It is now official. My dear friend, Mark Sullivan, just sent me a picture and gave me a call. He is now the proud owner of Cal Pappas’ John Wilkes .600 Nitro Express double rifle made in 1914. It is a fabulous gun. One of only a few!
DIIZCHE SAFARI ADVENTURES is committed to improve both the knowledge base and skills of big-game hunters through our published media while promoting the safe use of firearms and fostering wildlife conservation. Visit our website at www.DiizcheSafariAdventures.com for links to follow us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. To my friends and customers from around the world, thank you very much for your continued business.
It is now official. My dear friend, Mark Sullivan, just sent me a picture and gave me a call. He is now the proud owner of Cal Pappas’ John Wilkes .600 Nitro Express double rifle made in 1914. It is a fabulous gun. One of only a few!
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AST Rock Guard by Advanced Simulation Technology |
Our Jeep, TROUBLEMAKER, is utilized to fulfill a variety of applications from daily driver activity to outdoor adventures. I recently came across a product that I now use and wanted to detail my positive experience with AST Rock Guards for Rock Monster 17” wheels.
While building our Jeep, I made the decision to utilize Rock Monster beadlock wheels made by Hutchinson Industries. What is unique about Rock Monster beadlock wheels is their internal dual beadlock design that is also DOT approved. They provide a street-legal solution to air down tires during off-road use. As off-road enthusiasts know, this provides improved traction and safety while driving off-road.
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Image Courtesy of Hutchison Industries Inc. |
I had some concern regarding potential damage to either the Hutchinson long or short stud wheel hardware on rugged trails where large rocks might get into the wheel face area and potentially strike and damage hardware. That coupled with the inability to easily replace an external ring either for aesthetic purposes or functionality should that surface of the wheel become damaged over time.
The nice thing that a conventional external beadlock ring design, machined for recessed hardware, provides is the ability to reduce or eliminate sheared mounting bolts caused by exposed hardware striking trail obstacles such as rocks. As external beadlock rings become worn and damaged over time from trail abuse they can be replaced. A new ring can be obtained and used on the original beadlock wheel. Hutchinson Rock Monster Wheels do not have an easily replaceable external surface (ring) like a conventional beadlock wheel.
Hutchinson does make available replacement hardware
should you damage one of the long or short wheel studs. They also have
replaceable split lock nut hardware. However, when the external surface of the
Rock Monster wheel edge surface becomes badly damaged, they are not replaceable
like an external beadlock ring. If cosmetics are not of concern, then the wheel
can still be utilized until it becomes unserviceable.
The product I am excited to write about addresses my areas of concern described above. The product is made by Advanced Simulation Technology (AST) located near Philadelphia Pennsylvania. As a company, AST is grounded in mechanical engineering. They use both classic as well as emerging technology approaches in their product development. They can provide 3D scanning, design, manufacturing, and electronic fabrication all through their single location.
This product sounded like a great option to help protect my Hutchinson Rock Monster beadlock wheel surface from damage. I wanted my Jeep to be able to perform well on the trail, but I also wanted it to look clean and well-kept around town. In addition, the AST Rock Guard would provide protection to the hardware (wheel studs and split lock nuts) and valve stem. After several outings in heavy rocky terrain, the Rock Monster wheels can develop unattractive rock rash on the wheel flange. Over time, deep abrasions could compromise the tire bead region and possible cracking of the flange near the bead rim. This area of the beadlock wheel is not replaceable. Wheel studs and their protective covers are also susceptible to trail damage.
AST was founded by Chip Potter. I reached out to AST and initially spoke with Wes Potter. Wes is Chip’s son. Wes gave me a very detailed history about their business, experience, and background regarding the AST Rock Guard development. Wes outlined the product’s intended purpose, material durability, performance expectations, impact testing, and trail testing performance in real world applications. I told Wes I wanted to purchase a set to test prior to the upcoming 71st Annual Jeepers Jamboree. I was scheduled to attend the three-day event from July 28-30, 2023.
I later had the opportunity to speak with Chip Potter to learn more details about the AST Rock Guard and design concept. Chip related that as a Jeeping enthusiast who liked to run challenging trails and appreciated what the Hutchinson beadlock wheels offered, he didn't enjoy beating them up. After only a few days on the trail, the Hutchinson wheels were ugly to look at, and he had to be careful not to cut himself when cleaning them. He found himself hand-filing burrs that were created by contact with rocks. Chip felt they were great wheels for off-roading, but some additional wheel protection was needed.
Chip also noted that the Rock Guard is 100% US-made. AST used only US companies to produce the final product. The injection mold tooling was designed by a small company in Upland, California (Woiken Concepts), the mold maker is in Dickinson, Texas (West Point Plastics), and the molder is in South Houston, Texas (A&M Plastics). Each of these small businesses had the same passion as Chip did for producing the best possible product.
Above is a picture of the tool that is used to mold the
AST Rock Guards. As you can see, a lot is happening to produce a high quality large
plastic part.
