Welcome to the 2nd Christmas Edition so much to enjoy!
December 2010 Issue
Event reports Gallery Rifle UKPSA News
F Class and Air Rifle Benchrest Centerfire Benchrest.....
Developments Handloading Bench Quigley Report New Products and lots
more..
one The BIG EuropesGUNMAKERS HALLSMassive 150,000 sq ft indoor
and weatherproof arena with 1000s of guns on show and for sale
ma
ssi All JUM ve th B ha em O H lls ed A - S ar LL ee ea CO we s n
N bs ow CE ite in PT for tw de o tai ls. ..
NE W
THE SHOW THAT EVERYONES TALKING ABOUT...
3
rd Fantastic Year
Largest Retail Shooting & Gun Show
UK TARGET SHOOTING Check out all target disciplines on the
special information stand...
Sporting & competition shotguns, field, target &
tactical rifles, optics, ammunition & reloading, accessories
and much, much more... A real shooting MEGASTORE!
Special
Even more to do, more to see and more to buy!Look out for the
stands which display the Rifle Focus 2011 logo ARMS HERITAGE SHOW
and youll be sure not to miss anything of interest. Hunting &
Stalking Pest control & lamping Safaris Sporting GAMEKEEPING
HALL & Tactical rifles Ammunition & reloading UK Target
Shooting CLAY SHOOTING LINE info area Scopes & optics Clubs
& associations etc etc...
The BIG airgun experience...PRESTIGE AIRGUNS
AIRGUN CITY ARENA
ADVANCED TICKETS - SAVE MONEY and get priority parking with all
advance ticket purchases. Buy online or phone
GUNDOGS & SCURRIES
Top brand manufacturers Major national retailers A huge range of
optics and accessories 10 & 50 meter air rifle range
Manufacturers try before you buy ranges ATEO airgun tuition Save s
on show 2 only offers Clubs, associations & much, more...
Target Shooter
Pay on the day prices (Under 8yrs - Free) One day tickets; Adult
- 15.00. 8 to 15yrs - 7.00 Two day tickets; Adult - 25.00. 8 to
15yrs - 10.00 SHOW TIME Now 8.30 to 4.30 Both daysMain show
sponsor.
NEWARK SHOWGROUND - NEWARK - NOTTS - NG24 2NYOfficially
supported by the
26th & 27th FEBRUARY 2011
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Email - [email protected] Tel +44 (0) 1472 241439
Target Shooter
3
WelcometotheDecemberIssue................TargetShooter22
European F-ClassChampionship byVinceBottomley
Sections6 14 15 Air Rifle Benchrest 37
ShootingSportNewsand ChristmasGadgetsGallery ShootersCalendar
TheDigitalMedia RevolutionforShooting Sportsby CarlBoswelll
47
byCarlBoswell
ShootingBlackPowder PistolbyChrisRisebrook
70 Starting Mini RiflebyMarkCurd
41 9thWorldMilitary&Police SniperChampionship- Part2 by
RobHunter 55 Rimfire&AirRifle BenchrestWorldPostal
Championships byCarlBoswell
75 Handloading
59 66 94
UKPSAShotgunSafety CoursebyTimFinley CarltonMoorTunnel
RangebyNigel Greenaway ThisSmallboreBusiness byDonBrook
Bench byLaurie Holland
87 Commonwealth
Games byJonathanHammond
Association Pages107 NRA 108 110 UKBRA F-Class GalleryRifle
UKPSA Quigley
99 Getting started
in Gallery Rifle - the Ruger 10/22 Part 2 116
byGwynRoberts121
112
4
Target Shooter
Webitorial - December 2010
Maincovershotofthe Editor(s). FClassEuropeansby
CarlBoswellandVinceBottomley DaveLloyd Advertising and Office
Manager email;[email protected] Contributors VinceBottomley
TonySaunders NigelGreenaway LaurieHolland ChrisRisebrookCarlBoswell
DonBrook AlanWhittle GwynRoberts LesHolgate TimFinley MarkCurd
NigelGreeneawayJonathanHammond
InNovember,theCommitteesetuptoreviewfirearmscontrolandlegislationfollowingtheCumbria
shootings,heardevidencefromvariousbodiesincludingthepoliceandthemedicalprofession.
Youcanseeafulltranscriptoftheproceedingsat:http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/
committees-a-z/commons-select/home-affairs-committee/inquiries/firearms-control/
Theoutcomeofthisenquirywillaffectusallinsomewayandtherearesuggestionstoplaceon
yourmedicalrecordsthefactthatyouholdanFAC.Onedownsidetothisisthatmedicalrecords,
althoughsupposedtobeconfidential,willbereadilyaccessiblebyalargenumberofNHSstaff
notgood,especiallyifourpoliceareinterestedinreducingthetheftoflegallyheldfirearms.We
anxiouslywaittoseetheoutcomeandhopethattheactionsofonepersonwillnotagainprejudice
thousandsofinnocents. On a lighter note, as we approach the year
end and look forward to next season, we have the Newark Shooting
Show held the last weekend in February. We have already mentioned
this a
numberoftimesasorganiserJohnBertramhasgenerouslyofferedfreestandspacetoshooting
organisationsandassociations.Wekeepappealingtosuchassociationstogetintouchandlet
usknowyouwillbetherebut,todate,responsehasbeenfeeble.Comeonguyswhatbetter
opportunitytopubliciseyourdisciplineandattractnewmembers.Pleasee-mailmeonvinceb@6ppc.
fsnet.co.ukifyouneedmoreinformation.
Finally,ourDecemberissueisdominatedbyafeatureontheFClassEuropeanChampionships.
This event grows year on year and, with eleven nations represented,
it is the worlds largest F Class competition. Target Shooter had
two of our contributors shooting and bringing you a full
reportdirectfromthefiring-pointwhatothershootingpublicationdoesthat?
EnjoyyourChristmasbreakandcelebratetheNewYearwiththeJanuaryissueofTargetShooter
on-lineJanuary1st2011! Vince,Carl&Andy
[email protected]@targetshooter.co.ukand
[email protected]
CopyrightTrinityDigitalPublishingLtdDisclaimerThewebsitewww.targetshooter.co.ukispartofTargetShootermagazinewithallcontentsofbothelectronicmediacopyrighted.Noreproductionispermittedunless
writtenauthorisationisprovided.
Information,pricesanddataisbelievedtobecorrectatthetimeofpostingontheinternetwhichisonoraroundthe1stofeachmonth.Advertisementsthatarefirearm
relatedarefromcompaniesorindividualsthatTargetShootermagazinebelievesarelicensedtoholdsuchfirearmsandacceptsnoresponsibilityifcompaniesor
individualsarenotsolicensed.
LettersandphotographssubmittedbymembersofthepublictoTargetShootermagazinewillbeacceptedonthebasisthatthewriterhasagreedtopublicationunless
otherwisestated.TargetShootermagazinehasnocontroloverthecontentorownershipofphotographssubmitted.
Theviewsexpressedinthismagazinearenotnecessarilytheviewsofthepublishersandrelatetospecificcircumstanceswithineacharticle.Thesearetheopinions
andexperiencesofwritersusingspecificequipment,firearms,componentsanddataundercontrolledconditions.Informationcontainedintheonlinemagazineoronthe
websiteisintendedtobeusedasaguideonlyandinspecificcircumstancescautionshouldbeused.TargetShooterMagazinedoesnotexceptanyresponsibilityfor
individualsattemptingtorecreatesuchtestingusinganyinformation,dataorothermaterialsinitselectronicpages.PublishersofTargetShootermagazine.
Target Shooter
5
Shooting Sport News & Christmas Gadget Gallery
G
ifts/News item Theresnotmuchinthewayofusefulgifts
thatyoucanbuyashooterforafewpounds withtheexceptionofabookperhaps:
The Book of Rifle AccuracybyTonyBoyer.
NowifyoudontknowwhoTonyBoyeris,then
youprobablywontbeputtingthisbookonyour
Christmaslist,whichisapity,foritisoneofthe very best shooting books
Ive ever read. Tony is the undisputed king of benchrest and has
been for a couple of decades.At long last he haswrittenabook. Tony
has cannily avoided making this an 6 Target Shooter
exclusivebenchrestbook-noticethattheword
benchrestdoesnotappearinthetitle.Hemakes the odd reference to
hunting, though in reality it is aimed squarely at the benchrest
shooter. Of course, the techniques used by benchrest shooters will
improve the performance of any rifle/ammo/shootercombination. We
have had other great benchrest books namely Glen Newicks classic
The Ultimate in Rifle Accuracy (now out of print) and more
recently,MikeRattigansExtreme Rifle Accuracy. Note that - like
Tonys book - neither mention benchrest in the title, thus hopefully
attracting salestoawideraudience.WhenIboughtGlens
booktwentyyearsago,Ididntevenknowwhat
benchrestwasbutafterreadingit,Iwenttothe
USAonabenchrestvoyageofdiscoveryyou couldsayitchangedmylife! If you
dont shoot benchrest, will you learn
anythingfromTonysbook?Yeslots!Willitbe
ofusetoyou?Well,knowledgeisneverwasted
andsadly,goodshootingbooksarefewandfar between. Sorry, no ISBN
number but order here-http://www.rifleaccuracybook.com/
W
ays of the Rifle. 36 The training book for .22 rifle shooting,
published byMECandfilledwith useful information and
photos.Hintsandtricks from top shooters and coaches - from www.
intershoot.co.uk
N
ew stuff At the F Class Europeans, I
pickedupanotherjoystickrestfrom a Polish company called Sanders
Shooting. Its two-column design similartotheSEBNeobutpromises to be
cheaper. It looks good and Im going to use it at the 600 yard
benchrest shoot on Boxing day so I should have a full report for
JanuarysTargetShooter. ThePolishFClassteamwerealready using the
rest but it will be equally of interest to rimfire and centrefire
benchrest shooters. Again, Poland being part of the EEC, importing
shouldbecheaperandeasier.
concentricity gauge, arbour press, scope level
TheSandersaresettomanufactureanumber
etc.Theyhaveawebsiteunderconstructionat of accuracy-related
products including a www.sanders-shooting.com
Target Shooter
7
T
he Fito Big Foot Bi-pod OpsreyRifleshavejusttakendeliveryofa
consignmentofthesuperbFitoBigFootbi-pod,
buttheywonthangaboutforlong.Iveused
one...........!!TheCenshotbi-podweighsjust
19ounces,itshalftheweightoftheSpanish
FitoBigFootbut,at135includingVAT,itsa
greatbi-pod. They are immensely strong with plenty of
adjustment. If your rifle is light enough for a bi-pod weighing
over a kilo, you wont find a better one than the Fito Big Foot.
Check out www.ospreyrifles.com
G
BR EnglandisnowtheUKdistributorfor theSpanishBergarabarrels.
Bergarahaveinvestedahugeamountinto
mechanisingthebarrel-makingprocess,to
permittheeconomyofmassproduction,whilst
maintainingaccuracyandtothatendhave
reliedextensivelyonthelegendaryEdShilen astheirconsultant.
