Snipercountry Gone????

[lestersurv]

Shit! I take a sabattical for 18mos and The First sniping website is just gone????
All the great material and reviews; even if it was mostly from the mid 90s to early 00s...
Now all that that's there is a bunch of trivial reviews: best this n that blech...

The Duty Roster was a pretty cool place, but the cadre didn't suffer dissent; and woe be unto you if you didn't kiss some ass
and phrase your comments with a question... But that was just a few of the more insecure and mouthy members. Gooch,
Pat in SD, Marius the webmaster/moderator, Scott, Charles Hunt, Pablito, and many, many other characters
and sources of great shooting knowledge.

What a resource, and history that site was for the Tactical Explosion that happened among shooters back about 2005.
Now gone? Maybe a name change and a restricted access? Hopefully... Lots of hold hard really capable shooters who really
did a lot to help and inspire new comers. Where else could you email some of the great gunsmiths like Bill Wylde and many others.

I found the guys about 1998 and acceptance there focused my longtime interest in precision handloading and shooting into rifle building
and with great results. I learned not to suffer the fools that brag about their 3shot goups, and that shooting offhand with precision and
speed was the culmination of the art.

Anyway, glad I saved Pablitos articles on adjusting triggers. So many good guys, and gentlemen.

My thanks to you all , and I'm sure I'm not the only one who laments that site's passing....

 

[MJB13SRT8]

I was on there back in 2001 to 2004 haven't been on there in years I thought it was gone for the last 10 years or so.

Montrose

 

[Rob01]

Yup SC has been gone for years in the old form. Looks like there is a new site with some info on it including my review but not my name or credit given. Hmm not sure what they are doing over there now but looks like they archived some of it. Not a great loss. Was what it was at the time but better sites now.

 

[lestersurv]

Well, I got the boot many years back for being a bit too friendly with handloading suggestions for Mike Miller, who never fired anything but gold medal match.. long before he made his first sling;, and for other gunsmithing opinions and suggestions in general. But, the duty roster was still active about 2yrs ago; many of the same old names posting and a few updated reviews. The reviews were always excellent and there was no fan-boy bullshit or catering to pet sellers or suppliers.

Many of the names there were also on the NM and LR competition forums; none were business oriented, just great and Top Performing shooters who shared what they knew. SC was more the Indian while SH focuses more on the Arrow; at least in the gear forums. Wouldn't paint Frank with that brush, but others are all about gear solutions rather than understanding the variables. jmho

Scott and Gooch wrote some articles for the short-lived Tactical Shooter put out by Dave Brennan. I have a few issues I've held onto. The loss of Precision Shooting is a Big Loss to the community. Snipercountry and Precision Shooting LED The Way with focusing on the Indian. There is the one Benchrest Primer which ranks with Constantine's Highpower and SR competition book for great compendium of knowledge. Too bad there isn't a DVD with files from PS and Snipercountry...

Been an interesting and rewarding 20yrs, all spawned from SC and the Duty Roster guys. Bought that early Leupold 3.5-10x LR/T (before they were mk4 designated) and built a 700VS from an old 6digit receiver and a new H-S police stock. Got a used .308 PS barrel from Pat SD, which had been chamber-modded, Pat said according to Scott's TS article. The gun didn't "shoot" until I installed Badger Ord base and rings and a Mk4 6x w/target dot; then it was sub .4" at 100 and sub .7" at 200 All Day Long... I was shooting at Dietz gunrange in NB Tx... Howard told me the accuracy came from the minimum oal chamber. Every rifle I ever chambered after that was just able to close on a go-gauge or custom reamed to oal of one lot of brass.

I was shooting 168gr smk I'd loaded with rem brass and IMR4064 to get the results I got w/Pat's barrel. (oh the horror!) 8 or 10 sets of5rd grps with the sub .4 & sub .7 results at 100/200 on a windy Hill Country day Proved it all to me...

Sad to see the pioneers fade from the scene, and to lose all the collected wisdom and insight about tactical and precision shooting.

 

[Rob01]

lol basically only the same old names posting last time I looked over there.

 

[Jerry m]

Closed shortly after Joe Mahon passed away last year, I believe.

 

[FatBoy]

SC was the first website I frequented. Paul and Terry (Two Shoes) sent me an equipment list and Terry taught me how to load ammo over the phone. This was 2002. He helped me turn out my first 20 rounds of match grade 308.

I still have my first built, inspired by the guys. A Win stealth 308 with Basger base and rings and a Leupold Vari-x3 3-10M3. George Garder bedded and recrowned it a year later. That rifle has introduced more people to F Class than I can count, and I finally cut the barrel down to 16" last year.

Pat talked my into my first FagMag. George built the rifle, in 3 months (pre- magazine article) and I loved it. A serious regret selling it.

