Target Shooter

TARGET SHOOTER MAGAZINE
November 2012 Issue
shotgun world champs

PSE RIFLE STOCKS REVIEW Shooting News
GIRLS & SHOOTING

HANDLOADING BENCH
Practical Rifle Shooting
THE LONG VIEW - F CLASS
PISTOL shooting
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SMALLBORE SHOOTING
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The Choice of Champions
Welcome to the new look November 2012 edition of Target Shooter Magazine
March SCOPES
Tactical Turrets
This scope has the largest zoom ratio of any FFP scope ever made,additionalfeature is the 0.05 Mil centre dot, this was designed not to obscure the target on higher magnification.
A feature of First Focal Plane (FFP) design, also known as Front Focal Plane, is the reticle scale value does not change over the entire zoom range of the rifle scope. Also the POA does not change over the entire zoom range. This simplifies use of the reticle for ranging and holdover in conjunction with ballistic charts.
Webitorial November 2012

As a schoolboy I had a great hobby building and flying model aeroplanes. All very innocent. Then someone complained about the noise, then suddenly it became dangerous - we needed public liability insurance and eventually the local Council kicked us off our flying field. Welcome to the real world kid! Model aircraft turned into motorcycling and with it more prejudice also dangerous and noisy! Then I took up shooting... maybe Im just bad at choosing hobbies! The future of any sport lies with the youth of today but getting kids interested in shooting real shooting - as opposed to a shooting-based computer game - is not easy but essential if our sport is to flourish. The youngsters who do shoot always seem to be great kids and not the least bit interested in the Hollywood-style gun culture. And, as we all know, having a firearm license makes you into a very law abiding person step out of line and bang goes your hobby.
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Even though our sport is one of the safest around, prejudice abounds. Rarely are shooters or anyone else - injured in pursuance of their hobby unlike horse-riders for example. So, where is all this leading? A large proportion Target Shooters worldwide readership is located outside of the UK so, one of the UKs leading newsagents, W H Smith, will not be familiar to many of you. Recently however W H Smith have taken the unprecedented step of refusing to sell shooting magazines to anyone under the age of 14. Shooting is surely the most regulated sport a youngster can possibly enter into. It requires an early compliance with the law and all that it entails, with licenses, safe storage, club membership, training etc. What facts have W H Smith used to back up their senseless ban? It would be interesting to find out how many youngsters have been seriously injured whilst attempting stunts on their BMX bikes and skateboards - why not put these magazines out of reach as well? An on-line petition is available to attempt to get W H Smith to reconsider its stance. If you can support us, please visit: http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/whsmiths-retract-policy-on-sale-of-shooting-magazines On a more positive front, you will see that we have allocated a large proportion of this months magazine to the first IPSC Shotgun World Championships in Hungary. We make no apologies for this. Practical Shotgun has finally emerged as a recognized world shooting discipline, thanks to the hard work of many shooting organisations around the world not least our own UKPSA. Long may it flourish.
The Choice of Champions

Push Button Illumination
For UK & EU: marchscopes.co.uk - Call 01293 606901 or info@marchscopes.co.uk For Australia & NZ: BRT Shooters Supply - PO Box 1124 - Springwood - 4127 Queensland, Australia. Phone. 07-3808 4862 - www.marchscopes.com.au
Editor - Vince Bottomley vinceb@targetshooter.co.uk Advertising and Office Manager - Yvonne Wilcock. yvonne@targetshooter.co.uk Compiled, Designed & Web Production by Steve Thornton. www.thorntonconnect.com Contributors - Vince Bottomley - Laurie Holland - Ken Hall - Don Brooke - Chris Parkin Tony Saunders - Dave Tickle - Craig Young - Liz Woodhall David Thompson - Mike Davenport Back Page Photography by Steve Thornton - ThorntonConnect.com Cover Photography by David Thompson Disclaimer
Vince, Yvonne & Steve

Vince Bottomley - vinceb@targetshooter.co.uk Yvonne Wilcock - yvonne@targetshooter.co.uk Steve Thornton - steve@stevethornton.co.uk
The website www.targetshooteronline.com is part of Target Shooter magazine with all contents of both electronic media copyrighted. No reproduction is permitted unless written authorisation is provided. Information, prices and data is believed to be correct at the time of posting on the internet which is on or around the 1st of each month. Advertisements that are firearm related are from companies or individuals that Target Shooter magazine believes are licensed to hold such firearms and accepts no responsibility if companies or individuals are not so licensed. Letters and photographs submitted by members of the public to Target Shooter magazine will be accepted on the basis that the writer has agreed to publication unless otherwise stated. Target Shooter magazine has no control over the content or ownership of photographs submitted. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the views of the publishers and relate to specific circumstances within each article. These are the opinions and experiences of writers using specific equipment, firearms, components and data under controlled conditions. Information contained in the online magazine or on the website is intended to be used as a guide only and in specific circumstances caution should be used. Target Shooter Magazine does not except any responsibility for individuals attempting to recreate such testing using any information, data or other materials in its electronic pages. Publishers of Target Shooter magazine. 3
Contents
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Contents Continued & More...

Page 68 Diary of a novice F/TR boy - Part One by Peter Baxter. Following a query about Lauries missing third article in the July edition of his Affordable F/TR series I was asked by Vince to write up my initial experiences setting out on the F/TR road It may not be pretty, but here goes! ...
November 2012 Issue
VI Open Delta Cup 2012 - Level III IPSC Championship Match Belgrade Serbia by David Thompson. The VI Open Delta Cup IPSC Championship was hosted by the Delta SJA, Belgrade. Held from 24th to 26th August, this Level III Championship match consisted of 30 stages put together by Match Director Spasoje Vulevic and his team for a 500 plus round count. Page 26 A LOOK AT THE MOSIN-NAGANT M1891/30 SNIPER RIFLE by Laurie Holland. In the days when I only shot Historic Military Rifle, Id never been particularly impressed by Nagants affordable but nasty things, especially those vicious little carbines with a bayonet folded alongside the forend and their horrendous muzzle flash and blast when firing surplus military ammo. Page 50
This Smallbore Business by Brooksie. Reading the lighter wind stuff.Weve covered serious wind shooting over the last couple of issues but, sometimes we are lucky enough to shoot in the very light weather conditions. In my experience this does not happen very often, and Murphys Law dictates...
THE HANDLOADING BENCH by Laurie Mr James Puckles Gun by Mike Davenport FCA. Defending King George your country and Laws, is defending yourselves and the Protestant cause. Such a statement made on the patent application may have been more effective then in a country which did not wish to return to absolute monarchy and which had religious beliefs unlike those existing today in the United Kingdom. Page 44 Page 90 Holland. Another look at cartridge case annealing. Id hoped to finish my look at new powders which we started in the September issue but have run a bit behind in testing the selected trio IMR-8208 XBR and a couple of Czech Lovex extruded propellants so Ive postponed my final report for a few issues but this delay does let me slot in an update on case annealing. A Visit to Joe West Rifle Stocks - by Chris Parkin. Cant see the wood for the trees? Those of us wanting to either improve a current rifle, or put together a new one, had to metaphorically journey across the Atlantic to find suitable replacement parts, especially in the form of rifle-stocks. Since the design of the earliest rifle, shooters have found walnut to be both beautiful, strong and a relatively lightweight wood - if not particularly hardwearing and resistant to atmospheric change. In times of war, damaged supply chains (and prices in peacetime) had often diverted guns into the realms of less desirable woods like beech. Page 54 Page 86 A Barrel Block Stock from True-Flite. In our July issue, we gave you a glimpse of a new barrel-block stock from New Zealand barrel makers True-Flite. Barrel-block stocks are not common and, until now, were most likely to be seen on heavy, long-range bench guns.
Regulars
& more
Page 70 FROM THE BENCH Page 24 PRACTICAL RIFLE Page 100 SMALLBORE - BROOKSIE Page 46 UKPSA Page 74 DISABLED NEWS Pages 70 & 76 RIMFIRE BENCHREST Page 104 LATEST NEWS
IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012
First IPSC Shotgun World Championships Debrecen - Hungary

23-30th September 2012
Some shooters dont like the pressure of knock-out matches in front of a crowd. Others thrive on it, often egged on by the roar of the crowd.
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An Overview of the First IPSC Shotgun World Championships

23-30th September 2012
History
The road to Debrecen
there was also a gradual influx of competitors who knew nothing of the old disciplines who swelled the ranks of the existing practitioners of the sport. The UKPSAs rules themselves were sharpened up and a more definitive set produced in 1998. Whilst Mini-rifle initially replaced Handgun for a number of pistoleers, Shotgun now became the primary discipline of the UKPSA in mainland UK. At the turn of the century, shotgun was now beginning to appear on IPSCs radar and their international rules committee started to take a closer look at this and at suitable rules for Rifle that could be used worldwide. Another committee within IPSC wanted to bring in some political correctness and re-name it Dynamic Shotgun but that was eventually dropped in favour of IPSC Shotgun. By then, IPSC Shotgun had reached a broader church in other countries where handguns were also not
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IPSC (International Practical Shooting Confederation) Shotgun began a long time ago, along with Practical Rifle, as a sideline to the primary IPSC discipline Handgun.
When the wheels fell off UK hand-gunning with the 1997 prohibition that followed the Dunblane tragedy, some of the old pistol shooters took up shotgun and
Opening Ceremony in Debrecen standard bearers for each country in readiness for the start of the event.
Opening Ceremony in Debrecen - standard bearers for each country in readiness for the start of the event
permitted or hard to obtain, or where shooters were just looking for a different challenge. Whilst there had been a nominal European Championship held in the UK at the Thornlands range many years before in 1987, the first true international Europeans recognised by IPSC was held in Tierny in Italy in 2003, using targets that were approved by the rules that had been approved. Tierny was successful as an international match and springboard for the sport, but it proved to be a watershed for IPSC Shotgun in the UK. A large team of shooters headed off to Italy with high hopes of domination but, most came home with their tails between their legs. Whilst the UK clubs were
still running competitions in fields, woods and up streams, the international community essentially set up handgun matches that could be taken on with shotguns. Target placement was close and fairly easy with few (if any) tight penalty targets. The Italians were well supported by gun and ammunition manufacturers and the Remington 1100s and 870s piloted by many UK shooters seemed be old technology compared to the Brownings, Berettas and Benellis used by other international competitors. A rapid rethink was required and, in addition, there was significant match technique influence coming in from the USA where shotgun is an integral part of threegun matches. This introduced a weak hand loading
IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012 technique with ammunition held in four and six-round stripper caddies. Two more European Championships, in Greece in 2006 and the Czech Republic in 2009 cemented the position of the sport at an international level. This also brought in more novel reloading techniques, speciality ammunition, along with some radical modifications to equipment for the Open and Modified divisions, with Open shotguns built on the Saiga and Molot AK47 derived platforms and semi-bullpup Modified shotguns built to exploit the maximum length restriction that had no capacity limit. By now, IPSC could see where the sport was going and they did not like some of the directions it was taking. At the 2011 IPSC world assembly, a number of new rules were voted through that affected shotgun. These included limits on the length of Open shotguns and, if they were magazine fed, the capacity and loading
Team GB at the Opening Ceremony - Debrecen Hungary
of magazines used. An attempt by IPSC to eliminate Modified division failed but even that received an initial load-capacity cap. Whilst the international match Course Of Fire (COF) design has moved away the Italian model partly because of the influence of UKPSA members within the higher echelons of IPSC it is still more akin to the old handgun days than the formative years of shotgun within the UK. That does not stop the UK being well in the frame 20% of all the IPSC Shotgun Level 3 matches in the world take place in the UK. Another Level 4 European Championship was scheduled for 2012 at a range in Debrecen on the eastern side of Hungary, which had already hosted a number of successful large handgun and shotgun matches. Discussions with the IPSC President by members of the UKPSA Council took place in 2010 at the Pan American Shotgun Championships and it was agreed that the European match would now become the first Level 5 IPSC Shotgun World Championship. In 2011 a small team from the UKPSA attended the Central European Shotgun Open match held on the
same range, in order to check out the area, potential match content and any issues with travelling.
The Match
Organising any match at a world level is always tricky, especially if youve not done one before but the hosts of the World Shoot in Debrecen made a pretty good stab at it, extending the range to be able to cope with 30 stages and topping and tailing the arrangements with the now traditional opening ceremony featuring national teams parading into the town square and a closing awards ceremony with a banquet. Travelling to the match from the UK could be done in one of two ways and the 30+ UK competitors and range crew that attended used both. Some chose to drive there - a two day hack at the best, maybe taking in some stops and sights on the way and avoiding Austria if you had a pump-action shotgun. Others flew in to Budapest with their kit - a two hour flight and then a shorter two hour drive by rented car or minibus. Ammunition was either taken by road, shipped or official match ammunition bought on the range you are limited to 5kg of ammo per person when flying and the match would need around 25-30kg! The range itself was just 15 minutes from the centre of Debrecen, a university town with a Calvinist history but with a pleasant pedestrianized centre and a number of good value cafes and restaurants. Following the opening ceremony on the Sunday, with performances by local heritage groups, the match in earnest began on the Monday. Competitors were scheduled to be on range shooting for five days out of six with one day off but most seemed to turn up at the range everyday anyway to scope out what was in store for them in the days to come. There were 30 stages in all, plus the chronograph for checking ammunition and they were all packed in to a former military training range using the traditional berms and banks design for handgun ranges. There were no woods or natural water features, just a very interesting set of stages with local themes. Clearly
a lot of thought had gone into these making it a technical match with challenging start and shooting positions and, on the longer stages, there were a number of ways that the stage could be approached. All IPSC Shotgun courses of fire are split into Short Courses, Medium Courses and Long Courses with limits on the maximum number of rounds for each type (8, 16 & 28) with no more than eight targets to be engaged from any one position. A match should features stages to the ratio 3:2:1 for Short: Medium: Long courses, which means a lot of short stages. Ideally with squads rotating around six stages a day in one area, this provides a tidy ratio but the range layout meant that this could not be set up for every day in Debrecen, resulting in some heavy days with more than one long course and corresponding light days with more mediums and short courses. Despite this, the shooting schedule was not punishing, with relatively small squads and a 09:00 start, the day usually finished by 15:00 or not much later. The weather was also kind sunny days and balmy nights in the main, with only a minor spot of rain during the main match. All of the long courses and most of the medium courses needed birdshot for knocking down steel plates or breaking the odd clay. Some of the shorter stages needed buckshot or solid slug instead but these were all against paper targets and for slug these could be out to 40 45 metres. In addition to the static targets that needed to be engaged some of the stages including bobbing and swinging steel, clay and paper targets. It was a pretty good mix. To complete the match you needed well over 300 rounds of birdshot and 30-40 rounds each of buckshot and solid slug. Depending on their gun type, shooters are classified into one of four divisions with sub categories for juniors, seniors and ladies, along with team competitions. This means that there were several world championships up for grabs, and of the 411 total
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competitors from 35 countries, there were over 100 entries in each of three of the general divisons, Open, Standard and Standard Manual and over 60 entries in Modified Division. Between them they would fire over 150,000 rounds. Each division needs a different approach to the match. There were a few tube fed shotguns in use in Open Division, with speedloading tubes and sometimes
optical sights but Open Division is now dominated by shotguns with box fed magazines and monster compensators to reduce recoil and there were some very interesting designs and customisation in action. Modified Division is now limited to a maximum of 14 rounds that can be in the gun on a loaded start and Standard and Standard Manual are limited to nine each at the start. Clearly, this means different stage strategies, since reloading plays a more significant role in Shotgun matches than it does in other IPSC events. Whilst all of the stages were challenging, some were more memorable than others. The Rubiks Cube will be remembered by most, since it needed five shooting positions around a huge Cube and some rearward traverses to engage all of the 26 plates.
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Another nautical theme - this time shooting from a raft
Another was the Well where you had to retrieve your (dry!) ammunition from a bucket in well, load up, and then shoot down six steel poppers. The key here was smooth loading - not particularly fast shooting. Some of the long courses had targets that were difficult to find (I never did find two on Stage 14!) and others that were close enough to penalty targets to need shots carefully aimed off with a tight choke to ensure that the penalty target was missed. One really challenging long-range slug stage had you belted into a car seat that would move sideways around 20 metres on rails, and you needed to stay in the seat whilst shooting and then use all the travel on the rails to see the targets!
There were stages with fixed and see-saw bridges to run over, a ship with portholes to shoot through, a boat floating on a pond (complete with ducks!), a stockaded camp, geese to be led. The match organisers even set up a snow scene stage where they covered the ground with a white tarpaulin, and you started on a toboggan to shoot down steel targets scattered between mountains, Christmas trees and snowmen. Even the IPSC President and Secretary were both very impressed by the standard of the match design and they are not easily impressed.
Perhaps the Match can best be summed up by the words of many of the competitors: First of all - the range is very good for IPSC matches, stages are located close to each other and you dont get tired moving from one to another. Special thanks to organizers for this event and well thought-out plan of squad movement. Huge thanks to the team of Range Officers - they were friendly and supportive. Stages looked easy but many competitors were shaking their heads surprised how they could hit penalty targets or forget about some of the plates. Decorations made stages very interesting. Special thanks for the stage with the windmill.
A lot of effort went into the stage designs, which were well thought out and beautifully painted.
I had a brilliant time and enjoyed the best 5 days shooting ever. Great mix of stages and even the short courses were well thought out and not just a 6/8 plate blag. I think we have all got hundreds of photos.
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Competitor using a XRAIL rotary magazine
The Team Managers Perspective

