Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Target Shooter - Feb 2010
Target Shooter - Feb 2010
1
2 Target Shooter
NOW ALMOST 3 TIMES THE SIZE FOR 2010 !
...... A massive 112,000 sq ft, dry, weatherproof, indoor arena
90 Club Feature
106 Letters
107 Advertisers Index
75 This Smallbore
Business by Don Brook
4 Target Shooter
Association Pages
93 UKBRA
95 UKBR22
Editor(s).
97 F- Class Carl Boswell and Vince Bottomley
Advertising and Office Manager
98 Quigley Association Andy Dubreuil. email; admin@targetshooter.co.uk
Contributors
100 HFT News Vince Bottomley Andy Dubreuil Tim Finley
Laurie Holland Chris Risebrook Carl Boswell
104 Gallery Rifle Don Brook Chris Farr Nigel Greenaway
Gwyn Roberts Ken Hall Les Holgate
105 UKPSA Hayley Platts Mike Darby Front over picture by Alan Keating
Webitorial - February 2010
The ‘big one’ this month has got to be the British Shooting Show which takes place at Newark on the
weekend of February 27/28th at the Newark Showground, Nottinghamshire.
The Show is in its second year and I confess, I didn’t attend the first one and I heard mixed reports
about it. However, the organisers and exhibitors were obviously happy and this year’s Show promises
to be twice the size and all under cover. Looking at the website www.theshootingshow.co.uk most of
the names in British shooting will be there plus the major shooting organisations and opportunities to
‘try before you buy’ etc.
Yes, we all have our own favourite shooting interests, so it stands to reason that there will be a lot of
stuff there that won’t interest you but, this also applies to the massive USA SHOT Show and Europe’s
IWA show in Germany.
I’m sure all of us agree that we desperately need a good shooting exhibition in the UK but we will only
get one if we build it – by supporting it! The UK shooting community is massive and really, we deserve
our own show. If enough of us go through the doors it will become a ‘must’ for the gun trade and will
grow year by year. This one is held at exactly the right time, when outdoor activities are at the minimum
and the venue is spot-on, being equally accessible from north or south.
The Target Shooter trio will be there of course and we hope to meet as many of you as possible, so
please come up and say ‘hello’ if you see us. We will be seeking out the good stuff for our March issue,
which would normally be launched on the 1st of the month – the day after the Show closes! That will be
a challenge – so please cut us some slack if we aren’t on-line one minute after midnight!
Target Shooter 5
Shooting Sport News
New from RWS!
The RWS Elite -
multi-shot PCP
Air Rifle.
The UK hit by the hardest winter freeze the winter competition and I am sure that many
for 30 years day events have also had to be re-scheduled
because of the weather.
OK, I know a lot of our readers from A couple of our readers who
other countries will be asking what managed to get to
all the fuss is about but we are just
not used to it over here and when
the snow falls, it always brings our
country to a standstill.
My own club has been closed
for over a week as the road to
the range has been like an ice
rink and I doubt that many other
ranges have continued to
operate, though our good
friend and contributor Alan
Keating did manage take
some great shots of shooters
at Bisley in the snow – see
our cover shot!
We had a scheduled
Boxing Day shoot but half the
day was spent with shooters with shovels
trying to clear the ice so vehicles could get their
to the range. On Monday 11th January one range sent in
of our members tried to open the club in the photographs which looked very pretty
evening only to find someone had built a six-foot but not great conditions to shoot in.
snowman in front of the gate so had to turn So how do other countries that get regular snow
round. To say the least he was not happy as it cope with winter shooting? Maybe you can send
was a 20 mile round trip! us your pictures so that we UK shooters can
There has been a knock-on effect with postal learn a thing or two for the future cold snaps.
competitions having to delay some rounds of Email your pictures to customer.services@tar-
getshooter.co.uk
6 Target Shooter
Something just out is the Firearms Multimedia Guide, dscribed as the world’s first
computer searchable Firearms, Ammo and Air Guns
reference guide! A bit like a computer based
Shooters Bible. It has the following features;
* 14 different search criteria! Find your gun in a
second!
* Presents over 41,000 models of Firearms,
Airguns and Ammo from 345 manufacturers!
* Presents models with Tech Specs –
Hi-Resolution Color Pictures - Features – Prices!
* Over 24,000 high-resolution color pictures in
resolution up to 6636 x 1492!
* Guns are presented in different finishes, stock
types and stock materials!
* Exclusive European bespoke guns with price
tags up to $1,000,000!
* See the stopping power of each gun!
* BONUS FEATURES: 500 Printable Targets,
US-EU Ammo Caliber Chart, Bespoke Gun
Making Video
* For Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows Vista
and Windows 7
We will be completing a full
review of this product for next months issue, as it has just
arrived with one of our writers. View the the guide at;
www.firearmsmultimediaguide.com/
Sales Director of York Guns, David Thompson said “As Gary (Hyde - MD) said It is a great privilege to be
awarded the sole distributorship for the UK from Schmidt & Bender. We intend to work closely with Schmidt
& Bender and local stockists to ensure great customer service and to develop our already comprehensive
stock holding, ensuring our customers the best deal. We look forward to a long and prosperous working
relationship”
York Guns Ltd would like to thank all UK distributors for their hard work, ensuring that Schmidt & Bender are
one of the top brands of optics in the UK today.
2010 is a new year, it’s a new decade, ork Guns Ltd are making sure they are starting early in building for
the future. Please contact York Guns on 01904 487180 or sales@yorkguns.com for details of your local
stockists. Trade enquiries
welcome on trade@york-
guns.com
Target Shooter 7
An interesting piece of news that came simply can’t believe it.
across our desks this month is from Rajmond My personal opinion is clear for a long time -
Debevec, multi medal winner at every level of we don’t need any changes without reasonable
competition, including the Olympic Games. His cause. Any change should serve only to
history in shooting is prolific to say the least. I comercialisation and increasing the
will let him explain in his own words........ professionalism of shooting sport. So called
‘experts’ from the committees have many ideas
Dear Shooters, Coaches! but I really can’t see development getting for
example thinner trousers without padding on
Please read the attachment. I call you to butt and knees and other proposals.
comment mostly the proposals of new
equipment restrictions. Best regards,
I was shocked reading those irrational ideas of Rajmond Debevec
the committee members. If the ISSF accepts
something like that, we all can throw away our www.targettalk.org/download.php?id=2500
jackets, trousers, boots... we’ve just bought,
worth thousands of Pounds or Euros. http://targettalk.org/viewtopic.
I can’t find out the interest which suppose to lead php?p=120721#120721
them to bring out such ideas. On a first glance it
looks like some producers with good conections http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.
want to increase their income on this way, but I php?t=2055789773
Webley (International) Ltd (“Webley”) , from German P & P Tube, a fully adjustable
announced today the re-launch of its highly 2-stage trigger, an ultra-positive magazine
successful Raider 10 ™ multi-shot PCP as ‘The indexing system and an ambidextrous stock
most inexpensive multi-shot PCP in Europe’. this is a fully specified gun that now stands
“The Raider 10 ™ is Webley’s most tried and comparison with guns costing nearly twice as
trusted multi-shot PCP, having sold in its much” stated Paul Garrity, Webley’s Senior
thousands over the last 5 years. Rugged and Technical Manager, who was part of the original
reliable, during development it was cycled over Webley design team.
5,000 times –without a single miss-feed! “We believe that consumers will be particularly
Now, as we have amortised the R & D costs fully, appreciative of this realignment of price in
we are re-launching this fabulous gun at a new, these difficult ‘credit crunch’ times so we have
jaw-dropping RRP price of £299, with the aim extended the concept to the Raider 2 ™ –
of making it the UK’s biggest selling multi-shot the two shot version of the Raider 10 ™ - by
PCP” said Mike Hurney, CEO of Webley. reducing the RRP to £249” said Steve Hoare,
”With an integral silencer incorporated in its Webley’s Sales Manager
shrouded rifled barrel, which is manufactured
The Raider 10 ™
8 Target Shooter
New stuff – lead-free bullets.
We all know the accuracy achievable with CNC
Something really exciting dropped on my machinery and one firm is now manufacturing
reloading bench just as we were about to put the CNC made bronze target bullets which
magazine to bed. should be as near to perfect as possible –
and they are, would you believe, no more
Take a look at this picture – a full range of expensive than normal match
target bullets from 224 right up to 50 cal. bullets.
made from solid bronze on CNC machinery.
All target shooters crave the perfect bullet - By next month, we will have had the opportunity
we weigh, spin, measure, trim meplats, to evaluate some of these bullets – in 6mm,
‘point’ meplats – striving for the perfect 6.5mm and 308 – watch this space!
bullet.
Olympics 2012 - the saga for the 2012 event. It seems the bill for relocating all
continues........ of the shooting fixtures used at the 2012 Olympics
According to the Daily Telegraph dated January could be £400,000 at least, which would have to be
11the 2010, ‘British Shooting has been told it will borne by UK shooting – some legacy!
have to pay towards its own post-Olympic legacy This is another slap in the face for a sport that
if it wants to find a permanent home for range and has brought medals home from a number of
electrical equipment used at the shooting venue at international events over many years and not just
Woolwich in 2012’. from the Olympic Games. As you may know, one of
As you will all know, every ‘man and his dog’ our shooters in the Para-Olympics, Matt Skelhon,
involved in shooting sports have campaigned brought home a gold medal from Beijing. One of
tirelessly for the Olympic shooting events to be held the 42 who did and helped take the UK into second
at Bisley. This was ignored and the Royal Artillery place behind China.
Barracks at Woolwich will be the temporary fixture We need a legacy – if we want more shooting sports
people like Matt.
Target Shooter 9
Aimfield Sports Drag Bags I was amongst the first to try out of these fantastic
rifle bags and I’ve used mine almost every
weekend for the last three years or so. In that
time, it’s been used, abused, drenched in water
and helped me cart a whole lot of shooting
gear round many of the UK’s ranges.
Not a zipper, clasp or stitch has failed and honestly,
it’s as good as the day I got it from Aimfield.
The bags are well padded and offer great
protection for your valuable gear.
With the Mini-rifle thing that I’ve been involved with
lately, my 50 inch bag is just too big for a rifle that’s
only 30 inches long and weighing about six pounds.
Thankfully, Aimfield now do a shorter version – the
AIM 40 - perfect for rifles like the AR15. The basic
design, materials and quality is identical to the bigger
bag and it comes with those two massive side pockets
which swallow a mammoth amount of gear. When I
shoot F Class, these pockets are bulging with stuff
but with Mini-rifle, I’ve got loads of room. When
I carry the rifle rucksack-style, I can hardly tell
it’s on my back compared to a 20 lb F Class rig.
These smaller bags come in a particularly nice
shade of drab green and the design includes
a cleaning-rod sleeve which is also the latest
feature of the 50 and 60 inch bags. I know that £123
sounds expensive but please, compare it with the
opposition – believe me it’s great value and it’s
also the best looking bag around and you will never
need to buy another! See the video advert on
our website
World Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest Shooting Championship 2011 Announced.
Bill Collaros, the President of the WRABF has announced ‘I am happy to officially announce the
2011 World Rimfire & Air Rifle Benchrest Federation Championships have been set. They will be
held at the Palmetto Gun Club, Charleston, South Carolina, USA. More information & exact dates
(in July - August) will be forthcoming on our WRABF website: www.wrabf.com/
10 Target Shooter
All competences in one hand
The Ultimate
Visual Experience
NEW
Victory 8 /10 x 56 T* RF
www.zeiss.co.uk/sportsoptics
Target Shooter 11
Calendar of events over the next few months
If your club or association has events you want to publicise here then email us.
01 Feb to 03 Feb British Alpine Rifles Winter 7 Mar European Airgun Championships
Meeting (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) The Championships run from 7th to 14th March.
Contact(s): Jim Hawkins via NRA website Location: Meraker, NOR
16 Feb to 17 Feb British Pistol Club Meeting 08 Mar NRA Shooting Club Day (National
(National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
Contact(s): Mrs J Drury Via NRA website Multi-discipline NRA Shooting Club Day. Targets
have been booked on Melville and at 100, 200,
16 Feb Civilian Service Rifle Competition
500 and 1000 yards. All disciplines welcome.
(National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
Contact(s): Heather Webb via NRA website
Entry forms for the event being held on Saturday
16 February are now available by clicking below.
15 Mar to 16 Mar Match Rifle Seminar (National
Contact(s): Martin Farnan via NRA website
Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
19 Feb British Airgun Championships A seminar on Match Rifle shooting will be held
The championships run from 19th - 21st February. on 15 and 16 March. Anyone who is thinking of
Email: competitions@nsra.co.uk taking up the sport, or who would like to know
more about it, is welcome to attend. Places
20 Feb Target Shotgun Festival (National are limited so early application is encouraged.
Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) - Calling all Contact(s): Nick Tremlett via NRA website
Section One shotgun owners. The Target Shotgun
Festival has unique and challenging competition 15 Mar Highpower Rifle Association Match
stages that are engaged with solid slug, SG/ (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
buckshot and birdshot ammunition. Contact(s): 80 round XTC. Details can be found by clicking
Brian Thomas NRA website on the links below.
http://www.highpowerrifle.co.uk
21 Feb Cumberland News Rifle Club - Carlisle Contact(s): Highpower Rifle Match Entries
LSR - Air Pistol & Air Rifle Open Shoot - details
at: www.cnrc.org.uk/open.htm 16 Mar HBSA Open Rook & Rabbit Rifle
contact: Bob Nicholson: “bob@cnrc.org.uk” Championships (National Shooting Centre
(NSC), Bisley) - Classes for Vintage, Classic,
24 Feb Highpower Rifle Association Match Veteran and Rimfire rifles max weight 6.75lbs,
(National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) max ME 450 ft lb. http://www.hbsa.fsnet.co.uk
80 round XTC. Details can be found by clicking Contact(s): Allan Kirk
on the links below.
http://www.highpowerrifle.co.uk 27 Mar to 28 Mar Gallery Rifle - Spring Action
Contact(s): Highpower Rifle Match Entries Weekend (National Shooting Centre (NSC),
Bisley). Contact(s): Brian Thomas via NRA
24 Feb Cheylesmore Challenge (National website
Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
25 Apr Somerset SBSA – Open Shoot. (Rifle)
A competition for centre fire gallery rifles, the
Long Ashton Ranges. Tel. 01275 836442. Email.
Cheylesmore Challenge from 0900 to 1500.
Contact(s): John Gardener call 01483 797777 julian.withey@btinternet.com
ext 152 for more information.
22/23 May Cumberland News Rifle Club - Carlisle
27 to 28 Feb The British Shooting and Air Guns Open Championship - 2x 60 shot
Countryman Show - Telephone 01472 241439 details at: www.cnrc.org.uk/open.htm
Email - info@shownews.co.uk contact: David Erskine: “urkers@aol.com”
http://www.shootingshow.co.uk/
26 Sep Somerset SBSA – Open Shoot. (Rifle)
02 Mar Civilian Service Rifle Competition (National Long Ashton Ranges.
Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) Tel. 01275 836442. Email. julian.withey@btinter-
Entry forms for the event being held on Sunday 2 net.com
March are now available by clicking below.
Contact(s): Martin Farnan via NRA website
12 Target Shooter
Welcome to GT Shooting.
The premier shooting sports shop in Surrey
By Andy Dubreuil
You know it doesn’t matter if you’ve been target shooting manufacturers that you will be looking to get in contact
for 3 months or 30 years you will get to a point where you with. The same can be said of benchrest equipment, you
will ask a question on how do I make myself better or my can find all sorts of actual benchrest to choose from and
riffle equally better. You will have people at your club that many are made by guys in their workshops they have in
have idea’s but you can extend the question to the World their back yards and of course the big manufacturers like
Wide Web in the form of forums where thousands of SEB, Farley and JJ Industries. There will be an array of
shooters are online to throw loads more ideas your way. other gadgets like tuners and noodles to find out about
But like all things its deciding which is the best info to and if you are really into it you can find out all about the
go with and that is where forums will give you great science of things.
knowledge if you get a load of people to agree on the The thing is about this site if you’re new to benchrest or
same idea. looking to get into the sport, if you ask a question and
Benchrest Forums it’s the same question that has been asked a thousand
Based in the USA Benchrest Central has been around for times you will get someone that will answer you, then you
some time and is one of the biggest on the internet and will find that very quickly becomes a full blown discussion,
has membership of nearly 16,000 enthusiastic members, which is not a bad thing as the more people that get
and not all are based in the States, it has members from involved with different ideas gives you more to play with,
all over the world which means once you post a questions but you will like any kind of forum have to work out where
you don’t have to wait long to get an answer and see a to start and with which idea.
whole conversation start on the basis of your question. The site has shooters that have been around for some
The forum has a general discussion area and then you time and have vast amounts of experience and not afraid
have Rimfire, Centrefire, and Airgun. Then you have to share their knowledge, even if you are looking for
sections under Factory and Hybrid rifles, F-Class, 600 – someone local to deal with you will get pointed in the right
1000 yd benchrest, Gunsmiths corner and match informa- direction.
tion centre. Benchrest shooting is one of the most technical types of
So for anyone looking to get started either with a factory shooting around and this forum has the best knowledge
rifle you will find information on the best rifles out there base around and if I was to mark it out of 10 then I would
to discover, but it you are looking to build a rifle then not mark it 10 out of 10.
only will you get good ideas where to start but Benchrest Benchrest Central http://www.benchrest.com/
Central’s advertising is all based around the
14 Target Shooter
Gadgets Gallery
Special Uberti Zippo Lighters.
