Research and development by John C. Street

Years ago, when I started to get serious about having an accurate rifle, I read everything I could get my hands on and spent as much time as possible with people who had won numerous awards for pulling triggers. The further I got into this research, though, the clearer it became that there was no one universally accepted configuration of an accurate rifle.  

In just the physical characteristics of a stock alone, for instance, some books and experts prescribed glass bedding the entire length of the barrel.  Others claimed that only the end of the stock should be glass bedded to contact the barrel and more than one well known gun writer advocated free-floating the entire barrel so there was no contact with the stock whatsoever. 

Actually, about the only thing all these books and experts agreed on was that a truly accurate rifle needed a trigger that had no creep, broke like a fragile piece of glass  and had a “trigger pull” that was measured in ounces, not pounds.  

In the final analyses (and after a protracted course of experiments with everything from stock composition, bedding styles and numerous reloading techniques), I have a rifle that is remarkably accurate, brings down my winter meat when asked and will probably continue to perform its essential chores in someone else’s hands long after I leave this mortal coil.  

Was all this research worthwhile? Yes, without a doubt. Granted, there are a whole slew of off-the-rack rifles that are capable of producing acceptable accuracy even when their chambers are stuffed with factory loaded ammunition. But for a guy like myself who was interested in the nuts ‘n bolts of accuracy, it was a learning experience that has paid dividends every since. And those dividends are not, as I am about to explain, exclusively in the realm of accurate rifles.   

In this, the beginning of the second decade of the twenty-first century, Bloodsporters are at the forefront of politically charged issues undreamed of as recently as twenty years ago. Consider the recent attempt to ban the use of lead in shot and bullets or the gnashing of teeth over Marcellus gas. And who, just twenty years ago, would have imagined that non-hunting “stakeholders” would demand a place at the deer management table or that the discussion of global climate change would literally tear apart the oldest “sportsmen’s” organization in the state.  

While it is tempting to bury our heads in the proverbial sand in the hope these politically charged issues will just go away, we can not afford to take this Pollyannaish approach. Seeing our unwillingness to get involved, a few people have already taken it upon themselves to speak for us. And decisions are being made based on what they are saying.  

Numerous times over the eleven years that I have been writing this column, therefore, I have shared my opinion on these – and many other – politically charged issues that are impacting the Bloodsports. As a way to explain how I have reached my conclusions, I often provide references in the form of books and websites.  

Invariably, then, someone will write a letter to the editor and imply that these references are a product of either a “special interest group” or an “industry public relations team,” implying, of course, that whatever these references say is either a lie or slanted. 

On the other hand, the letter writer’s references (and, hence, the facts they use to form their conclusions) are, of course, right and anyone who doesn’t believe they are right is either an unmitigated dunderhead or in bed with those “self serving special interest groups” and those evil “private industry public relations teams.”  

In very short order, I could describe the steps that I have taken to obtain an accurate rifle and the process I followed to develop the load I use to harvest my winter meat. It took a lot of research and a protracted course of trial and error but the end result was worth it. In the final analyses, the quest for an accurate rifle helped me to understand that there is no one universally accepted configuration for an accurate rifle. Perhaps more importantly, though, it helped me realize that a sincere desire to learn something makes the learning process a whole lot more enjoyable.  

Without stretching this analogy to its breaking point, then, my simple point is this: There are a lot of things taking place right now that are going to have a far greater impact on Bloodsporters than the configuration of our deer rifles. I can give you the details on my rifle just as I can give you my opinions on the way Bloodsporters should respond to the politically charged issues of the day. But I can not develop your interest and I can not force you to get involved.  

From start to finish, I probably read – or talked to – twenty different accuracy experts and, while there were a few things (like the characteristics of a good trigger) they agreed on, they each had their own ideas. And they loved to argue about them. I can not recall, however, one of these experts ever calling the others dunderheads (or industry shills) for having a different opinion. 

So here’s hoping you do your own research and develop your own opinions because the future of the Bloodsports depends on it. Just be leery of anyone who tries to convince you that – based on their research – there’s only one universally accepted way to create an accurate rifle.