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You don't hear so much about it anymore. In my (eversohumble) opinion, that's too bad. It's a game that will treat you to curse words that you never even knew existed - possibly uttered from the guy on the line next to you (who may even be the local Pastor)....

Anybody that's never tried it, I encourage you to stand on your hind legs and, using one hand, see how good of a shot you really are. Slow Fire, Timed and Rapid Fire.

Those of you that have shot it - well, you know where I'm coming from.

What brought about this trip down memory lane?

Well, I've been fortunate in being called on over the years to build guns for some very good bullseye shooters, and we haven't exactly had a lot of bullseye threads on LTW, and the other day I was thumbing through some older pictures and happened across a couple of one of the last bullseye guns I built (in '01). The picture quality isn't so great (not a whole lot of pixels on cameras then).

The final pic is a scanned copy of a target that the owner of said gun sent me. The comments written on it were his. I'd say the man knows how to stand on his hind legs and squeeze a trigger, wouldn't you?


Still 'in the white' after a test fire session:




Finished and ready to ship:




Customer feedback:

_________________
CT Brian Custom
'Blending Art With Firepower'

Tim, Yeah, I'd say he know his business with a paper gun. Always my favorite type of shooting. Too bad it's not as popular as it once was.

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Don Williams
http://www.theactionworks.com
http://www.ltwguns.com

A testament to precision building. I still have a 38 wadgun that I can't hit the broadside of a barn with 2 hands, with. Very nice Mr. Brian. Barrel fit is barrel fit. Nice group

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http://www.warnerpistols.com/
cvwinabq@live.com
Rio Rancho New Mexico

"I like double barrels....Aprilia, Ducati, and sxs rifles"

Very nice indeed--
though I don't shoot in the comp, I go to the monthly bullseye matches to watch the shooters down here.
There's three Clarks in various configurations, as well as a Swenson and a Chow that still see action every month at the shoot, and always walk away the top Five.
What you've got there is a real wadcutter. Put some strike serrations down the front strap and you'd have a deadset look-alike for the Chow.

What bushing barrel combinations did you use?

After seeing your cutdown and compensated models for years-- if I've said it once, I'll say it again-- I believe this is 20 years I've been reading about your work-- there's something just something captivating to see something NOT so radically resized and tooled down.

Pretty sure that was a Kart barrel & either a Bar Sto or NM bushing. At least that's what I always tried to use on bullseye guns.

A pity more people haven't started their handgunning lessons in life with bullseye. It sets a great foundation of 'sight alignment and trigger squeeze'. Those are the two things that are applicable to any other handgun doctrine.

I remember the first Masters (in '86 or '87). Most of the shooters did pretty well in the speed and long range competitions, but when they stepped up to the line for the 'precision event', there were a lot of smiles that got turned upside down in short order. The 'precision event' was really nothing more than glorified and modified bullseye, but there weren't a lot of 'run & gun' shooters at the time that had been disciplined in bullseye. A gentleman by the name of Allen Fulford (who was a bullseye shooter) cleaned some clocks that day.

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CT Brian Custom
'Blending Art With Firepower'

Tim,

I have had the opportunity to shoot true bullseye a few times. It is the most humbling shooting experience a fella can imagine. There have been a few miraculously tight groups where the gun, load, and apparently, I, did what we were supposed to do. There have been a lot more, however, where the same gun and load couldn't group for anything. It couldn't have been me, could it?

My gunsmith, Dave Sams, is a bullseye and competitive shooting gunsmith by nature, so getting him to dress up a gun is something he often responds to by saying, "It's just gonna get coated in rosin and have all the bluing worn off, so why should it be pretty?" But, you're right, alot of people would be quite disappointed in their ability, or lack thereof, if they tried their hand (singular) at bullseye. I know I have been.

I hope this thread picks up and stays around a while.

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

I knew Mr. Fulford from back in the day. Two things were evident about him, he was a real gentleman and he would spank you all around any shooting sport that had any element of accuracy to it!

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shop.HarrisonCustom.com
www.HarrisonCustom.com

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.

I never had a chance to meet Fulford, However, he shot beside Greg Tucker and another member of our clubback then--but it was Tucker who taught me the most about the shooting disciplines, and the very first 1911 I shot was the same Clark .45 Bullseye he used in the '87 Masters against Fulford.
Fulford's name is legend here-- to my knowledge, we're the only range offering bullseye matches in Georgia besides a few select shooting clubs in Atlanta and Savannah. At the same time, Greg always used him as the golden standard for what a shooter must be in terms of character and precision.