These lighters make great gifts for collectors. They
are special models to celebrate 50 years of Uberti
Firearms and feature their first model , the 1851 Navy
Revolver .
The brushed Brass finish is a very small production run
, only 50 have been made . Each one is numbered so
buyers should phone to reserve a number . Cost for this
model including postage is £34.50.
Fox Scopes
Fox Scopeshave not been selected on price alone
but performance. Although all optics we carry
represent exceptional value for money, we
feel you will be even more impressed by their
performance. We're so happy with our scopes we
put our name on them!
If you have any questions on our optics or would
like to arrange a viewing please do not hesitate to
contact us; 0161 430 8278
www.foxfirearmsuk.com
Krazy Kloth
Krazy Kloth is a handy little towel that
is impregnated with a polishing agent.
Very handy to clean the powder fowling
on your cartridge necks, polish up dull
spots or use for any other cleaning/
polishing situation.
€4,15 (incl VAT)
http://www.jdk-riflegear.com/
Target Shooter 15
HT649 Radio: programmable
Do you ever use enabling secure
radio's when its private channels
really wet? Entel's if needed. Prices
marine HT model for HT radios start
is suitable for use at £360. Other
in the harshest License free
conditions being models available
fully waterproof from £149.00.
to IP67 and ATEX Contact Green
compliant. It can Leopard for details
be used on the www.greenleopard.
foredeck of your co.uk
yacht or in an oil Phone: 0845 330
refinery. All are fully 4153.
TRP-3 Rimfire Benchrest Lyman Electronic Digital Trigger
Rifle Pull Gauge
Built as an introductory benchrest
competition rifle, our TRP-3 is a
proud addition to our Target Rifle
Take the guesswork out of your trigger
Project line. Featuring an .875 pull !!
straight-taper stainlesssteel barrel,
and a proprietary competition stock Simply place the gauge on the trigger and
built for us by the craftsmenat Bell pull! This instrument will accurately record
and Carlson, the TRP-3 offers a the results, as you can take multiple
competitive rifle at a reasonable readings and then take the average
cost. weight for the string at the touch of a
www.foxfirearmsuk.com button! This state of the art instrument is a
must for any shooter or gunsmith £60.49
http://www.timhannam.co.uk/
16 Target Shooter
THREE TIMES THE SIZE FOR 2010
RIFLES
SCOPES & OPTICS
AMMUNITION
RELOADING
ACCESSORIES
Schultz
& Larsen
Sponsor;
Main Show
18 Target Shooter
www.FoxFirearmsUK.com
Tel: 0161 430 8278 or 07941 958464
PUTTING SHOOTING FIRST
VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO SEE THE VERY BEST VALUE CUSTOM PRECISION RIFLES FOR TR, MATCH,
F-CLASS, AND BENCH-REST—WE ARE NOW SELLING A FULL RANGE OF HARRELL PRODUCTS
WE STOCK HUNTING RIFLES BY COOPER, KIMBER AND PFEIFER AND COMPETITION-WINNING RIFLES
FROM KELBLY AND KEPPELER, AND ARE TRADE AGENTS FOR THE
SUPERB BARNARD ACTIONS, AND RECORD-BREAKING TRUE-FLITE AND BARTLEIN BARRELS
WE ALSO STOCK PROFESSIONAL BORESCOPES (from £533) AND A RANGE OF HIGH-POWER SCOPES
FOR COMPETITION AT AMAZING PRICES (eg 8-32X50 WITH 30mm TUBES FROM £100) ALONG WITH
STUNNING BINOCULARS AND SPOTTING SCOPES
SEB LAMBANG BENCH RESTS AND ACCESSORIES ARE THE BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE. WE STOCK HIS
FULL RANGE AT LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICES, ALONG WITH THE BUDGET
CALDWELL RANGE- BERGER BULLETS TO YOUR DOOR- EXPORT TO EUROPE, NO PROBLEM!
SEE WEBSITE FOR FULL SPECIFICATIONS AND CURRENT STOCKLIST
EVERYTHING WE IMPORT IS BY FAR THE BEST VALUE IN THE UK
Sole importer/distributor for the excellent range of March Optics, individually hand built in Japan, March Scopes have been designed to track reliably and
not to alter point of aim when changing power. March utilise ED (Extra Dispersion) lenses which provide superior image resolution. One piece
construction from aluminum alloy bar stock.
ED lenses provide superior image resolution. Also, use of the separate objective lens system design further enhances image resolution. Creation of this
design requires a high level of precision manufacturing processing and adjustment skills.
Target Shooter 19
NEW 8x80x56 Tactical Zoom out soon AND 5x50x56 1/8 Moa, 60MOA elevation.
The March 10 – 60 x 52 Tactical Scope
By Richard Wild
Introduction Above - The zero stop and the parallax ring
The use of high-end optics is addictive. The joy and on this March Tactical is easy to reach and
horror of being able to review high-end optics is that to adjust. The key thing to remember is to
you can never go back to your old scopes and look lock the zero stop when you have the range
at them the same way - ever! I have a shelf full of set. The author didn’t and spent time and
old scopes in my cupboard that served me well - ammunition looking for that lost zero.
until I started writing for precision target magazines.
20 Target Shooter
I now have a good handful of top quality rifle scopes a small range of precision parts. These are then
that are constantly used for evaluation, testing and assembled at the Deon Optical Design Corporation.
competition and mounted so they can be swapped
around rifles easily. So what are we looking at?
In my writing career, I have had the pleasure of The 10 – 60 x 52 Tactical has, at 60 power, the highest
testing European, U.S. and Japanese optics and zoom magnification currently available in the market
have been generally pleased with the results. today. There are three versions of this scope, two
This reflects not only the price of the piece but with MTR-1 reticle (one version is illuminated) and the
also, perhaps more importantly, the technological third option offers a choice of dot (1/8 or 1/16 MOA) or
advances made in the past 20 years. The old simple cross hair reticles. The 10 – 60 x 52 Tactical
scopes in my cupboard are from a time before CAD weighs 730g (25.7oz) and is 420mm (16.5inch) long.
made uniformity easy and a time when variable One of the tricks that budget scopes use to disguise
scopes were expected to describe an “S” shape poor lens-quality is to increase the thickness of the
on the target as the power was increased! bars in the cross hairs so the eye is immediately drawn
As long-range precision shooters, our requirements to, then pushed to, the centre of the image. Higher end
of a scope’s performance have matured and we scopes do not use this optical illusion with the March’s
have certain demands of a product. At its most reticles remaining uniformly thin through the range.
simple, we expect a scope not to fail as a result The scope available for testing came with the non-
of the general wear and tear of range use. illuminated MTR-1 cross hair pattern. The MTR-1 is
The March range of riflescopes is now well known an Imperial-based pattern that offers an alternative to
in shooting circles and is a growing presence on the mildot and other multiple cross hair precision reticles
winner’s podium. The 10 – 60 x 52 Tactical under when it come to aiming off and range determination.
review is an example of a scope that suits a number
of target disciplines but is aimed at the long range I have used the Nightforce NXS version of this pattern
shooter, who would benefit from a high magnification since it came on the market and for F Class and
range. 1000 yard Benchrest shooting and I believe it to be
the best pattern to use for holding off in the wind.
March products are manufactured in the Japanese At one hundred yards, each division subtends two
version of Silicon Valley in Nagano Prefecture. In inches with the scope set at 20 power, one inch at
line with the standard Japanese practice, parts are 40 power and approximately 3/4 inch at 60 power.
sourced from specific feeder companies who produce Start moving down range and this scale quickly
Target Shooter 21
Unlike the rings on this Ruger. A lot of part
swapping and elbow grease was required to
de-stress this set up
shows how much you need to aim off in the prevailing Setting up the March
wind conditions. For me, having the magnification The test scope came with a scope ring alignment
running at 40 power so the divisions represent MOA, tool and lapping bar made by Stuart Elliot of
allows me to develop an accurate matrix for aiming BRT Shooters Supply, the Australian distributor
off. For example, a left dominant fishtail wind for March scopes. This really is a ‘must have’
running with two minutes of deflection can be piece of kit for any scope and is an important tool
measured during the sighting shots and an aim off when you are using expensive optical equipment.
established on the second stadia on the left of the Remember that recoil will bend any scope and
cross and used as the de facto centre point. This a poorly aligned scope tube will suffer torque
avoids the need to adjust the windage turret and and twisting that will eventually affect accuracy.
reduces overall wear and tear on a scope. Unlike other scope-ring alignment tools, the BRT
There are three obvious differences between the tool is not pointed. Rather, two flat ended cylinders
benchrest and the tactical version of this scope - are used. These offer a more exact indication of
the turrets, the illuminated reticle and a zero stop. alignment due to the precise mating of the two flat
surfaces. I was pleased to see that my Sportsmatch
The turrets are easy to access from a firing position 30mm rings need no additional work!
and come standard with 1/8 MOA click adjustment Each scope comes with a sunshade and a
for more precise point of impact tuning at long range. 35mm Modifier Disk. The Modifier Disk works to
Each revolution of the turret works out to be 10 MOA reduce the front lens from 52mm to 35mm to reduce
for a total of 60 minutes of elevation and 40 of windage. unnecessary brightness and increase focus depth,
The zero stop is a great addition for disciplines that which potentially helps with reading mirage.
require a lot of scope adjustments and means the
elevation zero should never be lost, allowing el- Internal Construction
evation come-ups to counted from zero. I set the It is worth stressing from the start that there is no
March up for a 300 metre zero and was able to plastic used in the construction of the March. The scope
accurately adjust for 400 and 500 metre ranges body, for example, is machined from a single piece of
using my existing scopes elevation settings. aluminium bar stock and all the lenses are glued in.
With the illuminated reticle version, if the light This makes for a structurally solid piece of equipment
conditions fail, the scope reticle can be lit up, so that is much stronger than possible through other
there should never be a reason to lose sight of the methods of manufacture. But the offset is, of course,
crosshairs. The challenge for colour blind shooters a considerably more costly manufacturing process.
is to see the red light and this should be tested While it looks heavy, the March is shorter and
before purchase. lighter than comparable scopes on the market.
All March scopes are purged with argon gas, which
is heavier than the nitrogen usually used in scope
22 Target Shooter
Switching barrels is easy when you use a aluminium vice to be carefully hand fitted.
like this Redback. Changing barrels like this takes five For example, the focusing
group tube unit (eye piece
minutes and provided the author with greater opportunities
assembly) needs to be hand lapped
to test the March’s capabilities to fit the focusing tube liner body.
The heart of the scope, at least
from the shooter’s perspective,
is the lens. March scopes
use Extra-low Dispersion (ED)
lenses. March’s product notes
that ED lenses have a smaller
refractive index than a typical
optical lens in the blue to red
wavelength. This enables
superior sharpness and color
correction by reducing chromatic
aberration. These specialty lenses
are often used in microscopes,
telescopes, semiconductor
steppers, or high-end camera
lenses.
Chromatic aberration is the failure
of a lens to focus all colors to the
same point (the opposite to a
rainbow). It occurs because
lenses have a different refractive
index for different wavelengths
of light (the dispersion of the
lens). The refractive index
decreases with increasing
wavelength. Chromatic aberration
is easy to test for in a scope, if
you can see “fringes” of color
along boundaries that separate
dark and bright parts of the
manufacture and does not leak. Gas purging is used image you have found it. It
to minimise internal corrosion and prevent internal occurs in poor quality scopes because each
fogging during quick temperature or humidity changes. color in the optical spectrum cannot be focused
A lot of work has gone into the design and at a single common point on the optical axis.
manufacture of the scope’s erector tubes to lighten I pushed the March hard on this, both on a range of
and strengthen them. The erector tubes are smaller targets and distances – fullbore and benchrest and
and lighter than other brands’ erector turrets. A against a Zeiss lens test-chart in order to find out
lighter turret means less inertia and internal impact when the blue and red wavelength got confused.
during recoil which leads to less incremental For all normal long range shooting conditions and I
damage to the erector tube and components. would hazard some less than normal, sighting was
It appears that a lot of research has gone into ‘very good to excellent’ and provided all the detail
minimising the potential damage that a poorly placed needed but without any lens induced distortion.
or designed erector tube can potentially cause to This devotion to detail takes its costs in the
the March’s internal parts. This also includes heat manufacturing process and one engineer at the
treating key internal parts to reduce friction and Deon factory can only assemble two scopes
galling during use – as unseen damage can occur a day. This is no high volume assembly line!
as a result of the sudden stop at the end of the recoil
pulse. Testing and Retesting
March scopes also use a heat treated, flat-type Scope reviews generally follow a set pattern of
erector tube spring as the design engineers work behaviour. The writer places a grid at 100 odd yards
on the guiding principle that coil springs tend have and clicks around the square to prove the turrets
a memory problem, regardless of the material. work- or shoots a group with a shot at each power do
All this heat treating means that parts need see if the scope tracks a straight line or an “S” pattern.
Target Shooter 23
The MTR-1 reticle at 60 power. This
communications tower is located 1460
yards away
In the real world of long-range precision shooting approximately 2.25 inches, while magnification
we do not do this. We try to push the limits of our presents a dancing sight-picture due to the
equipment and ourselves and during scope testing mirage flow. Staring at the mirage patterns
I try to do the same – sometimes to the chagrin over a period showed a cycle of build-up and
of the distributor. And Canberra in the middle of let-off emerging but I was not good enough
summer is no friend to the scope tester. or clever enough to use it to my advantage.
The March 10 – 60 x 52 was used on a variety of rifle But the MTR-1 reticle can be used to offset a
platforms; a 284 Win. Improved, a 220 Weatherby tricky wind. Dropping the magnification to 45
Rocket and a 6.5 Shehane, across a range of power at the next range and bracketing the ten
shooting scenarios and ranges. ring between windage stadia proved to be an
Once the March was set up in the rings using the effective way of compensating for wind strength
BRT scope ring alignment tool, initial zeroing - and resulted in a high score in tricky conditions.
occurred at 300 metres. Shooting at 40 power was Replacing the 7mm barrel with a 220 Rocket barrel
pleasant and proved to be very similar to using is simple enough using an aluminium barrel vice.
my NXS. Moving up to 60 power was more of a While the 7mm is a proven performer, I have
challenge in the twisting mirage and flicky conditions struggled with the Rocket and needed to do some
of an Australian summer. What it did show and load testing with 50 grain bullets. Choosing 60
what I could learn from, was the ebb and flow of the power, the grain in the paper was visable at 100
mirage against the 10 ring. Picking the lull after the metres and groups formed around the point of aim.
mirage dropped off was easy and more practice would It was soon easy to see where the accuracy node
show that a tricky mirage could be exploited using a emerged (41 grains of Varget!). The highlight of the
combination of the high magnification and patience. afternoon was the surprising appearance of a bull
At 60 power I was able to see the bullet holes in ant behind the target that measured ¾ MOA and was
the black, which has not been possible at 42 power. significantly bigger than the Rocket’s groups. With a
It is possible to shoot at 60 power but doing so 60 power March, ant sniping could become the next
successfully at the start of an Australian January is big game in town!
difficult due to the heat and strong light. Shooting
at 300 metres, the mil graduations subtend Moving the March to another rifle highlighted
24 Target Shooter
one of two negatives. Eye relief is hard to get scope.
consistent with such a high power range and there The March 10 – 60 x 52 clearly demonstrated that
is a cross-over point of about four millimetres the work I had done on the bedding had paid off and
that needs to be finely judged. The second negative was still a lot of accuracy left in the barrel.
is focusing of the crosshairs; fine for my eyes
but some new owners have struggled to get this The Last Word
right and the middle of a competition is not the March scopes are good, very good and deserve
place to find out how to adjust the eyepiece. the reputation they are currently receiving. They
The 6.5 Shehane appeared at the end of its are expensive for a reason but with the cost
competitive life and was in need of some coaxing of a custom rifle it is worth adding one to your
to get the last of its barrel working for me. This decision list for the next build. I approached this
6.5mm barrel had proven ‘difficult’ during its review with a jaundiced view of the hype but have come
last few outings and some serious reworking away looking for ways to not give this scope back.
of the bedding had been a Christmas priority. As always, when shopping around for a new
With temperatures on the range in the high thirties telescopic sight, the best piece of advice for the
Celsius, and a swinging wind from over the right shooter is to compare a number of makes and
shoulder, it was always going to be a challenging models in the same light conditions at the same
day for scope testing. But this was the moment time. Whether this involves looking through a couple
when all the words I’d written about the March of different scopes on the mound or going through a
suddenly made sense. gunshop’s complete collection, the time spent at this
Without the 35mm Modifier Disk, the 600 metre point in making the correct decision with be worth it
target was a waving mess at 50 power; with the in the long term.
Modifier Disk screwed in a clear sight-picture For more information on March prices and the
emerged. The ED lens was more than able to current range please contact your regional distributor:
discriminate between mirage shifts and provid- BRT Shooters Supply www.benchrest.com.au in
ed enough confidence to predict mirage induced Australia/NZ and www.marchscopes.co.uk in the UK.
elevation changes. The small exit-pupil also means STOP PRESS – Whilst most of us are probably
light changes are immediately obvious and can be trying to imagine what it’s like to shoot with
factored into aim off. The bottom line was I could all that magnification, March have upped the
see things that other shooters couldn’t and I was stakes yet again by announcing an 8 – 80 power
in better control of the conditions than with my own scope! Now that’s serious magnification.