Theproductionprocessisprettystraight
forwardbutexecutedtofinetolerances.The
solidbar,fromwhichthebarrelisformed,is
determinedtobestraighttoadeviationof
lessthanfourthousandthsofaninchbefore
thedeepdrillingoftheborecommences.The
boreisthendiamondhonedtoamirrorfinish,
beforebeingbuttonrifled.Seevideowww.
bergarabarrels.com.Noteconsistencyofthe
bore,whencheckedwithadial-gauge.
Theinternalfinishisverygoodasgoodas
anyIhaveseenwiththebore-scopeandthey
shouldbecomparableinperformancewithany
othermatch-gradebarrelbutforabouthalfthe price.
GBRsfirstshipmentcontainedallstainless,
fluted,barrelsincalibres.22,6mm/.243,
8
Target Shooter
6.5mm,and.30,andallinthemorepopular
fastertwistrates.Thesebarrelsarein
RemingtonVarmint,andStandardSporter
profilesandthenextshipmentwillinclude
chrome-moly,andaselectionofpre-fitbarrels inpopularchamberings.
GBRalsoreleasedtheir100%Britishrifle
actionearlierthisyearandnowofferhomegrownrecoil-lugs,Picatinny-stylescope-rails,
magazinebottom-metalsandcompetition-type trigger-guards.
GBRaimtoeventuallysupplyfromstock,
mostofthecomponentsgunsmithsneedto
facilitatethebuildofprecisionrifles,without
thefrustrationsofimportandatcompetitive prices.
GBRsGrahamGlovercanbecontacted on0160679029or07866830433,orvia
theirweb-site www.GBREngland.co.ukfor
availability,pricesanddetailedspecification.
S
ECRETS OF MENTAL MARKSMANSHIP the authors emphasise, a
law-enforcement tactical team member or soldier invariably finds
his worst ..... How to Fire Perfect Shots By Linda K. Miller and
Keith A. Cunningham training performance is superior to that
producedPublished 2010 by Paladin Press, Boulder,
Colorado.ISBN13:978-1-58160-721-5.Largesize
paperback,208pages.AvailablefromAmazon.com ($34.95), and in the UK
from Prospect Books UK (www.gunbooks.co.uk) catalogue number NB224
at21.75. IfImaskedtorecommendbooksforthecompetition
shooter,itshardtogiveananswerasthereareno right books for everybody
different disciplines
employverydifferentskills-sets.However,onething that every
competition shooter employs whether aware of doing so or not is a
complex package of mental skills and behaviours to process and
co-ordinate the many actions needed to place a
pellet,bulletorshotpatternprecisely. Its not confined to
competitive shooting: the greater the stress on the individual, the
more difficult it becomes to get the mental part right.As
in the stress of a fire-fight, so the higher his game
beforehand, the better the chance of surviving a hostile encounter
in one piece. Big game - even more so dangerous game - hunters face
their own pressuresandpracticaldifficultiestoo. Sports psychology
isnt new, specialist coaches have existed in top level sport and
many books on competitive shooting give it attention Nancy
TompkinsdevotesfourchaptersinProne and Long Range Rifle Shooting
torelatedsubjects.AsfarasI knowthough,Secrets of Mental
Marksmanship isthe onlybookthatdealssolelywiththesubject,moreover
written by a couple whose livelihood involves
improvingprofessionalshootersperformance. So what is mental
marksmanship? The authors describe it as ... the process of
improving the probabilityofhavingaconsistentmentalperformance
underpressureandondemand-adefinitionthatin
isolationtellsusnotalot.Morespecifically,
theydescribeitasbeingabletogetintothe
zone,anidealperformancestatethatsees conscious, subconscious and
self-image (confidence, positive attitudes) and more all come
together in the shooters head to let him/her concentrate on getting
the best result for each shot. Legendary American Marine sniper and
target shooter Carlos Hathcock recognised this state, his term
being in the bubble in which he recounts
losingawarenessoftime,surroundings,rain
orsunonhisbodyandotherpeople,ashe
Target Shooter
9
concentrated100%ontakingtheshot.
Toillustratethezoneandalloweachelementtobe
describedanddiscussed,aformofVenndiagramis
usedthroughoutthebookbasedonthreeoverlapping
ovals,thezonebeingthecentralsharedarea.When
Iopenedthebookandsawvariationsofthisdiagram liberally scattered
around, I was initially turned off. It reminded me of courses and
seminars in a past life where senior management periodically bought
into some new (and usually short-lived)
wonderprocessdreamtupbymanagementconsultantsthat
invariablyemployedjustsuchadiagramasacentral feature.
However,getintothebookandthisfeatureisrelevant
andanessentialtoolusedbytheauthorstodescribe
theelementsofasuccessfulmentalapproachand deal with improving each
in turn.As they say, the
goodnewsisthattheycanhelppeopleidentifysuch
thingsandprovidepointersastohowanindividual addresses them to
improve performance. The bad
newsisthattheshooterneedstotakeitfromthere,
workingonapplyingthem,usuallyhavingtogetlotsof
practiceintoo.Illstressthisisntatheoreticaltreatise,
fullofmanagementspeakandpsychobabble,rather a how to book packed
with useful and practical advice. Moreover, its extensively
illustrated with real-lifeanecdotesandminicase-studiesbothfrom the
authors extensive personal experience as well
asotherswhoareprofessionalfirearmsusersortop competitors.
Readingthebookandthinkingabouthowitrelates
toreal-lifesituations,broughttomindthetwoF/TR
competitors whove been head to head all season
andwhofigureprominentlyinlastmonthsF-Class
EuropeanChampionshipmeetingreportedatlength
elsewhereinthisissue:re-crownedEuropeanF/TR champion Russell
Simmonds and newly garlanded
GBF/TRleaguechampion,AdamBagnall.Anybody whos shot alongside
Russell will understand the
conceptofthezone,asevenbeforehegetsonthe
firingpointhesmovingnoticeablyintoawithdrawn 100% competitive,
match winners mindset and,
onceonthepoint,avoidschatteranddistractions.
Inaninterviewheoncesaidthatinhiseverydaylife, work and sporting
shooting, he constantly studies the wind and his surroundings
judging what the conditionsaredoingandenvisaginghowhewould
copewiththeminalong-rangematch.Ontheface of it,Adam seems more
laid-back, but an incident in this meeting showed his mental
strengths. His disastrousstarttoSaturdaywhenhehadtwomisses would
have destroyed most shooters confidence,
someprobablydroppingoutofthematch.Instead,
hecalmlybore-sightedtherifleandgotonwithhis
firsttocountbutatthecostoffourpointsfromthe
resultingone.Fewwouldhavehadagoodmatch
afterthissetback,butherecoveredrapidlyandonly
twomorepointswerelostovertheremaining14shots
-performanceinlinewiththatofthetopcompetitors. While openly
admitting afterwards to being furious with himself over making such
a serious mistake (changingammunitionbetweenmatches),hedidnt
letitinfluencehissubsequentperformanceinthisor subsequentmatches.
ThebooksauthorsownandruntheMilCunTraining
Centre(http://www.milcun.com)anOntariobased
firearmstrainingfacilityandshootingrangecomplex whose bread and
butter work is police tactical and
marksmanshiptraining,butalsoundertakeworkfor the Canadian military
and others. Linda Miller is a former Canadian international
smallbore shooter who moved into fullbore rifle competition 10 or
so years ago. Keith Cunningham has served in both
theUSandCanadianarmiesretiringfromthelatter as a captain, and
seeing short-range muzzle to
muzzleactionasareconpatrolmemberinVietnam
intheformerduring1971.HewasatopCanadian military shooter in several
disciplines, representing
hiscountryabroadandlikewise,Lindawasinvolved
incoachingandtraininginternationallevelshooters. He is also a
gunsmith who builds top-notch sniper and tactical rifles as well as
target models. They haveanotherbookinprintfromthesamepublishers The
Wind Book for Rifle Shooters (also available
fromProspectBooksUK,cataloguenumberNB214, 18.95) and produce the
EZ-Graf wind plotting
systemanddevicewhichIllreviewinthenextissue.
10
Target Shooter
Target Shooter
11
UK Dis- Christmas Gift Ideas from tributerLyman TriggerSimply
place the gauge on the trigger and pull. Accurately record the
results.Pull Gauge
Tim Hannam
A pocket sized portable scale complete and heavy duty belt clip
with case. (takes AAA batteries) all you have to do is pour,clip
and your ready to shoot
MTM Digital DS750 Scales 34.50
With a sturdy snap latch
MTM Pellet Pouch
Inludes all items for case prep in one deluxe kit
Lyman Universal Case Prep Kit63.70
60.49
34.50
4.46
forLyman 1200 TumblerComes with a built in sifter lid andNew
large square tray accepts primers direct from most modern packages.
New curved re-enforced thumb lever for a comfortable and reliable
operation
The NEW Lee Autoprime
With a gun cleaning kit on top and a rifle maintenance cleaning
stand base, the Range Box Maintenance Centre is the perfect
gift.45.62
MTM Shooting Range Box
57.21
Lee Preci-
19.60
sionA multii-function gun vise that tilts and clamps. For the
shooter who has everything!
Modern Reloading Manual 13.24
Ideal for the beginner. Contains everything you need to know to
reload accurate ammunition. Over 26,000 loads in a new format, with
velocities for starting loads.
Lyman Rotating Gun Vise 75.76
Deluxe Die Sets 36.60
The Deluxe die set includes a collet neck sizing die, full
length sizing die and bullet seating die. This die set gives you
the option to produce neck sized or fully resized ammunition
according to your requirements.
Scopecoat is practical, inexpensive protection for all your
optics while in storage or in use Scopecoat is essential scope
protection. Prices starting from 12.26
Tel: 01977 681639 email: [email protected] Fax: 01977
684272Peckfield Lodge, Great North Road,12 Target Shooter
www.timhannam.com
A
nschutz Pellet Safety Box 3.70. A god-send for anyone who has
ever opened their shooting bag or pocket to find their tin of
pellets has opened and spilled the contents inside!
Fromwww.intershoot.co.uk
S
CATT Trainer 890 If you feel like splashing out the SCATT system
if the ultimate training tool for rifle or pistol. Laser sensors
show your faults and where you can improve. Fromwww.
intershoot.co.uk
A A
nschutz Trigger Glove Short The ahg-trigger glove SHORT improves
the grip between stock and hand. Using Mesh material and wind
stopper fleece in the back of the hand, an even temperature
balance is achieved. The palm of the hand is made from soft and
cuddly Alcantex material with silicone burling to increase the grip
and still preserve the feeling on the stock. Material: 50 %
Polyester, 25 % Polyamide, 25 % Polyurethane contact your local
dealer for prices
nschutz Shooting jacket X-DRY Ventilation - suede leather on the
front left part as well as Top Grip pad on the supporting arm
improves the grip when in standing position - X-DRY Ventilation
material in the back improves air circulation and avoids heat
accumulation inside the jacket; the inner lining on these parts is
perforated in order to optimize temperature compensation - soft
leather with air holes as well as 2 shoulder straps reduce material
bulges when in prone position and guarantee best possible fit of
the hook butt in the shoulder - the sling attachment has numerous
holes and can thus be adjusted individually in height and sideways
- individual fit by help of flat aluminum buttons - stretch
material on the upper left arm provides more flexibility of the
supporting arm - inner lining is made from perforated material for
better air compensationMaterial: 70 % canvas, 16 % leather, 3 %
PES, 6 % PAD, 5 % PVC contact your local dealer for prices
Target Shooter
13
Calendarofeventsoverthenextfewmonths4 & 11 Dec Day 4 and Day
5 of Probationary MembersCoursethatstartedon6Nov(National
ShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)
Thiscourseisprimarilyacourseinsafehandling and provides an
introduction to Target Rifle, Gallery Rifle and Black Powder
Pistol. Each courseconsistsoffiveseparatelessons.Course date to be
allocated once entry conditions are fulfilled.
http://www.nsc-bisley.co.uk/common/
asp/courses/courses.asp?site=NSC ContactHeatherWebbviatheNRA 4 Dec
Gallery Rifle Xmas Shoot and Social
(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley) Come to the final gathering of
2010 for the Gallery Rifle community! This festive event has
plentyofshooting-withatwist-andasplendid
dinnerandgrandprizegivingthathasneverfailed toimpress!