Thanks for sharing CT-- your work always provides food for thought, and as always, stands as a point of inspiration for those of us just now learning the art.

Ed Braun wrote:

"Thanks for sharing CT-- your work always provides food for thought, and as always, stands as a point of inspiration for those of us just now learning the art."

Good Gawd Ed. Brians ego is big enough - don't go telling him stuff like that.

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Don Williams
http://www.theactionworks.com
http://www.ltwguns.com

The numbers of shooters at Camp Perry have actually been on the uptick. They have added some new matches with revolvers and a youth camp with matches that follow. many of the old BE smiths have passed and younger ones are making more IDPA and IPSC guns. Les Baer and Rock River produce very nice out of the box guns which are favored by many newbies. I've been making a few 1911 9mm's for BE which is the trend at the moment. Greg

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www.derrprecision.com

I knew Allen as well...treachorously smooth ie fast....lol

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http://www.warnerpistols.com/
cvwinabq@live.com
Rio Rancho New Mexico

"I like double barrels....Aprilia, Ducati, and sxs rifles"

Wow!!!

CT its beautiful! Incredible accuracy--wow!

Do you still build Bulls Eye Colt's? Mr Clark was a great bulls eye shooter too.

Im not in any of the shooting sports, but Bulls Eye looks very intriguing to me.

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The Spirit of God hath made me, the breath of the Almighty hath given me life

I'm pretty sure I've got a few bullseye guns on the waiting list.

Mr. Jim was indeed a mighty fine bullseye shooter. And don't forget Gil Hebard.

If you're thinking about taking the plunge into any of the shooting sports, I can't recommend bullseye highly enough as the starting point. Years down the road when you're wearing that straight jacket, you'll thank me.

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CT Brian Custom
'Blending Art With Firepower'

Great thread, Tim.

When I started shooting IPSC, I heard it many times: "Bullseye shooters make the best speed shooter". And it is oh-so-true. You can pull the trigger as fast as you want but it's meaningless if you're not controlling it and using the sights right. I've seen so many guys get into IPSC and think it was about making loud noises in rapid succession, pay no mind to the D's and misses. Bullseye shooters stuck to the fundamentals of sight alignement and trigger control, got the hits and picked up speed as they gained experience in combat shooting. Even at slow speed a guy who gets the hits wins.....

Does a bullseye gun have to be super-tight to shoot a group like that? I never built one.

Yes, Mr Fulford was a great shooter and fine gentleman. But he didn't tolerate fools well, although he could still remain a perfect gentleman throughout the encounter. I remember one in particular who he found to be an oxygen thief at best. Oddly enough, John Harrison has met that individual, too. We had an email conversation about him several years ago. I digress. Mr. Fulford was one of a breed that is passing too fast. Here's to fond memories of a great gent.

I really like BE guns and early ones really get me going, so I thought I'd post a couple of pics of a pair of late 60's Giles wadguns I own. A .38 special conversion and a .45 complete with original test targets and letters of correspondence to the original owner.
These are old school by todays standards, but first rate work none the less. Peened rails, squeezed slides, welded bbl's, and bushings that were bored and sleeved. Both of these feature Giles' heavy extended ribs and adjustable sights. They also feature an oversize slide stop pin and the frame was fitted with a hardened bushing for the oversize pin to ride in.
Sorry for the lousy pics. I'll try to get better ones up.

I have handled a few Giles bullseye guns and the workmanship is as good as anything out there today in the mechanical department.
Just look at those test targets

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"The most effective armor is to keep out of range"-Italian proverb

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I recently lost one of my favorite golf buddies to bullseye shooting. Seemed golf wasn't frustrating enough for him


If you see him at Camp Perry, tell him I miss him - he's hard to miss - big guy with a beard, wears a lot of Springfield clothes, not too bad a shooter, either

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Heirloom Precision, LLC.
480-804-1911

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

TR

Ted-- that sounds about like most of the shooters from my necks of the Woods that head to Perry.
Not to drag us of topic from a wonderful build--
But in looking at the Giles, and having seen pachmayer and Clarks, has anyone got any pictures of a Swenson BE? His accuracy demands were more than critical just for his other builds.

That's a nice set of Giles, dmiculek. They definitely appear to be up to the task.


I seem to recall telling that yayhoo several years ago to try that 'one handed shootin stuff', Ted. I'm thinking that's right about the time he took up golf..... Coincidence? Hmm....