Target Shooter 25
26 Target Shooter
Shooting the Black Powder Pistol
Part 4
by Chris Risebrook
In the last article, I mentioned the complete stripping Revolvers are more complicated and more prone
of the pistol for periodic cleaning. Inevitably, some to the ingestion of debris into their lockwork. Colts
powder residue will find its way into the lockwork, and Remingtons work slightly differently. First the
and occasionally a thorough clean is called for. For Remington; After removing the cylinder and loading
the single shot pistols, this is easy. You did first check lever, remove the grips, loosen the mainspring set
it was unloaded, didn’t you? It’s amazing how many screw and drive the mainspring out of its slot with
people are killed by “empty” guns. No, I don’t look a drift. Then remove the trigger guard, the trigger
down the barrel, I drop the loading tube down the and cylinder stop screw and spring. Undo the
barrel. The satisfying “clang” of the brass tube hitting trigger pivot screw and drop the trigger out of the
the chamber reassures me. All that is needed then bottom of the frame. Remove the hammer screw
is to unscrew the lock plate and give the lockplate and drop the hammer down in the frame until the
a good scrub with a toothbrush, re-grease and flush head of the cylinder hand screw is accessible
re-assemble. Incidentally, I find a dab of copper on the left hand side. Remove the screw and pull
grease on the nipple threads makes life easier. the cylinder hand and its spring out from the bottom.
Now remove the hammer from the top of the frame.
Target Shooter 27
it comes to re-assembly, the only tricky
part is the fitting of the mainspring.
In the Remington, a spring clamp is
useful, and in the Colt, a second pair of
hands is almost indispensable.
If you are fortunate enough to own
a Ruger Old Army, your life is much
easier. To remove the mainspring, after
removing the grips, cock the hammer
and push a steel pin through the hole so
thoughtfully provided in the base of the
hammer strut. This takes the tension
off the coil mainspring. The only trap
for the unwary is when separating the
grip frame from the cylinder frame. The
grip frame is held by two screws as in
Phew! Remember to place each item you remove
the Colt, but lurking behind the left hand screw are
in a set order and replace all screws in their
the pawl spring and plunger. Undo these screws
components as you proceed. This saves much
slowly, otherwise your last sight of the pawl spring
swearing when you re-assemble. I learned the hard
plunger will the blur as it sails past your left ear. This
way that knowledge comes from taking things apart,
pawl and plunger serves the same purpose as the
and knowledge from putting them together again!
cylinder hand and spring on the Colt and Remington
Open frame Colts (models 1851 and 1860 as well
revolvers. To save on manufacturing costs, the
as the pocket models) are a little different. Remove
Ruger uses coil springs throughout.
the backstrap (2) and butt(1) screws and pull away
If you own anything another make of revolver, it will
the backstrap together with the grips. Remove the
almost certainly work on either the Colt or Remington
mainspring screw and mainspring and the two
principle unless you happen to have a SavageNorth,
trigger guard screws. Remove the trigger return and
which was a double and single action gas seal
cylinder stop screw and spring as in the Remington.
revolver of some complexity, in which case you are
The trigger and cylinder stop, hammer and hand are
on your own. Fortunately, no-one makes copies - so
all removed by unscrewing their pivot screws. When
far.
28 Target Shooter
Tel/Fax 01722782432
Email; ags.westlake@virgin.net/ Website; www.westlakeengineering.com
The Taurus ML Revolver is converted from a Taurus .357 Magnum Long Barrelled Revolver.
The cylinder is removed and a Yoke extension fitted, this contains the spring loaded
plunger that frees the action when the yoke is closed. As this extension cannot be removed,
it prevents the re-fitting of the original cylinder. The Barrel is shortened to approximately 5
¼ inches and the wristbrace is removed.
A new cylinder is made which has pockets for shotgun primers at the rear with a small
flash hole through into the chamber at the front. The chamber is made to accept .357” lead
wadcutter bullets. The conversion of your pistol costs £330.00. Extra Cylinders are £180.00
each. If you do not have a pistol I can order a new pistol from the Importers.
Target Shooter 29
Practical Shotguns Part 1 - Pump Action –
Benelli Nova and Benelli Supernova
by Mike Darby
Many articles have been done on the wide variety of competing against the best shooters within the UK
pump action and semi automatic shotguns in use by and the world, then you would need to join the United
farmers, hunters, game shooters and clay shooters Kingdom Practical Shooting Association (UKPSA).
alike in the UK. The list available is long and offers The UKPSA is the UK wing of the International
users a wide and varied choice in what action type, Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), which is
cost and style of shotgun they desire. the world wide practical shooting body that allows
shooters to travel the world competing in varying
This article, and the ones to follow, discuss what levels of competitions up to World Championships.
shotguns are actually proving their worth in the UK Within the UKPSA, there are national level matches
and Internationally in the world of practical shooting throughout the year, which when combined,
and practical shotgun (PSG). To those readers amalgamate to a national championship. The title
who don’t know what PSG is, it’s very simple. It’s of being crowned the UKPSA British Champion is a
the use of Section 1 shotguns (4+ capacity) in a highly competed for position!
competitive, dynamic sport, where a competitor
engages a variety of targets at different distances Gun types are placed into classes that compete
using the whole range of shotgun ammunition against each other, e.g pump shotguns compete
available: birdshot, buckshot and solid slug against pump shotguns in what’s called Standard
ammunition, depending on the stage requirements. Manual Class. There are four classes in total
In the UK there are a wide variety of clubs that offer that competitors can compete in that encompass
members the ability to try out and shoot PSG and most gun makes and designs.
enter competitions at a club level. If the practical
shooting bug makes you want to step up and Due to the high level of competitiveness within the
compete at a national, and international level,world of practical shooting, shooters very quickly
identify equipment and guns that
are ideally suited for the sport. With
this in mind, it must be said that any
Section 1 shotgun can be used for
PSG and the owner will get a great
deal of pleasure in shooting it. Many
people, me included, bought their first
practical shotgun based largely on
what they thought would be good for
PSG based on pre-conceived ideas.
Sadly, however, most are proved
wrong – the SPAS 12 is a perfect
example of this misconception. These
articles are really designed for the
new PSG shooter to provide them an
Benelli Nova - detail of enlarged polymer loading port idea of what guns would stand them in
good-stead for many happy years of PSG
30 Target Shooter
It is mainly polymer with only
the barrel, bolt, magazine
tube and a few internal parts
being made out of steel.
The whole of the receiver
and stock is a single
moulded unit, where the
barrel, forend and bolt,
simply push into the
receiver, the magazine
nut applied and the gun is
assembled, in a very similar
manner to an 870. The
anti-plastic crowd were still
concerned and the ex-Glock
owners crooned in their
Benelli Nova - weak hand loading is easy with its wisdom by gently reminding
loading port and free float carrier the heretics that many
shooters had a similar first
use when they are looking to purchase their first practical reaction to the G17 when it
shotgun. was released, and they are now regarded as one of
the finest and reliable pistol types in the world. They
Benelli Nova / Supernova were right.
Historically the American big three: Winchester /
Remington / Mossberg platforms have been the The first question a sceptic would ask is what
mainstay for PSG shooters who wanted a pump advantages does it have over the 870, 1200 or
gun. They are reliable and sturdy and have a proven Mossberg. Well there are a number of things the
history and looked here to stay in PSG until the early Nova has, which sets it apart. Firstly its reliability is
Noughties, when the Italian company Benelli bought almost second to none. Do they ever jam up? Yes,
out the Nova. Benelli already had an excellent but all pump guns can and do, and it’s almost always
reputation in the shotgun would with their semi- the shooters fault by short stroking the guns action.
’autos, but this was different. But when operated correctly they have proven to be
every bit as reliable as their Remington / Winchester
Initially shooters looked at it with distain as it looked rivals.
funny without the classical lines of a pump shotgun Secondly its their mainly polymer construction that
and secondly it was the Glock of the shotgun world. comes into its own. The sport of PSG tends to be
one where the guns
and their shooters
Benelli Novas large loading port allows various fast are subjected to all
loading techniques the best weather
conditions the British
Isles can offer and
synthetic furniture
on PSG guns is
desired by a lot of
shooters due to its
resistance against the
elements.
In addition the
polymer construction
means Nova’s are
lighter than their steel
counterparts which
when you add an
extended tube and
fill it with ammunition,
actually is a big
bonus.
Target Shooter 31
Benelli Nova - grip tape on pumpaction to Benelli Nova - enlarged loading port
ensure no slipping with carrier raised into action
as a big ramp for the shells to be fed into the magazine.
Thirdly, and probably most importantly, is the fact To enhance the ease of loading most owners
their loading port is vast. Why would this be an customise the loading port areas, smoothing the
advantage? Well PSG is shot against time so speed edges and honing the feed ramps into the magazine.
matters. To help achieve a shorter time you will The trigger group and loading port area on the Nova
need to load your shotgun as fast as you can, and are again made of polymer and owners can easily
hence your score depends a lot on how fast you sand and polish these areas at home making
can complete the course of fire and that includes the loading port area very slick and smooth. With
putting shells into your gun. The Nova is chambered all these advantages amalgamated, along with the
for 12g 3.5-inch magnum shells and the Italian various loading methods being used within the sport,
designers have been overly generous in making the this means the speed of loading the Nova puts it far
loading port on these guns about the same size as ahead in the PSG user-friendly stakes. A very good
entrance to the Dartford Tunnel. Fortunately you are example of seeing how fast the Nova and Supernova
not required to pay £1.50 every time though. guns can be to load, can be seen on YouTube
demonstrated by the 2009 British ‘Manual Action’
Another advantage with the gun is the fact its Champion Neil Smith. Here he demonstrates a weak
carrier, the piece of shaped metal that is hinged hand loading technique that allows him to shoot
in the loading port area and lifts the shells into an aimed shot, load four shells into the gun and
line with the bolt and chamber, is free floating. On shoot another aimed shot in about three and a half
every other gun type that uses loading carriers, seconds. Simply go to the site and search for ‘Benelli
they are hinged under spring tension and when Nova Loading’.
you load the magazine the carrier needs to be
depressed against its spring, and this hinders the The standard factory gun comes with five chokes
loading process. The Nova’s free floating carrier as to be expected, and a variety of barrel lengths
design means it simply gets pushed up into the port from 24 inches to 28. Most IPSC Standard Manual
when loading starts, it stays there, and this then acts shooters want the shortest guns available for ease of
manoeuvring through a course
of fire and hence most Novas’
in use within the UK PSG scene
have 24’ barrels.
Remington and Winchester
don’t offer their guns in a 24-
inch barrel configuration, which
again pushes the advantages
of the Nova over its rivals.
32 Target Shooter
which boasts that recoil reducing
Benelli Nova - fixed stock detail rubber inserts are built into the stock
like baffles to absorb a significant
amount of the guns recoil. I have shot
both the Nova and Supernova side by
side and didn’t notice any noticeable
reduction with the Comfortech stock,
but others swear blind the difference
is significant, so I guess it’s down to
individual experiences.
Target Shooter 33
Benelli Nova Mag Clamp and Hi Viz fiber available. I have often
seen lesser makes
brake and snap and
come apart at the most
inconvenient times so I
wouldn’t use anything else
on my competition guns!
34 Target Shooter
excessive from the factory, but remember this is five in Great Britain would never consider switching
not a rifle, so an 8lb trigger pull should be fine in a to anything else, which in its self is a huge testament
shotgun for PSG. You can alter the tension of to the gun and its suitability for the sport.
applying and disconnecting the safety catch and even
switch its operation over to the wrong side for those Pump action guns are actually very reasonably
left handed shooters amongst us. Additionally there priced in comparison to most semi automatics on
are a number of things you can do to the carrier to the market, so new shooters to PSG often start
allow the gun to be loaded whilst the bolt is unlocked off with pump actions. A second hand Section 1 or
and not fully in battery, however these modifications Section 2 Nova will set you back around £250 - £300
are things owners may want to consider after having which is co-incidentally what you would pay for a
shot the gun for some time and deciding if they similar 870 or 1200. Second hand fully tricked out
would be beneficial to its operation and their PSG ready Benellis can be found at gun dealers that
individual shooting styles. Remember though, any cater for PSG shooters, or can be found on the web
modifications you do to a new gun may nullify the factory via Guntrader. Logging on today I saw there was a
warranty, and also if you get any load bearing areas PSG ready, as new condition, 10 shot Supernova on
modified by a competent gunsmith then the gun may offer for about £400. If you bought a Section 2 gun,
need to be proofed prior to you selling it at a later the factory 2 shot magazines can easily be changed
date. for a Section 1 magazine by a competent gunsmith
and will cost in the region of £60. A brand new gun
So all that considered, how do they shoot compared from your local friendly neighbourhood RFD will cost
to other pump guns. Having spoken at length to in the region of £450 and you would need to spend
Britain’s top Manual Action shooters the view is that another £80 or so fitting an extended tube to it.
whilst all pump guns have more recoil than semi
autos, out of the pump guns available the Nova family I hope this helps any potential PSG shooters looking
are relatively light in recoil and the action operates for a pump action shotgun that would suit them
very smoothly allowing very fast shot strings. From for the sport – happy shooting and see you on the
my calculations nine out of the top ten UKPSA pump circuit.
shooters shoot with a Nova or Supernova, and the top
Target Shooter Magazine An advert with a hard copy magazines can only
can offer your company say so much about your product. With cost and
the kind of advertising that limited space, most have to keep it direct.
a hard copy magazine But with a online magazine the advert takes on
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Our readers can, with a the front door to your website and all those
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straight to your website. to view.
Contact us today to see what we can do for you and make your
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admin@targetshooter.co.uk Target Shooter 35
Target Shooter Magazine is a publication of Trinity Digital Publishing Ltd
36 Target Shooter
Shooting Website of the Month
Target Shooter 37
Bench Rest® Powder Measure £108.34
The superior design of our Bench Rest® Powder Measure throws uniform charges. The charge
arm/operating handle meters the powder and dispenses a flow of powder that is free from ex-
tremes in variation while minimizing powder shearing. The powder hopper's built- in baffle
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Stand (sold separately) £21.67
By Laurie Holland
I’ve spent the last two parts looking at cases and
studies say 80%) ammunition grouping ability
their preparation, and rather late in the day, I’ll ask
comes from bullet design and quality, everything
why spend extra money on good brass, then time else – powder, primer, and each and every aspect
making it even better? – better accuracy in the of case-quality – only accounting for 20%.
form of smaller groups, surely. Well ....... yes, but
However, it’s important not to overlook the
not always in the simplistic way that is measured in
remarkable improvements in accuracy and
the size of test groups shot at 100yd. Most (some
increased competitiveness of recent years.
Competitors
The long-range .308W shooter’s objective is to produce ammunition
have to identify
with good ballistics characteristics that will group within the
and exploit every
smallest target ring – the 10.5” V-Bull in this 1,000yd TR target
p o t e n t i a l
improvement
on offer, no matter
how small a
percentage it
contributes to the
overall picture. So
what is ‘accuracy’
or ‘acceptable
accuracy’? If you
pardon the pun,
this is a ‘moving
target’, not only
with definitions
becoming ever
tighter, also
with regard to
i n d i v i d u a l
s h o o t e r
expectations,
the kind of
firearm used, the
discipline and
target sizes.
The distances
Target Shooter 39
Target / Fullbore Rifle would have a 1-MOA norm,
The sub 0.5-MOA group on the right
F-Class halving that to 0.5-MOA based on their
(41.5gn) was achieved despite a 102 fps
respective ‘V’ or ‘X’ rings. These standards might
extreme velocity spread
not seem challenging, but tiny 100yd groups are
rarely replicated in MOA terms at the longest
ranges even in the absence of wind effects,
needing exceptional equipment and ammunition
to obtain sub quarter-MOA, even sub half-MOA
groups at 1,000yd.
Ballistics
Moreover, ‘external ballistics’ have little measurable
effect upon short-range groups with combinations
that have large MV extreme spreads (ES)
often producing impressive results at 100-200yd.
Conversely, one of the first things the handloader
discovers after buying a chronograph, is that contrary
to intuition, the load that gives five bullets near
identical velocities often produces disappointing
groups. However, shoot ammunition that produces
good short-range groups with large ES values at
long ranges and we get vertical stringing. Also,
there are big differences in bullet shapes on offer
from the manufacturers, hence an equally large range
of ballistic capabilities as described numerically
in the ballistic coefficient (BC). This is also
range-critical: you can shoot almost any shape
of bullet with any old BC at short range and get
good scores providing the load-combination
groups well, but a ballistically inefficient design will
impose serious disadvantages at long range.
40 Target Shooter
The attractive 300yd woodland Pickering range in North
Yorkshire. This distance doesn’t put a premium on high
MVs and BCs and loads with large ES values will often
still perform well
Long-range F/TR shooter at Bisley. .308 Win has marginal ballistics at 1,000yd and
needs excellent accuracy, small ES values and a high MV-BC combination at this range
Target Shooter 41
Above - Sierra has long produced a large and excellent range of 0.308” MatchKings. These
models cover 155 to 190gn and have similar nose shapes – but note the big differences in
the boat-tail lengths and angles. This has a big effect on their suitability for long ranges
Palma Team officials say out-of-the-box cases responds to higher or lower velocity rounds) may
and four brands of SR Magnum primers taken aggravate or reduce the external ballistics effect;
at random from a gunshop’s stock gave SDs one has to take the rifle-ammunition combination’s
(standard deviations) of 4-5 fps and ES values of inherent grouping ability into account, and consider
12-18 fps in 15-shot strings with the ‘standard’ US how that might interact with the trajectory
Palma 155gn Sierra MK / Hodgdon VarGet load. induced effects. That is, if the highest velocity shot
(I’ll try some of these cases as soon as they’re in a string coincides with the rifle putting the shot
available in the UK– if anybody from Nammo at the top of the group, they combine to give a very
Lapua reads this and would like to contribute high strike. However, if the rifle drops that shot to
a box for review, please contact the editor.) the bottom of the group, it could cancel out the
effect of the higher-velocity trajectory.