by Rob Adam
Whilst all the competitors at the IPSC Shotgun World Championships take part as individuals having paid an individual entry fee, there are also team prizes in the various divisions for teams that are nominated before the match begins.
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The declared teams have up to four members, with the top three match scores totalled up and counting towards team prizes. The substantial team entry-fees are usually paid for by the competitors home Regional Directorate and the team matches bring another dimension to the competition. The UK declared a National Squad well in advance of the match, essentially individuals who had performed well over the previous years. Members of the squad were invited to additional training sessions where there was an emphasis on the difficult bits long range slug, shooting & reloading on the move and calculating when it was better to leave targets that had been missed, or whether to reload and try again. Finally, the National Squad Director, with the assistance of the Squad Coaches and Team Managers and under the guidance of the UKPSA Council,
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IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012 made the final team selections taking into account attendance and current performance at the domestic Championships in the year of the match, team spirit, along with their view on how the individuals would sustain their performance over several days at a multi-day international match. Team members would be issued with newly designed high-tech shooting shirts that were made in the USA, along with other apparel and guns slips to enhance their professional appearance. The UK then entered four teams, in the general categories for Standard Division, Standard Manual Division and Modified Division, along with a Ladies team in Standard Division. Of these the ladies had the best chance of winning Gold, since they were already the European champions from three years earlier. In the other divisions, it was well known that it would be an uphill struggle against some very strong European teams. After the preparation, we then moved to the match itself, which is where the team manager needed to be on hand to resolve any issues or hiccups with the match organisers and sort out any disputes or problems that cropped up during the match. At the previous European Championships, there was a major problem with the chronograph not reading the speed of some ammunition correctly, which needed to be addressed and sorted out - when one UK team member was faced with disqualification from the match. At this World Championships there were significant squadding issues that needed tidying up, just so that team members could end up shooting together in the same squad, as required by IPSC rules. Assisting team members (and even some range officials!) with interpretations of the latest rules was also in the days work. The team managers sometimes helped the team members in working out the best approach to the stage and, if possible, had themselves slotted in high up in the shooting order so that they could try out an
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angle or shooting position, for the benefit of the team members. They would also gather intelligence from other teams managers and squads shooting on other range areas in order to help their teams when they approached these stages a few days later. Usually at international matches like this, the teams are squadded together with teams from other countries and the Ladies were squadded with the Finns so were able to see how they were doing against their opposition. Unusually however, the UK Standard and Modified Division teams were put together on the same squad which, with a few extra UK bodies, made a complete squad of Brits and some isolation from their competing teams. Since the various national squads from other countries were scattered across the ranges on totally different shooting schedules - apart from the Ladies and the Finnish opponents - it was difficult to gauge how the teams were performing even against friendly rivals like the Germans. The ladies were also unsure whether the Thais had actually entered a team as well, since they had appeared on the team lists before the match but were not listed when the match began. By the end of the match the Thais had re-appeared and their scores culled from the on-line verification sheets to see how they were doing - it looked like they would beat the Finns but not the UK team, which is how the results panned out in the end. After six days on range, five of which were spent shooting six stages a day, the match was done and all we had to do was wait for the results. And wait, and wait... Right at the end of the match there was glitch reported in the scoring programme with bootleg versions of the results appearing on line but nothing official from the match organisers. Finally, when we returned home, the official results were published and we could see how the teams had fared - other than the Ladies who had already been given medals for first place at the awards ceremony. As you will see from the results the teams from Finland, Russia and Italy are extremely strong in Standard and Standard Manual, General Categories, with the addition of Serbia in Modified Division
Preparing to Shoot IPSC Courses of Fire

The thing I love most about IPSC shooting is that with each course of fire - commonly known as stages - you are presented with a new and different challenge every time to turn up to shoot one. You are presented with a series of problems to overcome. It is for the shooter to work out the best way to shoot a stage in the fastest way possible utilising your level of shooting skills. Shooters are not allowed onto a stage before your squad is called for a stage briefing. No early practice is allowed. The briefing for the course of fire must be given in English and the rules lay down what information you must be given about the stage. These include, length of the stage, types of targets. You are told the minimum number of rounds required and what type of ammunition you must use. You are given the start position you must adopt and the condition of your gun - loaded or unloaded. Plus any muzzle-angle conditions - special emphasis is put on this - if not, the default 90-90-90. The whole squad is called and gather round the range officer to hear all these details. It is said that the best briefing after the basic details have been given is, Upon the start signal, shoot targets as they become visible from within the stage confines. Once the briefing is concluded you may ask questions to clarify any points. If there are any moving targets to be activated in the stage, these will be demonstrated to the whole squad. You are then given a set time to walk through the stage - normally five minutes. No problems if its a short stage but, if you are in a big squad, the time allowed can be a bit tight for a large stage, which could be up to 28 plates long. Hopefully everyone in the squad will be courteous and allow everyone a far share of going through the shooting positions. This is the time when you go full-on into the planning stage for the course of fire. You may have received information from others who have already shot the stage but it is not until you actually get onto the
IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012 shooting area to see the placement of the targets, the distances to the targets and distance between each shooting position that you see the challenge presented. You begin to work out the best positions to shoot from, practice negotiating hazards, (door openings and the like) all the time looking for the edge that will help you shoot the stage quicker than every one else. Reloading strategies must be worked out. Where, when and how many rounds need to be loaded into the gun so that you do not lose time by running the gun dry, nor waste time standing and loading when you should be moving across the ground! Shooters should be lining up one after the other to go through the stage. Trying out different strategies, discarding some ideas and adopting what seems right for you. At the same time keeping one eye on your fellow squad members, just in case someone has spotted an edge that you have not seen. Then before you seem to have had long enough, time! is called and you must clear the stage. The first shooter must prepare to shoot the stage. Bad luck if its a long stage and youre first up. You know the rest of squad will be watching to see how you cope with the course of fire. You are not allowed back onto the stage until it is your turn to shoot. You may make one more walk through whilst the stage is being re-set after the previous shooter has finished. That is it! You have done everything possible to plan for the stage, made sure you have more than enough ammunition on your belt. You go to the line. You are given the commands to load and make ready in the designated start position. The start commands are given. Then the beep from the shot-timer sounds and the moment of truth has arrived. You are off and running and that can be an entirely different story to tell!
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Working as an International Range officer at the ISPC Shotgun World Championships

by Alan Phillips
So whats the incentive to travel over 1000 miles for a shotgun match and not even shoot? Well I can tell you what its not:
The uniform grey and white vertical stripes are just so last year. The thrill of not knowing who you will be billeted with. The pay.
The ROs (international and national), as per usual practice, are mostly all lodged at the same hotel. There is a great atmosphere as officials you havent seen perhaps for three or more years pick up on friendships as though you saw them only last week. The camaraderie is terrific. It is a requirement that International ROs have to speak English so we Brits do try to keep up with our better spoken colleagues. The more intrepid ROs soon discovered a bar just along and opposite our hotel that served beer at a quarter of the price, had a large TV continually showing sports and was frequented by many young female students from a local teachers training college. Dont know what the attraction was.
Sharon Sell (GBR) shooting through apertures
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Neil Beverley - shooting from a moving boat
Those of us not shooting the pre-match, which is reserved for officials and sponsors and helps iron out any bugs, either ROd or as in my case (plus another three) ran the gun checks. Each competitors gun had to have details written on an equipment sheet that had to be signed-off on every stage. We recorded serial numbers, the division they should be shooting in, various measurements, stuck on stickers to various bits (which often didnt stick hey ho!) checked that the safety was functioning, checked that their ID matched with the equipment sheets and photographed each gun with the competitors ID and logged all this against a master list - for 450 guns. Naturally there was plenty of time allocated to doing this all based on every one turning-up at equally spaced intervals. Except, unsurprisingly, they didnt. 15 Italians and 15 Greeks all turning up together made for a lively interlude. Being enterprising chaps, we got competitors to assist by filling in part of the equipment sheet themselves serial number and make/model as this saved a lot of writing for us (well me actually). This was a great plan except the pens we supplied kept disappearing. That is until I added to the notice that theft of pens would be subject to Rule 10.6.1. For those of you not familiar with the 2012 International Rules (which sadly included many competitors but they all know this one) it is a disqualification from the match for unsportsmanlike behaviour including dishonesty. It raised a few smiles but the pens remained thereafter. In the main match, I was Chief Range Officer for, what looked at first a very simple stage - 8 paper shoot targets and 3 no-shoots, slug ammo, one round on each to score (ideally not the no-shoots), a minimum
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of 8 rounds. I had an excellent German NROI working with me plus two college students, a lass and lad, to help patch etc. The stage was a little trickier on examination. There was a cooper tunnel (a tunnel with a wooden slats resting as a roof which you received a 10 point procedural penalty for each one knocked off (makes you keep your head down) which could be avoided if you fancied a tricky shot at a target largely obscured by a no-shoot target. There was weak shouldered versus the bent over backwards option and a few other variations. Plus, because of local safety regulations, a loaded gun could not be pointed over the berms and backstop so good safe gun handling was essential to stay in the game. After a couple of squads there were 36 in total - we soon got into the rhythm of the stage, where the best ROing positions were situated so that both ROs could observe the competitor for safety and scoring. It is absolutely essential that the RO is impartial, no hints on how to shoot a stage, no extra leniency for mates and so forth. For the German competitors, I always took the timer and for the Brits my German colleague took over - just so that there could be no accusation of bias. The other essential ingredient of ROing, as it is for the competitors, is to be totally focussed. Attention cannot be allowed to wander despite the myriad distractions. Making sure the range really is clear after each competitor, that the targets are correctly patched and correctly placed and oriented, that the equipment sheets match the guns, that the score sheets are correctly completed and signed by the competitor for 400+ competitors across 6 days, with afternoon temperatures reaching 30c. Unlike competitors though, the ROs and crew get little down time. It can be quite relentless.
IPSC Shotgun World Shoot The Shoot-offs

