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3865 Hershey Rd Erie, PA. 16506
(814)440-7292 7:00 am to 9:00 pm eastern time
RANDY'S 2007 MONSTER BUCK!
His story is below.
Hi Tom,
I thought you might like some pictures of this year’s
deer. In addition, its story. I have hunted with one of the owners of River-to-River
outfitters for about 10 years. (He knows my swinglock rifles) Two days before
gun season he gave me a call. He was telling me about two big bucks he was
seeing in the middle of a cane field, with no way to get close. He asked
me how far I would be willing to shoot. I told him 500 yards is no big deal.
His reply was you will kill a good one before 7 am. Anyway, this deer
showed up at 400 yards and got no closer than 326 yards. One shot dropped
him in his tracks. They just cannot take a 250 gr. Slug at 2900 fps.
Thanks
Randy
Hi Tom,
The new Leupold VX-III 2.5-8x36 scope arrived yesterday, and today I shot
the rifle you built for me. After I sighted in the new scope at 25 &
50 yards I moved over to the 100 yard line and fired one three-shot group.
To date this is the only group I have fired with the new gun. Based
on only one three-shot group, I know this is a phenomenal rifle!
*The rifle refered to in this and the next testimonial can be seen here.
Hi Tom,
Virginia allows muzzleloading rifles throughout the regular firearms deer
season, but many counties do not allow centerfire rifles. For
years I have been looking for a muzzleloader that will give centerfire-rifle
performance. Finally, I have found it in the Swing-Lock. My new
Swing-Lock has the velocity and accuracy needed to place shots precisely at
any range I would be willing to shoot with a centerfire rifle. I’m delighted
with it.
Thank you.
Hi Tom,
If I was to summarize how I view my new rifle, I would say:
1) Far exeeds my expectations
2) Metal to wood marriage is superb
3) All metal parts display top notch machining practices
4) Stock finish is excellent
5) Overall this rifle is a work of art
6) And the icing on the cake: It shoots MOA groups with magnum
loads.
Sincerely, a very pleased customer,
Ernie
Eburn, Illinois
Hey Tom,
Thought you might like to hear about my shooting this evening.
First off there was almost no wind which is extremely rare. So at
5:00 when I realized the wind conditions I rushed to a local spot that allows
me to shoot to 350yards. The main reason I wanted to shoot was to
confirm my drops. So I started out dead on at 200 yards (after cleaning)
and then shot at 300 with the group approximately 2.5" high from center
with an extreme spread of just under 2.5" which definately impressed me.
Then I shot at 400 yards with the group just over 3 inches center to center.
The only thing that I'm confused about is the 400 yard group was approximately
6" above center. The BC of the SST could be a little better
than published.
Alright the best part, when shooting at the 200 yard target I had a
tree line 30 yards behind the target. When shooting at the target
I got back on the scope just in time to see a sapling being blown apart
and flipped over. Man this thing has some power. The "victim"
was approximately 2" in diameter which proved to be no match for the sst.
Tom,
I should have you some pictures by the end of the week. On the
last day of ML season, I took an 8 pointer at 286yards at last light.
The second day of ML season I past on a larger deer with hopes that
I would see the deer that I shot with a bow two weeks earlier.
I'll go into more detail when the pictures are developed, but I've got to
say that at 286yds that sst is still very destructive.
Hey Tom,
Sorry for the delay, it's been awhile since I last checked my email.
The pics are on a disposable camera that hasn't been filled up yet, but I
can give some details.
The 8-point isn't exactly what I was after, but after watching several
large bodied deer enter the field at last light for the last 3 days, I had
to take my chances. Although I could tell these deer were bucks, I
just couldn't tell how big they were. Basically I ranged the largest
one, dialed the scope, and sent one on the way. The shot was across
a canyon, from one wall to the next, and let me tell you the report of the
impact was easy to pick up. No wandering if I hit him. The deer
immediately fell off the trail that he came in on and rolled into the field,
which was nice, just drove up and loaded him into the truck.
I've killed a lot of deer with bow, ML, and rifle, but a 250gr sst fired
at 2900fps gives a whole new meaning to terminal perforemance. In
this case, the bullet passed through yet did a tremendous job on it's way
through.
I had a spotter with me that day, he was doubting my capabilities, I
changed that. As long as I have a rangefinder and the wind is manageable,
a 300-400 yard shot is not that big of a deal.
I've been attending some local tactical style rifle matches here
lately and was wondering if they might let me make a shot or two with my
muzzleloader.