Table 2 lists two sets of calculated drops for a load
that produces the usual Target / Fullbore Rifle We can see three things from these tables. The
or Palma MV of 3,000 fps with the new 155.5gn high MV+BC combination in Table 2 (3,000 fps
Berger long-range bullet to compare likely vertical / 0.237 G7 BC) is less affected by MV ES size
strike variations between an ES of 16 fps (±8 fps) than the low velocity (2,646 fps / 0.243 G7 BC)
in line with those quoted above compared to one combination shown in Table 1, the latter having a
of 24 fps (±12 fps) typical of what is seen with 10½” – virtually a full MOA – spread at 1,000yd
large primer cases. It should be noted that with compared to a 5.62” / 0.65-MOA spread for the
SDs of only 4 or 5 fps, two-thirds of shots will have former. The two examples don’t have identical MV
MVs within that spread and 95% within 8 or 10 fps ES values (24 v 26 fps), but 2 fps won’t account
assuming this is a ‘normal statistical distribution’ for this large difference. (In practice, the difference
so most shots will fall within a single-figure MV would be even greater as the low-velocity
range. The results shown in the tables for the example sees bullets become subsonic at around
extreme examples should be taken as indicative 950 yards.) Secondly, the adverse effects of MV
not gospel, as there are other factors at play that ES grow dramatically with range, hardly affecting
can affect results. Barrel ‘compensation’ (how it the TR and even F-Class shooter at 300 yd, having
Target Shooter 43
Above - FMJs. Left to right: NATO 7.62mm FMJBT; Lapua 185gn D46 rebated boat-tail
model; conventional HPBT Sierra MatchKing (for reference); Lapua 170gn B476 Lock-Base
FMJBT sniper / match bullet
little effect at 600yd, but showing up noticeably year plus history of target shooting in the USA from
beyond there, even the relatively small 16 fps .30-40 cal Krag military rifles to today’s .308 Win
ES potentially producing half-MOA stringing at via the .30-06 and various magnums. However,
1,000yd. The final point is of course the need to with designs going back decades and designed
reduce the size of the ES, especially for long-range for short-range disciplines, it appears some are
shooting, providing it can be done alongside optimised for easy ‘tuning’ in handloads to be used
obtaining high MVs and small group sizes. in a wide variety of rifle types, chamber, throat, and
other barrel characteristics, not ballistic efficiency.
This can be seen in Bryan’s calculations of the bullets’
Bullets ‘form factors’ represented as i7 which compares
Let’s move onto looking at bullets. One of the pluses their efficiency against a ‘standard bullet’
of choosing the .308W (and any other ‘thirty’) is the with a value of 1.00. Lower values are better as
huge choice and generally good availability of match they produce less drag, so we’re looking for values
designs. We have them from six manufacturers on or below 1.00. (For more information, see the
with another couple occasionally seen. Of the October and November issues of TargetShooter
half-dozen, a couple (Speer and Nosler) have limited for an assessment of 0.308” 155gn bullets’
offerings (155 and 168gn models) concentrating characteristics and performance by Bryan Litz.) So,
on producing sporting bullets, but Berger, Hornady, it appears that we have two groups in the calibre
Lapua, and Sierra produce comprehensive ranges. that can be simplistically classified as short or
While Sierra long offered the greatest choice long-range designs. There are even a few bullets
with nine bullets pretty equally spaced between that don’t remain stable beyond 900yd at .308W
150 and 220gn, Berger now leads the pack with MVs. These subjects will be covered in depth in
thirteen ignoring lighter (under 155gn) flat-base Part 5.
types designed for short-range Hunter Benchrest
shooting in little cartridges like the .30BR. Looking Of the 34 match designs that Bryan Litz tested, 11
at Bryan Litz’s book Applied Ballistics for Long- achieve the ≤1.00 target and the new Sierra 155gn
Range Shooting, 34 models are listed and analysed Palma MK (#2156) is so close at 1.02 that we can
of which only three are not found in the UK. Actually, reasonably include it. A third of .30s meeting this
there are a few others around that are not covered, standard compares to every 6.5mm match bullet
but Bryan has included nearly all high-BC models. bar one, likewise six out of seven 7mm models. Not
The choice compares favourably with 6.5mm which only do the smaller calibre bullets have a higher
offers fifteen match types and 7mm with seven, percentage below this watershed, but they also
specially imported Cauterucio bullets aside. The improve on it to a greater degree, the best 6.5mm
reason for so many thirties is the calibre’s 100- value only 0.878, and most 7mm designs on or
44 Target Shooter
range, although not often seen nowadays. The first
is the ‘lock-base’ with the jacket folded around the
base and only a small open ‘pimple’ showing the lead
core; the other is the stepped or ‘rebated’ boat-tail
design, again with a fairly small open section.
There are four 0.308” models, two in each form: the
B466 150gn and B476 170gn lock-base models
with claimed G1 BCs of 0.488 and 0.525; D46
rebated boat-tail models in 185 and 200gn weights,
the latter designed for subsonic ammunition. The
185gn model is claimed to have a very high G1
BC of 0.547. All are loaded in Lapua military sniper
ammunition. The only models Bryan Litz examines
are the two D46s giving the 185gn model an i7
value of 1.081 for an average G7 BC of 0.258,
considerably higher and lower respectively than
Berger’s two 185s, but on a par with the 190gn
Sierra MK. It should be noted that the B476’s and
D46’s BCs are well above those of the equivalent
Scenar designs in 167 and 185gn weights, but the
150gn B466 is well down on the 155gn Scenar.
Table 1
175gn 0.308” Sierra MatchKing – 300, 600 and 1,000
Yard Drops (in Inches)
MV (fps) 300 Yd 600Yd 1,000Yd
1. 2,635 20.88” (-0.25) 114.04 (-1.16) 440.09 (-4.21)
2 2,646 20.63” (0) 112.88 (0) 435.88 (0)
3 2,661 20.29” (+0.34) 111.32 (+1.56) 429.53 (+6.35)
185gn Lapua D46 on the left with its stepped or 4 2,559 22.73” (-2.10) 122.59 (-9.78) 473.51 (-37.63)
rebated boat-tail rear end alongside the 190gn
Sierra MatchKing, this pair having similar BCs MVs:
1. Lowest MV in the main string.
below 0.950. In the .30s, most of our efficient 2. MV nearest to the arithmetical average for the main
dozen run in the 0.98s or 0.99s, the lowest being string.
Hornady’s 208gn A-Max which Bryan calculates at 3. Highest MV in the main string.
0.967. 4. Low charge round.
Table 2
FMJs 600, 900 and 1,000 Yard Drops (in Inches) for MVs around
Of course, hollow-point match bullets, all of those 3,000 fps
available here being boat-tail designs by the (0.308” 155.5gn Berger Match BT FULLBORE bullet)
way, are not the only type handloading shooters
MV (fps) 600 Yd 900Yd 1,000Yd
might choose. There are many FMJ examples Small ES (16 fps)
around with their solid tips and open bases from 2,992 83.28 (-0.51) 242.32 (-1.62) 325.37(-2.18)
companies like Israeli Military Industries, Sellier & 3,000 82.71 (0) 240.7 (0) 323.19 (0)
3,008 82.06 (+0.65) 238.9 (+2) 320.75 (+2.44)
Bellot and PPU (Prvi-Partizan). Shooters taking Spread 1.16” / .18-MOA 4.42” / .47-MOA 5.62” / .53-MOA
up handloading through the scarcity of factory
7.62mm ammunition, or looking for economy, Larger ES (24 fps)
2,988 83.57 (-0.86) 243.14 (-2.44) 326.48 (-3.29)
might choose these or similar bullets as they are 3,000 82.71 (0) 240.70 (0) 323.19 (0)
much cheaper than American or Finnish match- 3,012 81.78 (+0.93) 238.10 (+2.6) 319.67 (+3.52)
Spread 1.79” / .28-MOA 5.04” / 0.53-MOA 6.81” / .65-MOA
grade products. I have one word for those thinking
along these lines – don’t! Apart from purely plinking
ammunition, the only valid use I can think of Drops for Tables 1 and 2 are calculated from a
is in some historic service rifles, but many 50yd zero to 350, 650, and 1,050yd with MVs
of these old soldiers can also see accuracy adjusted to give the required values at 50yd.
transformed by using good match products. Figures in brackets show the calculated impact on the
There are however FMJs and FMJs in that Lapua target compared to the mid velocity round, + values
makes two versions in addition to its HPBT Scenar for higher and – for lower strikes on the paper.
Target Shooter 45
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46 Target Shooter
More Mini – Rifle: The new Smith & Wesson
M&P 15-22 and Spike’s ST22 M4 Carbine from
North West Custom Parts - by Vince Bottomley
Continuing our Mini-rifle series, below we have a range of AR uppers and lowers, plus a whole range
review by Vince Bottomley and later in the of goodies. Look at the pic of Wayne with his own
magazine Tim Finley takes us through shooting an personal Spike’s – fitted with just about every
actual competition. conceivable extra, as they say in the motor trade!
The new Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 and Spike’s I came away with the Smithy and Spike’s basic
ST22 M4 Carbine. model, the Tactical ST-22. Even this rifle is already
sold so I need to handle with care! Although I use
North West Custom Parts in Manchester are probably the term ‘basic’, this is a whole different animal
one of the biggest UK Mini-rifle specialists and no to the aforementioned Smithy and the ‘chalk ‘n’
series would be complete without a visit to Wayne’s cheese’ simile could be trotted out. The Spike’s is
world of the mini-rifle. Check out Wayne’s website at a true rifle, not a plastic replica. Like the Bradley
www.nwcustomparts.com before you go any further. we tested last month, the Spike’s is built on a
high quality metal fullbore ‘lower’ and this means
I dropped in on Wayne on a very cold January day that we are looking at little change from £1000.
with around 200mm of snow on the ground outside.
Inside however, the welcome was warm and it got Although I would never claim to be well-up on
even warmer as I watched Wayne take the UK’s very AR15 clones, the Spike’s does look very nicely fin-
first Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 out of its box. M &
P by the way stands for Military & Police. Visually,
these rifles look superb and S&W have incorporated
all the whistles ‘n’ bells you would normally spend
hundreds of pounds on – like a Picatinny scope rail, a
front handguard bristling with more Pic rails, a Mag-
pull type adjustable butt-stock, look-alike magazine
etc. and all for a similar price to the GSG range.
Target Shooter 47
ished and, if I were serious about my Mini-rifle, I always, familiarity will come with prolonged use.
might well be thinking about one. Being all metal
however means that we do have a weight issue – I’m using the CCI Mini Mag ammo. as most rifles
the Smithy is 75% plastic – or high strength polymer - seem to like it and my first test is to rip off a magazine
weighs in around 5.5 lbs which will be about of 20 rounds as quickly as possible – around five
three pounds lighter than the Spike’s - depending seconds. The Spike’s functioned flawlessly, as did
on spec. Both rifles have a 16 inch barrel and with the Smith & Wesson and both mags. have a ‘hold-
the stock ‘collapsed’ the Smithy has an overall open’ follower which is a useful safety feature. The
length of 30 inches. The Spikes was fitted with now familiar AR15 mag. release appears on both
a flash-hider which adds a couple of inches. these rifles and when operated with the right-hand
trigger-finger, the mags drop cleanly. Test number
The Spike’s also comes with a Picatinny rail, so I two is a repeat of the first test but using subsonic
was able to use my Burris 4 power with QD Leupold ammunition – again, both rifles functioned flawlessly.
mounts for test purposes on both rifles.
Now let’s try a bit of benchresting at 25 yards. Using
The first thing I’ve noticed with all the rimfires I’ve my GSG as a yardstick, I’m expecting groups
tried is the tedium of loading magazines. This is of around half an inch. The GSG and the Bradly
one great ‘plus’ with my GSG – I can load it about AR15 would shoot tiny three-shot clover-leafs
five times faster than say a Black Dog simply when benchrested. The Spikes is first up and
because of the follower spring which can be easily after mounting the 4 power Burris and zeroing, I
pulled back to permit loading. If you are stuck with fired a three-round group with the fore-end of the
loading say the Ruger 10 round rotary mags. it would rifle rested on a sandbag and the butt in my shoulder.
pay you to have a good number ready prepared. The first three rounds went into one tiny hole! I
Fortunately, Smith & Wesson have addressed this was amazed – and proceeded to try my luck and
one and the mag. is a breeze to load. Both mags. go for a five-shot group. The last two shots didn’t
will hold about 25 rounds. go in group but the overall size was still only half
an inch – and this with CCI Mini-Mag ammo.!
Both rifles operate like any AR clone, with the
charging handle located at the rear of the rear of I switched the Burris to the Smith & Wesson’s plastic
the action. For me, this is slightly less user-friendly Picatinny rail and fired a few shots to zero. The,
than the forward mounted one on my GSG but as resting the fore-end on the sand-bag and the butt
48 Target Shooter
in my shoulder I fired three shots. Again I was very and called it the SR-22. It now looks a bit more cool
impressed – a tiny group. I just can’t believe how but still has the 10 round Ruger rotary mag.
well these guns will shoot. The triggers are far from After-market high-capacity options are readily
‘competition’ standard and a four-power scope is available of course but it would have been nice if
hardly the ideal target scope but both rifles delivered Ruger could have given us an authentic-looking
the sort of performance I never thought possible. AR15 mag. as all the other manufacturers do.
The Ruger 10/22 is everybody’s favourite rimfire Finally, my first Mini-rifle comp. is fast approaching.
auto-loader – until the rest of ‘em arrived and then I’ve done little practice and I have no idea what I am
suddenly the Ruger was a bit un-cool. Anxious letting myself in for but after reading Tim’s article I
to stay in the hunt as it were, Ruger have now know it’s not going to be easy but it will be fun. More
‘cloaked’ the 10/22 with an AR15 style bodywork next month.
Target Shooter 49
50 Target Shooter
Mini Rifle
By Tim Finley
Following the handgun ban it has taken a while but at Thurnscoe. You
there is a type of competition which embraces the need to know what
speed and precision of pistol shooting and uses you are doing with
targets based upon the old pistol ones. It is calledthe courses of fire
Mini Rifle and as the name suggests uses small for safety etc so
rifles as opposed to pistols. It is geared to .22 LRRoss is the perfect
rimfire semi auto rifles as many targets have to be man to help Diggle
shot twice before moving on to the next and the on it’s way, I will
whole competition shot on multiple targets and is help out as one of
timed. the Marshals whom
Ruger 10/22 rifles with higher capacity magazines accompany each
have dominated the sport for years until the recent shooter during
GSG or German Sport Guns series of rifles have been the course of fire.
available in the UK and now home grown actions, Safety is all with
notably the Rimfire Magic one are taking off in a Mini Rifle and
big way. the Marshall with
For those who have no idea of what a typical Mini the shot timer
Rifle course entails I shall now fully describe one walks behind the
we shot at our own club of Thurnscoe last year. competitor through
Mini Rifle Target
It was designed by Ross Borough who is also the whole course
designing the first Mini Rifle event to be put on atof fire. We have
my other rifle club of Diggle. It was Paul Harper, a briefing first by the Range Officer who is in
Diggle’s competition secretary who wanted to put control of all the range. The designated Marshall is
on Mini rifle there as he had shot it many times needed as a separate entity as the RO is in overall
control and must have an overview
of the whole range. Something he
cannot do if he is going through
the course of fire with the shooter.
I always wear safety glasses when
acting as Marshall as you do
tend to get the odd ejected case
coming your way. The Marshal
ensures the shooter is applying the
safety after every section of the
stage before moving off to the next
and also keeping their rifle pointed
towards the ground when moving
or swapping sides on a weak
shoulder barricade. On the subject
Shooter Ready of Marshals the commands you
will hear as a shooter after he has
Target Shooter 51
magazine removed from the gun
The dreaded steels and any live rounds ejected from
the chamber, the Marshall then
inspects the rifle to check there
are no rounds left in the barrel
and it is safe. Then the rifle can
be carried muzzle down back
to the start of the stage where
the shooter should have left
their gun bag and put back into
the bag. Safety is all with Mini
made sure you know the course of fire for the stage
Rifle and with a good RO/Marshall combination
you are about to shoot are. “ Shooter Ready?”.
and shooters who are not brain dead all should
The normal starting configuration for the rifle is
run smoothly, it always has at all the Mini Rifle
safety on, loaded magazine in the rifle but action
un-cocked. If it’s a standing
start the rifle is pointed 45
degrees downwards. You
can have kneeling or prone
starts, also ones where the
magazine is out of the gun
and the gun starts laying
on the floor. Once you have
said you are ready the
Marshall then operates the
timer (You cannot see when
he starts it as the Marshall
is stood behind you) and this
then beeps a second or two
later to start the stage off.
Expect to hear “Safety”, One steel left
meaning he is reminding
you to apply the safety, or
“Muzzle Down”, again to
shoots I have ever seen or indeed shot in.
remind you to keep the muzzle down. At the end of
The course I am about to describe is one we actually
the stage he will say” Make safe and show clear!”
shot, we are lucky at Thurnscoe to have an
At which point the rifles safety catch is applied, the
enclosed butt to allow the use of knock down
steels. We often use
The RO is ALWAYS right behind the these on Mini Rifle comps
shooter as it adds a really tricky
element to the whole thing.
