Target Shooter May

8/14/2019 Target Shooter May

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FTScopeReview•ClassicRifle•NewProducts•andlotsmore…..

WelcometothesecondmonthofthisfreeonlineshootingmagazineforshootersintheUK

May 2009 Issue

No 5 JungleCarbine

Basic RifleMaintenance

Rimfire, Air Rifle andCenterfire Benchrest

Club Features

F Class

Tactical Rifle

Gallery Rifle


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OUR FIRST PRIORITY

T I 0 3 0 9 U DFor further product information and details of your local Centre of Accuracy

stockist please call GMK Ltd on 01489 587500 or visit www.gmk.co.uk

Tikka T3 Hunter

Tikka T3 Lite

Tikka T3 Lite Stainless

Tikka T3 Super Varmint,Varmint Stainless &Varmint Blue

The Tikka T3 Lite features an all-black, sturdy, but lightweight, fibre-glass reinforced polymer

stock with positive checkering for improved grip and comfort. The cold hammer forged ba rrel

has a traditional blued finish. Also available left handed.

Shooters facing extreme weather conditions require their rifle to be a trusted, hard-wea ring

companion, offering faultless long-term performance. The Tikka T3 Lite Stainless is ideally sui ted;

made from Tikka’s high-grade stainless steel with a glass fibre reinforced polymer stock, this

model gives the double advantage of easy maintenance combined with great looks. Also avail able

left handed.

The Tikka concept is simple, pure and performance-orientated.Now, with the introduction of factory-threaded barrels for moderators, in the

most popular right-handed calibres, this excellent rifle just got even better.

The Tikka T3 Hunter is made for the rifle shooter who is looking for top performance and

accuracy with a classic style and feel. The high-grade walnut stock is selected and shaped by

Tikka master gunsmiths. The T3 Hunter offers an extensive calibre selection and is availableleft handed.

All three Varmint models feature a free-floating precision barrel that effectively eliminates

vibration and will not over-heat even in fast-paced shooting. They are produced with a synthetic

stock that has an extra-wide forend for bench resting, and a swivel stud which accommod ates

either a bipod or a sling. The ergonomically-designed Varmint cheek piece provides comfortable

head positioning with a large scope.

The Varmint Blue features a barrel and action that are made from high-grade blued Cr-Mo st eel.

The T3 Varmint Stainless features a barrel and action made from heat-treated special stain less

steel, which is bead-blasted to a non-glare finish. This model is available left handed.

The T3 Super Varmint is a new model. Like the Stainless model, it features a barrel and ac tion

made from heat-treated special stainless steel, which is bead-blasted to a non-glare fin ish.

Additionally, the ergonomically-designed cheek piece on the Super Varmint is adjustable, and

this model also features a Picatinny rail and large bolt handle as standard.

When it comes to consistent accuracy, be it on the range or hill, the T3Varmint models are hard to out-shoot.

http://www.gmk.co.uk/

















































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Sections

6 ShootingSportNews

10 ShootersCalendar

14 ‘FromtheKeg’withKenHall

19 SupportyourLocalGun

Shop

28 MiniRieCompetitonReview

30 AirRieEquipment ScopesbyStanleyShaw

43 GallActionsbyVince Bottomley

46 SylwesterLosbyHaley Platts

76 SpringeldUntertlbyRob Hunter

82 ShootingWebsiteofthe Month

93 YourRimreGalleryRie Part2byGwynRoberts

99 GunoftheMonth

103 ClubFeature

22 BasicRieMaintenancebyVinceBottomley

35 No5Junglecarbine byRichardWild

51 SEBRestbyCarlBoswell

62 HunterFieldTarget ScopesbyTimFinley

69 ReproductionNo32ScopeBracketsbyNigelGreenaway

84 RieTwist

Rates Part1byLaurie Holland

58 SpringActionWeekendByGwynRoberts

Welcometothe2ndmonth

.......ofTargetShooter



Association Pages105 NRA

106 UKBRA

110 UKBR22

111 FClassUK

114 GalleryRie

116 UKPSA

118 LetterPage

Editor(s).

CarlBoswellandVinceBottomley

Advertising and Ofce Manager

AndyDubreuil.email;[email protected]

Contributors

VinceBottomley RichardWild HayleyPlattsLaurieHolland TimFinley CarlBoswell RobHunterNigelGreenaway GwynRobertsStanleyShaw KenHall

Disclaimer Thewebsitewww.targetshooter.co.ukispartofTargetShootermagazinewithallcontents ofbothelectronicmediacopyrighted.Noreproductionispermittedunlesswrittenauthorisationisprovided.Information,pricesanddataisbelievedtobecorrectatthetimeofpostingontheinternetwhichisonoraroundthe1stofeachmonth.AdvertisementsthatarerearmrelatedarefromcompaniesorindividualsthatTargetShootermagazinebelievesarelicensedtoholdsuchrearmsandacceptsnoresponsibilityifcompaniesorindividualsarenotsolicensed.LettersandphotographssubmittedbymembersofthepublictoTargetShootermagazinewillbeacceptedonthebasisthatthewriterhasagreedtopublicationunlessotherwisestated.TargetShootermagazinehasnocontroloverthecontentorownershipofphotographssubmitted.Theviewsexpressedinthismagazinearenotnecessarilytheviewsofthepublishersandrelatetospeciccircumstanceswithineacharticle.Thesearetheopinionsandexperiencesofwritersusingspecicequipment,rearms,componentsanddataundercontrolledconditions.Informationcontainedintheonlinemagazineoronthewebsiteisintendedtobeusedasaguideonlyandinspeciccircumstancescautionshouldbeused.TargetShooterMagazinedoesnotexceptanyresponsibilityforindividualsattemptingtorecreatesuchtestingusinganyinformation,dataorothermaterialsinitselectronicpages.PublishersofTargetShootermagazine.

Webitorial

Wow,isallIcansayabouttheresponsetotherstmagazine!Aswegettothepublicationofthesecondinstalment,weareindoubleguresfortheamountofuniqueviewsofthewebsiteandtherstmagazine.Thiscurrentlystandsatapproximately15,000peopleworldwide.

Westartedthisventureoffknowingthatwewould‘market’TargetShooter,withlittlemorepublicvoicethanthatofrelyingonwordofmouthtogetthemessageacross;‘wearehere’!Sopleasecontinuetoemailyourfriends,yourshootingmates,theirwivesandtheirdogs,catsandotherpets,toletthemknowthereisanewshootingmagazineintown;andit’scalled‘TargetShooter’.Forpassingthisonwearemuchobliged.Forthegreatletterswehavehad….welltheymadeusblush!Sowiththisgoodnewswewouldliketosayabigthanksourreadersandouradvertisersforthe

rstmonthofwhichpromisestobeaverysuccessfulmagazine.Itisearlydays,butwehaveplansforarticles,columnsandeventsforthenextfewmonthsandbeyond.Withisin mind,pleasedocome totheUKBRA/UKBR22 standin the Paviliononthe PhoenixMeeting weekend. There will be a few of us there promoting individual sports, but also thismagazine.Ialsoknowthatafewofthewriterswillbeincompetitionovertheweekendsoyoumightgettoseetheminaction.Wehavehadanumberofrequestsforarticles,someofwhichweareworkingtowardsandothersthatmightbeawayoff.Howeverourgoalisthesame;topromoteshootinginallitsformswithintheUKandapplythatdiversitywithinthemagazine.Aswebuildupissuesofthemagazine,articleswillbeplacedintoanarchive.Thiswillhappeninthenextfewmonths,sowatchoutforthisfeature

andlinkstoarticleswrittenbysomeofourwritersthathavenotbeenpublishedinthemagazine.SocomingtotheMayedition,pleasereadon,excusingtheoddtypoandspellingmistake(whichwillbeme);wehopeyouenjoyitasmuchasyoudidtherstone.

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NRA CHOOSES RWS 7.62mmShooterdissatisfactionwithammunitionqualityinthe2008ImperialMeetingsawtheNRAanditssupplierBAESystems-RadwayGreen(BAE-RG)underreyetagain.Somemightaskwhat’snewaboutthis,butchangingcircumstancesbroughtmatterstoaheadlastyear.Crucially,theMoDhadadvisedtheNRAinlate2007thatitwasterminatingthelong-standingarrangementwherebythemilitaryshotontheBisleyrangesandpaidforuseofthefacilitywith7.62mmsnipergradecartridges,sothecivilianbodyhadtoprocureitsammunitionthroughcommercialchannels.

Thischangecametoolatetoinstituteatenderingprocessandarrangeproducttestingforlastyear’sImperial,soashorttermcontractwasenteredintowith BAE-RG for the NRA’s 2008 requirements, a

move that caused ructions amongst the body’sTR-shootingmembers!TheNRAhopedthatBAE-RGwouldrealiseitwasdrinkinginthelastchancesaloon,andgiventhatithadproducedsomegood-shooting lotsin recentyears,would produce atopquality vintage for 2008, but this was not to be!

Four producers were approached in the secondhalfoflastyear,andquotesplusbatchesof155gn7.62/308W obtained – RG, Lapua, HPS-TR, and

Swiss conglomerate RUAG which encompassesRWS and Norma ammunition brands in its rangeas well as a huge military supply business. Therstthreewere‘offtheshelf’,whileRUAGloadedcartridges specially to meet UK TR requirements.

Volunteer TR shooters tested the quartet under‘blind’ conditions at 300 and 600 yards using arepresentative sample of TR rie makes, barrelspecications with varying round-counts. ‘Loaders’were even employed to place cartridges in thetesters’ rie actions and pick red cases up, sotesterscouldnottellwhichbatchtheywereshootingandallowunconsciousbiastoaffectresults.Nottoosurprisingly,RGwastherstdropped–onaccuracygrounds. Whiletheothers performed well,Lapuawent too thanks to its much higher cost than theothers, leaving the eld to HPS-TR and RUAG.The former’s 7.62 is a proven performer, so the

focus shifted to trying the RUAG ammo at longrange,itbeingissuedfortheEuropeanLongRangeChampionshipmeetingandoneoftheshort-rangetestersuseditintheSurreyOpenat900and1,000yd.

Results were good at 800 and 900yd butfell off at 1,000, apparently due to itbeing loaded on the light side. RUAGrectied this and another round ofcomparative tests at 300 and 1,000ydagainst HPS-TR’s ammo last Decembershowedtherewaslittlebetweenthepairin

termsofperformance.Intheend,RUAGgotthecontractonprice,initiallyforoneyear.

RUAG is loading the NRA 2009contract ammo with the existing 155gnSierraMatchKing(No.2155)inRWS.308Winchester cases over a RUAG powder.Withnew155gnbulletsthatgiveimprovedlong-range ballistics in the process ofbeingintroducedbybothSierraandBerger,future ammunition supplies offer the

prospect of further performanceimprovements too, irrespective of who getssubsequentNRAcontracts.TheNRAwillsupplythenewammunitionat£65/1,000,describedasbeing“aroundcost”,to‘Imperial’competitorson thestrictbasisthatallcasesarereturnedforeventualresaleto handloaders. With RWS’ reputation for makingquality.308Wbrass,wehavetohopetheydon’tallendupintheUSA!We have to congratulate the NRA forsourcingammunitionthroughsucharobustandfairprocess. Anything that improves ammunitionconsistencyinoneofourmajordisciplinesistobewelcomed–especiallyifwegetthechancetobuy

someoftheredbrassinduecourse!

Shooting Sport News

TR shooters will be adding up scores for RWS

ammunition in 2009.



20MOAPicatinnyScoperails

The Picatinny railhas nowbecomethepreferredcivilianmountstandardaswellasthemilitarystandardandthisisgoodnews.Itmeansthatifallyour ries are tted with Picatinnybasesyoucouldeasilyservicesev-eral ries with just one scope and

rings.

The Badger Ordnance, Ken FarrellandNICEbasesaresuperbbutwiththe current dollar/pound exchangerate,thecostofarailisapproaching£100bythetimeyougetitoverhere,paydutyandParcelForcehandlingcharge.Surelytheremustbesome-oneoverherewithCNCmachinerywhocouldknocktheseoutforacom-petitiveprice.

Well, that’s exactly what Wayne atNorth West Custom parts thoughtand I’ve just seen the rst sample(see pic). At the moment they areonlyavailableinSavagetbutifthemarketdemandsmorewillbeavail-able.www.nwcustomparts.com

AndrewjoinedELEYLimitedatthestartofApriltakingoverfromMikeSemens-Flanagan who was promoted within the IMI group, in whichELEYisasubsidiaryof.Prior tojoiningELEY,Andrew wasthe Business DevelopmentDirectorforIMIIndoorClimateinSweden.OriginallyfromKent,Andrewbringswithhimawealthof experienceinhighquality- volumemanufacturingand experience in developing and introducingworld beatingproducts.Andrewcommentedonhisnewappointment:“Eley is a tremendously exciting business to lead. The combinationof working with the most passionate customers and shooters, highlymotivated colleagues, and world beating products is a wonderfulopportunity. We will continue to invest in the development of our productsandprocesses,sothatEleyretains

itsleadinammunitiontechnology,thatqualitycontinuestoimprove,andthatEleyremainstheChoiceofChampions”Andrew’s rst week at ELEY coincidedwiththestartofthe2009ISSFWorldCupshooting competition, with the rststage being held in Changwon,

Korea. Results in show ELEY’sTenex brand has retained itssupremacy in accuracy from thesuccessin2008,winning13medalsat

therstWorldCupinKoreaincluding vegold.Andrew is lookingforwardto

continuedsuccessatthesecondstage,

whichkicksoffnextweekinBeijing.

As an aside to the story ontheoppositepage, BAESystems –Radway Green advisedtheNRAlastNovemberthatitwillonlysupplygovernmentsinthefuture.Ifthisisnowcompanypolicy,itendsarelationshipwithcivilianshootingintheUKandCommonwealththatgoesbacktojustafterWorldWar2andencompassesthree generations of rie ammunition – 0.303”, 7.62mm, and5.56mm. As well as the end of business with the NRA whosepurchases were likely to be much reduced or terminatedinanyeventgivenRG’svariablequalityperformance,RG7.62mmand5.56mmcartridgeswere until recently supplied to a majorgun-tradedistributorforonwardsaletoretailers.Ifthissourceofsupply islost, there aremajor implications for

British target shooting with RG cartridgeswidelyusedinshort-rangeclubshooting.Innormalcircumstances, imports would ll any gap, buta combination of worldwide shortages of thesecartridges thanks to huge NATO membergovernment orders, and signicant realprice increases resulting from the pound’splummeting value, will see FMJ bulletedversions of these popular cartridges becomefarmoreexpensive–ifyoucanndanyatall.Can we expect a big surge in sales of .223

Rem and .308 Win die sales in 2009/10 asshortages and price increases bite?This could be a silver lining to thisparticular cloud, as it’s hardly difcult toimprove on RG accuracy through handloading!

It’s ‘Goodbye’

to Radway Green

7.62mm (and

5.56mm), it seems.

http://benchrestdirectory.forumup.co.uk/











BERGER REDUCES BULLETBCVALUESBerger Bullets has recently revised the quotedballistic coefcient (BC) values for most if not allofthebulletsinitslargerangeofMatchTargetBTandVLD(VeryLowDrag)bullets.BryanLitz,thecompany’s ballistician, explained that this

results from a change in methodology with BCvaluesnowcalculatedthroughexperimentalresultsmeasuring velocity drops over distanceinsteadof computer generated guresbasedonthebulletshapeandtheoreticalefciency.Mostbullets see a BC reduction ofsomethingbetween4and7%,butsomealmost‘escape’,andthereareafewthatsuffersignicant reductions. The

new BCs are those shownin the ‘Products’ list on thecompany’swebsite–www.bergerbullets.com. Bergerstresses that the bulletsthemselveshavenotbeenchangedinanyway.

As an example of theamountofchange,herearesomeoldandnewvaluesforaselectionof0.308”dia.Matchbullets.

Old N e w155gnMatchBT 0.453 0 . 4 3 8155gnVLD 0.472 0 . 4 3 9175gnVLD 0.528 0 . 4 9 8185gnVLD 0.569 0 . 5 4 9190gnVLD 0.574 0 . 5 7 0210gnVLD 0.631 0 . 6 1 7

It should be noted that ballistics programs such

asSierraInnityholdtheoldvaluesintheirbulletdatabases, and these should be adjusted ifrunning a plot for a Berger bullet especially oververy long ranges to avoid over-optimistic results.Forinstance,intheabovesamplethe155gnVLDseesaparticularlylargeBCreduction.Runningits‘old’ and ‘new’ BCs through Sierra Innity VI (at3,000fpsMV)seesanincreaseofnearly6-MOAneeded in elevation increase to go from a 100ydzeroto1,000yd,andtheclassic10mph3o’clockwinddeectionincreasesby2.5-MOAatthatrange.

Incidentally,BryanLitz(amemberoftheUSPalmateamandatopProneLong-RangecompetitoronthatsideoftheAtlantic)onlyrecentlyjoinedtheBergerBulletsteam.Bryanhasrecentlymadequiteanameforhimselfbypublishing1,000ydmatchbullettests

thatshowhowtheyreallyperformatlongranges,and is pressing manufacturers to move fromexistingG1dragcurvebasedBCsandballistictables/programstotheG7standard.Thisgivesfarmoreaccuratevelocity,trajectory,andwinddriftprojectionsforrangesbeyond500yards.Expectsomedebateonthissubjectinlongrangeshootingcircles!BergerBullets had promised to have its rst ever

handloading manual in print last autumn, butpublication has been delayed with notargetdatequotednow.Onehastowonderifthe‘BC-issue’ is at least partly behind this deferral.

SightronScopes

WhilstoveratIWAlastmonth,IgotwindofanewUKimporterfor Sightron scopes. I was having a go attheSightron guys, telling them how we all wanted thexed 36power for benchrest and the 8-32 zoom for FClass but wejust couldn’t get hold ofthem inthe UK.We eventually did get an 8-32 for test but onlybecause Laurie Holland sent to America for it! It

turned out to be a cracking scope with very accurateadjustment and an optical quality equal to Nightforce.

The36powerscopewillofcourseinterestbothrimreandcentrerebenchrestshootersasitweighsinataroundapoundandthereisanew‘BigSky’versionavailable,whichIamgiventounderstandisnoticeablybetterthantheoldversion.I’vehadawordwiththenewUKimporterandheis

convincedthathecanbringthesescopesinatapricewhichwillbecompetitivewiththe36powerWeavers.TargetShooterishopingtoobtainoneverysoonforreview.

Berger Bullets has revised its

bullets’ BCs downwards



SPECIALREPORTLastinis thispiecebroughttous,thatwethinkwillbewortheverybodies

timereading;

In July 2008 two prominent and well-respectedmembersoftheNRAhadtheirestatecarbrokenintowhilstawayfromhomeonaweekendofshootingcompetitionsintheNorthofEngland.Theystayedat

ahotelthathadCCTVandgoodlightinginthecarpark. They had taken handguns, ammunition andremovablepartsofotherriesintothehotelleavingonlythoselargerriesconcealedinthebootofthecar,whichwasitselfttedwithanimmobiliser.Stolenfrom their car in the early hours by four maskedpersonsweretheriesthathadbeenconcealedinaccordancewiththeHomeOfceGuidancetoPolice.

InSeptember2008theirlocalpoliceforcerevokedtheir certicates and these revocations were

appealed.

On8thApril2009thecasewasheardbeforetheCrown Court. However, whilst at the courtawaiting the calling of the case, through theirlegal representatives, the appellants servedon the respondent police force’s legalrepresentatives the full grounds for the Appealsupportedbylegalargumentandnumerouscharacterwitnessesfourofwhomwereatcourt.TheAppellantswereverycondentofsucceedingintheirappeals.

Their objective was to recover their rearmcerticates.Thepolicehadopposedtheappealsevensuggestingashorttimebeforethehearingthattheappealsshouldbewithdrawnbutatcourtsawthesense in a compromise whereby they agreedtothecourtmaking anOrder for them,thepolice,toreinstatethecerticateswithin14daysupontheappellants agreeing to review their futurearrangements for the transit of rearms andammunition.Anamicableagreementoncostswasalsoreached.

Itisclearthatdespitetheappellantsfollowingthestandard advice upon security of rearms andammunition in transit and overnight away fromhome,thieveswereabletosmashthewindowsofthecarandstealrearms.

TheFirearmsAct1968requirescerticateholderstotakereasonableprecautionsastothesecurityofrearmsandammunitionwhennotsecuredathomeintheapprovedcabinet.Whatis“reasonable”isa

matterfortheopinionofeachpoliceforcealthoughquite detailed advice is contained in the relevantpoliceandHomeOfcepublications.Inthiscasethepoliceclaimedthattheadvicehadnotbeenfollowedwhilsttheappellantsinsistedthatithadbeenfollowed.

Thecompromiseatcourtwassensibleand,forthemeritsofthatcase,anacceptablewayoutofthepolarised positions each side held, thus avoidingtheadditionalcostandtimeofadrawnouthearing.

What this case does showis that where the leg-islation requires such “reasonable precautions..”

police may well view any situation where gunsare stolen from a parked and unattended car asNOT having had reasonable precautions takenand then revoke the loser’s certicates leavingthe holder with no guns, possible prosecution forbreachof certicate conditions and no certicate.The only resolution to the problem is to applymuchhighersecurityinthevehicleorkeepingalltherearmsandammunitionwiththempersonally.

Themeritsofthiscasewerenottestedinthispar-

ticular court case as a sensible resolution wasfound. Whilst the law does not require absolutesecurity,thispoliceapproachtothesubjectmeansthatthelossofrearms,whateverprecautionsaretaken, is likely to result in certicate revocation.So, preventing such loss byALL possible meansis the only safe way to proceed. The current ad-vice from the2000 Home Ofce document led toadifferenceininterpretationbythepoliceononehand and the appellants onthe other and its ap-plication did not prevent the theft of these guns.

Policehadsuggestedthatphysicalmeansofsecur-inggunstothechassisorbodyofthecarisrea-sonableortakingthemintothehotel.Anythingless,theyconsidered,wasnotreasonable.Ofcoursethecase of R –v- Chelmsford Crown Court (ex parteFarrer)2000makesitimpossibleinlawforcerti-cateholderstoleavetheirrearmsandammunitioninhotelsevenifsecuremeansareprovidedunlessonlythatholderhasaccesstothemandthatisanunlikely situation. Enquires of hotels in the areaconcerned resulted in none having such facilities

andnonewishingtohaverearmstakenintotheirpremisesanywaygiventhechoice.So,forthefu-ture more diligent enquiries are suggested as toovernightstaylocationspriortoselectionandhigherphysicalsecurityttedinvehiclesusedforthetransitorunattendedovernightstoragetopreventthefts.JeffHide

Knightssolicitors

A

nd nally....... We are thinking about

running a few personal advertisements

in the magazine for selling you own items.

Please contact us via the customers servic-

es email address by the 17th of each month

to place personal adverts.



CalendarofeventsoverthenexttwomonthsIfyourcluborassociationhaseventsyouwanttopubliciseherethenemailus.

5 June to Sunday 7th june - Scottish OpenChampionships (Blair Atholl (Scotland). ThisyearsScottishOpenPrizeMeetingwillbeheldatBlairAtholl. Further informationand entryformsmaybeobtainedfromAllanMaboninduecourse.http://www.scottishrieassociation.org.ukContact

AllanMabon

Sat 6th – 7th JuneMLAGBNationalPistolChampionships,Bisley

6/7th June-GBFClassLeagueRound2Bisley([email protected])

6th June NRA Shooting Club Day (NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)

Multi-disciplineNRAShootingClubDay.TargetshavebeenbookedonMelvilleandat100,200,300and1000 yards. All disciplines welcome. IfyouwouldliketoattendyoumustbookinatleastaweekinadvancebycontactingHeatherWebb

attheNRA.

12th to 14th -BritishIntl50mChampionshipsFriday,12June2009.TheChampionshipsrunfrom

12thto14thJune.ContactNSRA

Fri 12 June-AGMofNationalRieAssociation(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)AnnualGeneralMeetingoftheNRA.TobeheldatBisleyat5.30pm.Allmembersareencouragedtoattend.