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CT Brian Custom
'Blending Art With Firepower'

Those pistols are far more up to the task than I am.
I got interested in BE when I had to shoot the short course with our duty weapon to get accepted in P.O.S.T. instructors class.
Stopped by my brothers place one day after a dept. ppc match and browse around the Clark range.
Went inside to say hello and Mr Jim invited me over to meet Bill Blankenship.
I mentioned my newly aquired interest in BE and asked for any tips.
Both gents smiled and said, after having a good pistol and good ammo it only took three things:
Perfect sight alignment.
Perfect grip.
Perfect trigger squeeze/follow through.
Gleened a lot of info from those two gentlemen. Used some (actually quite alot) of it to make the cut to get into that instructor school.

Tim

Like I mentioned in the email not sure if that is the exact gun, but my BE gun was made by you in 2001 also, I bought if from another shooter, and it still out does me. Seems it always shoots better in practice then it does in matches, the thing must have a mind, or could it be me. I started shooting bullseye after getting my CCW and I am totally hooked, starting to try and smith a few of my own. Not near the quality of anyones on here but just good straight shooters. If I get the nerve Ill post a pic of one.

I'm still trying to get my head around that 4.2g of Bacon...?!? That can't be clean burning

Flexmoney wrote:

I'm still trying to get my head around that 4.2g of Bacon...?!? That can't be clean burning.

Yeah, but you don't need to lube the gun.

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Don Williams
http://www.theactionworks.com
http://www.ltwguns.com

"Bullseye" can be so MANY things...supremely FRUSTRATING...educational...and, SOMETIMES, when you hold you mouth JUST RIGHT, and EVERYTHING lines up JUST RIGHT, it can be REWARDING as all get-out!
I never got to shoot with Fulford, Fulwood or the rest of those guys, but bought commercial reloads from a guy who would accept shipment of some of Fulford's ammo from Federal...he told me some stories about what Fulford could do with a handgun that, IF repeated, would make Keith's 700 yard shot on the deer seem like "Child's Play"!!!....mikey357

Ned,

To answer your question about "tightness," it kind of goes back to the tight=binding -vs- tight=right issue. There are a lot of "bullseye" or "target" guns out there that have sprung barrels, poorly cut bushings, link lockup, and uneven - inconsistent slide to frame fits that will shoot okay for a short while, require a "break in" period, and then start acting erratically after a few thousand rounds. These are the tight=binding guns that were built by people who either didn't know any better, wanted to cut corners, or didn't use the right tooling and/or techniques. I can only go off of many of Dave Sams' guns that have come back to him for updates, cleaning, refinishing, or sent back as examples to "match" new guns to by his customers. Many of the competitive shooters he builds for launch tens of thousands of rounds a year at the black circle and never have a gun related hiccup or loss of accuracy as long as the gun is cleaned and lubed properly. I had the opportunity to handle one with an 80k documented round count of lead wadcutter ammo through it that had absolutely no finish left but was as tight and smooth as the day it was built and still shot 10rds into 1.5" at 50yards from a machine rest. The shooter had NEVER once removed the bushing, cleaned it after every session, and changed his springs every 2k rounds. Reliablity AND accuracy come from mechanical repeatability, proper tolerancing, and good maintenance. It's just that simple.

I can attest to the fact that Dave builds all of his guns mechanically the same, be it a full house carry/defense gun or a plain jane ball gun for Perry. They all shoot extremely well given good ammo, they're all durable, and they're all reliable. To this day I still don't understand the concept of "combat" tolerances. I think EVERY custom 1911 that uses a match barrel and bushing should be bullseye accurate with the right ammo.

That's just my $0.02

I'm glad you started this thread, Tim. I really like that setup, and the frame mounted scope shows that you also realize the play in slide/frame fit on such a gun. I love when the bullets all go to the same place.

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Thanks Jim. BTW, with me standing behind the gun, that 'same place' you're refering to could often be called 'the berm'........ That's why I take Mr. Ransom with me.

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CT Brian Custom
'Blending Art With Firepower'

IIRC that bearded friend of your also picked up an M1A and came in third with it at Camp Perry last year. Some people are so endowed by our creator that you have to wonder if they ever get frustrated with a gun in his hands. I am sure he does because he has exceptionally high standards for himself.

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"Domari Nolo"

That bearded guy likes to get frustrated (if we are talking about the same guy). He seems to really focus when he does.

Then again...maybe he is just lucky a lot.