Joe Wiest

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  • Last Post 22 February 2015
frnkeore posted this 15 August 2013

Joe, left the shooting range permently Yesterday, August 13, 2013. He sucombed to his long fight with cancer.

I didn't know Joe very well, I bought a few things of his and talked on the phone once. I learned this from a close friend of his today.

What I did know of Joe was that he was a very nice guy and very trusting of others. I'm sure that others that shot with him over the years will mourn his lose. He does leave us one thing........ his still standing 200 yard Big Bore group record:

Joe Wiest

2.813  June 14, 2009

Sioux City, IA   And his 100 yard Off Hand score record:    Joe Wiest

84-0X

June 13, 2009

Sioux City, IA

 Frank

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RicinYakima posted this 15 August 2013

Joe was one of the first guys I meet at the 2007 Nationals at Hawkeye Range in Iowa. One of the good “gun guys” that always had a new project and boxes of “Trading Stock". My best wishes to his family. Ric

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Wally Enga posted this 15 August 2013

Joe was a great guy and I am very thankful to have had the privilege of meeting him at matches over the years.

I was at that Military Rifle Nationals Match in 2009, when Joe Shot that amazing Big Bore 200 Yard Group with a 1869 41 Swiss, which has really primitive iron sights.

That record will stand a long time as will our memories of Joe.

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Bodine posted this 15 August 2013

Darn I knew time was close the last time we talked a week or so ago. I am gonna miss my bore solvent drinkin buddy. One heck of a good guy. He had told me an angel had come to him and that his time was near. Rest easy Joe and save me a bench, I'll bring the bore solvent.

Jeff

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JeffinNZ posted this 15 August 2013

I had some contact with Joe outside of the forums and he was a top notch guy. Rest well Joe.

Cheers from New Zealand

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NORMSUTTON posted this 15 August 2013

I knew Joe not from this site, but after I bought my first Swiss Vetterli , he had a passion for these rifles , and now so do I, Joe was always there to give me a helping hand , you'll will be missed

NORM

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PETE posted this 15 August 2013

Worked with Joe for several years. Swapped a few stories and guns over that time. When he moved we kept in touch. Missed him then and will miss his emails now.

May he rest in peace.

Pete

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John Alexander posted this 16 August 2013

Joe was always pleasant and always had an interesting project going. I looked forward to seeing him at the CBA nationals each year. He was one of the few CBA members who took the time to distribute CBA brochures at gun shows and gun shops. Once a year or so I would get an email asking for more brochures. Joe will be missed.

John

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CB posted this 16 August 2013

I went to see Joe a couple a times this last month. He had a lung removed last winter and had a few more chemo treatments, but then quit as Joe was too weak to take any more. Joe was selling some of his last items, scopes, dies and such, but couldn't get out to shoot as it was just too much work for him.

Joe had a lot of support from his church family with a lot of prayers, which I believe gave him peace of mind and heart. He spent his last quiet months reading his bible. We talked about things to do yet, but I think Joe was ready to go, passing away peacefully to be in the hands of Christ.

Joe retired in 2002. I took this picture at his shooting bench at Wind Hill. Joe had the photos printed to pass around to his buddies at work and said, “this is what I'll be doing when I retire, shooting cast bullets in bench rest competition."

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CB posted this 18 August 2013

Here is a picture of Joe with his Swiss Vertteli competeing at the first big CBA military match; Scott's Regional Military Match in 2006. Joe had a lathe and did his own gunsmith work converting Verttelis from rimfire to centerfire, and also doing his own barrel work on his bench rifles and making dies and gadgets and etc.

Joe and I shot side-by-side at this match. The first 5 or 6 benches on that end had a bad wind during the 2 days of the tournament while the rest of the line didn't have hardly any to contend with. Joe and I kept trying to figure out what to do trying to shoot during the low gusts. After the 3rd relay Joe said he shot with the gusty winds and shot better, so we picked a time to shoot with the gust as they were predictable and the lows were not. We learned a valuable wind doping lesson that day....

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CB posted this 18 August 2013

I didn't know Joe back in the 70s, but Joe told me stories about him going to buckskin rendezvous to shoot in the muzzleloader competitions. I think Joe shot most of his life just hunting, but the muzzleloader matches was his first competitions. In the 70s I tihnk the rendezvous was pretty close to its peak of interests with the famous Prairie du Chien rendezous up in Wisconsin pretty close to Joe only about 65 miles. Anyway, Joe was a good shot and won a lot of the local muzzleloading matches. He said it got so bad, that when he showed up to for the match, some competitors would leave.

Joe would build a muzzleloader, sometimes two, every winter from factory parts for the barrel, lock and hardware, usually from Track Of The Wolf suppliers. Joe used top notch parts and had a buddy over in Wisconsin to get top AA curly maple stocks from. Joe had another friend use a power router to machine out the barrel channel, but Joe carved the rest himself by hand. Joe said he had many, many hours in building a rifle. Here is Joe a couple a weeks before he passed on with his remaining muzzleloaders he had built.....

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CB posted this 18 August 2013

Was thinking of Joe on Friday, as I cased a rifle for the Clark Rifles Match on Saturday. My son, Jeff, and I bought two rifle cases from Joe at the Nationals in Sioux City in an involved three way trade. Each each time I use that case, I think of Joe and Jeff.

A fine and dedicated competitor, always willing to help the neophyte, and a gentleman to talk with on many subjects.

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madsenshooter posted this 22 February 2015

I thought of you today Joe! That tight throated K31 is still giving me bullet fit problems. I got out that bump die that you made for me so I could bump down the front band on an Ideal 308329. It worked wonderfully on both the NOE K31 bullet and an Eagan MX2-30-H! Got the check right up in the neck and the nose into the rifling. I was about half way down the shoulder before! We'll see how it goes, hope to get a Camp Perry load out of one of them.

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358156hp posted this 22 February 2015

Was it really a year and a half ago? I had a few dealings with him, read his writing in The Fouling Shot, and always thought of him as “The Vetterli Guy"

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