by Tommy Burford For the many of the competitors at World Shoots, the match is over when they have fired their last shot on the main match stages. However, at big events like these, there is usually an extra match held the day after the main event and before the prize giving the Shoot-offs. This is a straight stand up and shoot em down manv-man competition, which is open to the first eight in each division or category that has at least eight competitors. A section of range with rear banks is often chosen to set out the stall since the Shootoffs can attract quite a crowd and Hungary was no exception. The course of fire is simple. Each competitor has seven or so plates or poppers to shoot down, with one that must be engaged last and a compulsory reload of at least one round between firing the first and last shot. As there are two plate arrays set up, the final poppers are set to overlap when they fall, the popper at the bottom being the winner. Shooting the final popper before all your other plates, forgetting to reload, or nailing your rivals popper by mistake will lose you the run. The competitors start by drawing numbers from a bag that decides who shoots against whom for the first runs. After that, its down to who wins each tie to go forwards to the next. Each leg is the best of three runs and with eight competitors you need to shoot your way through three legs to win or place. If you do it the hard way, winning two and losing one run on each leg, then you actually shoot nine runs in order to win overall.
David Joy mid-stage and concentrating
So why do it? Well if International ROs were in charge I reckon the world would be a better place and Im all for that.
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Gray steel targets really blend into the background on a dusty range...
Pete Starley building team spirit with other nations...
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IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012 There were enough competitors, divisions and categories at the match to have ten sets of shoot-offs, with five UK shooters scheduled in four of them, along with three reserves that are needed to ensure a full complement in the event of no-shows resulting from early departures or for other reasons. Some shooters dont like the pressure of knock-out matches in front of a crowd and it is quite different from what you have been doing all week. Others thrive on it, often egged on by the roar of the crowd. Most importantly you need to stay calm, not try to go faster than you can accurately shoot and ignore what your rival is doing. Some people reload after firing the first shot, that can make their rival think they are
ahead. In Hungary, one plate was hidden behind a popper, so other shooters reloaded at a different point. There was one very rare occurrence at this match that Ive only even seen once before on one run the final poppers dropped at exactly the same time and instead of one overlapping the other, they jammed together part way down. After a lot of cheering and photographs, the shooters then squared up again for a re-run. When it was all done, we had two podium finishes, Mike Scarlett placed third in Open Super Senior to add this to his main match third place in the same category and Rob Adam snuck in as a reserve to hose his way to second place in Standard Senior, needing all nine runs to get there, losing the last one by hitting his stop plate with a low strike at the same time as his rival, who nailed his down harder with a higher hit.
Lena Miculek (centre), daughter of the American shooter Jerry Miculek poses for a picture with Josie and Vanessa (Ladies Team GBR)
Many different loading styles were evident. Here, this competitor inverts the gun and supports the stock on the shoulder
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Tight no-shoots from a narrow booth
IPSC Shotgun World Championship 2012 Stage Design, Stage Balance and Match Build
Stage design for the match was in the capable hands of Gza Pusks, an enthusiastic shotgun competitor himself.
Gza created over 100 ideas before submitting 30 for approval by IPSC. Two stages were subsequently substituted and a number of other changes were made during the process. One of the replacement stages was Stage 9 - The Bunker, a favourite for many competitors. Several emails were exchanged and also a face-to-face meeting was arranged between Gza and the IPSC Course Reviewer, Neil Beverley and, after 6 months, the final design was agreed. Construction started in August and the stage build team worked full-time for 6 weeks leading up to the match. The effort showed and was much acknowledged. Stages were very well constructed and thoughtfully decorated. The design and decoration for each stage was inspired by something from Hungarian history or folklore and the stories were posted on each stage for all to read and enjoy. A great deal of effort was made to provide variety while at the same time providing interesting and technically challenging courses of fire. This was much appreciated by competitors who found that each stage offered something different. The IPSC President, Nick Alexakos, was very complimentary about the stage design, particularly acknowledging the clever and varying challenges presented by the Short Courses (maximum of 8 rounds). Few competitions offer the diversity of this
match. He was also hugely impressed by a technically demanding stage of 28 targets cleverly set in a small bay. Referring to the match being the very first IPSC Shotgun World Championship he stated that the match had set the bar very high indeed for future matches to aspire to. Vince Pinto, the IPSC Secretary, stated that the match had exceeded all his expectations. Clever and technically challenging stage design, together with a genuinely excellent atmosphere, led to high levels of competitor satisfaction and compliments have freely flowed subsequent to the match. Two example comments are: I had a brilliant time and enjoyed the best 5 days shooting ever. Great mix of stages and even the short courses were well thought out and not just a 6/8 plate blag. Huge thanks to the team of Range Officers - they were friendly and supportive. Stages looked easy but many competitors were shaking their heads surprised how they could hit penalty targets or forget about some of the plates. Decorations made stages very interesting. Special thanks for the stage with windmill. I cant wait to participate in next event in Debrecen, Hungary, that was a fantastic journey which I want to repeat. The match has inspired shooters from Sweden to run their own very first Level III match next year and it is known that at least 2 competitors from the USA have been inspired to rethink how they design stages back home.
Some of Team GB relaxing on the range
This was an excellent IPSC match!

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Team GBR RESULTS : IPSC Shotgun World Championships 2012. The UK Competitors placed in the match as follows:
IPSC Shotgun World Results
IPSC Shotgun World Results Cont...

Open Division: (Total 107 finishers, 32 Senior & Super Senior, 1 Junior, 5 Ladies) 78th: Mike Scarlett (3rd Super Senior) 92nd: Nick Hockley
Standard Division, Ladies Category: Team results (points detailed for the ladies to show how close it was!): 1st: UK (3014.8056) Vanessa Duffy, Josie Adam, Sharon Sell 2nd: Thailand (2958.5851) 3rd: Finland (2834.1141) Standard Division, General Category: 1st: Finland 2nd: Russia 3rd: Italy 4th: USA 5th: Ukraine 6th: UK Mike Darby, Dan Boswell, Barry Sullivan, Jim Starley 7th: Germany 8th: Czech Republic 9th: South Africa 10th: Switzerland 11th: Greece 12th: Serbia 13th: Thailand Standard Manual Division, General Category: 1st: Finland 2nd: Italy 3rd: Russia 4th: Slovenia 5th: Czech Republic 6th: USA 7th: Germany 8th: Argentina 9th: UK Iain Guy, Brad Fox, Geoff Smith, Ken Trail 10th: Netherlands 11th: Brasil 12th: Thailand 13th: Greece 14th: Ukraine Modified Division, General Category: 1st: Serbia 2nd: Russia 3rd: Finland 4th: Italy 5th: UK James Harris, Rupert Stanley, Kevin Strowger, Colin Alden 6th: Thailand
Standard Manual Division (total finishers 101, 27 Senior & Super Senior, 1 Junior, 0 Ladies): 18th: Iain Guy 43rd: Bradley Fox 54th: Geoff Smith 63rd: Graham Hill 64th: George Granycome 74th: Ken Trail 77th: Terry Barrett Standard Division (total finishers 118, 21 Senior & Super Senior, 6 Junior, 17 Ladies): 21st: Mike Darby 23rd: Dan Boswell 30th: Barry Sullivan (4th Senior) 33rd: Jim Starley 47th: Dave Dowding 65th: Vanessa Duffy (3rd Lady) 73rd: Lea Menzies 76th: Josie Adam (4th Lady) 77th: Neil Beverley 78th: Rob Adam 95th: Andrew Hockely 103rd: Sharon Sell 104th: Andrew Duffy 109th: Tom Loveday
Modified Division (total 61 finishers, 19 Senior & Super Senior, 0 Junior, 0 Ladies): 21st: Rupert Stanley 33rd: Kevin Strowger 34th: Pete Starley (6th Senior) 38th: Howard Roberts (8th Senior) 44th: Colin Alden 47th: Dave Joy
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UKBR22 Rimfire Nationals

By Graham Whitelock

by Graham Whitelock
own and it weighed 9lb. 8 3/4oz. The maximum weight is 10.5lbs. so I had a bit of a panic and texted Richard Healey, only to panic even more when I read his reply - I should have signed on and weighed-in Friday afternoon... I quickly loaded up the car and shot off to the club (lucky its only five minutes) only to be met by Graham Readheads smiling face saying that its OK - plenty of time and, the rifle weighed in at 9.4 lbs. Phew, back home for a cup of coffee to settle my nerves.

By Graham Whitelock
Saturday
Paul Lane Range - Mirfield - West Yorkshire

Match reports can sometimes be a bit boring especially if you werent there but this report is written from the perspective of a novice participating in his first big match the Rimfire Benchrest Nationals and puts a slightly different slant on things Ed.
My first detail was at 12.30pm but I arrived an hour earlier to have a cup of tea and a bacon & egg butty (which smelt and tasted great). Then it was time to go on the range wow, was I nervous - it took me 10 sighter shots before I started on the competition card. When Graham Readhead said it was not a bad card to start with (250 and 18x) I thought he was pulling my leg - until I viewed the card posted outside on the wall. After the first round I was in joint 3rd with Rob Harrison, Paul Barker and Ann Watson. (I could not believe it - it can only go down hill from here). No time to ponder, straight onto my next detail. Once again I took 10 practice shots (to help calm my nerves) before I started on the main card. This was going well until target 10 and I know we were indoors but the heavens opened up and the noise, even with ear defenders on, was like a machine-gun fire and with it, the temperature dropped. I know its no valid excuse but I dropped a point on target 11 to finish my card with a 249.15x. One hour before my next detail, time for a coffee and chat with other competitors and hope fully pick some tips. My last card of the day started as usual with about 10 sighters but this time no rain and once again I scored a 250 with 21x (WOW my best ever card). To the bar for a well earned pint (well I think I deserved it) then home for a late tea.
The Paul Lane air-rifle range
I was on first detail - that means that I had to be up at 7.00am (unheard of on a normal Sunday morning) to walk the dog and then to the range for 8.30 am.
Second detail proved to be a little better with a 250 with 17x and, to my surprise, Carl dropped two points on his second card (tried to blame me for knocking his scope off zero). My next detail was not for an hour so off to get a cup of coffee and to listen to the banter/excuses for missed shots. Final detail went reasonably well, thinking that I only need to score 250 and I would be in front of Carl but I still dropped a point, which meant the our scores would be level, even if he hit a 250 and he truly did - a 250 with 23x, not bad. So, at lunchtime, I was in second place on the same points as Carl but he had a better x count and then there was a call that the cow pie and peas was now being served in the catering tent outside. Brian Kelly was first in the queue and
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Firstly, this is my first year in shooting benchrest competitions, which so far mostly consisted of postal shoots and last years sporting benchrest competition at my local range, Paul Lane Gun Club.
As the UKBR22 Nationals were going to be held at Paul Lane, I was persuaded to enter (thanks Graham Readhead). At first, I thought it was going be a daunting task because, as early as Saturday morning (about 3.30am) I awoke thinking that I had not weighed my rifle since the completion of the setup. Some three and half hours later with bathroom scale in hand I weighed myself then picked up my rifle - the difference was 12.4lbs. WHAT! That cannot be right so I put the rifle on the scale on its
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Still doing 8 to 10 practice shots before starting the main card but dropped a point on my first card (249 with 16 X) and with Carl Hanson hitting a 250 with 21x, I thought I was in for a bad day.
The air rifle benchresters
Sunday

By Graham Whitelock
he was right - they were delicious (I believe Brian Kelly had seconds) I was told that the left over cow pie some how found its way north east in possession of one Mr Rose (how the hell did he get that past Yorkshire boarders). I left the club still in second place behind Carl having to return home under the orders from her who must be obeyed to return later for the presentation. Congratulations to all the winners - especially Ron Harding, still being able to post winning scores at your young age (I take my hat off to you) and the juniors who too part, particular Richard Wilson as this was also his first National competition.
6th in 25m Rimfire LV and 9th 25m Rimfire HV. I must try to shoot the 50m soon.
Young Jake Healey with his 22 rimfire Turbo
Results:
25m Rimfire LV. 1st - B. Kelly. 2nd - R. Harrison. 3rd - R. Healey. 25m Rimfire HV. 1st - G. Readhead. 2nd - B. Kelly. 3rd - J. Healey (J). 50m Rimfire LV. 1st - R. Harrison. 2nd - C. Hanson. 3rd - J. Stephenson. 50m Rimfire HV. 1st - G. Readhead. 2nd - B. Kelly. 3rd - C. Rose. Air Rifle LV. 1st - T. Male. 2nd - P. Barker. 3rd - R. Harding. Air Rifle Unlimited. 1st - R. Harding. 2nd - C. Evans. 3rd - T. Male.
At this point I must thank all the range officers who officiated over the two days and I must give a great thanks to both Helen & Richard Healey for supplying us with plenty of tea, coffee, bacon butties and of course the superb cow pie & peas. (Richard I think next time you put cow pie & peas on the menu, I recommend armed guards so it does not leave Yorkshire).
Personally I am well pleased with my first venture into the world of National Benchrest competition with results of
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Paul Lanes 50/100 yard benchrest range

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Our October shoots saw the end of the 2012 UKBRA Championships for 100 yards and 1000 yards. The last two shoots were held in just about the best weather weve had all year and not surprisingly, there were some excellent groups and even a new record. On the Saturday, at 100 yards, with the Heavy Varmint Championship more or less decided, Jeanette Whitney put the lid on a fantastic year with yet another win her fourth and Gary Stewart again won the Sporter Class with his Walker BAT chambered in 22BR but Darrel Evans pinched the Sporter small-group award with a stunning 0.200 inch group with his 6.5x47 Accuracy International. Results:
Competitions
new shooters who proved to be very competitive with Gary Stewart winning the Class and shooting the Sporter Class small-group of the year in the process. With current 2011 Champion Ian Dixon side-lined for much of the year, Jeanette Whitney had a fairly easy Heavy Varmint victory with four straight wins, though Bruce Lenton kept up the pressure with a win and three second places.
We dont have a shooter of the year award but if we did, Sean Broxham and his 6.5-284 Savage would surely win it. Sean has broken the UK small-group and small agg. records this year, in addition to winning the UKBRA Factory Sporter Championship.
having two outright wins apiece but consistency paid off and Bruce took the Championship by a couple of points. In the process, Mal also set a new record agg. for Light Gun which now stands at 5.7 inches for four, 5-shot groups. In Factory Sporter, Sean Broxham has been totally dominant with four straight wins, breaking records for both small group (twice) and setting a new agg. record in the process. His group of 4.148 inches in the final match of the year was remarkable from an absolutely standard factory rifle. Alan Seagrave has, as usual, turned in some great performances with his standard 6.5x55 Tikka taking three second places and Peter Regan takes a deserving third place with his Sako TRG 338 Lapua Magnum shot from a bi-pod and taking one outright class win.
Results:
Heavy Varmint:
1st - Jeanette Whitney. 2nd - Bruce Lenton. 3rd - Vince Bottomley. Small group of the year: Vince Bottomley 0.095
Heavy Gun: (av. Of four, 5-shot groups)

