Charlie Sisk of Dayton, Texas has been
building top-quality hunting rifles for many years, catering to
the needs of sportsmen who demand the very best equipment. I had
previously heard of Charlie Sisk, and have seen some examples of
his craftsmanship, but had never met Charlie until about six
months ago when he landed his private plane at Outlaw Field in
Clarksville, Tennessee.
I met Charlie at the airfield, and we got
into my Suburban and drove into town for some good Mexican grub.
While waiting for the feast to arrive, he opened his computer
and showed to me some very interesting CAD drawings of a new
stock which he had designed, and which was in the process of
being built. The design really piqued my interest, for it was
like no other which I had ever seen. Charlie had conceived a
rifle stock which would allow the rifle to comfortably fit the
shooter, no matter the position from which he had to fire the
weapon. My only question was, “When can I shoot it?”
After a couple of months of working on the
rifle and tweaking the design, the prototype rifle was ready,
and I flew down to Houston, Texas, where Charlie, along with
David Biggers of Biggers Consulting, picked me up for the drive
to Dayton and the Sisk Rifles facility. For the next two days,
we fired Charlie’s prototype tactical long-range rifle outside
from multiple positions, and also inside at his one-hundred yard
range. Over the course of those two days, Charlie changed the
barrel from 223 Remington to 243 Winchester to 260 Remington,
and with each barrel, it exhibited amazing accuracy.
The most impressive thing about the rifle is
the stock, and that is what we are looking at here; the STAR
rifle stock. The STAR is really more of a chassis, or an
adjustable portable vise, or a platform, which holds the
barreled action, creating a solid shooting machine. Whatever you
choose to call it, this chassis is made primarily from aircraft
grade aluminum, hard coated for durability, and it adjusts like
nothing else on the market.
Charlie has several patents which cover his
unique stock design, which is purpose-built to exactly fit the
weapon to the shooter, no matter the position. Many times, a
sniper or designated marksman will have to get into position and
wait for several hours before making his shot. When the chance
comes to make that shot, if the shooter is confined to an
uncomfortable position in which he has to fight to get the rifle
on target, that shot most likely won’t happen. With the STAR
chassis, the shooter can adjust the length of pull, the height
and angle of the cheek piece, and the pitch, height, and cant of
the recoil pad. In addition, the wrist of the stock is indexed
to easily and quickly rotate a full 360 degrees around its axis,
to get the shooter’s eye aligned exactly behind the scope, no
matter the position from which he has to shoot. At long range,
parallax is a much bigger deal than most shooters think it is,
and having the eye in perfect position can make the difference
between a hit and a miss. The STAR stock puts the eye exactly
where it needs to be, no matter the shooter’s position, nor
the bulk of the equipment that he is wearing.
In Texas, shooting the prototype rifle, we
were able to comfortably adjust the rifle stock to shoot from
many positions, the most impressive of which was shooting
underneath cover from a hole only six inches high. I am a
left-handed shooter, and found that by rotating the buttstock
and adjusting the angle of the recoil pad, I could take the
rifle from one of the other fellows, who are both terminally
right-handed, and fit it perfectly to me in under a minute, by
making a couple of adjustments.
Earlier this week, Charlie again flew into
Outlaw Field, and this time instead of his computer, he brought
with him a production rifle, which he left here for me to shoot.
He arrived at the airfield at night, and had to scale a
seven-foot security fence topped with barbed wire, but together
we were able to get him out of there, and drove to Stewart
County and the Gunblast World Headquarters. Shown here is one of
the first production STAR stocks, which is built for a
left-handed Sisk barreled action chambered for the 308
Winchester cartridge. Charlie had already mounted a Leupold Mark
4 Tactical scope onto the rifle, which is a perfect choice for
such a weapon, so all I had to do was make a couple of
adjustments to the stock, and get to work. In addition to the
premium Buffalo Bore Sniper ammunition, which is my first choice
when testing a quality 308, I tried a couple of handloads that
used the 169 grain Sierra Match King bullet and Varget powder.
As expected, accuracy was superb.
The stock shown here is finished in a
hard-coat tan, and contrasts well with the black barreled
action. While the Sisk tactical rifle accuracy is superb, it is
that STAR stock which allows the shooter to take full advantage
of the accuracy potential built into that custom barrel and
action. The video shows the workings of the rifle stock better
than does the still pictures, but for the next couple of days
after receiving the rifle, I had a lot of fun firing it. The
complete rifle weighs in at fifteen and one-half pounds, so it
would not be the ideal choice for slinging across your back
while climbing a mountain, but for a tactical rifle, fired from
various positions, I know of nothing better. The chassis fits
the barreled action perfectly. The action is precisely bedded
into the chassis. CNC machining allows for a tight fit of the
action, and the barrel is free-floated for consistent accuracy.
In addition to the tan shown here, the STAR stock is offered in
many different colors and camo patterns. Depending upon your
preference, Charlie will build you a complete rifle, or sell you
the stock to fit your rifle. The stock is available either right-handed or
left-handed, to fit Remington or Savage barreled actions, with
other brands available soon. While there are many good
bolt-action rifles on the market, most are lacking in the
quality and fit of the stock, making it difficult for the
shooter to take full advantage of the accuracy potential of the
weapon. The STAR stock turns a good rifle into a great rifle,
and this STAR rifle is the one that I would want in my hands, if
I had to make the most important shot of my life.