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April 25, 2008
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A few of the more unusual guns I've found over the years. Some silhouette favorites and a few non-mainstream types. Some have been seen before.
AMT Lightning, obviously a Ruger copy, parts will interchange, but a couple nice factory mods…better sights, Clark trigger and capability of using dovetail scope mounts.
AMT Baby AutoMag, only 1000 made, after Clint Eastwood used the .44 version in "Sudden Impact".
The Exemplar is fairly common on the silhouette range. This one has been converted to .17 Mach 2.
A custom BF Arms. This is a falling block design for rimmed cases, a .22LR here built by Ralph Bond with a 15" fluted Shilen match barrel.
MOA Maximum…also a falling block design, but not limited to rimmed cases. They can be chambered for anything up to .458 Winchester Magnum. Barrels interchange like a Contender. This one in .30BR.
Some folks didn't like the single-action grip, so MOA came up with a double-action on a slightly different frame, known as the 17-degree frame. It looks odd, but the gun feels just great in the hand. Mine is in 6.5mmBR and that is a factory 1.25" diameter fluted barrel.
Custom OTT G2 in .17 Mach 2. Just for grins, I had Mike build me one with a tank brake on it. Off a rest, the gun just does not move and it is a scream to shoot out to 200 meters.
Weatherby made a few Bolt-action pistols back in 2000, repeaters with 15" barrels and either laminated or Kevlar stock. Lock, Stock and Barrel was blowing out their last ones, so I picked up this one in .243 Winchester. It's heavier than an XP-100, but it shoots very well, at least mine does. I've used it for many silhouette matches and it has accounted for numerous perfect scores.
The Savantist
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February 28, 2009
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I love your topic heading.
Your age may just be showing here.
-Mike
October 26, 2008
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If the topic heading shows age then I must actually be a lot older than I am because Monty Python was the first thing that popped in my head too. BTW IHMSA those are some sweet looking single shots and i really like the Automag (if nothing else because of Clint)
February 20, 2008
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If you're going to drink, don't drive. Don't even putt.
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February 9, 2009
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Awesome set of pics and info "as usual". This place would just not be the same without you IHMSA, didn't that get mentioned before? The part that stuck out to me is that the MOA can be chambered up to a .458 Win Mag! How painful that sounds! Wow would that be a BANG. If I remember right didn't one of the Elgin Gates book covers have a Wood stocked Weatherby on it? they are cool looking.
A man cannot have too many SuperMags
April 25, 2008
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Age does have it's advantages. 
The AutoMag is roll-marked "Go Ahead, Make My Day" on one side and "Do You Feel Lucky Punk?" on the other. It is an AMT Lightning with vented 8" barrel and a bolt with "ears" on both sides. Lots of fun to shoot.
The Gates silhouette book did have a Weatherby Mark V Silhouette gun on the cover, but that was a short-lived one from the early 1980's. There were 150 made in .308 and 50 made in .22-250. The gun was made in Japan, with other Weatherby rifles at the time, but Japan allows no handguns, so they had to quit making them. They are worth about $3500+ these days.
The MOA is an extremely strong handgun, so it can take those big rounds. Something like the .458 Winchester Magnum would need a good muzzle brake. I've shot a friend's gun in .375 MOA, which is the .350 Remington Magnum case opened up to .375. With a good brake it is controllable.
The Savantist
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January 24, 2009
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Supermagfan said:
If I remember right didn't one of the Elgin Gates book covers have a Wood stocked Weatherby on it? they are cool looking.
Good memory, SMF.
It says the gun is a Weatherby Silhouette pistol available in .308WCF or .22-250 & that it's made from a modified Mark V Varmintmaster action. The 1979 price tag was $799.95.
The front & back covers on this & “Shooting Steel” are actually the same front-to-back…so the books look as good coming as they do going.
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Great thread, IHMSA. I am going to have to find a decent MOA out there sometime, in a cool (large) caliber. And I really want to have big bore AutoMag one day, even though that baby AutoMag would sure be fun.
*EDIT* It took me 1/2 hour to scan & post, so IHMSA beat me to the Weatherby description. 😛 That's too cool about the Baby AutoMag's roll markings! 😀 What's the blue tape on the bottom of the AMT?
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November 17, 2008
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" "
EDIT IHMSA left me speechless once again.
Wisdom is merely the realization of how little one knows, therefore I am wise.
April 25, 2008
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Good eye on the AMT there CF. I went to my first ever National championship silhouette match in 1989. At that time, the only National rimfire silhouette match in the country was not by the IHMSA organization, but by the NRA version. They held the first ever rimfire match the previous year in California, but I couldn't attend. In 1989, the second National rimfire match was in western PA, and I made sure I could go.
At all championship matches, each gun must go through certification; dimension checks, weight checks, etc. before you are allowed to shoot it. The gun checkers put a sticker on the gun, which must remain there the entire match. Each gun is verified for the sticker before being allowed on the firing line, and after completion of the entry. This blue tape is my sticker from that match.
I also have one on my 15" Exemplar. It's a nostalgia thing: since it was my first championship, I just left it on for the cool factor, and it's been there ever since. Other stickers have come and gone, but this is my favorite and will always remain there.
The Savantist
April 25, 2008
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That Elgin Gates book is very cool. Mine is well-worn from reading it, along with my copy of "Shooting Steel". I wish I had bought one of those Weatherby's back then, but they were over 3 times the cost of an XP-100. I still think that cover is neat.
The second edition of that Elgin Gates book has an even neater cover on it...for whatever reason I can't figure out why. 
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January 24, 2009
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I've gotta find myself a copy of that 2nd edition. The cover is what's sold me on it.
Pretty neat about the blue sticker. That's excellent that you've left it there...and with the stickers that have come & gone, have you kept those on a plaque or something? Or do they get beat up when pulled off the gun?
January 22, 2008
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I really like the looks of that MOA Maximum! IHMSA is always pulling out the cool toys. Many of which I've never even heard of!
Thanks for sharing!
April 25, 2008
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The NRA always has the same sticker with the ram's head, which I think is pretty cool. Most of the other State, Regional and International matches just use basic colored stickers, like those price dots you see in stores...rather plain, and they really don't stick well to oiled guns. I throw them away after the match. The IHMSA Internationals had a small sticker that had all 4 animals superimposed, but it didn't even last through the match, so this is the only one I've saved.
The Savantist
February 20, 2008
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Sticker Shock~!! Very cool trophy!
If you're going to drink, don't drive. Don't even putt.
April 25, 2008
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I finally got my .17 Mach 2 Exemplar set up the way I wanted it, with a Leupold 12X Target scope. It is a real tack driver, especially with Eley ammo.
The Savantist
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