My dad, brother, and I are going to the Quigley match in Forsythe, MT this year. Anyone else going, and do you have any recommendations?

Dave

Hold into the wind!

Some more info such as where and when would help! Thank you. derf

Derf:

The Quigley Match is June 19 and 20, 2004 in Forsythe, Montana.

Take plenty of shade, water, ammo, and a gun cart.
Doz

Here's how it was for last year at Q2003:

The 40/65 Lever Rifle at Q2003

by Forrest Asmus

This year, instead of shooting the expensive, purpose-built singleshot rifle for the Quigley Down Under I decided to shoot the M1895 Marlin hunting rifle I wrote about back in 2000. That story was about rebarreling the Marlin to 40/65 and the hunting subsequently done with the outfit.

That first hunt used Lyman 412263 at about 286 grains, 33 grains Data 4197, and 14 grains Hominy Grits filler. This load worked well but the bullet was a little light and I had to file off the round nose in order make enough of a flat nose to accommodate use in the tubular magazine. In order to get a better bullet I ordered a somewhat modified 320 grain NEI design for the rifle. This bullet has been used for hunting with great success ever since. Then, one day in October 2002 I got the idea to take the rifle up and shoot it alongside the other fellows on the long range buffalo rifle range we have here in Sheridan, just for fun you understand.

The shooting went amazingly well and I began thinking about ways to modify the sights so I would be able to shoot all the targets: The as issued Williams receiver sight I had on the rifle for hunting didn't have enough elevation to reach any further than the 440 yard "Bear". I had some home made sight extensions that allowed me try it out the next week for all the distances. Then, even with the NEI flat nosed hunting bullet I was amazed at the accuracy I was able to get out of the rifle at extended ranges, right out to 834 yards.

I was getting interested by now, so I had a machinist friend make an extended sight staff for the Williams base which was tall enough to reach the 800 yard distance. I added a Lyman 17A front sight and borrowed a SAECO #640 bullet mold from a Sheridan shooter to improve the overall long range capability of the rifle.

The SAECO 640 is a 385 grain bullet, not intended for lever rifles at all, being too long and pointed for any tubular magazine. But, I knew I could single load for the type shooting I was interested in doing and it is a very good 40 caliber long range design.

I worked up a load for the rifle and bullet that shoots fairly well. For me in this type of rifle and especially the long range game I have found that ultimate accuracy at 100 yards from the bench is not necessarily the ideal combination for shooting over the cross sticks at the longer distances, but that is another story. l also had to contend with the lever rifle variables that are unavoidable. Things like the way the forend and magazine tube are attached to the barrel and receiver enter into the accuracy question far more than any of the singleshot rifles or bolt guns I'm more familiar with.

My best load wound up being the SAECO #640 at 385 grains, lubed with Javelina, 18 grains IMR SR4759, case filler of 1/4 sheet T/P and a 0.050 card wad just under the bullet base. This load is assembled to give an overall length that forces the bullet into the origin of the rifling when the action is closed. It will shoot five into 2 MOA at 100 yards, but it shoots reliably and with the Standard Deviation of 8 ft/sec in all temperatures.

In practice, shooting alongside purpose-built Sharps rifles at long range I soon found that I was giving away some performance. Basic accuracy wasn't the problem: There just wasn't any way I could match the long sight radius provided by 30 inch barrels and tang mounted sights. My relatively light 9 pound rifle just isn't as stable as their 12 LB (or heavier) rifles off the sticks. And my sights, even though they will reach the distances required, are relatively clumsy and slow to adjust as compared to the fine target sights mounted on the typical buffalo rifle.

None-the-less I liked shooting it very much. It was a different rifle, a challenge to shoot well and I found myself thinking seriously about using it for the Quigley match. I was encouraged in this because the match recognizes and provides awards for several different classes of rifle. These are Trapdoor, Ballard, Rolling Block and Lever Rifle. Such diversified classifications increase the appeal of the match by realistically comparing certain rifle designs to others of the same type. In December I went out to the shed, carefully cast a lot of "Match" bullets and set them aside to age.

The Quigley Match is always held on Father's Day weekend. By that time I had spent a fair amount of time shooting the Marlin. I was confident the rifle and load were up to the match and I worked hard to improve my own performance.

This Journal has covered the Quigley match before so I won't go into much detail about the course of fire. Suffice to say that there are 6 steel targets set from 220 yards for the offhand "Bucket" to the 783 yard "Buffalo". I was happy to see that Al Lee, the match organizer, had fed up his buffalo so that he wasn't so skinny as in previous years.

Upon arrival on the Friday before Father's Day I met fellow shooter and TFS contributor Mustafa Curtess who had come all the way up from the Texas Gulf Coast just to shoot the match in Montana. We got together and set out to get sight settings for all the distances with our respective rifles. He had his Danish Rolling Block in 44/63 with settings to confirm from last year and I had the Marlin for its first time on the Forsyth firing line. All went well, sight settings were acquired and the record shooting began the next day with 465 shooters on the line!

It was a hot week on the Montana prairie this June and with the number of shooters the match progressed relatively slowly. The wind was fairly light but could still easily drift the shots off one side or the other of the targets. My shooting went well enough I guess, but at first I was affected by my feeling that I should be shooting as well as the singleshot fellows alongside me even though I knew I had chosen equipment that just couldn't do it. After awhile I settled down and enjoyed the shooting very much. Just keeping track of the other shooters who were using lever rifles made it clear I was still in the running for the Class, even if the high scores went right on by. My personal high point was "running" the 360 yard "Diamond"; 8 shots, 8 hits. The most difficulty was, as usual, the offhand. I had fired hundreds of rounds in offhand practice during the winter and spring in preparation for this stage, but as it happened, right when it was my turn to stand up and shoot, the wind came up to 15 to 18 right from 9 o'clock, making it extra tough to hold well at all. Darn!

I finished with a 32. I know the rifle is capable of shooting higher scores but given the conditions I was happy enough, especially when my name was called for Class winner.

In closing I feel that shooting this basic hunting rifle in a demanding long range match was an extra dose of challenging fun. The load and rifle performed perfectly throughout the shooting and I plan on doing it again as soon as possible.

Thank you L-N-B, and as to taking guns from Canada,both fed govts are kinda down on that just now. derf

Derf - Not all that hard. If you go into Canada, there is a form to fill out available from the Canadian Firearms internet site. You pay $50 Canuckbucks to take one in. Flintlocks are exempt, as are pre-1896 singleshot firearms. US requires a BATF Form 6 for import for citizens buying guns there, but for the purposes of competition and personal use, I don't believe there are that many restrictions. Call US Customs, 406-889-3865, and Canadian Customs, 250-887-3473. These numbers are for our local crossing here in western Montana, and these guys have a fair amount of firearms go through.Three of us crossed last weekend with no problems.

Derf,

As long as you are a a "citizen" and not a perpetrator the US Customs Officers will treat you well. Law abiding citizens are NOT who they are looking for.

Enjoy the Shoot.

FN in MT

Well I am a Canadian citizen but at the moment the RA portion of the CCRA isn't all that pleased with me. I used a legel method to opt out of our income tax system.
Even if I wasn't shooting,it would be way cool to see the good shooters in action. derf

Forrest, Enjoyed the story as always. One of these days I'll be able to make it to that match.

Nevada duke, over and out.