We have two banks of six
so we can start and end
a stage with knocking
down the steels. The
interesting bit is if you
miss any steels your
shot count and therefore
were you planned a
magazine change can
be totally compromised. I
have seen Jeff one of the
Para lads who shoots at
our club storm the stage to
have the dreaded dry mag
52 Target Shooter
click with one just steel left to
knock down, oh how we did Stage 2 - 1st high apature baricade
not laugh as he quickly had to
do a magazine change to blast
down the last steel and stop the
timer. First a brief rundown on
the cardboard targets we use,
these are 60% size 2/3 IPSC
cardboard targets. They are
coffin shaped, overall 160mm
wide by 260mm tall. The
highest scoring section A is
50mm by 135mm is offset to
the top of the target. The other
two sections are set outside
this middle section are called C
and D. The picture of the target
meaning the “A” five-point zone
Your scribe taking down the steels was at the bottom of the target
rather than at the top in the
“normal” position. Your aim point
has to be altered accordingly.
After those four shots the safety
is applied and it’s a movement
of five yards down range to a
carpet tile marking the second
section firing point, this time
it’s from the kneeling position
and the lower target is in its
side, again you have to be
aware the “A” zone is but on it’s
side it’s a very thin target. After
two shots on each it’s safety on
again and forward another five
yards to a barricade with a hole
in it. This is at mid height so an
will give you an idea what we are aiming to hit. unorthodox crouching position it required, one
Scoring section A earns five points, C four points target is the right way up and the other is upside
and D two points. We use a
dedicated scoring sheet to Changing magazines
quickly tot up a shooters score
before patching the targets for
the next competitor.
Now the course, stage one had
three firing points. Each had
three target holders set into the
butts. On each target holder
were stapled two targets. The
first firing point at the start was at
20 yards from the butt, when the
timer beeped the rifle is cocked
and two shots were taken at
each target from the standing
position. The two targets
were positioned upside down,
Target Shooter 53
yards, but finish with a shotgun.
Run Forest Run
This was an over and under
Russian job unloaded on a
table in front of two six inch
square steel plates. Once the
usual Mini Rifle bit was done
the rifle had to be cleared and
made safe before sprinting over
to the table with the shotgun
on it. Earmuffs and safety
glasses must be put on before
the shotgun can be loaded
and the plates shot at, bearing
in mind a missed plate added
five seconds onto the time.
Yes, Ross is an evil genius.
As mentioned before the start
down, shoot then clear and
make safe the weapon. Times Stage 2 final barricade low apature
on this 1st stage varied from my
lightning fast 18.86 seconds to
74.86 seconds. Jeff did it seven
seconds slower then me but
scored higher on the targets on
the stage by twenty points. You
have to have both speed and
accuracy to win overall. I was
less than five points behind
Jeff going into the second and
final stage once the speed had
been factored in. Those with
high capacity magazines were
at an advantage on stage one
as it only had 12 shots. The
normal ten shot magazines
would need a mag change.
The second stage had one of Ross’s famous was rifle on the ground and six steels standing at
twists. It would start with the usual six steels at 25 25 yards, with those down it was a high hole in a
barricade and two targets, both
Your scribe on a weak shoulder shot the right way up at 20 yards.
Then a barricade at 15 yards
from the butts with two targets
shot on the left hand side and
two on the right, meaning
weak shoulder shots. The feet
MUST remain within the width
of the barricade at all times, the
Marshall will be shouting “Feet!”
if you are not doing it right. Two
of the targets are also on an
angle and the wrong way up
just to pile on the pressure.
Another five yards further on
and a low barricade at 10 yards,
with a side on and normal target,
54 Target Shooter
Thurnscoe, this year we are going
to buy turning target mechanism’s
to spice thing up even more. With
Diggle coming on stream and the
guys at Worcester Norton leading
he way there has never been a
better time to get into Mini Rifle.
The shoot on Feb the 7th at Diggle
will be Vince’s first foray into the
world of Mini Rifle as well as that we
expect a few lads from NWCP with
AR’s to turn up too, but they’ll have
to wait until all the club members
have shot, only kidding. There are
other clubs out there doing Mini Rifle
so check out your local clubs to see
if you can find one near you.
By Nigel Greenaway
Following my recent articles on the WW2 British British in their newly dug trenches. Trench warfare
No.4(T) sniper rifle I have been asked to write about had arrived with a vengeance and it didn’t take too
long for some ex-Big Game Hunters
in the British lines to realise that the
Instructing on loophole construction – plague of head wounds our troops were
Bisley suffering was not down to bad luck!
How the British overcame this situation
and ultimately attained mastery of the
German snipers is the purpose of this
article. I will concentrate on the five
main combinations of rifles and sights
developed which made up 90% of the
9,788 sniper rifles passed into service
during the war. On the way I will
examine some of the tactics, training
and personalities which together made
the British the acknowledged experts of
20th Century sniping.
Many of the lessons learned by our
forebears are still taught in
sniping schools around the
world today.
the origins of modern British sniping and the During early 1915 the British
equipment used during World War One. It is found themselves confronting
an interesting story, one that initially showed German battalions with an
the British to be ill prepared but, like many official sniping establishment
British endeavours, soon showed us in our of 24 Scharfschutzen (6 per
best light – meeting adversity with ingenuity, company) armed with Gew’98
British pluck and dedicated training schools. rifles and overhead mounted
The Germans were definitely ahead of the telescopic sights from a variety
game at the start of the war with 20,000 of world renowned German
telescopic sights in service by the end Optical manufacturers. To
of 1914 – many being used by ex-Forest Black Watch Snipers counter the German sniping
Guards and Jagers (Hunters), who used with PPCo scoped threat the British had … well,
their skills and very good equipment to SMLE’s the British had virtually nothing
exact a terrible toll from the unsuspecting and certainly no official
Target Shooter 57
Four main sniper
scopes – Top to
bottom: PPCo,
Aldis/Purdey,
Aldis/Holland &
Holland,
Winchester A5
service rifle with a telescopic sight. You only These crude devices consist of two lenses, the larger
have to read 1915 copies of The Field to see the one of which is fixed near the foresight whilst the
pleading letters being written from officers in the smaller one is fixed on the backsight or in a fashion
trenches to fellow sporting enthusiasts at home. The like the old A J Parker or Parker Hale target sights.
letters ask for sporting rifles to be sent to the front, They were relatively cheap and required no special
particularly those with telescopic sights. There are skills to set them up and they worked quite well,
also letters from enterprising officers who had privately although they were quite fragile with a magnification
purchased optical sights known as Galilean sights. of about 2 power and a very narrow fields of view
(about 5-7 feet at 100 yards). Whilst outside the
scope of this article
these Galilean sights
nonetheless played an
important role in the
early days of British
sniping. Three main
makes were purchased
by the War Office and
13,945 Lattey, Barnett
and Martin sights were
officially purchased
plus thousands were
purchased privately.
These sights helped
hold the line alongside
numerous sporting
rifles plus some early
conversions of SMLE’s
by the trade who fitted
numerous different
types of scopes.
58 Target Shooter
Lethal combination – the dangerous
end of an overhead mounted Goerz
4x scope on Gew’98
Salonika front in June 1916 - an image that has been the next most numerous type with over 1,700. At
reproduced in many books – but it was Martin Pegler the same time Whitehead Bros. started to fit
who realised when writing his new book, Sniping in Winchester A5 scopes and this combination became
the Great War, that two of rifles resting on the trench the third most numerous with 907 made. Other
wall have Galilean sights attached - one looks like a scopes were used such as the Evans (about 120)
Martin sight and the other is probably a Lattey. and the Watts (about 160 fitted in three different
ways!) and there was one company, J. Bartle & Co.
In July 1915 the first big War Office contract (1,120 who were contacted to fit 2000 Aldis scopes using the
sights) was placed with the Periscopic Prism Co.Ltd Bartle mount. Unfortunately nobody knows what this
(PPCo) for what was to become the most numerous mount looks like – but more about this mysterious
sight used during the war (4,830 in total). In mounting system later! One unfortunate design fault
September and October of 1915 Holland & Holland of all the SMLE sniper rifles was the fitting of the
and Purdey were contracted to fit Aldis scopes, each scopes with side mounts, off-set to the left. Officialdom
with their own design of fitting and these became decreed that this must be so – in order that the
Target Shooter 59
(877 rifles with various scopes fitted) compared to only
70 MkIII scoped rifles. On 20.08.21 the Small Arms
Committee recommended that all telescopes and
fittings for the SMLE were to be disposed of (which is
why it is almost impossible to find a matching scope
and rifle today). It was also recommended that
the Pattern 1914 rifle with Model 1918 telescopic
sight become the standard sniping rifle and the
Pattern 1914 with fine adjustment sight - P14(F) be
issued as the sniper weapon for the Territorial Force.
The P14(F) was extensively used at the Sniping
schools during the war and was generally rated as
being more accurate than a scoped SMLE ! A few
experimental P14’s, fitted with overhead mounts
and Aldis scopes, were used in the war as early as
September 1917 (one was captured by the
Germans) but it is unlikely that many P14’s fitted
with the Model 1918 scope ever fired a shot in anger
during WW1 as the type was only approved for
service in April 1918 with the specifications approved
on 31st December 1918.
60 Target Shooter
in France. Obviously he never intended
his letters to be published - “If it is any
satisfaction, I shot a German between the
eyes at 5 o’clock today. My job is to kill
Germans; I can do it best by teaching, by
training and I shall teach and train” this was
written in response to the news that his
best friend had been killed. Another letter
describes “I can get a head shot at 600 yards
with the rifle mother gave me, pretty often if
there is no strong wind”. I bet we all wish we
had Mums like that but you soon realise that
he was not an armchair theorist. Instead
he was putting his theories in to deadly
practise. 6th October 1915 he writes to his
wife “I do not think I wrote you the story of
the killing of the sniper on Sunday”. He then
relates how he achieved a 420 yard head
shot. The next day he writes “I am called in
a kindly way – The Professional Assassin”.
Target Shooter 61
dovetail and the other with a thumb latch at the
end of the spring which lies in the bottom of the
EFD
female dovetail mount base. There is a positive The Enfield Specialists.
click when the scope is slid home as the thumb latch RFD 357 Sussex.
clicks home over the rear of the male dovetail. The
scope has a range drum calibrated to the trajectory EFD is run by two ex RSAF Apprentices,
of the .303 MkVII round, from 100-600 yards in one Geoffrey Organ and Jim Franklin.
hundred yard increments. Elevation zeroing is easy
– to quote from pamphlet SS195 –Scouting and
Patrolling, shoot at a known range and adjust drum
We specialise exclusively in Enfield rifles from
till the shots are hitting at the correct elevation. (i)
the Lee-Metford and Long Lee to the later 7.62
Clamp the range drum by tightening the clamping
screw. (ii)Slacken the central screw and small set variations.
screw, care being taken that the drum does not
move. (iii) Turn the scale only till the correct range
figure is opposite the reading line. (iv) Tighten the set We are situated near Mayfield in East Sussex.
screw and main central screw. Windage adjustment Visitors by appointment during week days
is catered for by two capstan screws on the sides of only.
the scope beneath the elevation drum. To adjust for
windage one screw is slackened off and the slack
is then taken up by tightening the opposite screw. All our rifles conform to the original build
If the shooting is to the right then tighten the right standard or to an official modification at some
hand screw after first having loosened the left hand time in their service history.
screw. One complete turn is about 8 inches at 100
yards. The scope’s origins are somewhat obscure We remanufacture hard-to-find parts to the
but it bears a remarkable resemblance to a pre-war original specification.
German commercial scope – as shown in the Pamphlet SS195’s zeroing
picture of, what look like, three PPCo scopes. The instructions forrifles
PPCo.
bottom two show the two types of PPCo with different
We can offer to restore thatScope
have become
shaped rear ocular lens housings, the bottom one a “bit tired”, including re-barreling (depending
with its male dovetail ring mount still fitted – both on model).
clearly marked with Periscopic Prism Co. Ltd London.
The top scope has no manufacturer markings other ► Volley sight parts for SMLE and P14.
than Purdey’s name on the rings and the objective
lens housing is different. The same Purdey mounting ► Screws to fit Parker Hale sights to most
system was more commonly used on the later Aldis Enfields.
scopes. All three scopes are marked with the rifle
number and are graduated up to 600 yards. ► New made fore-ends for SMLE Marks I, III
and V.
It is a well made scope and but it was prone to
developing excessive play in the dovetail slot and ► SMLE top wood.
the capstan screws invited “fiddling” which then
wrecked the zero! It was also awkward to shoot ► L39/L42 top wood.
because it was mounted so far over to the left – as
you can see from the overhead view of the PPCo
► SMLE Mark V back sights and front bands.
fitted to an SMLE. Non official wooden cheek pieces
or shell dressings were fixed to the side of the butt
to alleviate this problem. However, if this positioning Please ask for our latest stock list, which
of the scope was somewhat inconvenient, it was can be sent in .pdf format.
damned dangerous when used in conjunction with a
metal loop-hole plate. The British had to cut bigger
L shaped holes in their sniper plates which made it We support the Trade Fairs at Bisley,
easier for the highly accurate Gew’ 98 sniper rifles to where we have a comprehensive stand.
put bullets through these larger loop holes. If you find
that hard to believe then consider the demise of 2nd
Lt. Lutener, the 6/King’s Shropshire Light Infantry’s Enquiries, phone: Jim Franklin:
sniping officer was who was killed whilst sniping on 07802-414711
6th April 1916. The Regimental History recorded that:
62 Target Shooter
Email: enfield.lock@virgin.net
www.efdrifles.com
This young officer had organized and trained the …on finding that one of his best snipers was unable
battalion snipers to a very high standard of efficiency to account for a German sniper, who had bagged
Crum’s Brigade
Sniping School at Acq, France 1916
Target Shooter 63
PPCo. type scopes – top one has no manufacturer
markings
three men, took his place, and was shot through Lt Lutener found out to his cost!
the head as he opened the shutter in the shield. My thanks to fellow sniping enthusiast – Dr Roger
The Germans did not have to cut L shaped loop-holes Payne for letting me photograph some of his
in their sniper plates, courtesy of over head mounted collection of scopes and rifles. Next month I will go
scopes – as you can see in the pictures. in to detail about the Aldis scopes and the different
You can see the shutter on the outside of the plate - mounting methods.
this can be moved by the sniper from the inside, as
64 Target Shooter
Special Report
Lawrence Precision Article cartilage in surgery and is now almost always used in place
World class titanium sound moderators using cutting of stainless steel . It is also used as a pipe and tank lining
edge technology and materials.Titanium is ranked ninth in the processing of foods due to its stability at low /high
in abundance among the elements temperatures . It is also used in heat
in the crust of the earth but is never exchangers and in desalination
found in the pure state. It occurs as plants because of its ability to
an oxide in the minerals ilmenite, withstand salt-water and mineral
FeTiO3; rutile, TiO2; and sphene, corrosion. In metallurgy, titanium
CaO • TiO2 • SiO2. The world alloys are employed as deoxidizers
production of titanium compound and denitrogenizers to remove
exceeds 1 million tonnes annually, of oxygen and nitrogen from molten
which only a small proportion is used metals.
in the production of pure titanium Titanium has proven very
metal - about 100,000 tonnes, mainly successful in sound moderator
in Russia, the USA and Japan. applications, the us military sniper
Most of this gets bought up for core and most special forces
use in the aerospace industry around the world have been quietly
and for special military projects. using titanium built sound
moderators for several years, due
Titanium has a density of just to their light weight and durability
4.505 kg per cubic metre, but combines this metallic properties, and coupled with its vibration cancelling
“lightness” with a strength, especially in titanium alloys, properties this makes it unbeatable as a sound moderator
considerably higher than aluminium alloys and at least material.
comparable to and often exceeding the very best structural Titanium , although difficult to machine and not cheap to
steels . Conductivity of heat is high , and titanium retains source , is the now widely accepted to be the very best
its’ properties in a range of approximately -270oC to material available for rifle sound moderators due to
+1500oC. Titanium melts at about 1660° C . its proven performance high strength /light weight and
durability in extreme and critical applications such as jet
Chemically, titanium is distinguished by its excellent engines , and is know to outperform / outlast all other
reactivity qualities , which is only surpassed by metals materials including steel , aluminium and all grades of
such as magnesium, calcium and sodium. That titanium stainless steel , and is not brittle as is carbon fibre.
can be employed under circumstances where most other This is why it is so widely used on aircraft applications
structural materials would be subject to severe corrosion where reliability is a matter of life and death! Imagine a
is due to the properties of its oxide, TiO - it is highly jumbo jet engine travelling to hong kong on an 18 hour
resistant and forms a self-healing coating which is flight and then after 2 hours being turned around and
normally only about 0.01 mm thick. If the coating is damaged flown back . This will happen for many years before a
and the environment contains oxygen in some form, the titanium part in the back of the jet engine becomes
titanium and oxygen react and rebuilds the oxide layer defunct . This will explain why on a rifle muzzle , titanium is
very quickly , though it is near invisible to the naked eye . known to be impervious to fire cutting from muzzle blast ,
something steel , stainless steel and aluminium all suffer
Because of its strength and light weight, titanium is used from!
in metallic alloys and as a substitute for aluminium where It is likely to be many years before the aerospace industry
weight is an issue but greater strength required . Titanium develops anything to out perform titanium , if that is at all
is used in aircraft for fire walls, outer skin, landing-gear possible and so it looks like this incredible material is
components, hydraulic tubing, engine supports, compressor here to stay. For more information please visit our website
blades, discs, and numerous component’s in the rear www.lawrenceprecision.co.uk or call us on the
of jet engines where heat , strength , durability and following number: 07973129841
weight are important.