ContactBrianThomasviatheNRA 5
DecCivilianServiceRiflecompetition(National Shooting Centre (NSC),
Bisley) Civilian Service Riflecompetitionsareheldthroughouttheyear.
ContactMarkBradleyforfurtherinformationvia theNRA 5
Dec2010Plymouth&DistrictSBRL 2x50mTel:01752406287
Email:[email protected]
Ifyourcluborassociationhaseventsyouwanttopubliciseherethenemailus.
5 Dec ScottishPA 10mpistolGP2 FairlieQuayMarina,Fairli,KA290AS
Tel:01475560055 Email:[email protected]
Website:http://www.scottishpistolassociation. co.uk/ 11 Dec NRA
Shooting Club Xmas Shoot (NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley) NRA
Shooting Club Xmas Shoot. Targets have beenbookedonMelville. Open
to all full members of the NRA who have completed and returned the
registration form which is available by clicking on the link below.
If you would like to attend you must book in at least a week in
advance by contacting Heather Webb.ContactCharlesPerryviatheNRA 18
Dec HighpowerRifleCompetition(National ShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)
ContactMarkBradleyviatheNRA
Welcome to GT Shooting. The premier shooting sports shop in
Surrey
Fullbore & .22LR Black Power Air Rifles and Pistols Used
rifles and PistolsOur premises are located at
Optics Ammunition Reloading equipment and more...
53 Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5 2RB
www.gtshooting.co.uk Tel: 020 8660 6843 Fax: 020 8660 684314
We are conveniently situated near the M23 & M25. Target
Shooter
Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday 10.00am - 5.30pm
The Digital Media Revolution for Shooting Sports -
byCarlBoswellWow! The last six months have really seen massive
developments in both computer
softwareandhardware.AsIwritethisarticleon
myiPad,Iamreviewinganumberofapplications
(apps)foruseonthisamazingmachine.Weare coming up to Christmas so a
shooting-related appcouldmakeaninterestinggift.
TheiPad-acleverextensionoftheiPhone-is
theproductthatApplesaywehavebeenwaiting
foralongtime!SomesayitsjustalargeiPhone
butitsalotclevererthanthat!Sincewelaunched
TargetShootermagazine,weknewthatsooner
orlaterthatatablettypeofcomputerwouldnot
befaraway.Criticsintheshootingpresspanned
TargetShooterassomethingofafad-adigital
anomalythatwouldnotlast.Well,quiteafewof these magazines have had
to take the plunge andgodigitalsogofigurewhogotitright!Not
surprisingly however, we are still the only free
on-lineshootingmagazine. ComingbacktotheiPad-itsveryportable,fast
and can have 3G connectivity - although Wi-fi
ismorethansuitablegiventhehotspotsaround this country, Europe and
the rest of the world. Plusthisishowmosthouseholdbroadbandnow
works,soyoucanuseitanywhereinthehome.
Thesharpnessofthescreenissecondtonone, internet access is fast and
sharp via the wi-fi connection,theabilitytohavespecialisedapps
isamazing(wewillgetontothesesoon)plusit
knocksallnetbooksofftheshelfforfunctionality
-justafewofitsfeatures.Obviouslyyoucantell
IamaconvertbutthesmalleriPhoneisalmost
asgoodifyouwantsomethingmorecompact. The one drawback to using the
iPad is the fact that like all Apple computers, it does not enable
flash products or web content. This is a massive drawback to the
whole technology communityandtousatTargetShooter,asour magazine is
basically run using flash as the Target Shooter 15
basis for the magazine product. However, we
usepdfversionsofthemagazineforiPadand
otherApplecomputers,asitislikeotherslide
magazineviewersdevelopedspecificallyforthe
iPadwhenusedwithanappcalledGoodreader
-again,morelater.But,enoughofthecomputer 16 Target Shooter
tech-geekstufffornow.Wearehopingsoonto
remedytheflip-bookissuefortheiPadwithout theuseofspecialisedapps.
Books, books and more books So lets review a few of the things we
can do
being updated all the time, with some of next years issues
coming online now. Someofthetitlescurrently onofferare:
Professional Target ShootersDiary&Journal I l l u s t r a t i v
e Marksmanship Training Manual The Black Powder CartridgeNews
withtheiPadwhichwillbeofusetothetarget GunDigest2011 shooting
community. As we are coming up to TheGunDigestBookofTheAR-15
Christmas, there is nothing better than a good
GunDigestBookofthe.22Rifle booktokeepyoubusyifyouareconfinedtothe
houseovertheholidayperiod.TheAmazonapp
BarnesandNoble,aswellasGooglee-books, introduces theKindle digital
bookresourcesto also have this facility available for mobile
theiPad.Thisisbrilliantasitmeansthatallthe downloads with a similar
range of books KindledigitalbooksbeingsoldonAmazonare
available.BothhaveappsfortheiPadoriPhone nowavailabletoyou.
orevenotherbrandedsmartphones.Notallare
Tobehonesttheyarefarbetterthantherange
ofdigitalbooksforenthusiastsoftargetshooting via Apples iBook
facility. They are generally cheaper too! Its just like buying
products on Amazonnormally,soifyouhavedonethisbefore its a simple
process. The choice of books is
thesametitlesoitmaybeworthhavingalook
ontheirwebsitesaswelltoseewhatisavailable.
Dorememberthee-bookisstillrelativelynew,
withnoclearwinneroftheformatwars.Clearly,
alargerinventoryofbooksandevenmagazines
willdevelopoverthenextyearorso.
Target Shooter
17
Extending on from this, a nice thing about the net is the free
resources in a number of formats,rangingfromthespecialistKindleand
flash-basedmagazines,tothestandardpdftype
offilethatcanbesavedasalibraryusingapdf
viewerliketheGoodreaderapp.(Thisisthepdf viewer we recommend to
view and store your copiesofTargetShootermagazineonyouriPad
asimplybrilliantappforabout1.50).
ThepositivethingabouttheiPadisthatallyour
shooting-relatedresourcesareallinoneplace,
onanexcellentviewer,thatlooksandfeelsnot
unlikeaFilofax.Therearelotsofresourcesand
facilitiesoutthere,bothfreeandpaidfor. Lastly, for this part, 20th
Century Small Arms is a nice little reference resource with lots of
pictures, information and resources as a stand-alone app instead of
a book. The price for this is very cheap when you consider the
alternativeCDandpaperalternatives-see last page for screen
shot.
out. We have seen a few in Target Shooter recently for the
iPhone and its big brother the iPad.
ThefirstoneonofferforallISSFshootersout
thereistheISSFapp-funnilyenough!Thisis
aniceproductthatreallyjustlinkstotheofficial ISSF website. In
common with most of these typesofapps,itfunctionswellforwhatitdoes
andallowstheusertogodirectlytotheresources
theywouldliketoview.Itsactuallydesignedfor
theiPhonebutworksontheiPadwithalower
resolution.ThereareotherappsundertheISSF banner, which are training
aids for movement, sequence and timed shooting. Worth having a
look.
ShootingLogisexactlywhatitsay-aproduct
thatallowstheusertorecordtheirprogressin a variety of shooting
sports under the heading of Prone, Kneeling, Standing and Sitting.
So basically covering a multitude of sins and everything you would
shoot. This again is an iPhone app but works just as well on the
iPad. The obvious advantage of having it on Target shooting related
apps theiPhoneistheportability,asitisjustlikean Moving towards this
festive season, I have electronicnotebookthatsthethingIlikeabout
lookedforafewshooting-specificappsoverthe modern phones - they are
a diary, notebook, lastfewmonthsasnumberhaverecentlycome
computer,etc).Theproductissimpletouseand 18 Target Shooter
Remote PC as seen on the iPad
easytoaccess,puttingindatesandinformation
-suchasscores,etc.Inessenceitisanotebook and has a simple approach
but as it is free, youcannotarguewiththefactthatitisnotthat
sophisticated. weeks.WhatIwouldlikeseeisagoodballistics calculator
and information app for both rimfire
andairrifle,asthesearesomeofthemostwidely
usedsportingfirearmsintheworldbutgenerally neglected by the
ballistics programmers. Something like the Winchester Ballistics
app but for rimfire and/or air rifle, that has facilities
toadddatalikewind-drift,temperature,incline,
distance,etc.Thiscoupledwithavelocitydata calculator would be a
very useful tool indeed. Anybuddingappwriterouttherewanttogiveit
atry?
ShootingDiaryisapaidforalternativetotheone mentioned above but
far more sophisticated. This app is designed for a number of mobile
devices,includingtheiPad.Itisaninexpensive app designed for ISSF
shooters and it would servicemostoftheirneedsforrecordingtraining
andcompetitionshooting.Iusethisonemyself as it allows me to record
three target scores, Additional apps addingnotesandthoughts,etc. A
number of others apps I personally like and find useful, especially
on my phone, are the Shot Plot is a further development and more
thermometer,truelevel(veryhandy),metoffice expensive
shot-assessment and plot-manager. (so you can see what is coming -
I found this So it depends what you want. Although most
handyintheCzechRepublicearlierthisyear), apps are either free or up
to the five-pound units conversion, clinometer and a number of
mark, you can end up buying a lot and using other calculation
utilities. The only one I have none. So look and decide what you
need for notbeensuccessfulwithisagoodanemometer, your particular
sport. There are usually review
astheyhavejustnotworked!However,afew
pagestolookatbeforeyoucommittobuy. more have recently come out, so
I might treat There a variety of other apps, such as the myself!
ballistics calculators we have seen reviewed
Anotherniceapp,ifyouareusingaPCbased
inTargetShooteroverthelastfewmonthsand
computerisRemotePC.Thewifiversionisfree
thereareothersbeingreleasedeverycoupleof
-nice!ThisallowsyoutoworkonyourPCvia Target Shooter 19
theiPadthroughthewifiinyourhome.(There viewingintheNewYear.) is
a version that allows you to work over the Lastly, Guns &Ammo
Point of Impact really is InternetbutIbelievethiscosts).
justanicelittlegameforabitoffunwhenyou have five minutes. I
download this just for a Now we are getting into geek-speak again
so laughanditisfun.Thislastonewasinfactfree, apologies but the app
allows you to interface likeafewoftheothersmentionedabove.Like with
your PC via the desktop, so your PC
allappstheycanbeboughtbyyouorgifted,so
desktopasyounormallyseeitappearsonyour
youcanevenaskforthemforaspecialdaythat iPad. Cool, but for what
purpose? Well it will iscomingsoon.Forthedadsoutthereithasto allow
you to work from your bed, your loading bebetterthansocks! room,
your living room or anywhere in your
homebutitisalsoaverygoodwaytoaccess What of the future?
flash-basedproductsfromyouriPad.YesIknow For those of you without
such a digital device, flashdoesnotworkontheiPadbutitisnt-its
dowatchoutintheNewYearfortheBlackberry working on the PC and you
are viewing it and Playbook. Unlike other Smart products that
interactingwithinthesamewayyouwouldfrom have come out, this will
probably not be on a yournormalcomputer. contract and ready for
direct purchase like the Depending on your wi fi speed, viewing is
iPad. It is smaller than the iPad but some of
excellentandIhaveuploadedthismonthsTarget the specifications are
supposed to be better. ShooterviamyiPadasIcanbeanywhereinthe
Plusitwillbeflashenabled.(IthasanAndroid
housetodothis-ifyougetmydrift!Itseasyto operating system, and
internet viewing will be setup,justcreatinganaccount,soyoudonot
justlikeyourPC). needtobeacomputerwizardtoworkthisone.
So,ifyouifyouwanttoviewTargetShooteras I have seen the recently
launched Galaxy Tab adigitalflipbookontheiPad,nowyoucan.(We
butonlytouseitforabouttwentyminuteswhile
hopetobringyoumorenewsoniPadmagazine- shopping. It is a lot smaller
than the iPad, but has a lot of great features.Although a phone
aswell,itcanbeboughtoffcontract?!TheTab
hasalsohaditspricereducedatmostretailers by about 100 to 449 at the
time of going to print. It is 3G, but this can be expensive to
run,wi-fiismorethanadequate.TheGalaxyTab, like the Blackberry
Playbook, will have some goodsellingpointsbutthepriceisthekeything
when compared to the iPads starting price of
429,althoughtheyhavebetterspecifications thanthebasiciPad!! I am
guessing prices might even go lower to helpcompeteagainsttheiPad!!
TheAndroidoperatingsystemhasalotmoreof
themarketthanAppleandtherearethousands
ofappsoutthereforbothplatforms. If I had my choice I would go for
an android system at this time, but would want it with a
slightlybiggerscreen.Ihopetoreviewoneof
thesenewproductsintheNewYear.Forthose
onthecheap,PCWorlddoselltheAdventVega
InternetTablet-Androidformat-at249.Iam
notsurehowgoodthisis,butIguessyouget whatyoupayfor!! Samsung Have a
great Christmas and lets see what Galaxy
technologytheNewYearbringsus........ Tab 20 Target Shooter
Kelbly 179mmX130mm
6/16/10
7:16 AM
Page 1
Introducing Kelblys Tactical Rifles. bringing benchrest
precision to the tactical market. With loads of options to choose
from, and pricing that shatters the competitors.
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.
Target Shooter
21
The 2010 European F Class Championships sponsored by Tim Hannam
By Vince BottomleyForthis,thethirdEuropeanFClassChampionships
atBisleyRanges,wewerefortunatetohavesome
verygeneroussponsorship,notonlyfromourtitle
sponsorTimHannambutalsofromRUAG,who provided us with a Nightforce
scope, Sightron who donated two scopes, Aimfield Sports for
shootingmatsanddrag-bagsandFoxFirearms, Osprey Rifles and Dolphin
Gun Company who assisted with printing, administration and other
ancillarycosts. Itsmarvelloustofinallyseethetradebecoming
involvedwithoursportandlongmayitcontinue. In turn, we will
endeavour to provide sponsors
withasmuchpublicityandexposureaspossible and we hope that even more
trade members will come on-board in 2011. This years trade show was
a welcome addition and proved very popular, particularly with
overseas competitors, many of whom seized the opportunity to stock
up on consumables before making the journey
home.Wethankyouall,mostsincerelyforyour contribution and look
forward to your continued support and welcoming new sponsors for
next yearsevent. In the true spirit of shooting and the F Class
Association,IshouldalsomentionthatUkrainian shooter Dmytro Hrymaluk
gave two prizes of hunting trips to the Ukraine to the winners of
Open and F/TR Classes a very generous gesture. In addition, our
very own David Kent donated a magnificent silver cup to the winners
oftheTeamsevent. History The GB F ClassAssociation was founded on a
coldmorninginNovember2005atBisleyranges.
AprogrammeofLeagueshootsatthreevenues
throughoutGreatBritainfollowedin2006withall shooting contested at
long range from 800 to
1000yards.AseparatedivisionfortheF/TRClass
Bisley is resplendent in her autumn colours and the stage is set
for the biggest F Class shoot in the world
22
Target Shooter
Organiser, Mik Maksimovic oversees the presentation of awards in
the trade tent a welcome new feature this
yearwasincludedin2007andthesetwoClassesare now equally supported
numbers-wise with well over100shooterstakingpartintheLeagueevery
year. ThefinalshootoftheLeagueistraditionallyheld
atBisleyandisdubbedTheAutumnChallenge.
Afewcontinentalshooters,mainlyfromGermany and Holland started
tojoin us, thentheFrench,
theSpanish,theScandinavians,theUkrainians, the Poles......... the
Autumn Challenge became The Europeans and in three short years it
has evolvedintothelargestFClassshootanywhere
intheworldwith160shootersfromelevennations enteredinthisyearsevent.
With our regular scribe Laurie Holland and our
ownVinceBottomleytakingpart,Target Shooter can bring you the full
inside story of the 2010 Europeans. In addition, we have attempted
to photograph every shooter and there are plenty of photographs on
the Photobucket website at
http://s912.photobucket.com/home/laurieh2
Aneventofthissizeinvolvesmassiveorganisation and commitment but,
inevitably, it comes down toonemantooverseeandco-ordinate(i.e.kick
ass)andthatmanisMikMaksimovic,founderof the GB F ClassAssociation
and member of the all-conquering2009GBTeamwhowontheGold
MedalatBisley,soundlybeatingtheAmericans.
shooterandfortunatelyhesomehowmanagesto squeeze in a shoot as well
as carrying out his many duties as organiser. For the record, Mik
placedacreditableeleventhinthisyearsOpen category. Before we come
to the competition itself you,
likeme,mightbewonderingjustwhatisinvolved
runninganeventofthissize?IllletMiktellusin
hisownwords..........
Planning & running the Europeans
WheredoIstart?Well,wehavealreadybooked the ranges and the markers
for 2011, spoken totheRangeOfficersandotherstaffinvolvedto
ensurethattheyarehappytohelpnextyear,so
thatisclearlyoneofthefirstjobs-assoonaswe
havethedateoftheshootconfirmed.
Thenextjobistogothroughthelargenumberof
e-mailsIreceivefromtheGBFClassCommittee to see what, if anything,
we can do to improve things for the following year. The event gets
biggereveryyearandwemustplanaroundthe
expectedgrowthtoensurethatwehaveenough target space and markers.
Then, in the week following the event, we start organising all the
otherbitsthatgowithit. Its essential to get the entry forms out as
soon aspossible,sothisisoneofthefirstjobs,plusall
theotherpaperwork-whichnooneeverbothers
MikisalsoanNRATrusteeandsitsontheNRA to read! We must contact our
growing number Shooting Committee as F Class representative. of
overseas visitors regarding their UK Firearm Needless to say, Mik
is an avid long-range Permits and we then field hundreds of
e-mails
Target Shooter
23
Karens stats caravan always popular with competitors
regarding permits, accommodation, training
days,reloadingcomponentsetc.etc.etc. This year we had great support
from the trade (as Vince has outlined previously) with some new
sponsors on-board. All sponsors must be contacted and their
involvement noted and agreed and of course letters of gratitude
sent, followingtheevent. I am fortunate thatIam a Bisley-based
shooter andfairlywellknownonCamp,sonormallyatrip round the clubs
etc. manages to sort out most
things-mainlymakingthemawarethattheywill
bebusyontheweekendoftheEuropeans.Idid
makeoneboo-boothisyearandforgottoinform the restaurant in the clay
shooting pavilion whichisclosesttoStickledownrangeandsovery
popularwithcompetitors-hencetheyranoutof
foodso,forthosewhowenthungry,Iapologise! In the run up to the
event, things naturally get
chaotic-frome-mailsandcallsaskingHowmany
roundsdoIneed?(Please,readthepaperwork
withtheentryform!)toAnyideawhattheweather is going to be like? and
other questions which areclearlyoutsidemyfieldofknowledge!
Thenallthepaperworkhastobeprinted,collated and transported to
Bisley. This was more involvedthisyearaswedecidedtoissuesome
rathersmartgoodybagstoallcompetitors.The bags themselves had to be
chosen and printed
with sponsors logos; score-cards were also sponsored and
sponsors literature had to be assembled and placed in the bags all
160 of em - together with last-minute instructions and
essentialinformation. Finally,awardsandmedalsmustbepurchasedand
engravedandwealwaystryandbooksomeone
famoustogiveouttheprizesbutinevitablyend up with a member of the
NRA hierarchy! For somereason,weneverseemtogetareplyfrom
VictoriaBeckhamorSeanConnerybutthankfully Iain Robertson, Chairman
of the NRA Shooting Committee,stepped-intohelpusoutandthough
notasprettyasourfirstchoice,heischeapand
availableanddidafinejobontheday!
Thewholethingtakesmonthsoforganisingand
Iliketospendthewholeoftheweekbeforethe
eventbasedatBisley.Thisenablesmetoensure
thateverythingishappeningasitshouldandto
welcomeandorganisesomead-hocshootingfor
thoseoverseascompetitorswhoalsochooseto arriveaweekearly!
Oncewehavegotthroughtheofficialpracticeday (Thursday) and everyone
has started shooting, things tend to get a little easier. We still
get asked lots of really important questions though, like Any idea
what the winds going to be like tomorrow? and Did anyone else have
vertical problems?OrevenDoyouthinkwecouldstart
24
Target Shooter
More tea Grommit? The girls did a fantastic job and also boosted
Association funds
alittlelatertomorrowasmywifewantsmetotake
hertotheshopsfirst?Fortunately,wehavevery
fewprotestsorincidentstodealwithasourChief Range Officer and his
crew are able to handle mostofthemon-range.Basicallyyouarewrong
unless you can convince him otherwise! A fair
system,whichwedontintendtochange. Its not until the very last
detail of the match is down and shooting that I can relax its
nearly over!Invariably,withthepressureoff,Ialways
tendtoshootmybestonthelastdetail.Stats.is
downtoBisleysKarenRobertson,editorofthe
NRAjournal,whoisensconcedinatinycaravan near the clock tower. Karen
has the results out PDQ soon after each match finishes, so thats
easyforme-justleaveKarentoit,passingher
theoddpizzaunderthedoor,whichofcoursewe
keeplocked!WetellKarenthisistostoppeople
botheringher,littledoessheknow..............
Foroursocialevening,ontheSaturday,wehad
achangethisyearfromtheLondon&Middlesex,
andwenttotheArmyTargetRifleClubhousefora
hotbuffetandafewdrinks.Itwasextremelygood and there were two
choices - curry or no curry! We had omitted to cater for our
vegetarian and non-curryeatingmemberbutfornextyearhewill
haveathirdchoice-probablysalad!Toround-off
theevening,wehadourveryownfireworkdisplay
onStickledownitwasBonfireNightafterall!
Sundaymorning-thefinaldayandnowonlythe Teams Match to go. That
falls into place fairly easily and just sort of happens without
much inputfromme,asbynoweveryoneknowswhats expected of them but I
will let Laurie Holland expandonthataspect.
Sothereyouhaveitinanutshell,whatittakes to organise a major F Class
Event. I will finish bysayingabigthank-youtoeveryoneinvolved
competitors, helpers and the tea ladies - in
makingittheshootingandsocialeventoftheF
Classyear.Seeyouallforthestartofnextseason atDiggleinApril. The
competition This year, Laurie Holland took the brave step to shoot
his 223 F Class rifle in the biggest shoot of the year he was the
only one to use such a tiny calibre! Laurie was rewarded with a
fantastic 17th place in F/TR and also won Silver as a member of the
GB F /TR B Team. As if that wasnt enough, he also won the draw for
the Nightforce scope donated by RUAG UK! But, Ill let Laurie tell
you the story of the shoot in his own words:
TheindividualEuropeanChampionshipmatches saw five stages, one at
800, and two each at 900and1000yards.Withthethousand-yarders
involving20roundsbutallothers15,thelongest range matches had an
enhanced influence on
Target Shooter
25
Russell Simmonds on his way to his second European F/TR
Championship
overallplacings,aswellasprovidingthehardest challenge. Team
matches comprised 30 score rounds split between 900 and 1000 yards.
While domestic GBFCA League match entries have seen a growing bias
to F/TR, the Europeans restored
Openclasssnumericprimacywith87Opento
64F/TRcompetitors,squaddedintothreerelays
-twodedicatedtoasingleclassandonemixed. Shooting partners,
allocated targets and the relaysshootingorderchangedwitheachmatch.
Weather forecasts earlier in the week were unsettling but, in the
event, only the Thursday practicesessionssawverystrongwinds.Friday
started with medium strength south-westerlies
(fromaround5oclockontherange)thatbecame
lighterandmovedaroundtonorthtonorth-west over succeeding days,
becoming an almost fishtailing headwind on Saturday afternoon just
to make conditions really interesting. Friday produced the only
heavy rain of the meeting, fortunately only in the morning and
affecting Match1alone. So, to the matches! Ill try to give a
personal viewasanF/TRcompetitoraswellasreporton the overall picture
and what the real hotshots were doing. As noted, Match 1 (900
yards) on the Friday morning was weather affected. The
maingroupofOpencompetitiors,whoshotfirst,
largelyescapedthewetbutatthecostofsuffering
quitestrongandvariablewindsfromfiveoclock.
Thesecondrelay(F/TR)beganindrizzleandlight
rainturningintoadownpourhalfwaythroughand
thethird(mixed)relayprobablygottheleastbad
conditionswithdrizzledyingawayandlittlewind. Coincidentally or
otherwise, F/TR stage winner Andrew Burgess was on this relay,
although I holdanybodywhoscores73.6vwitha.308atthis distance in the
greatest respect irrespective of
conditions!InOpen,onlyGrantTaylormanaged
toholditalltogetherinthetrickyquarteringwind
with75.8vaheadofnolessthan13competitors
on74ledbyGregThompsonwith10Vs! For the unfortunates (including me)
on Relay 2, there were serious difficulties in seeing the
targets,aswellastheusualstruggletokeepthe rain out of the action
and the ammunition dry. Windreadingwasntanissuetheflagswereall but
invisible but fortunately the wind apparently steadied during the
rain. Despite the dire conditions, some good scores were still
posted on the relay with Steve Donaldson producing
71.3vforsecondstageplace,andAdamBagnall leading a pack of shooters
scoring 70 with Vcountofeight.Ithoughtmy69.3vheroicgiven
theconditions,butthatwasonlygoodenoughfor 12thplace. Match 2, 20
shots at 1000, had much better
visibilityandtemperaturesbutsufferedfromthat pesky quartering left
wind that Bisley regulars assuremeisdifficult.Thereweresomedramatic
changesinindividualfortunes,especiallyinOpen
wherethetopthreerosefromlowlypositionsin Match 1, winner Tony Marsh
on 97.6v moving up no less than 68 places and runners-up Les
Bacon(96.3v)andAdamBrough(95.9v)46and
26
Target Shooter
Target Shooter scribe Laurie Holland was the only F/TR shooter
to use the 223 could his performance inspire a few more?
49respectively. Theconditionsalsoresultedinsomeimpressive falls
for Match 1 stars, with David Kent, David Lloyd and Damien Meehan
slipping down the leader board. However, at the close of play on
day one, Grant Taylor had put in two excellent
performancestoleadthefieldon170.13vhaving
onlydroppedfivepointsoutofapossible175.35v,
aheadofAndyWyspianskion169.11v,withGreg Thompson and Anthony Dunne
down a single pointonhim. MovingontoF/TRat1000yards,thetrickywind
conditions reduced the top scores rather more than in Open, but
John Cross still took the match cleanly with a superb 94.8 three
points clearofVinceBottomleyandputtinghimsecond
equalwithAdamBagnall(90.8v)ontheovernight break, the pair sharing
an aggregate score of 160.11v. However, the man of the moment was
Vincewholedtheclasson161.9vafterputtingin
twoexcellentperformancesof70.3vand91.6v. What about the reigning
World and European F/TR Champion, Russell Simmonds? He was
apparently a bit off his stroke on an aggregate
157.8vbut,comingupfrombehindasthefinishing line approaches, is a
Simmonds speciality - to borrowahorseracinganalogy.
Me?ThiswindconditionismyBisleybtenoire
andIhadaseriesofline-cutterthreesmid-match
toendupon77.3vin39thplace.Minorconsolations were some of the good
shooters keeping me companyinthehigh-70s,low80sbracket,butthe .223s
elevations remained superb throughout thematch.
nevershotatBisleyinthiscondition,butreckoned it had to be an
improvement, this proving so to my relief! It was never
particularly strong, but continued to veer round becoming a
fishtailing nearheadwindbyafternooneasilyabletotake
pointsaway,especiallyinF/TRat900and1000 yards.
Match3(800yards)startedearlywithrelatively light winds and produced
high scores as youd expectatthislevelofcompetition.Openproduced
19(yes,thatsright,NINETEEN!)possibleswith Jo Cleave and Maurice
Harnby sharing 10 Vs, Jo getting the stage medal on countback; Mark
Daishtheotherpodium-place,aVbehind.The overnight leaders had
apparently done poorly if youonlylookedattheirmatchpositionsbutGreg
Thompsonwasoneofthosetocleanthestage,
andMessrsTaylorandDunnehadonlydropped
onepointeach,barelyaffectingoverallpositions.
F/TRsawsomegoodscorestoo,butLesDawson
alonecleanedthismatchon75.9vaheadofseven
competitorson74ledbyPaulHarkinswhoalso shot 9 Vs fending off
Russell Simmonds on 7. Othernotableperformanceswere74sfromquiet
spoken Irishman and GB-FCA League regular
LiamFenlon,visitorMaksimSemonovykh,John
SnellinandlastyearsoveralllowestplacedF/TR entrant,NickSteadman.
OvernightleaderVinceBottomleywasoneofthe dozen on 73, still holding
onto the overall lead withhisclosestrivalAdamBagnallhavinghada
disastroustimecausedbyanammunitionchange,
resultingintwomissedsightersandaoneforhis
firstscoreshotafterboresightingtherifle69.2v. Saturday dawned
colder and brighter, the wind Ohdear!Ohdear!JohnCrosshaddroppedafew
havingmovedtothe10or11oclockposition.Id
pointstooandwasdownin33rdmatchplaceon
Target Shooter
27
Grant Taylor, GBFCA Champion and European Champion shooting his
home-smithed BAT in 284 Shehane
71.5vastonishinggiventhatF/TRscorefor15
at800yardswouldalmostcertainlyhavegivena
toptenplaceaseasonortwoback!Ishot72.7v
for22nd,reasonablebutnothinglikegoodenough for 800yd in this
company, nevertheless very happytogettheimprovementoverMatch2.
Match4,thesecond900yardscompetitionofthe meeting, saw unusually
pleasant conditions for November,butmanycompetitorswillremember
itforalightbutconstantlyshiftingwindfrom1011oclock.InOpen,GrantTayloragaincleaned
thestageon75.6v,butlostthewinnersmedalto
DanBroughbyasingleV,theonlyothershooter
withapossible.Scoresweregenerallyapoint
ortwodownonthepreviousdays900yardevent
withonlyfour74s,ledbyDavidKentoneightVs
aheadofMarkDaish,AdamBroughandGerman visitorDetlefWulff.
Ofthepreviousdaystopperformers,LesBacon
wasstillinthegroovewith73.7v,butTonyMarsh was suffering on
71.3v. Russell Simmonds was back on form in F/TR and metaphorically
steamingdowntheoutsideofthefield,his74.7v right up with the top
Open scores and a full three points clear of challenger Adam
Bagnall andGermanshooterHermannScherf.Hermann
shootsanalmostentirelyhome-maderiflewhose appearance is, shall we
say unusual. Andrew Burgesson70.7vledalargegroupwith69sand
70s,myscorefallingintothelowercategory.
ButwherewasovernightleaderVinceBottomley? It was his turn to have a
poor match ending up in 27th place on 66.3v, the loss of five
points to Adam and nine to Russell a serious setback.
MuttersstartedinF/TRofpointslosttoelevation shifts caused by wind
strength variations which
weredifficulttospotontheshallowflagangles,a
problemthatwastointensifyat1000yards.
Stickledowns 800 yard firing-point on Saturday morning 28 Target
Shooter
Team Germanys plotter
Match 5, a 2+20 at 1000 yards, was to be the
topplacesdeciderinbothcategorieswiththree shooters in each still
capable of taking the top slot.InF/TR,RussellSimmondswassettingthe
paceagainandrarelysuccumbstopressure,but
evensoAdamBagnallandVinceBottomleywere
stillintheraceeveniftheyeachneededtopull
outsixextrapointsovertheirarchrival,abigbut notimpossiblechallenge.
The match started straight after the midday
breakat1.30pmsharpingoodlight,comfortable
temperaturesandalightfishtailingheadwindthe
mainF/TRrelayfirstontheline.AdamandVince
respondedmagnificentlytakingfirstandsecond
placesonsuperbscoresof95and94respectively,
bothwithfiveVsaheadofRussell,butnotby
enough!Hissixthplaceon91.5vgavehimtheF/
TREuropeanchampionshiptitlebyasinglepoint
overAdam,andtwooverVince.Itwasadoubly
bitterdisappointmentforthelatterasnotonlyhad
amajoreventwinslippedfromhisgrasp,butthe
nearcertaintyofleavingBisleywithastagemedal for that impressive 94
in Match 5 evaporated on discovering Adam had done the seemingly
impossibletoscoreanextrapoint.(GaryCousins
hadmatchedhis94.5vtoo,butlostsecondplace oncountback.) In case
anybody thinks conditions must have been easy, many good F/TR
shooters were downinthemid80sonthisrelay.Iwasdelighted
toget90.5vand8thplacewiththe.223,asingle marginal three spoiling an
otherwise excellent shoot.So,inF/TRthatwasit,RussellSimmonds
EuropeanF/TRChampionforthesecondyearin a row,Adam and Vince barely
behind in one of the closest class finishes of the year. Northern
shooterStephenLynchwasfourthafterfivereally solid performances, the
almost equally reliable AndrewBurgessjustbehindinfifth. So, that
leaves Open class and the battle for the 2010 F-Class European
championship, the keycontendersshootingonthelastrelayofthe meeting
in deteriorating light and conditions.As in F/TR there was a clear
pre-match aggregate leader,GrantTaylor,butDanBroughwouldtake
thetopslotifheovertookGrantbyfourormore points and Andy Wyspianski
could do it with a marginoffive. None took the top final match
positions, these going to Horst Mitera with a phenomenal 99.8v
Target Shooter
29
Rutland Cup winners: the Sixes - Martin Miles, Russ Gall, their
coach and Swedes Robert Persson and Christer Jacobssonahead of Jim
de Kort on 98.5v. Peter Hunt was
thirdonagreat97.7vthathelpedhimgetfourth aggregate place but, it
was too little, too late to have any chance of getting ahead of the
top three. Grants 93.8v for a relatively lowly 20th match place was
more than enough to keep the overall lead and stay two aggregate
points ahead of Andy (95.5v, 9th match position) and Dan on 94.5v.
Messrs Lloyd, Dunne, Daish and Thompson followed closely on the
leading quartets heels, so close there was literally only a single
point between competitors down to 8th place. So, congratulations to
Grant Taylor as 2010/11EuropeanF-ClassChampion. In the fast fading
light of a late November
The victorious GB Open Team
30
Target Shooter
Like a well-oiled machine! The victorious GB F/TR team - Adam
Bagnall shooting, George Barnard coaching, Stuart Anselm
plottingafternoon, as we rubbernecked the throng
aroundtheprovisionalresultssheets,Iwastaken by surprise by GB F/TR
team captain Stuart Anselm tossing out the words: Laurie, youre
shooting tomorrow. Team meeting in Canada
Houseinquarterofanhour!ashehurriedpast.
Unbeknowntome,adecisionhadbeenmadeto
fieldasecondBritishF/TRteamandIwastrigger
pullinginsteadofplottingorregisterkeeping.
TheSundaymorningTeammatchesareaserious but good natured battle for
four cups F-Class andF/TREuropeanChampionships,theRutland Cup and
the longstanding GB v Germany Challenge Cup. The first two are
restricted to nominated national teams, eight shooter-strong
inOpenandfourinF/TR(butF/TRwillbeeight from2011). The home nation
fielded two Open teams and GermanyandIrelandoneeach.InF/TR,GBagain
had two squads with one each from Germany, Spain, Ireland and
Holland. The Rutland saw nine four-shooter teams, not necessarily
nationally based (the conquering Sixes squad being multinational,
members shooting 6mm calibre rifles). Stopping here for a moment,
this teamtooktheRutlandwithaclearwinoverthe
Target Shooter
31
Les Holgate (foreground) gazes in amazement at Ian Dixons bi-pod
and stock - allegedly made from an old wardrobe!
Northern Lights (Scottish shooters) and the
Ukrainewhoputupaverystrongperformancefor
nearnewcomerstoBisley.SixesmemberChrister Jacobsson from Norway has
to get a special mentionshootingpossiblesinbothmatches,the only
shooter to achieve this (with the littleTubb
6XCcartridge,makingitevenmoreremarkable).
Conditionswereagaingood-clear,mostlysunny,
lightbutvariablenortherlyheadwinds,itsdirection
alsopullingtemperaturesrightdowncomparedto those of previous days
and making it feel more likeearlyNovember.Aswithshootingthroughout
theweekend,acombinationofindividualshooter
discipline,top-ratematchplanning,andexcellent firing-line
management by the NRA Range Officerssawthematchesproceedsmoothlyand
becompletedinaremarkablyshorttime.Ishould
alsomentiontarget-marking-fastandtoahigh standard throughout, a key
element in making a major tournament like this work well.The GB
teamstookfirstandsecondplacesinbothOpen and F/TR, Germany third
in both, only three points down on GB B in Open, but 35 behind
GBBlueinF/TR. As a team shooting virgin on GB F/TR Blue, I
wasmorenervousearlyonSundaythanIdbeen at any stage during the
individual matches and muchlesssurejustwhatIshouldbedoingthan any
of my team-mates, who all had experience of this part of the
art.After all, dolloping in an
individualshootisonethingbutnowyoucouldlet
yourteammatesandevencountrydown!
Therewasanundercurrentofnervousnessfrom
myfellowteammembers-partlyduetomylack
ofexperiencebutalsoshootinga.223.Welllet you shoot first to get the
lightest winds with the pea-shooter wouldnt have inspired
confidence hadInotnowacquiredamissionarysunshakeable faith in my
equipment given my campaign to
Ramon Fitos bi-pod is very strong but a little heavy over a
kilo
32
Target Shooter
A new solid carbon-fibre stock from
SpainpersuadeF/TR.308Wpaganstowalkthepathof
truerighteousness!Inanyevent,Iandthe.223
Savagedidjustfinewithscoresrightontheteam average. Once Id relaxed
a little, I enjoyed the string-shooters freedom to get shots off
really quicklyifwefelttheconditionswereholding,plus
otherteammemberscoachingassistance,anew
andliberatingexperiencethankyouSteveand Ian. Epilogue Big events
like the Europeans always throw-up lots of interesting kit and of
course rests and bi-pods were no exception. There were some
ingenious efforts and clearly some competitors are spending too
much time in the workshop at the expense of range time! When will
some genius build a wind-reading machine that turns
myscope-turret...........???
Vorsprung durch technik? This German bi-pod is adjusted with a
joystick
Target Shooter
33
Vinces blown primer that primer-pocket is 12 thou. oversize!
For those who havent the facilities to make
things,therewereafewnewproductionbi-pods. I was trying theAmerican
Censhot carbon-fibre pod (www.censhot.com) and there is a full
write-upelsewhereinthisissue.
Spanishshooter,RamonFitohasalreadysolda goodnumberofhisBig
FootandSmall Footpods (see www.fitoforceproducts.blogspot.com) to
UKshootersandseveralwereinevidence.Ialso
sawaprototypeofanewBritishpodwhichwill
TopTenIndividualEuropeanChampionshipResults 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
FClass F/TR RussellSimmonds AdamBagnall VinceBottomley StephenLynch
AndrewBurgess AdrianCasey StephenDoyle GaryCousins LiamFenlon
JohnCross
GrantTaylor AndyWyspianski DanielBrough PeterHunt DavidLloyd
AnthonyDunne MarkDaish GregThompson GaryCostello PeterHobson
412.37v 410.30v 410.27v 409.31v 408.28v 407.25v 406.26v 405.34v
405.28v 405.24v
396.27v 395.23v 394.22v 391.17v 389.23v 388.18v 386.21v 386.16v
385.16v 384.21v
FullresultsarelistedontheGBFCAwebsiteatwww.fclass.org.uk34
Target Shooter
hopefullybeavailablesoon.
Thejoystickresthasprovedmoreofahitwiththe
effersthanthebenchrestshooterswhoinvented it and amongst the many
home-made efforts, thePolishTeamwereusingaslicknewSanders
joystickrestwww.sanders-shooting.com which
isquitesimilartothelatestSEBNeorest.Unlike
themanyone-offs,thisrestisinproductionand
wewillbegivingitafullevaluationinnextmonths Target Shooter. The
other big discovery for me was a carbonfibre stock. This wasnt like
other carbon fibre stocksashellmadeupoflayeredmattingthis
onewasmachinedfromasolidblockofcarbon fibre and looked like dull
black plastic, though stillverylightandstrong.Thiscouldbethefuture
for gun-stocks particularly where weight is the limitingfactor.
Itcanbepainted,astheexample inthepicshows.
Althoughmostofuswillgoawaywithmemories
ofagreatweekend,Iinitiallythoughminewould end in disaster. Detail
One at 900 yards on the Friday morning was hit with heavy rain
which totallyobscuredthetargetsatonestage.Ihada
towelovertheactionandscopeandIwastaking care to keep my ammo under
cover and dry so IwasmostsurprisedtoblowaprimerIwasnt the only one.
Should have stood down for ten minutesorso?
EquipmentmighthaveplateauedinOpen-with
thepossibleexceptionofopticsandGrantTaylor
hasarguablyhaltedthearmsracebycontinuing
towinwitha284Shehane(improved.284Win) rifle instead of the near
ubiquitous 7mm short magnums but the competition becomes closer
eachseason,especiallyinF/TR.Itisinteresting
tocomparethisyearsresultswithlast,whichhad thesamemixofmatches.
ThetopthreeOpenscoresaremarginallydown
(412-410comparedto1stand2ndtiedon414in 2009) but the top ten
positions are covered by fewerpointsin2010,atsevencomparedtoten.
This trend is even more marked in F/TR where the top three
aggregate scores have risen this
year(396-394comparedto395-388in2009),and
thetoptenhasbecomemuchmorecompressed
-12pointscoveringthisgroupcomparedto21.
Dominancebyhomeshooters(includingsome
ofourIrishcousins)continueswithasolevisitor from Continental Europe
making the Open
top twenty - German Wolfgang Scholze in 12th
positionandAlejandroHidalgoat16thinF/TR. Northern shooters
frequently refer to a mythical publication The Great Diggle Book of
F-Class Excuses. The sad fact is that with a lost point
equatingtoanoverallF/TRplaceandoneanda
halfOpenplacesatthetopendofTheEuropeans results sheets, one simply
couldnt afford to make any mistakes in pre-match preparation,
handloading,orshooting. In addition to the usual reasons ...
shooting on somebody elses target - turning scope turrets
thewrongway-wehadanewoneandanolder
butreviveddoozey.Theformercamefromsome
Openshooterswhoonlyfoundoutafterstarting shooting that Berger 7mm
thick jacket bullets dontperformthesameastheolderthinmodels!
Theyhaveaslightlydifferentogiveshapesogive different elevations
particularly bad news for
thosewhohadcartridgesloadedwithbothbullets mixed up in their ammo
boxes - some frantic post-matchsortingwhenthecauseofflierswas
realised! A growing number of F/TR shooters bring two
lotsofammunitiontoLeagueroundsloadedwith 155gn and 210gn bullets.
The argument goes thattheheaviesbuckthewindbetterbuthave poorer
elevation consistency, so should only be
usedonwindydays.AdamBagnallrediscovered a hard lesson learned by
Steve Donaldson a coupleofseasonsback-makingsuchadrastic
bulletweightchangebetweenmatchesrisksthe
lossofscopezero-aswitchfrom210sto155s
onSaturdaymorningwithitslighterwindslosing
himfourvitalpointsinMatch3andultimatelythe
EuropeanF/TRChampionscrown.
Inconclusion,thisreallywastheFClassshootof
theyearwitharealinternationalflavour-thanksto
massivesupportfromouroverseasfriends.This
year,theydidntwinanyofthemajorprizesbut
theyarelearningfast.Mostdonothaveaccess
torangeslongerthan300msonoopportunityto practice. F Class is
however taking off in many European countries and next year, even
more countries are planning to attend. The date will
bearoundthesametimesowhynotjoinus?The
GBFCAwebsitehasafullcalendarofourshoots
www.f-class.org.ukandlotsofotherinformation.
Target Shooter
35
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Shooting the Black Powder Pistol Part 11
by Chris RisebrookPic 1onlysafewaytocarrytherevolver loaded is
to leave one chamber either unloaded or, at least, uncapped. There
is a small pin which protrudes between each
chamberwhichissupposedtoline up with an indent in the hammer
face,andthusprovidesomesortof safety.However,youwouldhaveto
beterminallystupidtorelyonsuch a system, and on my Colt, at any
rate, the pins have all worn flat, allowingthecylindertohappilyslip
ontothenextchamber.However,if youlookcarefullyatthecylinderof
theManhattaninPhoto1,youwill seeanextrasetofcylindernotches which
allow the bolt stop to engage positively
betweenchambers,providingarelativelysecure form of safety.Although
this particular revolver is in poor condition, this cylinder lock
up works perfectly. Manufacture started in Norwich, Connecticut
in
In a recent article I described two Forehand and Wadsworth
revolvers bought at auction. If you think they were rubbish, you
aint seen nothingyet!TherevolvershowninPhoto1isa Manhattan, and to
put it kindly, it has seen better days. I, stupidly, bought it
sight unseen, butno-oneelsewantedit,anditwascheap.In
fact,althoughtattyintheextreme,itisquitean interesting gun, and the
research helps to justifytheprice. The Manhattan Fire Arms
Manufacturing Co.wasfoundedin1856byagroupofNew Jersey businessmen
to take advantage of Colts patent for revolving firearms which was
due to expire in 1857. They engaged the services of Thomas Bacon to
design a revolver, and he promptly produced a
perfectrip-offofaColt1849pocketmodel;
IbetColtwasahappybunny!However,he
incorporatedsomeimportantimprovements.
OntheColtrevolver,showninPhoto2,the
Pic 2
Target Shooter
37
1856andmovedtoNewark,Newjerseyin1859.
Baconleftin1864,andstartedhisowncompany, making almost identical
revolvers, but without thesafetynotches.Baconsotherinnovationon the
Manhattan - and his own revolver, was the removable side plate. I
thought someone had fixedthisplatetothePhoto1revolvertoreduce
cylinder end play - a common fault on Colts,
butitis,infactaverycleverdevicetoprevent
piecesofpercussioncapfromfallingintothegap between the hammer and
frame, thus jamming the mechanism. It was normal practice with
Colts to shake the revolver upwards after each shot, in an attempt
to clear any such debris beforeitlocked-uptheaction,andBaconsdevice
overcamethisdrawback. Manhattan made about 150,000 pistols before
they went out of business in 1868. they ended their days making
copies of Smith & Wesson tip-uprevolvers.
InPhoto3IhaveshowntheManhattantogether with the Colt Pocket Model
for comparison, and except for the barrel length, they are
dimensionally almost identical. The Colt has a a 4inch barrel and
is .31 calibre. They also madethesein.28calibrewhichwouldprobably
havestoppedachargingfieldmouse,butwould otherwise have been of
deterrent value only; irrespective of calibre, any gun shoved under
your nose is likely to get your attention. The
Manhattan,ontheotherhandis.36calibre,the same calibre as the Colt
1851 Navy, but on a substantially smaller frame. Barrel length is
6.5 inches.IhavealwaysthoughttheColt1849swith 6inch barrels look
slightly out of proportion, but
theManhattansomehowmanagestolookright,
Pic 3
andbalancesbeautifully.Inspiteoftheobvious wear and tear, now
glamorously called patina, (for which read terminal rust), the
action works perfectlywithgoodtimingandlock-up,andonly
minimalendplay.Mostofthe1849ColtsIhave handled have exhibited
cylinder end play. My ownColtisabitofafraudinthatIhavemade
asteelcollartofitroundthecylinderspindleto
limitthismovement.IftheColtgripsdonotlook
quiteright,thisisbecauseImadesomeoversize
gripswhichmakeitmorecomfortabletohandle.
Peopledefinitelymusthavehadsmallerhandsin
thosedays-only150yearsago.Inmanypistols of the era, it is almost
impossible to get your secondfingerbehindthetriggerguard.
IwilldrawaveilovertheriflingintheManhattan;
thereisntanytospeakof.However,at25metres it doesnt seem to make
much difference in practice. Many years ago, I used an original
Remingtonwithlittlediscernibleriflingatoneof theAnno Domini
meetings where it scored 90, and beat many modern replicas with
perfect barrels.Iwassurprisedlastyeartouseaflintlock
smooth-borewhichalsoscored90atthesame range. Manhattans were made
in five series and this pistol, number 8435 is a second series made
in1860/61.TheColtwasmadein1866.Allthe
serialnumbersmatchontheManhattan,except
thatthereisnonumberonthecylinder,although the odd engraving
peculiar to the guns is still
present.Infacttheoverallfinishisnottoobad,the
addressandpatentdatesareclearlyvisible,and
theplatingonthebrassframeisintact.Thereal horror is the trigger and
bolt stop pivot screws. Some kind soul has replaced them with drill
rod! Nothing wrong with drill rod,which is silversteel,butitsnot
pretty. Maybe, one day I will get round to having properscrewsmade.
In fact, on closer examination and longer acquaintance, its not
such a dog after all, and I have developed rather a liking for this
oddball, which is just as well, because I am
probablystuckwithit!
38
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Ninth World Police & Military Sniper Championships Budapest
Hungary 2010 Part 2- The competition !
by By Rob Hunter
emergencye-mailstoalltheothercompetitors
-toaskifanyonecouldfindmeanewpartner- wouldwork. As luck would have
it an old friend and avid Last month, we put together my rifle for
the shooterFernando(USRangerSniperret.)was
competitionaSurgeon-basedtactical-rigusing
forcedtoretirefromthecompbeforeitstarted
aMcMillanA5stock,Bartleinbarrelchambered
fortheLapua6.5x47cartridgeandaSchmidt& Bender12-50scope.
Fromtheoff,Ihadabadfeelingaboutthisone
(asthelinegoes)24hoursbeforegettingonthe
planetomeetmyshootingpartnerinPrague,he
calledmetosayhecouldntcompetebecause
hehadaelbowinjury!Asthecompetitionwasa
teamevent,thiswasgoingtobeabigproblem. I set off on the journey not
knowing if my Target Shooter 41
have to be able to stand hard knocks and transportation to
different parts of the world,
comeoutoftheboxandshootperfectly,sothis
exercisewasagoodtestofthekit.
Asatestamenttothequalityofthepeopleand
partsinvolvedinbuildingmyrifle,itshotexactly
thesamePOA/POI(pointofaim/pointofimpact)
asintheUK.TheSakoTRGthatpartnerNick was using needed a very slight
adjustment in windageandhewasgoodtogo. This year, a great many of
the COFs started from a standing position or a short run down in
order to get into position and of course the
mandatorysmalltime-frametomaketheshot.
Thisuppedthestresslevelsandmadeitmore
difficultthanlasttime.Thelevelofdifficultywas
compoundedbythefactthatweusuallyhad30
to50secondstomakeadecisionandtakethe shot! due to an eye infection.
This meant that his partner Nick (currently serving US Army) was
alsourgentlyinneedofapartner.
Fernandokindlysuggestedweshottogetherand
thatwasthat-wewerebackinthegamealbeit
slightlyhandicappedbyourlackofknowledgeof
eachother.Withonlyadaybeforetheofficialstart
ofthecompetition,wedidakitchecktoremove any unnecessary or
duplicated kit and worked out a standard language and measurement
systemwewouldusetocommunicatetoeach otherwhenontherange. Fingers
crossed, we attended the opening ceremony and prepared ourselves to
shoot with over 100 competitors speaking 8 different
languagesand26COFs(courseoffire)toget through. Slick organisation
was needed and in order to speed up the comp COF briefings usually
covered three different targets, so you shoot
one,thenmovetoanotherdistance,shootagain and then move again to
shoot the final target beforethetargetswerecheckedandscored. With
absolutely NO zeroing before the competition, this is a nervous
time for all competitors as it was straight in and missed targets
meant minus points! This may sound
cruelbutthinkaboutitinservice,theserifles 42 Target Shooter
Onceagain,inkeepingwithreal-lifesituations,
youhavetocarryallofthekitthatyoureusing
andhavetobeabletomoveswiftlywithit,sono
heavybenchrestorFclasskithere,itsallbipod,
back-pack,range-bookandammunition.
ThevariationsintheCOFinbothdistanceand
wescoredwell. Real world scenarios dictate that a sniper will
not always have a perfect prone position to
shootfromandtofinishofftheday,wehadtwo particularly cruel
exercises. From a
standingstart,adoptakneelingposition,loadandfireat
100mataverysmalltargetin25seconds(miss meant minus points) and, as
if to emphasise proficiency in multi-position shooting, the final
exercise was a 300m COF - 2 shots standing, 2 shots kneeling and 2
shots prone all in 60 seconds.
Itwasdecidedbytheorganisersthatduetoa
forecastedbigstormheadingourway,wewould
shootthetwonightexercisesonthefirstday.We grabbed a bite for
evening meal and prepared thegearfortheNightShoot. Firstly, this
meant a liberal splash of mosquito repellent but even my 100% Dete
didnt seem toworkandIwaswellandtrulybittenonevery
exposedbitofskinandasluckwouldhaveit,I
evengotabiteonthetipofmytriggerfinger-
whichpromptlyswelledtotwiceitnormalsize!
Whilstwewaitedtogostillbeingchewedby the local insect population -
I had a chance to takealookatsomeofkitbroughtbythevarious weapons
manufacturers to tempt our plastic out of hiding.. Two items that
caught my eye
content had become more difficult this year. For example, the
second set of targets on the
firstdaymeanta300msingleshottoapartially hidden hostage target 4
inches by 2 inches in 40seconds,thenamoveforwardto80m,toa
letter-box size opening some 8 inches off the ground (which meant
the rifle would only go through sideways with the bolt-handle
facing thesky)notonlythis,thestartwas10mbackso
ashortruntogetintopositionandfire3shots - all in 30 seconds and
then change over with yourpartner!
Then,tofinishoffthisseriesoftargets,amove
backto150mforasingleshotina20second window at an empty 50BMG
cartridge case - andonlycleanholescounted!