1st - Martin Miles RGR 284Win. 8.248 2nd - Ian Dixon 308 Barnard 9.633 3rd - Nick Stirrup 284 Valkyrie Riles 10.707 Small group: Martin Miles 5.125
Sporter Class:
1st - Gary Stewart. 2nd - Darrel Evans. 3rd- Andy Woolley Small group of the year: Gary Stewart 0.162 On the Sunday, we just couldnt believe the weather the small groups soon began to appear! First a 4.475 incher from Kiwi Don Burrows very fitting as today was exactly 46 years since he set foot on British soil! It was the smallest Light Gun group shot but Factory Sporter shooter Sean Broxham shot an even smaller 4.148 incher to break his own UK FS record with his absolutely standard 6.5-284 Savage. Bruce Lenton also managed a four with his RG Rifles 7mmWSM Lawton and there were five-inch groups from Dad, Tony Lenton, Martin Miles and Jack Gibb. Today was also the showdown for the UKBRA Championship unlike the 100 yard Championship, any one of three shooters could win it - Mal Roberts, Phil Sammons or Bruce Lenton. Bruce won Light Gun with a fantastic six-inch agg. and with it the title. Phil managed to beat Mal but came out equal on points with Mal taking second place on countback.
Light Gun:
1st - Bruce Lenton RGR 7mmWSM Lawton 6.237 2nd - Tony Lenton RGR 7mmWSM Lawton 7.855 3rd - Gary Wrighton 6x47 Walker Stolle 8.664 Small group: Don Burrows 4.475
Light Gun:
1st - Bruce Lenton. 2nd - Mal Roberts. 3rd - Phil Sammons.
Heavy Varmint. (av. Of five, 5-shot groups)

1st - Jeanette Whitney 6PPC Stolle.0.2116. 2nd - Vince Bottomley 6PPC TGP BAT 0.2236 3rd - Bruce Lenton 6PPC Stolle 0.2284 Small group: Vince Bottomley 0.095 (Screamer)
Factory Sporter:
1st - Sean Broxham 6.5-284 Savage 11.092 2nd - Toni Young 308 Remington 12.131 3rd - Alan Seagrave 6.5x55 Tikka 12.414 Small group: Sean Broxham 4.148 (New UK Factory Sporter record)
Small group of the year: Vince Bottomley 3.42. Factory Sporter:

1st - Sean Broxham 2nd - Alan Seagrave. 3rd - Peter Regan.
Sporter
1st - Gary Stewart 22BR Walker BAT 0.3004 2nd - Gary Wrighton 6PPC Stolle 0.371 3rd - Darrel Evans 6.5x47 Acc. Intl. 0.419 Small group: Darrel Evans 0.200
Small group of the year: Sean Broxham 4.148

No less than 60 shooters took part in our benchrest competitions this year and our 1000 yard shoots have been particularly well attended. Our 600 yard winter benchrest series starts on Saturday 17th November and any shooter who has an interest in accuracy and wishes to try benchrest shooting is welcome to join us at Diggle Ranges. E-mail vinceb@targetshooteronline.com for more details.
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2012 UKBRA 1000 yard Championship
2012 UKBRA 100 yard Championship
We opened up our Factory Sporter Class to an any rifle class for this year. In other words, you could shoot any rifle that wasnt a true 6PPC benchrest rifle. This meant that almost any custom (or standard) rifle would qualify and it did bring in one or two
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Its been a great year for 1000 yard benchrest with record turn-outs for shoots and new Light Gun and Factory agg. records and a new Factory small-group record. This year, Bruce Lenton has certainly made his mark in long-range benchrest with his 7mmWSM built by RG Rifles of Aberdeen. Mal Roberts and Phil Sammons also turned in some good performances all three
Handloading Bench the 7.62 x 54R

by Laurie Holland

by Laurie Holland
Handloading Bench The 7.62 x 54R

by Laurie Holland
Handloading Bench.
The 7.62 x 54R by Laurie Holland
This will be a shorter look than my usual handloading series, involving the loading and firing of maybe 350-400 cartridges while some previous series have got nearer to 1000. There will be other mini-reports in the future, each requiring two or three issues. In no particular order, theyll cover the 204 Ruger, 30-06 Springfield, 6XC Tubb, 6.5-284 Norma, 284 Winchester (long-throat target version), 6mm Dasher, 308 Win for short-range (in the affordable F/ TR rifle) and, ever so slightly out of the target shooting mainstream the 444 Marlin.
Obr. M1891/30 and PPU factory 7.62X54R 182gn ammo on the range one of the slightly modified Finnish examples that had been captured in 1941/42.
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by Laurie Holland
147gn bullet at 2800fps is still the standard ball round loading, albeit with a 149-150gn projectile made entirely from steel (separate jacket and core sections, the former copperwashed) for economy and renamed LPS. East European surplus military cartridges are Berdan primed and their cases are also usually made of steel, either lacquered or copper washed. You sometimes also come across the Type D too in surplus lots, a 182-grain heavy ball machine-gun version identified by a yellow bullet tip shooting it in rifles is neither recommended nor pleasant!

by Laurie Holland
7.62x54R: The Great Survivor
Moving on to our cartouche du jour, this Tsarist era Russian number displays a unique attribute as we approach the end of 2012 its not only still out there but remains in first-line military service despite having been introduced in 1891. Look at any of those Soviet/Russian/Chinese built tanks and other AFVs that we see almost nightly on television news broadcasts from some trouble-spot in Africa, Asia, or the Middle East and they all come with a 7.62x54R machine-gun irrespective of whether theyre 1950s vintage T54/55 relics or the latest T90. There are scores, if not hundreds, of thousands of 7.62mm infantry MGs in service too, and youll likely find the semi-auto 7.62x54R calibre SVD Dragunov sniper rifle wherever Russian smallarms are in use. All of these weapons and their cartridges are still being manufactured I cant think of any other first generation smallbore military cartridge still in everyday use, or with anything approaching the 7.62s 120 year service record. The cartridges military loads and performance havent changed much in over 100 years either. The original version was loaded with a 212gn round-nose bullet with an m/v of around 2,000fps, typical for the period but, experience in the 1904/5 Russo-Japanese war showed it lacked effective range in machine-guns, also highlighted weaknesses in the infantrys obr.1891 rifles. The ammunition problem was cleverly solved a year or two later the Russians stole the Germans revolutionary new top secret 1905 pattern S-Patrone bullet design, copying it nearly exactly - including its 90% copper/10% zinc jacket alloy - the only changes being to scale it down from 8mm to 7.62mm calibre. This Type L (lightweight bullet) model of 1908 with a
7.62X54R Straight-Pull Izmash Tigr-04 version of the SVD Dragunov. The cartridge works extremely well in this application.
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45

by Laurie Holland
Widespread

by Laurie Holland
It was the primary cartridge of Russia/USSR and Finland until WW2. After 1945, most of the USSRs new eastern European satellites adopted it as did the Peoples Republic of China after its birth in 1948. It then spread to the large number of Soviet/PRC client states during the cold war. Military ammunition has been manufactured in many countries most of the Soviet bloc, Finland, China, some Middle East states, UK (Kynoch) and the USA. Sporting cartridges are currently made by Lapua, Norma, Sellier & Bellot, Privi-Partizan (PPU) and Wolf, the latter two in FMJ target shooting form. So far as sporting use goes, it is still widely used in the former USSR and its satellites. The Finns also used it widely for target and sporting shooting including on animals as large as the Scandinavian moose, since supplanted by 9.3mm numbers. More recent use is mostly by collectors of bolt-action military rifles with copious supplies of surplus M1891 and 1891/30 long rifles, M1938 and 1944 carbines plus surplus ammo providing very cost effective shooting in Europe, the UK and USA. Three rimmed 1890s vintage cartridges. Left to right: .303 British Mark VII, 7.62X54R handload, .30 US Army (.30-40 Krag). All three would have been loaded with 200gn plus round-nose FMJs originally. Surplus ammo is still available, cheap and none too accurate. Its also almost invariably corrosive (Potassium Chlorate primers), barrels needing cleaning with water to avoid rusting. PPU, S&B and Wolf cartridges are non-corrosive as well as using better quality bullets. Actually, the 7.62x54R is intrinsically one of the most accurate military cartridges of the 20th century as the Soviets frequently proved in international competition. Lapua reckons its a better match cartridge than 308Win. and, if anybody knows both designs intimately, it is this companys engineers! The 7.62X54R is usually compared to .308 Win (left) performance wise, but is more powerful and closer to .30-06 factory loads.
Short of having a custom rifle built a more attractive concept than you might imagine, but not one Ive ever heard being put into practice it comes down to Mosin-Nagants and straight-pull manual variants of the SVD, primarily the Izmash Tigr rifles. Mosin-Nagants might be agricultural but a good one is often very accurate with handloads and they do have a huge plus affordability. M1938 or 1944 carbines and M1891/30 rifles typically sell for 125-250 and sniper versions of the rifle can be had for maybe 550-650, whilst the cost of a genuine but usually less accurate, Enfield No.4(T) and original scope has reached stratospheric levels, assuming you can find one for sale.
Rimmed
Apart from its great age and long combat history, (both world wars, Korea, Vietnam, both Arab-Israeli Middle East wars and lots more), the other unusual feature is that this is one of the very few rimmed designs to remain in general use and the only one by the military ironic given its mainly used in machineguns and rimmed cartridges are, as a rule, said to be unsuited to automatic weapons. Its a large rim too at a nominal 0.564in. diameter and there is a marked bevel around its bolt-side circumference. Im unsure why maybe to improve feed, or to reduce the case area bearing on the bolt. The 7.62 Russian is usually described as being in the same class as our 303 or the later 7.62mm NATO but is more powerful. It has a longer neck and a shorter but fatter body than its British contemporary, internal capacity running around 14% higher than either the 303 or 308Win. Maximum allowed CIP pressure is 56,564 psi using the transducer gauge measurement system. Incidentally, if you do fancy a straight-pull SVD variant, fired cases extract easily using the short cocking-handle alone - probably down to the considerable amount of case-body taper and, it is a far, far better cartridge in this role than the 308Win./7.62 NATO.
Shooting Sticks
Rims. Left to right: .303 British Mark VII, 7.62X54R handload, .30 US Army (.30-40 Krag). Note the heavy bevel on the Nagant round.
This is all very interesting - or not but, what can you actually fire the cartridge in, given the lack of disciplines for the PKM belt-fed machine-gun and its downsides like heavy ammunition costs, not to mention incurring an automatic five-year period as a guest of Her Majesty for owning a prohibited weapon?
Surplus ammo. 148gn LPS left with brass cases and steel bullets; 182gn Type D on right. Note the square flake (Yuk!) powder from the LPS round in the foreground.
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by Laurie Holland
Diameters
Compared to US and NATO 7.62mm (0.300in. calibre, 0.308in. bullet dia.) cartridges, Russian/Soviet 7.62mm designs including that of the later 7.62x39mm round for AK47s, use slightly larger bore/groove barrel dimensions allied to a nominal bullet diameter of 0.310in. this is significant to us as handloaders. Handloading data for the 7.62x54R are available from Sierra, Hornady and Vihtavuori but most loads described use 0.308in. dia. bullets. Unless you are very lucky in obtaining an unusually tight-bore rifle, such bullets wont group that well and will also produce lower pressures than is the case with proper diameter projectiles. Lapua makes a light (123gn) 0.310in. dia. FMJ, Hornady produces a 0.3105in. dia. 174gn FMJBT and Sierra has one or two 0.312in. dia. bullets in its range including the excellent 174gn HPBT MatchKing. They are much better suited to Russian Nagants but will likely produce slightly higher pressures. Incidentally, if youre lucky enough to find a pre-war Finnish (SAKO built) rifle, they use 0.300/0.308in. dimensioned barrels and appropriate size bullets as well as having a different chamber throat/leade set-up, so do perform well with 0.308in. bullets as described in the Vihtavuori manual. To differentiate their version of the cartridge from the Russian, the Finns call it 7.62x53R, although it has an identical (53.5mm length) case.

Table 1 - Comparative Cartridge Sizes and Capacities
Case Length COAL
7.62X54R .303 British .30-06 US [7.62 NATO 53.50mm/2.106 56.44mm/2.222 63.35mm/2.494 51.18mm/2.015 77.00mm/3.031 78.11mm/3.075 84.84mm/3.340 6 69.85mm/2.750
by Laurie Holland
Capacity
63.99gn 56.00gn 8.20gn 55-56gn
Performance
146gn FMJ/2,800 174gn FMJ/2,440 150gn FMJ/2,700 147gn FMJBT/2,800]
Capacity = case capacity in grains weight of water (source: QuickLOAD) Performance in fps MV as at August 1914 except for 7.62X51mm NATO as at 1957.
Bullet
Table 2 - Handloads Comparative Performance

.308 Win
46.8gn N150 = 2,683 fps 44.8gn N150 = 2,744 fps 42.0gn N150 = 2,608 fps
7.62X53R
.30-06 Springfield
Surplus cartridges with bullets pulled. Note the square flake (Yuk!) powder from the LPS round in the foreground.
155gn Scenar 167gn Scenar 185gn Scenar
Notes
1. Source Vihtavuori Reloading Manual 4th edition 2. Finnish 7.62X53R version data here with .300/308 barrel and 0.308 bullets used with all three cartridges. 3. Maximum loads shown that gave the highest MV with each bullet but excluding N500 series High Energy powders (insufficient datasets to give a fair comparison). 4. 24 test barrels for .308 Win and .30-06; 26 for 7.62X53R 5. Maximum Loads shown for comparison only DO NOT USE WITHOUT WORKING UP FROM LOWER CHARGES.
Most loads data are for 0.308 dia. bullets, but .303 cal (0.310-0.312) like the Hornadys here usually work better.
Next month: components, tools, and propellants.
Three bullet diameters, although you need callipers to see the difference. Left to right: 175gn Sierra MK HPBT (0.308); 174gn Hornady FMJBT (0.3105); 174gn Sierra MK HPBT (0.311). 48
The famous Lapua D-Series stepped boat-tail FMJs were originally designed before WW2 for the Finnish 7.62X53R version of the cartridge for long-range firing in machineguns. 49
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Mattersey Bianchi & Gallery Rifle & Pistol Open 2012
Mattersey Rifle & Pistol Club hosted a Bianchi and Gallery Rifle & Pistol competition on the 29th/ 30th September 2012. Thirty-four shooters competed in the event, entering 125 matches and considering the economic climate, the weather report for the Sunday afternoon and other fixtures taking place, it was a good turn-out.