Titanium is also widely
used in modern missiles
and space capsules; the
Mercury, Gemini, and
Apollo capsules were
made largely of titanium.
The relative inertness of
titanium makes it ideal as a
replacement for bone and
Target Shooter 65
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Target Shooter 67
Barrel Tuners for Rimfire Benchrest
By Carl Boswell
Barrel tuners, or stabilisers as they are known in
Above - Cicognani tuner on an Anschutz 2013
Europe, have been around for about 13 years.
Below - the LimbSaver mid barrel tuner
A product of much research and development
within the rimfire benchrest community, their
initial conception is attributed to Bill Calfee,
who introduced his idea of tuners in 1994.
Bill is a well known and respected USA based
gunsmith, who has developed a number of
initiatives and designs for this great sport. The
purpose behind a barrel tuner is to control
the oscillation - or movement - of the barrel,
as a shot exits the muzzle of the barrel.
A barrel tuner is essentially a large weight
placed near or at the end of the barrel. It is
used to change the vibration node at specific
points in the barrel - including the all important
muzzle - as the bullet exits the barrel. A tuner
can be adjusted to move the weight forward or
backward depending on what is needed with
the ammunition being used. It is considered
that each specific make and batch of rimfire
ammunition will work differently within your of pressure created, the weight of the bullet,
rifle, based on the primer ignition, the amount the muzzle velocity and energy, etc.
Now I don’t want to go into the physics of the
idea here, it is too complex and I have limited
space to write and, there are those better
able to explain it than I could. There are
differing opinions on why tuners work and
how barrels vibrate but the positive effect
and benefit of a barrel tuner is mostly agreed.
An excellent analysis of the physics and
research involved can be found on two websites.
First Varmint Al’s, who has generously
allowed me to use some of his research. This
is an excellent site and really goes into the
details, although you do have to be something
DIY mid barrel tuner of an engineer to understand some of it. http://
www.varmintal.com/atune.htm The second
68 Target Shooter
designed to be attached to and move along
the length of the barrel. These have proven
successful but not as much as the muzzle
mounted tuner. Others, like the Limbsaver is a
cheaper alternative and is relatively new on the
scene. Although this could be used for rimfire
benchrest it may lack the mass needed to
seriously affect some of the heavier barrels
used. Another one just out on the market
last year is the Pappas mid barrel tuner,
from the inventor of the ‘Noodle’ tuner.
Above - Anschutz magnetic mid barrel tuner There are a number of manufacturers of ‘off
Below - Anschutz Terminator Bloop Tube the shelf’ barrel tuners, mostly in the USA,
with one exception - Italy. Although I say ‘off
the shelf’ in reality some are usually made
specifically for your rifle so there may be a waiting
time in some cases! Some of the many websites
are below, but these are aimed at people
purchasing standard designs:
Killough Shooting Sports - http://killough-
shootingsports.com/
Varide Cicognani Italy - http://www.varide-
cicognani.com/
Mountain Specialities USA - http://www.
is a copy of an article by Bill Calfee, the original
benchrestspecialties.com/Mountain.htm
designer of barrel tuners. This article relates
to centerfire benchrest shooters now being
All these manufacturers/ retailers have a long
introduced to barrel tuners but the explanation
history in rimfire benchrest, with some alternative
of the theories and relevance to rimfire
designs, but most are similar. At the end of the
benchrest is clear. www.precisionshooting.
day they will do the same job, so it is down to
com/psm_2005_03_issue.html
choice of function and style in terms of which one
you go for. If you want to have a custom-made
Designs…
tuner for your rifle, this is going to cost. They
The data makes sound reading, but so what?
are made by a few gunsmiths but off the shelf
How does this translate into a design for a
designs like those mentioned above are the
barrel tuner and how do you get one? There
common-place designs in use at the moment.
are a number of do-it-yourself tuner options
As barrels can be very different in diameter,
around, and some cheaper versions. The DIY
some adaptation may be needed, especially
designs can be made up quite easily but tend
for those that are tapered! This issue can be
to be of the type that fix to the barrel and not
discussed with the vendor or a friendly gunsmith.
the muzzle, as seen in the picture DIY. This
The price for a good barrel tuner from one of
is similar to the idea developed by Anschutz
the manufacturers above will run to about £100
some time ago, with their tuner that was
Target Shooter 69
the Harrel Tuner - allowing the bullet to
.22 Rimfire Precision Barrels - these stabilise in the first few inches,
come in a variety of configurations as this works in the same way as
and some are even ‘drop in’ the one I have from Cicognani.
Although mine is fixed! By far the Harrel
tuner seems to be the most versatile,
as it can be adapted and added
to, making it future proof in some
respects.
Unfortunately, not all weight classes
within rimfire benchrest can use barrel
tuners; they are specifically limited
to the Light Varmint 10.5 pound and
Above - Benchrest Specialities tuner - made to order Heavy Varmint Unlimited classes only.
onwards. The Cicognani tuner I bought a few However, there are designs that are
years ago cost £110 with sleeve to fit a tapered being considered as legal for the sporter class in
barrel. It is listed on their website for a current the USA. Again, these are designed and made
price of €149.50 or about £135. The Dan by Bill Calfee. They are very new ideas and it
Killough website is packed with a multitude of may be a long time before they are accepted
equipment and accessories. Dan stocks the for the sporter class, especially in Europe.
Harrel type tuner, similar to the Cicognani one, What all this information comes down to is
for $150. This also has a number of add-ons belief in whether tuners work or not. Behind this
for consideration. Brain Fox of Fox firearms is research is a lot of testing, data and 13 years of
now bringing these in, as he carries most of rimfire benchrest shooters getting high scores
the range Dan Killough supplies - www.foxfire- with the aid of a barrel tuner. I personally vouch
armsuk.com/ Brian charges about £99 for the for them as they have certainly made a positive
tuner, which is a very good price considering impact on my shooting over the years. Other
he brings these in directly from Dan in the rimfire benchrest shooters who have used them
US. One interesting fact is that Brian is also will also vouch for their use in serious competition.
developing a bloop tube to screw into the end of
70 Target Shooter
you should start to notice a change in group
sizes. If you don’t achieve good groups in the
first ten settings, keep going until you get the
best group for the ammunition you are testing.
This will need to be done each time you change
ammunition, but the same brand or ‘lot’ should
give the same, or very similar, outcome. If not,
only minor adjustments are usually needed.
Keep notes of what you are doing - the tuner
setting, ammunition brand and lot number for
future tuner testing. This process may take
some time so give yourself a good afternoon at
the range. When I set mine up I was lucky and
managed to find the ‘sweet spot’ within 50 rounds!
To maintain the tuner, clean it every second
or third time you shoot, or if you prefer, clean
Anschutz bloop tube barrel extention for every shoot. A lot of fouling tends to build up
shorter barrel over the interior walls. This fouling can easy
be removed by taking off the tuner but please
Using a Barrel Tuner. make a note of the setting or lock-off your
It is best to set up your tuner on a calm and setting if you can, then clean with the solvent you
tranquil day, ensuring your rifle is clean and normally use. I say take off the tuner as you could
properly prepared so that the barrelled-action potentially damage the barrel crown if you clean
is stable. We don’t want external factors, like with brushes while it’s still on the rifle. I tend
the wind, etc, to jeopardise your setting up so if to clean just with oil or solvent soaked patches
in doubt, go indoors! Working with your specific anyway, but the residue from the fouling could
tuner will depend on which one you get but still get into your muzzle if you leave the tuner
instructions are usually included. In essence, on the barrel.
they are all similar and the following may be of use:
Ensure the tuner is set at the zero position. If you The Future.
are lucky, you may find the best setting or ‘sweet There is no doubt that barrel tuners have made
spot’ in the first 12 positions. Fire ten to twenty huge impressions on the rimfire benchrest
rounds to ensure a layer of lube is in the barrel community, reflected in the scores shooters
and the barrel is stable. Then start shooting achieve. Developments are always being made
five-shot groups at the zero setting, then at and one of these is reasonably current. Bill
setting one, then at setting two, etc. At this point Calfee has done many experiments in 2008 and
Target Shooter 71
Pappas Noodle tuner - attaches to the harrel tuner. Half bloop
tube/ half muzzle break?
2009, looking at adding more weight/ mass to Central every so often. http://benchrest.com/
current tuners using rings/ washers added to the This website is awash with information that
very end of the tuner. These can be bolted onto keeps you well informed. Some of the posts
the tuner as required, in one ounce (28 grams) last year by Varmint Al are really an interesting
or half ounce (14 grams) increments. The read..........
tuner can then be adjusted in the normal way. Hopefully I have introduced a few more of
you to this very important rimfire accessory,
Our last pictures are possibly the way of things especially if you are hoping for that elusive
to come, with a complete system to change 250/ 25x score. I did say that rimfire
and adapt at the drop of a hat. (Hopefully I will benchrest was expensive but hopefully a barrel
have a system like this to review in the near tuner won’t make that much of a dent in the
future). Looking through the small amount of yearly ‘pocket money’ - he says…………!
pictures in this article, you may see the way Other website links below;
things have developed. Ideas breed new ideas http://www.limbsaver.com
and so forth, as weights, ‘bloop tubes’ and http://jga.anschuetz-sport.com
muzzle breaks have been used by many to Good shooting until next time.
alter the characteristics of how a rifle
shoots.
Mid-barrel tuners have also resurfaced
as a potential accessory and I hope
to write a review about these later
this year – have a look at the Killough
Shooting Sports website for this
and the weights noted above (the
link is noted earlier in this article).
Another development is the Pappas
Noodle tuner which I looked at a
few months ago. If you want to keep
abreast of the development of barrel
tuners I would look at Benchrest
Two photo’s above - Harrel tuner, weight system and standard bloop tube. With the
Pappas Noodle this ‘System’ may even be future proof???
72 Target Shooter
☆ 2007 Pan American Games
3x20 Gold Medalist
☆ 2007 WC Milan 3x20 Silver Medalist
☆ 2008 Olympian 3x20 Fifth Place
☆ 5-Time NRA Camp Perry
3x20 Junior National Champion
☆ Multiple Women’s NRA Camp Perry
National Champion
If you want to shoot like
a champion, choose Lilja!
www.riflebarrels.com
Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels, Inc
PO Box 372 • Plains, MT 59859
Tel: 406-826-3084 • Fax: 406-826-3083
Jamie Beyerle
Target Shooter 73
Portsmouth Gun Centre Ltd
295 London Road
North End
Portsmouth
PO2 9HF
Opening Times Tel 02392 660574
Mon 9.30 - 5.30 Fax 02392 644666
Tues Closed
Wed Closed E-mail sales@portsmouthguncentre.com
Thur 9.30 - 5.30 Website www.portsmouthguncentre.com
Fri 9.30 - 5.30
Sat 9.30 - 5.30
We stock a full range of Rifles, Pistols, Air Guns, Shotguns, Ammunition,
Reloading Equipment and Accessories. All major brands stocked including BSA,
CZ, Air Arms, Marlin, Ruger, Umarex, Uberti, Cometa, Pedersoli, Berreta, Lincoln,
Webley, Pedersoli, etc.
74 Target Shooter
This Smallbore Business
By Don Brook
Following on from last month, where I discussed the firing point and forward hand into the sling
the basic geometry of a position that works, and handstop are locked in place, so , much
I mentioned that the only area that is not locked depends on placing the butt in the shoulder very
into place, and therefor capable of variation, is accurately, and most of all consistently.
the butt in the shoulder.
As we go through the prone position assembly,
Most of you would be aware that shooters then learning how to use it, the reader will notice
use the basic geometry with a high degree that these points also contribute highly to
if skill, but because of the facts that the left consistent accuracy on the target. It is a matter
elbow (rh shooter) being on the surface of of attention to detail even to the very finest
Target Shooter 75
Also again in the text, place the right thumb in a consistent position, based on the location point in
the shoulder, on the butt plate of the rifle. This point needs to be consistently placed, as the
repetition of the butt placement in the shoulder is extremely important.
sense as the skills platform develops. platform and the sling, it becomes crucial that
the reader understands that placing the butt
Have you ever wondered why 90 percent of the has a sequence that dictates quite a few other
matches are won by 10 percent of the shooters? parameters. I have found that the attention to
Why the same few keep dominating, irrespective the following details also allows the mind to open
of the competition level? Do you think they have and explore the feelings (Kineasthetic feedback)
better eyesight, physical attributes, or far more of how the position is finally locked into place in
accurate equipment than you do? a consistency that needs to be developed. I
have never seen a shooter that is born to the
Nope, for the most part this is not so..... game.
Sure, a lot have more than a share of natural
Mostly it is because they are really finniky about talent resulting in a very high speed chase to
attention to every detail! perfection, but this becomes a total mind set as
the skills develop, irrespective of natural talent.
With that thought fore most in your mind, as
a psychological platform, now comes the time Top small bore scores are a high degree of
to start thinking, because small bore is a mind attention to details.
sport. As we develop this series, you will come
to understand that shooting is a sport where a lot If we go to the photographs with this article,
of energy is expended to stay perfectly still...... have a long look at the starting position of the
rifle, with the butt hook sitting out to the right
Keep this in mind, because this is the focal point of the position, with the left arm vertical and
for what I am about to write about, learning to the sling drooping loose. ( see photo A) The
hold the rifle very still. vertical arm simply allows the arm to rest, with
bones holding the rifle up, not muscles. Bones
OK, having established the position support do not get tired, muscles sometimes do, even
platform, based on the forward position in the case of a highly seasoned competitor. It
76 Target Shooter
With a looping motion the butt is placed in the shoulder. The thumb nail is used to locate the butt in
it’s position in the shoulder. This placement must be consistent and is a part of attention to detail
explained in the text. This aspect is crucial to the repetition of the position, and then the cheek
comes down onto the cheek piece of the rifle, actually locking the butt position into place.
Note the tension of the sling which is obvious, and the position of the buckle away from the bones
of the wrist. The whole of this operation is done with the right elbow risen from the shooting mat.
The whole right arm is elevated, so the next sequence can commence.
is a big advantage to be aware when fatigue approached. Like I said, attention to detail.....
sets in, and rest before the score is spoiled!
If you have doubts, stop immediately, things are Photograph C illustrates how the butt is
not going out the window because you need to rotated into the shoulder, with the position of the
rest, are they? butt hook under the arm pit. This is a looping
motion, and is extremely critical that a consistent
The second phase is illustrated in photograph pattern in the assembly is performed. Note that
B, where the forward arm is dropped forward the right elbow is well above the shoulder, with
AFTER the sling upper arm position is checked. emphasis on the positioning of the thumb into
( I make sure of this EVERY shot) checking the its correct place. You can do this after a time
feeling of the sling pressure as the forward arm of training the repetition of the process, but it is
position is assumed. Take note of the placement crucial that this system is worked on.
of the right thumb on the butt plate, as the butt is
to be rotated into the shoulder. (Also in photo B) Photograph D illustrates now, how the right
Find a place on your butt plate that corresponds hand is located on the pistol grip, with the
where you want to place the butt into the shoulder, right elbow still off the level of the firing point.
as the thumb is used as the butt reference It is also crucial that a consistent position of
point, placing it in exactly the same place each the trigger hand is maintained, and this is
time the position of the butt in the shoulder is governed by the finger on it’s place on the
Target Shooter 77
Now, the right hand is placed on the pistol grip of the rifle, still with the elbow off the mat. The
trigger hand position is located, in my case, (and recommended) parallel to the barrel. This does
allow correct trigger operation directly in line with the bore, and will be discussed later in this series.
Once the trigger hand is located, it is obvious that the right elbow can only go into the correct place
on the mat, or very close to it. It will only take minor adjustments to bring about the correct
position, and once more becomes a part of detail attention. For those interested, the rifle is a 1950
model Finnish Lion, with my own alloy stock, the design of which was the first alloy seen in
World small bore competition. (1983)
trigger. (More on this later as we examine the see that only then is the right elbow lowered into
aspects of trigger release in a later article.) it’s place to support the forward position platform.
The right thumb is the key point of the positioning My thinking on this aspect is quite simple, in that
as well, and if you do not have a thumb hole if the butt is now placed into the shoulder, and the
stock, such as a Anschutz model 1411 or similar, trigger hand is located on the grip, the right elbow
it is highly desirable that a position is found that can only fall into the same place, or very close to it.
can be retained consistently. Trigger finger If you need to make final slight adjustments to the
address on the trigger itself relative to correct position to allow the rifle to “point” at the target
operation of the trigger will also be the subject this will only be minor position adjustments,
of a later article, but for now, it is important that or alteration of pressures within the forward
the reader understands that the trigger hand positioning.
is now placed on the grip with the right arm, I should also bring to your attention that I have
and elbow still well off the firing point surface. not discussed a position used by many shooters
At this point, you should also check that the where the rifle is maintained in place in the position
forward position pressures are where, and over the course of fire for the duration of the
how, you want them to be, and only then, after match, that is not dropping the rifle each shot,
all these details, is the face set onto the cheek and assembling the position again for the next
piece of the rifle, assisting in locking the position shot. Many will argue this is a better method,
of the butt into its correct placement. You will but the position is subject to fatigue, and has a
need to reposition this aspect as the final major fault as the shoot progresses. I will discuss
position is realised, particularly if you have this in the next article next month, and leave
a stock that does not fit, as so many do.... you with this psychological gem to consider...
