's cover. These action have been put togater with other great components that have tossed down some amazingly small groups.

I know from my own experiences with one Wichita base action rifle, I would shoot it before I made up my mind.
 
Snowwolfe said:
Have a chance to buy one of these in pristine condition in 6mm Remington for less than $1,400. I know they are not a top of the line BR rifle but are they of good value for the money? Are they accurate? Any and all feedback would be appreciated.
Thank you
Click to expand...

Are you talking about a custom synthetic-stocked BR competition rifle, or one of those gorgeous walnut-stocked factory rifles? $1400 sounds a bit high for the former, but not bad for the latter.

My antique Wichita 30BR competition rifle shoots well enough sometimes that I am pretty sure I am the reason it doesn't win more. I am a fan of the three-lug action.

Cheers,
Keith
 
Rifle has a wood stock. What do these rifles cost new? I visited the companies web site and it did not list the prices.
Would this rifle have a better potential than a New Cooper?
 
Some of the Coopers come in the box with teeney, tiny little groups fired on the factory test target.
 
Snowwolfe said:
Have a chance to buy one of these in pristine condition in 6mm Remington for less than $1,400. I know they are not a top of the line BR rifle but are they of good value for the money? Are they accurate? Any and all feedback would be appreciated.
Thank you
Click to expand...

Wichita actions have a reputation of being extremely accurate but at $1400 if you are looking for a true benchrest rifle I would look at some of the more modern used rifles in the classifieds here, some are only a couple hundred more.

Dick
 
Wichita 1375 action

I own a Benchrest rifle built on a Wichita 1375 custom action and agree with what else has been said here about it. A Benchrest rifle built on that action can be as accurate as on any other action, be it Bat or Farley or whatever. The 3 lug system makes it very strong but the downside is takes more force to open it than newer model actions. But after it has become practice to full size cases before each loding it is less of a problem. Besides that one will open them in a certain way often pressing the rifle down in the bags with the other hand to minimize bag movement. I belive that the newer actions are eazier to shoot fast but accuracy vice I dont think there is any difference. For a varmint gun those actions are as good as any I belive. Then it just becomes a matter of the "right" price whatever that is.
 
Nice looking rifle!!!

It has scope blocks on it (one on the receiver and one on the barrel) for the older type target scopes like Unertl, Lyman Super Targetspot, etc.

If you shoot left handed, hit the "Buy it Now" button before someone else does.
 
Wichita varmint rifle

It is a nice rifle. The action is good as has been discussed, and the stock looks nice. The barrel is a question mark regarding its condition and origin.
I would assume though that judging by the quality of the action and stok that it is of reasonable quality. Accuracy should be around .500 with good match bullets.

Hovever if you intend to shoot it benchrest mainly, either for fun or in a match there are many other used rifles for only $200-300 that are much better suited for that and could in fact be very competitive. For benchrest shooting the stock on this rifle is not optimal and neither is the cartridge 6MM Rem, its much to large.

If you want the rifle for varmint shooting or just for the look of it go for it. I am shure there are not many of those around weather it has a collectors value or not.

Its hard to say if the price is right or not, but its at least not a bargain.
 
.25shooter said:
Hovever if you intend to shoot it benchrest mainly, either for fun or in a match there are many other used rifles for only $200-300 that are much better suited for that and could in fact be very competitive. For benchrest shooting the stock on this rifle is not optimal and neither is the cartridge 6MM Rem, its much to large.
Click to expand...

"Snowwolfe's" posts don't indicate to me that he wants this rifle to compete with in benchrest shooting. I think he just wants an accurate rifle. If he's a left handed varmint shooter, the action, stock, barrel and caliber are ideal.

"...used rifles for only $200-300..." Hmmmmmmm??
 
I have heard that the Wichita uses a very strong firing pin spring, around the 35 flb range, and I was wondering if changing that out to a modern Rem 700 aftermarket spring, in the range of the 20's, would help?

s.
 
Correction

"...used rifles for only $200-300..." Hmmmmmmm??

vicvanb I understand you not agreeing with that as what I meant to write was for $200-300 more than the 1400 for this Wichita or total of $1600-1700 he could get a very decent benchrest rifle.

Of course you cant get a rifle for $200-300

I apologize for this mistake.
 
Wichita uses a very strong firing pin spring.

I have owned a Wichita 1375 benchrest rifle for about 25 years.
At one time I had small problem with it not blowing the primer reliably.
I called the late Mr. Seely Masker who was at the time a good authority about that action and used it a lot to build benchrest rifles on. I told him I needed a new spring as the old one wouldnt strike the primer hard enough.
You would be the first person to have that problem he said. Take the bolt apart and totally degrease it with lighter fluid and put it back togeather. It should be as good as new.

It has never failed since. Further more he told me that many would shorten the spring so it wasnt as stiff and it would require less force to open the bolt so I guess it would help but to what extent I dont know as I havent tried it.
I dont think though that it will ever be as light as some of the new 2 lug custom actions.
 
I just had that same thing mention to me in a phone call, to clip about 1/2" off the spring and see if it helps. I'll look into it furhter. This Wichita I'm using has the flat bolt handle, and it requires a good grip to open it.

The current barrel is a .308 win, but I'm gonna rebarrel it to either a .22 BR or a .20 PPC for live varmints.

Any ideas as to how hard the barrel is screwed on and if there is anthing special in removing the barrel? Also noticed that the recoil lug is welded in place, at the bottom of the action. Interesting.

s.
 
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