By Pete Whomersley
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Mattersey s Club Captain, Malcolm Dukes, once again put on a great shoot with the usual Gallery Rifle and Pistol short-range events, Timed and Precision, Multi Target for five classes of firearms GRSB, GRCF, LBR, LBP and Target Shotgun. The main event was the Bianchi action course of fire with plates, mover, practical and barricade matches. Malcolm also put on a very popular Los Alamitos match as an extra. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves with few problems - just the cord on the mover snapping, which was soon fixed and luckily the weather remained fine although very cloudy with a strong wind. Shooters travelling long distances to shoot can camp over on the range to make travelling easier and some competitors took up the offer to do this enjoying a BBQ and a camp fire. There was some good shooting over the weekend, notably Chris West who scored a perfect 420.42x in the Los Alamitos Centre Fire match and Clive Ferguson also scored 420 in the same match but with 40xs. Chris Thompson scored 420.35x in GRSB Los Alamitos, in LBP class, Chris West 420.39x, Clive Ferguson 420.37x and Phil Stead 420.34x. I am sure you will agree this was great shooting by all these guys. Chris Thompson scored a perfect 300.22x in Timed & Precision GRCF. Full results see www.galleryrifle.com
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On behalf of Malcolm Dukes and the Club Committee I would like to thank all those who helped make the event happen which included members and non-members, particularly Gwyn Roberts. I asked Gwyn to look after a new member shooting Bianchi for the first time and give him the benefit of his vast experience. As usual, no problem for Gwyn and the guy went home with a big smile on his face after a great days shooting and gaining lots of valuable info. on shooting Bianchi. I would also like to say a great big thank you to our sponsors, the NSC and York Guns Mattersey are hoping to put on more Open shoots in the future, such as the very popular Mattersey Ten Event Open in May 2013. A lot of shooters use this match as a good practise for the Phoenix meeting later in the month. We will be running a 22RF Steel Shoot like the ones we have run for many years previously with all the favourites such as snooker, mover, pool, speed - lots of steel shooting fun. Please log-on to the Mattersey website www. matterseyrapc.org.uk for these and other events. Mattersey has moved into a new faze this year. We have bought the quarry where our range is situated - around 40 acres in all. This was made possible with a loan from BASC (British Association for Shooting and Conservation www.basc.org. uk ). The quarry has an abundance of wildlife including badgers, roe deer and foxes
to name but a few. The ponds support various water foul. There are sand martins and shell ducks nesting in and around the quarry walls. The sand bunds and backstops needed for safety are a perfect habitat for rare bees and wasps and other insects, which all goes to prove that shooting can live hand in hand with nature and wild life. The club intends to maintain most of the quarry site as a nature reserve and run deer stalking training in cooperation with BASC. A club house is planned for the near future also a 300m range so lots of exiting things happening at Mattersey right now. The Mattersey R & PC is open for membership and if you are interested then contact through the link in the website. Once again, thanks to all those who helped over the weekend see you next year at the Mattersey Ten in early May 2013.
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Website : www.ospreyries.com e-mail: stuart@ospreyries.com Tel : 0161 408 3555 Mob: 07861 399066
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This SMALLBORE Business
This Smallbore Business

by Don Brooke
Barrels and bedding

What an interesting topic this always is. A plethora of opinion out there, that is for sure. The question most often considered by shooters is should I go with the standard manufactured barrel, or do I get a custom barrel fitted? Well, one thing is for sure. You do not fix what isnt broken!
For years, I shot with a standard Anschutz barrel and had some remarkable results. One in particular was a 1413 Anschutz barrel from the 1960 era that I used for a training rifle and subsequently had a fluted Hart stainless fitted to the action. I will dwell on this later in the article because there is an incident that I would like to relate to all my readers concerning Anschutz.
During my time in the 1972 Olympic Games, I was using a 1411 prone rifle with a standard Anschutz barrel (my competition rifle for prone events - in those days, we were allowed to use up to three rifles for the matches in 3 x 40 3-Position events). During training in Munich, I shot a 599, which actually was above the World Prone Record at the time. Shortly after that day, I was introduced to Dieter and Max Anschutz by our team section manager and told we had been invited to the Anschutz factory to test our gear and have a look at the place. So, the next morning we set off, three of us delivered to the factory by Max Anschutz himself, in a hairraising drive (by Australian standards note!) in his Mercedes. Quite a trip.
On arrival, our rifles went down under for testing, while we eagerly walked around the factory. What an experience that was! We were shown everything that is to do with Anschutz standards, even to an aged worker who was manipulating an overhead barrel jack to ensure the barrels were dead straight. I was impressed with the inherent skill of this bloke let me tell you, plus the clean work areas and machinery generally of Anschutz. Dieter Anschutz then met us for lunch - which turned out to be yet another experience - in a local restaurant and we were dining when his test technician arrived and spoke quietly to Dieter. Dieter turned to our section manager, who in turn told me they intended to replace my barrel... I was stunned. and argued that I had shot a high score the very day before. Dieter just smiled, told me I would shoot better with the new barrel and to go ahead with the new one! This is yet another story for you but history has it that new barrel shot like stink! Here it is in 2012, 50 years later and that barrelled action is still in my home club and still shoots extremely well. During those years, I became firm friends with a really good gunsmith in Fred Lawler, from RTM gun smithing services and it was Fred who convinced me to change to a Hart stainless barrel which he would chamber and fit for me. The barrel blank from Hart was a parallel profile, which proved a little heavy, so he fluted the barrel to drop some weight off the rifle. I had it fitted to the 1413 action of my free rifle, as the then UIT had made new rulings to allow only one rifle for competition. Fred is without doubt the premier gunsmith in Australia and the work he did on my rifle was superb. He chambered the barrel to suit Eley Tenex ammo, screwed the action to fit and dummied-up the normal pins of the action so they would look better. The crown job on the muzzle was very carefully done and it was this barrel that tested that incredible batch of Tenex at the factory. These days you can get various stainless barrels fitted at the factory on order and, rifles such as the Bleiker and Grunig &Elmiger come supplied like this. So, you are asking now Why did you change the barrel when you already had an Anschutz that shot like stink? Well that question has merit and you will note
This SMALLBORE Business

that my prone rifle, the 1411 Anschutz, was still intact. (Not silly am I, guys out there...!) It should also be noted that the chamber work on the new barrel was extremely accurate and this aspect, plus the interior workmanship of the world renowned Hart barrels was, I reckon, the reason that barrel shot so well for well over thirty years.
The illustration shows a powder fouling line directly at the bottom of the barrel, which indicates the bedding system is functioning correctly. (See text) This is easily seen when the bolt is removed so you can see through the barrel.
I won a lot of stuff with that barrel, particularly after I built an alloy stock for it, following the debacle of the Caracas Venezuela world championships, where, due to the heavy humid atmosphere my walnut 1413 Anschutz was affected severely - yet another story!. On the way home in the plane, I designed an alloy stock, the first in the world for small bore, then made the thing with the aid of a machinist that I knew. I lay no claim to being the first alloy stock, because RTM in Australia were already dominating bench rest matches with them. I knew they would shoot well.. but I did have the first in small bore competition. Now they are like hip pockets, everyone has them! Nowadays, there are a number of very good stainless barrels made and the full bore and 300m centre-fire shooters virtually use them exclusively and so do the guys who really know their stuff about the accuracy game, the Benchies and F Class shooters.
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This SMALLBORE Business What barrel would you recommend, I hear you asking...
Well, there are four, all made in the United States and barrels made by Hart, Lilja, Broughton and Shilen fit the bill very well. I doubt you could go wrong with any of these! Both Bleiker and G&E usually use the Lilja for their 22 rimfire stuff and these things shoot little holes in a small bore target in terms of groups. The Broughton is fast growing a reputation among the full bore fraternity, whilst Hart and Shilen have had reliable results for a long time. I have also shot with an Australian made Maddco barrel, machine by Neville Madden and I know that the 300m shooters -ave used these as well, particularly the 3 groove variety in centre-fire calibres. But as I said above - you do not fix what isnt broken! If your standard barrels are performing, there is just no need, is there? As always, it is up to the shooter because irrespective of what barrel you have in the rifle, you still have to shoot it, do you not? They will never shoot tens if they are standing in the corner eh?
Figure 2 shows a fouling line that is ragged through the barrel. This is caused by inconsistent vibrations emanating from the bedding. There is often two ragged lines, and it is highly unlikely that the rifle will perform correctly when you can see this through the barrel. The rifle will need either a different system of bedding, or a complete re bed.
The bedding system

Now, on bedding - the second part of this article. The barrel will also tell you if the rifle is performing for you. There are heaps of bedding ideas circulating and quite often they perform well, given the scores that are registered by shooters all over the world. You see actions fully bedded in epoxy of various types, barrel clamps, actions straight onto a machined surface in alloy stocks. There is a plethora of systems out there and even the stocks with actions settled straight into the timber have recorded enviable results. This list is endless! But, always, there is a very good indication the bedding system is working within the barrel. I refer to the fouling line indicated in Fig. 1 which indicates a straight line along the bottom of the rifling, while a system that is doubtful in performance will have the wavy line illustrated in Fig. 2 to varying degrees.
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The next time you are training, when finished just remove the bolt from the action and have a look through the barrel at a source of light nearby. In Fig.1 the fouling in the barrel lies along the six oclock line. It will still be at the 6 line even if the rifle is shot with a cant, so take this into consideration. The vibration of the shot will settle the fouling into this straight line if the rifle is performing. I have studied this for many years and recently had a graphic indication with a club friends rifle that had surprised him with a pathetic prone shoot. I knew something was wrong immediately after inspecting this fouling line. Fig 2, is an illustration of this barrel and readers will see the difference. This was the result of a homemade attempt at bedding his action in Devcon A - a high standard, often used epoxy resin. Even to the point of not using a releaseagent (wax is good) by a shooter that understandably had no idea! I applaud his effort at having a go at the bedding of the action but it took a great deal of work to restore the bedding system I can tell you. The illustration in Fig. 2 is a reproduction of the inspection I did looking through his barrel. The rifle performed incredibly badly, as I knew it would. Like I said above, do not fix what isnt stuffed, in the never ending search for accuracy that rifle shooting is subjected to. Quite often the fault lies between your ears!
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Brooksie...
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PSE Composites Rifle Stocks

By Chris Parkin

By Chris Parkin

by Chris Parkin
PSE Composites PSE Composites Rifle Stock Rifle Stock

A Review by Chris Parkin
The vertical grip profile suited a `thumb up` hold lending to fast bolt speed.
True Composite stocks have evolved within the last few decades but the initial use of glassfibre materials has more recently graduated into carbon and Kevlar products which in the modern climate, represent the cutting edge. PSE Composites in Cork, Ireland is a company run by Edmund Graef and his two sons. Edmunds background CV is a desirable read for any engineering candidate and his experience and qualifications across a wide range or manufacturing sectors have now been brought to rifle stocks.
Sporting and tactical
I was sent two stocks to evaluate - the E-TAC which is a tactical/varmint styled unit and the Lightweight Hunter, both inlet for the Remington 700 action. Starting with the ETAC, I was initially pleased to see a build designed to accommodate heavy barrels without any further inletting of the barrel-channel required. PSE have chosen to adopt an alternative strategy for their builds in that rather than bonding a left and right hand `skin` together and then filling it with an polymeric foam core machined out to create the inlet, Edi has chosen a different path.
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By Chris Parkin
pillars allow constant bolt torque to be maintained without any crushing forces applied. The lightweight design of the stock allows weight to be deliberately added where specified to assist in controlling recoil momentum. When aligned with or above the bore, added mass minimises muzzle lift. A broad range of options are available and my example boasted a oneinch thick recoil-pad, side mounted flush cups for QD biathlonstyle sling and

By Chris Parkin
This stock has very neat inletting but the recoil lug needs bedding to assure positive contact and recoil transfer.
Purity of design
Using carbon composite sheet, pre-impregnated with adhesive polymers, a monocoque construction has been created that is effectively moulded to the precise form of the intended stock and internal inlet with no further machining required. Integral carbonfibre I-beam construction along the complete length results in a stock that is ultra-stiff on both lateral and torsional axes. This serves two purposes, the first of which means the strength exhibited by the stock is all based on a 360 degree skin that surrounds the whole external profile and secondly, as no inlet machining is required, no strength is lost as no `skin` is removed. Importantly, the multi-directional layered `rovings` (windings) of carbon fibre are left untouched and undamaged. which is up to the buyer with gentle stippling applied to hide the underlying woven texture. Following on from the ethos of not touching the carbon, if you require a barrel channel of less than 36mm width, it can be `back-filled` although this is purely cosmetic as the stock will neither receive nor require any additional strength. The recoil-lug pocket just in front of the action is deliberately left oversized so no enlargement is required and PSE recommend bedding this area of the inlet to assure solid contact, transferring recoil from the lug to the stock. Integral
This stock has very neat inletting but the recoil lug needs bedding to assure positive contact and recoil transfer.
standard stud under the forend to accept a bipod. Length of pull (LOP) at 131/8 inches was a little short but easily increased with additional spacers, which I made myself but are available from PSE. An adjustable cheekpiece complemented a functionally simple build with a thumbscrew adjuster to alter settings. The tapered nose of the cheek-piece and sleek profile allowed bolt removal without adjustment, never feeling bulky or pushing the head to the side which I personally dislike, preferring a more vertical head position with gentle cheek-weld. Deep stippling assured solid grip on both the vertical pistol grip and `rounded hexagonal` forend and, although looking aggressive, was perfect with either bare or gloved hands. Longitudinal flats on the sides of the forend allow Picatinny rail fitment parallel to the bore line should you choose for `bling` accessories or perhaps nightvision or lamp for the hunter. A ridgeline down the front of the pistol grip was very subtle but helped locate the inside of the knuckles precisely and was a nice touch! Reach to trigger was perfect and as usual, a thumb up style suited this grip design, a flick of the fingers out and up quickly onto the bolt-handle rapidly supplied a fresh cartridge to the chamber via the inbuilt Accuracy International magazine-compatible floorplate. The stock Edi built for me was one of the first using an AI mag. system and had a couple of teething issues which I was more than happy to correct on my own gun and pass back to Ireland to make sure further use of this system would be perfect. When it arrives in such a neat, well presented and complete format is a shame to have to work on the surface but I did need to gently file the bolt handle cut-out to open it up a little with the oversized bolt-handle fitted to my Remmy. No complaints though as it was fine with the standard factory Remingtons `flys eye` bolt-knob.
Not a VW but still a kind of Beetle

