New Record Set At the York Shoot

[Old Bob]

Just got the word that Gary Test won the York Shoot using Paul Griffith's rifle and in the process set a new record for the shoot. A 2.44 inch string. Now that ain't shabby.

[smokinbuck]

That should stand for a while!!
Mark

[Old Bob]

Yeah it should. The flintlocks did well. Neil Eddington came in 2nd with a flinter. Shot a little over 4 inches. Several others won the flat meat with flint. This is two years in a row I've missed. Gettin' to be a bad habit.

[dagner]

  when paul willed his axel gun and chunk gear to gary paul stated that if gary ever got top of the line equipment watch out for him. yes the 2.44 is a new York record .plain shattered the old one .we also believe he set a new world record.we all said the same thing when krumme shot a 2.57  few years back then a year   later Charlie bowers shot a 2.46  will get back to you when I get charlies exact number for sure. a few years back mike majeskie was hot on a big new record at York  when they called it at seven shots.he had 5 spiders a rubber and a real close one.last year over at zenia dave krumme was going for a 2 flat and shot his last shot a little over a inch.  tom swigart -mike majeski  -neal eddington and tim -the gards shooting buddy  have all shot a couple 3 .oo . then never count Charlie bowers out. their a  quite a few men out their that can do it.
 I believe their was a error on eddington and swigart shooting flint. they both shoot  bowers under hammer with Griffith barrels. I don't think either of them own a flint chunk gun. I know for sure that i mark Donaldson and lowel gard shoot only flint chunk guns.some real great shooting  to watch  coming up
dag

[Militant_Hillbilly]

I saw Gary's sighter, did anyone get pictures of his targets?

[dagner]

  yes  dave krumme and the guys have sent out pictures of  gary and his target  . I have them and are great . I am a computer failure. some give me directions and  I will post the picture for you if everyones interested. I understand he shot 3 practice shots and quit now 10 record shots .his darn target looks like 1 60 cal round ball hole.krumme and bowers each did 5 shots practice. each had one ball 1 inch high dead above the group what gary test did was truly outstanding .dave krumme was the first to break 3 inches  in 2007  -I think Charlie shot his in 2009 0r 2010   2.57  Charlie bowers emailed me his record was 2.48  hopeing to get a picture of all his 10- targetd to look at.what was funny he never won a x round.my old buddy paul griffith for all the wins aand top 5 finishes  York once told me he only won  1 best x round at York

if you email me at dagner49@charter.net  I can send the pictures directly to you

[Don Getz]

Come on down Dag, all you need to compete today is good eyes and a good shooting gun.  At one time I had a little 45 cal.
gun, 28"barrel, with a 4 POWER WEAVER SCOPE.......i could have beat them with that gun, ha............Don

[dagner]

  heck don  I don't know if I could beat garys group shooting a scoped gun  .just think when I started out in the dribblers with you .man you shoot 6 inches you flat won the match.now you shoot 6 inches and they ask what happened for you to shoot so bad.over at zenia and coons it takes a 3 to win .not unusual to see a at least 4 people shoot in the 4s.heck one shoot at zenia last year they had 4 in the 3s.the big diffence is thse guys shoot lots of matches from march till nov.sure is fun watching those guys shoot. you got your little bench gun ready to go to conns. they are holding 5 table matches this year.hope to see you and john over their.
dag

[wirebrush]

Just curious as to what the winning equipment is these days.  Can anyone elaborate on the caliber; barrel length and patching of the top shooters?  Would love to get over that way sometime and see this shoot.

[dagner]

 most   winning equipment  Griffith barrel   50 cal -48 to 54 long   1 3/16 to 1 1/2 barrel   bowers under hammer or 1/2 stock cap lock    Teflon patching  most just shooting hornady balls   heavy solid  adjustable chunk  look at the top 15 winners at York this year   that cover almost all the top shooters

[mmprwarner]

I guess I'll throw my two cents worth in, it seems to me that the 48 inch plus barrel, about 1 3/16 to 1 3/8. Makes a real good combination in 50 or 54 caliber, it seems a calibers smaller tend not to do as well in the windy. Although I have seen some 45s shoots really impressive scores, as far as action. I am a big fan of the of the Bowers action. However, I think if you can get a good fast flint going, you'll do just fine. Of course you can't ever count out the mule ear. I will have to agree with Bob, you need to have a pretty substantial adjustable chunk and this is just my personal opinion and I know the same as some others. If you're not shoot Teflon patching and Swiss powder, you're just not there. I have found that Hornaday balls are about the best on the market.