OK, now with the final photograph (E) you will “Things will not affect you, unless you let them”
78 Target Shooter
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Target Shooter 79
The Place to
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The NSRA,
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Now in stock ~ the popular
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80 Target Shooter
ELEY Shooting Rifle advert.indd 1 18/1/10 09:22:56
PROFILE ON REBECCA SAINT
By Hayley Platts
I contacted Rebecca having read of her very road with a rifle. I have said it many times before,
recent success as Junior Squad Captain in South but it is so important to get the right advice
Africa and was, as usual looking forward to and coaching from the very beginning as those
hearing her own story of how she became involved techniques and habits form the basis of your
in shooting, and what motivates her to continue to shooting for years to come, and it takes some
strive and train to better herself in the sport. doing to iron out those bad technical issues when
they are well and truly ingrained! Luckily Rebecca
Rebecca was 13 years old back in 2002 and had got off to a sound start and in her first competitive
joined the local scout shooting club which many event in 2002, the National Scout Championships
shooters will have heard of, Minerva. Rebecca she won the 6 yard air rifle event. This early
recalls that the three coaches at Minerva, namely success fired the competitive thirst in Rebecca
Geoff Lacey, Norman Beckett and Eric Clifton all and she became more interested, joining a
helped steer Rebecca on to the right technical dedicated and shooting club - Fareham Rifle and
Pistol Club which
Rebecca training before 2008 Junior international
has over the years
produced some
illustrious shooting
names nationally
and internationally.
Another benefit of
her 6 yard title was
the fact she was
invited to join the
Scout National
Squad.
Rebecca transferred
the skills she had
been taught at 6
yards to 10 metres
and served an
apprenticeship as
it were, until
she emerged in
Target Shooter 81
were gold with a combination
Rebecca shooting prone in South Africa of wins in prone and air rifle
events. The South Africa trip
of which she Captained, as
mentioned previously, turned
out to be incredibly successful
for our Junior team with the
overall team haul totalling fifty
five medals!
In 2007 Rebecca tried out for the prestigious Rebecca is very appreciative of her parents role
England Academy and secured her place there, in her shooting career so far, and says “I would
and has been successful in retaining her spot on never have been able to get where I am today
the squad for the past two and a half years. Aside without the emotional and financial support of
from the highlights of travelling to represent the my parents, particularly my Dad who had been
Great Britain Junior Squad in places such as my chauffeur over the last eight years”. A part
Germany, Holland, the Czech Republic and South time job at Staples also helps to fund Rebecca
Africa, it was a great honour for Rebecca to be with the many and considerable costs involved
chosen to captain the team, along with Alex Covey with her shooting, particularly when you are
in Germany, South Africa and at the junior competing and travelling regularly within the UK
international match held at Bisley in 2009. and overseas.
The whole of 2009 Rebecca cites as her best year The recent big freeze over here continues to wreak
of shooting to date. In the junior international at it’s havoc on Rebecca’s training, “it is particularly
Bisley she won the prone gold medal with a new hard to train air rifle at the moment as half a tree
personal best and during the South Africa trip that had been brought down by the recent heavy
she won thirteen medals overall, eight of which snow has fallen through the roof of our range”.
I’m sure however that with Rebecca’s
determination and dedication she will
be finding a way to work on her air
rifle training especially with the British
Airgun Championships at Bisley looming
up on the shooting calendar at the end of
February.
82 Target Shooter
Full page adverts, Half
page adverts,
Quarter page adverts
and more.
This is the first ‘pure’ short-range centrefire benchgun Above - The camera doesn’t do justice to Neil’s
we have featured in Gun of the Month. A 6PPC Shrek themed paint job by hydrographics
benchrest rifle like this one is a very specific animal
served its owner well at the 2007 World Benchrest
and it’s built to do just one thing – put every shot
Championships in Austria as part of the UK Team.
down the same hole as the previous one!
The stainless-steel Borden action – with the famous
Yes, seriously and when it ceases Neil’s gun started life as a Heavy Varmint rifle with Bausch &
Lomb scope, double Kelbly rings and a heavy barrel but went
to be a ‘one-holer’ it’s junk! It will not
on a diet to ‘make weight’ for the 2007 Worlds in Austria.
be competitive and there’s not much
else you can use it for – with a useful
range of not much more than 300
yards. That’s not to say that the 6PPC
cartridge won’t hack it beyond 300
yards – it will but when the barrel twist
is 1 in 14, a 68 grain flat-base bullet is
the heaviest it will handle – anything
heavier/longer will be
un- stable.
84 Target Shooter
By Gwyn Roberts
Carrying on from last months Bianchi feature, here 1860 points. For this match, 3 respective cardboard
are the remaining “official” courses of fire which are targets are placed 2½feet from centre to centre and
shot, when the “Mover” or “Plates” are not available 6 feet to the top edge. Stages 1-5 of this match are
to use. The Moving Target match is always replaced shot from the standing unsupported position whilst
by the Los Alamitos which only requires 42 rounds Stage 6 is shot using the barricade for support.
to be fired for a maximum of 420 points and 42 X’s.
Remember that when including this match it will The course of fire for the Los Alamitos match is:
reduce the highest possible score down from 1920 to
Target Shooter 85
Stage 1 - 7 meters 2 shots in 3 sec on the centre Stage 2 - 25 meters
target, then 2 shots on right target in 3 sec and finally 8 seconds 1 shot on each target
2 shots in 3 sec on the left target 8 seconds 1 shot on each target
When Falling/Paper Plates cannot be shot the “interesting” on the day you could always make up
alternative match used is the Rapid Fire Match your own individual match, and here’s two examples
and this time 5 respective cardboard targets of something I came up with based on some rarely
are placed 3ft centre to centre and 6ft to the top used Bianchi pistol matches that I use to help
edge. The whole match consists of 33 shots for a improve my shooting skills!
maximum of 330 points with 33 X’s and is all shot
from the Standing unsupported position at 25m. Ambidextrous Match - 6 x respective Bianchi steel/
The course of fire for the Rapid Fire match is: paper plates needing a total of 48 rounds for a
maximum score of 480 points and 48 X’s. Unless
Stage 1 - 25 meters specifically stated Freestyle, the rest of the match is
10 seconds 1 shot on each of targets 1, 3 & 5 shot from the Standing unsupported position.
10 seconds 1 shot on each target
10 seconds 1 shot on each target The course of fire for the Ambidextrous Match is:
10m
86 Target Shooter
6 shots in 6 sec Freestyle
6 shots in 6 sec Strong Hand Only for LBR/LBP’s 25m
(GRSB/CF Strong shoulder) 6 exposures of 4 sec, 1 shot per exposure on the
6 shots in 6 sec Weak Hand Only for LBR/LBP’s Left hand target
(GRSB/CF Weak shoulder hold) 6 exposures of 3 sec, 1 shot per exposure on the
Right hand target
15m
6 shots in 7 sec Freestyle 15m
6 shots in 7 sec Strong Hand Only for LBR/LBP’s 3 exposures of 4 sec, 1 shot on each target
(GRSB/CF Strong shoulder) 3 exposures of 3 sec, 1 shot on each target
6 shots in 7 sec Weak Hand Only for LBR/LBP’s
(GRSB/CF Weak shoulder hold) 10m
3 exposures of 3 sec, 1 shot on each target
20m 3 exposures of 2 sec, 1 shot on the Left hand target
6 shots in 8 sec Freestyle 3 exposures of 2 sec, 1 shot on the Right hand target
6 shots in 8 sec Weak Hand Only for LBR/LBP’s
(GRSB/CF Weak shoulder hold) You don’t need to be Einstein to figure out that
The Dueling Match - 2 x respective cardboard Bianchi Gallery Rifle hasn’t evolved into what it is today
targets needing 48 rounds to complete for a all by itself given the circumstances that it had to
maximum of 480 points and 48 X’s. The whole match evolve from! It’s taken a lot of hard work and effort by
is shot from the Standing unsupported position. various individuals, clubs, associations and groups
of friends to get us to where we are now, and we
The course of fire for the Dueling Match is: must all work hard together in order for our sport to
continue to grow and develop into the future. It’s a lot
50m easier said than done but for this to happen we need
3 exposures of 5 sec, 1 shot to be fired at each target to work on 3 main areas and these are:
3 exposures of 4 sec, 1 shot to be fired at each target
Target Shooter 87
“sensitive” issues (to
them) otherwise you’ll
be voted out of the
club for bringing it into
disrepute. And the list
goes on! Don’t get me
wrong, I know a lot of
“seasoned” club and
committee members
who are always open
minded, and have a
wealth of knowledge
who they are willing to
pass on to the rest of us
but it’s not these people
Mattersey RPC ranges that are the problem, is
it?
1. Develop and increase the number of clubs & Personally, I think it’s
ranges where people can take part in GR shooting, disgraceful how some individuals and committees
and help give support and guidance to those wishing get away with what they are doing but like I’ve said
to host GR competitions. before, there are always a couple ways to deal with
this problem should you feel the need to do so. The
2. Get more individuals and groups qualified and first is to obviously try to educate them so that they
involved as Range Officers or helping out in other understand that target sports are for everyone,
key roles at GR events, whether it’s at their own regardless of gender, age and mobility, and that
club, Bisley or alongside other clubs in their region. many positive things can be gained by allowing new
ideas or individual disciplines to be introduced. If this
3. Provide coaching for individuals, groups and clubs approach fails then the second option is to simply just
to increase individual shooting performance. get all of the other members together and vote the
idiots out of the club, and then run it fairly for everyone
Starting with the first point, there is no doubt that else who is left! After all, you are all paying your
there are a number of clubs dotted around the membership fees to enjoy your sport, not someone
country that have the facilities to become GR else’s idea of it. This has happened at a number of
“Regional Centers” in the future, yet having these clubs now and the transformation in the facilities
facilities available and having the club run by an “old and the service to its members, and visitors alike
boy” committee can be frustrating to say the least. has proved very positive for everyone concerned.
I just can’t understand people who make it their From the competition side of things, if you haven’t
mission in life to prevent any change whatsoever in got 11 dedicated outdoor ranges at your disposal
a shooting club, because it would mean making it to shoot on like Mattersey RPC has, it isn’t the end
more enjoyable or challenging for people to take part of the world as those who used to shoot the Winter
in. They are the type of people who view someone Masters Bianchi at the Nottingham Indoor Shooting
wanting to try shooting another discipline other than Center will certainly remember. All NISC had to
theirs, as the anti Christ or something and will do work with were two small quite poorly lit 25yd
everything in their power to stop any type of indoor ranges on which they shot 2 of the matches
“modern” shooting taking place on “their” range! in the morning and the remaining 2 in the afternoon,
Unfortunately many of these people don’t even using the (very) reduced sized Bianchi targets for
want their own discipline to be dragged into the new the 35 & 50yd practices. Despite the lack of range
millennium either as they are quite content with space, they still managed to produce some fantastic
doing what they have done in their own little matches and the entry list was always full to capacity.
“bubble” for the last 60 years or more. Other clubs are You really can provide a great competition, regardless
“dominated” by an individual or two who do of range size with a little bit of thought and effort
everything in their power to make holding a and providing your range equipment works, you
committee meeting (never mind regular ones) nigh have toilet facilities and somewhere dry (and warm
on impossible in case someone comes up with a if needed) for people to sit down in, you’ll have
good idea or would like to change something for the basics covered to put on an enjoyable match.
the benefit of everyone else in the club. Then you In order to help identify new clubs who may want to
get the scaremongers who tell you to shut up about introduce Gallery Rifle into their existing disciplines,
88 Target Shooter
or simply improve the day from the range crew and kitchen staff, to
Some ranges look on what they are all the runners and stats officers and a competition will
different to others....... ready providing the only be a success if everyone does their job well.
NRA/Gallery Rifle I’m sure there are more individuals and small groups
& Pistol committee of friends out there who would like to help out on
have appointed the ranges and put something back into the sport.
Ashley Dagger Some of them do feel a bit uneasy about jumping
as the Regional in at the deep end as it were, as they have no
coordinator for GR. prior practical experience but this really isn’t a problem
Ash will be able to as even the best R.O’s and range crew have to
provide you with start somewhere. Whether you have just one or
a wealth of two individuals, or a whole club full of people who
knowledge, help would like to receive some training towards being a
and advice on GR Range Officer then Neil Francis the GR Range
everything from Officer Coordinator has the experience and
range and club expertise needed to help you out and Neil can be
development, to contacted by e-mail at honsec@fdpc.co.uk
hosting your own The third point covers learning how to shoot
Club, Regional or better in the GR disciplines and whether you are an
even National X class shooter or a novice starting off in D class
“Open” competition we can all learn something from each other. Many
so if you would people seem to skip over the basics when learning
like him to help put how to shoot but it’s these things that really are the
you and your club most important things to learn, and do properly. If
on the “map” as any individuals or groups would like a bit of help
it were, his e-mail with anything from setting up your rifles, to shooting
address is ash@ the Shorts events or individual Bianchi matches
fdpc.org.uk then get in touch and I will see if I or someone else
The second point in your area can help you out. I’ve been tasked
that is just as with coordinating the Training & Coaching side
important to our of things in GR so if you have any questions or
sport (and some- just want a bit of advice over the phone I can be
times even more contacted through gwyn@blackdiamondcustom.eu
so) than providing Next month I’ll take a look at shooting the 1500
a venue to shoot Match along with how to score it, for those of you
at, is simply having who have never tried it before.
enough help on
the range. Whether
it’s a normal club day or a major competition at
Bisley the ranges must be run safely by qualified and
competent R.O’s. Everyone has a part to play on
Target Shooter 89
Rude Fat Dog
Custom Firearms RFD 621 Devon & Cornwall
Section 5
We are the ONLY dedicated company who can supply the products and
technical expertise to help you become more competitive in your
Gallery Rifle competitions
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Okehampton SBC
Club Feature
Okehampton situated in the heart of rural Devon move to the present purpose built range.
and lying on the edge of The Dartmoor National In 1978 a grant from the Sports Council and help from
Park hosts probably one of the best shooting the Job Creation Workforce was instrumental in the
facilities in the Devon and Cornwall area, if not the initial construction, however when both ran out it was
South West of England. down to the members to put the finishing touches!
Okehampton SBC has been in existence since The building of the club as it is now was no mean feat
before 1913 only being interrupted in 1939 by in itself bearing in mind where the club is situated,
the outbreak of World War 2, reforming again right in the middle of the town, surrounded on three
in 1946 and shooting at various venues one of sides by existing buildings and houses and on the
them being the White Hart Hotel until 1977(not other by a river which can become almost a raging
in the bar which even in those enlightened days torrent, so access to the club could have been a
was frowned upon), during this period .22 pistol problem, not to our members it wasn’t! A bridge was
was introduced which probably encouraged the constructed and a very large crane brought in to
90 Target Shooter
put it in place, some photographs of very youthful
looking members can be seen in albums that have
been kept for posterity.
The range now consists of 2 x 5 point ranges
enabling 20yrd pistol and 25yrd prone rifle to be shot
simultaneously, facilities also exist for 10mtr air rifle
and air pistol. A separate 10mtr range complete with
target changers was built in 1992 .This is an excellent
well lit area and a tremendous asset to the club which
even by itself tempts members to try other disciplines
Along with many others clubs the governments
pistol ban had a adverse affect on our shooting
and membership numbers, so in a attempt to
hang on to as many shooters as possible light
weight sport rifle was introduced, this along with
the improved capabilities of modern air weapons
allowed shooters to take part in many of the
competitions previously shot with .22 pistols.
The club is also dedicated to helping disabled people
partake in our sport, this has proved very successful
especially with the partially sighted and blind. A
grant helped the club install acoustic equipment
which helped considerably, so much that over the member has already shot in the World
years that partially sighted members have Championships,
represented Devon County, England and Great in Milan 2008 and is looking forward to renewing
Britain in fact Carole Brown is the current reigning acquaintances with fellow competitors during
British Champion for the visually impaired. Winning the European Championships in 2010.
this on several occasions.Well done Carole!! As with most clubs there is a backbone of stalwarts
The club is also proud to have among its members who ensure the day to day running and ours is no
“Gorgs Geikie” (evidently she hates being called exception. Our stalwarts are Yvonne and Bernard
Gorgina) who is presently preparing for the 2012 Rendell a husband and wife duo who spend more
Olympics by entering every competition possible time than one would think was available to any
both home and abroad, gaining experience in her normal mortals ensuring the smooth running of the
chosen disciplines of sport and 10mtr air pistol. club on a day to day basis as well as shooting in
With the increasing interest in UKBR22 in many many competitions around the county and Bisley. It
clubs around the country we intend not to be left does not end there for Yvonne, she is also county
behind and are actively encouraging members to co-ordinator spending whatever time there is left
consider this as another string to their bow. One arranging leagues and scoring, although she is ably
assisted with the latter by her daughter
Dianne.
Many shooters around the southwest of
England will already be aware of the
numerous open shoots run at Okehampton,
some 5 a year at present. These are very
well patronised with shooters coming
from far and wide, some say even strange
parts like Cheddar in Somerset!! Whilst
they are there the competitors are suitably
fed and watered with the assistance of
club members from the ample kitchen, on
a par with many a home.
Okehampton SBC,as I can personally
confirm is a very friendly motivated club
welcoming new comers and keen to
encourage people to take up and enjoy
our sport, so next time you are in the area
look us up and see what the “Best of the
West” has to offer.
Target Shooter 91
Classifieds • Classifieds • Classifieds • Classifieds •
Available from all good stockists Would you like to stock the Gtec
now or buy online at range of Products , If so please visit
www.gtecshootingsupplies.com our website for further details .
