Gary and I got in a good range session yesterday. Not a lot of data collection, but a lot of knocking around steel targets, and a few groups at 50 yards. It was more of a "fun shoot" kind of day.



Gary brought along a rifle I'd last seen in September as an unfinished 58 "shop gun." Close to completion, it's now the 58 Rendezvous, a compact yet powerful hunting rifle. It's a lot lighter than the 58 Carnivore (600 fpe) but is in the 575 fpe range.

It uses the same slide breech that Keith's 45 Rendezvous and my 45 Scout also share. You can see it slides freely under the scope's objective bell.



Check out the detail on the receiver.



It always gives me great pleasure to tease Gary about being the guy who builds the world's most expensive airguns and then mounts the world's cheapest optics on them. But hey, the Centerpoint did its job.

I had out the Delta 45 Custom yesterday. Here's a good pic which gives you a sense of the rifle's size. Gary's bench rifles are long and heavy, for maximum stability.



Recently, Gary found the original elevation knob (complete with original tape!), anodized to match the rest of the aluminum parts on the rifle. He had it squirreled away in the shop mounted on one of his old Tasco Custom Shop scopes (perhaps the original scope for this rifle). We put it back on the Delta 45 and I found the tape to be pretty closely calibrated to my own Custom Shop scope. This pretty much emulates the rifle's original setup from Standing Stone 3.

Check out those colors!



So, how's it shoot?



I only shot about four groups yesterday -- all at 50 yards -- and this was by far the best one. The rifle really, really likes the 281 grain Bishops sized to .4515"

Does it hit hard?



Oh yeah. Here's some pretty dramatic evidence of how the 235 grain Shrikes from Surefire (thanks Jerry!) simply shatter against the steel plates at 50 yards. I wouldn't even call these "petals" -- more like lead crumbs. You can see how they continued their exodus from the POI and hit the steel foot of the target, blowing off more paint. All I found was a purple "hubcap" and some of these tiny pieces of lead. The larger impact is from one of Gary's 58 slugs. You can see one of the leftover purple flakes by the righthand corner of the target's base.

Here's another one:



This shot, being a little low, hit the foot / base joint of the target and redirected most of the lead at a 45 degree angle upward. Some of it caught one of Gary's 58 impact craters and took the paint off of the far side of that depression on the way out. You can learn a lot about of these slugs behave by studying lead smears, removed paint, and the debris they leave behind.

Mostly, we pounded steel targets yesterday at distances between 40 and 128 yards. Both of us were regularly hitting the 100+ yard targets.

Here's Gary in the War Wagon putting the 58 Rendezvous through its paces. Notice that the slide breech is open and loading port is ready to accept a slug.



The setting sun really brings out the colors in the Delta!



We shot until it got dark, and were treated to a beautiful sunset and moonrise.



I took this pic of the range just before we rolled out for the day.



Hope to get some more chrony and BC data on the Bishops, Peppergrinders, and Avalanches next time.

-- Jim



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/2008 02:34PM by Jim.

Great report Jim and excellent photography. It's wonderful that Gary found the original scope knob. It looks great on the rifle. I'm surprised the original owner didn't buy it and then lose it for you!

Gary,
I liked that slider. It really makes a sleek looking gun. When you open it do you use 2 fingers or do you just use your palm to slide it.? I like the longer fore stock.

The guns are in about the same power range. Jim is your gun about 2 or 3 pounds heavier?
Is it easier to cock with the lever mounted aft like that? Keith had the same setup. Dory

Hi Dory,

The breech doesn't offer any resistance. It just slides on O rings. I just use the thumb and index finger to operate it. It works because the pressure is 90 degrees to the axis of movement, and the O rings "grab tight" during the duration of the firing cycle. Very simple and clean. I don't claim it's design. I just modified it for my use.

Yes - the rifle is far lighter than Jim's gun. But, Jim's is a Bench Rifle, mine's a Sporting Rifle /Hunter. The "next generation" of Barnes rifles.

Gary

Tag on here it answer what's become a FAQ for e-mail.

Yes ... this series of rifles makes it much simplier to change calibers. One rifle could be set up to easily accept different barrels. The 58 rifled to 62 smoothy is a nice change. 58 to 45, 32 is a fine change. Changing to a 25 would require that the 25 be shrouded (or sheathed with a full length barrel) as the 25 barrels have too small of an O.D. to stand alone.

If I ever get back to re-opening the ledger, it will be for a limited selection of this rifle model.

Gary

barnespneumatic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tag on here it answer what's become a FAQ for
> e-mail.
>
> Yes ... this series of rifles makes it much
> simplier to change calibers. One rifle could be
> set up to easily accept different barrels. The 58
> rifled to 62 smoothy is a nice change. 58 to 45,
> 32 is a fine change. Changing to a 25 would
> require that the 25 be shrouded (or sheathed with
> a full length barrel) as the 25 barrels have too
> small of an O.D. to stand alone.
>
> If I ever get back to re-opening the ledger, it
> will be for a limited selection of this rifle
> model.
>
> Gary


I really like the looks of that Rendezvous... one in .32 would make a very excellent squirrel gun, so long as you took only head shots. Or barked them off the trees. I like that long, slender look. For a moment, though, I thought it was a muzzle-loader. Neat breach design, but I wonder what the wear is on the O-rings, and how long they last? And how easy they'd be to change, too. Would that cover just slide off the end of the barrel, once you removed that front bracket? Personally, I think anodizing the trigger guard/bracket, or perhaps doing both in brass, would add a touch of flair. Gary, if you haven't, I hope you get a chance to shoot that Rendezvous in the hunting field... ought to work jim dandy! Or, if it goes to a customer, I hope they take it hunting, and come here to tell us about their adventure. I'd like to hear how that rifle works in the field (if I haven't already, and forgotten about it).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Scout 45 is actually an excellent candidate for such a 32 conversion, and it already has the slide breech on its 45 barrel (mine is brass). The Scout's barrel threads out so you could just swap in a 32 barrel / slide breech.



It's less powerful than these .45s (about 150 fpe with roundball / 180 fpe with slugs), but it's shorter and lighter than the "new" 45 Rendezvous class (and easier to cock and quieter). Just depends what you want.

-- Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2009 02:39PM by Jim.

Humm, I think an extra barrel in .58 would work just fine on my rifle.

Gary, what do you think?

Keith

Just to tag on here re. the O rings.

Easy to change once the barrel is off the gun. You could do so by sliding the thing down the whole barrel, but you could be sure there'd be that hidden pc. O grit that would scratch the barrel all the way down. Sliding off the back would be the recommended method.

Several hundred rounds at 500+ fpe have not effected the O rings. It's part of the build to insure that the mechanism allows them to last as long as possible.

Gary

Roose,
I'm wondering why you think the .32 would require only head shots on squirrels? I'm going to guess that it is because any other shot would destroy so much meat that it would not be worth cooking the remains...

Jerry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Roose,
> I'm wondering why you think the .32 would require
> only head shots on squirrels? I'm going to guess
> that it is because any other shot would destroy so
> much meat that it would not be worth cooking the
> remains...


Yes, that is my thought... besides, head shots are a challenge!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dory,

I tried Keith's, Sliding the breech cover and loading is amazingly smooth!

Hi Jim,

Excellent post. Thanks. That was a nice addition to the Holiday break.

That Delta of yours was a great snag. I know you found it on the internet classified from an Estate sale. Very glad to see it have another fine home.

Gary

Remember Jim,

With your "Expensive Optics" , you should be able to shoot rings around my "po' boy Chineese glass".

Gary

Gary,

Yeah, I like the "new" slimmer, lighter guns. Very practical from a hunting standpoint. Just looking at it, doesn't look like it would have that much power. I also like the 700+ power of the Yukon class. But you can't have both.

You guys need to find a 200-300yd range. Buy a ATV that fits in the back of the war wagon. So you can explore the long range limits of these guns and leave some lead you can look at. Dory

Love the schnabell style front end , very sleek looking gun there , the carvings a bit tasty too mind ,,lol , all in all a very interesting report , how about a pic of the carnivore , the pics seem to have come up in standard , is that a new camera , or software , the colours are very vibrant , happy new year to all , regards tom

Hi Tom,

That's Jim's fancy Nikon. You could buy a basket full of my little pocket Sony's for it. That, and the excellent light yesterday - especially near sundown. When you can get that golden light, under the cloud cover, it's always special. Mostly ... camera quality though.

Dory,

Yeah, I agree. I can't understand why Jerry or Jim (or both) don't buy a nice ranch, where we could shoot , and ride ATVs out to the long targets. Hunt and fish . Canoe for miles around the lake. Have long conversations on a nice deep porch with coffee and pie. It would really raise the quality of life around here, I can tell you!

Gary

Hi Tom:

I'm using an old Nikon D70 shooting in RAW mode. Not bad for a five year old camera. But digital SLR is the way to go, if you can deal with the extra weight. Nothing like having a real (mechanical) shutter, real lenses, and a monster image sensor! Shooting in RAW mode lets you tweak the exposure and white balance etc. in Photoshop later on.

You can pick up a used D70 body on eBay for less than $400 now. Nikon's new semi-pro / pro DSLRs are amazing.

-- Jim

Gary,

I thought that what you were looking for something Southern with all that space.

Land, probably, is at it's best value right now.

Maybe we ought to all pitch in, buy a big place down South, with room for some snowbird cabins and a shop for you. Last month Kimball Intl. sold off all their land holdings KY/IN 27,000 acres in different sizes, for and average of $1800 acre. It was almost all timberland.

I know some companies in South are probably doing same thing. Dory



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/2008 10:10PM by Dory.

Gary,

I like the way you rounded the receiver and the leaf engraving. Someone is going to be very happy.

BTW - Where did you get the Rendezvous's scope mounts? I've been looking for a new set to raise the elevation of the scope on mine and can not find them.

Keith

Keith,

Jerry found them. He got tired of hearing me whine about not being able to find them, that he just ordered a set for me. I'll have to dig up the invoice .... wait .... might have been "Optics World".

Gary

Keith,

Those scope mounts are pretty pedestrian in they are the ones I sent Gary. I owed him some extra high mounts for the ones I stole when I took delivery of the Prairie. The ones in the pictures above are just some other mounts I tossed in to keep him from whining about never having the right mounts. I think those are Leapers high mounts but I'm not sure anymore...

Jerry,

Good to know. I've been looking for a set for weeks now and have been unable to find an extra high set. I will keep looking now that I have an idea of the brand.

Thanks,

Keith

Great post and pictures. Thats what i love about seeing the Barnes guns...they are powerful and even moreso the are accurate. That steel plates looks to b in a world of hurt.

hi jim ,
the res is certainly working , pics help the colours in the anodising and the figure in the wood really leap out , trouble is , now gary needs one too.

Hey Tom,

Yeah ... you'd think if there was a new Nikon out that Jim wanted, he'd toss that old worn out model to a deserving airgunsmith ....

hehe.

Gary

well to be honnest ,to throw it over to a genuine careing needy second user would only be the decent thing to do ,,,, do ya reccon he will get the hint soon ....

That's right Tom. Recycling (so to speak) would be the "Green" thing to do.

Gary

Ahhh... so the barrel unscrews! I didn't know it would do so, I figured it was solidly mounted like most gun-barrels I'm familiar with. Nice, to design it that way, for ease of maintenance. Thanks for the info, Jim. Gary, I take it the Rendezvous is made the same way?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are various methods to attaching the barrels on airguns.

All barrels are attached in some manner or another that allow them to be removed. While it might not be a "user" application, it's not required that users perform such maintenance. It might be expected that some "service' would be done to accompany any need to remove the barrel.

Airguns do allow barrel attachmenbt methods that can be easier to service. We're not working with 50,000 + psi as in firearms.

I make barrels that thread in, or, in some cases, they thread into carriers which are retained by other methods.

Gary

Sounds good....