[Kermit]

Can you define a "pretty substantial adjustable chunk" for me? I don't live in chunk gun land so pretty much only know them from photos--aside from mine.

[mmprwarner]

Sure, Kermit
I'd be glad to take a stab at that, let's start out with substantial having experimented with a few chunks in my time, I've found they need to have the following basic design. Make sure that it is heavy. To not move around as the rifle recoils as this just simply does terrible things to your group also I have found that they should probably be somewhere between 10 and 14 inches wide. I have seen some wider than has and don't believe that it really hurts anything other than on a tight range. I personally think it takes up unnecessary space. Front to back. Things should probably be at least a 10 to 12 inches long. At the base. Once again, so it doesn't rock back and forth during recoil. I would suggest making an out of a rather heavy hardwood oak is always my first choice.
Adjustable some prefer to have for lack of a better word, a tower with a slot in each one a block of wood with a long bolt run through it so it can be raised and lowered, and also the legs can be at different heights, allowing for unlevel ground. I have seen others which have a block of wood or a box with an array of boards to stack on them, varying from about 1 inch to 1/4 inch thick. Most of these have either pins that come up through the board. You stack on or bolts that go down to where you can tighten them in place Once again, if you go this route, be sure not to get it too top heavy. Unless you have a wide enough base to hold it stable.
One of the things I'm starting to see people want to when they built their chunk is to find a way to trap the rifle in the chunk, much like a bench guns shooter would do on his bench. In the circles I travel in. This is not considered to be good. Your rifle barrel or your sandbags should you use one or your kant block should be able to move freely on top of the chunk. I have seen some individuals who simply bring a block of wood and a sandbag and do very well. It does seem that your imagination and a few simple rules are your only limitation. Oh, never under estimate the value of penning one to the ground with some rather large spikes.
As I am giving my son the chunk that I have been currently using will and building another one. When I get the new one built. I might post a picture or two of the I just hope it doesn't take a fork truck to move it around. Well, now that I have probably completely confused you all quit for now, try to get some pictures and post them. Stay safe.

[Kermit]

Got it. Thanks for taking this on for me. This site and its participants teach me so much.

[dagner]

  robin take a picture of allen coons and post it. the one paul made up for him
dag

[mmprwarner]

Great idea, Bob. Maybe we all put together a chunk gun calendar with a chunk of the month
I'll get down the Coon's soon as I can snap a picture that.

[Kermit]

My emphasis should have been on the "substantial" part. I've made a few adjustable rests, but don't know if they qualify for that particular adjective. Pix would be good.

[dagner]

 . the Griffith  chunk is made of seasoned oak  my chunk legs  are  2 inch thick and 15 long .may main body is 15 long x6 inches  x 6 inches    my main body can be moved up 3 inches from lowest setting.  adjustment boards for raising top of chunk  15x6    1  two inches thick -  4  1nch thick -  2    1/2 inch thick    2    1/4thick
and 2   1/8  thick    the top of chunk has a treaded female pipe  that runs full length threw top of chunk on both ends.you have couple different sized bolts and bolt the adjustment boards on top..the darn thing is heavy

the whole idea is the chunk does not move when set up

  some of ther guys use a 2 inch 10 or 12 bottom board with a 8x6 inch piece of b
big board beam liquid nailed to it. then they have 4    3/8 rebar rods about 12 inches long with a 3 inch 90 bend on  one end. they have a hole drilled in each cornerof the 2x12 and pound them in the ground .the whole idea is to have the top level both directions.next they have a hole on  each end of the 8x6 about 3 inches deep so a 5/16  steel rod first in it .then they have their adjustment boards just drop over the rods to get their height.

  all the top shooters are real anal about their level  chunk and mat set up.they will spend a hour getting up and down adjusting to make sure they are in a confortable -repeatable position and the gun will recoil straight back

 hope this helps you our Kermit. if you want to kemit send me a email at dagner49@charter.net    and I will take pictures for you