HISTORY

The evolution of a system...

History told for my friends only. The very few others might not like it. (They know who they are) Written again to complete it ... and to spend time ...

SIN, SWING, C.G PARAMOUNT, IMPERIAL, PRA 2000 C.G and RPA 2000 RPA, QUADLOCK, C.G MILLENNIUM C.G, INCH DELTA, C.G DELTA Light.

The evolution of a system

I have regularly read certain accounts, some perfectly correct, some much less so, also some absolute counter-truths. I have seen some most amusing claims of paternity in the original designs, others, however rightful, completely and voluntarily occulted.

Having known George Swenson well from 1973 until his return to the States, and having had with him the most cordial and complete discussions on Fullbore shooting, history and technicalities of firearms and mechanisms, and also involved at various times in the genesis of the mechanisms subject of the title, I come here to give my own view of the said genesis.

George was a man of great knowledge. I have very much appreciated his fast understanding of mechanisms and his technical erudition. Although not being a mechanical engineer, at least on the continental sense of the term, he had great theoretical expertise. He was the one who had the original ideas of the principle. The rest is only adaptations and integration of new ideas and improvements. This is why I subtitled this "The evolution of a system''.

There is no doubt that other persons than those I mention have taken part, from near or far, to establish the basic dates. This showed for instance that, notwithstanding long technical discussions with my good friend Alastair Brown, he never mentioned his active participation in the original project. Maybe his great modesty prevented him from mentioning it.

I have concentrated more on the technical chronology than on any other considerations. I present my apologies to the possibly forgotten in the present text. The dates given are approximate stages.

Finally, I would state that, almost blind, I wrote those lines with the help of an electronic optical device, with difficulties to reread them, and moreover only from memory as a reference, as researches in old files is now for me an impossible task, and from personal correspondences, of which some examples are reproduced as appendices. The technical descriptions will be as accurate as possible, without pictures or drawings unfortunately

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A bit of history: The Palma Match is the most ancient and the most prestigious of the great International shooting competitions. It is shot every 3 or 4 years at distances of 800 , 900 and 1000 yards by teams of 16 shooters and 4 coaches representing a country or a group of nations. It is now completed by an Individual World Championship into which enter all participants of Teams present in the Palma.

Up until 1982 included, the rifles used were supplied by the host nation. All the rifles used in a given Palma were all identical model. Following a disastrous experience at Camp Perry (USA) for which the NRA of USA supplied Remington rifles fitted with a Redfield rearsight which was of erratic functioning and accuracy (with typical British humor, the members of the 1976 GB Palma Team still call themselves ''the rubber bands'' in souvenir of the elastics they had to use to maintain their rearsights in place). As problems happened again in Canada in 1982 with the Omark Rifles supplied, the Palma Council then wisely decided to allow the Palma shooters to use their own rifles.

This ruled the 1985-Bisley and 1988-Sydney Palmas, allowing substantial savings.

Fed up being regularly dominated in the Palma, the N.R.A of Great Britain set their aims on the Palma Match of 1992 (Raton,NM, USA) and their Team Captain, Colin Cheshire was able to select from within the formidable reservoir of talents that represented the ranks of the N.R.A of GB members, the best shooters and coaches and build with them a dynamic and efficient, well integrated Team. The rifles they used were either old Swings, or a few more recent Paramounts, carefully overhauled by the Master Armourer Eric McGibbon and freshly equipped with a barrel for the new Palma Sierra 155 grains bullet and made by the ''Scottish wizard'' of Border Barrels, Geoffrey Kolbe . The Brits then proceeded to crush all their competition. Their equipment mainly somewhat rustic but ultra-performant, is closely scrutinised with respect by all shooters, reporters and spectators from all over the world present at Raton. Anthony Ringer became World Champion 1992 with an impressive score Tony used a Swing of some age..

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Some C.G actions build a few years previously were also present at RATON.

In 1995 at Trentham (NZ), t he British Team, still led by Colin Cheshire, 'do it again', but with a narrower margin. Ant. Ringer is again World Champion. It is to be noted that the 3 firsts: A. Ringer (GB), E. Pintard (USA) and D. Calvert (GB) were shooting Paramounts...

The C.G actions are more numerous this time, as they equip the rifles built by Günter Böhme for the Germany Team and some individuals. Philippe Ginestet, using a 1985 C.G, managed a very nice 4th place at 1000 yards in the World Championships .

Those C.Gs actions were noticed the year previously by the New Zealanders Anthony Halberg and John Hastie and considered by them as perfectly compatible with their revolutionary fleXibed ® bedding system.

There are no more Swings in the hands of the Brits, but some brand new RPA 2000 C.Gs .