Here I go rambling, but at any rate I will have the pics developed and
get an email on the way. It's rifle season now and it's hard for me
to think about anything but killing another wall hanger.
Well talk to you latter,
Matt Peterman
El Reno, Oklahoma
Matt's 286 yard deer:
Tom,
I need to tell you about my #23 rifle (XX) gr. IMR
4198 250 bonded SST using ballistic bridge.
@100 yards .48 & .39 of an inch. @250 yards .78 of an inch.and out
at 400 yards 2.14 inches
Thanks again
Randy
* Note:
Velocity for the load Randy
was using is 2935 fps ! Who says great accuracy is not possible at
hyper speed!
Randy shot
a doe at a measured (Leica range finder) 390 yrds! The 250 bonded SST bullet
passed completely through the deer taking out both shoulders!
Tom, I have had my gun for a couple of weeks now and I have shot over
fifty
rounds to date with amazing accuracy. The workmanship and detail
of the gun
is superb. I have received many compliments about the looks and
design of
the gun. When I went to Cabelas and opened my gun case, did that
ever make
heads turn. oohh's and ahahah's were coming from all directions.
Many of
the admirer's were asking me where I bought the gun. I have achieved
sub one
inch groups at a hundred yards, and inch and half groups at two-hundred
yards. It will shoot through 3/8 inch steel at eighty yards, but
yet have
not got through the 1/2 inch steel at forty yards. I did penatration
comparison with a muzzelloader with a hundred and thirty grains of triple
seven and the same bullet and we saw no penatration in the 3/8 steel
what so
ever. My Swing-lock muzzelloader has the nickname of The Tank-killer!
The
only issue with the gun has been the recoil other wise I'am very happy
and
excited to own my own Swing-lock.
Sincerely,
Carl
Dodge Center, Minnesota
Accuracy:
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sincerely,
Carl
Dodge Center, Minnesota
It has arrived! My initial thoughts, in one word,
WOW!! This is a VERY well made rifle with great attention to detail.
The way this rifle feels, looks, and handles is of custom grade. Being
a big fan of custom rifles, this rifle really fits in with my personal preference
for the way firearms should be. Everything is perfect, from the fit
to the design.
Now all I need is a calm afternoon to put some
rounds down range.
I'm looking forward to sending my first report of how
she shoots.
Thanks again
Matt Peterman
El Reno, Oklahoma
I spent most of last evening admiring your beautiful workmanship,
I have not removed the stock and do not plan to do so until after I fire
it a number of times and deem that it needs cleaning... From what I
can see, you most certainly have a beautiful product and the craftsmanship
is evident everywhere... To be extremely critical, I can only find two areas;
#1, the safety operation is going to take some getting used to, because of
location and it seems to be a little stiff to operate. It is in good
company with the likes of the Garand M-1, they made more than a few of those
guns and no one complained about the safety's...
#2, the weight, but since I don't walk much anymore and
spend most of my hunting seated comfortably in a stand, the weight poses
no problem, and will lessen felt recoil...
I notice the you also put your ser. number on the action
so they cannot get mixed up, which is good craftsmanship... The gun has
great lines, reasonably good balance, perhaps just a little nose heavy...
My Son and I must have well over 200 guns in our combined collection, including
quite a number of beautiful German made Brownings with fancy engraving
that my father left us... We have a number of Blasers and a nice Merkel,
quite a few of Harts custom made rifles is various caliber's and
I can tell you that I fully expect that your gun will earn a place near the
very top of that list... We need to keep open lines of communication so
that you can keep us advised of further developments in your product line
and we do need to talk more about stocking spare parts, I do want to have
parts on hand... Remember, this is how Bill Ruger got his start, building
that little .22 caliber automatic pistol... Best of luck and thanks
again for the beautiful job you did... (my Son hasn't seen his yet, I
know he will be pleased)... I almost forgot, the camo job came out just
fine...
Let me throw some added comments your way...
I am very pleased with all aspects of your stock design, I like the palm
swell, the thumbhole design, the rollover cheek piece, the great way you
have designed the ram rod socket well down into the stock and the general
feel or texture - there is no reason to have the gun slip out of ones hands
and it has a non-glare finish... The Weaver style scope mounts are
stong and very solid, the scopes are mounted low and just nicely clear the
barrels, I like that. All in all, you have done a real bang up
job with these guns, Thanks again...
Dick Hummer Sr.
Phillipsburg, New Jersey
Many thanks to Mike Lauterborn for the following letter:
