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Target Shooting Magazine. The first on line shooting magazine in the United Kingdom.
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Target Shooter 1
More news, reviews and information at your fingertips
July 2010 Issue
Mini Rifle Targets and Handloading
Equipment
Make your own windflags – Part 2 • Air Action Shooting • New Products • and lots More…..
Target Shooter 3
Premium Target Opticsfor Dynamic Hunting
The Ultimate Visual Experience
The new basic riflescope line by Carl Zeiss -with distinctive design and dark grey matt finish.
The new riflescope line made in Germany by Carl Zeiss stands foruncompromising ruggedness, precision in optics and mechanics as wellas ultimate functional safety. Modern multi-layer coatings provideoutstanding image quality and brightness up to the smallest detail.Duralyt stands up to the test when used in the field offering professional,experienced and young hunters three riflescopes at an affordable price:1.2 - 5 x 36, 2 - 8 x 42 and 3 - 12 x 50.
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New: Duralyt Riflescopes
4 Target Shooter
Sections6 ShootingSportNews
8 ShootersCalendar
10 SupportShootingSports
12 GhostInternationalby DavidThompson
17 ShootingBlackPowder PistolbyChrisRisebrook
36 GBRProjectRiflebyVince Bottomley
42 IPhoneScopeReference byJohnCampbell-Smith
45 MobileDevices-PDF VeiwersbyCarlBoswell
54 WMSSteelChallenge Part2 byNigelGreenaway
57 Handloading‘OldFaithful’ the.308equipmentby LaurieHolland
66 TheGreatDiggleEgg ShootbyVinceBottomley
76 GunoftheMonth- buildingarimfireBRLV riflebyAndyDubreuil
74 ThisSmallboreBusiness byDonBrook
84 ProfileonDaveCaughey byHayleyPlatts
93 ClubReview
108 Letters
109 AdvertisersIndex
21 Front Rests - the Top Ten byVinceBottomley
30 DIY Windflags Part Deux byCarlBoswell
49 Shooting & Reloading.303 MkVII Bullets byNigelGreenaway
80 Natural Aiming Point (NAP)byDonBrook
87 Pheonix Meeting 2010 by GwynRoberts
70 Mini Rifle Turning Targets byTimFinley
WelcometotheJulyIssue......................
.......ofTargetShooter
Target Shooter 5
Association Pages95 UKBRA
97 UKBR22
99 F-Class
101 QuigleyAssociation
103 GalleryRifle
104 UKPSA
Editor(s).CarlBoswellandVinceBottomleyAdvertising and Office Manageremail;[email protected] TonySaunders TimFinley LaurieHolland ChrisRisebrookCarlBoswellDonBrook AlanWhittle NigelGreenawayGwynRoberts KenHall LesHolgate HayleyPlatts DavidThompson JohnCampbell-Smith
DisclaimerThewebsitewww.targetshooter.co.ukispartofTargetShootermagazinewithallcontentsofbothelectronicmediacopyrighted.Noreproductionispermittedunlesswrittenauthorisationisprovided.Information,pricesanddataisbelievedtobecorrectatthetimeofpostingontheinternetwhichisonoraroundthe1stofeachmonth.AdvertisementsthatarefirearmrelatedarefromcompaniesorindividualsthatTargetShootermagazinebelievesarelicensedtoholdsuchfirearmsandacceptsnoresponsibilityifcompaniesorindividualsarenotsolicensed.LettersandphotographssubmittedbymembersofthepublictoTargetShootermagazinewillbeacceptedonthebasisthatthewriterhasagreedtopublicationunlessotherwisestated.TargetShootermagazinehasnocontroloverthecontentorownershipofphotographssubmitted.Theviewsexpressedinthismagazinearenotnecessarilytheviewsofthepublishersandrelatetospecificcircumstanceswithineacharticle.Thesearetheopinionsandexperiencesofwritersusingspecificequipment,firearms,componentsanddataundercontrolledconditions.Informationcontainedintheonlinemagazineoronthewebsiteisintendedtobeusedasaguideonlyandinspecificcircumstancescautionshouldbeused.TargetShooterMagazinedoesnotexceptanyresponsibilityforindividualsattemptingtorecreatesuchtestingusinganyinformation,dataorothermaterialsinitselectronicpages.PublishersofTargetShootermagazine.
Webitorial - July 2010
Thismagazinedeliberatelyoptednottocommentonlastmonth’stragiceventsinCumbria.Weareatargetshootingmagazinepureandsimpleandalthoughtheindividualinvolvedwasalegalkeeperoffirearms,hewasnotatargetshooterandneitherwerehisweaponstargetfirearms.
However,wehavebeenapproachedby themediaandothersbut rather thanattempt towritesomething,IwouldreferreaderstotheexcellentpieceontheCybershooterswebsiteathttp://www.cybershooters.org/june_2010.htmandalsotheNRAwebsiteatwww.nra.org.uk
Iwill endbysaying thatweatTargetShootermagazineareshockedby theseeventsandweextendourdeepestandsinceresympathytothevictimsandallthoseaffectedbythistragedy.
Untilnextmonth.Vince,Carl&Andy
[email protected]@[email protected] Copyright©TrinityDigitalPublishingLtd
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New 7.62mm Rifle Enters British Military ServiceAn optically sighted 7.62mm semi-auto precision rifledesignatedtheL129A1‘Sharpshooter’isenteringserviceinAfghanistan in thehandsofselectedmarinesservingwith40Commandoas this issuegoes topress.Target-Shooter understands that 440 exampleswere procuredfromtheLewisMachine&ToolCo.(LMT)ofMilan,Illinoisasan‘UrgentOperationalRequirement’anddeliveredinJanuaryforinfantryusewiththeArmyandRoyalMarines.The L129A1 will not replace any existing weaponsaccording to the MoD, 7.62mm L96 (AccuracyInternational PM and AW) sniper rifles continuing inservice. LMT beat off competition from FN-Herstal,SabreDefenceIndustries,andHeckler&Koch,amajorachievement for this minnow amongst these largeinternational arms manufacturers. Despite regularcriticismsofMoDweaponsprocurementseenhere, thespecification, tendering and testing processes, as wellasvalueformoneyobtainedand short timescales, havebeendescribedas‘model’byAmericancommentators.
British forces have adoptedAmerican practice whichsees a modified version ofthe Knight’s Armament Co(KAC) SR25 rifle widelyissuedastheM110SASStodesignated marksmen atsquad level to bridge thelongstanding gap betweentheskillsandequipmentofriflemenarmedwith5.56mmindividual weapons and more rigorously selected andtrained snipers with long-range bolt-action rifles. Aswith the KAC SR25/M110, it is a ‘bigAR’ in its looks,straight-linelayout,andcontrols,retainingtheStonerboltlockingandpiston-lessoperatingsystems.However,LMThas made improvements to Stoner’s work, primarily inits ‘MonolithicRailPlatform’ (MRP).This isaone-pieceupperreceiverandforend/handguardassemblymachinedfromasolidaluminiumalloybillettoprovideasingle-pieceintegralM1913specificationsights/accessoryrailrunningalong the entire component; a fully free-floating barrel;a QD barrel change system that allows removal andreplacement inaround twominutesusingasmall LMT-supplied driver/ torque wrench. As with other squaresection tactical front-ends, the MRP has M1913(‘Picatinny’) rails machined into all four surfaces formultiple accessory attachment including a bipod andvariousgripdesigns.LMThasalsoinstalleditsergonomicpistol grip and ‘SOPMOD’ telescopic buttstock onthe L129A1, both favourites with US special forces’personnel.TheL129A1hasa16”matchquality1-11.25” twist ratebarrel with a recessed and tapered crown, the muzzlefitted at MoD request with an existing British flash
suppressor come sound moderator adaptor. Specifiedperformance is 1-MOA grouping ability using standard7.62mm ball ammunition allied to an 800 metre hitcapability on a person sized target in the hands of asuitably skilled user. Sights are a 6X48 TrijiconACOGincorporating a no-battery fibre-optic illuminated BDCchevronformreticle,nodoubtinfluencedbyitscurrentlybeingprocuredfor7.62mmL7A1GPmachineguns.Thephotograph of the rifle shows a holographic sight hasbeeninstalledontopoftheACOG,presumablyforstreetfightingandsnapshooting.KAC fold-downbackup ironsights have also been fitted to the upper rail at Britishrequest.Inlinewiththeprecisionshootingrole,ithasbeenfitted with a trigger assembly providing crisp operationanda low (bymilitary standards) 4.5lb pull-weight.Therifle is supplied in a Pelican hard case complete withACOG,eightKAC20-roundmagazines,DeweyandOtiscleaningtools,barrel-changedriver,andbipod.