Think of it as an exoskeleton - like that of a beetle and you wont go far wrong. Unlike gel-coats applied to glass reinforced composites which can include various dyes and patterns, coating here is a sprayed Duracoat layer on the carbon fire, the solid colour of
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By Chris Parkin

By Chris Parkin
Quick release fluch cups as well as normal studs are a joy when combined with a side mounted sling for comfortable carrying.
PSE will incorporate your bottom metal into the final stock moulding if you require a mag feed but the standard BDL florplate inlet is included for 700s.
Lightweight, I kid you not

The Sporter stock was built using the same complex 3D winding of carbon and Kevlar and this time featured a dark green, lightly stippled coating that added visual bulk to an otherwise slim profile. Weighing in at 715 grams, with an inlet set up for the standard hinged BDL floorplate, I had my doubts on initial handling as I see many stocks made slim purely to save weight. After screwing-in a 243 barrelled-action and having a bit of a deliberate wrestle with the gun, I was pleasantly surprised. The slender, squared forend showed a 24mm barrel channel and happily floated the sporter tube on my factory Remington. No matter how roughly I handled the gun - on or off the bipod - no flex was detected, which could lead to intermittent barrel contact and at best, wandering zero.
Three standard, underside sling-studs allowed fitting of the usual accessories and it was quite novel how light the gun felt to carry, yet upon firing from any sporting position - prone, kneeling or from sticks - it held firmly and recoiled smoothly. The ergonomics of a Monte Carlo cheekpiece complemented the openly curved and swooping grip nicely. Length of pull and reach to trigger were good and this time at 13 inches, LOP was closer to the norm although taller shooters may add a spacer or two. A good cheek-weld could be maintained on the tall cheek-piece with 50 and 56mm scopes, just be sure it isnt too high if you are running a 40mm objective on low mounts if maintaining a true lightweight theme.
Engineered to perfection
Both stocks were beautifully made, finished and specified, the design really appealing to my techy
I found the length of pull short at 13.2`` but spacers solved the problem, the adjustable cheekpiece was hassle free and allowed bolt extraction without removal.
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By Chris Parkin
The bolt handle cutout needs to be enlarged to ensure clearance around an oversized bolt knob.
The trigger pocket was generous enough to handle an aftermarket Jewell trigger with no further material removal.
tastes. To me, the two models catered well for the two opposing ends of the custom hunting rifle market before getting too specific to rulebook requirements for competition guns. Any rifle will benefit from a proper bedding job and although the home smith can be happy to `skim` the bedding compound, a gunsmith will always prefer to add a thicker layer to increase bonding area and maintain durability. Removing that inner stock layer to add a thicker bedding layer will without doubt remove the carefully woven and bonded external layers of carbon fibre which seems to spoil the designs principles, so be careful. Around 30-40% lighter than laminate stocks and lighter than most other composites, I can see a lot to like here, especially for a hill stalking rifle or a lightweight varminter built to carry. The deliberate addition of weight in desired locations allowed fantastic recoil control and maintained vision of the target for any required follow up shots. Edi has done a lot of custom work using this pattern as a basic
template and when applied to FTR rifles, this pursuit of lightweight coupled with stiffness can give you those extra few inches of barrel length for your 308 bullets. I did like the fact the trigger pocket on the Remington model I was provided featured plenty of space for the Jewell trigger that I eventually fitted, requiring no further modification. The bottom-metal supplied also worked - some I have encountered needed modifying to prevent binding with the larger safety catch levers and bolt-release catch that runs up the side of a Jewell.
Pencil lines show the movement in the recoil lug pocket before bedding.
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By Chris Parkin

By Chris Parkin
Coupled with my 20 inch factory 308, a Jewel trigger and 'skim' bedding job, this package is a keeper.
Stippling although looking aggresive gave a positive grip without discomfort.
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By Chris Parkin

By Chris Parkin
PSE cater for sporting rifle users too, this ultralight model was also ultra stiff and reliable in use.
Pros - Low weight yet still very stiff. Recoil handled well with good ergonomics. A wide range of custom options Cons - The handmade nature of all true composites is costly. Butt pad spacers seem expensive. Recoil lug DEFINITELY needs bedding. Opinion - An engineer-designed stock built to a purists ideal, well executed and certainly my choice for a custom build.
Any purist will want to do some form of bedding job though and it must remain shallow.
Specifications (all prices in Euros)
ETAC
Ultra-Light carbon/Kevlar Light glass/carbon Heavy glass/carbon ETAC with bottom metal Stock as tested Convert to long action Flush cups Anschutz rail for bipod 6mm butt pad spacer Fitting SUPPLIED mag system ~ 700 grams ~ 850 grams ~1000grams ~1090g 765 euro 60 19 each 90 19 each 80
PSE Hunter / Varmint style

Drop-in fit for short action Remington 700/clones, Howa 1500 and Tikka T3 Standard, glass / carbon 850-900grams 490 Ultra-light, Carbon only700-750grams 540 (colours available, FN Green, Tactical Green, Tactical Black) Contact: psecomposites@gmail.com www.pse-composites.com
Side mounted flush cups meant an easy carry, this gun is a lot lighter than it looks.
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Girls & Shooting - By Victoria Shockle
Young Women in Shooting Sports
as I got older and this kept happening at every range I went to, I realized that there was a different reason for everyones excitement - Im a teenage girl and I shoot! It turns out, this is an extremely uncommon combination. According to a Gallup poll taken earlier this year, only about 23 percent of women ages 18 to 34 personally own a gun, while an overwhelming 63 percent reported that there were no guns owned by anyone in their household. Of course, these numbers have increased but 23 percent is still disappointingly low. I think shooting is an art that has lost a lot of its followers, particularly that of young people and girls in particular, says Emily Kyle - a friend I recently introduced to shooting by taking her to our local range. In todays digital world, young people in our generation tend to spend much of their time indoors watching TV, surfing the web, browsing social media and/or playing video games rather than getting out in the world. Shooting has become particularly distant for young girls who dont identify with the usage of guns, perhaps because of the pre-instated gender ideas of guns associated with men and power. I think Emilys comments as to why young girls in todays society are not becoming interested or involved in the shooting sports are very true. There are a number of other reasons why women dont go shooting as often as men do. Shooting is often associated with hunting (I cant count how many times people have asked me Ohso do you hunt then? when I either tell them I shoot or even just that I own a rifle.), which is commonly thought of as being a mans activity. This belief is obvious from a poll conducted by the National Sporting Goods Association, which found that in 2009 only 16.4 percent of the total number of hunters in the United States were women (more recent polls were unavailable). I think the fact that the majority of women dont take up hunting stems from age-old traditions of women staying at home taking care of the children and cooking, while men went out and hunted for that evenings dinner. No longer necessary in todays society but people still seem to consider hunting a mans activity. Another issue working against getting women involved in shooting sports is that it seems that women tend to be afraid of guns in general because they arent fully
aware of how they operate. Thats not to say that they believe guns are magic or anything of that nature but they just dont understand the process behind the tool. According to Dr. Michael S. Brown, a contributor of articles on the subject, many women believe that guns will go off on their own and are thus afraid to be
Girls & Shooting - By Victoria Shockle

that initiating educational shooting programs in schools would help reduce some of the fear people associate with guns. Creating extracurricular activities that involve shooting and pushing sport shooting through the increased promotion of recreational clubs in the community will increase exposure and encourage participation in shooting for young people and girls in particular. One suggestion of my own would be to offer firearms training classes and programs that would provide a brief overview of their operation and the safety procedures associated with shooting a gun. Perhaps there could be demonstrations showing each part of the firearm (a rifle would probably be the simplest to use for this purpose) and how it worked. Another way to cure womens fear of shooting would be raising them in an environment where shooting is viewed in a positive light, instead of an atmosphere where guns are only seen on the news associated with stories of murder or other crimes. Of course, changing parents style of raising their children assumes that they themselves are interested and supportive of shooting, so that would be a bit of a stretch to accomplish right away. Ive made it a personal goal of mine to get as many of my friends (I focus on my female friends the most, but I encourage the boys as well) to try out and hopefully take up shooting as a sporting activity. Emily is a perfect example of a success story! The very first time she held a gun was the day I brought her to the range but she soon discovered it was something she really enjoyed. Not to mention the fact that she was a natural shot, scoring even better than I did on her first target! Personally, I enjoy the thrill I get from shooting a gun. It is pure, enjoyable fun and it offers a sort of cathartic quality of relaxation says Emily. You can go shooting and escape from the stresses of daily life. When youre at the shooting range, everything becomes so simple: its you, a gun and a target. The goal is to hit the target, simple as that.
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By Victoria Shockley.
Many of our articles are submitted by readers male readers so, when Victoria got in touch and told me she had something to say about girls and shooting, I invited her to submit an article. Maybe we at Target Shooter are equally guilty of excluding females from shooting. We dont wish to be! If any ladies would like to put their point of view or tell us about their shooting, we will be pleased to receive your submission Ed. The first time I shot a gun, I was seven years old - my Dad had bought me a 22 bolt-action rifle for Christmas. It was my favorite present that year and I waited until the very end to open it after all of the other gifts. After a few months of watching safety lectures and learning all of the rules of safe gun handling (my Dad stressed these principles a lot because he didnt want me to get hurt, especially since I was fairly young), we drove down to our county range, which was the only range open to the public in the area of southern Florida where we used to live. I remember being very excited and a little nervous, hoping Id remember all of the safety rules Id learned and all of the lessons taught in the Eddie Eagle Program (sponsored by the NRA). The Range Officer at the front desk was thrilled to see me, even though I didnt know him. The other officer who was in charge of the 50-yard range itself was also enthusiastic and cheerful when he saw me walk up. At the time, I didnt really attribute this to anything more than the fact that I was a small child and must have looked cute in my oversized earmuffs, carrying the large bag full of ammunition and targets. However,
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around them. This fear is understandable, if untrue. If you were to handle a fairly heavy (at least for me and my skinny arms!) extremely loud object that you knew for a fact could kill you or someone else, wouldnt you be afraid of it? If I didnt understand how it worked, I certainly would be. In addition, people tend to connect shooting to the act of self-defense. Although women need selfdefense just as much as men do (perhaps even more so since many of us are physically weaker than our male counterparts), its not seen as feminine to defend yourself with a gun. This is not to say that it wouldnt be effective or that women would refuse to do it if presented with the situation but I think these connections contribute to womens lack of desire to begin participating in the sport, especially when it comes to young women who are focused on appearing pretty and feminine (most of us, anyway) in order to attract a partner. Now that we know some of the reasons why young women arent getting involved in the shooting sports, how can we fix this? Fixing the stereotypes [associated with shooting sports] would be challenging but I think we can definitely work to reverse the negative connotations associated with guns and promote enthusiasm for shooting in young girls, young people and the public in general through exposure says Emily. She believes
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LATEST NEWS...
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LATEST NEWS...
Anschutz introduce the Precise PLUS Fore-end Raiser Block

Anschutz have introduced a new fore-end raiser with extensive adjustment possibilities. The core is made from aluminum and offers 5 individual snap and/or thread adjustments. The raiser block simply slides into the stocks accessory-rail and is fastened in the required position. Both resting surfaces are made from plastic and are fixed on the aluminium carrier with an angle-bracket and therefore can be adjusted individually in height, width and angle to make perfect contact with the supporting hand. This is especially important if the stock rests on the palm of the shooters hand. Minimum height of 23 mm can be expanded steplessly to a maximum of 37 mm. Two additional spacers of 10 and 15 mm can expand the forend raiser block to a maximum of 67 mm. The width of 36 mm can be expanded to a maximum of 68 mm. http://ahg.anschuetz-sport.com/index.php5?menu=1& sprache=1&seite=83&produktID=954
Anschutz introduce the Precise PLUS Fore-end Raiser Block
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by Ken Hall.
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Air Rifle Benchrest News from Carl Boswell