The AST Rock Guard was designed to be an insert which can be easily attached to the Rock Monster beadlock wheels. Several versions were considered by AST including cast aluminum and performance injected molded plastic. Design concepts were created, and prototypes were trail tested. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) prototype rock guards were fabricated and tested including prototypes tested during a prior Jeep Jamboree event. The FDM material was ABS/Polycarbonate.
Damage that incurred during various phases of prototype testing was evaluated and the design revised where needed. As shown in the partial guard images above, it was determined that the wrapped lip and inner lip rib structures should be added. The contact plane of the rock guard was also revised to further minimize possible damage to the guards. Also, it was to ensure the long wheel studs were still protected, and to increase overall rigidity. After continued testing, the final design version was adopted and created. The finalized material utilized in the AST Rock Guard is an extremely tough plastic that is not brittle. This (full reverse side guard image shown) is the AST Rock Guard now available to the public. The guard is only available in a black finish and not in red as depicted.
The AST Rock Guards I ordered arrived in plenty of time for me to give them a two-day shake-down on some rugged rocky trail areas to see if they would work for my intended application. My initial impression when unboxing the AST Rock Guards and mounting hardware was positive. The AST Rock Guards are very robust and solid in their construction. The hardware included with the guards is of excellent quality.
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End of Trail - Passenger Front |
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End of Trail - Passenger Rear |
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End of Trail - Driver Rear |
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Driver Front Wheel |
The 13th
annual Safari Rifle Challenge is in the books. Here is a recap of this year’s
event made by The Western News speaking with Jay Sheffield. Jay is the Match Director of the Safari Rifle Challenge
World Championships:
The Libby Rod and Gun Club recently hosted the 13th annual Safari Rifle Challenge. The big bore rifle competition drew shooters from MT, ID, WA, OR, NV, AZ, TX, CO, and Canada. They came armed with everything from .375 and .416 caliber bolt actions to custom .600 Nitro Express and 10 Bore Double Rifles.
The ten different stages required shooters to engage everything from photo realistic life size moving Cape Buffalo targets down to small steel plates, all at distances from 30-120 yards.
Two of the events that proved to be very popular this year were the life size photo target of a fast-charging Rhinoceros powered by a modified ATV, and the "charging water jugs" event where two competitors must shoot the three one-gallon water jugs swinging from a cart racing towards them. Some jugs were shot so close that even the spectators got wet from the spray!
Match
director Jay Sheffield said that the competition would not happen without the
help of the numerous volunteers who show up every year to set the various stage
scenarios and to immediately repair severely damaged targets, all with the
efficiency of a NASCAR pit crew.
The
competition is also the main fundraising event for the youth participants of
the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP). Seven high school age members of the
team came out to assist with scoring, target set up and to provide some
youthful energy to several of the rope-towed moving targets.
Four of the team's parents also provided a catered meal for the shooters and guests. Each year the match competitors prove to be extremely generous to the youth shooting programs and this year was no exception.
The events primary sponsor, Shawn Joyce of Diizche Safari Adventures provided the first-place trophy of a Bronze Lion as well as a large number of great items for the raffle table.
While many
participants also quietly made cash donations, the gentleman who brought the
.600 Nitro Express double rifle offered other competitors a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to shoot that rifle for $50 a shot with all proceeds going to the
youth shooting team.
With factory
ammo normally selling for $100 per round, a dozen adventurous folks took
advantage of the unique opportunity to launch a .620 caliber, 900-grain bullet
at over 2050 feet per second as it generated over 8,400 foot-pounds of energy.
They quickly raised $600 while earning themselves a few bruised shoulders in the
process.
The final
tally of funds raised to support the SCTP youth shooting team was over $2,300.
When the
dust finally settled, Libby’s John Harma (center) was declared the winner with
a score of 193/220. It was exceptional shooting considering that all shots were
taken offhand and several of the ten-rings were only one inch in diameter.
Many of the competitors had attended the shoot in previous years and all were impressed by the dramatic expansion of the Lincoln County range facility and the improvements to its infrastructure.
The Libby Rod and Gun Club, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners and our local National Forest Service Supervisors Office have all worked together to create what is truly the finest free public range in the state of Montana.
The
competition is held every year on the second Saturday in June.
For those
who own a safari rifle in caliber .375 or larger and would like to shoot
against some of the best in the country, contact safaririflechallenge@yahoo.com for
more information.
The 2023 Safari Rifle Challenge World Championships are coming soon. After months of chaos and closures we are going to hold the Safari Shoot on June 10, 2023. This year represents our 10th annual shooting event! The event will be held in Libby, Montana at the Libby Shooting Sports Complex. Jay Sheffield is the Match Director and puts on an exciting and enjoyable event. This year the event will fall on Saturday June 10, 2023 from 8am - 4pm.
Since the last event (June 2019) we have GREATLY expanded the range facility by adding four new shooting bays surrounded by 14’ berms and a huge vendor display/public parking area. The cement baselines are poured, and permanent steel shooting benches have been installed. The overhead shelters are also completed.