July 10, 2022Sunday Gunday — Bauer Power — Jim and Sally Bauer IBS Legends
Bauer Power. Today’s Sunday Gunday story is about Jim Bauer and Sally Bauer. They are a “power couple” in International Benchrest Shooters’ (IBS), mid-range and long range benchrest games. Jim and Sally compete at 600 and 1000 yards respectively, and both have been very successful. Sally was the IBS 1000 yard Shooter of Year a decade ago. Sally had a great season piloting her Stars & Strips Heavy gun (shown above). Sally is now the IBS Treasurer. Jim Bauer was a top IBS performer, shooting a similar Maxi-Tracker Heavy Gun with a wide forearm and beautiful Eagle-on-black paint scheme. Jim Bauer won the IBS 2015 1000 Yard Nationals with a 6mm Dasher in both Light Gun or Heavy Gun classes. Jim also holds the IBS 1000-yard 20 Target Light Gun Aggregate Score Record. He set the record with 47.15 Agg Score (and 5.4171) in 2021. group average — This is very close to the half-MOA for 10-shot groups at 1000 meters!
Photos courtesy Virginia1000.com. Jim Bauer Wins 2015 1000-Yard Title With Duel DashersJim Bauer won IBS 2015 IBS 1000 Yard Nationals shooting a 6mm dasher in both Light Gun Class and Heavy Gun Class. Here is his match-winning Heavy Gun. Gordy Gritters smithed Bauer’s Heavy Gun. It featured a BAT, Krieger barrel (in a barrel block), Nightforce scope, and Shehane HG Stock. Jim Bauer was both the Two-Gun Champion as well as Overall winner at the 2015 1000-Yard Nationals. Bauer was a great shooter in both Light Gun (LG), and Heavy Gun(HG) matches. He posted Top 10 finishes in both categories. Bauer competed in 6mm Dashers in both Divisions, HG and LG with Vapor Trail bullets. Sally Bauer was the first and only woman to win the IBS 1000 yard Shooter of Year title in 2012. Sally was hardworking, dedicated, and determined to “be all that she can be”. Sally was helping Jim reach the top of the 1000-yard benchrest race, while taking notes and working towards her turn. Sally, dear friends, took no prisoners in 2012 and was awarded Shooter of the year honors. Sally’s handsome 67-lb Heavy Gun “Stars & Stripes” is painted with an American flag theme.
Sally Bauer, a former International Benchrest Shooters Score Heavy Gun (HG), set a 1000-yard competition record ten years ago. Her score was 100-5X, with a score of 3.495. tie-breaker group. Sally’s Amazing 1K Group
Range Officer Gordy Mitchell directed Sally to put her equipment and rifle set on her bench at the end of #10 Heavy Gun match. Sally was confused by Gordy Mitchell’s instructions, but he assured her that it was a good thing. Rumours abound and Dave Holland was summoned back to the pits. He had Gordy Mitchell measure the target and sign it. All agreed that Sally had just scored an IBS record score. Sally’s rifle, equipment and photographs were taken and sent to the IBS for verification.
Sally’s 67-lb Heavy Gun was originally bought from Bill Shehane. It uses Bill’s MaxiTracker stock. Original chambering was for the 6-6.5×47 Lapua Improved. Gordy Gritters rehambered the gun to 6mm Dasher because it didn’t fire like the Bauers intended. The action is a 2′-diameter round, chrome moly, 3-lug and 7 1/2″ BAT. The barrel is a 28′, 1:8-twist Krieger, and has a 1.45-diameter straight tub. The barreled action is secured to the stock by a 9-inch barrel block. The gun has a 12-42x56mm Nightforce BR scope, and a Jewel BR trigger. Gordy Gritters made the rifle. Jim Sauer says: “We have known Gordy since years and trust every phase our gun projects — all are mechanical works of arts. Gordy gives us the confidence that we can focus on brass preparation and load development, and not worry about the guns being correct. This saves time. Editor’s Note: This information is for the 2012 load Sally ran in her IBS heavy gun. Load details and procedures could have changed a decade ago. Reloading Procedure for Sally’s “Stars & Stripes” Maxi by Jim Sauer
Every rifle starts with new brass. First, run them through a full-length sizing die. Next, use an appropriate expander mandrel. Neck turning is a 80% cleanup for the new Lapua brass necks since we use a neck of.270 on our 6 Dasher chambers. We do the usual primer pocket and flash hole uniforming. To ensure sharp shoulders, we fire-form twice. Then, we separate them by weight using 1/10th grain differences per box. Our loading process is designed to save time. We aim to find easy-to-use and consistently good products. We don’t change from them unless there is a problem or unacceptable results. Clay Spencer’s 103gr 6mm cartridges have been chosen by us. They are weight-sorted and bearing-surface sorted. That’s it. I stopped trimming and tipping because it didn’t improve Clay’s ability to build them. We use only one primer, CCI 450. We use one of four powders. We use RL15 as our “go-to” powder, followed by Varget, IMR 8208, and H4895 if that fails. These bullets shoot at 2970 fps, according to our experience. This is not an absolute but it is what usually works best. We try different speeds to find that special load. Once we have found the powder and quantity that work best, we adjust the seating depth. This is a fine-tune process and usually 15 thousandths into the rifle rifling works best. Don’t be afraid of jumping the bullets up to 0.100? This method usually results in a combination that shoots nice, round 3/4″ groups at 400 yards. Every time, we anneal the brass. The next step is full-length resizing and priming. Finally, we lubricate the inside of the necks using graphite. The bullets are then charged with the selected powder. We measure for concentricity and [shooting] the top ones for the record as well as the sighters. Sally Bauer shot the record using 33.0 grains IMR 8208XBR, CCI450 primers and Spencer 103gr Bullets. Sally used Lapua brass and bullet seated 15 thousandths into the rifling. Velocity 2980fps was her learning pace during her “formative years” in competitive shooting. Sally developed her own style of shooting and discipline. Sally didn’t want to be dependent on others and learned how to set up her rests. She now carries Stars & Stripes all by herself to the bench. Jim Bauer reports: “Sally, and I would like thank the kind people that we have met during this crazy frustrating game. Most of our competitors were helpful and willing to share their knowledge, experience, and time. We have been treated like family and friends by every range owner and operator that we have met. There is no other sport where participants are so generous. “Bauer Power in Action at 2017 IBS 600-Yard NationalsWould it be possible to see this IBS “power pair” in action? These are the videos of Jim Bauer (left) and Sally Bauer (right), shooting at Memphis’ 2017 IBS 600-yard Nationals. Slide-out Carriers for Transporting Large Heavy Guns in StyleThe Bauers have designed a smart and efficient system to transport their rifles to matches. The Bauers have a great transport setup with custom-made slide-out rifle carriers that they can attach to their van. The lower drawer houses Jim’s and Sallys’ Heavy Guns. And here’s a close-up view of the Light Gun in Bauer’s second slide out carrier (top photo). The patriotic message “We the People” is welcome.
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