British practice with thisrifle varies from that of theUS Squad DesignatedMarksmanprogrammeinthechoice of barrel length andoptics, the longer AmericanM110 fitted with a highermagnification S&B orLeupold, while the Britishrifleisahandier,moreflexiblepackagethatdoesthesamejobsas theSA80seriesrifleinadditiontothesnipingrole,
recoil and full-auto fire issues aside.The rifle suggestssignificantchangesinBritishmilitarythought,primarilythefinalabandonmentofsoleconcentrationonthe5.56mmNATOcartridge purely for logistical considerations.Thevalueofimprovedindividualshootingskillsandkitinthewarswe’renowfightinghasbeenrecognised,albeitgiventhe absence of the close cooperation between serviceandciviliantargetshootingcommunitiesthathasproveninvaluable to such developments in the USA, onesuspects this belated conversion on the road toDamascusisonlypartial.Likewise,the(literal)bankruptcyofdeployingprecisionmunitionstodealwithanythreatmoresignificantthanAK47usersisaddressed,7.62mmcartridges costing pennies in the hands of a good shotwith an accurate rifle replacing ‘chucking a Porsche’(firing amissile costingmany thousands of pounds) atsmall groups of insurgents harassing British positionswithamortarormachinegun.Finally,althoughtheMoDinsists that no existing weapons are superseded, themisbegottenheavy-barrelL86A2LightSupportWeaponmemberoftheSA80familyisnowdeservedlyredundantgivenitsreclassificationasa‘long-rangerifle’afterfailingabysmallyinthelightmachinegunroleandreplacementbytheFNMinimi.
Shooting Sport News
Target Shooter 7
Challenge shoot detailsThisshootisopentoallmembersoftheEaglesRifleandPistolClubandany shooter who holds both a valid FAC & ShooterCertificate.Noentryfeebutsponsorshipisrequested!!Thshootwillbeheldat300&600yards,onCenturyrangeBisley.Shootingwill be from08.30 to17.30 (Lunch12.30–13.30)Shooterswillbesquadedinpairsorthrees.Targets will be standard NRA targets for the abovedistances..Theshootwillconsistoftwosightersandtenshotstocountateachdistance.Scoringwillbeatotalpossibleof100points+V-bulls.Totalroundsrequired24!!!Allshotswillbemarkedandscoredback.
AllsighterswillbeconvertibleunderNRArules.Therewillbenowarmupshotsor‘zero’shots.Note!Ammunitionwillnotbe issuedbyEagleRifle&PistolClub.A commemorative medal will be issued to eachparticipantAt theendof theshoot,eachshooterssponsor formwillbemarkedtoconfirmthenumberofshotsfiredandthescoreobtained.Onceeachshooterhascollectedthemoniesstatedontheirsponsorformpleasecanyousendboththeformandmoneyto–Mr Ian Wild39 Camelot Gardens, Sutton-On-Sea, Lincolnshire, LN12 2HP.Please make cheques payable to – Eagle CharityShoot
New from RWS! TheRWSLR-20-multi-shotPCPAirRifle–CarbineVersion!This new RWS Carbine, the LR-20, has beenspecially designed with advice from expert airgunshooters and like its larger counterpart – the LR-25, is a UK made Air rifle featuring the uniqueambidextrousboltwhichcanbeeasilychangedfromrighttolefthandatanytime.
Italsohasaclassicdesignchequeredambidextrousstock with rosewood capping, in beech or qualitywalnut.8 shot magazine, cylinder pressure gauge andthreaded fora soundmoderator–a truly versatilerifle.ReviewsoftheLR-25areexcellentandwearesuretheLR-20willquicklyfollowsuit!RRPstartat£670.00ContactRUAGAmmotecUKLtdformoreinformation.enquiries@ruag.co.uk
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CalendarofeventsoverthenextfewmonthsIfyourcluborassociationhaseventsyouwanttopubliciseherethenemailus.
21 Aug5thHistoricBreechLoadingLoadingCompetition(BattleHill,CoDurham)
DownloadEntryFormhttp://www.consetthistoricrifleclub.co.ukContactGriffElliott
7 to 26 July NRA Imperial Meeting (NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)NRA Imperial Meeting. This series of matchesis divided up into disciplines with competitionsforServiceRifle,CivilianServiceRifle,Cadets,HistoricArms,Schools,GalleryRifleandPistol,Match Rifle and Target Rifle. It finishes on the26thJulywiththeQueensFinalfollowedbyPrizeGiving.Contact(s):NRAImperialMeeting
15 July to 25 July NRAImperialMeeting-TargetRifle Events (National Shooting Centre (NSC),Bisley).IndividualandteamcompetitionsforTarget Rifle discipline. Starting with warm-upmatchesonFridayandSaturday,theGrandAggregatebeginswiththeDailyTelegraphcompetitionontheSaturdayafternoon.