18 June - NRA Shooting Club Day (NationalShooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)Multi-disciplineNRA Shooting Club Day. Targets have beenbookedonMelvilleandat100,200,500and900

yards.ContactHeatherWebb.

20 June-ClubInstructorCourse-NSRACost- £75.00.Fees include NSRA registration costs,courseattendanceandassessmentswherenecessary.Theydonotincludemealsandaccommodation.

Sat 02 May

NRA Open Day(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)Visitorswillbeabletotryshotgun,airrie,fullborerie, sporting rie, laser clays, precision snap,practicalandhistoricalriestonamebutafew,allwithone-to-onecoaching.

Contact(s):LibbyGendallNRA

2nd May 100 yd Benchrest Diggle Ranges

3rd May 1000 yd Benchrest Diggle Ranges

Contact via UKBRA website

Sat 09 May to Sun 10 May

The English Eight Club, National Rie Club ofScotland&WelshRieAssociationSpring

Meeting.MatchRie(F-ClassRiesmaybeusedifdesiredbutcannottakeanyoftheprizesexceptfortheCashSweep)2+15at1000,1100&1200yardsoneachday

Contact(s):EnglishVIIISecretary

Fri 22 May to Sun 24 May Phoenix Meeting

(National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) and

Arms Fair. Thismulti-discipline meeting has itsrootsinpistolcalibrerearmsbuttherearealsoplentyofcompetitionsforBlackPowder,AirandFullborefrom15yardsto1000yards.AswellasallthisshootingyoucanvisittheArmsFairheldintheBisleyPavilion.Contact(s):BrianThomasNRA

Sat 16 May to Sun 17 May

RangeConductingOfcerCourse(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley).Twodaycourse-

successfulcandidateswillbequaliedtoconductliveringonMoDorTAVRAranges.

Contact:MaureenPeachNRA

25th May Egg Shoot 100/300/500 yds Diggle

Ranges Contact via UKBRAwebsite

Sat 30 May

Start of NRA Probationary Members Course

2009/3Contact(s):HeatherWebbNRA

10th May 100 yds Benchrest Bisley Ranges

Contact via UKBRAwebsite

Wed 20 May NRA Shooting Club Day(NationalShooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) Multi-disciplineNRA Shooting Club Day. Targets have beenbookedonCheylesmoreandat100,200,600and900yards.IfyouwouldliketoattendyoumustbookinatleastaweekinadvancebycontactingHeatherWebb.

10 Target Shooter

Sat 20 June-MLAGBLongRangeRiesBranch,900yardChamps.(am),1000yardpractice(pm),Bisley.

20 June to Sun 21 JunLMRAvWelshXX

(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)Sun 21 Jun Surrey RA Civilian Cup (NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)27th June HampshireOpenPrizeMeeting(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)



http://www.midwayuk.com/



http://www.nra.org.uk/common/asp/Calendar/events.asp?site=NRA&id=2065



Priced per

pack of 1000

A193 22 Hornet SP 45gr A032 222 RemSP50gr A203 222 RemFMJ BT 55gr A132 223 RemSP55gr A188 223 RemFMJ BT 55gr A495 223 Match 75gr A253 22-250 Rem SP50gr A211 22-250 Rem SP55gr A212 22-250 Rem FMJ BT55gr A270 243 Win SP 90gr A134 243 Win SP 100gr A047 25-06 Rem PSP 100gr A208 6,5 x 52 Car FMJ BT 139gr

A084 6,5 x 55 SP BT 139gr A083 6,5 x 55 FMJ BT 139gr A227 6,5 x 55 SP RN 156gr A161 270 Win SP 130gr A027 270 Win SP 150gr A141 7 X 57 FMJ BT 173gr A400 7mm - 08 PSP 140gr A024 30 Carbine FMJ RN 110gr A034 308 FMJ BT145gr A020 308 SP150gr A362 308 PSP BT165gr A363 308 HP BT Match 168gr A366 308 FMJ BT175gr A035 308 SP180gr A028 30-30 FSP 150gr A346 7,5x54 French FMJ 139gr A345 7,5x55 Swiss FMJ BT 174gr A094 30-06 FMJ 150gr A365 30-06 HP BT168gr A323 30-06 Grom170gr A066 30-06 SP180gr A041 7,62 X 39 FMJ 123gr A169 7,62 X 54 FMJ BT 182gr A143 303 British FMJ BT 174gr A267 375 H&H Mag 300gr A128 8x57 JSSP 196gr A348 8x57JSFMJ BTMatch 198gr

A351 8x57 JS Grom185gr

100 - 104 Lowtown, Pudsey

West Yorkshire, LS289AY

Tel: 01132569163/ 565167

Fax: 01132 574 962

Email: [email protected]

Open Mon - Sat, 9am- 5pm

HenryKrank

£39.60£39.60£39.60£39.60£39.60£51.70£49.50£49.50£49.50£49.50£49.50£54.23£54.23

£49.50£49.50£49.50£49.50£49.50£49.50£53.90£41.25£45.65£48.95£49.50£59.29£49.50£49.50£49.50£53.90£53.90£53.90£53.90£66.00£53.90£46.20£53.90£50.60£135.30£49.50£59.29

£66.00

B008 22 FMJ BT 55gr B484 6.5mm FMJ BT 110gr B083 6.5mm FMJ BT139gr B127 7 FMJ BT 174gr B105 7mm 158gr GromB010 30FMJ RN 110gr B009 30FMJ BT 145gr B007 30FMJ 139gr B099 30 FMJ 150gr B345 30 FMJ BT 174gr B366 30 FMJ BT 175gr B074 7.62mm FMJ 123gr B143 303 FMJ BT 174gr B006 303 FMJ BT 190gr B348 8mm MatchFMJ BT198gr B351 8mm 185gr GromB323 30 Grom170gr B140 38 158gr RNFPB339 38 FPJ 158gr

B221 44 FPJ 180gr B180 45 FMJ 230gr

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C193 22 HornetC032 222 RemingtonC132 223 RemingtonC211 22/250C134 243 Winchester C118 6,5 x 52 CarcanoC083 6,5 x 55 SwedishC027 270 Winchester C345 7,5 x 55 Swiss

C030 7,62 x 39C020 308 Winchester C346 7,5 x 54 FrenchC031 7,62 x 54RC128 8mm Mauser C470 7.62 NagantC483 6.5 GrendelC385 6.5 x 51 JapC383 7.7 JapC424 7 .92 x 33 KurzC417 8 x 50 LebelC384 8 x 56 Mannlicher C413 7.63 (30 Mauser)

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This month Ken offers a newcomers guide to theQSAandshootingtheblack-powdercartridgerie.

The Quigley Shooting Association (QSA) and theSingle Shot Black Powder Cartridge Rie Clubof Great Britain (SSBPCRCGB) are now rmlyestablished as the premier UK associationsdevoted to the use of black-powder ‘buffalo’ typeries in competition. Events are heldthroughout the year and, as luck would have it,the Clubs are situated at opposite ends of thecountry (Diggle Ranges & Bisley) thus makingthis type of shooting accessible to most regions.

Theaimofthisarticleistoprovideafewpointersfor those who have bought or are contemplatingbuying a BPCR with a view to trying theaforementioned competitions, or maybe simply

samplethefunofshootingtheseinterestingriesontheirlocalrange.Havingsaidthat,IammainlyinvolvedwiththeQSAthough we do have a couple of inter-clubteam-shootswiththeSSBPCRCGBguyseveryyear.

The Competitions.

The Quigley competitions were conceived withthe intention of offering similar challenges tothose faced by the buffalo hunters of the oldAmerican West and of course inspired by theQuigley Down Under lm starring Tom Selleck.QSA events are held at Diggle Ranges in thenorth and consist mainly of rie shoots at 400and600yards, where thetargets aretheQuigleybucket(watchtheQuigleyDownUndervideo!)andahalfsizebuffalo,oroccasionallysteelsilhouettes.Ample sighters are normally allowed and then

Accuracy in action - BP style

AregularcolumnwherebyKenHallkeepsusuptodatewithblackpowdercartridgerieshootingintheUK.



it’s usually fteen shots to count at each distancebutourcompetitionrulesarenot‘setinstone’andcontinue to evolve to suit the requirements andinterests of the membership. As in any target riecompetition,shotsareindicatedbythebutt’screw.

In addition, we also shoot the 1000 yard BillyDixon competition, which celebrates the famousAdobe Walls ‘long shot’ of 1874, when Billy wasseentohitanIndianonhorsebackwithhisSharps‘Big50’atadistancelaterveriedas1,538yds.Asourmaximumrangeis1000yards,wereplicatethisby using a two-thirds size target. We also have afew short-range events at 200/300/400 yards –a facsimile of Colonel Berdan’s ‘sharp-shooter’US Civil War test, a mini Billy Dixon and a miniQuigleycompetition,bothshotwithpistolcalibreries.

The Ries.

QSArulesspecifyacut-offdateof1895forriesandequipment,soanyoriginalorreproductionAmericanrie coinciding with that date and having anexternal hammer is permissible. Some replicas incurrent production might include the RemingtonRolling Block, the Trapdoor Springeld, theWinchester 1885 ‘high-wall’, the Winchester 1886,theMarlin1895andofcourse,themanyvariantsofperhapsthebestknown-theSharps.

Whilst any of these ries are up to the job, itis worth noting that those listed as ‘target’ or‘sporting’ versions are generally most suited tocompetition shooting due to their longer and

heavier barrels andthe availability of good qualityfore-sights and rear tang-sights. The excellentPedersoli catalogue from Viking Arms is a goodplace to start, though models are available fromotherEuropeanmanufacturerssuchasArmiSportandUberti.Asyouwouldexpect,theUnitedStatesalsoexportssomeveryneries,ShilohSharpsofMontanaandC.SharpsArmsareperhapsthebestknownoverhere,buttheydotendtospecialiseandriesaregenerallybuilttoorderandarethereforemoreexpensive,withawaitingtimeofaroundayear.

Ammunition.This simple word can lead to much consternation.Whereas itisa relativelysimplechoice toselectasuitable rie, when we come to deciding what tofeeditwithwemeetavarietyofideas.QSArules

state that any calibre over .35in is admissible.Bullets must be of lead only (no jacketedbulletsorgas-checks).Themostpopularcalibreisundoubtedlythe.45in-invariouscartridgelengths

– with the 45-70 being the clear favourite. Themaller .38 and .40 cals are gaining a following inthiscountrybuttheheavier45bulletisprettymuchessential for the longer ranges. Unfortunately,commercially made ammunition is not available,you must make your own and there are manychoicesofpowder,primer,lubricantsandofcourse

compression-cueforaseparatearticleinthefuturehere!

Equipment.

As with many shooting sports, buying the rie

Two happy winners



is only the start! With the BPCR there are manychallenges to overcome and that is whatdiscouragesmanyshootersfromtryingit.

When black-powder is burned it leaves behinda lot of residue and this is not user-friendly. Theproblemscausedbyfoulingaremanyandvaried.Acertainamountoffoulingisnecessaryto‘condition’the

barrel and maintain relatively constant velocities.Accuracy can actually suffer from over-cleaningthebarrel betweenshots, just as readily as it cansuffer from the effects of insufcient cleaning. Ahappymediumneedstobefoundthatworksforyou.

The solution to the fouling problem is as variedas the number of people involved in the sport –every one has their own idea of barrel cleaning.Most shooters will bring along a cleaning-rod, dryor pre-lubricated patches, cleaning solution and

perhaps a blow-tube (to breath moist air into thebore between shots – which hopefully keeps thefouling soft enough to be pushed out by the nextbullet!).Othersusetwoorthreerods,withbothdryandlubricatedpatchesandbrushesandpasseachthrough the barrel after every shot. Watch whatothers do and try and nd a method that works.Consistencyfromshottoshotisthedesiredresult.Theblack-powderfoulingcreatesanotherproblem.Thelifeofyourrieandyourbrasscasescanbeseriouslyreducediftheharmfulsaltsleftoverfromring are not neutralized or removed as soon aspossible. A means of combating this effect isrequired.Someshooterswillde-capanddroptheirred cases into a ‘neutralizing’ solution (soapywater!) immediately after ring and clean theirrieonthepoint.Othersarehappytocleanwhenthey get home. Either way, it is essential thatyou do not leave the rie or cases unattendedfor any length of time or their usefulness will berapidlyimpaired.Nospecialcleaningproceduresarerequired but you must do it as soon as possible!

Shooting the BPCRIf you look at any old prints of the buffaloshooters youwill almost invariably seethe use of‘crossed-sticks’. Any type of shooting willbenetfromastablering-positionandintheQSAtheuseofcross-sticksispermissible.Thissimplestofsupports can be fabricated by anyone of modestability and provides an excellent shooting-rest. Iknowofnosuitablecommerciallyavailableproductandsorersareforcedtomaketheirownandasaconsequenceweseeeverythingfromtheelaborate

totherudimentary.Thekeyphrasehereis‘spiritoftheoriginal’-inotherwords,wedon’twanttoseesomething like a steel tripod with windage andelevationadjustment–keepitsimpleandauthentic-looking.

A decent shooting-mat along with good wind/waterproof clothing, whilst not compulsory, isdesirable,asshootingtakesplaceintheopeninallweathers. Although our basic aperture-sights arecapable of good accuracy, they offer nomagnication,soagoodspottingscopeisusefulifyouwanttoseeyourfallofshot.Infuturearticles,wewilllookatthecartridgeitself

inmoredetailandI’llshowyouafewgadgetsandgizmos,whichmakeshootingthesefascinatingriesmoresuccessful.

Questionsandcommentspleaseto;[email protected]

Match report

This year’s Quigley Championship got underway on the 4thApril, sandwiched between two ofthebestdayssofarthisyearbutmatchdaywas

probably the windiest day for some considerabletime. Despite this, some very good scores wereachieved at 400 yards, although a few struggledsomewhat when we dressed back to 600 yards.

Aftertherstround,DennisRichardsonleadwith63points,withIanHull,DaveColeman,DaveBownassandKenHallallclosebehindwithscoresinthe50s.Thewindseemedtodotheimpossibleandgetworseasthedayprogressedandinstage2at600yards,scoresinthe30sand40swerethenorm.However,Denniskeptupthepressureandscoredanimpressive57pointstoclinchthematchwithatotalof120points.

Results.

1.DennisRichardsonBrowningHi-Wall.45/702.IanHull Sharps .45/903.DaveGregory Sharps.45/1004.RichardHealey Sharps .45/705.KenHall WinchesterHi

Wall.38/55

OurnextcompetitiontakesplaceatDiggleRangesonSaturdayMay16th.Feelfreetoturnupontheday and shoot with us or if you prefer, just comealongforachatandseewhat‘Quigley’isallabout.

Thefollowingweek,May23rd, wedepart fromoutusual format with our ‘Tight Group’ competition.Thisgivesyouachancetoseejusthowwellyourhand-loads are working when shot off a bench at100yards.

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Club: Accurate and reliable mid-rangecartridge used in all disciplines up to50m range. A consistent winner at clubcompetitions.

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JohnSmithstartedYorkGunsuparound30yearsagoasaone-manband.Withapassionfor,andencyclopaedicknowledgeof,vintageandantiquearms,thatwasalargepartoftheshop’soriginalbusiness alongside the obligatory well-used BSAMartini target ries and Brno Model 2s. Pistolsand revolvers old and new featured heavily too.After a few years the workforce doubled in size

withthearrivalofGaryHyde,nowthecompany’smanaging director and grew steadily from thenon, but by the 1990s the original premises weremassively overcrowded at busier times andrestricting further opportunities. Somehow orother, a wholesale supply business was alsobeingrunfromadeskshoehornedintoaperenniallyovercrowded storeroom upstairs. Building andrelocating to a new bespoke shop and tradewarehouse facility on the outskirts of the villageof Dunnington east of York in early 2003 was a

vitalstep inmeeting John andGary’s aspirationsfor the business. It provided a huge increase inthe amount of space and a quantum leap in thequalityofthe‘retailexperience’,sawfurtherrapidexpansioninproductlines,staffnumbers(now14),andwholesaleactivities.

The shop provides a full service to the shooter,not just locally, with customers throughout thecountry and abroad. One beneciary of theincreaseinspacewasclothing,thereneverhav-

ingbeenroomforitintheoldshop.Abigincreaseinthenumberofgunsandrieswasaccompaniedby a move upmarket. YGL is Beretta’s PremiumDealer for the North of England, and holdssimilar status for Browning, Caesar Guerini and

others.Thereissomethingfornearlyeveryclayorgameshooterthoughincluding a large choice of usedguns. Around 100 ries are ondisplay, with yet more storedout of sight. Most are sportingmodels these days, althoughyou’ll nd some heavy-barreltactical types and the odd targetmodel.WithYGLthecountry’smainsupplier of Schmidt & Benderriescopes, a Zeiss ‘CentrePartner’ and stockist of Leica,Leupold,Nightforce,Burris,Hawke

and Steiner optics, there is plentyof choice in this eld too. Nearlyeveryemployeeisakeenandactiveshooter,theworkforceabletoprovide

expertiseanddirectexperienceinanyshootingsport.

Most shotguns, ries and optical goods instock are listed on the company’s website(www.yorkguns.com) the ‘current stock’ sectionupdated weekly, over 90% of the shotguns alsohavingimagesattached.Anonlineretailingfacility

isarecentdevelopment.Wholesale or ‘trade sales’ is an importantactivity, all products also offered to shopcustomers too. It encompasses a varied mix ofproducts and price levels providing dealers withsomeofthecheapestshotgunsgoing,whileattheotherextreme,Schmidt&Benderriescopesofferphenomenalbuildqualityanddurability,butcannotbedescribedas‘budget’.

Recentadditionstotheproductstableincludethe

popular Muck Bootsrange of ‘super-wellies’, andYorkGunshasjustbecometheimporterofGSG’s.22LR copies of the H&K MP5 machine-carbine,

withanewGSG-47(‘KalashnikovAK47’)modelimminent.

Supportyourlocalgunshop‘YorkGuns’

YGL’s founder and chairman John Smith.

The customer’s view of the retail area on entering showing

one part of the clothing displays.



Continental Shooting SuppliesNorth Ayrshire Shooting Ground, Blackstone Farm, Dalry, Ayrshire KA24 5HN

Tel: 01294 833297 Fax: 01294 833312 e-mail: [email protected]

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We welcome customers to our shop, where a

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You can also purchase goods from us by mail order.

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We carry an extensive range of products covering all

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If you are looking for something and can not see it on

our web site please give us a phone - we usually know

where things can be found! Also keep an eye out for

our special offers each month.

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WementionedthepossibilityofanarticlecoveringbasicriemaintenanceintheAprilissueofTargetShooterandenoughofyourespondedtomakeitareality,soheregoes.

We’llkeepitsimpleandrestrictitatthisstagetothecentrerebolt-actionrieandwewillstartwiththeboltitself.Theboltisakeypartofourrie.Notonlydoesitclosethe breech, sealing the pressure-chamber, it alsoextracts the red case and provides ignition viathe ring-pin striking the primer. It is this latterfunction that concerns us most when it comes tomaintenance.

Lock-time-thetimetakenforthering-pintostrike

the primer after we have pulled the trigger - ismeasured in milli-seconds. Even though thelock-time is unimaginably small, movement of therie can occur in this time-period and if it does,accuracy will obviously suffer. Clearly, a fastlock-timeisdesirable-evenmoredesirablewithahand-held rie, where movement is more likely tooccur.

A number of factors will inuence lock-timebut the one that we can do something aboutis the ring-pin/spring assembly. But rst, let’sdismantle our bolt. Most bolts are designed toeasily ‘eld-strip’ and even if our featured boltsare different from your rie, you’ll be surprised

what you can nd on the internet. (In less than aminuteIhadaYouTubevideoofaMauserboltstrip).The springassembly usuallyscrewsintothe mainbolt-body (e.g.Remington, Winchester, Stolle) butsome bolts employ a bayonet-style engagement(e.g. Howa, BAT) or even a screw-on cap (e.g.Savage,Barnard,RPA).Picture one shows a few types – from the left:Remington, Winchester, Howa and Barnard.We will concentrate on the Remington as it isone of the most popular and I just happen to be

trouble-shooting a light-striking problem with one.

Using a suitable stripping tool, we can compressthe spring andeasilyunscrewthe ring-pin/springassembly.Wenowhavetwoparts–picturetwo-

Vince Bottomley

22 Target Shooter

pictureone

Basic Rie Maintenance



putthespringassemblytoonesideandwe’lldealwiththebolt-bodyrst.The problem here is the likelihood of crudaccumulatingdeepdowninsidethenarrowpassagethatguidesthering-pin.Gasesblowbackthroughthe ring-pin hole and if you’ve ever pierced aprimer,thisiswherethesmallmetaldiscendsup.Anaerosol of auto carburettor cleaner (Halfords) is

useful here . Spray inside the body and swill outthecrud.Ifitlooksverydirty,useapointedstick–like a kebab stick with a cleaning patch attached.Shine a torch inside to ensure it’s clean. Whilstyou’re at it, spray the bolt-facewith the cleaner –particularly around the extractor and ejector pin.Depressthepinafewtimestomakesure it’s running free. If you haveaccesstoanair-line,giveitablastinsideandoutandthejobisdone.

Now for the spring assembly. I’mintending to fully dismantle theRemington spring assembly asthereisaproblemwithlight-strikesbut for normal maintenance it’snot necessary and we are simplygoingtocleanthespring-assemblywith our aerosol carb. cleaner toremovealltracesofcrudandgrease.WedonotwantANYgreaseoroilonthespringorpin–itwillcausedragandincreaselock-time!Again,dryoffwithanair-lineifyouhaveone.AlightspraywithWD40isallweneed–nooilorgreaseonthespring or pin please! You can put

a very small amount ofgreaseonthethreadsorbayonet prior toassembly.Picture three, below,shows the angledcocking ramp. Thisshould be completely

free of burrs to ensuresmooth operation. Youcan put a tiny dab ofgrease on the ramp.That’s it, apart froma visual inspection tosee that the pin is notundulywornorbentandtherearenosignsofrustanywhere. Dry off anyexcess WD40 with

kitchen roll andre-assemble using thestripping tool tocompressthespring.

The bolt is now ready to use but don’t forget togrease the back of the bolt-lugs lightly and a tinybit of grease on the camming-point before use.(Picturefour).Pleasebeverysparingwiththegrease

– do not get grease anywhere near the bolt-face.Unfortunately, we need to take things a bitfurther withourRemingtonaswehavea problem.Light-strikes can be due to a number of things:

Firing-pin protrusion: Generally we are lookingfor something around 0.05 inches (fty thou.)TheRemmyisspot-onat51thou.sothisisnottheproblem.Excessiveheadspace:Ifheadspaceistoogreat,it will have the same effect as lack of ring-pin

picturethree

picturetwo

Target Shooter 23



protrusion– leavingasmall gapbetweenthe bolt-face and case-head but when the go-gauge wasinserted,headspacewasspot-on.Again,ifyouover-

bumpthecasesonre-sizing,itwillshortenthemandexhibitthesameproblemasexcessiveheadspace.

Primerproblem:Thisisrarebutnotunknownsoworthchecking.Duffprimersare uncommonbut iftheygetdamporoilonthem,theywon’tre.Theremedyistoreplaceafewprimersandtryagain.I

poppedouttheCCIprimers(usingaLeeuniversal

de-priming die) and replaced them with Federal –no difference. There was an indentation from thering-pinimpactbutnotquiteenoughtoretheprimer.

Ontakingthe pin andspringapart,the problemisrevealed.Moisturehasfounditswayintotheboltandthepinisrusty.Lookatpictureveandyoucanseethatcorrosionisparticularlybadunderthespring(I’dactuallycleanedofftheexcessrustwithsteel-woolbeforethispicwastaken)butwearemoreconcernedwiththebitthatslidesinsidetheshroud.It’saclosetandthelightcorrosionwascausingthepintodragveryslightly–enoughtocauseanignitionproblem.Theriehadbeenlaidupoverthewinter,allowingthecorrosiontoform.Agoodcleanwithwet‘n’drypaper soon had it looking as good as new and alightapplicationofWD40willpreventre-occurrence.

Whilst the bolt was in pieces, it was a simple jobto t a new spring. Springs for the popular riesare available from www.brownells.com for a fewdollars- pictureeight.Fora few dollarsmore,youcanbuyaslightlystronger(longer)onewhichwillintheorygiveyouashorterlock-time.Itarrivedwithinaweek!Onelastthingtocheck-particularlyifyourrieisn’tasaccurateasyouthinkitshouldbe.Checkthatboth

bolt-lugsaremakingcontactwiththeactionlugs.The

picturefour

pictureve

24 Target Shooter

picturessixandseven

http://www.brownells.com/

http://www.brownells.com/



backofbothlugsshouldappearshiny.Ifonelooksshinybuttheotherdoesn’t,there’snotalotyoucandoaboutit–it’sreallyamachiningjobtotrue‘emupanditprobablyisn’tworththecostasyoucouldenduphaving to adjust the headspace but at least you

know what could be caus-ing the accuracy problem.

Finally,neverstoreyourriewiththe bolt cocked or the springwill soon lose its tension. If youprefer to leave the bolt in therie, close it on an empty

chamber and pull the trigger toun-cock it. If you store the boltseparately – best for safety –de-cock itby twistingthe shroudto drop the pin. Re-cock usingthe stripping tool. Bolt strippingtools for popular actions can beobtained from SinclairInternational in America. www.sinclairintl.com Barnard boltscomeapartwithoutanytools,as

do RPA and Savage – exceptforanAllen-key.Intheabsenceofastrippingtool,youcanimprovise(seepicturessixandseven)withabitofwireandawasher(or5pcoin)inthecaseofRemingtonbolts!

Morebasicriemaintenancenextmonth.

pictureeight

Target Shooter 25

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Sunday 19th April saw the rst Mini Riecompetition held at Thurnscoe Rie Club located

a couple of miles from South Yorkshire ShootingSuppliesbetweenBarnsleyandDoncaster.OriginallyarangebuiltfortheHomeGuardduringthewarandsincepurchasedbytheclub,therangeisoutdoorandoffersrangesupto100ydscateringfor.22rie,AirRie,andBlackpowderpistol.Theclubalsohasshared

accesstoa100mfull-borerangeusedonceamonth.Mini Rie was introduced as an alternative to

practical pistol shooting after the handgun banbut for unknown reasons has never achieved thestatus orpopularity of theprevious discipline.Thecompetitionnaturallylendsitselfto.22semiautoriesandvarioustypesincludingtheBrowningBuckmark,obligatory Ruger 10/22 and, increasingly, the newGSG-5(.22MP5replica)areevidentatcompetitions.EarlierthisyearsomeoftheguysfromThurnscoevisited Worcester Norton Shooting Club on oneof their Mini Rie Open Shoots to take part andhopefully learn how to stage competitions of

this type at our own club. Bob Oakley and theguys at Worcester Norton gave us a warmwelcomeandgaveusagreatdaysshootingduringwhich we learnt all about the Mini Rie disciplineincludingsafetyprocedures,coursesofre,targets,andscoring. Worcester Norton run these competitionson a regular basisandare extremely experiencedin setting up safe and challenging courses whichprove to be great fun. On our return to Yorkshirewe began the process of gathering the requiredinstructionsandequipmentnecessarytostagethis

type of competition ourselves. Sunday saw thisproject come to fruition when we held our rstcompetition.Although starting off overcast the sun graduallyburnt through giving us a rarity in Yorkshire that

being a warm sunny day. The range had beenprepared and 3 separate stages set out ready for

thethirteencompetitorstakingpart.AftertheRangeActionSafetyPlanhadbeencommunicatedtotheshootersawalkthroughoftherststagetookplace.Themainaimofthisdisciplineistochallengetheshooter by introducing obstacles and differentshooting stances. The shooter is accompaniedthrough each course by a Range Ofcer whoensures that the competitor follows all safety andcompetitionprocedures.Thecourseofreistimedwiththetotalpointsscoreddividedbythetimetakentogiveanalscoreforthecompetition.Gotoofastand you can loose accuracy or gotoo slowly andincrease the time taken, the idea is to achieve ahappymediumtogivethebestoverallresult.Preplanning also becomes important as somecourses require magazine changes which canextended your time if you are caught by surprisehalfwaythroughshootingastring.Thecompetitionstartedataround10amandnished

justbefore2pm.Theoverallresultswereasfollows:

1st Dave Wylde 327 points

2nd Jeff Steed 292 points

3rd Mark Hardcastle 280 points.

Full stage results available at www.freewebs.com/thurnscoerieclub

The main aim of the day was realised aseverybodywhotookpartexpressedtheirenjoymentandarenowlookingforwardtothenextcompetition.ThiswasinitiallysetforJunebutduetopopularityanother may now be staged next month. Ourthanks go to Bob, Gareth and all the guys at

WorcesterNortonforintroducingandinstructingusinthischallengingandaddictiveshootingdiscipline.

Thurnscoe Rie Club Mini Rie Competition

By Ross Burrough

Mini Rie in action

Prizegiving at the match



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Inissuenumber1ofTargetShootermagazinewehada lookat the possiblestarterairriesforonetopursueoutdoordisciplinesmainly,FieldTarget,HunterFieldTargetandAirRieBenchRest.Now

thatwetookadecisiononthetypeofairrieto

purchase,it’stimetodecidethescopetot.ThescoperequirementsvarybetweenFT,HFTandAirRieBenchRestdisciplines.Wemustrstunderstandthese requirments before attempting to purchaseanallrounderscope,soasnottobedisappointed.

InHFTyourequireascopethatisabletoshowyouclearlyattargetfromdistancesof7yardsto41yards,withoutadjustingtheparallax.Thismeansthatrangendingthroughparallaxadjustmentisnotpossible.Onecan’tdialintheturretsforthetargetrange.AnHFTascopemusthavelowmagnicationtoallowclearviewofalltargetrangesandavisualcapabilitytoaidtheshooterinestimatingtherangeofaknowntargetsize.Theshootermustalsohavemeansto

determineand calculatethe pointof impact (POI)onthetargetwithouttouchinganypartofthescope.

In Field Target the shooter is able to utilize allfunctions of a scope. Here one can use parallaxadjustmenttodeterminethetargetrangeanduseturretsto dialin zerofor eachrange.TheshooterinFTis abletomanipulateanymagnication that

suits him for all targets in ranges between 10 to50meters.TheFTshooterwouldrequireascopethat is capable of providing him with accuraterangeestimation ata high magnication for moreaccuracy. He would prefer a side wheel parallaxadjustment. This design is more ergonomic thenfront objective lens focusing bell which issometimeshardtoreachwhenshoulderingtheairrie. This side wheel parallax adjustment allowsthe shooter to keep target in sight whilst netuningonthefocusingtogetthebestrangeindication.

InBenchRestlikeFTtheshooterisabletoutilizehis scope to the full. However Bench Restscoringtargetsarestaticataoneknownmeasureddistancesotherewillnotbetheneedtofocusornd the range for each shot. The bench restshooterismoreinclinedtouseturretstonetunehisshotsontargetatahighmagnication.Heneedsto do this by dialing in or calculate from reticulethe POI according to the wind direction andconditionsdevelopingduringhisshootingtime.Highmagnicationandcrisp image enables the benchrest shooter to clearly dene the scoring ringsoutlineontargetsatsetrangesof25or50meters.

Thenovicetargetshooterwillask,ifthereascopethatIcanbeusedforallthesedisciplines?TheanswerisYES.Howeverthehugediversityofscopes on themarket will confuseoneinstantly.Wewillbediscussingsome scopes that are ideal asstarter scopes, but before we

mentionspecicscopesweshouldconcentrateonscopefeatureswhichoneneedtoknowbeforepurchasingathebestpossibleallrounderscope.

OutdoorAirriesports–StarterEquipmentPart2

Stanley Shaw

Which scope to get ? You need a

starter scope capable of handline

both ft and hft.

Hawke Varmint scopes are a good

choice amoungst airgunners.



Mostscopeswillbefeaturedwithstrangenumbersforexample6-24X44or10X50.Thisisawayto

denethescopemagnicationandlensdiameter.The rst numberor twonumbers separated by adash (-) isreferring tothescopemagnication.A6-24 means that the scope has a variable zoomfrom 6 to 24 times. A single number means thatthescopehasaxedzoomforexample10times.A 10X magnication scope in theory must showyoutheimage10timescloserthenwhenviewedwith the naked eye.The number followed by theX sign is the objective lens diameter. The biggerthe diameter of theobjective lens, the more lightwill reach your eye. This results in a brighterimage.ScopesmanufacturerswillspecifyalsotheTube Diameter. The most common is the 25mmand the 30mm. The tube diameter is referring tothecentraltubedimension.Herethelightenteringthe objective lens is converged onto the reticuleand nally towards the eye bell lens. The biggerthe tube the more bright and crisp is the image.

The next very important feature is the MOA(minute of angle) setting. There are 3 typesavailable the ½” at 100 Yards, ¼” at Yards and

1/8” @ 100 Yards. Without going in detailed

explanation of MOA this means the distancechangedinpointofimpact(POI)ofaprojectilewhentheturretismovedby1clickataxedrange.Ona½”@100Yardsscopeoneclickmovesthepointofimpactby½“at100yards.2clicksonthesamescopewillshiftthePOIby1”alwaysat100yards.Thisalsomeansthatat200yards,1clickshiftsthePOIby1”andat400yards1clickshiftsthePOI

by2”.Thesamescoperequires4clickstoshift1”at50yards.Ascopewhichhasasettingof1/8”at100yardsrequires8clickstoshiftthePOIby1“at100yards.At400yardsthisscoperequires2clicksto shift 1”. Thesame scope requires 16 clicks toshift1”at50yards.Thisautomaticallyshowsyouthata1/8”MOAscopegiveyoumorenetuningcapabilitiesonyourPOIatfarandcloseranges.Alltherestdisplayedinthespecicationsofascopearecosmeticorqualityfeaturesavailableforthescope.

So what should one look for in a starter scope?1. Variable magnication and parallax thatallows us to see clearly with with the lowestmagnicationtargetsascloseas7yardsandasfaras41yards.(HFT)2. A variable magnication and parallax thatallowsustoseeatahighermagnicationtargetsbetween10and50meters.(FT)3. AreliableParallaxthatisaccurateenoughataparticularmagnication.(FT)4. AnMOAsettingthatcangiveustheexibilityofnertuninginourscopezeroing.(BR)5. A crisp clear image. Lens quality – Scope

scope mounts. one piece mounts are a must on

spring air ries.

For Air Rie BR – quality over gadgets. good magnication (min 24x) & a clear image (min 44mm

objective lens and min 1” tube). avoid ½” @ 100 yard for air rie short range shooting. ¼” moa is

a good choice, 1/8” moa is better.



Quality.(FT,HFT,BR)6. A reticule that enables us to determinethepoint of impact at all ranges from 7 yards to 50meters.(HFT-FT-BR)7. A reticule that enables us to determinethetargetdistancebycomparison.(HFT)

Now weknowwhatexactlywearelookingfor theproblemis thepricerangewindow.Scopecanbeascheapasdirtormoreexpensivethentheairrieitself.Hereyouneedtotakeacertainapproachinyourdecision.Rememberyoudecidedtogetastarterairrie.Itdoesn’tmakesensetopurchaseatopnotchscopecosting3or4timesasmuchas

yourairrie!Afterallyou’reshootingyourairrieatrangesnotlongerthen50meters.Goforthe1/3ruleitworksquitene.Ifyouinvested£360inanairriegetascopewithinapricerangeof£120.Youwillencounteralotofscopes,allwithdifferent specs for the same value,however we can narrow our searchfurther by applying our basic

requirements. The scope choice alsodepends on the type of air rie youpurchased. A scope on a PCP willnot sustain any damage from recoil.Howeverascopeonaspringairriewill

suffer.Acheapscopeonaspringairriewithoutthecorrectmountscaneasilybedestroyedinlessthen100shots.Thefollowingcondensedspecicationswill give you good results in all the 3 disciplines.

1. Heliumlledscope.2. VariableMagnicationfrom6to24times (minimum).

3. Objectivediameter44mm(minimum).4. Tubediameterofatleast25mm(minimum).5. MOAof¼“@100Y(minimum).6. Amil-dotreticule.7. Sunshade.

Ifyouaremountingascopeonaspringairriegoforlesscosmeticfeaturesandconcentrateonbuiltquality.IfaPCPairrieiswhatyouhave,thenonecanaffordtogoforslightlylessqualitybuild,andmorecosmeticfeatures,butbecareful.Alwaysuseagood

1piecemountforspringersandhavegoodmountsfor PCP’s. Mount manufacturers likeSportsmatchorHawkearegoodenoughonsub12ftlbsairries.

Various scope manufacturers offer a goodselection of scope in this price range,Nikko Stirling Platinum Nighteater 6-24x56 &Hawke Varmint II 6-24x44 are two of the best

entries,caninstallwithacertainassuranceonspringersandPCP’s.If youboughtastarterPCPsystemandwouldliketoinstallan exotic variable high magnicationscope, with side wheel parallaxadjustment that is impressively accurateat its maximum magnication, includessnipertypeturretswith1/8”MOAclicks,a30mmtubeplusanilluminatedMilDotreticule,includingasidewheelandasunshade get a ZOS 10-40X50 AE scope.Thisis“amadeinChinascope”likemostbig name scopes anyway, but it offersvalueformoney.

In the next issue we will startsetting up our air rie – scopecombination and explore the

differenttests weneedtocarry outto understandbetterourair rieandtherightpelletcombinationrequired in outdoor air rie target shooting.

Scope turrets. ½’ – ¼ “ – 1/8

“ moa to ne tune your point

of impact.

Zos scopes not a bad starter

choice for pcp air ries



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TheLeeEneldrieNumber5Mark1carrieswithitacuriousmixtureofromanticismandmystic.TheJungleCarbinebringswithitareputationforbrutalrecoilandawanderingzerothatoftenmakesaccurateshootingafrustratingexerciseborderingoncruelty.

The Jungle Carbine is the epitome of Georgian

military beauty. Conceived of during the greydaysofWorldWarTwo,itcarrieswithitechoesofamoreextravagantera.Theneraspectsofrieaesthetics rarely impact on the design of militaryries,letaloneonthedesignofariewhosekeydevelopment period occurred in the last 12 – 18monthsoftheSecondWorldWar.

A Design Enigma

However, thelittle carbine carriesanair ofvicious

beauty.Fromtheashhider,whichprovideslittle

more than an aesthetic embellishment and mayactually erode accuracy, to the lightened receiverthatexesunderhighpressurecorditeloads,tothehardrubberrecoilpadthatmagniesfeltrecoil,the.303JungleCarbineappearsbuiltforitsmenacingmilitaryappealthanitsabilitytoproduceaccuracy.

Nevertheless, the Jungle Carbine has a numberof characteristics that should make it popular withtheInfantry,especiallythoseoperatinginthedense

jungles of Southeast Asia. And when on militaryoperationsindense,darkrainforests,battlingsteep

LEE ENFIELD No5 Mk1 JUNGLE CARBINE

Richard Wild

The lineage of the Jungle Carbine can clearly be seen when

compared with a Martini-Eneld and Lee Metford cavalry

carbine. (Photo by Daniel Cotterill)

The Mk. 5 Jungle Carbine (above) is a rugged

and attractive military rie but brings with it a

reputation for brutal recoil and a wandering zero

that can make accurate shooting a frustrating

exercise. Keen observers will note a

successful 1Bn Green Howards patrol taken

during the Malaya Emergency, June 1952.



terrain,humidityandpoorfood,thesepointsshouldnot be overlooked. It certainly fulls the basicrequirements ofa militaryweapon. Itisshort, itisbothsimpleandhandytouseforanaveragesized

shooter. It is light to carry, compact and it canquicklyputdownalotofrepowerwithitstenshotmagazineandchargerloader–evenunderstress.A short sight radius with a large ‘ghost ring’ rearpeep sight are not handicaps when averagedistances during conict can be measured infeetand where the enemy is rarely seen. Itwasalso issued with a short, functional Bowie-stylebayonet thatcouldbeusedina varietyofsupportrolesasidefromghting.Butalightweightrieisrarelyasuccesswhenthecartridgeitusesdeliversanuncomfortableamountofrecoilandmuzzleblast.ButwhenyoudouseitwithMkVIIcorditeroundsyou certainly begin to notice its idiosyncrasies.When it simplies the logistics support for

war-ghting,usingoneammunitionloadforall303riesandmachinegunsisunderstandable.Butthe174grainMarkVIIbulletandcorditeloadsarenotthebestchoiceofcomponentswhentherieweighs

two thirds that of its parent rie, the No 4. Butwhenamainlineweaponfailstoreachitspotentialbecauseofthis,hardquestionsneedtobeaskedandamoredetailedexplanationofhowandwhythis

carbinedidn’tmakethegradeneedstobesought.

History and Development Lightened ries wereunder consideration during late 1942. Theconcept is far from new as the thousands ofMartini-Henry cavalry and artillerycarbines not tomentiontheLee-MetfordandLeeEneldcarbinesofthe1890scanprove.TheSMLENo1MkIIIwasaradicalstepforwardin1907because,forthersttime,allArmsandBranchesoftheArmedForceswere issued with the same size and weight rie.

Given the speed that the basic dimensions ofthe Jungle Carbine were decided on it becomesapparent that the designers were probablyworking from a known pattern. A check ofotherBritishmilitarycarbinesfromthelastdecadesof the 19th century reinforces that view. A LeeMetfordcavalrycarbinemadein1891andaMartiniEneld cavalry carbine from 1895 are the samelengthasa1945manufacturedMk.5JungleCarbine.

ExceptforthechangetotheNo.4styleactionandpeep sights, the Lee Metford is much the samerie as theJungleCarbine. Handling the MetfordcarbineislikeitsLeeEneldsuccessorastheybothsharethesamehandlingcharacteristicsaswellas

manyofthesameawsas the Jungle Carbine.In June 1943, theInfantry WeaponsDevelopmentCommittee forwardeda proposal for lighter

rie for use mainly inthe battleelds of SouthandSoutheastAsia.Ofnote was the realisationthat long rangeaccuracywasnottobeamajorfactorinitsdesign.Rather it should seekto be as accurate as aNo. 4 up to 400 yards.Initial tests at Bisley in

mid-July 1943 usingshortened No. 4 riesfoundthataccuracyfromthe carbine was com-parable to the long rie

Projectiles used for testing. (l - r)

85 grain Hornady XTP, 125 grain

Sierra, 150 grain Taipan, 174

Sierra Match and 185 grain lead.

Close up of the front stock and ash hider. The amount of wood

removed saves weight but prolonged exposure to tropical heat

and humidity would have had to have caused warping. The ash

hider looks like a bell and rings like one too after every shot.



outto500yardsbutrecoilandmuzzleashwere

considered“excessive”.Afterfurthertrooptrialstoaddress problems with muzzle ash and endur-ance, the design of the “jungle carbine” was ap-provedon21March1944-lessthanayearaftertheconceptwasproposed.TheofcialdesignationofMk.VwasannouncedintheListofChangeson12September1944.

A Lightened Rie

TheJungleCarbine is truly a lightened version of

theNo.4rieandatrueNo.5immediatelystandsoutagainstanyafter-marketbuilds.Non-essentialmetalhasbeenremovedfromtheNo.4buildwhere-everpossible.Theknox-form,wherethebarreljoinstheaction,isscallopedwhilepartsoftheactionhashadmetal removed. The bolt handle on the JungleCarbinehasalsobeendrilledout.Disassembleyofthecarbinealsoexposestheamountofextrawoodthat has been removed. Space under the barrelchannelhasbeenroutedoutandthebuttstocknot

onlyhasashorterscrewholdingittotheaction,ithasalsobeensubstantiallyhollowed.

Myths and Misconceptions - Recoil

Therecoilpadisacontradictioninbothtermsand

design. Logically, a softer and larger recoil pad

wouldbethebestoptionbutrubbertechnologyatthe time could not survive the rigours of militarylife. The option that became standard is harderand thinner at the butt than required and actuallymagniesperceivedrecoilduetoitswedge-likeshape.

Other problems were encountered once the rieenteredserviceinthetropics.Storingtheriesinaconventional manner caused the rubber tocompress. The oils of the time also caused therubber to deteriorate over time. But the recoil

generatedbyaNo.5usingserviceammunitionisnomoreseverethanaNo1MkIII*withitsbrassbuttplate–fortheoddangryshotortwo.Bothwillbruiseafter a while but the Jungle Carbine will no morebreakshouldersthanasimilarweightriein308.

Barrel Life

Hot cordite rounds in the MkVIIz with corrosiveBerdan primers will wear the lighter barrel of theJungle Carbine out faster than a No. 4 used in a

similarfashion. Trooptrialssuggestthatmaximumusefulbarrellifeisbetween6000and12000rounds.BearinginmindtheservicethattheaveragesurplusJungleCarbinehasseen,acheckofyourbarrel’sconditionintheleaduptoanyloadtestingisadvisable.

A close up view of the Jungle Carbine receiver. A simple bedding technique using light

carboard holds the action tight in the stock. The pink colour produces a tighter hold.



Wandering Zero

The biggest challenge to working with the JungleCarbine is its habit of wandering around thetarget. This “wandering zero” at long range isinteresting to watch and the author has recorded

a perfect gure of eight pattern that emergedduringa12shotDeliberateapplicationat300yards.

There are two main causes for this habit andmany more theories. The rst is the use ofpowerful303loadsinalighteraction.Loadsthatshoot well in the thicker steel of the No. 4 actionappeartocausethebodyoftheNo.5toexatapointaround where the locking shoulders are located.

The simple solution when shooting Mk. VII

ammunitionistoreplacetheNo.5actionwithaNo.4action.Butthenyoudon’thaveaJungleCarbineanymore.Thesecond cause ofinaccuracy, andperhaps themost serious, is the use of the bell-shaped asheliminator. The ash eliminator we see is theproduct of wartime conditions and was designed,testedandapprovedinperiodoflessthansixmonths.IftheMk.5designwasunderscrutinytoday,thereislittledoubtthatadifferentdesignwouldemerge.

In the rst place, the ash eliminator acts like apiece of plasticine on the end of a tuning fork.In effect it interferes with the harmonics of thebarrelandmeansthebulletismorelikelytoleavethemuzzleatadifferentpointinspacefromshottoshot.

Inaddition,thebellshape“rings” when struck andwouldappeartosetupadifferentharmoniceldattheendofthelightandwhippybarrelduringrapidre.Whilethisisimportanttocreatetheturbulanceand extra burn area needed to break up thegases that cause the muzzle ash, more modernoptions are lighter in both prole and design andprobablywouldnotaffectthebasicaccuracyoftherie.Removaloftheasheliminatorissupposedtotighten groups and remove much of the zero’s

randomwandering.Ifyouwishtoremovetheasheliminator from the barrel be aware that the pinsenterfromdifferentsideswiththeoneclosesttothemuzzleenteringfromtherightandthepinclosestto the action entering from the left. Be preparedto nd light corrosion in the join but this should

polish up well with oil and ne wet & dry paper.

Reloading for the Jungle Carbine

With hand loading these days, however, thereis an alternative to being beaten black and bluewith expensive surplus ammunition. With theavailability of light bullets in .311 produced forthe7.62 x 39 cartridge as well as pistol bullets in 32calibre we have a range of suitable candidatesto begin experimenting with. However, with 60

plus year old, rear locking andwartimeproductionactionsitisimportantthatthereloadermakesurethat their rie is up to the loads being developed.ForburnratecomparisionswithAustralianpowderscited below see: www.reloadbench.com/burn.html.ThelightenedcarbineloadowesitsgenesistothedifferencesinrecoilbetweenMartini-Henryrieandthecarbineversion.Itwasfoundthatshootingtheshorter,lightercarbinewiththe480grainbulletand85grainsofblackpowderdesignedfortheriedidnothingforaccuracyormoraleofthetroopsusingit.

Theintroductionofalessharshloadingusinga410grainbulletand70grainsofblackpowderwentalongwaytomakingamoreuser-friendlyunit.Furthermore,eitherloadcouldbeusedintherieandthecarbine.

TheaimtodevelopanworkableloadwiththeJungleCarbinewas similar. Finda loadthatwouldshootaccuratelywithacceptablerecoilthatwoulddelivertherequiredresultsineithermilitaryriecompetitionorintheeld.

There are three different jacketed bullet weightsworth spending time experimenting with andwhichwillcovertheneedsofmostshooters.Thelightestbulletforthe303isthe85grainXTPpistolbulletsfromHornady.Speer125grainsoftpoints,

The Jungle Carbine bayonet. A Bowie design and a

collectors’ delight when found in good condition.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/target-shooter-may 39/119



Sierra 174 grain Match: This is the load used ina competition-tuned SMLE. Using 39.1 grains ofAR2208,thisloadaveraged1980fpsoralossof370fps in the shorter barrel. Recoil during the testsession was mild and fast follow-up shots werepossible.185grainlead:Bang,poof.Acloudoflead

justbeyondthemuzzle.Moreworkneeded.

Using pistol powder offered a possible low recoilalternativetoheavyloads.Whencoupledwiththe125grainand150grainbulletsaloadof12.5grainsof AP-100 with a cotton wool wad produced anaccurateshortrangeloadthathadverylittlerecoil.

The 125 grain Speer soft points gave the bestaccuracywithinchgroupsat50metres.Theyalsorecordeda decentvelocityof 1100fps. Withsuchasmallamountoffastburningpowderinthelargecase it is extremely important that a ller is used

otherwiseignitionandpressureproblemswilloccur.

Conclusion

The Mk.V Jungle Carbine was rushed intoservice at the end of a six year World War withlittle testing and a poor understanding of theconditions it would see service in. If history is tobeanyjudgethentheJungleCarbinewasafailureasamilitaryweapon.Butthen,theintroductionoftheSLRintoBritishservicein1957,increasedthe

repowerfortheinfantryandconsignedthemilitaryboltactionrietohighlyspecialisedroles.

Butmanyofitscharacteristicsarebeingreinventedtoday.JeffCooper’sScoutcarbineconceptsharesmanyofthebasicconceptsdevelopedfortheJungleCarbine inits lightweight andsimplicity. With thebenet of hindsight, a Jungle Carbine designedtoday would have a different ash suppressor ormaybea muzzle brakeanda strongeraction. Butmanyofthethingsintheexistingdesign,itsportability

anditspointabilitystandout,wouldremainthesame.

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When I heard that Scottish gunsmith andbenchrestshooter,RussGall,wasbuildinghisownactions,youcanimagineIgotjustalittlebitexcited.

Of course, there are dozens of action-makersin the world – the major manufacturers likeRemingtonandWinchesterforexamplebutyourarely nd their products forming the basis ofanaccuratecompetition rie.Why not? It’s alldowntodesign–andtoapplythatdesign,youneedknowledge.Manufacturersmayhavetheknowledgebuttheirobjectiveisusuallysteeredtowards a ‘do-all’ product for price-drivenhuntingmarket.Yes,theirproductswill‘dothe job’ but unfortunately, the ‘job’ isn’t winning

benchrestmatches!Thatwouldmeanworkingto far higher tolerances than mass-productionallows.

Irrespective of tolerances, most ‘factory’actions just aren’t stiff enough to carry aheavybarrelandiftheactionexesduringthering-cycle, accuracy obviously suffers. Onceyou cut a massive hole in the bottom of theaction for a magazine and then complimentit with an over-size feed/ejection port, thereis very little metal left to resist distortion andunfortunately, there are few solid-bottommass-produced actions out there. Admittedly,Savage Arms have woken up to this glaringlyobvious fact and now offer a solid-bottom

New Rie Actions from RG Ries Scotland

Vince Bottomley



action with tiny ejection-port. Not only that,

Savage will sell their ‘target’ action separatelyand have made them available to shooters atreasonable cost. Ries built on these actionstendtoshootverywell.

Incidentally, I’ll point out at this stage thatthe Savage target action has just had amassive price-hike but I happen to know thatOsprey Ries have two or three left at theold price of £500 which includes a trigger.

Subsequentactionsarelikelytocost70%[email protected].

The Savages are still a mass-producedproduct however and stiffness is only partof the problem we need to address if we areto design an action for ultimate accuracy. Inddition to stiffness and trueness, we needprecise bolt to body t, good support for thebarrel-tenon, provision for a quality trigger, a

decent bedding-area and perfect ‘timing’ andlock-up.

Some may question the wisdom of launchinganyexpensive‘luxury’itemintoday’sclimate–

especiallyshooting-relatedbut,mostgunsmiths

withanysortofreputationreportfullorderbooksand because 90% of custom actions currentlyemanate from the US, Russ is able to takeadvantage ofthe weakpoundwhich isforcingupthe priceofAmerican sourced products bya signicant amount. In addition, a swingeing$2500license is now mandatory forAmericanrearmsexporters.

RusshasrepresentedhiscountryWorldlevel

inBenchrestcompetitionandhehasalsobuiltriesformanyUKbenchrestshooters–whatbetter pedigree could we ask of an action-designer/manufacturer?Hisnewactionsfollowconventionaltwo-lugdesignandaremadeonhisHaasCNCmachines.Aselectionofactionssuitableforvariousapplicationsarenowinthepipeline.

AlthoughdisciplineslikebenchrestandFClassare the destination for many custom-actions,

thereisalsoabigmarketforthefoxing-rie–oraccurate‘eld’rie.Youdon’tneedtobeacompetitionshootertoenjoyusinganerieandifyouarehavinganewriebuilt,youwillneedtosourceanactionfromsomewhere!Littlepoint



inchoosingarattleyoldRemy–yes,itmightsave you a few pounds but the second-handvalueofariebuiltonaRemingtonwillbenowherenearthatofonebuiltonapropercustomaction.Remember,onceyouhaveyourcustomaction,itcanbere-barrelledandre-stockedadinnitum.InthepicturesaretwoofRuss’sactions-one

single-shot with heavy tang area suitablefor competition ries and one repeater withRemington-pattern tang and magazinecut-out which would form the basis of anaccurateeldrie.Bothare8”longanddesignedtotaketheshortercartridges.Alongactionandmini action for PPC/BR cartridges will follow.A Gall action starts life as a lump of 17/4 PHstainless-steel, which is hardened to 39Rockwell before machining to 1.36 inches indiameter. The raceways and internal cam areEDMcut.Thetenon-threadisthepopular1.0625inchesindiameterby18tpiasusedonmanyUS custom actions and they will accept anyRemingtonstyletrigger.TheRemington-patternactionwillacceptbottom-metaldesignedforaRemmy and employs a pinned recoil-lug. Thereceiversaredrilledandtapped6x48forscopebases.The bolt is machined from one piece of

high-carbon EN30B tool steel. It starts off asa10lb.blockwhichproducestwo8oz.boltscompletewithhandle.Theseareheat-treatedto45Rockwellafterroughmachiningthengroundto nal dimensions. A Sako-style extractorand spring-plunger ejector are employed. Thebolt-face is offered in 223, 308, PPC and

magnum,withstainless-steelshroudandutedbody.All work is done by Russ in-house with theexceptionoftheEDMworkandheat-treatment.The recoil-lugs and ring-pins are sourcedfrom Pacic Tool & Gauge – for the moment.

As you can see from the photographs, theactions have gone well beyond the prototypestagebuttherearestilloneortwominorissuesto be addressed before Russ is totally happywithhisproductandhewillnotreleasetheseactionsuntilheis100%satised.However,hehopestobeinfullproductionlaterintheyearand he is currently building himself a 1000yard benchgun and a 100 yard benchgun toshow-case his actions and you can bet thatTargetShooterwillberstwithareview.Meanwhile,check out Russ’s website at www.rgries.com

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SYLWESTERLOSREPRESENTINGTHERODINGRIFLE&PISTOLCLUB

Sylwester came to the UK in 2005 havingalready succeeded at the highest levels inshooting. Sylwester’s shooting career beganaged 9 in Poland having grudgingly landeda place on the school team for the nationalprimary school league. Finding the sportenjoyableandchallengingSylwestereventuallyspenttenyearsinthePolishnationalteam.In1997inHelsinkihebecameEuropeanChampionfor50metrefreepistolandayearlaterinSpainbecame World 10 metre air pistol Champion.

Sinceresuminghis10metreshootingcareerinthis country and coached bygirlfriend MonikaBaraniakhe has won the NSRA BritishOpen,SurreyOpen,BritishPistolClubOpenwherehe

virtuallystayedinthemidtohigh570scores.At the February 2009 British Champions atBisleySylwesterwonthemenstitlewithascoreof584.Justtoputthisinpercpective,584would

havegivenSylvesterasilvermedalattheBeijingOlympics.

Roding is Sylwester’s homeclub and offers him asmuchsupportasaclubcan,

however it would be greatto see Sylwester attractinga sponsor to enable him totrain and compete towardsan Olympic medal. Hisproven track record as aformer European andWorld Champion shows hispedigree and he is a greatbetforanywould-bebacker.

Tocontacthimemailat;[email protected]

Sylwester_and_his_winnings

Sylwester winning another award

SYLWESTERLOS;upandcomingChampion

HayleyPlatts



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STOCKISTS OF:

HenryKrank

100- 104Lowtown,PudseyWest Yorkshire, LS289AY

Tel:01132569163 / 565167Fax:01132574962


OpenMon- Sat, 9am- 5pm

Visit our NEW website at

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ostage & packing £4.00 per order . Additional p&p charges apply f or f ir earms + explosives. Above prices correct at time of printing .

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Brunox Cleaning

Kit Offer

ONLY

£9.95

Long Land Pattern Brown Bess

On licence £390 Inert £357

Short Land Pattern Brown Bess On licence £380 Inert £341Used by english tr oops dur ing colonisation of indian + amer cian terr itor ies.

Brown Bess Flintlock Musket ( India Pattern ) On licence £306 Inert £247

Brown Bess Flintlock Carbine On licence £306 Inert £247

Baker Inert Flintlock Rifle

On licence £504 Inert £434Baker r ifle of the early 19th Century.

Brown Bess Mod 1778 Musket On licence £380 Inert £341Specif ication s imilar to Short Land Pattern Br own Bess but without the brass nose cup.

1xBrunox100mlGunOil

1xBrunox300mlGunOil

1xRoll4x2

Pietta Le Mat Cavalry Model £838Pietta Le Mat Army Model £838Pietta Le Mat Navy Model £838

All pistols and long guns are availble:

On licence (f ir earms licence r equir ed f or pistols and shotgun licence r equir ed f or long guns)- available to collect in stor e or deliver ed to your local r egister ed f ir earms dealer.

Inert (no licence r equir ed) - available to collect in stor e or deliver ed dir ect to your door.

Essential Accessories

Indian Charleville Musket


Doglock Musket 17th Century On licence £375 Inert £345

Leather Shot Flask £40.80

Brass r ocker type double shut-ter top which has two settings,thr owing 1• or 1• oz.

Length 216mm.

Flat Powder HornSupplied with a 72g spout.

Brass spr ing loaded button d ispenser .Length 28cm. £41.40

Large Horn Flask

Brass buttondispenser.

Length 33cm. £49.80

Hawksley Copper

Rope Flask £42.00

Adjustable nozzlewhich has 4 settings -thr owing fr om 2• to 3• dramsin quarter dram incr ements.Length 197mm.

Pistol Loading/Cleaning Kit £27.60

Suitable f or use with all pistols and r e-volvers. Compr ises of one 20.3cmsteel r od, nylon f ilament & phosphor br onze brushes, wool mop and bulletpuller.Available in 36 or 44cal.Rifle Loading/Cleaning Kit £31.20

As above but with thr ee steel r ods.Available in .36 to .45 or .50 to .75 cal.Extension Rod Additional extension

r od f or muskets. £4.80

Pietta Rem 1858 Texas £196Pietta Rem 1858 Competition £598P. Rem 1858 Competition Stainless £738P. Rem 1858 NewModelArmy Target £243P. Rem 1858 Army Target Stainless £330

Pietta Colt 1851 Navy Steel £216Pietta Colt 1851 Conf. Sher iff's £177Pietta Colt 1851 Navy Ni. D/L Gr ips £336Pietta Colt 1860 Army Steel £243Pietta Colt 1862 Spiller & Burr £206

Pietta Black Powder RevolversPietta Black Powder Revolvers

Lancer Percussion

Pistol


A faithful r epr oduction of the1842 per cussion Lancer pistol.

English Pattern Dragoon


Early Dragoon holster pistol dating fr omar ound the 1740's. Barr el 30cm.

English Short Light Dragoon Pistol


As above but with 23cm barr el.

Coast Guard

Percussion PistolOn licence £153 Inert £107

Coast Guard pistol cir ca 1855.

English Pattern Doglock

Pistol


Early English doglock pistol dating fr omar ound the middle of the 17th century.

























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Coaxialrestshavebeenaroundforanumberofyears.Whatarethey?For those who shoot any form ofbenchrestorFClassrie,theyarewellknown.

For those new to the sport, theymay seem a little more obscure.

The coaxial rest works througha couple of linear bearings andsimple clutch system to allow freemovementofthefront‘bag’whichthe rie rests in. This allows upto 40 MOA of movement on thetarget horizontally and vertically,controlled only by a joystick.Gonearethemariner’swheelandwindage adjustments onthe rests that we all know. The joystick

allows precise movement both quickly and

easilyfromonetargetdiagramtoanother.Thiscanbeamajoradvantageinamatchastimeisprecious

andtaking advantage of a specic wind condition

Seb Rest on Review

CarlBoswell

The SEB rest - a new mechanism

to me, but for ease of use is

excellent

The whole rest looks and feels fantastic

and ‘does what it says on the tin’



canbeverybenecial.Nothavingtocompletetwooperations - vertical and horizontal movements -

to getprecisely onto the next target is a massiveboon, as this time can be used to observe thesurrounding conditions and let your handautomaticallyguidetherieintothenexttargetdia-gram.

New Toy

When I rst unpacked therest I must admit there was afeeling of excitement as this isaproductIhaveseen,butused

very briey. (It’s all about havinganewtoytoplaywith).AlltheotherrestsIhaveownedor reviewedhavebeenthestandard

pedestal rests with mariner’swheel et al! This was somethingcompletely different and novel.At rst glance the one thing thatanyonewouldsay-andhave-isthat the SEB rest is built like abattleship. It is well constructedand engineered. The tolerances

within the engineering are veryne and this goes to show thelevel of precision of its designerand manufacturer, SebastianLambangwhoisanaccomplishedBR shooter who competes at‘world’ level. The base has a‘hammertone’ nish, althoughcustomnishescanberequested

– including polishing to a mirror-nish. I think this service may have lapsed but

it is worthc o n t a c t i n gthe companyviatheirwebsite to ndout.

Thewholethingweighs in at21.3 lbs or 9.7kilo’s,whichisalot,

especiallyifyouhavetotransportit and your otherequipment anydistance or from onecountry to another but,once on the ring-point,

weightisabonus.Howeverthisprovidesagoodinsightinto how well the design has beenconsideredanddeveloped.

Development of the SEB rest

IfyougototheSEBwebsite,thereisa gallery feature that shows the restthrough its various stages ofdevelopment. This is interestingfeature to the website and provides

greaterunderstandingoftheproduct.OneofthemostinterestinginnovationsformeisthefactthattheSEBresthasdualposts.Incomparisonmost-ifnotall - front rests have a single post,

Compression on the front bag

can be added to t the rie

being used

The joystick controls all movement and

‘locks’ into position when released. No

need for the mariners wheel or speedscrew

any more



columnorpedestalthatsupportstheresttopwiththebagmountedonitandthereforethefrontoftherie.Theseareeitherfromthecentreofthebaseorfromthesideasacantilever.Everythingrestsonthisonecolumn.Ipresumethethinkingbehindthedualpostisthiscreatesmorestability?Wellitwouldanddoes.Not only are there two posts, but also a centralmariner’swheelforinitialheightsetuptogetyour

sightswhereyouwantthem,sothewhole targetcanbecoveredwiththecoaxial

mechanism. The posts are lockedwith

s e p a r a t e thum-screws.

Stability and gooddesignsenseindeed!

However,afurtherfeatureis that the dual posts are set

onapivotalbasesothesecanberotated,greatlyaidingrapidset-up,with-outhavingtomovetherestonceyouhavesetitonthebenchorring-point.Set-up time is often limited in major

competitions and this is a greatfeature which doesn’t appear on anyother rests. Other features aresimilarto those you will be familiar with onother rests, such as the bubble level,

adjustablefore-endstop,levellingscrews,etc.Using the rest

Usingthecoaxialrestischild’splayintheextremeas you have a joystick to manoeuvre the aimof the rie around the target. The new range of

SEBrestshavea40MOAadjustment,sothiswillallowthewholetargettobeviewedeasily.

Thefrontbag,thatisalsomadebySEBtottherest,iswellconstructedwithwideparallel sides that keep their shape. Itismadefromleatherandamicrobre

materialthatisdesignedtohavebetter‘slick’properties than Condura, for smooth

tracking.Atthepresenttimethebagonlycomesinathree-inchwideformatfortheLightVarmintandHeavyVarmintclasses.Iyouwanttoshootsporterclassusingthis rest then you will need to look

elsewhere for a bag but the tting isstandard.

SEB’s rear bags are constructed in thesame way, with the same materials and

very well made, sturdy and well designed.Although not available at the time of review Ihave actually ordered one for my own use. Thecradle or plate the front bag sits in isstrongly constructed from aluminium alloy andliketherestofthesepartsishighlypolished.Twoadjustable side plates provide compression to the

Compression of the front bag is altered using the large

knobs - a handy feature that is

The central joystick mechanism runs on

plates and bearing mechanism



bag depending on what is needed for the rieyou are using. The knobs controlling these arelarge enough to get thecompression youneedwithoutrippingyourngersapart.(Forthosethathavehadthisexperiencethisisanaddedbonus).Setting the coaxial mechanism does take abitofpractice,andthisiswheresomemaygetfrustrated.(NowIsaythiswithbaitedbreathasthe

restcomessetupandcalibratedforheavyriesover13lbssonomessingaround.Myrieweighsinat10.5poundssoIhadtoadjustotherwisetheactionbecamesloppy).Setthepinstootightandthemechanisms can seem a bit sluggish whenmovingthejoystickaroundthetarget.Setthemtoolowandthecradlewillproverbiallyfall.Thereforeyouwillneedtoplayaroundwiththisabitifyouareshootinglightvarmintat10.5poundsoroneofthesporterclasses.Onceadjusted,therestworkswellandSebastianwillhelpyououttocongure

ifyougetstuck–likeme–sosendhimanemail.In centrere benchrest where group shooting isthenameofthegame,it’softennecessarytogetve shots off inaround 15 seconds – to ‘catch’thewind.Thisisthetechniqueemployedbythe600and1000yardshooters,sosomeprefertheresttobeseton whatI wouldcall‘sloppy’–toosloppytosupporttheweightoftherie–butinthismode,itcanbereturnedveryquicklytotheaim-pointwithout‘stiction’orjerkyness.Ifyoudoliketheresttosupportyourriein‘sloppy’mode,tryxingaweighttothefrontofthejoystickspin-dle.Thiswillthen‘counterbalance’theweightoftherieandyourrestwillworkassmoothassilk.TheonethingthatIcouldnotgetusedtoduring

testingisthattheSEBrestdidnotneedpartslocking down after Ihavesetuponatarget.After going throughthis process for solongitnowfeelsaliento not do otherwise

and this is my only‘beef’withthissystem;even though the restwillnotmove,ifsetupproperly. Having usedthe SEB rest for anumber of practices Ican safely say that it‘doesasitsaysonthetin’!It is relatively easy

to set up, thequality and nishare the best andthis says a lot aboutthe manufacturer

Large adjustable pins are very useful for getting

height just right

The SEB rest in situe with LV rie



of this product. I have had products from somemanufacturers who seem to think that they comein kit-form and the consumer is the one whonishesoffanyroughparts.NotsotheSEB-itisasuperblymadeproduct!I am not sure about giving up my pedestal rest

just yet, as it is something I have got used to; italsodoesallthatitismeanttoandhasservedme

wellovertheyears.Maybeitisthecontrolfreakinme that likes to lock everything down and say tomyself ‘this is precisely aimed and locked’.Possibly this says more about my ownpsychological makeup than anything else, or it is

justthewayIhavedevelopedinthissport?IfIdidtradeupthenacoaxialsystemwouldbemyrstpointofcall.IwouldliketotaketheSEBrestawayforafewmonthsandreallyworkitincompetition,getittunedtomyneedsandgetmyselftunedtoitaswell.Thecostisalsoadeterminingfactor,asinvestment

inthisproductdoesnotcomecheap.At£498theSEB is not the cheapest rest on the market, butother‘coaxial’restsareevenmoreexpensive,soitisfairtosayitisthecheapestcoaxialaround.ItisimportedintotheUKbyBrianatFoxFirearms.Thisisgoodnews,ascurrentlyweonlygettheCaldwellrange of rests that are commonly found in thiscountry through a number of retailers. (Over thelastfewyearswehavetendedtoimportequipmentourselvesasgroupsorindividualsfromtheUSor

Italy).Brianalsosuppliesthefrontandrearbags,bothofwhichIhavealreadysaidareverygoodproducts.Soifyouwantarestthathasaninnovativedesign,isextremelywellconstructedandemploysallofthecurrentbestpracticeinthebenchrestsportthenthisiswhatyouarelookingfor.LikeanyoftheproductsIreviewitissomethingyouwillhavetoworkwithtogetthebestoutifitandyourself.Untilnexttime!

Final thoughts - SEB rest modication

Oneof the issues with a SEB rest isrie-support.If you set the joystick tension tight enough tosupport a heavy rie you will nd that themovement becomes stiffer and jerky, making itdifcult to get back exactly on aim-point quickly.

Thealternativeistoback-offthetensionsotheactiononce again becomes silky-smooth and add acounterbalance weight to the front of the joystick

spindlewhereitprotrudesfromthefrontoftherest.Thesizeoftheweightwilldependontheweightofyourriebutthisshooterhascomeupwithanad-

justableone.Ifyoulookcloselyatthepic,theweightslidesbackandforthsoitcanaccommodatedifferentweightsofries.ThebardiameterisaboutaninchandIknowthataninchofbarrelweighsabout4oz.soiftheweightis4to5incheslongitwillbejustoverapound.ItworksreallywellandIcan’twaittomakeone.

The SEB with counter balance weight for lighter ries



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Vince (sitting behind) talking to fellow benchrest and F-Class shooter Ian

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Arecordnumberof180shootersshottherstopenGalleryRiecompetitionoftheyearatBisleyovertheweekend28th&29thofMarchunderwhatturnedouttobeverychallengingconditions,dependingonwhatdayyoushoton.Fridaywasreallyamixtureof clear skies followed by a bit ofwind, thenrain,thenbacktoniceclearskiesagainandtheonlything

that remained constant all day was the cold. Andbelieveme,itreallywascold!OntheSaturdaytheconditionscertainlyworsenedandattimesthegustsofwindwereenoughtoblowthesightscompletelyoffthetargetduringsomematches,ascanbeseenclearlybysomeofthenalscoresthatwereposted.Ataround10.30amIturneduptoshoottheBianchiBarricade match on Stickledown and thewind was simply horrendous! When thetargets turned to face you they looked more likemelons in the scope as the imsy backing

boards being used were bending so much, whichmeantthatsomeshotswentlowandothersstraightdependingonwheretheboardwasatthetimeyoureleasedeachshot!At25ydsagustofwindblewmerightoffthetargethalfwaythroughastringofsixsoIsimplystoppedpullingthetrigger,unloadedandprovedcleartotheR.O,thenpackedmyriesupfortheday.Inconditionslikethis,ifIcan’tkeepthesightsonthetargetthenIwon’tpullthetrigger!TheweatherontheSundayhowevercouldn’thavebeenbetterandthiswaswhenmanyofthewinningscores

were shot.As well as being warm and sunny the

wholetime,thewindagsdidn’tmovealldayeitherwhichisveryunusualonStickledownthat’sforsure!

It was nice to see some new faces attendingBisleyforthersttimethisyearandI’mgladthatitdidn’tendupbeingtoodauntingforthemintheend,althoughsomedidhaveafewrestlessnightsleading

uptoit!Attheendofthedayit’sjustagatheringofshootersfromdifferentclubsenjoyingtheirsport,andahelpinghandisalwaysavailabletothosethatneedone.

Oneshooterwhodidn’tneedanyhelpwasNormanBrownwhowastheonlyshooteratthemeetingtosetanewBritishRecordusinghisLBRintheTimed&Precision1match.Scoringamaximumof300ptsand19x,hebeatCharlieSears’recordof17xthatwassetbackin2006soabigwelldonemustgotoNorm!Anothershootertoputinarstclassperformance

wasMelBeardintheBianchiGRCFmatchnishing just2pointsoffthemaximumof1920.ItwouldhavebeengreattoseeMelcleanitasit’sonlybeendoneoncebeforebyLayneChisholm,whenhewentovertotheU.Stoshootitafewyearsago.Unfortunatelythough a single 8 dropped on his last match, theMover,putanendtothatbutI’msurehe’llbeouttomakeamendsat thePhoenix!TaffWilcoxwasalsoonforaneasywinwitha30028xintheT&P1GRCFuntilaleverlockupinoneoftheshorterstagescausedhim to shoot a “skidder.” This meant he dropped

10 points off in the end to nish with 27x, which

Gwyn Roberts

Saturday…. and Sundays

weather!Tony Cooper enjoying his rst Bisley experience



is still an excellent x count though. Other notableperformancesovertheweekendwere:25mPrecisionNeilJones30018x,T&P1LBRPhilCowling30015x(withironsights),SpeedSteelChallengeGRSBChrisLewis50.04s,SpeedSteelChallengeLBRMelBeard54.98s,BDMPEmbassyCupSGS/AutoRob

Sanders119andMcQueenMichaelDeakin555v.

The standard in some of the shorts events willcertainly give the national team selectorssomething to think about at the end of the yearwith a lot of them being put up by our up andcomingshooters.Havingahighxcountisnice,butconsistencyisreallythekeyifyouwanttogetintooneoftheteamsandthisiswhatwearelookingfor,aswellascommitmentofcourse!Bytheway,ifanyofyouareeligibletoshootforWales,pleasemakesure

youdropmeane-mailbeforetheendoftheseason.

ToholdacompetitionofanysizeyoumustrstofallhaveenoughhelpandR.O’sonthedayotherwiseit’s

justnotgoingtohappen.Withthisinmind,ifanyofyouarethinkingofgoingtothePhoenix(MayBankHolidayweekend) andwon’tbe doing that much shooting,then why not volunteerto help run one of theranges?Itdoesn’tmatterif you aren’t a qualied

RCOoryouhaven’tgotthat much experienceas there will always besomeone there to guideyouandit’sagreatway

togettoknowtheotherrangeofcersandshootersatthesametime.Youcanthentakethisexperiencebacktoyourclubandhelpbuildupoursportatgrassrootslevelasitwere.E-mailBrianThomasattheNSCifyoucanspareabitoftime!

As a start to the season the Spring Actionweekend was a good warm-up for those going

on to shoot the rest of the years’ competitions.Atatimethoughwhenitisgettingconsiderablymoreexpensivetoshootcompetitions(atsomevenues)it was quite annoying for some of the small boreshooters to nd out they were having to shoot atpaper photocopies in their 1500 match, andvery poor ones at that they were too! Even moreannoyingthoughwasthatonlyoneoutofthethreebays on Melville had their turning targets work-ing properly as they hadn’t been checked or ser-vicedtheweekbeforethemeeting!Consideringthe

entryfee’swehadtopay,Iforonecertainlydon’tthinkthisisacceptableanditisn’tthersttimeit’shappened either! To be fair though I have sincebroughtthesepointstoBrian’s’attentionandheisnowintheprocessofputtinginplaceamaintenanceprogram with the target manufacturers to ensurefuture reliability. He is also trying to nd a good

qualityprintingrmtoproducethetargetsforfuturecompetitions,soyoucan’taskforafairerresponse

than that! There is a huge variety of competitionsavailableintheGalleryRieworldforpeopletoenjoy,regardlessofwhattypeofrearmyouownsowhynotcomeoutandhaveagowithus.I’msureyou’llhaveagoodtime!AfullsetofresultsfortheSpringAction

WeekendisavailableontheGalleryrie.comwebsite!

15yr old Marianne Skinner

from Derby RPC shot a verycreditable 1417 in her rst

full 1500 GRSBmatch and is

certainly one to look out for

over the next couple of years!

These guys have probably “heard it all”

but have you?

Dave Holt shooting with one of his

“bigger” ries.

LBR shooting with

Team Derby



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Hunter Field Target Scope Test

Tim FinleyThisistherstpartofafourpartseriesonscopeswhichlendthemselvestothesportofHunterFieldTargetorHFTforTargetShooteronlinemagazine.HFThasnotbeengoingforthatlongbut,asFieldTargetdid,ithasdrivenforwardthetechnologyand

understandingoftheriesandscopesthatareusedinthediscipline.

Theover-ridingfactorwithHFTisthe‘scoperule’-theaimingdevicecannotbealteredbytheshooter

oncetheyhaveshotthersttargetonthecourse.Withtargetsfrom8yardsto45yardsitisaskingalotofthescopesandlenses,Why?

Because scopes suffer fromparallaxerror.Theyellowstaristhereticle and the coloured squaresthe target as viewed through thescope.. In real terms the reticleis not focused in the same imageplane as the target, so it movesposition on the intended target asyoumove your eye/head about attherearofthescope.

The practical upshot of whichis, if you donot have your eye inexactlythecorrectsamespotinthecenterofthescope,thereticlewillnotactuallybeaimingwhereyouwantit.Thatisifthescopehasnothad

itsobjectivelensadjustedtoeliminatetheparallaxerror.

InFTweusethisadjustingoftheobjectivelenstofocus the image and eliminate parallax error and

it also rangend’s thedistance to thetarget whenwe read off the ranges marked on the parallaxadjustmentfrontlensorside-wheel.Not so in HFT, the objective and therefore theparallax,cannotbechangedonceyouhavestarted

Zeiss eye bell





Discsarenormally40,25or15mmindiameter.Forexample with a 40mm disc the size it appears atcertainrangeswithatruemildotscopeare:

YARDS MILDOTS8 5.59 4.910 4.5

12 3.715 2.917 2.620 2.225 1.830 1.535 1.340 1.145 1.0

The magnication power used

onHFThasreallybeenchosenbytheuseofmildotscopes.Tentimes magnication has alwaysbeen the favored magnicationin the sniping world and so ithasproveninHFT,asitallowstheshooterenoughmagtoaimaccurately at 45 yards andstillbe able to see blurred 8 yardtargets.

The aim of this introductoryarticleistosetthesceneforthebiggesteversidebysideHFTscopetestofallthefavoured HFT scopes, giving their good and badpoints and what parallax error you can expect atcertainranges,alongwitharun down ontheidealsettingsusedbythetopHFTshooterintheworld.

I enlisted the help of Pete Sparkes early on inthe project and obtained two of the test scopes

throughhim-thanksPete.I’mnotabadHFTshotmyself,winingtheoddUKAHFTround,twoPlatinumbadges in our NEFTA Hunter series (Five Goldawards) andthe Gathering title in 2005 and 2007(coming3rdin2004and2008).So,IreckonIknowwhatmakesagoodHFTscope.

Nextmonth,PartTwowilllookateightscopes.Therst is the EB Sniper 10x42Mildotscope,afavouriteofPete

Sparkes,ithasthemostwinsofanyotherHFTscopeoutthere.Next a pair of Bushnell’s, the10x403200EliteMildotwhichIusedtowintheGatheringasdidPaulWilsonin2006.Anewonein 2007 was the 4-12x40 3200ElitewithaBallisticPlex-veryuseful for aiming off in a wind.A brace of Lightstreams next -the one rst focal plane scopein the test, the 4.5-14x44 andtheir new 3-12x40 Mildot 2ndfocal plane scope - this is apre-production prototype.The MTC Viper 10x42 is

Bushnell 10-40 rainguard

Targets for the test

HFT scope test lineup



next and is, at the time of writing, the secondpre-production test scope featured here - kindlyloaned for this test by Gary Cooper of MTC. It isaimedsquarelyattheHFTmarketsothatiswhyitisincluded, it does have their SCB reticle tted too.Hot on the heels of those twopreproductionscopesisanother,

infacttheonlyoneintheworldso far. A Schmidt and Bender10x42 Klassik tted with a P3Mildot reticle and re-parallaxedto20m.

WhilstIwasworkingwiththemonthenewFTscope,Ilookedthrough their spec. sheetof scopes and thought thexed 10 mag., 25mm bodied

hunting scope - if tted with amildot reticle and re-parallaxedto 20m - would make a topHFT scope. The Klassik is notavailablewithaP3truemil-dot

reticle but S&B kindly agreedtobuildoneformeasIhelpedthemoutwiththedesignoftherst focal plane reticle in their12-50x56 FT scope. I won the2007 Gathering with the S&Band came 9th in the rst HFTWorldChampionshipsin2009.

The next is another Germanscopebutfromthe1980’sworldofFT-theZeiss3-9x36isusedbyafewoftoday’stopHFTboysfor its quality of glass. Thanksto Pete Dutton for the loan ofthescope.LastlyistheHawkeSR6 - with the Nick JenkinsondesignedreticleitgivestheHFTshootertheopportunitytoaimoffinamoreprecisemannerandI

haveusedoneinHFTcompsmyself.

So, those are thescopes. The test willinvolve using mildot calibrated testsheets devised by Brian Samson, atop HFT shot and the man behind theNEFTA Hunter Series. These sheetshavetheexactsizeinMildotsthatshouldappear at given ranges. I will be using15, 25and 45yard sheets as the asisfor the test but other sheets every veyardswouldbeputouttoo.ThescopeshadtobeplacedinacradlebuiltbyPeteDutton attached to a camera tripod soIcouldfreelymovemyheadaroundtomeasure the parallax error. Damn, Iappeartorunoutofspaceforthismonth

now! You will have to look at next month’s freeon-lineissuetondoutmyresults.

MTC sidewheel

Bushnell 4-12 turrets

line up for the next few

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Over the years the value of complete, shootableNo.4(T)sniperrieshascontinuedtorise–nodoubt

helpedbytheintroductionin1989ofanew600yardsnipingcompetitionrunaspartoftheSouthLondonRieClubclassicevent.Thesecompetitionsevolvedin to the famous Trafalgar meeting and there arenowseveral200yardMcQueen,snap,doublesnap,600yardand900yardsnipercompetitionsforwhichNo.4(T)andthelaterL42A1sniperriesareeligible.Thedemandfortheseriesremainsinsatiablethetotalpriceforevenamiss-matchedrieandscope

islikelytobe£2,000.Foracorrectmatchingriewithitsscopetin,leatherslingandlenscaps,ScoutRegimentspottingscopeandwoodentransitcases-thenthepricewillbeupwardsof£3,500andmore.

Allthishasresultedinaveritablecottageindustryofmiss-matchedrebuildsmadeupfromgenuineries,non-matching scopes andmount brackets, all thewaythroughtorieswheretheonlygenuinesniper

itemistheNo.32sniperscope.For those lucky enough to have a correct No.32scopeitisrelativelyeasytotittoasuitablescopeless No.4(T) or even a basic No.4 or to make an

Scopes Brackets – Threeoriginal No.32 scopes

Rose KD – close up of

the rounded prole Rose

Brothers brackets, marked

JG or KD

Dalglish Bracket &

Dalglish N92 – close up of

the squarer prole

Dalglish bracket and its

distinctive N92 code.

Dalglish plus Repro – close up of an original

Dalglish compared to a part nished reproduction

which matches the Dalglish style

Reproduction No.32 Scope Brackets

Nigel Greenaway



L42A1lookalike.HoweverthisprocessofrettingscopesonlystartedwhenRogerPayne,anRFDandanexpertontheseries,whoregularlyhasastandattheBirminghamInternationalArmsFair,decided

in1990tomakereproductionscopebrackets.Without the bracket you really are stuck andthe rie is only eligible to enter the military classcompetitionsifacontemporarymountingsystemisused.

Rogerhas,overtheyears,madevebatchesof100brackets, cast outof malleableironandmachined

just like the originals, using original blue prints.Experience and minor tweaks have made eachsuccessive batch better andthe quality issohighthat, to quote the noted authority on the subject,Peter Laidler, when answering a question on oneof the internet collector forums “…about 50 or soof Roger Payne’s brackets were utilised on thelatter rebuilds of the L42’s destined for WarReserve stocks andthey were indeed perfect. It’sironicthatsomeoftheL42ownersouttherewhowouldprobably shudder at a repro anything, probablyhavean MoD ttedrepro bracket.Doesthatmakeitarepro?TheownersofthoseriescanatleastbeassuredthattheyhaveoneofthededicatedWarReserveStocksheldatxxxxxxxxinBerkshire.The

steelstockandqualityassessmentwasdoneatthe

materiallabsatShrivenhamandeventhatwasthesamehorribleblack-heart(orwasitwhite-heart...?)malleablecast!It’ssuchanoldformulathatIcan’tnd the mix in Machinerys handbook any more!”

The purpose of this article is to show theconsiderable effort that goes in to making thebrackets – something that I know about because

I have joined Roger in helping to make the latestbatch.Theyaremadetotighttolerancestoensurethat they collimate within acceptable limits whenttedtogenuineries(somethingthatcan’talwaysbesaidaboutsomeoftheIndianmadecopiesthathave recently appeared). Roger’s brackets aredifcult to distinguish from an original and havehelpedpairupmanyaNo.32scopewithasuitableriewhichwouldotherwisehavecontinuedtogatherdustinacorner.Thevalueofacompleterie,eveniftherieandscopearemismatched,isfargreater

thanthesumofitspartssothebracketsareagreatinvestment.However,beforedescribingthislabour

oflove,ahistorylessonisinorder.WW2 Scope Brackets

There were two British and one Canadianmanufacturer of the brackets that held the No.32scopetotherie.RoseBrothersofGainsborough

inLincolnshiremarkedtheirbracketswitheitherJGorKDandDalglishofGlasgowmarkedtheirsN92.Other markings will be successive numbers,like 18and 19 or 202 and203, on the sideofthecradlecrampsorscoperingsaswewouldcallthemtoday.Someoftheearlyscopeshavingsingleletterprexesorsufxes.Thereasonforthesenumbersistopreventthecapsbeingputbackonthewrongcradle. After 1950 thebracket hadthe rie serialnumberstampedonit.Originalbracketswithoutanumber will have been sold out of service before

1950.Sometimesyouwillndbracketswithtwoorthreedifferentrienumbersstampedonthemwiththe previous numbers struck through. TheCanadian REL made brackets always had therie serial number engraved on them. Rose

Dalglish Rose – Looking down on the

scope rings and tted cradle screws of

a Dalglish bracket above a Rose

bracket.

Pattern – one half of the Pattern to cast 8

brackets

T h u m b

screws –

the two

o r i g i n a l s

with springs

are at the

top.



Brothers’bracketshavemoreroundededgeswhilsttheDalglish brackets have more square edges – asyoucanseefromthepicture.Roger’sbracketsarecopiedfromtheDalglishtype.

DuringthewarHollandandHollandcarriedoutmostoftheconversions–intheprocessmatchingscopestorieswithprecisemachiningofthemountingpadsxedtothesideofrieactionssothatscopeswouldbepreciselyin linewiththeboresoftherieswithreticules centred so that the maximum number ofadjustment clicks are available for elevation andwindage.Henceeachscopeiscollimatedtoitsrieand the scope number is then stamped on tothebuttoftheriesothatscopeandrieremainasamatching pair. Brackets might be swapped whentryingtosalvagearieorscope–henceitisquitecommontoseedifferentrienumbersstampedonthe bracket but this could be a laborious processwith armourers trying different barrels to ensurecorrect collimation. Having said that, I’ve neverhad too much of a problem trying different brack-ets,awellmadeoneofthecorrectdimensionsandmachiningwilllineupwellenoughtoensureenough

adjustment is left in the scope for relaxed civilianshooting. Notice the emphasis on well made assome of the foreign made reproductions needconsiderable work to make them even t on tooriginal mounting pads and collimation is oftennon-existentsothatmostofthescope’sadjustmentisusedupinonedirectiontoevengetclosetothetarget.

So what work is involved to produce accuratereproductionbracketsthathavebeendescribedas“perfect” by Peter Laidler? The answer is lots oftime,effortandconsiderableexpense.Specicallythefollowingelementsarerequired:

1.A“pattern”ishandmadebya patternmakersothatanumberofcastscanbemadeinonego–inthiscaseeightbrackets.Thepatternismadeintwohalves–one halfis showninthepicture.Askilled

job in itself which is then followed by the skill ofcastinginmalleableiron.Acastbracketisshownfromapreviousbatchwhichwasbrokenoutofthemouldtoosoonandthenproceededtobendslightlybeforecooling–henceithadtoberejected.

2. Cradle screws - a special tapered pattern thatcannotbepurchasedofftheshelf.Thesearewhatholdthescopesringsandeightareneededforeachbracketsoitmakessensetoget1000made(Ihavesomesparesifanyoneneedsthem).

3.Thumbscrews–twoperbracket,usedtosecurethebrackettotherie.Theyarespeciallydesignedsothatthecircumferenceoftheroundthumbpieceallows the correct tension to be applied by thumbandindexnger.Therehavebeenmanyreportsthattheforeignmadethumbscrewshavebeenknownto shear off under thumb /nger pressure leaving

the threaded portion stuck inthe mount pads! Again moresparesareavilableifneeded.The picture shows a batch

–thetwooriginalsareatthetop with the small springsthat help achive the righttension without damaging thebracket.

4. Machining jigs – anotherhand made and expensiveitemwhichisrequiredtoholdeach bracket prior toprecisionmachining.Thesame

company has been usedfor the last three batches soquality and accuracy is veryhigh.

Machining Jigs

Box of Machined Brackets prior to hand

nishing



5.Machinedbracketspriortohandnishingwithapowerle.Ittakesaboutonehourtohandnisheachbracket prior to stamping the ringsso that remainmatchingthenshotblasting,parkerisingandspraypaintingwithblacksuncorite(theofcialBritishmilitarynish). The original brackets had quite a rough

wartime nish with obvious pits and marks fromcasting andnishing. Too smootha nish makesareproductionbracketstandoutfromanoriginal–hencewedeliberatelytrytoretainthewartimelook.

Over the years Roger has found that the skillsneeded to fabricate these brackets seem to bedisappearing. With each batch of 100 bracketstakingabout2ormoreyearstosell,toaselectbandof shooters and collectors, it might be as long asthreeyearsbefore,forexample,thecompanywho

castthebracketsisapproachedforanotherbatch.More often than not, Roger has found that theoriginal company has gone bust – taking the

expensive“pattern”withthem.Moretimeandeffortwouldthenbetakentondanothercompanyandmore money expended to pay the pattern maker.ThistimeitwasmyjobtondthepatternmakerandImadesurethatIretrievedthepattern.Hopefully it is now fully appreciated just howmuch time and effort goes in to making thesereproductionbrackets.Theavailablityofthesehigh

qualitybracketshasresultedinadramaticincreaseinthevalueofNo.32scopes–theytypiucallyfetchbetween £700-£1000 depending on condition andthemark(Mark3or2/1scopesareeasiertozeroso they tend to fetch more). If the scope comeswith a bracket then this adds £300-£400 to the

package.Ifyouareluckyenoughtohaveoneofthesescopesthenpurchasingthebracketwillbeasoundinvestment. This latest batch of British madebracketscost£200each,butthenqualityneverdidcomecheap.

Reproduction bracket prior to hand nishing

– red areas are those where metal needs to

be removed.

Reproduction - not quite nished

Can you tell them apart????



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I’lldeclareattheonsetthatI’mnotespeciallyafanof old rearms. Yes, they’re very interesting fromanhistoricalperspective/curiosity/collectingpointofviewand,ifthat’syourthing,thenavisittotheRoyalArmouriesinLeedsisamust.

It’sneifyoucanaffordtobuystufftojustpolishandhangonyourwallbutjusthowgoodweretheseries,consideringthequalityofsteelsandmethodsof production? Or perhaps I should say -

howaccuratewerethey-comparedtowhatwehavecometoexpectofmodernries?

The Plan

Having made my dismissive statementonhistoricalarms,IshouldsayIdohaveamorethanpassinginterestintheVietnamwaranditsweaponsso,sometimeago,afterreadingabouttheextraordinaryshotsandexploitsof thefamous snipers from that era, suchasCarlosHathcockandChuckMarwhinny,

I got to wondering, given their age andproductionmethods,justhowaccurateweretheirries.Orwerethesewell-documentedextraordinary shots just a case of thesemen being truly exceptional marksmen.

Only one way to nd out...aquire one! Orshould I say re-create one - to the samespecicationastheoriginalsniperrieandtestit.Agreatideamaybebutnaïvetosaytheleast.TheproblembeingIdidn’trealisethatthenecessarybitsandpiecestocreatethis test are becoming increasing hard togetholdof.Sorry,let’samendthat-Ishouldhavesaidvery(hensteethtype)hardtoget.

Choose your weapons

That’s a tough one - there were several different‘sniper’riesusedthroughouttheVietnamconict-thatisrieswhichwerepressedintoservicetofulltheroleofasniperrie.Theoldadage‘today’swarsare fought with yesterday’s technology’ is as truetodayasitwasthen.

AtthestartoftheconictinVietnamin1959,there

OLD‘FRIENDSRE-UNITED’-SPRINGFIELD&UNERTL

RobHunter

Scope and rie

togehter in

perfect

harmony



was no ofcial sniper training program or dened

weapons. Everything was mothballed after WW2andonlyslightly‘re-kindled’fortheKoreanconict.

So, shortly after the start of the Vietnam war,LieutenantJimLandmanagedtoconvincetheupperechelonsoftheUSMCofthevalueofscoutsnipersfor reconnaissance and harassment of the enemyontheirownground.In1960,therstoftheMarineCorpsscoutsnipersgraduatedfromtheirtwoweekcourseattheHawaianbasedsniperschool(oneofwhomwasonePrivateCarlosHathcock)thoughat

thistimetherewasnoofcialissuedsniperrieanditwasacaseofwhateverthelocalarmourershadat hand - this inevitably meant left-overs andad-hocweaponsfromWW2andtheKoreanconict.

M1903A1 Sniper

Inordertomakethisatoughtest,IruledouttheRemington and Winchester ries that stayed inservice throughout the major part of the Vietnamwar as they arebasically the same ries that can

beboughtofftheshelftoday.Ofcourse,thesemi-

auto ries such as the Garand were out becauseof our nanny-state government has ruled thatwecan’tbetrustedwithsuchWMD.SoIdecidedon a real tough test - the Springeld M1903A1.

To be totally historically correct, this rie was wellpast its sell-by date when the Vietnam conictstarted,havingseenthemajorityofitsuseinWW2andKoreabut thereare actual documented casesandpicturesofthisriebeingusedinactionagainsttheVC.

Thesniperriewasusuallybuilton,oraround,theSpringeld30-06NationalMatchriewhichwasrstaccuracy tested and gauged and then tted withwhatwasthecurrenttopofthelineUnertlscope.

The Scope

The Unertl 8X scope was based on the Unertltarget scope. This was quite a bold step for themilitary,inassuchthattheofcialthoughtsontheuseofscopesformilitaryusewasinfavourofverylow power - i.e. 2X or 4X - at the most 6X. Therationalebehindthislowmagnicationwastogive

theshooterthebiggesteldofviewpossible.Thisisnebutitdoesn’thelpthesnipertodeliverpinpointaccuracyasweunderstandittoday.TheUnertlreticleishoweveraverynecross-hairwhichaffordstheuseranunclutteredviewandbestofall,averypreciseaim-point.

Itsworthnotingthatit’sonlyinthepastcoupleofyearsthattheBritishArmyhasmovedupfromasetmagnicationofan8powerSchmidt&Bendertothevariable12power,amovethatwaswayoverdue;soasyousee,theUSArmywaswayaheadofitstime.

TheUnertlscopehasafewotherthingsgoingforit too. The rear mount or housing has externalmicrometer ¼MOA clicks for windage andelevation. This external adjustment may look a

The Scope looking nearly new

The Unertl8Xreticle



bit crude but it’s actually a very good method ofmakingadjustmentsonascopeasitdoesawaywithalltheverysmallmovingpartsthatwouldnormallybehiddeninsidethetubeandthusinaccessible.Thedownsideis,itdoesbecomeaplacewheredirtandgeneraljunkcanaccumulateincombatconditions.

Notsurprisingly,thereisstillahealthysecond-handmarket for Unerlt scopes. They do have asomewhat cult-following around the world andthe holy-grail amongst collectors is a true USMC

8X sniper scope. These were stamped and serialnumberedonthesideofthetubeandifyouhave

oneontopofyourwardrobethat a long-forgotten uncleleftyou,it’sprobablywortharoundtheve-grandmark!So for those – like me -who want to recreate theSpringeld sniper rie, thenext best thing is the 8X

target scope, which is ineffect exactly the samescope but even these arebecoming increasinglyhard to get hold of. Ittookmethebestpartofyeartond a good one and get itover from the States. Notethe original wooden boxand brass ttings that theUnertl scopes were

dispatched in - no cardboardhere!

The other question I always get asked aboutthis scope is “What is the spring for?”. Well, thescope was designed to move within its mountsunder the recoil of the rie and the spring issimply there to return the scope to its originalposition so maintaining the correct eye relief.

The Rie

IstartedthesearchforaSpringeld’03riearoundthesametimeasthescopeandIthoughtthispartwasgoingtobereasonablystraightforward,afterall

An amazing group size - better than

imagined

The old and the new!



therewerethousandsofSpringeldNationalMatchriesmade.WhenIstartedtoringroundthedealers,Iwasgreetedbyeithera stunned silence,a sharp‘suckingofair’typenoiseorjustplainlaughter.NotanencouragingstartbuttheonenamethatdidcropuptimeaftertimewasthatofAndrewKukielskiofColensoArms.NotonlyisAndrewacollectorofthistypeofriebutheisalsooneofthefewpeopleinthe

countrywhoisregardedasanexpertandassuchthatmakeshimaninvaluablesourceofknowledgeofwheretogetthevariousbitsandpieces.Great,soIhandedtheproblemovertohim(aproblemshared,aproblemhalved...)andtruetohisword,6monthslaterIgotacallsayinghefoundone,inverynearlymintcondition.Itwasingreatnickforariethatwasbuiltaroundthe1920`s.

OK, got the rie, got the scope, just a case ofgetting them together. Did I say just? As usual

nothingisthatsimple-thescopemounting-blockshave to be xed in set designated positions, oneon the barrel, one on the action. This pre-deter-mineddistanceiswhatsetsthevalueforthescopeadjustment clicks. Probably the only gunsmith incountrywithsuchajigtodothisjobisgunsmithRogerMasonofEssex,wholuckilywasafriendofAndrew’s.

AfewphonecallslaterandallthebitswereofftoRoger to be assembled. Three weeks later, thewoodwork on the fore-piece had been alteredand the scope-blocks tted and the scope wason. The whole rie had been stripped, servicedand cleaned to bring it back to almost as-newcondition. Several days later and project that Ihad worked on for a year -without seeing themajorityoftheparts-landedassembledinmylap.

Given that I said at the start of this project thatI wasn’t a fan of old military ries, I fell in lovewith this rie as soon as I un-packed it. It’s light,well balanced and comes up to the shoulderreally well. Andrew had even managed to get

me an authentic leather sling to nish it all off.

Howeverthepointofthisexercisewasnottostrokeitbuttoshootitandndoutwhatit’scapableof.

Feed Me

Luckily there’s lots of loading information outthere for this rie and the 30-06 cartridge. Asearch on the net soon throws up loads foreverythingfrom155to220grainbullets.Ihadplenty

of 155 and 168 grain Lapua match bullets and inordertogivetheriethebestchance,Igaveitthebest equipment to work with - Lapua brass andReddingcompetitiondiesandinordertobealittlemoregentleonthebore,Imoly-coatedthebullets.

Ithenrantwotestbatchesandbothshowedsimilarpromisingresults.Interestingly,thebestgroupswerewith48.5grainsofVihtavuoriN140whichdeliveredamuzzlevelocityof2650fps.Bothbatchesshowinggroupsat100yardswithallveshotstouching.Itook

thetwobestloadsandranthesametestat300yds.The168grainScenarsreallycameintotheirown,givingmea10shotgroupof2¾inches-that’ssubMOA!

Buthowwoulditfareagainstamodernrie?Asacomparison test with a typical current sniper-typerie,IshottheSpringeldalongsideafriend`sSakoTRGwitha8x32Nightforcescopeat300yards.TheSakodoeshavesmallerve-shotgroupat3incheswhichwasonlytobeexpectedbuttheoldriedidputupagoodshowonthedaywitha3¾inchgroup.This was not very a scientic experiment but Idid wind the power down to 8X on the Nightforceto make it a more level playing-eld but it doesshowwhatthis70 yearoldriecando.I wouldgofurther by saying that with some more loaddevelopmentandinmoreexperiencedhandsthanmine, I’m sure that this rie could do much more.

Conclusion

GoingbacktothebeginningofthisarticleIaskedthequestion“Howaccurateweretheseries?”Theansweris-moreaccuratethanIeverimagined-subMOA!!

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Although riing twist and bullet stability fall underthe ‘external ballistics’ heading, understanding thisissueisimportanttothehandloadertochoosebullets

thatarebothoptimisedfortheshootingpurposeandmatchthebarreltwistrateinuse.It’salsoanimportantconsideration for those purchasing custom ries orhavingexistingshootingsticksrebarreled–it’snogooddiscoveringthattheriewon’tperformwiththebulletyou want touse after receiving it from the gunsmithbecausethetwistrateisn’toptimal,orintheworst-casescenario,suitable.The very name ‘rie’ indicates that this feature is atthe heart of our tools. Riing imparts stability to thebullet during its ight by making it spin around itslongitudinalaxis.Takethisstabilisationawayandany

elongated projectile tumbles in ight producing nilaccuracyandaseverelycurtailedrange.‘Stability’meansimparting a force to a projectile that keeps its tippointingatthetarget,butachievingthisisn’trestrictedtoriing.Finsorarrowight-feathersattherearendoftheprojectilerepresentanoldermethodwhichisstillusedinmodern devices including missiles, aerial bombs,andtankcannonshells.Ithasnotbeensuccessfullyadapted to smallarms so far, the American ‘SPIW’projectto producea supposedly lethal while virtuallynearly recoilless ‘individual weapon’ that red‘echettes’(small-calibredarts)atveryhighvelocitiesprovedafailureaftermuchworkandexpenditure.

Take away riing and you’re restricted to the roundmusket ball which has lots of disadvantages –low weight for calibre; tiny bearing surface to seal

powdergassesbehinditinthebarrelrequiringwaddingorapatch;poorexternalballistics.Someofyoumightcommentthatearlyriedarmsredroundballswhichseemsstrangeasspinseemssuperuousgiventhisshapepresentsthesameshapetotheairirrespectiveof its orientation, and the centre of gravity shouldcoincide with its physical centre, so a degree oftumbling in ight shouldn’t affect the trajectory.Riingdidinfactimproveaccuracythroughimpartingconsistentspintotheball,aproblemwithsmoothboremusketsbeingatendencytoimpartspininarandommannerleadingtoinconsistenttrajectories.

Gyroscope

Spin-stabilisation utilises gyroscopic force tostabilise the bullet. A gyroscope always tries toreturn to its original alignment, so spin-stabilisationprovidesaninbuilt‘steeringeffect’.Ourkeymeasureindetermining whether a bullet will be stable is thecoefcient of gyroscopic spin or Sg, a value of1.0 or more deemed stable, but with 1.4 usuallyrecommended as a minimum. The Sg for anycombination of bullet, velocity and riing twist rateiseasily found using Miller’sTwist Rule, but why dowe need to stabilise our bullets, gyroscopically or

otherwise, at all? Thetechnical reason is thata projectile encountersconsiderable resistanceas it pushes its waythrough the air and thishas the effect ofimparting an equal andopposite force pushingbackwards on its front

end.Thisisnotfocussedon the extreme tip asyou’d expect, but on aspotlyingfurtherbackonthecentralaxis–uptoa

The HANDLOADING BENCH

RIFLING TWIST RATES (Part 1)

Bullets and their larger cousins, artillery shells, come in all shapes and

sizes, and all must be stabilised except for round balls (and even they

benet from being red in a ried barrel).

Laurie Holland



thirdof the projectile’s length back from the tip. Theexactspotdependsonshape–closetothefrontin

bluntdesigns,fartherbackinthosewithalong,pointednose.Thecentreofgravity(CG)alsoliesontheaxis,butstillfartherback,sayaroundathirdofthebullet’slengthaheadofthebaseinatypicalHPBTmatchtype.WithairresistanceactingonapointwellaheadoftheCG it quickly causes the projectile to turn and starttumblingintheabsenceofanystabilisation,andwiththe CG lying towards the rear in the sorts of bulletdesignswe’reinterestedin,thebasenaturallywantstoovertakethepoint(whichisexactlywhathappenswhen a military FMJBT type penetrates soft tissue).Different calibres, shapes, weights and lengths see

varyingdistancesbetweenthesetwokeypoints–thefurther apart, the greater the turning motion in play,hence the greater the amount of stabilising forceneededtocounterit,inourcaseafasterrateofspin.Thisiswhylongthinmatchbulletswhichhavethesepointswidelyseparatedneeda‘tighter’or‘faster’riingtwist,thanshortfatbullets.(TodownloadacopyoftheMillerTwistRateFormulaspreadsheet,gotowww.ac-curateshooter.net/Blog/millerformula.xls)To illustrate this, let’s look at two very differentcartridgesandbullets.A6mmBRNormarieresa105gnBergerTargetMatchVLDataround2,800fpsand needs a one turn in eight inches riing twist tostabiliseit.Early.444Marlinrieshaveamuchslower(one turnin 38”) twist barrel,butstabilise the265gnHornadyFNJSPat2,200-2,350fpsMV.Let’slookathowfastthesebulletsarebeingspun:the6mmrotatesat 252,000 rpm at2,800 fps, while the .44 only has41,684 rpm at2,200fps, under17% of the former’srotational speed. (Current Marlin 444s have a 20”twist rate, somodern examples seethebullet rotateat79,200rpmat2,200fpsMV,fasterbutstillonlyafractionofthatusedinthe6mm.)Hangon,howoften

havepeopletoldyouthatheavybulletsneedafast-ertwistratethanlightones,soourrstndingisthatbulletweightisnotwhatdeterminestherateofspin.Thereasonforthevastdifferenceinspin-rateneededisdownprimarilytothedifferenceintheirlengthsas

measured incalibres, and toa lesser extent totheirvery different shapes. Measuring 6mm Berger VLDsgaveanaveragelengthof1.238”,andtheirdiameteris 0.243”, so a typical bullet is 5.095 calibres long,let’ssay5.1calibresforthelongestexamplesinthecarton.Hornady265gnforty-fourbulletscameoutat0.807”±0.001”andtheirdiameteris0.429”,soabulletisonly1.88calibreslong,or justovera third(37.5%)

thatofthe6mmmatchbullet’slengthusingthisformofmeasurement. The Miller formula gives Sg valuesof 1.47 and 1.39 for my 6BR and .444 examplesrespectively under standard atmospheric conditions(59ºF, 29.92” Hg pressure). Turning to 0.22 calibre,Table1givesthelengths,Sgsandrequiredtwistratesforaselectionof0.224”calibrebulletsat.22Hornet,.222, and .223 Remington velocities. You’ll note arelativelysmallchangeinbulletlengthismagniedonconversiontocalibresandthiscanhaveasubstantialeffectontherequiredtwistrate.

MilitaryI started my fullbore shooting with vintage militaryarmswhichledmetothemistakenbeliefthatthereisone‘correct’twistforeachcalibre–oneturnin10”for0.30”and0.303”,8.8”for8mmandsoon.(Toavoidconstantrepetition of the ‘one turn in….’ formula, I’lluse the actual twist gure from now on as in ‘10T’for a full turn every ten inches.) This still applies tomilitary smallarms, to a lesser extent to factorysportingarms, and not atall with custom target andpestries.All7.62X51mm(7.62Nato)serviceriesthatIknowofretainthelate19thcentury10Ttwistasused

intheoriginal.30-06and0.303”,despite7.62mmballcartridges being loaded with relatively short 144-

As soon as the

round ball was

replaced by

elongated bullets,

riing became

essential.

The cover of the 1980s Speer No. 10 manual

shows a bullet in ight and the shock-waves it

generates as it passes through the air. This

resistance acts on the bullet attempting to forceits nose out of alignment, and leading to

tumbling if there is insufcient spin to stabilise

it.



148gn FMJBT bullets which were successfullystabilised in 14T TR rie barrels in the pre-155gnera.ThecurrentNatostandardfor5.56X45mmriesandmachine-guns is an even faster 7T. Theciviliansportingequivalents in factory riesare 10T for .30-06,12Tfor.308Win,and12Tfor.223Rem,albeityoucan nd 9T variations for this cartridge (Remington

‘tactical’ models such as the ‘Police Rie’ and700SPSTactical;andallSavage.223Remries),theoccasional 8T as in the Tikka T3 Tactical. You canevenspecifythemilitary7TrateintheSavageModel12 LRPV (Long range Precision Varmint) riealongside 9T barrelled versions. Now this is a hugevariation insomecases,especiallyamongst5.56mmand.223Remmodels!

The UK L2A2 military 5.56mmcartridge uses a 61.7gn FMJBTbulletwhichhastwocores–leadintherear;(lighter)steelupfront.Throw in an airspace in the bul-lettip,andyouhavealongbulletfor its weight at 0.915”, but notethat it is shorter than the 105gn6mmBergerVLDwhenconvertedto calibres (4.1 v 5.1). Moreover,rotational speed is a combinationoftheriingtwistrateandMV,andweknowthe5.56mmisahotlittlenumberinitscurrentmilspecguise.

Let’sdothenumbers–6BRgivesthe 105gn Berger 252,000 rpm at2,800 fps MV from an 8T barrel,while the 5.56mm has a nominal3,100fpsMVinBritishL2A2/US

M855forms,equatingtonearly320,000rpmfroma7Tbarrel,anincreaseofmorethanaquarterdespitetheshorterbullet.

Whatthistellsusisthatthemilitarychooses‘over-fast’twist rates. Why? It lets them use any availableammunition that will chamber in the rie in anemergency,saytracerorarmour-piercingroundsthat

likelyemploylongerbullets;secondly,Sgguresandthe twist rates needed to achieve sufciently highvalues are calculated for standard environmentalconditions,orreasonabledeviationsfromsuch,whilearmies prepare to ght in extreme conditions, inparticular the polar regions in winter with theirexceptionally cold, dense air – I’ll return toenvironment.Evenso,7Tseemsexcessivefor5.56mm,at least with the standard 62gn ball round, Miller’stwistformulacomputinganSgof2.43understandardconditions, and 1.99 in Arctic winter temperatures.Weknowthatthisbulletisfullystabilisedwhenred

from9TbarrelledriessuchasthestandardSouthernGunCo.SSR-15orRemy700PSS,theMillerformulapredictinganSgof1.47fromthistwistrate.Ifyou’reamongthemanyshooterswho’vetriedtousecheap62gn5.56mmfodderina12Tbarrelled.223Remrie,you’llknowitdoesn’twork,andtheMillerformulatellsyouwhy–anSgof0.83,wellbelowtheminimum1.0stabilityfactor.

Air Density

We’vesaidtheobjectiveistostabiliseabulletwithagiven set of characteristics composed of its weight,

shape, and by far the most important factor, lengthin calibres. Achievement involves three ingredients:riingtwistrate,muzzlevelocity,andtheenvironmentintowhichthebulletislaunched.Let’sdisposeofthelastoftheserst.DespiteconstantmoaningabouttheBritishweather,weseefewextremes,anditisunusualforatargetshootertobeoutinairtemperaturesbelow0ºCorabove25.Likewise,ourrierangesliebetweensea level and around 1,000ft altitude. This may notapply elsewhere with American shooters testing

Blair Atholl in the Scottish Highlands is probably the UK’s highest

rie range for civilian target shooting. Its altitude reduces air

density, but the region’s prevailing cool temperatures partly

counter this.

The 6mm (0.243” dia) 105gn

Berger VLD on the left needs

an 8T barrel, while the short,

fat Hornady 0.429” 265gn JSP

bullet on the right manages

with 38T



ammunitioninmuchlowerwintertemperatureswhilecompetingoversomerangesatmuchhigheraltitudes.With the destabilising forceon the frontof the bulletcausedbyairresistance,itvariesaccordingtoaltitudeandtemperature, thickening it and increasing resistanceappreciablyifbotharelow,thinningitandhavingtheoppositeeffectifbotharehigh.Youcannotdoanythingaboutthisapartfromensuringthatyouspinthebullet

fastenoughtocopewiththeworstconditionsthatyou’llshootin.Let’slookatthe1.131”(3.67calibres)long155gn0.308”SierraMatchKingredfroma .308Win/ 7.62mm TR rie at 2,950 fps MV through a 13Tbarrel, this twist rate now the most common in TRandPalmaries.I’velistedarangeofenvironmentalconditionsinTable2,andyoucanseethatthecalculatedSGvariesbetween 1.51 atstandard barometricpressurefor sea level(29.92”Hg) in0 degreesF (-18ºC) air,exceptionallycoldfordaytimeintheBritishIsles,to1.82inahotsummer’sdayontheuplandrangesofDiggleorBlairAtholl.Infact,14Tismorethanadequatefor

anylikelyconditionswiththisbulletintheBritishIsles.Let’ssayyou’reonlyevergoingtoloadtheSMKandusetheresulting.308Winroundsin‘PalmaRie’attheAmericanNRAWhittingtonCentrerangecomplexnearRaton,NewMexico.Assumingtherangeissituatedatasimilaraltitudetothetownwhichislistedat6,680ftabovesealevel,youwouldexpecttoencounterlowerairpressure,standardbarometricpressurebeing23.7”Hgatthisheight.Withsummertemperaturesreaching80ºF according to thelocal weatherstation,our13Tbarrelnowgivesthe155gnSMKSgsthatcouldreach2.24.Asrateswithvaluesabove2degradeaccuracy,

you’dbebetteroffwitha14Tbarrelifyouconnedyourshootingtothisbulletoverthisrange,andyoucouldevensafelyspecify16T.

MV + Twist

Therateofspin,hencestabilisingforceisaresultoftheinteractionoftheriingtwistrateandMV(muzzlevelocity).Rotationalspeedinrevolutionsperminute

(rpm)iscalculatedbydividingthetwistrateby12andthendividingMVbytheresultoftherstcalculationtogetrevolutionspersecond,multiplyingby60forrpm.My6mmBRexamplesees8(inch-twist)dividedby12=0.6666.Divide2,800(fpsMV)by0.66666andweget4,200andmultiplyingby60givesus252,000rpm.Werarelyifeverneedtoknowwhatthebullet’srpmis,butit’sinstructivetoknowjusthowfastabulletspins inone loadcombinationcomparedto another,especiallywhendoingsomethingextremelikeringatiny40gn0.224”Varmintpilloutofa7Tbarrelathighvelocity! The reason I bring rpm uphereis that it’sregularlysaidby‘ring-pointexperts’thatifatwistrateisinadequateforabullet,justincreasetheloadandMV‘abit’,andallwillbewell.

Let’s take the cartridge that probably causes moreconfusion than most – .223 Remington. The widely

62 RG + 64 Berger FB Match + 55

M193

0.224” bullets (2). 35gn – 45gn 0.224” Hornet bullets with a 55gn M193 alongside for

scale. This old .22 centrere normally uses a 16T twist rate, and bullets have to be very

short to be stabilised.



usedruleofthumbisthat12Tcatersforbulletswithamaximumweightof55gn;9Tdoes60-75gn,and8Tis

neededforthe77sand80s.Weknowthatthe69gnSierraMatchKingworkswitha10Trate(itsays“7”-10”twistbblsonly”ontheendofthebox),let’ssayatamodest2,700fps.You’vegota.223Remriewitha12Tbarrel.Canyouloadthecartridgeupenoughtoget a suitablyhigh spin-rate onthebullet? 2,700fpsmakesthebulletrotateat194,400rpmina10Tbarrel,or216,000rpminthemorecommon9Trate.Howabout12T?Evenanimpressive3,100fpsonlygives186,000rpm,stillwellshort.WewouldhavetoincreasetheMVto3,250fps–whichwecan’tgetwith69gnbulletsinthiscartridge,notsafelyanyway–to

produce195,000rpm.Changethebarreltwistratebyonepointto11T,andahighbutachievable3,050fpsMVproducesjustunder200,000rpmwhichshoulddothetrick,however.Let’s check these combinations out with the Millerformula. The 69gn SMK isjustunder 0.9” long,thelongest example in a sample I measured being0.897”.Atstandardpressure/temperature,2,700fpsfroma9TbarrelgivesanSgof1.65,andtheSierraquotedminimumrateof10Treducesthatto1.34,still

comfortablystabilised.Movingtoan11TbarrelatthesameMVshouldstilljustseethe69gnSMKstabilised

withanSgvalueof1.11,butusingthestandard12Tdropsitbelowstabilitylevelto0.93.EvenraisingtheMVtoavery‘hot’3,100fpsinthisriingtwistrateonlyproducesanSgof0.97whichismarginallyunstablebut might just work in some circumstances,especiallygivenafactorI’llcovernextmonth.Notethatthis signicant change to the cartridge’s load andchamber pressures represented by raising the MVfrom2,700to3,100fpsonlyincreasestheSgby0.04,or4.3%.Let’slookattheSMK’smaincompetitorinthisclass,the68gnHornadyHPBTMatch,slightlylightersowhat

worksfortheSMKwillsuitittoo,surely?(Italsosays“twist rate 1/7-10” on the carton end.) However, thisbulletisnearlyatenthofaninchlongerthantheSMKataround0.991”.RunitthroughtheMillerformulaand10Tat2,900fpsbarelyworkswithacomputedSgof1.01,3,100fpsonlyraisingitto1.05,bothrightontheline.A12TbarrelhasnochancewithanSgof0.72evenat3,100fps.

Alright, the Miller Twist Rule is only a mathematicalmodelrunonasmallMicrosoft Excel

spreadsheet. Howdoes it translateto real bullets andbarrels? I can quotean example fromdirect experiencerelating to thesetwo bullets. Someyears back animporter loaned mea newly introduced.223 Rem ‘HeavyVarmint’ variant ofa popular rie forreview. The nominaltwist was 9T, so Iloadedup50rounds

0.224” bullets (3). Bullets designed for .222 Remington with its 14T barrels, plus one or two later

.223Rem (12T) examples. Left to right: 50gn Sako FMJ, 50gn Norma FMJ, 52gn Speer Match,

53gn Hornady HP Match, 52gn Sierra MK, 52gn Hornady A-Max Match (.223Rem), and 55gn M193

FMJBT (.223Rem)

62 RG + 68 HDY + 69 SMK + 70 B VLD + 70 JLK VLD



split between the 68gn Hornady and 69gn Sierrabullets,chargesrisinginsmallstepsfromrecognisedstartingloads.Isightedtherieinat200ydusinganexisting load with 52gn Hornady A-Maxes thatperformed well inmy12TRemy 700VS, and resultswere good, easily holdingtheNRA TR target V-Bull,1-MOAorless.

