I've been lucky enough to add another Barnes rifle to the stable. This Barnes Victory 32 SS originally belonged to Bob Erwin (of Erwin Cup fame). It has passed through several other collectors until it found its way to me, where it will be staying for the forseeable future.



It is brushed stainless, shrouded, with a brass two-stage trigger and power adjust. "Tweed" Type J laminated stock. That's a new Sightron "Big Sky" 4-16x42mm AO mildot scope . . . waiting for a BKL silver cantilevered mount to get here. I didn't really want to mount a big target scope on the pistol, so this was a good compromise. I ran a few test shots through the pistol earlier today . . . everything seems to be fine mechanically. It's about 25" long. One of the previous owners had glued some sandpaper strips to the pistol grip for some reason. I peeled them off and then used denatured alcohol to dissolve the rest of the adhesive to a "goo" that could be wiped off. Still a little work to do there, but the wood and finish underneath seems to be fine.

Here's a pic that Kent had posted earlier of Bob shooting it at the "Homestead Cup":



All in all, seems to be in great shape. I'm thinking it will do double-duty at the range as well as here at the ranch.

-- Jim



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2010 12:42AM by admin.

Watcha gonna shoot with that son?

Congratulations. Funny how that picture makes it look like a 4' barrel!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2010 02:46AM by Jerry.

Oh no!!! You DIDN'T buy THAT gun???!!! Did you????





Had ya goin' there ....

Enjoy. Don't shoot 'yer eye out ...

Gary

Lucky bugger. That's a beautiful piece. I got to admit that I'm a bit jealous. The victory is definitely one of my favorites, and the brished stainless is awesome.

I'm curious as to how one gets into the pipeline of second hand Barnes guns.

Enjoy it for the rest of us.

No magic . . . just keep your eyes and ears open. There's no dealer or broker of used Barnes rifles. Occasionally, one will pop up somewhere -- even here on our own AR Classifieds. Be careful to check condition etc. BEFORE purchasing, ask for lots of detailed, close-up pictures, and remember that Gary doesn't have the bandwidth to fix any broken stuff right now, even if it's stuff that he made.

-- Jim

Jim

I think I read somewhere in the grid about being careful about making sure they're taken care of. They're not exactly cheap to begin with, but if you finally found one, paid for it and shipping, just to have it arrive and realize that it's got issues. That would be like someone licking all the tootsie off my pop.

Thanks for the hints guys. I'll keep my eye to the grindstone!

Griffin

Hey Griffin,

Used Barnes 101

You have to troll the gutter. Step over the winos. Try to find some poor slob that needs money to buy his twelve kids shoes. Then, when you find one ... be ruthless Jump up and down on the guy until he has no choice but to take the few measly bucks you offer.

And ... there ya go ... ya got your used pistol!

I hope this helps.



Quote: "There's nothin' like a well placed smilie"

Very nice pistol Jim, congrats!

Very spiffy find there. It is peculiar how the two photos make the barrel appear much longer or shorter, isn't it? Perhaps it's just seeing it with the original black "space telescope" optics on it.

It's that quartering angle with the pistol grip hidden that makes it look to be "all barrel". It's very managable, and handles well. Also fits really well in the "garter" under a little black dress (so my female spy customers tell me). I wouldn't know .... myself ....

Heheh . . . just thought of your Beau Peep costume for some reason . . . ugghh. Now I feel like I need a shower.

-- Jim

Jim,

If you are unable to control your thoughts, I see no reason why bathing will help ...

Jim,

Another NICE snag!

Lon

That is just about the nicest looking air pistol i've ever seen.

Thank you Cedric.

I had to work and work to get Jim to go ahead and buy it ...

Gary



I include a pic from last evening's "night shift". During the latest blizzard.



Oddly, it resembles a pic taken just moments ago ... during the latest blizzard ... when I shoveled to the shop to turn the heat up. And, on the way back, I decided to shovel oven the basement ramp's door. Well, the first shovel of snow was twice as heavy as I had prepared my back for. Right ... I felt the "zippppp" feeling under my belt. Owlllllllllhhhhlllll. Now ... some may wonder just WHY on EARTH someone with a bad back would do these things. It's because I sat in my leather wing back chair this am, and pulled the silk cord hanging from the ceiling, repeatedly. The entire staff simply ignored the summons. There shall be retribution for this most reprehensible act of insolence ... I assure you.

Gary

The Victory is now scoped, and I've got a bunch of slugs from Jerry to test. The BKL mount works great . . . eye relief is perfect. I am amazed at the clear picture out of this scope . . . very nice. I had never owned a Sightron before but took a chance after reading some favorable reviews, and don't think I will be disappointed.



Gotta cook up a better backstop solution for shooting around here at the ranch . . . this rifle puts out a bit more energy than my Marauder . . .

Oh, the scope looks a little "distorted" because I happened to have an ultrawide lens mounted on my camera and didn't feel like swapping it. The scope has normal dimensions like a "standard" scope would.

-- Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/13/2010 02:46PM by admin.

Now ... THAT is one SEXY looking rig Jim. Well done. It really looks great.

I got your backstop solution. Overturn your wheelbarrow, handles on the ground, wheel in the air, open bucket portion facing you, and leaning towards you at about 45 degrees. It will deflect your shots into the ground for collection. Put a pc. of cardboard, etc., on a stick or two in front of it to post your targets.

If you want to muffle the sound, put a couple of old blankets, etc, over the back of the bucket, and in contact with the metal to dampen the vibrations. Now - this precludes the notion that you have some "techy" plastic wheelbarrow .. which is bad for the environment and uses alot of hydrocarbons in it's production.

Glad I could help. Pictures will be required.

The gun looks great. Aren't you glad I talked you into it?

Gary

The gun looks great, the mount and the scope are a perfect match.

Now, no excuses, go shoot it! Your property can't possibly be so free of old crap and waste wood that you can't come up with a temporary backstop!

Thanks guys. I like the way it looks, too. I think the scope is a perfect match . . . a target scope would have been too big, and proportionally, this one is a great fit. Again, I'm kinda shocked by the big bright scope picture. The dots and reticle are much more usable than my Leupolds, too . . . the dots are spread out through most of the field of view rather than being crammed into the center, and the posts only extend about halfway to the center rather than through most of the viewing area. I think this may be because it's relatively low magnification (4-16x) for a mid-size objective (42mm) -- but it's also nice glass -- very bright and clear. I'm planning to shoot it between 25 and 65 yards mostly, unless I'm at the range. It has very generous, forgiving eye relief -- the "sweet spot" is pretty big. The mount is nice and compact.

Gary, the wheelbarrow is a great idea. We have a steel one, but right now there's about three feet of snow and ice between it and the target area. If it warms up a little more today, I'll see what I can do. Also -- I will indeed have to muffle it, or those buckshot and slugs impacting it will sound like someone chucking paint cans into a dumpster. Maybe I'll take a run up to Depot to get some duct sealer and affix it to the underside of the bucket . . .

-- Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2010 02:35PM by admin.

TSC store - either use truck mud flaps, or the big rubber floor "fatigue mats" they sell for cattle or to lay in the bottom of the pick-up turck bed. (Oh ... you can get your pick-up then too! .... ahah).

Gary

Nice one Jim, I think I saw that one posted for sale. If not it was another Barnes, ah well, all I could do was drool, congrats on a fine piece.

I always did like those Victory pistols. As I recall, they can turn into a carbine with a quick stock change, should you prefer.

I propose a new easy-fix target for you east coaster types, goes along with the current weather trends.

A bucket of water...frozen solid.

scope looks like it grew there ,,, oh i love stainless steel ,,,,, oh err