Let's now return to our subject: At the end of the sixties, the adoption by H.M forces of the 7.62 NATO as standard infantry ammunition forces the NRA-GB to abandon, for competitions at Bisley, their good old .303. The 7.62 round will then be the ''as issued'' ammunition for the Imperial Meeting and other competitions. The old faithful SMLE Mk4 ''regulated'' by Fulton and many others end their career. The NRA adopt the 'TARGET RIFLE'' Class, with characteristic very close to the UIT 300m Standard Rifle, with the 7.62x51 NATO calibre. All Bisley shooters were then compelled to envisage new equipment.

Many converted the good old Mk4s to the new calibre, fitting them with a heavy Enfield barrel. A typical example is the Enfield Envoy still sometimes seen on the 900 and 1000 yards firing points. The available P14-US 1917, M98 military actions and some Omark-Sportco, Musgrave and others were used as well as the available sources of supply for Match quality barrels : Schultz-Larsen(DK) , Kongsberg (N) , Ferlach (OS) were used.

Curiously, the excellent Lothar Walther (D) barrels were only recently introduced in UK, on my instigation.

All the possible combinations were studied, and the most astute, but also the most fortunate preferred to acquire ready-to-shoot UIT rifles (Grunig-Elmiger...) and acquire a Long Range rearsight to render themselves immediately operational.

A small Mechanical Engineering firm from Tunbridge Wells, later moving to Tonbridge (Kent), managed by Peter Churchill and Ronald Wickham, Churwick Engineering, was already making Long Range Rearsights for John Wilkes, a London Gunmaker firm for whom George Swenson was working. The product was, for the standards of the time, a good one.

Considering the enormous sales potential for a quality national product, on the instigation of G. Swenson, Churwick studied the fabrication possibilities of a model action.

George was, as mentioned, a gunwriter of great knowledge and well renowned as such in USA. Under his indications, a first model was constructed with general characteristics incorporating existing solutions able to be adapted to Churwick's limited fabrication means. (This method, refusing the use of subcontracting facilities and external production methods much more economical than theirs, is still to day bearing its expensive effects in Tonbridge production).

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The basic action technical dates were as follows:

--Bolt with 4 locking lugs, directly derived from Schultz-Larsen Model 54J of 1953 and 62M of 1961. The simple idea of George's was to move them to the front , as opposed to the S-L design, a rear-lugged system of generous dimensions. Lugs sizes were kept identical.

This lugs disposition, situated at 45° of vertical/horizontal planes when closed , though never noticed or explained, was however in itself an important solution of compromise: In the theory of ''compensation'', it is said that actions type M98 shoot better at short ranges, when N°4s ''compensate'' at longer distances.

Not entering into considerations about the stiffness differences of both types, the difference is for me mostly due to the fact that most 2-lugs designs (Mauser) have their lugs positioned VERTICALLY when closed, and the Enfield have them locked HORIZONTALLY.

It is perhaps pertinent to remember at this stage that the most inherently accurate military bolt action is the little-known French MAS 1936 . This action is the basis of a super-accurate sniper rifle, still in service today. This action has TWO very wide locking lugs bolted at 45° too!!. The 2 large lugs of the ''36'' has the same effect as the 4 lugs of the design described. The locking is simply integral and the action cannot moves in any given direction due to a lug bearing against a strong part of the body and the other simply against a collar (Mauser) or a bridge (SMLE). The design also integrated:

--Claw extractor, unfortunately fragile and complex.

--Firing pin composed of various parts screwed together and driven by an uselessly over-powerful coil spring.

--The barrel was fitted through a paradoxical square threads, reminiscence of the Schultz-Larsen barrels ordered in quantity by George for P14 conversions.

The ''Au Pif'' conception, without former study and without assembly drawings brought the following problems:

--The bolt was made of 4 parts, only the bolt head to be treated by quenching at 50hRC, the other elements being made of mild steel cyanide -hardened. Due to this concept, lugs bearing was sometimes uneven.

--The bolt head was linked to the body (itself a plain thin tube) through a cross-pin (a la Savage). The handle, incorporating the primary extraction cam, was fixed by means of a screwed plug. If not firmly screwed, the plug had a tendency to work loose, allowing the handle to move back and impairing the primary extraction.

--The large number of the firing pin elements (all, apart of the firing pin, were also made of cyanide- hardened mild steel), led also to frequent problems:

Protrusion and Sear Position were set by different threaded adjustments, necessitating a competent gunsmith (and Loctite!) to reset them. The over-powerful spring and the long firing pin travel generated too heavy a load on the firing pin tip, bending it on impacts, thus preventing its free movement and finally breaking. Few were the early Swing users (also later Paramount users) who were not constrained one time or another, to withdraw for a firing pin problem.

The Body was made of pretreated steel at some 35 hRC, wearing in the long run at level of the Sear Pin sliding in the guide slot. The refusal of the manufacturer to use a square-headed Sear Pin allowing to increase the bearing surface allowed this problem to continue, causing wear out many bodies at this level. Damage at the counter-bolting lugs in the Body, due to the relative softness of the metal were also noticed (Lugs not bearing evenly).