Ken Hunter is good people. My money order for the first raffle got lost and he put my name in anyway. It showed up at his house 2 months late with 20 footprints and mud all over it. But, a call to Ken and we were good to go.

SC was nothing like SH, and was never meant to be. It was hard to follow the Roster , etc but it was a wonderful site for what it was. No politics. No ads. No 12 year olds. The web in it's infancy.

 

[sinister]

Holy cow -- over twenty years ago now?!!

Damn, time just flew by.

 

[lestersurv]

Sinister Dave L.?

I forgot to mention 'Yote Bait... what a character! Antenna tower installation guy, and ace varminter...

Joe Mahon (from PA) was kind of a later addition to the Roster group.
Charles Hunt (iirc) retired from the SATX PD and began instructing in Iraq. helluva nice guy.
Maybe Marius got out of South Africa? Have seen Cat Shooter post on some forums, seems like probably Pablito..

 

[Rob01]

Have seen Cat Shooter post on some forums, seems like probably Pablito..

Yup same. He lived in CT and I shot with him a few times.

 

[Mr_Happyface]

Wow, SC was basically my introduction to online shooting forums and shooting in general. Read that site religiously for years starting when I was 15 (over double that now) and only owned a pellet gun and a few 22s. Logged on about a year ago to see what was up and I was surprised to see all the same names still posting. Had no idea what they were talking about though.

This is a vastly superior format.

 

[lestersurv]

Gone, but not forgotten...

This place had 12yrs or more before it was sold. Is the former website still "up" or the data available to access? It was for a while, but now?

Snipercountry and later longrangehunting and the 'hide are probably responsible for the huge development of interest in longrange and tactical shooting. Not really the comaraderie on the other places that SC DR members had/still have though. More focus on techniques and experience at SC because it was more about the Whole Enchilada than just the gear. And any gear that was reviewed, usually by DR members, was expected to stand the strain necessary and deliver the goods. There was certain respect with dealers; maybe not discounts, but understanding that guys who knew about SC were looking for no compromise gear and knew what they wanted.

It has been a quick 20 years for sure!

 

[Mute]

SC was great for its time, but their unwillingness to update the form of the site made it very difficult to follow topics of interest. Once I came onto SH, I pretty much forgot about SC.

 

[MikeMiller]

Sniper Country was a great place where I met a lot of great guys. Started my sling business in 1999 Never was a moderator. Been reloading since 1976. Never asked anyone get banned. Made my first sling in 1980’s. Time blurrs things but those are facts

 

[Gunfighter14e2]

MikeMiller
You in Fla now? Hope an pray everything is good with you an your's.
If You ever decide to come up to Hard Rock LMK I'll meet you there.

 

[MikeMiller]

MikeMiller
You in Fla now? Hope an pray everything is good with you an your's.
If You ever decide to come up to Hard Rock LMK I'll meet you there.

Yes my friend moved here for freedom and lower taxes. Time to fish and shoot. Gave up TIS. Just retired now

Had a couple of dead during spine surgery things so wife said time to live your dream. Florida we moved. Love it here. Heck loved California except politics and taxes

Still shooting and teaching. Those are fun. We will have to arraign a meet

 

[Gunfighter14e2]

I Still have kin in Pasco county (Dade City) an may be there later this year. Your number still the same?

 

[MikeMiller]

Yes sir

 

[Mute]

CA just seems to have a knack for driving away all the good people. Glad you're enjoying retirement Mike. Still a big fan of your slings.

 

[MikeMiller]

CA just seems to have a knack for driving away all the good people. Glad you're enjoying retirement Mike. Still a big fan of your slings.

Mute. Steve at Triad Tactical took over. He is as good a man as you will ever meet and I was honored to hand over my business to him

 

[vwhugger]

I think it was 1998 or 1999 when I first found and started to hang out there. Never posted much as I was always somewhat behind the curve. A groupie, so to speak. I did learn quite a bit and it got me interested in LR shooting. And it cost me a lot of money buying all the equipment. LOL!
I remember all those names mentioned. Another one was Bravo 762. And Pete Lincoln. I always got a kick out of his hunting stories, I think in Germany.
Joe Mahon lived in WI, at least in his last years. Eau Claire area.
I was wondering, is this the URL for it now? https://www.snipercountry.com/ It is so different and I don't recognize anything.

Yote Bait, wasn't he the guy that liked the Shepherd scopes?

 

[Hogshooter]

Just found this thread while searching for the old Sniper Country we page. What prompted my search was that I was just shooting my S.C.L.E # 37 of 50 rifle made by G.A. Precision in the early years. Bought it thru SC years ago. Rifle still shoots < 1/2 moa. Lots of good info back in the day.

 

[Rob01]

Yeah looks like whoever owns it now took the reviews and started calling them their own. Funny to read my review on the Tubb FF and TMS “written” by someone else. Lol