I've been following this thread with interest. I don't know Reed but do know Mark Bansner,at least as a result of quite a few phone conversations, through mutual aquaintances,and as a result of having owned at least 1/2 dozen of his stocks.Mark not only knows rifles but is an experienced BG hunter as well, with as much or more experience as the majority of people posting on here.
I am not sure which of us owned one first but RinB and I have been using Bansner stocks going back quite a few years. I know i was first in my circle of friends in this area to have Mark's shop stock a rifle, but a good many more were built following my first one.I know where there are several in use right now on friends rifles and I would put the number at easily over 20 stock jobs on a variety of rifles.For some guys these have been "lifetime" rifles, taken everywhere from Newfoundland to Africa to Alaska and back without a hitch.
My own "favorite" was a M70 in 7 RM with Bansner stock that I hunted everywhere out west and in Canada for several years before I shot out the barrel (a 9 twist Krieger) that never changed POI in any fashion as long as I owned it. I was always impressed with the durability and reliability of the good bedding job that Tom and Clay at Mark's shop did on those rifles....in all that time the guard screws never even loosened.Others I have owned and shot have been of the same level of quality and accuracy.
Friends and I have lugged the rifles everywhere; never heard any comments about a Bansner stock being squared off too much,or uncomfortable to carry,or too heavy, or anything else remotely similar to those comments.
As to the actions I don't have any experience using them but have handled one Ed Brown rifle built for an acquaintance in the Peace River region of Alberta. The rifle was shipped to my LGS for transfer to Canada; the owner of the shop and I both hunted with the same outfitter,and he was transporting the rifle to Alberta.The action was very high quality...a long step above any Kimber or M70 Classic,and a had a silky smoothness to its workings reminiscent of a Mannlicher Shoenauer...it was that smooth and well made.
If the rifle were a "one lug" design, it's news to me since the action was used for all standard and magnum cartridges including the WSM line,loaded by the factories to 65,000 psi. so, having Reed jump through hoops to "prove" an already proven two lug actions design seems like a waste of the guy's time.
I don't know if LAW will be giving them the same level of finish as the original Ed Brown action but if they do anyone would have to be impressed. I liked it well enough that I wanted one myself; never got around to it. The rifle that went to Alberta was used by the owner up there with complete satisfaction...have not been in touch in a few years but spoke with him when I hunted up there and he and already shot a lot of game with it, and he considered it ideal for the game hunted in that country...mule, whitetail deer, black bear, moose, elk etc.
I would not expect the LAW to be as light as a Kimber,a nice feature that I like myself about Kimbers, but dramatically over played in importance.The twist thing I won't comment on except to say I like them spun faster myself if the bullet is built to take the torque,but not everyone chooses bullets for BG hunting based on BC alone;and many great
hunting(not target) bullets do just fine with standard twists. YMMV.
The gist of all this is that Mark Bansner likely knows his way around BG rifles better than most;(certainly more than most of us on here) and knows how to build a rifle that will stand up to most of the demands dished out for real, not imagined, BG hunting. I don't know how these LAW rifles will turn out but in my eyes Mark's reputation precedes him and I bet they will be a good dependable piece of gear. I would not mind getting my hands on one myself if I could figure out what caliber I'd like.
I really don't need very much of anything right now.
Wish Reed and Mark best of luck with the new venture.