Switching to the heavier bullet loads saw adramaticdeterioration:theSierrasfoundthetargetbutstruggledtoholdthe4-ring,3-MOAplus;theHorna-dy68loadswouldn’thitthetargetframereliably.Theeasonwasofcoursethatthetwistratewas12”,not9,despitewhatthemanufacturerhadquoted(rectiedinsubsequentbatchesfromthefactory).Imeasuredthisasafairlyaccurate12Trateinthisparticularbarrel,sotheMillerresultsweren’tfarout–SierraMKsnotquitefullystabilised causinga seriousdeteriorationingroupingability,thelongerHornady68scompletelyunstable.Infact,Millerwasalittlepessimistic,asIwouldn’thavebeenanywherenearachieving3,100fpswithmytestloads, 2,700-2,900being more likely, or SGsfor the69gnSMKinthe0.93-0.95rangecomparedto0.97atmaximumvelocity.

So,let’ssummarisewhatwe’veseensofar.First,don’tgethunguponbulletweightasthiscanbemisleadingwithsame-weightbulletsinacalibrehavingdifferentlengthsandrequiringdifferentamountsofstabilisation,hence twist rate. Secondly, changing MV has

considerably less effect than changing the twistrate,so‘loadingacartridgeup’forahigherMVonlyrarelyworks.Thirdly,airtemperatureanddensityaffect

bulletstability,butBritishconditionsareunlikelytovaryenoughtorequireachangeintheriingtwistrate–ineitherdirection.Let’ssaytheMillerformulasaysabullet/twist/MVcombinationproducesanSgbarelyabove1.0,(asinthe 0.308” 155gn Lapua Scenar at3,000fps from a13.5TbarrelforanSgofonly1.07),butitgroupswellin100yd testing / load development? Won’t it be all

overtheplaceat1,000yardsasweknoweveryaspectofbulletperformancedegradeswithrange?I’llnishoffthislookattheriingtwistrateissuenextmonth,covering this and other factors, also introduceanothertypeofbulletstabilitythatisseparatefromthegyroscopicvariety.

Table 1

Bullet Length/Cals MV Sg.22Hornet(16Tisthestandardtwistrate)35gnHornadyV-Max 0.516”/2.3

2,900 1.6440gnSierraHornet 0.488”/2.18 2,800 1.6745gnSierraHornet 0.533”/2.74 2,650 1.4645gnHornadySPT 0.615”/2.74 2,650 0.9945gnNoslerHornet 0.561”/2.5 2,650 1.27

.222Remington(14Tisthestandardtwistrate)50gnSakoFMJFB 0.655”/2.92

3,200 1.350gnNormaFMJFB 0.645”/2.88 3,200 1.3452gnSpeerHPMatch 0.712”/3.173,100 1.0552gnSierraMK 0.710”/3.17 3,100 1.0552gnHornadyA-Max 0.798”/3.56 3,100 0.7553gnHornadyHPMatch 0.715”/3.19 3,100 1.0555gnLapuaFMJFB 0.720”/3.21

3,000 1.0655gnFMJBT(M193mil) 0.734”/3.28

55 M193 + 77 SMK + 80

SMK + 80 Bgr VLD + 80

A-M

Makers are increasingly putting the minimum barrel twist

rates on specialist bullet boxes



3,000 1.00

40gnHornadyV-Max 0.686”/3.06 3,400 0.9250gnSierraSPTVarminter 0.691”/3.08 3,200 1.10

.223Remington(12TBarrels)

50gnSakoFMJFB 0.655”/2.92 3,400 1.7850gnNormaFMJFB 0.645”/2.88 3,400 1.8552gnSpeerHPMatch0.712”/3.17 3,300 1.4652gnSierraMK 0.710”/3.17 3,300 1.4652gnHornadyA-Max 0.798”/3.56 3,300 1.0553gnHornadyHPMatch 0.715”/3.19 3,300 1.46

55gnLapuaFMJFB 0.720”/3.21 3,200 1.4755gnFMJBT(M193mil) 0.734”/3.28 3,200 1.39

36gnBarnesVarGrenade 0.701”/3.13 3,800 1.1040gnHornadyV-Max 0.686”/3.06 3,700 1.2850gnSierraSPTVarminter 0.691”/3.08 3,400 1.5353gnBarnesTSX 0.795”/3.55

3,300 1.0855gnNoslerBTSP 0.735”/3.28 3,200 1.3960gnNoslerBTSP 0.782”/3.49 3,100 1.25

.223Remington(9TBarrels)50gnSakoFMJFB 0.655”/2.92 3,400 3.1650gnNormaFMJFB 0.645”/2.88 3,400 3.3052gnSpeerHPMatch0.712”/3.17

3,300 2.5952gnSierraMK 0.710”/3.17 3,300 2.5952gnHornadyA-Max 0.798”/3.56 3,300 1.8653gnHornadyHPMatch 0.715”/3.19 3,300 2.5455gnLapuaFMJFB 0.720”/3.21 3,200 2.4955gnFMJBT(M193mil) 0.734”/3.28 3,200 2.34

68gnHornadyHPBTM 0.991”/4.42 3,000 1.2669gnSierraMK 0.892”/3.98 3,000 1.7470gnLapuaScenar 0.951”/4.24

3,000 1.4770gnJLKVLD 0.991/4.42 3,000 1.3070gnBergerVLD 0.967”/4.32 3,000 1.4075gnHornadyHPBTM 0.997”/4.45 2,900 1.3575gnHornadyA-Max 1.095”/4.89

2,900 1.03

62gnBarnesTSXBT 0.944”/4.21 3,100 1.34

.223Remington(8TBarrels)

68gnHornadyHPBTM 0.991”/4.42 3,000 1.6069gnSierraMK 0.892”/3.98 3,000 2.2070gnLapuaScenar 0.951”/4.24

3,000 1.8670gnJLKVLD 0.991/4.42 3,000 1.6570gnBergerVLD 0.967”/4.32 3,000 1.7775gnHornadyHPBTM 0.997”/4.45 2,900 1.6175gnHornadyA-Max 1.095”/4.89 2,900 1.22

77gnSierraMK 0.981”/4.38 2,700 1.80

80gnSierraMK 1.076”/4.80 2,800 1.4380gnBergerVLD 1.106”/4.93 2,800 1.3280gnHornadyA-Max 1.153”/5.15 2,800 1.1880gnNoslerHPBTM 1.070”/4.78 2,800 1.47

Table 2

Effect ona 155gnSierra MK’s Sg at 2,950fps MVcaused by Temperature and Altitude (Barometric

Pressure)Changes

Altitude(ft) AirTemperature 1 3 TBarrel 14TBarrel0ft(SeaLevel) 0ºF(-18ºC) 1.51 1.310ft(SeaLevel) 32ºF(0ºC) 1.62 1.400ft(SeaLevel) 75ºF(24ºC) 1.76 1.521,000ft(Diggle) 75ºF(24ºC) 1.82 1.576,680ft(RatonNM) 80ºF(27ºC) 2.24 1.94



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Weleftofflastmonthwithreceivers,hereisthenalinstalment.Triggers –

Tohelpyoureachyourpotential,especiallyintheprecisiontypematches,youshouldreallytryaKID

unit and then you’ll probably end up buying one!AlthoughI’vealwayspreferredasinglestagetrigger itdoesn’ttakelongtogetusedtotakeuptherststageadjustmentontheKID,(especiallywhenalotof the travel can be taken out) then you are leftwithaverycrispreleasewhichcanbenetuneddown to around 6 to 8 ounces if you like. GregGoldsworthyfromRudeFatDoginDevonimportsthem and will set them exactly how you want itbeforesendingthemifyouarenotsurewhattodo.Thesereallyarethebestavailableonthemarket

at the moment but due to the current exchangerate against the dollar, they unfortunately aren’tcheap! From an investment point of view myJewel trigger cost me nearly £200 11 years ago,and apart from a spring breakage last year, it isstill going strong. That’s less than £20 a year fora rst class trigger and taking a look atthe buildquality of the KID unit I see no reason why they

shouldnotlastatleastaslongasthis,ifnotlonger!There are two other trigger units out there that Ihavetried,onehasthetriggerweightpresetwhilsttheotherismadeupof‘dropin’componentsbutinmyopiniontheyarereallynotworthbotheringwithastheyarealotofmoneyforpoorquality.Ifyou

can’tstretchtobuyingaKIDatthemoment,whynot justhavesomeonewhoknowswhattheyaredoingtoslickupyourstandardRugertriggerunitinstead?Withabitoftimeandefforttheresultwillbealotbetterthanjustttingoneofthe‘dropin’kitsandcostlessmoneytoo.Youshouldbeabletoachieveatriggerreleasearoundthe2½to3lbmarkquiteeasily,andthisalongwithanABRshouldseeanimprovement on the range.Another thing to bearinmindregardingyourtriggergroupisthatsomeofthematchesweshootinrequireyoutodropthe

magazineandlocktheactionopenquicklytomovebetweenshooting positions.With this inmindyoushouldhaveaspeedlevermagazinereleasettedthat will enable you to drop the magazine bypushing it forwards, and then allow you to locktheactionopenbypullingitto the rearalongwiththebolt.These canbe operated very quickly andsmoothlyanddon’tcosttheearthtobuyeither.

Barrels – Standard, lightweight or heavy?

ThestandardRugerbarrelsareusuallyveryreliable

Gwyn Roberts

KID triggers (bottom and right) are top

quality but a two stage trigger may notsuit everyone so try one rst.

Part 2The Sequel



forfunctioningandyoucanputalmostanytypeof ammunition through them and they’ll work justne,whichisprobablyduetothe‘generous’sizingof the standard chamber. Typically though, theywillgroupatleastaquartertohalfinchplusbigger

groupsat50mcomparedtotheaftermarket‘match’varieties depending on the ammunition used,whichisn’ttoomuchofaproblemifshootingspeedsteels or the Bianchi match. Using one of the‘match’ barrels however to shoot at the muchsmallertargetsusedinthe1500andother‘precision’typeeventsthoughwillcertainlyhelpimproveyourscores, so it’s denitely somethingtothinkabout.Looking at the aftermarket barrels the rst thingtoconsidershouldbetheweight,especiallywhenbuildinga newrie.A stainless onecanweighup

to3½lbsonitsowncomparedtoaround14oztoa

VQ Stainless uted (weight 3lbs)

KID stainless Match (3 - 3½lbs)

Left - Whistle Pig (14oz)

Middle - VQ Carbon bre shrouded (approx 1¼lbs)

Right - Tactical Solutions (14oz)



1lb for one that’s made of alloy or carbon bre.That’sabigdifferenceandisintheregionofwhatalarge scope would weigh! If you do opt for astainlessone,makesurethatyoutryoneoutontherange rst as the longer ones can really make arie very front end heavy making them a pain toshoot with andcarryaroundall day, although theutedshorterversionsareallprettycomfortabletouse.

The conclusion from testing in the States is thattherereallyisn’tmuchtobegainedbya20”plusbarrel over a 12 – 16” version accuracy wise soit’s really down to what the rie will be used for,although a heavy stainless version will prove tobebetterfortheBenchresttypecompetitions.For purelyhuntingusea12½”tubewouldprobablybethebestchoice,whilstthemostpopularonesoutontheGRcircuitseemtobebetween16”-18½”

inlength.Shilen,VolquartsenandKIDareprobablythe ones to go for if you are after a stainlessbarrel with Whistle Pig, Volquartsen and TacticalSolutions seeming to be the most popular of thealloy and carbon bre offerings. Another thing toconsider is the type of chambers used which aregenerally either termed as Match or Bentz type.The ‘match’ chambers are cut to allow the roundfar enough into the chamber so that the bullet isgripped by the riing, which could mean that anyunredround cannot be ejected. This may cause

aproblemduringsomeofourmatches ifajamormisre occurs as the rules generally state amaximumnumberof rounds toberedfromeachposition or that the rie must be unloaded withno round in the chamber when moving betweenshootingpositions.WiththisinmindIalwaysoptforaBentzchamberedbarrelasremovingaliveroundiseasyandallthetestresultsthatIcanndshotwithourtypesofriesindicatethatthedifferencein accuracy between the two types is negligible

really.Theonlyotherthinglefttoconsiderthenisthe

colourofwhichtheremany,andnallytheprice.

Sights – Iron, Red dot or Telescopic?

Mostofthecompetitionsthatweshootare‘open’regardingthesightsusedalthoughthereareafewthatarerestrictedtoironsightsonly,butthesearegenerallyinleaguesorattheTrafalgarMeetingatBisley.Thereareacoupleofshootersouttherewhocan shoot very well with ‘irons’ but it has provedimpossibletobeatthetopguyswhoareusingthevariablepoweredscopes.Reddotsightsgenerallyoffer a faster target acquisition which is great forspeedsteelsandsomeofthe3gunmatches,butcertainly not for the majority of matches that weshoot.Althoughit’sobviouslyalldowntopersonalpreference, on a multiple target layout you mayndthatalarger42mmor45mmreddotwillallowyoutoseethebiggerpictureasitwere,whichwillallow you to pick up the individual targets easier comparedtoa30mmtube.The3or4MOAdots

42 & 30mm red dot scopes

Marking your scope will give you precise

zero at every distance



areusuallytheonesthatshootersgoforastheygiveadenitiveaimingmarkasopposedtoan8or10moaonethatwillcoverhalfof thetarget.Quite

afewpeoplehavecommentedtomeovertheyearsabout not being able to shoot with a telescopicscopeusingtheir weakshoulderastheireyesightonthatsideisverypoor.Thistypeofscopewhilstnot being ideal for the longer range stuff or therimre sized targets, can overcome a lot of thisproblemformanyshootersasthesheersizeoftherearlensenablesyoutolookthroughitandfocusonthedotusingbotheyes,regardlessofwhetheryouareshootingfromastrongorweakshoulder position.

Moving on to the various telescopic type scopes,I think it’s fair to say that unless you shoot themajorityoftheGRmatcheswithoneofthesettedontopofyourriethenyoursuccesswillalwaysremain limited. I experimented with variousmagnications and objective sizes over the rstcoupleofyearsofshootingGRtondwhatwhichcombinationworkedbestandthetwomainfactorsthatwillenableyoutoscorewellishavingenoughmagnication to see the X ring on the 50m tar-gets,alongwiththelargestpossibleobjectivelens

that you can nd. Recent discussions with somefriends’ who shoot at the top of the ladder as itwere,allagreedandusedthesameprincipleswhenchoosingthecurrentscopesthattheyuse.

Lookdownthelineona1500or‘shorts’lineandyouwillseethatmostofthetopshootersareusingthehigherpowered5-20x50,6.5-20x50or6-24x50scopes.Evenattheclosestrangeof10myouwillbeabletopickupthemiddleofthetargetquicklyoneither5or6x.Ifyoucan’t,thentheproblemhas

to do with your preparation i.e. stance, headpositionandpresentationandnotthescope.Atthisdistance I rarely use a setting of less than 12xwhichevercalibreI’mshooting.Havinganupperlimitof20or24xdoesn’tmeanthatyoueverhavetoturn

itup that far, but it’s always available should youever progress to use it.As well as being able toaimmorepreciselyratherthanguessingwherethecentreofthetargetis,probablythebestthingaboutusing a higher powered scope is being able tosee your point of impact on the target. This thenallows you to either adjust your aiming point or quickly dial in a couple of clicks should yourhits be off centre dueto different lighting or windconditions.Withalowpoweredscopetheonlytimeyou will get to know about this problem is whenyougodowntoscoreyourtargetandbythenit’stoolateandthepointshavegone!IthinktheonlyexceptiontousingahigherpoweredopticwouldbeforshooterswhohavededicatedBianchiorSteelplateriesthatareeitherttedwithareddotoralower powered scope in the region of 2-10x56 or3-12x50.Beingabletoturndownthepowerto2or3x combined with a large objective lens makes it

much easier to pick up the shorter range targetsmuchmorequickly,especiallyontheplatesandthemoverasyoudon’thavemuchtimetoplaywithinthistypeofmatch.

Many people have told me that the reason theystickwiththeircurrentscope(mostlyintheregionof 3-9x40or50)is that they cannotkeep the riestillonamagnicationsettinggreaterthan9or12etcat 50m – but neither can anyone else! Yourcrosshairs will always be moving on the target

whateverstandardofshooteryouareandit’ssimplyamatteroflearninghowtoreleaseeachshotasthereticulemoves overthecentreofthe target. Overthelast3or4monthssomefriendsofminehavetriedshootingwithbothmy1500GRSB&GRCFriesthatwerettedwithEdgarBrothers5-20x50scopes.Afterabitoftimeontherangegraduallyincreasing the magnication settings and learningbetter trigger control, they were certainly allgrouping better and getting higher scores on the target. They all now own, or have on order a

higher powered scope which should ensure theirperformanceandclassicationimprovestothenextlevel. Using a high magnication scope over theyearshascertainlyhelpedmetopostsomegoodXcountscoresduringmymatches.

The reason to go for the largest objective sizepossibleissothatyouwillhaveamuchgreatereldof view when you bring the rie up into the aim, ateverydistancewhatevertargetsyouareshootingat.Usinga1-5x20onfullpoweratcertaindistancescanmeanhavingtoscandownthetargettocheck

thatyouareshootingonthecorrect2targetsoutofthe34others,duringaMultiTargetmatch.Onthesame setting with a 50mm plus lens you shouldallowyoutoseethetargetnumberswhilstonaim,savingyou atleast a couple of seconds in some

1.5 – 5 x 24, 6 – 20 x 50

and 4 – 18 x 75 scopes



cases,andturningthepowerrightupat50mwillgiveyou a much clearer and brighter sight picture asopposedtothatgivenwithanequivalent40or42mmitem.Ifyoucanaffordtobuyatopqualityscope

liketheLeopold’s’orsimilarthenthequalitywillbeimproved even more as the power is turned up -they also come with a lifetime warranty! Whetherthe scope is front or side focusing isn’t really anissue but ideally it should be tted with targetturrets. These will enable you to sight in andmark off ofon a piece oftape wrappedaround itpreciselyyourzeropointforeverydistanceatwhichyouwillshoot.Simplywalkuptotheline,dialinthedistance, adjust the focus and then load whentoldto,it’sjustaroutinethatyougetintoandfor

the people who tell me that they don’t do it thisway because they’ll forget to changethesettingseachtime...you’llonlydoitonce......Icanassureyou!Nearlyallofthetopshootersdothissothatthey don’t have to aim off and can therefore just

concentrate on the middle of the target andget on withthe job.At the end ofthe day it maywell be worth considering having 2 scopes if youwant to shoot a wide variety of disciplines with a

particularcalibreandinvestinagoodsetofquickrelease mounts to go with them. They really doholdtheirzerowellprovidedyoutthemproperlyandcouldwellbethedifferencebetweenacurrentcompromise and reaching your potential inthe varied types of competitions that youcompete in. Remember that in order to get thebestfromanyscopeithastobettedandalignedproperly so that every time the rie is broughtup into the aiming position, the eye isconsistently at the correct height and the correct

distanceawayinrelationtotheeyepiece,sothataclearandfasttargetacquisitionisattainedeverytime!

Finally, after taking the time and effort to set upyourriessothattheytandworkproperlyforyou,

Scope covers will help keep the lenses clear and in top

condition



you should nish the job off and make sure thattheoverallbalanceisrighttoo!Quitealotofriestendtobefront(ratherthanrear)endheavybutthiscan easily be corrected by simply adding weighttotheappropriateend.Toaddweighttothefrontit’susuallybesttoremovesomematerialfromthebarrel channel towards the front of the fore endand t some epoxy covered lead or a piece of

stainless or mild steel bar. At the rear, you canremovethebuttpadandhollowoutpartofthissectionthenllwiththesamematerialsasthefront.Eithermodication will be discreet and should provideyou with a properly balanced rie that enhancesyourstabilityinalloftheshootingpositionsthatweshootfrom.Thisinturnwillreducefatigueandshouldhelp to improve your performance at the sametime.

To summarise then regarding either your current

rimrerieorthoseyouintendtoowninthenearfuture,makesurethatyouendupwith:

An assembled rie combination that is of thecorrect weight and balance.A Stock that ts youand is contoured to enable you to easily shootfrom any of thepositions required inthetypesofcompetitionsinwhichyouintendtoshoot.A trigger set up that enables you to releaseeach shot easily, smoothly and consistently.Ascopethatwill giveyouthelargest eldof view

andthemagnicationpowerthatwillallowyouseethe centre of any target, at every target distanceused.

Once these are achieved the rest as they say,is up to you! I hope that this has been of somehelp and that it’s got you thinking more aboutwhat should be achieved before you step up totheline fora competition.Also, watch what othershootersdoandneverbeafraidtoaskquestionsontherangeasno-oneknowsalloftheanswers,and

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The foundations of Havant Rie and Pistol Clubwere laid when, in 1943, Havant & HorndeanHomeGuardaskedforeveningstobesetasideattheir Drill Hall range solely for their own shooting

practice. Havant Home Guard Rie Club wasafliated to the Society of Miniature Rie Clubs(now the National Smallbore RieAssociation) in1944,andtherstmatch,againstSouthernRailwayRieClub,washeldon13thNovemberinthatyear.In1947theclubwasrenamedHavantRieClub.

The early seventies saw the club move to itscurrent location at Southleigh Forest. The sitewascleared,aclubroomandindoorrangesbuilt,and outdoor ranges laid out and equipped. The

outdoorrangeswereofciallyopenedattheendofSeptember 1978, with an invitation team event,still known as the ‘Final Fling’. Double Olympicchampion, Malcolm Cooper was Club President1988-2001.

The Club’s facilities include a large clubroomwith kitchen and two indoor ranges with eightlanes; outdoors there is a fty metre rangewith ten lanes, and a hundred yard range (alsousable at 50 metres) with twelve lanes, bothoutdoor ranges having covered ring points.

New target frames have been constructed for the100-yard range out of corrugated plastic sheets,allowinguseofalltwelveringpointsateitherdistance.

During the last three years the butts in bothindoor ranges have been moved back to 25metres, making more room at the ring point forchangeovers. As part of the new guidelines onrangeconstructionweareinstallingairextractiontogivetherequirednumberofairchangesperhour.

Following a few quotes from local companies, itwas discovered that one of our own membersdesignedairextractionsystems,andhaddesignedone for a large rie range in Dubai. Constructionis well under way, utilising a method known as a‘plenum chamber’, where theair pressure isevenacross the width of the chamber. It is expelledacross a grid of holes, resulting in the requiredair ow without a cold draught! Alterations to thesmallerrangehavealsoenabledustoenlargetheclubroom, whilst future plans also involveenlargingandimprovingthelayoutofourkitchenarea.

Memberscanchoosefrom:

• .22pronerieat25yards,50metresand100yards,including3-position

• targetairriesatsixyardsandtenmetres• target airpistols at sixyards,ten metres and

twentyyards,• including ‘Police Pistol’ at ten metres withten

turningtargets• lightsportingrieattwentyyardsandfty

• metres,bothproneandstanding• underleverpistolcalibrerie

landscape view of the ranges from the top

of the butts

The clubhouse and indoor ranges

Club Feature

Havant Rie and Pistol Club



• blackpowderrearms.During the week, the range is open two morningand three evenings. The remaining two weekdayevenings are for light sporting rie and proneshoulder-to-shouldermatches.Attheweekendbothmornings and Saturday evenings are utilised. Wehavejacketsandslingsfornewmembersinterestedinproneshooting,andclubgunsforsomedisciplines.