Given your pieces are custom, it's good to know they have been made this way. If something goes wrong with a "company" made gun, you know they'll still be there (hopefully) in the future, should anything need service and/or repair. Being a one-man business, I imagine returning a gun for service thirty years from now would be... how shall I put this?... impractical. Nice to have those little wear and tear parts serviceable by the user. I imagine it also makes them easier on you, when it comes to putting them together. You did mention all the changes in the models you've made were also intended to "ease manufacture", by taking a modular approach. Wish more manufactures took such factors into consideration, but then, quite a few things nowadays are meant to be used and thrown away, all part of "planned obsolescence"....

I have to say, one slick rifle!

-------------------------------------------------------

So there's no misunderstanding ... actually; very, very few things involving my guns are intended for the owner to service. They are quite complex, and HP air is quite unforgiving.

However; a skilled tech., with the proper background and tools, will recognize the machinery and understand what I've done. There will always be those skilled individuals. Part of any sport or discipline, is seeking out those people in your particular field of interest. Thus, you can have an antique pocketwatch serviced today, in spite of the fact that the maker died two hundred years ago.

Anything that is well made, will have been thought out with future service and/or repair, in mind. Above, I intended to indicate that I have thought through the service phases of my designs. I don't use anything that is going to stand out as a single weak link. By the time some of the seals are tired (and require renewing) it should be time to service the entire unit.

Final point, since I know you are seeking to understand the product; no, actually, it is far more work for myself (or any good craftsman) to make the units with future service in mind. The easy thing to do would be to let the future worry about itself. It takes better engineering, and finer workmanship, to make a product that can be disassembled over and over throughout the next hundred years, and not become degraded by the process.

Best,

Gary

Gary,

There are many things I would not attempt to service because I lack the understanding of the technology. HP air is one, Thats not to say I could not learn, but I would need more tools (which is not a bad thing) and somebody elses stuff to practice with. I'll send mine in, or better yet, I'll bring it in when work needs to get done. Now if you need to replace a screen or battery on an iPod, a hard drive on a laptop or desktop, recover lost/deleted data, or an action job on a S&W revolver and any modern Colt, give me a call.

Keith



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2009 01:07AM by Keith.

there in are words of wisdom ,,, oh could you engrave on the side ,,,,,, no user servicable parts inside ,,,lol , sick of seeing it on todays junk ,,, and to make sure , they fit security screws ,,, why , if theres nothing inside to service do they fit security screws to stop you looking ,,,, todays rant over , sorry Gary

Ahhh, see, I've learned something... Old Dogs are not unteachable! Well, Gary, let's just say you've made it easy for some future craftsperson to service your guns. It's just, well, you make it look easy. As for those security screws, Dyson? That's liability insurance, really, so the maker can say "See, we tried to discourage user servicing, but this idiot still tore open our product, despite the warnings and our special care in using proprietary fasteners, and killed himself in the process. Not our fault!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2009 03:50AM by Roose Hurro.

I don't know about you guys, but personally I'm planning on Gary being around for AT LEAST thirty more years. In fact at the rate at which he's introducing new models which we "gotta have" , he'll have a hard time catching up with the backlog of add-ons even if it turns out that he's immortal. ; )

C'mon Gary, our needs are simple: One of each model you've ever produced (fully carved and customized, of course), with a barrel in every caliber ever invented, with every conceivable accessory you've ever produced including multiple-cavity molds in all bullet designs from ultra-light to ultra-heavy in half-grain intervals.

I mean, how hard could THAT be anyway?

Sean,

You could not have described the LEDGER, any more accurately.

Better get back to the shop ...

Well, it worked yesterday. Since nobody reports shooting anything of mine in the field ... I'll show previous posts. Great guns. Great targets. They will play again just fine. The idea that all of this work is only "fresh" for one range session ... never to be heard from again .... just eats at my very last atom. If it had happened once ... it would be an irritation. The fact that it's happened scores upon scores of times, just sparks my last nerve.

Happens that we have heard from these again. One was locked away for about 6 years, but resurfaced under new ownership. The other I took hunting last season.

Anyway - I'll "play it again".

I don't know what's in the commentaries above. Most of our threads get hyjacked pretty thoroughly. haha.

Gary

Hey, I still shoot mine!

-- Jim

Great looking bigbores!! I like them.

Nothing wrong with a replay. Just as good as last time!
Cheers
Neil