Weve had an interesting year to say the least. The most interesting part is the development of more shoulder to shoulder matches for both air rifle and rimfire benchrest in the UK. More matches means more chances for shooters to get together not only to shoot but to talk about equipment, techniques etc. 2013 will hopefully see this continue, with even more matches available. Shooting at your own club, shooting a postal or even a club match against a few mates is great but broadening outwards to meet other shooters is always fun and provides the possibilities to learn something new. I recently attended an air rifle benchrest match at the 1066 Club in Hastings. Firstly a big thank you to them for hosting this event as this was the Clubs first venture into this sport. I can safely say that all competitors went away happy from both days events. In fact, the first days match created lot of interest from a number of other air rifle clubs in the Sussex region, as well as those further afield. The weekend was broken up into an Open Match on the Saturday and a World Postal Match on the Sunday, which was shot in association with the National Smallbore Rifle Association (NSRA). Alan Grayson and Garry Morrison were match directors for both days. Both did a marvellous job and need to be congratulated - this was their first outing as match directors. Personally, it was a difficult weekend as my rifle had a fit on the first day and finally died halfway through the match on Sunday. Frustrating to say the least but that is the nature of the game, unless you have a spare! Fortunately Colin Renwick did and we managed to use his rifle to compete in the match. The open match was well contested, with twenty shooters on the Saturday a very good turnout indeed for this first air rifle benchrest match in this region. The day itself was windy but very sunny, providing reasonably mild conditions that turned out to be difficult to shoot in. The Hastings range is one of those that I would categorise as good training because of the very different conditions it conjures up from minute to minute. Interesting to say the least! In saying this, it was really fun to shoot, learn and meet up with lots of new faces, as well as the ones I tend to see at every match. Taking my son for his first air rifle match was also an experience. Shooting is shooting but there are so many idiosyncrasies between rimfire and air rifle. As a junior he did well but, as ever, we are all on a learningcurve.
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One person who was not on a learning-curve was Ron Harding. You may have read of Ron in this magazine before as he has competed in the last two international matches in 2010 and 2011. He also brought home a few medals! At the end of the first day Ron was the clear winner, so well done to him, Steve Rogers and Alan Grayson for getting the medals on day one. We also had a number of junior shooters getting medals, including Josh Kingaby who was supervised by a very proud dad. On the Sunday we held the World Postal Match where we shot in teams as well as individually. From the outset it was a very different day - the wind picked up a great deal and was very erratic on this small range. So erratic it confused the hell out of most - apart from a few, including Ron, as he was just in the zone. So, we had a variety of scores throughout the day, with many getting lower as the day went on but, this is the game. We shoot the conditions we get! Speaking to Ron at the end of the weekend, he says things have just clicked recently. He attended the wind-reading course run by USAs Craig Young during the summer and had further conversations when they later met up. In Rons own words It has made all the difference and the confusion I felt shooting in different wind conditions has now gone. I can vouch for this as Ron is on fire at the moment, getting medals and quite a few first place positions in matches held since the beginning of the summer. Brilliant and well deserved. I was thoroughly chuffed for the juniors at the match - Steve Rogers got his first medal, a silver. A big well done to all these guys and girls its brilliant to see new faces doing so well. The Hastings weekend was a huge success and the open match on Saturday is probably one of the largest air rifle benchrest matches held in this country. Benches and venue are the only thing that limit the size of matches - the interest is definitely there. I hope to see Alan and Garry from Buxted Club, pushing forward what they have started this weekend with a great deal more in the future. From the comments from other clubs whose members attended the match, there is a great deal of potential for this. The likelihood of a good circle of clubs becoming involved in shoulder to shoulder matches in the New Year is now a great deal stronger.
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QUIGLEY SHOOTING ASSOCIATION NEWS

September & October Competitions So full is the competition calendar at Diggle Ranges that events have to be scheduled somewhat like buses - you wait three months then two appear almost at once! So it was with Quigley Competitions 3 & 4. For the benefit of new readers, each Quigley competition consists of two stages Stage 1: 400 yards, in which we shoot 15 rounds to score at a target no bigger than a sheet of A4 paper - scoring 5 points for a hit on the paper and only one point for the nearest of misses. For Stage 2 we move back to 600 yards and shoot at a buffalo silhouette divided into uneven scoring zones worth from 2 points to 5 points. Despite the seriously bad weather this summer we were blessed with (mostly) dry conditions on both days. However, the wind at Diggle never takes a holiday but for the September competition, as the scores will bear witness, it seemed to double its usual strength making even standing a difficult proposition. Fortunately, for the October event, it reverted to its normal but unpredictable self, allowing firers to regain a few points.
Results: Quigley no. 3: September 29th

1. Steve Maris 76 2. Dennis Richardson 72 & Dave Simmons 72
Quigley no. 4: October 20th

1. Colin Buck 106 2. Ian Hull 99 3. Eric Todd 95
Enquiries and comments please to;

Khall6548@aol.com
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Disabled Shooting continued...
Shooting grounds
Accessibility is the key to disabled participation. The number of shooting grounds that are reasonably accessible for those who use wheelchairs or have poor mobility is not large at the moment. Some of those we applaud for taking the lead have been hosting the DSGs monthly shoots in recent years. Most of them are in the Midlands but we know there are also some on the south coast. It would be very helpful if shooting grounds that do cater for those with disabilities would let DSP Coordinator Liz Woodall know, so that their details can be added to our website. Equally, if there are gun clubs or shooting grounds that would like to improve the disabled-accessibility of their facilities, advice is available for them.
photograph below of runner-up Paul Bailey and the CPSAs Nick Fellows given a prominent place in Pull! magazines report of the event.
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subsequent Paralympics, put the topic of inclusion at Rio de Janeiro top of many peoples agenda. An awful lot of us are going to be watching to see if that happens not least the ambitious young shooters waiting impatiently in the wings!
Disabled Shooting Project Focus on Clay Target

As part of the Disabled Shooting Year the clay target world has been putting significant effort into making itself more accessible and inclusive. As an entirely outdoor discipline this is always going to be harder than for other branches of the sport, so the progress made over this summer deserves special congratulation. They have opened up new opportunities, promoted participation and encouraged development on a number of fronts.
New Award
To get 2013 off to a good start, the CPSA have added to their new annual awards one for Disabled Shooter of the Year. On-line nominating has opened at https:// www.cpsa.co.uk/awards. Those who would like to find out about shooters performances during the year before deciding who to nominate can find results of the DSG shoots on their website www.disabledsg.co.uk, and copies of all reports from Pull! magazine in the Downloads section of the Disabled Shooting Project website www.disabledshooting.org.uk. Closing date for nominations is 25th January, and the presentations will take place on 23rd March.
Recruitment
There have been two excellent initiatives aimed at encouraging more people with disabilities to take up clay target. Firstly, the Lincolnshire Countryside Sports Association (set up by the Lincolnshire County Sports Partnership) organised a series of disabled-accessible shots days which we helped to promote, and is planning more for 2013. Then in the middle of October there was an initial taster day organised jointly by the DSG, CPSA and Orston Shooting Ground. We were there with our show stand, and had a great time. Again, more taster days are going to be set up for next year, and will be publicised on our website.
Disabled Shooters Group Status

One of the CPSAs first steps was giving formal recognition to the Disabled Shooters Group as representing the interests of disabled clay target shooters. The DSG chair, Julie Sperling, and member Bob Kibblewhite who is also on the CPSA board joined the Disabled Shooting Projects Working Group. This acknowledgement of the DSGs status has been a crucial step in the process of getting disabled participation into the heart of clay target.
2013 Championships
The recent CPSA announcement that with effect from the beginning of 2013 there will be disabled categories in all national championships held on English soil is warmly welcomed. This is something that we hope will receive lots of publicity over the Autumn and Winter months, to encourage plenty of people to take part.
Competitions
At the end of August a hugely important step was taken when the CPSA included disabled categories for the first time in the British Open Sportrap Championship hosted by Fauxdegla Shooting Ground, offering sitting and standing options. Eleven people entered, which was encouraging, given the limited opportunities for pre-event publicity. The sitting class was won by Adrian Last, who we saw being driven in style up to the Sporting course which he tackled from his wheelchair. Later it was great to see this
International participation
This year began with the announcement that the ISSF and IPC had signed an accord on working towards the inclusion of disabled clay target in international competitions. London 2012, bringing Olympic gold to Peter Wilson, but no clay target events in the
All the above adds up to substantial progress, and in the course of next year it will be very good to see lots of people grasping all these new opportunities. To help make that happen, all those opportunities need maximum publicity those who read this are cordially invited to do whatever they can to help on that front.
Awards - Sports Awards Season Opens!

Mention of the new CPSA award brings us neatly into the topic of sports awards in general, because this
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Torch Trophy Trust
Still on the same subject, this trust gives awards and bursaries to reward and recognise the work of people who volunteer in sport and recreation. The last nominations from the sport of target shooting were made in the early 1990s! Anyone who agrees with us that it is high time to do something about that dismal record, can find details at www.torchtrophytrust.org. The window for applying for the next batch of bursaries opened on 23rd October, so now is a good time to get the ball rolling.
Disabled Shooting continued...
is the time of year when many of them are open for nominations and/or voting. The fact that there are a huge number of local awards schemes out there is not widely known in the target shooting world. Consequently, our sport does not get a fair share of the awards, which tend to be dominated by big-money sports like swimming, rugby, sailing and (of course) football. To do our bit towards redressing the balance, the DSP has been gathering information about all the schemes we can find, especially those which have categories for those with disabilities. They are listed in the Disabled Shooting Year section of our website (go to Schemes Awards Sports Awards), which is still being added to. Wherever possible we have included a link to sites with more information, voting forms, etc. It is worth readers having a look at our listings to see if there is a scheme in their area, particularly as some awards include bursaries and grants which can make a huge difference to young and/or disabled candidates. Something else that readers might like to do is nominate a junior shooter for the BBCs Young Sports Personality of the Year. The deadline is 19th November; for details and forms go to: http://www. bbc.co.uk/sport/0/sports-personality/19910154
More information:
Disabled Shooting Project: www.disabledshooting.org.uk International Paralympic Committee, Shooting: www.ipc-shooting.org International Blind Sport Federation, Shooting: www.ibsa.es/eng/deportes/shooting/presentacion International Shooting Competition, Hannover: www.i-s-c-h.de Clay Target Grand Prix, Lonato: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFKzJ7ZfQzM British Blind Sport: www.britishblindsport.org.uk International Blind Sport Association (Shooting): NSRA: www.nsra.co.uk
Disabled shooting content in NRA Journal, Pull!, The Rifleman, and Target Shooter is available on the Downloads section of the DSP website.
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GB F Class 6th Round

October 2012
Blair Atholl UK
By the time the second stage started, it was proving to be a wonderfully mild and sunny day very unusual for the time of year. That said, the tricky fishtailing North wind did not abate. One of the newest members of the Association soon proved that he will be worth keeping an eye on; Ricky Carless on his very first visit to Blair Atholl seemed to know exactly what to do to steer his 308 bullets into the middle. He prevailed over much more experienced shooters to take first place with 61.3v. Right behind him, on the same score, was the familiar figure and more experienced, Steve Rigby demonstrating fine form that would stand him in good stead later but Ricky won on count-back. In F Open, we had a battle between two local West Atholl club members. Paul Sandie, who is having a superb season with a 7mmWSM, showed great coolness under pressure to score a fine 73.6v. Paul was using a rifle made for him by the second place guy, Grant Taylor on 70.5v. Grant had switched rifles from stage 1 to use his old faithful Purple Haze rifle. By mid-afternoon, we had been making very good time using the electronic targets, which performed absolutely faultlessly. The weather was getting better and better turning out to be a glorious weekend, better than many weekends in our so-called summer. The final part of Saturday was stage 3, The Old Atholl which got underway by mid-afternoon, showing just how quickly a competition course of fire can be shot when using electronic targets. Nothing much had changed - the wind still foxed many with sudden fishtailing changes. By now though, some reckoned they knew where to look for information or was it inspiration? Anyhow, two of the 101 gang certainly had a grip on conditions. Steve Lynch prevailed with a sound 69.3v and was comfortably ahead of his nearest rival in second place, Steve Donaldson on 65.2v. It was local F Open shooter Grant Taylor who showed everyone how to do it with a superb 74.5v with his BAT-

October 2012
Blair Atholl UK
by George Granycome
The long View

News from the GB F-Class Association by Des Parr
actioned rifle bedded in that beautiful Precision Rifle & Tool stock. Grant has started something of a fashion for these beautiful laminated stocks. Close behind in second place and making a very welcome return to the National League, was Greg Thompson on 72.5v. Greg was competing in only his first League match of the season and showed that he still had what it takes. So, that concluded Saturdays three stages. What a day it had been, warm dry and bright. The electronic targets had performed perfectly, so all was well with the world, the shooters all dispersed to their various digs in the vicinity to chew over the events of the day and to commiserate or celebrate depending on how they had fared. 23 League members gathered at the Moulin Hotel for a superb dinner. An excellent evening was had by all; good food and good company go well together. They say the Scots are careful with their money, but a certain League Match organiser from Barrow could teach the Scots a lesson. How to go away for the weekend and forget your wallet.fortunately his roommate (financier?) came to his aid. Sunday dawned, cold and frosty. It caught out many car drivers from softer, southern climes without their scrapers and de-icer. Winter clearly comes earlier at these northern latitudes. The cold didnt last though and, by the time competitors had enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and made their way to the range for 9:30, the day was already warming. One thing had not changed though the wind was still unstable and difficult to read without sufficient flags. Stage 4, The River Garry, started at 9:30 prompt. In F/ TR, Steve Rigby showed his experience of Blair Atholl, in coming to the fore with a good 67.1v, just a single point ahead of Dumfriesshire man, Keith Snow on 66.1v.
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The Long View by Des Parr

A regular column whereby Des Parr keeps us up to date with the activities of the GB F Class Association and F Class matters in general.
Round 6 of the GB F-Class National League - The Highland Challenge, Blair Atholl 6/ 7th of October. The Highland Challenge
is the penultimate League Match of the season. It was clear that many of the leading contenders wanted to secure their position and attendance was up on last year to 40 - split fairly evenly with 22 F Open and 18 F/TR. For this match, we reverted back to our familiar format of firing in pairs. Why the change? The National League has to cater to a wide membership who have no interest in string-shooting, (the format to be employed at the 2013 World Championships) hence we reverted to pair shooting. The weekend kicked off with a one-hour blow-off session. This ensured that when the competition started, everyone would be on target straight away. It was particularly beneficial to all those with newly fitted barrels & scopes.
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Blair Atholl can be a very testing range at the best of times but, when the north wind blows and it fishtails all the way up the Glen, the range is at its most difficult. It was now that one needs all the help one can get from the flagsah yes, the flags, or rather the absence of them. The most important flag of all was out of commission the one at the far right hand end of the range. The massive flagpole was awaiting the services of a JCB to raise it into position. Without that key indicator, shooters had to rely on rather historic information provided by the flags closer to the firing point. F Open led the way in the first detail and Lee Tomlinson showed why he was leading the League - by posting the highest score with his 284 Win. in scoring a reasonable 71.2v. He was followed closely behind by another 284 shooter, Mark Daish with 70.4v. By the time F/TR got down just one hour later, the wind had got up and made life a bit tougher for the 308 shooters. Nevertheless, some had a better grasp of it, especially the lads from the 101 Club - two members in particular, Paul Harkins on 63.3v followed by big Steve Donaldson on 61.1v.