The Bolt opening effort was proverbial. The firing pin blow was audible, and impact allowed the rifle to ''jump'' in dry firing. The vibrations generated were audible (long) after the firing of the shot.

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The Trigger was an other problem: It was initially thought to use an Grûnig-Anschutz 1,5kg trigger, but the design of the Sear guide slot under the body did not allow the fitting of a rear trigger fixation screw. On the other hand, the action body, intended to be compact and short, did not allow the fitting of a rear fixing screw for the rather long trigger body as well as the addition behind it of a rear Bedding Screw. And this was the ''genial'' idea : A Recoil Lug was planned at the front Bedding Screw level. To contain the rear Fixing tang of the trigger body and the rear Bedding Screw, it was imagined by Churwick a kind of ''box'' or ''bridge'' encasing the trigger rear tang and ensuring both above functions....and the legend of the concept of the second Recoil Lug was borne !!!. Although being a technical nonsense, this ''concept'' still exist to this day !!!.

This trigger was expensive and supply hazardous . Moreover, a doubt subsisted on his capacity to withstand the pressure of the cocked heavy spring (this was a .22 trigger). A solution was needed, that Churwick could manufacture, and this was the Mantaari!!.

The Mantaari trigger came from Scandinavia, and was designed long ago as a match replacement for the Swedish Mauser 95. G. Swenson had imported it in quantity for the converted Mauser 98 actions. Churwick was able to manufacture it and it was adapted to the new action.

With this more compact trigger body, it would have been possible to install the trigger differently with a Rear Screw well ahead of the rear Bedding Screw, or better still, two screws ahead of the trigger body, along the long forward extension of the said body. But the long Sear guide slot prevented the added holes at the rear of Action Body. OK, the ''bridge'' was there, and the rear tang of the trigger was extended to enter and be clamped in the said bridge...And here a mechanically logical solution was missed, as the concept was not too satisfactory: Too short tapped hole in the Bridge for the rear Bedding Screw and rear trigger fixing getting loose…...

Had a mechanically logical solution be adopted for this Trigger Screw-Bedding Screw problem, the rear Recoil Lug concept would have never happened. The right solution was however obvious, as adopted on the C.G actions.

This trigger was submitted to a long series of additions to become really reliable with the Paramounts. The C.G trigger could have replaced it as early as 1989, but existing stocks had to be used up, then the Paramounts used the ''Mantaari'' up to the end of production.

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--A spring-loaded Ejector was fitted. Some accuracy-minded shooters preferred to neutralize it and remove their empties by hand.

--The case recess in the Bolt head was unduly deep :3mm (.118") as compared with the standard 2,5mm (.100) set originally by Peter-Paul Mauser. This depth was necessitated by the form of the radial sliding extractor. Despite the adoption of the CG claw-type extractor for the Paramounts, this unusual depth continues today in Tonbridge productions.

--A Bolt Stop operating in a slot milled in the Bolt Body tube. The limited thickness of this tube prevented a deep enough slot . This added to the mild undercoat of the metal allowed the slot to be damaged, preventing the Bolt to move freely and remaining maintained by the Bolt Stop.

George Swenson and Laurie Ingram then created Swing Firearms Ltd. The model SIN 71 Mk1 is marketed . It is not for me to explain here the reason of the initials SIN, which will quickly become SWING, for Swenson and INGram. It seem that Churwick was the manufacturer, but Churchill and Wickham were not partners in the Swing venture. It seem also that, despite all the later claims, Churchill and Wickham did the real ''designing and modeling'' work, on George's ideas and under his control. The first actions produced are now museum pieces. The real prototype, called the ''NO NUMBER'' is now secured as a rifle in Laurie Ingram's hands. In July 2003, Steve Brooks informed me he still owned the number 02.

After 2 years appear the MK2 (I own the number 2 of this model), some improvements were brought in:

--Radial sliding Extractor, still of uncertain functioning.

--Better finish, although still rather rustic.

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All the facts already noticed concerning Firing Pin and Trigger are still there, as no modifications are made. Despite those reliability issues, the rifles built under the trade name by Eric McGibbon and under their own label by many others shoot well and start to win regularly.

In 1978 Laurie Ingram bequeathed the Company to George and moved to France. It appears later that Swing is not in good health. Severe financial problems seem to occur between George and Churwick . John Hissey enters for a period as a shareholder of Swing Firearms Ltd. George launches a serial of actions made under the ''Lost Wax process''. This is the MK3 , and this is a disaster. Characteristics are:

--Investment Cast Body, with integrated Recoil Lugs.

--Bolt Lugs guided full travel length by corresponding slot rails in the Body.

