Our Featured Shooter Bob Hightshoe and the story of his rifle.
My Project Rifle
Last year (2009) was the first time I ever shot a rifle from the bench. Shane Seals from the Josephville Gun Shop invited me to shoot in a Vintage Benchrest Match. The only rifle I had was my "squirrel gun" a Weatherby XXII automatic from the mid-1960's that I considered a great shooter.
At the competition, most folks were shooting bolt action rifles. Reportedly, these Anschutz, Suhl and CZ types are the best actions for accuracy. However, I noticed a fellow (Bob Micketts) shooting a "falling block" action and doing quite well for himself. I was instantly hooked on the falling block design and began the search for a rifle of my own. I wanted a Steven's Walnut Hill like Bob's but I soon learned I wasn't a good enough shot to handle the rough trigger pull on the Walnut Hill.
One day, while searching Web sites, I found a German, F.R. Langenhan, falling block .22 caliber rifle with a double set trigger. Sadly, the rifle had never been blued and was rusty/pitted. The stock was broken in two pieces and the seller had no idea of the shooting condition or quality of the bore. I rationalized, made in Germany was good . . . I could find a stock and a barrel . . . have parts made . . . have the gun blued somewhere and . . . well you know.
The rifle arrived with a letter from the seller stating that his Uncle Leroy had brought the rifle back from Germany at the end of WWII believing it would be a good shooter. Even though there was no manufacturer's name on the rifle, he was told it had been made in 1938 by the renowned F.R. Langenhan. Apparently, the stock was broken in a move and Uncle Leroy never shot the rifle. After he died, his wife had no need for the gun and asked relatives to sell it for her.
I showed the rifle to Glenn Hachey and he checked the barrel thoroughly with his bore scope. He then "slugged" the barrel and declared its condition, "Excellent." Shane checked out the action and trigger mechanism and he also gave the rifle a thumbs up. Both agreed it would still be a gamble to fix the rifle up. I needed a stock made and since I don't know anyone who does that kind of work I asked around. Glenn and Lee Lawson both mentioned the name Wenig Gun Stocks outside of Sedalia, MO. A three hour drive took me to Wenigs. They copied the original stock which had a cheek plate for a right handed shooter. Since I shoot left handed, I created a design with a cheek plate on both sides of the butt stock. I never understood why this hadn't been done before. The stock ended up costing more than the rifle.
I had the gun blued and it turned out looking really good. The only problem, the guy blued all of the action parts and the gun would no longer shoot. Shane figured out that the tolerances were so tight on the gun that the bluing needed to be removed from the action parts to make the gun work correctly. A few hours of strategic sanding and polishing with steel wool and we were back in business.
Glenn invited me to accompany him to the range and he brought along his "rail" so we could test the Langenhan for accuracy without shooter interference. Wow! The old gun showed great potential. My squirrel rifle would be jealous.
The rifle needed a scope and I have struggled with every scope I've ever tried. Getting a parallax free scope, with clear glass and providing enough light for me to see the X-ring clearly has been an expensive and frustrating struggle. I'm currently using a Sightron 10/50/60 with side focus. I didn't really want a variable scope and 24X would be strong enough however the 60mm objective lens lets in the light I need to see the X-ring clearly. The downside to this scope is that the setting for a parallax free view is almost impossible to achieve and even more difficult to keep. I am fortunate to be able to shoot at home. I had the rifle sighted in perfectly shooting a 245 out of 250 with 14 x's. I put the rifle in its case, took it to the range and everything had changed. My first four shots were in the black outer circle of the bulls eye. The fifth shot was dead center and the sixth shot was an inch below the bulls eye. Disappointing to say the least. I'm still guessing as to what all had changed.
The rifle/scope combination appear to have great potential. I just wish I was better at this.
Bob Hightshoe