92 Target Shooter
VINCE’S REGULAR COLUMN WHEREBY
ACCURACY NUTS CAN KEEP UP TO
DATE WITH THE ACTIVITIES OF THE UKBRA
Target Shooter 93
even with the very best scopes. Their design was Eric’s website www.harbourarms.com He is happy
prompted by short-range benchrest shooters to ship anywhere in the world. Not only will a snap-cap
who were ‘freezing’ their scopes to prevent point save you dropping the hammer on an empty chamber
of aim ‘drift’. Freezing involves locking-up the but perhaps more usefully, they allow you to practise
scope’s internal moving parts but of course, this dry-firing – essential for super-accuracy disciplines
means that adjustments to windage or elevation like benchrest and F Class.
can’t be made, so not practical for most disciplines.
Savage
The March is constructed in a unique way to overcome Osprey Rifles, who specialise in all things Savage
these problems and many of the world’s top benchrest are now offering these scope rails for Savage actions.
shooters are now using them. Of course, when something The rails are beautifully CNC machined from
good comes along, other shooters want it and before aluminium and two versions are available –
long March created a high-power variable scope to the Picatinny or the Davidson. The Davidson rail weighs
satisfy the demands of F Class and tactical shooters. just 2 ounces and if you use Kelbly ultra-light rings,
The problem of scope failure is extremely difficult to the whole set-up would weigh only 4 ounces – useful
verify and using a March will remove any nagging if you are building a rifle to a strict weight-limit. Rails
doubt that your scope could be faulty and responsible can be ordered with a 20 MOA taper for long-range
for your abysmal performance! Gary Costello used a work and of course rails to fit other popular actions are
March 10-60 zoom when he won the Individual F Class available. www.ospreyrifles.com or see Opsrey Rifles
World Championship in July 2009 and he has now at the Newark Shooting Show in February.
been appointed the sole UK agent for March scopes.
Their latest offering is a 8-80 power zoom – wow! Fox Firearms
Price-wise, the scopes are on a par with other top-end Brian Fox recently gave me these scope rings he is
optics like Schmidt & Bender and Nightforce but they importing. They are available in Picatinny or Davidson
are much lighter - useful if you shoot in a class which (as per pic) and in one-inch or 30mm. They also do an
has a weight limit. Gary’s website is about to launch at offset ring which some benchrest shooters like. Not all
www.marchscopes.co.uk and the first batch of scopes benches are well designed or maybe your seat is too
are on their way. I have a fixed 40 power on order for low – if so, these rings will help if you are struggling
100/200 yard benchrest and elsewhere in this issue to get close to your scope. www.foxfirearmsuk.com
you can read a report of the 10-60 March which Gary
used to win the Worlds. Events
Our 100/1000 yard benchrest season doesn’t
Snap-caps commence until the beginning of April but the British
A few issues ago, we featured the Harbour Arms Benchrest Club at Bisley shoot all year round and they
snap-caps. Eric Kennard specialises in making have a 100 yard shoot on Sunday 14th February. The
high-quality snap-caps in unusual and wildcat calibres next UKBRA 600 yard shoot will be held on Sunday
and he has now made one specially for the benchrest 7th March at Diggle Ranges.
shooter in 6PPC with a 262 neck. Have a look at
94 Target Shooter
In association with
For the next few months we will focus on some of our Gary’s first time out he managed to knockdown
UK shooters who are working their way up in to the twenty of the targets which thought was quite
Uk team. respectable. His best score so far is 59 out of 60,
but one day he hope to complete a perfect score.
Gary Kingaby has been shooting for about After about a year Gary learnt about rimfire and
three years and started by getting a Brocock air rifle benchrest shooting and started shooting
Magnum 8 shot CO2 rifle, which he found to this, finding it very different from HFT. After
be a very good air rifle, but had its limitations. talking to other shooters he has learnt it is more
about confidence in you technique and have a
He then joined Buxted Rifle and Pistol Club near positive attitude.
Uckfield. After about a month he purchased an
s400 Air Arms, and was asked if he wanted to In 2008 Gary went to Milan for the World rimfire and
try HFT at competition level. In his words, ‘It Air Rifle Benchrest Championship. ‘This was a great
was great fun and I met lots of great people and eye-opener as to how much practice and work that
made lots of new friends. I started to learn more you need for this sport and has encouraged me to
about airguns, how to set up scopes, how to learn as much I can and developed my shooting’.
zero the gun. How to shoot various ranges etc’.
In 2009 Gary shot at the UK Nationals in Portishead.
Gary set up air rifle BR - gary won the silver medal in last
years world postal hampionships
Target Shooter 95
I came home with a silver in the unlimited and a
Above and below - Gary in the field on a HFT shoot
team award’. With a borrowed a gun Gary shot
‘It was great to other guys who do benchrest, it was rimfire ; for the first time while he was there and got
a well organised event and I learnt a lot more about his first 250 at 25 metres; ‘this made me want to do
wind flags and how to use them. Also shooting head that and now am hooked on rimfire as well. Since
to head in a match makes all the difference and then I have gone out and bought myself an Anschutz
you learn a lot from this the pressure is immense. 1813 the heavier barrel am looking at getting a new
stock made for it am
hoping to get a Weaver
T36 so I would say I am
hooked on rimfire as well
now’. Gary also received
a silver medal in the air
rifle world postal, which
is a big event in the year
where a lot of countries
come together and shoot.
At present Gary is
experimenting with
different ammo, doing
very well in the latest
postal benchrest season.
‘I won two gold’s and a
silver which I am very
happy about’.
96 Target Shooter
The Long View
News from the GB
F-Class Association
Naturally, there is something of a shooting lull Europeans and Grant Taylor won the GB Open
over the winter period – except for those hardy League. But, that’s all history for as one Championship
souls on the front cover - but don’t forget, you can ends, the build-up to the next one begins. The
still discuss all matters shooting and F Class in next Worlds will be held at the Raton range in
particular (or just have a good old moan!) via New Mexico USA in 2013 and you can bet the
the GB F Class forum. Lee Tomlinson of Border American’s will be hell bent on avenging their defeat.
Barrels has set up an excellent site and so far it has
been under-used, so please take a look and if you Building the GB Teams to take on the Americans
have any questions or comments on any aspect and the rest of the World will fall to the new Team
of F Class shooting why not raise it on the forum? Captains and the outgoing Captain, Des Parr,
See www.longrangeshooting/forumup.co.uk now hands over to a new Captain. Following
Des will be some task as Des did an amazing job
We look back on 2009 as a very successful year - it couldn’t have gone any better could it? And
for the GB F Class Association and its members. similarly with F/TR Captain Stuart Anselm, even
Gary Costello won the Individual World Open and though GB didn’t win the F/TR Gold, Stuart’s Team
the GB Team won Gold in the Teams Championship. put in an amazing performance and it could have
Our F/TR shooters won the Team Silver and Russell gone either way right up to the final yardage.
Simmonds was the World Individual F/TR
Championship. To round off a great year, Russell The new Captains will be elected by members of the
also won the F/TR Europeans and the GB League. GBFCA and the appointments are then ratified by
For the record, Adam Brough won the Open the NRA so, at this stage I cannot reveal our choice
but next month we will
This is a view from the 1000 yd firing point at my
hopefully have a word
home range of Diggle taken in early January
with them and see what
their initial thoughts are
for the task facing them
in America in four years
time.
Target Shooter 97
A regular column whereby Ken Hall keeps us up to date
with black powder cartridge rifle shooting in the UK.
NEWCOMERS GUIDE TO CASE CLEANING. stored ready for re-use. The only drawback being
that the case, although clean and suitable for use,
Black powder shooting can be very hard on brass will tarnish and discolour unless regularly polished.
cases and without proper care their useful life can This is a relatively simple task, requiring the use of a
be shortened. This month we’re going to look at just piece of equipment known as a tumbler, or polisher,
along with some polishing media. Most
shooters who reload their own ammunition
will already own some sort of polishing kit,
most probably a vibrating or rotary type
with a container in which a media such as
crushed walnut shells or corn cobs is used to
polish the cases after cleaning. This brings
me to a system that I have used for the past
few years, I don’t know who to credit as the
originator of this system but I must thank the
members of the Single Shot Black Powder
Centrefire Rifle Club of Great Britain for
passing it on and providing the media used.
My tumbler is of the vibratory type, made in the
United States but available in the UK through
The magic ingredients Midway and other suppliers, importantly, the
bowl is completely watertight, some variations
have a removeable section to aid in sifting
one way to return your expensive cases to top
condition after a gruelling day at the range. Rinsing the media
Your fired cases come under attack from the
instant the primer is struck, various complex
salt compounds are deposited which will attack
the brass, the first priority after a shooting
session is to arrest this action. One of the
best products for this happens to be available
almost everywhere and at a very reasonable
cost; soapy water, hot or cold, liberally
applied as soon as possible after firing will
stop the corrosive effects of powder residue
and salts. If the cases are first de-capped
the primer pocket and the case interior
can be cleaned with the aid of a brush or
scraper, the whole thing rinsed, dried and
98 Target Shooter
the cases after polishing, these would not be
suitable for this method. After shooting, I do
not treat the cases in any way at the range,
but as soon as possible after returning home
the cases are de-capped and placed in a wire
basket which fits inside a plastic container
(formerly containing emulsion paint), hot
water with a dash of washing-up liquid is
added and the basket agitated until the water
turns black, then the murky water is replaced
with clean cold water and the cases agitated
again. After drying, I store these cases until
I have enough to clean and polish. As .45-
70 cases are quite large I normally would
only want 40 to 50 cases to polish at one
Cases after rinsing but before tumbling time. Then I am ready to start, first I take the
tumbler and add the media consisting of small
pieces of ceramic material slightly larger than
a grain of rice and shaped like angle cut
cylinders, to this I add about 800ml of clean
water, just enough to cover the media. Next,
a dash of washing-up liquid, a teaspoon
of Cream of Tartar and a squirt of lemon
juice, both available from the home cooking
section of most supermarkets. The pre-rinsed
cases are then added, the lid attached and
the tumbler plugged into the electric supply.
Experimentation has shown that 30 mins to
one hour is all that is needed, indeed, longer
than this tends to reverse the action as the
solution will be saturated and only results
in duller cases. All that remains is for the
cases to be removed from the tumbler, rinsed
Cases after tumbling and dried. I use a wire basket designed for
deep frying food to hold the cases, a good
shake and the basket can be placed on a
radiator to dry the cases, or a few minutes
in a warm oven, to speed up the process.
The media is emptied into a sieve and rinsed
with clean water ready for use again, over
and over, it will last virtually forever. One of
the main advantages of this system is that
it cleans and polishes in one go. A bonus is
the thoroughness of the cleaning, even the
primer pocket gets cleaned enough so that no
further action is required before re-capping.
The one drawback to this system is its’
unsuitability for bottleneck cases, due to
the media having a tendency to wedge itself
into the case neck with obvious results,
fortunately most blackpowder calibres used
in Quigley type shooting are of the ‘straight
wall’ type and so this is not a problem. The
same system works equally well with my
.38-55, .40-65 and even .45 Colt cases
used with either black or nitro powder.
Detail of cleaned primer pocket Questions and comments please to
khall6548@aol.com
Target Shooter 99
Hunter Field Target News
HFT RANGEFINDING UKAHFT Part 3 image as viewed through the scope and the other
utilizes the reticle to bracket the hit zone or the target
.22 AIR RIFLE itself to obtain its range. First let’s look at the image
method, this only really works for the two extremes
ranges of 8-15 and 40 to 45 yards. It hinges upon the
shooter setting their scopes parallax to a distance
were the short and long targets image becomes
unclear. If you use a fixed power ten mag scope set it
to a 23 yard parallax, when looking at a target set at
45yards it’s image when viewed through the scope
will look blurred and not pin sharp. The 40 yard
target will be clear when viewed so you know its 40
and not 45 yards if it “look” long. Targets at a shorter
13 yards it will look blurred as well. So you can guess
the range just by the fact it’s image is not clear,
conversely if by using your eye you think it may be
13 or 15 yards if the target is clear its 15 and if its
blurred its 13 yards. All good HFT shooters use this
method as an additional aid, the other factor is the
top shots never rely upon just one method of range-
finding, that’s the trick to being successful at HFT.
The second method uses the reticle in the scope.
If you know the size of the target you can use it’s
relative size as it appears to fixed points in the
The ability to accurately judge, or indeed guess the reticle to give you an idea of the range. This is where
range to a target separated the good shots from the Mil-Dot scopes can come onto their own. Mildot
average shots in the early days of FT. Today the art reticle’d scopes can be used to bracket rangefind on
of rangefinding by eye has been somewhat lost in the kill zones of FT/HFT targets themselves. Discs
FT due to the large magnification (Up to 50 times) are normally 40,25 or 15mm in diameter, although
scopes being able to rangefind to in some cases some evil hosting clubs make special 32 or 18mm
within a yard. Purely visual by eye rangefinding sized disc’s to confuse the shooter.
via the MKI eyeball is still very important in HFT For example with a 40mm disc the size it appears at
and that’s why I like shooting the sport, it gets you certain ranges with a true Mildot scope are.
thinking about what you are doing, instead of relying YARDS MILDOTS
upon technology. The curved trajectory of a legal 8 5.5
limit airgun pellet means you have to be well within 9 4.9
5 yards of the actual range with your guessemitate, 10 4.5
to be sure of hitting a 40mm disc and it needs even 12 3.7
better ranging accuracy when shooting HFT targets 15 2.9
which have 25 or 15mm diameter kill zones. For 17 2.6
those who do not have the ability to use the MKI 20 2.2
eyeball to any level of accuracy the scope can be 25 1.8
used in HFT as an aim to rangefinding. We know in 30 1.5
HFT parallax adjustable scopes are banned, which 35 1.3
effectively limits magnification down to ten times 40 1.1
maximum. There are still two methods the HFT 45 1.0
shooter can use for rangefinding one uses the It makes the difference between 40 and 45 yards
The season is now almost on us and I know that Finally, here is the latest calendar for 2010. Entry
all the organisers would be very grateful if you can forms will be coming out from the NSC towards the
enter their competitions as early as possible. It helps end of the month.
them to judge demand and capacity and it helps you
– if you leave it too late you may well not get what DATES FOR 2010
you want to shoot on the day you want it.
March 27-28 Spring Action Weekend NSC
The 2010 version of the GR&P Rules Handbook will Bisley
be off to the printers in a few weeks and will be out April 17-18 Basildon 1500 Basildon
in time for the new season. It’s free and you can May 2 Mattersey Ten Mattersey
pick it up from the NRA offices. It will also be on the May 8 Frome Western Winner
NSC and GR websites for you to download. It also Bristol
has everything you need to know about the Phoenix May 9 Shield Practical GR&P Dorset
Meeting at the back and it’s a very handy thing to May 28-30 The Phoenix Meeting NSC
have in your range bag. Bisley
June 5 Open WCSA Gallery Rifle
There are a few changes you need to note. The Warminster
division of GRCF into three gun types and the June 26-27 Derby 1500 Derby
changes to the classification system I have July 10-11 Fermoy International GR
mentioned before. There are also some changes Ireland
to the Bianchi event with disabled competitors given July10-24 The Imperial Meeting NSC
more opportunity to shoot the barricade match and Bisley
enabling prone shooting in the practical and plates July 18 Mattersey Steel Shoot
matches. Mattersey
July 24-25 Frome Three Gun Shield
The practice of allowing range crew to go forward Dorset
when any competitor has a loaded firearm will be August 28-29 Gallery Rifle National
explicitly banned in all circumstances in future as it Championships NSC Bisley
is just plain dangerous. September 19 Mattersey Bianchi Mattersey
October 17 Shield Steel Challenge
There will be a few changes to some of the Standard GR&P Dorset
Medal scores at the Phoenix Meeting. These mostly October 23-24 The Trafalgar Meeting NSC
affect the Gallery Rifle Small Bore precision events Bisley
where it was beginning to look like you needed to October 30-30 Autumn Action Weekend
win just to qualify for a bronze. Another change is to NSC Bisley
the X class qualifying scores in Gallery Rifle Centre November 12-14 Leitmar International GR
Fire Timed and Precision One. This has gone the Germany
other way with nearly everyone getting a medal. Not
any more! (Either contact the organisers direct or go to www.
galleryrifle.com for entry forms.)
There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes
on the software which keeps the classifications, GR&P = Gallery Rifle Centre Fire (GRCF),
squadding and stats running smoothly. Of course Gallery Rifle Small Bore (GRSB), Long Barrelled
you don’t see most of this but one thing that it will be Pistol (LBP) and Long Barrelled Revolver (LBR)
able to do from now on is keep an historic record of
all scores in classified matches. It may be possible Please go to the Gallery Rifle website www.galleryr-
in future to find a way of displaying these data. ifle.com for more news and information.
Advertisers Index
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Bulzeye Pro 26 Parmoor Stocks 92
Centra 74 Portsmouth Gun Centre Ltd 74
EFD Enfield Specialist 62 Rhino Rifles 18
Eley LTD 80 Richard Paul Russell Ltd 36
Fox Firearms 19 & 67 RUAG Ammotec 13
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Green Leopard 46 Shooting Bags 46
GTEC Shooting Supplies 92 South Yorkshire Gun Supplies 56
HPS Target Rifles Ltd 79 Steyr UK 103
Indelfa industrial electronics 46 Tim Hannam 38
JDK Rifle Gear 67 UKBR22 - Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest 92
Lawrence Precision 64 UKS Total Shooting Show 3 &17
Lilja 73 Viking Arms LTD 2
Low Mill Range 73 Westlake Engineering 29
March Scopes UK 19 York Guns 17
Merseyside Armoury 46 Zeiss Optics 11
The March issue will be out as normal on the 1st of the month. Lots of follow up articles, new
reviews, news and as ever packed with the articles you want to read.