--The Bolt remain 22,2mm in diameter (.875''), but lugs diameter is 23,2 (.914'') to ensure guidance in Body rails. Bolt functioning is good, but the feeding very poor, because the cartridge positions itself in the lower slot and abuts against the barrel rear face during the forward travel of the bolt. Owners seem to get used to the problem, and it is possible to watch on the firing points several problematic solutions to overcome the feeding problem. --One-piece Bolt. This would have been a plus if the fabrication was good but: a)The concentricity of various diameters and borings is poor and other finish defects are numerous, external (lugs) as well as internal (borings out of line). b) The variations in sizes are such that no interchangeability of parts can be ensured. All the mechanical skills of subcontractor Anton Aspin are necessary to allow those disparate parts to fit together. The rejections are numerous and George Swenson is compelled to return quickly to a more conventional manufacturing concept.

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John Hissey left, Jeremy Hakim enters and the Company becomes 'Swing Target Rifles Limited''.

In the mean time, Churwick had worked on what will become, when the dispute is over, the MK IV action. This model will continue its career until 1988. Effectively, if a MK V appears before the second Swing collapse, it only differs by minor machining details.

For the MK4, a different Body is realised. Externally, it is always a Swing, but:

--The barrel threads are now conventional UN ,1''040 x 16tpi, and barrel shank is longer.

--Bedding Screws are now ? x 28 UNF.

--Although the bolt body is always 22,2mm diameter, the lugs diameter is increased to 24,2 and bolt guidance is as for MK3. If this increases the Lugs bearing surface (not necessary, as they were already more than sufficient), the feeding problem is increased accordingly.

The opening movement of the Bolt is (at last) lightened by reducing the firing pin travel, thus reducing the cocking cam angle.

--The new Bolt Stop, still situated on the right, is notably improved, as it now holds the Bolt by the right locking lug (This existed already on the MK3 too but with old Bolt Stop).

--The extractor is always of the radial sliding type. Its strength and functioning are improved, but not yet perfected.

--The Firing Pin Spring remains over-powerful, but its reduced travel reduces the opening effort and the load on the Sear.

--A light metal firing pin, with a redesigned hard tip reduces notably the risk of bending and breakage. This was not introduced first, but later in the MK4s life .

--The bad point of the trigger was to get the settings changing and is eliminated with the adjunction of locking screws, but the first pull setting still need Loctite to remain set.

--An adjustable Trigger Finger is optional. Due to the well forward position of the standard trigger (reminiscences of its Mauser origin), it can only be reached by long fingers, or in reducing (and weakening) the pistol grip area of the stock.

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Two variants are offered:

-Light, 34,6mm diameter (1.360'').

-Heavy, 38,1mm diameter (1.50'').

This action has been built in large quantities. How many? The reply to this question was always uncertain. My estimate, according to serial numbers and method of numbering: 600 ex ?!.

In1988, a new disagreement occurs between G. Swenson and his partners, and he return to USA, after a short period in Scotland, where he managed o have assembled a very few ''MK VI'' with disparate parts. This initiating the collapse of Swing Target Rifles and by consequence those of Churwick Engineering

The Churwick associates manage to save their machines, toolings...etc. An important stock of components and work-in-progress parts is carefully preserved from the liquidators inventory !!!.

J. Hakim, P. Churchill, R. Wickham , soon joined by Michael Sullivan then decide to form a new company for the manufacture of a new action. A new departure and perhaps new ideas ??..

We must now effect a small return in the past: Since 1984, fed up with the successive problems he encounters using intensively his Swing, which nevertheless he cherishes, and with the repairs and modifications he makes for his fellows shooters using Swings also, the author undertakes the conception of a new action, incorporating to the maximum the best technical principles of the various makes of target shooting actions, and which will not be subject of legal property claims or current patent rights.

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Some personal ideas, which later will be the subject of registered designs and patents, will be the basic elements around which the action will be built. A technical specifications register is established and drawings completed. In collaboration with J.C Gondouin, a competent toolmaker, the prototypes appears. Philipe Ginestet brings his support as adviser. He will later contribute actively in the shooting and reliability tests and establish the legal perspective.

The following principles are adopted:

- Octagonal Body (registered design model), flat bottomed, with the largest possible bedding area.

- Absence of recoil lug, the rear face of the Body largely acting as such. This principle, directly derived from those of the Bench-Rest, allow the transmission of recoil the nearest possible in line with the axis of the bore. The angle of transmission of the recoil is then the smallest (5 times less than for the SWING front Recoil Lug).

- 3 Bedding Screws.

- Front face of Body angled at 5°, thus allowing the action to be pushed backwards against the rear bedding face, and an easy removal out of the bedding.

- The openings are as reduced as possible, for a maximum of rigidity, still increased by the octagonal form, dampening the vibrations.

- The Body, also the rest of the parts of the action, are machined from 36 Ni Cr Mo16 steel bar stock, heat treated for a hardness of 52 hRC, Rm , 180kgs/mm?, or 115 tons/sq.inch.