October 2012
Blair Atholl UK
In F Open, the only member of the Border Barrel gang, demonstrated why he is having such a good season by posting a solid 73.9v. Chasing him was the genial Irishman, Liam Fenlon with 73.5v. Liam bucks the trend for fancy front rests, preferring to use a traditional pedestal-style rest - clearly it works for him. By mid-morning, folk were shedding layers as the temperature climbed higher and higher this was positively balmy weather. Ricky Carless distinguished himself in F/TR and proved his win in stage 2 was no fluke. He took first place with a very impressive 70.2v a higher score than most F/O shooters. Following, 3 points behind, was Steve Donaldson. Steve has been experimenting a lot lately with the heavy Berger 230 grain bullets. In F Open, first place went to David Lloyd with a very respectable 71.5v with his 284 Shehane. David is having a superb season, having won the Imperial Grand Agg. for the second time. Following David into second place was that man again, Grant Taylor, with 69.6v showing the consistently good form that would serve him so well. So that concluded The Highland Challenge, all credit to Stuart Anselm for having the scores ready moments after the last shot was fired. In F/TR, It was Steve Donaldsons moment of glory. For so often hes been the runner-up, now he finally proved his mettle and took the title of Highland Challenge winner with an impressive tally of 316.7v. In second we had the familiar figure of Steve Rigby, who showed his sound experience with a creditable 304.7v. In third place, was a Scot and West Atholl member, Paul Crosbie on 297.9v. Paul is a fierce competitor who has had a superb season, you can bet he will be giving it his all up to the end.
In F Open, the glory went to Grant Taylor with 349.23v. Grant is consistently one of the very best competitors the League has seen, indeed he has won the National League twice and may even add a third title at this rate. In second place we had the only Irishman taking part, Liam Fenlon on 343.19v Liam had to fight off approaches to poach him for the GB squad! In third place we had Lee Tomlinson with 342.17v. Lee was flying the flag for our own Border Barrels, he is a tough competitor and a tough character too he was camping out all weekend in sub-zero overnight temperatures. Top marks to Lee for sheer dedication. I am most grateful for the assistance of many Association members who helped to make the weekend such a success - Stuart Anselm for doing the statistics, Tony Marsh, for running tests on the electronic targets, Paul Crosbie for transporting the monitors and to Robin Gow, Robert Robertson and Lee Tomlinson for providing transport in their 4x4s. For the full results please visit www.gbfclass.co.uk

October 2012
Blair Atholl UK
See the full coverage of the See the full coverage of the European F Class Championships European F Class Championships in our December issue! in our December issue!
We now turn our attention to the European Championships, the highlight of the National League and the biggest F-class match in the World. See the full coverage in our December issue!
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Limit European Challenge 2012 - Znojmo Czech Republic. by David Thompson
Limit European Challenge 2012 - Level III Championship Match.
Limit European Challenge 2012 Level III Championship Match
Znojmo Czech Republic. by David Thompson

The organisers of the Limit European Challenge also organise the popular CZ Extreme European Open ( www.extremeeuroopen.eu ) match each year in June at this range. The fifth CZ European Extreme will be held from 5 8 June 2013 and will be a 32 stage 570 round event. A lot of work goes into making competitions at this range complex a memorable event and to present the Czech Republic as a successful organiser of practical pistol competitions and an excellent host. Year after year the organising team and the match sponsors work to apply new ideas to improve these events. Entry into the Czech Republic with firearms is a straight-forward process. You present your European Firearm Pass and passport to the police at the airport and as the Czech Republic recognises the European Firearm Pass you are able to proceed. If you are from outside the European Union you are issued with a visitors licence listing what firearms you are bringing into the Czech Republic for the duration of your visit. On leaving the country the visitors licence is returned to the police at your exit point. Land boarders with the countries surrounding the Czech Republic allow unhindered access. The pre-match for officials, range officers and those who were working at the match was held on 28th September and the competitors started arriving on Friday afternoon to register for the main match, which started on Saturday 29th September. The competitors dispersed to their first stage on Saturday morning and match got under way and was concluded by early Sunday afternoon. In the main match the competitors were grouped into squads of up to 10 shooters. Each stage was run by a range officer and/or an International Range Officers Association (IROA) official. All the range officers put in a lot of effort to keep everything running smoothly and on time and with minimal delays.
The Limit European Challenge 2012 Level III Championship Match was hosted at the Hodonice Shooting Range, near Znojmo in the Czech Republic. Held on the 29th/30th September, this Level III Championship Match consisted of 18 stages put together by Match Directors Lubor Novak and Milan Trkulja and their team for a 336 minimum round count. The Range Master was Germanys Johann Kurz, ably assisted by two Area CROs Kurt Kreuzer and Wilfried
By David Thompson
Fischer and their team of range officers.

The Hodonice range complex is home to the Moravian Shooting Club and is located near the town of Znojmo in eastern Czech Republic, near the boarder with Austria. Znojmo is half way between Brno and Vienna. There is an airport in Brno just over an hours travel time away, but Vienna International Airport is a one hour 15 minute drive away and gives those who have to fly more flight options. For Prague Airport allow yourself three hours driving time to Znojmo.
CZ Shooting Team member Marian Vysny used his 9mm CZ75 Shadow to finish in seventh place in Production Division.
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While running through a stage CZ Shooting Team member Miroslav Zapletal reloads his 9mm CZ75 Shadow. Note the smoke coming out of the magazine well and off the top of the magazine.
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Limit European Challenge 2012 - Znojmo Czech Republic. by David Thompson Match Statistics
Four practical pistol competition divisions were represented at the Limit European Challenge. This also spread into the various categories of lady, junior, senior and super senior. Production and Standard Division were the most popular with 45 and 46 competitors respectively. Open Division had a total of 18 shooters in this category. Revolver Division had six competitors. A total of 115 competitors from 14 countries completed the match.
either moving or reactive targets (sometimes both!) all competitors ended up using more; indeed some were using a lot more! As well as static full-sized and partial versions, the targets consisted of moving and swinging versions placed between two and up to 25 metres from the competitors. Many stages used different forms of metal reactive targets. Full size classic poppers, mini poppers and round plates complemented the fixed and moving paper targets in each stage. All of the stages offered different degrees of challenges, with different ways to complete the stage. The walk through after the briefing gave each competitor the chance to decide their match plan for each stage, as were to take each target or perform a reload. With lots of pepper-poppers, swingers and a couple of longer-range steel and paper targets, difficult targets were combined with run and gun targets in most stages.
In Production Division Frances Eric Grauffel chalked up another win over CZ Shooting Team members Zdenek Liehne and Miroslav Zapletal. Production Division is also popular with lady competitors. Russias Svetlana Nikolaeva and Serbias Snezanna Subasic were in first and second place, with Austrias Heidrun Lung in third place.

boarder posts are long deserted and Excalibur City stills thrives with shopping centres and is complete with a castle with dragons on the roof! Think of Las Vegas on a smaller scale. The Limit European Challenge was shot over two days with excellent catering provided on site. This was one of a series of competitions organised by the Moravian Shooting Club at this range complex. As previously mentioned a series of matches are already being planned for 2013. You can keep an eye on the competition web sites details of the various events. For Further Information: www.hellsquad.eu and www.extremeeuroopen.eu
The Limit Ammunition Company

This event gets its name from the company that sponsors the competition. The Limit Amunition Company manufactures and sells pistol ammunition and components for reloading ammunition. The company is specifically focused on the manufacture of ammunition in 9mm Parabellum caliber and components for reloading this caliber for use in practical pistol competition shooting. Production is carried out with reloading machines and components from Dillon, Sellier and Bellot and Camdex. All products are certified by the State Inspectorate of arms and ammunition and the Czech Republic complies with International C.I.P. standards. The Limit Company (www.limit.cz) has supplied ammunition since 2004 and currently supplies the Europen market as well as the Czech Republic. Several members of the CZ Shooting Team use Limit ammunition. The company also makes specalist ammunition for the law enforcement market both in the Czech Republic and for export. Target Shooter will be testing both Limit ammunition and reloading components in a future issue. The town of Znojmo is based on an ancient settlement dating back to the 11th century. The remnants of the old castle and buildings can still be seen. You can also visit the tunnel complex under the town that the citizens used to shelter in from the numerous conflicts that afflicted the region over the years.
18 Stage Match
The 18 stages were positioned around part of the Hodonice range complex, which is capable of running 32 stages simultaneously. Indeed this range complex, with its multiple shooting bays would be capable of hosting a European Handgun Championship event. The range consists of multiple shooting bays with 180 degree arcs of fire. This means that in all the stages the targets can be to the left and right of the competitor, as well as to their front. This gave the Limit European Challenge Match organisers a lot of scope in how they set out the 18 stages. The match consisted of nine short stages of 12 rounds; six medium stages of between 18 and 25 rounds and three long stages of 32 rounds. The minimum round count for the match was 336 rounds but due to the fact that all stages had
Have you got the X Factor?

In Stage 14 the start point for the competitor was standing at the centre of a pathway in the shape of a X. Running back and forward along all four segments of the X revealed a series of full-size and partial paper targets and two steel pepper-poppers. The competitor had to stay within the confines of the X pathway. Working out how to move in four directions to ensure that you engaged all the paper and steel targets and were to reload took a bit of working out in this stage.
In Ladys Production Division Russias Svetlana Nikolaeva was in first place and Serbias Snezanna Subasic took second place.
Results
In Open Division CZ Shooting Team members Martin Kamenicek and Petr Pijacek from the Czech Republic took first and second place with Finlands Tony Ruohonen in third place. In Ladies Open Division Martina Sera from the Czech Republic and Austrias Margit Steuer took first and second place. In Standard Division CZ Shooting Team members Gyorgy Batki from Hungary and Petr Znamenacek form the Czech Republic took the first and second place. Austrias Juergen Stranz was in third place. Revolver Division was a clean sweep for the Czech Republic with Milan Kolao, Pavel Kotrous and Michal Radkovic in first, second and third place.
As she runs to another shooting position Russias Svetlana Nikolaeva reloads her 9mm CZ75 Shadow. 98
Both Znojmo and Hodonice are close to the Czech Austrian boarder, which until 1989 was the former boarder between eastern and western Europe. When the Iron Curtain was finally lifted a duty free shopping center called Excalibur City, complete with restaurants (including one in jet aeroplane) and casinos was built in the empty strip of former no mans land. As the Czech In Production Division Tanfoglios Eric Grauffel was in first place while CZ Shooting Team members Zdenek Liehne ( left ) and Miroslav Republic is now part of the European Union the land
Zapletal were in second and third place respectively.
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Dolphin Single Shot F/TR Rifles

Dolphin Single Shot Rifles. (Two above). Dolphin Stock in Hard Anodise Choice of Long F/TR, Short or Open front forend With Morgan recoil pad Choice of colours available Barnard S or RPA Quadlite Timney Trigger (Jewel 40 extra) 17 or 25 moa scope rail Bartlein, Lilja or Krieger barrel Choice of twist & profile Choice of .223 Rem or .308 Win or any other calibre suitable for a 308 bolt. WEIGHT 6.5Kg (with med Palma Barrel)
Options Available
Options - (Only when ordered with Rifle) Spiral Flute Barrel 160 Straight Flute Barrel 120 Interrupted Flute Barrel 160 Duracoat Barrel 60 Water Transfer Print stock 180 Dolphin Trakker Rest(long) 150 Dolphin Trakker Rest(short) 140 Dolphin Muzzle brake 100 Long F/TR additional forend 100 Short additional forend 80 Open/Bench rest Style forend 140 VAIS style Muzzle Brake 120 Thread for Moderator; 60
Including fitting , proof and invisible end cap.
Introducing Kelblys Tactical Rifles. bringing benchrest precision to the tactical market. With loads of options to choose from, and pricing that shatters the competitors.
2360 including VAT

LATEST NEWS Stocks now available individually inlet for Remington 700, Barnard S & SM & RPA Quadlite. Coming soon ~ Savage. Only 630 inc VAT. Folding modular stock version coming soon. Keep visiting our website for latest products...
Introducing the first hunting and tactical scopes with 10 times power ratio on a variable scope. March 1x-10x-24mm and 2.5x-25x-42mm. 1/4 clicks and 25 MOA per revolution. All lenses in scopes are cemented in place, and do not rely on O rings to hold point of aim. Argon gas purged.
Holland Style Muzzle brake;

Including fitting & proof .
120
All prices inc VAT
Dolphin Gun Company - Southwold - Donington on Bain - Lincolnshire - LN11 9TR - England Telephone +44 (0) 1507 343898 or +44 (0) 774 7771962. www.dolphinguncompany.co.uk - mik@mikdolphin.demon.co.uk
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TARGET SHOOTER MAGAZINE

November 2012 Issue

shotgun world champs

GIRLS & SHOOTING

THE LONG VIEW - F CLASS

77 COuNTRIeS eVeRY MONTH

NOW Read WORLdWIde BY OVeR 10,000 dedICaTed ReadeRS IN OVeR

77 COuNTRIeS eVeRY MONTH

Webitorial November 2012

1 Click 0.05 Mil Turrets

The Choice of Champions

Vince, Yvonne & Steve

Contents Continued & More...

November 2012 Issue

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

First IPSC Shotgun World Championships Debrecen - Hungary

An Overview of the First IPSC Shotgun World Championships

The road to Debrecen

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

Another nautical theme - this time shooting from a raft

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

Competitor using a XRAIL rotary magazine

The Team Managers Perspective

Preparing to Shoot IPSC Courses of Fire

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

Working as an International Range officer at the ISPC Shotgun World Championships

Sharon Sell (GBR) shooting through apertures

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

Neil Beverley - shooting from a moving boat

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Shoot The Shoot-offs

David Joy mid-stage and concentrating

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

Pete Starley building team spirit with other nations...

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

Tight no-shoots from a narrow booth

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

Some of Team GB relaxing on the range

This was an excellent IPSC match!

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

IPSC Shotgun World Results

IPSC Shotgun World Results Cont...

IPSC Shotgun World Championships 23-30th September 2012

UKBR22 Rimfire Nationals

UKBR22 Rimfire Nationals

UKBR22 Rimfire Nationals

Paul Lane Range - Mirfield - West Yorkshire

The Paul Lane air-rifle range

UKBR22 Rimfire Nationals

Paul Lanes 50/100 yard benchrest range

Forster Co-Ax Press 298.96