Author Topic: NMLRA Offhand Rifles  (Read 1016 times)

Offline Chunker119

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NMLRA Offhand Rifles
« on: April 05, 2024, 03:56:24 AM »
Calling all NMLRA Offhand Shooters..... Could you please post pictures of your dedicated offhand rigs?

I am looking for reference material for a pair of rifles I am going to start building soon for my wife and myself.

Your help is appreciated!
Colton L. Fleetwood                
     "Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway"  - John Wayne

Offline Bob Roller

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Re: NMLRA Offhand Rifles
« Reply #1 on: April 09, 2024, 08:28:31 PM »
In the past I made a couple of offhand rifles with no rod or rib,shotgun style half stocks and my own locks and triggers.I used a Lyman 17A front sight and the wide post insert and a folding tang peep sight.Walnut for stocks and barrels from Bill Large who is deceased but a Green Mountain barrel will work.These rifles were influenced by the high end long range types but need not be as elaborate and are not hard to build.To answer the original question there will be seen a variety of rifles ranging from production types like T/C and CVA and the long rifles
with better sights and the Hawken.I don't know if primer ignition is allowed is not.Hopefully,some of the competitors will chime in here.
Bob Roller
« Last Edit: April 09, 2024, 11:40:54 PM by Bob Roller »

Offline Leatherbark

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Re: NMLRA Offhand Rifles
« Reply #2 on: April 10, 2024, 07:09:56 PM »
The gamers will use a rifle with no ramrod or rib. It will have a large shotgun butt and a raised cheek area on top of the buttstock.

 The barrel will be heavy for caliber and probably not over 36 inches long. It will have very high sights so they can grasp all the way around the forend without their knuckles blocking the sights. Imagine the left hand of a right-hand shooter in the vertical position holding the rifle by making a fist. 

The rifles look like something Yosemite Sam from Outer Space or Flash Gordon would bring to rendezvous on a distant planet far far away.

Seriously though, those guys shoot 49's and 50's at 25, 50 and 100 yards along with many "X"s in the Master class.

Bob

Offline Elmer Swank

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Re: NMLRA Offhand Rifles
« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2024, 05:10:59 AM »
 Hello. I have two .40 cal rifles with barrels re bored by Robert Hoyt. Both are in TC Hawken stocks. The stocks fit me with 14 inches length of pull. Locks and triggers are stock but tuned to suit me. Many offhand shooters have custom built rifles to fit them. One of my rifles has open sights for matches that require open sights. Many matches are any metallic sight matches and I use a Lyman peep and post on the front.  I have a 32 inch .40 cal. GM barrel set up with open sights for small bore silhouette. I have others but have been using the Hoyt barrels the last two years. I have been shooting the offhand line the last 12 years spring and fall.

Offline alacran

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Re: NMLRA Offhand Rifles
« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2024, 02:14:12 PM »
Chunker, a good point is made by Elmer Swank. There are so many different types of offhand NMLRA matches that having only one rifle to shoot them all is not feasible if you plan on being competitive.
I suggest you get a match program and decide what type of offhand matches you want to compete in and build your rifles to fit that type of match.
A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.  Frederick Douglass

Offline Maven

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Re: NMLRA Offhand Rifles
« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2024, 03:54:49 PM »
Calling all NMLRA Offhand Shooters..... Could you please post pictures of your dedicated offhand rigs?

I am looking for reference material for a pair of rifles I am going to start building soon for my wife and myself.

Your help is appreciated!


For what it's worth, I shot the 25 yd. NMLRA off hand postal matches with a Lyman (Investarms) .50cal. caplock and generally finished in the top 25% of those entered each month.  Btw, the rifle wore the primitive sight at that time and I used home cast round balls with pillow ticking patches.
Paul W. Brasky