- The Bolt has 4 Lugs, well-proven principle for over 50 years. Case head recess is 2,5mm deep for better chambering.

- The base of the bolt handle is located in a slot milled in the body. The primary extraction ramp is a half- radius joining the radial and axial surfaces of the slot. The base of the lever acts as a primary extraction cam. The primary extraction travel is more than 2mm.

- The Extractor is claw-type, positive action and self-maintained by Spring-Plunger.

- There is no Ejector on this first model.

- The Firing Pin is of the floating type, with a separate hammer. The Pin Tip can be quickly exchanged, without altering the hammer settings.

- The Sear Pin has its lower part of square section, with large bearing surfaces to ensure good sliding in its raceway and a better contact with the Sear Lever of the Trigger.

- The Hammer is lightened, as well as the Spring. Vibrations are eliminated.

- A ''Nadella'' Needle Bearing is incorporated between the Rear Plug and the Spring Pusher, this eliminating friction and reducing considerably the opening effort .

- The Trigger is a Grunig-Anschutz and the design of the Sear raceway and rear Bedding Screw allows the fixing of the Trigger the conventional way, with a screw at rear and one at front.

The barrel shank is threaded M27x1,5 and has a length of 30mm, with a centering diameter maintained at close tolerance in a corresponding bore in the Body.

From 1986 (model registration) to 1988, experience led to the following improvements to the C.Gs:

- One-piece Bolt.

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- Firing system powered by Belleville Washers, system patented together with the Sear Roller and Nadella thrust bearing, eliminating friction of the Sear against its cocking ramp. It is to be noticed that G. Swenson, informed of my work on spring washers, predicted me that I would ruin Bolts if I persevered in this direction! In 1987, he had in hand a C.G action equipped with Bellevilles. He checked it, cocking and dry-firing it many times, complimenting me on the smoothness of it. As the system was then not yet patented, I made no comment and informed him only later!.

It should also be emphasised that the Grünig-Anschutz Trigger being of lower profile as well as the absence of Recoil Lugs and Body rear tang, allowed a deeper (lower) position of the action in the stock, therefore a better position for the shooter

The rifles shot well and were used at Bisley by the Late F.R Payne and D.J Goodall amongst others.

A last improvement of the C.G consists in the adaptation of the Inertia Ejector. To achieve this, the Bolt Stop is moved to the left and a pusher is inserted in the left lug of the Bolt. At the end of the rearward travel of the Bolt, the Bolt Stop hits the Pusher, and the empty case is ejected at the shooter's convenience. Slow movement of the Bolt even allows to remove by hand the fired case. This might be of no significance when firing ''as issued'' ammo, but a major point for the reloader. It is however necessary to say here that this is simply an adaptation of a very ancient system.

Here we were in 1989 when Jeremy Hakim asked Robert Chombart to cooperate with the Tonbridge Team in the concept of the future ''Paramount''.

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The latest C.G was closely studied and considered and a collection of various ideas was assembled. Messrs. Churchill and Wickham retained the two ''Recoil Lugs'' system, as they needed to end up the Bodies and Triggers ''saved'' from Chirwicks's collapse. This prevented the abandonment of the rear ''bridge''. Had an other trigger be adopted (the C.G was already existent), no doubt the 2 Recoil Lugs concept would not have survived.

The following C.G principles were adopted:

- Body with the rear face square to the axis, allowing a lowered position in the stock. This was easily accomplished by cutting off the tang of existing rescued partly finished Swing Bodies .

- Bolt handle enclosed in a slot acting as a primary extraction ramp.

- Claw extractor (the inertia ejector was not adopted at this time, but only after exhaustion of Swing parts).

- Sear with square bearing surfaces.

- Reduction of the Firing Pin travel (the strong spring is kept but the new system allow to reduce its vibrations).

- The Swing Firing Pin is kept, despite J. Hakim's insistence, and although the two-pieces one is judged superior, and this for exhaustion of old parts stocks.

- I integration of the C.G Needle Bearing and Plug.

- The C.G idea of complementary centering of the barrel is adopted.

The Paramount Company is then formed, with J. Hakim as MD.and main shareholder. P. Churchill and R. Wickham, as ''unpaid shareholders''!!! bring in the remains of Churwick and Swing. Michael Sullivan joins the company.

The new action pleases. It shoot and functions well, and is reliable.

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J. Hakim asks R. Chombart to study various types of actions, and a C.G-Paramount in .223 caliber is made in limited numbers. This is entirely a C.G. Two repeater models are also studied, but never goes over the model stage.

However, as early as 1991, cash is needed. John Proctor is presumed to bring in the maximum for this funding operation, but reduces his participation afterwards to very much smaller amount. R. Chombart becomes shareholder.

J. Hakim then abandons the chairmanship, taken over by J. Proctor, but already everything goes wrong between Proctor and Sullivan on one side and the tandem Churchill-Wickham on the other. The company sinks and is cutup the masterly usual way...and things start again !!!.

P. Churchill and R. Wickham again recover machinery, tooling and work-in-progress and create (1992) R+P Arms, to continue the actions production, as well as those of the sights, of which they are competent manufacturers. They will also market their range of sighting accessories.

Proctor and Sullivan create ''Imperial Gun Company'' to market the actions and build and market the rifles. The action is now labelled ''Imperial''.

In the meantime, R. Chombart, having left this nest of pirates, has redesigned the C.G, with an even stronger one-piece Bolt Body and a ''compacted'' Trigger. This Trigger has a Body with Cover Plate allowing inspection of mechanism functioning and possess the capability of multiple settings, all externally accessible without having to remove the action from the stock. Peepholes are drilled at level of important setting points. The setting are accurate and all fixed with a fastening system. It is (according to J. Carmichael in ''Target Gun'') ''The best the author has ever seen for a Target Rifle". It can be adjusted for pull from 300 to 2000 grammes two-stage in two setting ranges, and much less in single- stage. On this action model, the primary extraction is ensured by a double cam inserted rear of the barrel and maintained in position by the barrel. The double cam acts against the front of top and bottom Bolt lugs face and ensures a perfect 2,5mm primary extraction travel.

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The design is offered to Imperial who built some rifles on this C.G action, and will call them ''Imperial ERA'', but this venture stops short with the Imperial financial problems. Günteer Böhme in Germany makes a serial for his own Trade Mark rifles (80 examples approx). The rifle will equip the Germany 1995 Palma Team in Trentham (NZ). This action has moreover the following improvements, all incorporated again for most of them in the future RPA 2000 C.G, RPA 2000 and Quadlocks, and most notably in the next generation of the design, the C.G MILLENNIUM:

- Case head recess in the bolt 2,5 mm (never accepted by RPA, but adopted on the Millennium).

- Firing system: Hammer made of one piece, lightened to render the lock time even faster. The machining tolerances adopted allow to eliminate the double setting Protrusion-Sear Pin of the Tonbridge products. The Spring Washers are maintained by a Split Sleeve . The system simply cannot get out of adjustment. Firing Pin travel : as for all C.C: 3,9mm (.154'') on dry firing. Firing Pin travel to impact: 2,5mm (.098'').

- Floating Firing Pin tip diameter: 1,6mm (.063''). This solution, possible thanks to the qualities of the metal used, ensures a more violent indentation, neat and fast, thanks as well too to the lightness of the hammer powered by a new stack of spring washers ID 6,2mmm, OD 12,5mm, Th 0,5mm. Evidence of the percussion quality is given by the absence of any cratering around the primer indentation, even when shooting rather hot loads.

- The Bolt-Firing System is totally exempt from vibrations.

- Friction less rolling of the Sear on the Cam. Needle thrust bearing. These two items lighten the effort on opening-cocking the Bolt.

- Original version of the Inertia Ejector. The Bolt Stop slides in a deep slot milled on the Bolt body .

- Rearsight dovetail milled on top of action.

- The action forms with the ultra-strong Body an assembly neat, homogenous and elegant.

- Eventual gas leaks to the rear are controlled by the angled front face of the Bolt Body diameter and escape through an opening between this face and the front of ejection port and in opposite direction of the shooter's face. Leaking gases simply cannot enter the Bolt through the Firing Pin hole , as they are stopped by the Tip body itself, acting as a small piston (4,7mm dia.). Hammer cannot be blown back.

For economical reasons, most of those actions are produced with a round body 36 or 38 mm diam.. Some however were made octagonal.

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In 1993 Imperial is ''victim of the recession'' but miraculously Proctor survives and quickly assemble rifles salvaged from the Imperial wreckage, under the ancient name of Swing. They were made from disparate salvaged parts.

R+P try to keep afloat until the absorption by Jiskoot in 1994.

Jiskoot's aims are clear: primarily acquire a capacity of mechanical fabrications for the profit of their own firm, Jiskoot Instruments Ltd and as possible ''fill the gaps'' with R+P own products. This is one of the simple reasons why products are often not available for long periods!!. The company is named RPA Precision engineering with M. Jiskoot (MD), P. Jiskoot, P. Churchill, R. Wickham , Directors.

M. Jiskoot establish with R. Chombart a contract on the terms to which the latter will realise the drawings of a new action which will incorporate his own concepts of the C.G and those of the predecessors of RPA. The concept and design of this new model will be joint property of R. Chombart and RPA and the later will be the manufacturer.

R. Chombart establishes drawings, models and supplies all the elements. The prototypes produced largely with his participation is shown at 1994 Imperial Meeting, and Jiskoot's C.A.D capacities are used to produce manufacturing drawings from my originals..

M. Jiskoot also asks R. Chombart the fabrication rights of the C.G. The latter, wishing to keep control over this model, allows it to be made by RPA, on the basis of limited rights, allowing him the right at any moment to choose an other manufacturer for the C.G, should RPA does not satisfy the international demand for this model.

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Thus were born the actions first called ''The Pinpoint Project'' and which became finally:

1°) The RPA 2000 CG, the design remaining FULL property of R. Chombart which is utterly the C.G in its principles of accuracy:

- Octagonal Body of the registered model (1986), flat bottom.

- 3 Bedding Screws.

- Floating Firing Pin .

- Long Trigger Guard. The action is particularly suitable for this long Trigger Guard screwed all the way long the forearm, that RPA still sells under the name ''CG RAIL''.

- The RPA 2000 C.G is supplied with an integrated feeding device, intended for trouble-free feeding of the .223 round.

R. Chombart also produces an octagonal C.G of whose the base bears a milled shoulder situated immediately behind the middle Bedding Screw. This constitutes in fact a Recoil Lug and is without doubt the basic idea of what became the Quadlock.

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2°) The RPA 2000, ''Joint Property Design'' first had a cylindrical Body (again, old stocks used up). The octagonal version is to appear later in 1996. The first model has a welded front Recoil Lug and a boss at the rear, containing the rear Bedding Screw threads. This appendix was useless, as the threads could well have been cut directly in the Body, as I intended to do originally. This idea was quickly abandoned, as the bosses were torn away when tightening the rear Bedding Screw !!. Conservatism helping, or more likely the impossibility to accept other ideas at Tonbridge, a rear ''Recoil Lug'' is quickly welded on...

The RPA 2000 has the conventional Firing Pin. I do not dare to call it one-piece, as my original design was quickly changed for a multi-parts system, all screwed together, always for the reasons of using the old RPA screw-cuttung machines and impossibility for them to keep to the established close tolerances!!. No consideration for precision and concentricity of such an important part is taken.

Moreover, if in the RPA 2000 C.G the fixation of the C.G Trigger is ensured by 2 screws, screwing directly in the Body, RPA choose for the RPA 2000 to continue to machine the sear raceway slot all the way long. They decided to a threaded insert plug, half-maintained in the sear long slot and only fixed by Loctite. Unavoidable consequence: If the plug moves too far in, it prevents the Sear to move or the Bolt to slide. Too far out, it impairs the Trigger functioning.

The two models C.G and RPA have the top rearsight dovetail milled rail. RPA 2000 has also the possibility to fix the sight sideways with the addition of their bracket.

As it was necessary to have the primary extraction cam on the Bolt handle, a Camming Block was fitted on the root of the Bolt handle, this Cam being firmly secured by the Bolt Handle, which was intended to be of heat treated to 140kgs/mm2 stainless steel in order to allow a tight fixation. RPA decided to machine this Handle from mild free-machining stainless instead. This, in addition to the fact that the fixing screw of the Bolt Handle was deliberately missed, led to problems in USA with handles becoming loose. This could have been avoided, had the right material and fitting be used as prescribed.

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Action Bodies and Bolts are finally made of 36NiCrMo16, or B.S equivalent. Both heat treated to 50hRC, but internal parts still made of carbo-nitrided mild steel, despite the designer precise specifications and in breach of the rules of procedure in gunmaking matters.

All models have 23.2mm Lugs diam, to be again raised to 24,2 on the RPA 2000 , fortunately after the abandoning of the C.G 2000!. This led again to feeding problems

Both models are originally intended to accept the Remington-type triggers (Timney, Jewell and others) by the mean of an adapter (hanger).

Rapidly, the technical collaboration climate deteriorates, because RPA, from their own initiative and without agreement, made negative modifications, mainly because their constant financial problem and their refusal to use specialised subcontractors or techniques (suppliers wanted to be paid by RPA before delivery of the goods), than for real technical necessities. R. Chombart was thus led to intervene and modify the design to correct their errors. As RPA only admitted their difficulties long after (or so I was informed later by users complaints), the interventions could only therefore happen long afterwards.

End of 1995, RPA, who have always overpriced the C.G 2000 to favour the 2000, and this despite promising sales, then decide unilaterally to cease the manufacture and marketing of the 2000 C.G.

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In January 1994 and also 1995, R. Chombart had met at Trentham(NZ), Anthony Halberg and John Hastie, owners of H+H Enterprises of Hastings (NZ), who showed great interest for my old C.G, as ideally compatible to their revolutionary, now patented, ''fleXibed''® Bedding system. To meet their requirements, they acquired a certain quantity of RPA 2000 C.G, and were left with nothing when RPA ceased to market this action. To compensate their delays in delivering their own model, RPA even had sold in UK C.G's already bought by HHE!!.