Our membership currently stands at 165 fullmembers, which includes half a dozen Honorarymembers, a good number of young people whocome with their parents, and a fair proportion offemale members. Although some people decidetargetshooting isnot for them, a steadytrickle ofnewapplicantsusuallymeanswehavearoundthirtyprobationers.Manyofourmembershavecomefromotherclubsinthearea,sometimesduetotheirclubclosingorbecausetheywanttousethe50metreand

100yardranges.Absolutebeginnersattendsessionson Sunday mornings, when they are shown safeweaponshandlingproceduresandrangeetiquette.Whentheirmentorishappywiththeirprogress,theyaregivenacerticatetoshowtotheRangeOfceron the appropriate evening for their discipline(s).

Havant Rie & Pistol Club hosts several openevents, including a Double Dewar in May, thePortsmouthAssociationShootingDayinJune,andthe‘FinalFling’eventmentionedabove.Afewyearsago the Club hosted the shooting events as part

oftheHampshireandIsleofWightGames.Openevents are usually accompanied by an excellentbarbecue,oftenincludingrabbitburgersandgamestew!

A local Pony Club practice air pistol at sevenmetres,usingtheturningtargets,asthisdisciplineis part of their tetrathlon competition, and a localdisabledgrouphasalsovisitedforairriepractice.

Members are kept informed of club ac-tivities via the club newsletter ‘On Target’,with issues in Spring, Summer and Autumn,and our website, www.havant-rpc.org.uk.

A view of the 100 yard ring point

TointroduceourselveswearetheUnitedKingdomAssociationofRimreandAirRieBenchrestShooting.Bythatwemean"True

BenchrestShooting".TheAssociationisrecognisedbyrimreshootersacrossintheUK,withpartnersacrossEuropeandtherestoftheworld,asthepresentativebodythatpromotesrimreandairriebenchrestacross

thiscountryandwithotherpartnersinEuropeanandWorldevents.Visitourwebsitefornewsaboutnationalandinternational

competitionsthatallcan‘haveagoat’.Fromnovicetochampion

shooter,everyoneiswelcomewww.benchrest22.org

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http://www.nra.org.uk/



Competitions

The UKBRA’s opening shoots of the 2009season took place as usual at Diggle Ranges ona bitterly cold weekend at the beginning of April.

We welcomed a clutch of new shooters to oursport,inparticularGerritvanRooynanallthewayfrom Namibia. Gerrit is living and working in theUKandwillbepartoftheGBBenchrestTeamtoSouth Africa for the 2009 World Championships.

At 100 yards, the wind was so switchy it wasvirtually un-readable, with several wind-agsactuallyblownoverandonlythewinner,IanDixonhad a respectable agg. Jack Searle took awell-deservedsecondplacewithMartinEldershaw

– returning from a two year sabbatical – in third.I’m still persevering with the 220 Beggs, whichrewarded me with two groups in the ‘ones’but I also had a couple of horric half-inchersyet still managed to scrape into fourth place.

TargetShootercontributor,LaurieHollanddecidedthat it was about time he tried benchrest and socontestedtheFactorySporterclasswithhis‘outofthe box’ Savage LRPV chambered in 204 Ruger.Amazingly,LauriewonhisClass,shotsomesuper

groupsintheprocessandembarrassedafewHVshooters along the way! I’m sure the 204 RugercartridgewillformthebasisofafullreloadingarticleforTargetShooterveryshortly.

Results:

Heavy Varmint:

1st IanDixon 6PPCWalkerBAT 0.27542nd JackSearle 6PPCStolle 0.32763rd MartinEldershaw6PPCStolle 0.3372

Smallgroup: IanDixon 0 . 1 6 3inches

Factory Sporter:

1st LaurieHolland204SavageLRPV 0.37482nd DarrellEvans 6PPCSako 0.5552

Smallgroup: LaurieHolland 0.219 inches204SavageLRVP

The following day, it was a trek up to the hill toDiggle’s1000yardringpoint.Wewereswampedwith entries and shooting continued long into theafternoon.Windsontheearlyrelayswerefairlylight

VINCE’S REGULAR COLUMN WHEREBY

ACCURACY NUTS CAN KEEP UP TO

DATE WITH THE ACTIVITIES OF THE UKBRA

The cap says it all – Dave Jackson did the double with a Light Gun win and

small group at 1000 yards.

http://www.freewebs.com/ukbra/index.htm










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Inassociationwith

The three nations match between Germany, Irelandand the UK derived from the World Championship,when Markus Feldmann of the German team said thatheandotherswouldliketocometotheUKtoshootafriendlymatch.AfewwordswiththeIrishteamlaterandwehadanongoingconcern,sotheplanningstarted.AtthispointitreallyistimetosayamassivethankstoKenStockhamofPortisheadclub,whoorganisedthiseventandranthingswithawlessaccuracyfromstarttonish.WithouthimandthegoodwillofhisclubwewouldnothavemanagedtohavesuchaneventintheUK.Arriving on the practice day the weather was calm but raining and misty – so calm that there was no windmovementatall.Forsomethisis aboon,forothersnotsomuch.Wellthelattergroupgottheirwishasthetwomatchdayswereatadbitgusty.TherstdayIwouldsayblowinginalldirections,atsomepointsatabout20plusmph.Thisknockedafewofftheirfeet,butwerecoveredandshoton.Thewindremainedwithusfortherestofthedaywithsuncomingupveryquicklyintheafternoon,whichbroughtmirage.AverymixedEnglishSpringday!Daytwo

wasbetter,withthewindstilltherebutthesunwaswithusfortheentireday.(Shootingbenchrestdressedinyourbestthermals,aswewereondayone,isnotconducivetothenatureofthissport).The German team shot brilliantly, as did a number ofindividuals in the UK and Irish teams. The Germansare very good shots anyway, as they gained silvermedalsasindividualsandasateamatlastyear’sworldchampionship.Thisishelpedonbythecustomkittheyareusing.AlotoftheseriesarebuiltbyMartinMenke,thecaptainoftheteam,whoisawellrenownedcenter-reandrimregunsmithinGermany.Heisalsothe1999

worldcenterrebenchrestchampion.JustfromtalkingtohimIlearntalot,asyoutendtoattheseheadtoheadmatches.AndyDubreuildidverywellintheUnlimitedclasscomingin5th,withBrianKellycomingin4thoverallintheaggregatescoresandCarlBoswellcomingin6thoverallfromthetwodaysshooting.Infactthetoptenaggregate

resultswereallUKandGermanshooters,withtheTop5being4Germanand1UKshooter.Thewholeteameventwasasuccessandtheaggregatescoresofeachteamarebelow.HopefullytherewillbemoreofthesematchesaroundEuropeinthenextyear.IknowthatGermany,ItalyandHollandhaveheldmatchesalready.1stGermany-Total87961962ndUK–Total86551333rdIreland–8250110Thetwoshootersthatreallystoodoutweretheeventualwinners of course, which were Martin Menke for Light

VarmintandMarkusFeldmannforUnlimited.IhaveknownMarkusforafewyears–lotsoffunandagreatguytobearound.Hewastheaggregateoverallwinnerfromthetwodaysshootingwithagreatscoreof147835x’s.WeintheUKwouldbenetfrommoreofthesetypesofhead to head matches in the future. Hopefully this willhappen as the UK nationals looks as if it will be very

popular Ifanythingwhatwecanlearnfromthisisthatweneedtolookmoreatmovingtowardscustomactionsandbarrels.Thisiswhatothernationsaredoing,asrelyingaloneonfactoryrearmsisnotgoingtocutthemustardinyearsto come. This game is getting increasingly competitiveatinternationallevel,soitisaboutkeepingupwiththeJones’s.AttheendoftheweekendtheGermanteamwentawaywithmostofthetrophiesandmedals,withoneexception,Anthony Nolan of Ireland won Bronze in the Unlimitedclass– well done. Itwasa greatshoot and the peopletakingparthadagreattime.Somuchso,thattheMartin

andJooftheGermanteamhaveinvitedtheUKteamtoshootinGermanysometimeinOctoberorNovember.Wearedenitelythinkingaboutit, withfourpeopleshowinginterestsofar.Willtheresultbethesame……..wellonlytimewilltell,solookforareportagaininDecember!

All teams together - the UK won best

dressed.

Seated Markus Feldmann -

the overall Aggregate

winners





The 2009 F class league would once again startwiththerstroundatDiggleRangesnearOldhaminGreaterManchester.

Many of the F Class League shooters thought itwouldbeamistaketohavetherstcompetitionofthe year at Diggle. Not because of the range butbecauseoftheweather.ItisalongheldbeliefwasthatDiggleonlygetsoneortwoweekendsayearwithoutrain,snoworsomekindofterribleweatherofbiblicalproportions!The previous year hadn’t helped Diggle’s casebecause it had snowed but, with only a nitenumberofweekendsavailable,theLeaguejusthadtotakeit’schancesandallthoseattending-ifthey

hadanysense-shouldbringasmuchwet-weathergearastheycouldmuster.ThatwaswhatIdid-Ievenbroughtsomeoldski-gloveswhichIassumedIwouldneedtoghtoffthecold.

Once again though the Diggle weather managedtotrickeveryoneanditturnedouttobeoneofthewarmestEastershootsIcanremember.Theglovesnever evencame out of the car and if you wouldhave set up a sun-tanlotion stall, youcouldhavemadeafortune!

Butenoughoftheweather,thisisRound1ofthe2009GBFClassLeague,scheduledtobeshotonEasterSaturdayandSundaywiththeFridaybeingapracticedayforthosewhowantedit.Thecourseof

rewouldbe2&15at800yardsfollowedby2&15at1000yardsontheSaturday.Sundaywouldbe2&15at900yards,followedby2&10at1000yards.

OurLeagueshootswillnormallymusteraround60competitorsbutitbecameclearearlyonthatmak-ingtherstshootontheEasterweekendcouldlimitthe amount of shooters to those brave enough toabandonwivesandgirlfriendsatthistimeofyear!Sothemaximumnumberofcompetitorswasreducedto48butmostoftheusualfaceswereinattendanceandAnthonyDunneandJoeMeliamadetheirusuallongtripfromIreland.

Restricting the eld to 48 competitors meant that

wewouldonlyneedfourdetailsoftwelveshootersratherthanve,thususefullycuttingdownontimewhich always seems to be a premium at Diggleshoots,especiallywhentheweatherdelaysthestarttimeasitdidlastyear.

AroundadozenshootersturnedupontheFridaytotakeadvantageofthepracticedaywithshootingstartingoffat600yards.UnfortunatelythedreadedDiggleweatherhadotherideasandmostjustusedthetimetogetaquickzerothencalleditaday.

The competition started bright and early Saturdaymorningwiththeplanfortherstshottobedownrange by 8.30 am. This was always going to bedifcult for the local contingent as Diggle shoots

The Long View – News from the

GB F Class Association

When the sun shines there ain’t no ner place

than Diggle!

http://www.freewebs.com/fclassuk/





normally start around 10.30 am and most of theprevious evening was spent answering the phonetelling the ‘Dollopers’ – “Yes 8.30 am was not amiss-printontheentryformandno,wedon’tneedoodlights!”

FirstupwouldbetheOpenClassshootersandmostof the highest placed League shooters from last

yearhadentered,ashadtheF/TRguys,soitwouldhopefully shape up to be a good competition. Aswithpreviousyears,theorderwouldbereversedthefollowing day tohopefullygiveeveryonethe sameweather‘window’.Oncethe‘sneaky’sighterswereover(sorry,Imeanblow-offshots)thecompetitionpropergotunderwayat9.00am.,soalmostontime.

Therstdistancetobecontestedwas800yardsandtherewasonlyalightwindblowingdownthevalleybutstill,atthisdistanceeveninalightwind,hitting

somethingnotmuchbiggerthanaCD(ourve-inchVbull)withanydegreeofregularityisstilladifculttask.BythetimetheOpenClassguyshadnished,sevenofthemhadmanagedtokeepitinthe5-ringandtwoshooters,SimonRodgersandPaulHillputinscoresof75.10v.

Oncount-backthehonourswenttoSimonwithAndyMassinghamaclosethirdon75.8v.The conditions remained the same formost of the morning and by the time the FT/R guys took to the ring-point they also

posted some impressive scores withDiggle’sIanDixonshootingthehighestwitha73.4v.The 2008 F/TR League Champion, Russell Sim-mondsandSteveRigbywereclosebehind,bothon72.6v.

For Match 2 we dressed back to 1000yards and just adding that extra 200 yardscertainly brought the scores down.Conditions hadn’t changed thatmuch but the wind was now

sh-tailing. One Open Class score was head andshoulders above the others, with John Campbellposting a very impressive 72.7v. The next highestGrantTayloron70.4v,thenPeterWilsonon69.4v.Asyouwouldexpect,scoresalsotumbledinF/TR,

with the highest being a 63.2v posted by StuartAnselmwithyourTargetShooterwritersVinceBottomleyandLaurieHollandnotfarbehindon62.1vand59.2vrespec-tively.WhenyouconsiderthatF/TRislimitedtothe308Win.cartridge,unlikeanOpenClasscompeti-torwhocanpickanycalibrehelikes,Stuart’sscorewasgoodenoughtohavebestedalmosthalfofthe

OpenClassshooters.

So by the end of day one, John Campbell wasleadingtheOpenClasson146.8v,withGrantTaylor

closebehindon145.12v-aremarkablyhighVcount,especially as this was the rst outing for Grant’shome-smithed rie in 284Win. Improved. The F/TRcompetitionwasalsoercelycontestedwith2ndplaceonthedaygoingtoVinceBottomleyon133.4vbutjustinthelead,StuartAnselmon134.7v.

We nished the shoot in scorching sun and allshooters who were members of the GB F ClassAssociation made their way into the DiggleclubhousefortheAnnualGeneralMeeting.which you can read about on the Associationwebsiteatwww.f-class.org.ukOncetheAGMwasover, the traditional shoot dinner - or obligatoryDigglecurryevening-wastheorderoftheday.

Daytwoagainstartedbrightandearlywithyetagainmoresun,possiblythersttimeinthehundredyearhistoryoftherangethatthesunhadshoneontwoconsecutivedays!Thesquaddingwasnowreversedto hopefully even out the weather conditions andallow everyone to shoot early morning whenconditionsweremostfavourable.This time we started at 900 yards with the F/TRshooterstakingtothepointandagain,theconditionsappeared to be fairly benign but that light breezewassh-tailingdangerously.Nonetheless,severalof the F/TR guys posted great scores with StuartAnselm shooting an excellent 71.6v but the rstplacewenttoPaulHarkinswithastunning73.6v.

You will see further down this article that Paul’sscore also beat every Open Class shooter at thisdistance-wellshotPaul.Theconditionsappeared

Eventual F/TR winner, Stuart Anselm - 308

Barnard, Robertson stock, Sinclair bi-pod

The Open Class guys at 900

yards



tobeprettymuchthesamefortheOpenguysbutnotmanyofthemcouldputina70plusscorewiththetoptwobeingTonyMarshon72.1vandinrstplace,GrantTayloron73.2v.ThegapbetweenOpenClassandF/TRClasshascertainlyclosed,evenwiththedisadvantageofbeinglimitedto308’s.

Thenalmatchoftheweekendwasanother1000yardstagebutthiswouldonlybea2&10roundstage. As per usual, the Diggle wind-ags onlytell part of the story and just three F/TR shootersmanagedtobreakthe40barrier-PaulDobsonandIanDixonon40.1vbutinthelead,SteveDonaldsonon41.2v.ConditionsremainedprettymuchthesamefortheOpenClassguyswithGregThompsonandAnthony

Dunne nishingon 46.2v andPeterHunt winningthenaldistanceoftheweekendwith46.4v.With the nal shot going down rangebefore four o’clock, it was time for the trophypresentations.EachstagewinnerisgivenaGBFClassAssociation medal and seeing as it was Easter,Cadbury’screameggswerealsohandedout.IntheF/TRClass,thirdplaceawardwenttoSteve

Rigby with 239.10v, Ian Dixon was runner-up byvirtueoftwoextraVbullson239.12vbutrstplacewenttoGBFClassTeamCaptainStuartAnselmon242.14v,sowelldoneStuart.

IntheOpenClass,thesamethinghappenedwithsecondandthirdplacesdecidedonVbullcountwithJohnCampbelljustbeatingPeterWilson258.21vto258.14v but theclear winner was GrantTaylor on262.15v;congratulationsGrant.It had been a great weekend, thanks in no small

part to the superb weather and the competitionhad run without a hitch thanks to several peoplewho had given up their time to ensure this wouldhappen.SothanksgotoJeanetteWhitneyforactingasRangeOfcerforthewholeweekend,IanDixonformaking our targets and Mik Maksimovik andStuartAnselmfordoingthestatsandnally,Digglechairman Mike Weatherhead for coming along tohandouttheprizes.

So that’s it, Round 1 is over in this, our mostimportantyearastheWorldFClassChampionshipswillbeheldatBisleyinJuly.Appropriately,thenextLeague Shoot will be at Bisley on the rstweekendofJuneso,ifyouarereadingthisandhaveascopedrieandfancyhavingago,pleasee-mailtheorganiser of the next shoot, Mik Maksimovic [email protected].

2009 World F Class Championships

It’slessthanthreemonthstotheWFCCatBisleyinJulyandmanyGBFClassAssociationmemberswillbeshootingeitherasofcialGBTeammembersor

asindividuals.John Dean of Aimeld Sports has provided hisexcellent drag-bags and shooting mats for prizesand he will continueto do so for the ‘Worlds’ and‘Europeans’.AimeldSportsarenowUKimportersfortheexcellentSightronscopesandSightronhavegenerously agreed to donate one of their superb8-32scopesasaprizefortheWorldChampionships.This prestigious event is held every four yearsand clearly will not return to Bisley for someconsiderable time. It will generate world-wide

publicity so this is a great opportunity formanufacturerstogettheirproductsshowcasedontheworldstage.AnyfurtheroffersofprizesshouldbemadetoMikMaksimovicatmik@mikdolphin.de-mon.co.uk

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Grant Taylor (left) collects his

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First of all a piece of really good news.Two well known GR competitors wereunlucky enough to have their rearmcerticatesrevokedafterthetheftofsomeof their guns. A couple of weeks ago an

agreement was reached at the CrownCourt which resulted in the certicatesbeing returned. A full summary is in thisissue. A wake up call to us all – thinkabout security when you are away fromhome whether it is just a visit to the clubor a trip to Bisley or even abroad – youmust ‘t be complacent and hopethat it won’t happen to you.The rst big meeting of the year, the

Spring Action Weekend, was a greatsuccess, apart from the weather andsome of the scores, with a record entry.Havealookatthereportinthisissueand,if you didn’t go, see what you missed.This month you have the WesternWinneratBristolandtheMatterseyTentochose from as well as the Shield SteelChallenge. Please do your best to

support one or more of these. They arefriendly competitions put on by hardworkingclubmembers.At the end of the month, the premiermeeting in the GR calendar, the PhoenixMeeting takes place at the NationalShootingCentre.It’snotjustforGRthoughas there so many events you willprobablyndatleastoneforeverygunyouown. See the article in this issue

which explains what it’s all about.(Don’t forget that your scores in therelevanteventsgointothenationaldatabaseto get you onto another rung on the

classicationladderandgetyounoticedbythenationalselectors.)Also at the Phoenix, teams from England,Germany, Ireland, Scotland and Waleswill be competing in the European

Teams Match for short events. On theMonday the national teams of Germany,Ireland and the UK compete in the 1500GREuropeanChampionship.June has the Derby 1500 and not muchelse we are aware of so no excuse for notheadingthere!COMPETITION CALENDAR

May 3 GR&P The Mattersey Ten - 1500,ShortEventsetc.MatterseyRPC,Notts

May 9GR&PTheWesternWinner–1500Frome RPC at Failand Range near BristolMay 10GR&PSteelChallengeShield Shooting Centre, DorsetMay 21-24 Almost any gun! The PhoenixMeeting National Shooting Centre, Bisley,SurreyJune 27-28GR&PDerby1500DerbyR&PC(Either contact the organisers direct

or go to www.galleryrie.com for entryforms.)GR&P=GalleryRieCentreFire(GRCF),Gallery Rie Small Bore (GRSB), LongBarrelled Pistol (LBP) and Long BarrelledRevolver(LBR)RESULTS

March 28-29 Spring Action WeekendAvailable in full on the NRA/NSCwebsite or at www.galleryrie.com.

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Practical shooting is a high speed multi

targetdisciplinewhichtestsalltheaspectsofa competitor’s shooting ability by means ofvariedtargetarraystobeshotasfastandasaccuratelyaspossible.Topreventitbeingsolelyatestofstaticspeedshooting,penaltytargetsareincludedanddifcultshootingpositionsareforcedbymeansofvisionbarriersandscreens.In accordance with the motto Diligentia VisCeleritas(DVC=accuracy,power,speed)onlyrearms developing a minimum power factor(bullet mass * velocity) are permitted. Within

the Rules, competitors are allowed to solvetheshootingproblemsastheyseet,e.g.theymaychoosetomovefromthestartpositiontoapointwhichoffersaclearershotatthetargetortoremainstaticandshootslowerbutmoreaccurately.

Matches can involve the use of Handguns,RiesorShotguns;mostmatcheswithintheUKinvolvethe use ofSection1 shotguns. Inany

matchthereareanumberofstages,whichmaycontain from 1 to 28targets of varying typesand distances; in Shotgun matches, differentcartridgeloadings(birdshot,buckshotorsolidslug)areusedasafurthertestofskill.

PracticalorIPSCshootingisconductedunderthe auspices of the International PracticalShootingConfederation whose representativebodyintheUKistheUnitedKingdomPractical

Shooting Association (U.K.P.S.A.). This bodyadministersthesportanddistributestheRulesaswellassanctioningmatchesandselectingtheNationalTeams.GloballytheIPSChasover75membernationsandisthefastestgrowingof the shooting sports because of its highlychallenging fast and dynamic style and thevariednatureofthecompetitions.

Given that no two stages are ever alike, thevarietyofmatchesisimmensebutallhaveacommonfactorandthatisSAFETY.Because IPSC shooting involves movementwith a loaded Firearm, a high level ofcompetenceisrequired.TocompeteinUKPSA

sanctionedmatchesyouneedtohaveattended

AND successfully completed to competitionlevel a Basic Safety Course. These coursesare run throughout the year byClubsaroundthe country and consist of 2 days of intensetrainingbya certied instructor in all aspectsof Firearm safety, gun handling, movementand positional shooting as well as rangecommands and other necessary information.Because of this mandatory training and thefactthatashooterisalwayssupervisedbyatleast one Range Ofcer, IPSC shooting has

the best safety record of all shooting sports.All Range Ofcers are experienced shooterswhohavepassedadditionaltrainingcoursesinadditiontotheBasicSafetyCourseandareinturnsupervisedbyaChiefROwhohasmoreexperi-enceandtrainingandnallytheRangeMasterwhohashad,you’veguessed,evenmoretraining.

Tondoutmoreaboutpracticalshootingandhowtoregisterforabasicsafetycourse,visit

www.ukpsa.co.uk or email [email protected].

VanessaDuffyChairmanUKPSA

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LettersandNewsWhatagreatresponsetothersteditionlotsofreallygoodfeedbackandafewthingstomakeus

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Happyreadingandwehopeyouenjoythemagazine.TheteamatTargetShooter.Ifyouhaveanylettersornewsthatyouwouldliketoaironanationalbasisthenpleasecontactusatthemagazine.Thiscouldbeforthosebuddingwritersouttherethatwouldliketosubmitafullarticleonspecicrearms,competitions,shootingsports,etc.TheaimofthemagazineistoincludeyoutheshootersintheUnitedKingdom.Sohavingaregularletterspageorevenaquestionandanswersectionwouldbereallyusefulforalotofpeopleoutthere.Letusknowwhatyouthink!?

Wewouldalsoliketohaveagunofthemonthsection-sosendusyourpicandspecandwe’llincludeitin‘gunofthemonth’.Anynewsthatyourcluborassociationthinksisworthviewingcanalsobesentinforselection.Whatwewouldlikeistogetaletterspagestartedwithyourviews,newsandperceptionsaboutallalltheaspectsoftargetshooting.Soletsseethoseletterscominginandwewillreadyourthoughtsinthesepages.

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