Afterashortlunchontherangeitwasbackto
workandshootingcontinuedtill1700hourswith various obstacles to
shoot over - to replicate engaging targets from over a roof apex
for example and the always popular one where
youmustuseyourpartnersbodyasasupport
foryourrifle(betterknownastheKarmaSutra
duetothestrangecontortionsadopted!)whilst
wearingbodyarmour.Thisyearitwasmyturn
tobethesupportandImustsayIwasalittle
nervousabouthavingaSakomuzzle-brakethat close to my backside but it
all worked out and
Target Shooter
43
ofminus50!Thatlapseinconcentrationwasto costmedearly. Later on
we moved back to the grass range - which by now was mud - for two
excises that I hadnt seen before.The first one was a 10m crawl on
your back whilst carrying rifle and kit
onyourchesttothe350mlineforaoneround shot in 40 seconds and a
reactive target. For reactive read exploding - a small explosive
flash-bangfroma20mmdetonationcap.This was below a small
inward-scoring target and hittingtheflash-bangmeantyoucouldengage
the inward scoring target. The tricky part was
theflash-bangandsmoketemporallyobscured
wereamag.holderthatdoublesupasaforward
theinwardscoreraboveit,soashotthroughthe grip for Glock pistols and
a new semi-auto 50 cal. material destruction rifle for counter IED
etc.(Seepicsabove). Undaunted, at 2100 hours we were called forward
to 150m and were presented with a 4 inch inward-scoring target and
under the illumination of a flare we engaged with two
roundsin10seconds. For the second exercise we moved back to
250mandengagedahalfsizehostagetarget
with2roundseach,asaverystronghand-held spot-light was moved along
the targets giving smokewasinorderrequiringprecisememoryof
about5secondsfortheshotandagain,amiss the location of the scoring
area on the second orashottothehostage,meantminuspoints.
target-allcleaverstuff. Theseconddaysshootingwasnolessdifficult
thanthefirstandwehadtheaddeddifficultlyof
nearconstantrainwhichalternatedfromdrizzle to torrential downpours
and back again for the wholeday.Wegotwetandstayedwet!Toadd insult
to injury, we were taken to a part of the
rangeIhadntseenbefore-thesandpit-abig
sandquarry.Asyouknow,sandandriflesdont
mix.....butwetsandisevenworse. The next series of exercises were
again multipositionstanding,kneeling,sittingandproneat
distancesrangingfrom30mto150m.Thelastof
thesewasamovingorswinginghostagetarget.
Againoneroundeachatroughly3secondsper exposure - unfortunately,
this was one of the minuspointseventsandforwhateverreason,I
justcutthelineofthehostage.Infairnesstome,
itwouldhaveonlytakenapieceofherhairaway but a line cut is a line
cut and I got a penalty 44 Target Shooter
Thelongestshotonthedaywasa5shotstring
at470montoastandardFBItarget.Onceagain, on the face of it not too
difficult a COF - until the two fire engines hidden by blast walls
on each side of the range turned on their hoses and provided us
with a wall of water to shoot
through!Allatonce,thingsgotawholelotmore difficult.
Thewateractedlikeamirageandthroughthe scope the target moved and
danced as the lightwasrefractedbythefallingwaterdroplets.
Furthermore,thewindwasbringingthefallout
intheformofaheavymisttowardsus,sofast shooting was needed before
the water hit the scopelens. Finally, the one COF that has become a
standardeventinthiscomp-theknifeshot.A
fixed-bladeknifeisdrivenintoablockofwood
OfficialscoresintheMilitarysection: 1st China 2nd UnitedKingdom
3rd Belarus InthePolicesection st with the cutting-edge facing the
shooter and a 1 Czechoslovakia nd
cleanpieceofA4cardisplacedbehindit.The 2 Ukraine rd shooter is
positioned prone 80m back and in 3 China a time frame of 30 seconds
must fire a single roundandhittheblade,ifsuccessfullyexecuted
Inkeepingwithpreviousyears,itwaspossible the knife will split the
bullet in two halves and toshootwellbuteithernotscorewelloreasily
show on the paper behind. This obviously
beintominusscores.Thiswasagreattesting/
requirespin-pointaccuracyastheverytipofthe training ground for
those police and military bulletmuststrikethecuttingedgeoftheblade
professionalmarksmenwhomayhavetotake
-amillimetreeitherwayfromdead-centreand a life to save a life in
the course of their daily thebulletwillslidedownthesideoftheblade.
work. Thisisarealtestofnerves,everythingmustbe
perfectinordertodothisandwith30otherrifles In closing, Id like to
thank all those whose assistance made this possible - Andy
goingoffaroundyou,itssoeasytomiss. Massingham for the work on the
rifle, South Withtheknifeshotover,thatwasitforanother Yorkshire
Shooting Supplies for the sound year and the wind-down of cleaning
gear and moderator, Surgeon action and trigger
floorpackingwasinorder.Withthepressureofthe plate. Cheytac
Ballistics solutions and Matt competition over there was the usual
grand Wilks for providing great firing solutions. Plus banquet and
awards ceremony provided by Fernando,NickandDaveShoneandCZSFfor the
Hungarian government in the stunning city
gettingmeacrossEuropetowhereIneededto centre and the odd glass of
vino or two was beandontime! partakenof-butthatsanotherstory!
WARNING-Thecoursesoffiredescribedwere
DuringthecompIhadbeentoobusytotryand
undertakenonacontrolledrangebyexperienced
workoutthescoressoIwaschuffedtosaythe shooters with all necessary
safety precautions veryleasttolearnIhadmadesecondplacein in place.
Please do not try to replicate any of
theindividualcompetition.Theminus50points
thecoursesoffiredescribedasitmayresultin I got for giving the
hostage a free haircut that injuryordeath. I mentioned earlier
would have put me in first place! Hard lesson learned. Nick and I
also made5thplaceintheteamevent. Target Shooter 45
PGW Timberwolf .338 Lapua PGW Coyote 7.62
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Also available KG mil-spec weapon cleaners Carbon remover Copper
remover Bore conditioner Gun oil Dry lubricants Solvent &
DegreaserOpen Season Ltd Oxford, UK GSM: + 44 (0) 7771 607481 | E
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46
Target Shooter
Air Rifle Benchrest - having a go!!
By Carl BoswellIn its infancy, air rifle benchrest is becoming
more and more popular. The recent European Championship, World Cup
and World Postal championships have shown the interest
internationallyandatanationallevel. worked out well, as there are
about fourteen countrieswithmembersshootingthissport. This years
world postal, has nine countries and over one hundred of the best
shooters competingagainsteachother,viatheirnational This dedicated
sport developed in a variety of championships.
countriesatasimilartime,themainprotagonists
beingtheUK,ItalyandSouthAfrica.IntheUK The world cup had number of
overseas the interest developed from air rifle shooters competitors
shooting in the Czech Republic,
gettingintorimfirebenchrestandthinking,hey,
withRussialeadingtheoverallteamaggregate why not try something
different! Which has and the UK leading the overall junior
Setting up is all important
Target Shooter
47
HV A Class
individuals and senior individuals champion titles. Having
achieved the highest individual aggregate at the world championship
in 2008, achievingsilverandbronzemedalsatthesame event, (team and
individual) and winning the overallWorldCupandEuropeanChampionship,
theUKTeamisdoingextremelywell
started, which a lot of people do via the postal leagues that
are going on around the country. To be honest it is fun for a
converted rimfire benchrest shooter like myself. There lies the
interest,itsfun!!!
The Rifles! TostartwiththiscanbebasicallyanyPCPthat So what
about the sport? youhave.AirArmsholdthemarkethereastheir Well its
about having a go as this how we all
riflesmustbethemostwidelyused,astheyare
inexpensiveincomparisontothemorespecialist
riflesthatareoutthere.Certainlyyoucangeta
newrifletocompetewithforlessthan600,and this would be the same as
the ones that have wonatworldlevel! The Classes for competition AT
INTERNATIONAL LEVEL Light Varmint Air Rifle Class - is any rifle
having a manually and mechanically (including electronic triggers)
operated firing mechanism, weighing not more than 10 1/2 pounds
(4.762 kg) inclusive of sight. Factory stock or stocks that
meetStockClarificationrulesmaybeusedThe action can be either spring
or pneumatic; air regulators, barrel weights, harmonic tuners or
bullet stabilisers are permitted but will be included in the
overall weight of gun. The air
cylindercanbechangedaslongasitisprovided by the Manufacturer as an
option/spare to that model.Any magnification scope may be used.
Thebarrel/actioncanbebeddedandhavethe
triggerreworked(orreplaced).Returntobattery
This is a precision sport!!!! 48 Target Shooter
Chronographing and testing is a pre-requisite of the sport to
test velocity
shallNOTbepermitted.Powertoberestricted
to16.27Joulesor12ftlbsmaximum.Shooting
Distance25m(0.177and0.2scorespluggedby 0.22calibregauge)
Heavy Varmint Air Rifle Class A - is any rifle having a manually
safe manually and mechanically (including electronic triggers)
operated firing mechanism, a weight restriction
HV B Class
Target Shooter
49
LV Class
of15lbsisset(includingattachmentsscopes, muzzle devices, etc).
Any air regulator can be used as long as it is integral within the
air cylinder. Any modification may be made to the rifle and any
magnification scope may be used. Factory stock or stocks that meet
Stock
Clarification rules may be used? Return to
batteryshallNOTbepermitted.Muzzlebrakes,
muzzleflips,barrelweightsorHarmonicTuners
arepermitted.Thereisnorestrictiononcylinder size or capacity as
long as 21 Joules or 15 ft
lbsmaximumpowerisretainedanditisintegral
TointroduceourselveswearetheUnitedKingdomAssociationof
RimfireandAirRifleBenchrestShooting.Bythatwemean"True
BenchrestShooting".TheAssociationisrecognisedbyrimfire
shootersacrossintheUK,withpartnersacrossEuropeandtherestof
theworld,asthepresentativebodythatpromotesrimfireandairrifle
benchrestacrossthiscountryandwithotherpartnersinEuropeanand
Worldevents. Visitourwebsitefornewsaboutnationalandinternational
competitionsthatallcanhaveagoat.Fromnovicetochampion
shooter,everyoneiswelcome 50 Target Shooter www.benchrest22.org
The UK Air Rifle Team 2010 - a motely crew
within the rifle. (SeparateAir Cylinders are not allowed, the
cylinder must be part of the rifle
andtheoverallweight).ShootingDistance25m. (0.177 and 0.2 scores
plugged by 0.22 calibre gauge. Heavy Varmint Air Rifle Class B - is
any rifle having manually and mechanically (including
electronictriggers)?operatedfiringmechanism, a weight restriction
of 15 lbs is set (including attachments scopes, muzzle devices,
etc). Any air regulator can be used as long as it is
integralwithintheaircylinder.Anymodification
maybemadetotherifleandanymagnification
scopemaybeused.Factorystockorstocksthat meet Stock Clarification
rules may be used. ReturntobatteryshallNOTbepermitted.Muzzle
brakes,muzzleflips,barrelweightsorHarmonic
Tunersarepermitted.Thereisnorestrictionon
cylindersizeorcapacityaslongas27.12Joules
or20ftlbsmaximumpowerisretainedanditis integral within the rifle.
(SeparateAir Cylinders arenotallowed,thecylindermustbepartofthe
rifle and the overall weight). Shooting Distance 25m. (0.177