This 'limited rights'' concession of the C.G model having been totally abandoned by the cessation of RPA's manufacturing and marketing it, R. Chombart, asked by HHE, informs RPA of their plans and, as the contract allowed him to do so for two reasons:

- Failure of RPA by abandoning production.

- This failure allowing him the right to choose another manufacturer for the C.G, afterwards granted HHE the licensing rights of the C.G system and patents.

Previously, R. Chombart had proposed RPA two major improvements of the action design, which were both refused by them. He then incorporated them in the redesigning of the C.G that HHE manufactured in quantity 10 years under the name of ''C.G MILLENNIUM". This action notably equipped, together with the fleXibed ® system, the rifles used very successfully by the New Zealand 1999 Palma Team in Bloemfontein (RSA) where they reached an enviable 3rd place, behind South Africa and Great Britain, but ahead of strong teams such as Australia, USA, Canada, Germany.

The C.G Millennium and the combination with the fleXibed has met considerable shooting success. Commercially, it is now well-known all over the world and was distributed in many countries: USA, Canada, Australia, RSA, UK, Europe, Africa .

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The excellent and very friendly cooperation between the designer always active despite vision problems and the manufacturers, both excellent technicians and also great shooters (a capacity which was always been missing at RPA) and as active, was from the beginning most beneficial to the users, for which they are always the most attentive listener .

RPA, notwithstanding having broken unilaterally the contract with the designer, ignoring deliberately the ''Common Property'' of the models they still market today and declining, despite all their engagements, continue to refuse to pay the royalties overdue on the sold materials.

This was the situation in December 1998. Since then, RPA goes its own way, illegally using the C.G rights for their current productions. They have never accepted a competition of quality, of prices and of performances that they self-contributed to create.

By July 1999, when RPA had already reneged on the contract since one year, P. Jiskoot requested a meeting. He asked me to stop licensing HHE and cease to have any activity in conception of any shooting-related product for a period of 5 years (same duration as the original contract of 1994). In ''compensation'', he offered a ridiculously small sum for me to abandon claims on my own designs, patents and models they were manufacturing!!!.

The C.G Millennium continues to be on Leader Boards of many major competitions all over the world . And I continue my hobby activity by having recently designed a rather revolutionary C.G CENTRA Rearsight (patented and registered design) now made under licence by CENTRA Visiertechnik in Germany, as well as a C.G CENTRA Adjustable Frontsight. Both helped to win the English Match Silver in Athens 2004 Olympics.

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On the market since 2006 is a Universal C.G Trigger to equip from a single basic mechanism, an infinite number of action models (including C.G and RPA, C.G Millennium, Swing-Paramout, Remington and clones, Winchester, Sako-Tikka, Mauser, etc..etc ). This Trigger attracted great interest from Timney in USA, but although making very fine Direct-Pull Triggers, they eventually showed themselves unable to produce a good 2-Stage Trigger . M. Hodder has taken over the distribution in Australia and the first C.G Uni Triggers will appear now under the trading name of JACKSON RIFLES, and, from the end of 2007, will also cooperate with Tom Myers, of X-Treme Precision Products for the manufacture of the Triggers also in USA. The newest model to be manufactured there will be a Remington 'Tactical' drop-in in all Remington stocks.

I have also others irons on the fire!.
Helped by my two friends J. Burel and B. Lemuet, both highly qualified toolmakers, shooters with an impressive reputation who have produced my last prototypes. For instance, on an original theme of Laurie Ingram (yes, the Swing co-originator), a super-stiff rear-locking 3 lugs action for Palma, Match Rifle, F-Class and also Benchrest and featuring a rapid barrel changing option .... The C.G-INCH - Delta. (I let you guess as to why it is so named)?. This action is to be built shortly in Australia by Woody Engineering, with expected first deliveries end of 2008.

Head of Woody Engineering, Rod Shehan, has also other projects, on which we are working actively.

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There is also a C.G Mini for Smallbore , having the same balance , feel and sizes as the Fullbore Action , and intended to adapt directly into the fleXibed Bedding, but also to other bedding systems.

Finally, X-Treme is now starting, under an idea of their own, to manufacture in cooperation with Centra a new Long Range Frontsight which I designed for them. T. Myers has also other projects of great promise on which I am working…....

Since the rupture, RPA have not been able to make any major improvement nor novelty. Even the Quadlite is an old idea of mine (2 C.G prototypes of the models have been in use for many years to prove the point here). RPA seem now to concentrate on Military and Law-Enforcement sectors, to the detriment of Target Shooting. I wish them the best in their endeavours...

Robert G. Chombart ''La Hardroue'' F-61160 AUBRY en EXMES
Revised June 2008.

Edited and/or translated from original French texts:
©Laurie Ingram (co founder of SWING Fireamrs Ltd)
Bagnols en Forêt - FRANCE
April 2001 - 2008