EntryformswillbeavailableinFebruary2010.KarenRobertsonattheNRA
22 Aug HBSAOpenLongRangeClassic&VeteranChampionships(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)AM900,PM1000:classesforClassic(pre-1919)andVeteran(pre-1946)rifles,includingService,Sniper,MatchandTargetRiflesandforPost-VeteranEarly7.62mmTargetRifles.ContactMarkHodgins
16 JulyWindCoachingCourse(NationalShoot-ingCentre(NSC),Bisley)Shortwindcoachingcourse.Contact(s):PhyllisFarnanviatheNRA
11 Sep NRA Open Day (National ShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)ContactLibbyGendallviatheNRA
1-3 October: FieldTargetWorldChampionship,Hungarymoredetails:http://www.fieldtarget.hu/ftob2010moreinfo:[email protected]
26th July- 6thAugustRimfireandAirRifleBenchrestEuropeanChampionships2010.PlzenintheCzechRepublic-http://www.erabsf.org
26 Sep Somerset SBSA – Open Shoot. (Rifle)LongAshtonRanges.Tel.01275836442.Email.julian.withey@btinternet.com
28 Aug to 29 AugWelshOpen(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)TheWelshOpenwillbeheldon28-30AugustwiththetraditionalQueens1,2&3formatstartingonSaturdaylunchtimeplusamatchriflecompetitionontheMondaymorning.http://www.welshra.comContact(s):LouLouBrister
5 to 6 July MLAGBPedersoliChallenge(Wedgenock,Warwickshire)AnOpenCompetitionforpistol,rifleandmusket.Contact(s):DavidSpittles
17 July to 23 July NRA Imperial Meeting - FClass Rifle Events (National Shooting Centre(NSC),Bisley)IndividualandteamcompetitionsforFClassRiflecompetitors.Startingwithwarm-up matches on Friday and Saturday. FClassInternationalteammatchandindividualfinals on the followingFriday.KarenRobertsonattheNRA
27 to 29th Aug-UKNationalRimfireandAirRifleChampionship-heldatPaulLaneRifleandPistolClub.CotactviatheUKBR22websitehttp://www.benchrest22.org
5 to 6 July FClassLeague(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)Contact(s):MikMaksimovic
3 Aug HighpowerRifleAssociationMatch(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)80roundXTC.Detailscanbefoundbyclickingonthelinksbelow.http://www.highpowerrifle.co.ukContact(s):HighpowerRifleMatchEntries
28 to 29 AugGalleryRifleNationalChampionships(NationalShootingCentre(NSC).Someoftheeventsbeingshotare1500,BianchiMatch,Timed&Precision1,2and3,Multi-Target,Precisionat25and50,PhoenixA,AdvancingTargetandSpeedSteelChallenge.ContactBrianThomas
Target Shooter 9
Welcome to GT Shooting.The premier shooting sports shop in Surrey
Our premises are located at 53 Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5 2RB
www.gtshooting.co.uk
Tel: 020 8660 6843 Fax: 020 8660 6843
We are conveniently situated near the M23 & M25. Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday 10.00am - 5.30pm
Fullbore & .22LR Black Power
Air Rifles and Pistols Used rifles and Pistols
OpticsAmmunitionReloading equipment and more...
Portsmouth Gun Centre Ltd 295 London Road
North End Portsmouth
PO2 9HF Tel 02392 660574 Fax 02392 644666
Opening TimesMon 9.30 - 5.30Tues ClosedWed Closed Thur 9.30 - 5.30 Fri 9.30 - 5.30Sat 9.30 - 5.30
E-mail [email protected] www.portsmouthguncentre.com
We stock a full range of Rifles, Pistols, Air Guns, Shotguns, Ammunition,Reloading Equipment and Accessories. All major brands stocked including BSA, CZ, Air Arms, Marlin, Ruger, Umarex, Uberti, Cometa, Pedersoli, Berreta, Lincoln,Webley, Pedersoli, etc.
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After the handgun ban, many practical shooters took up other disciplines or bailed out of the shooting circuit all together. A few however wanted to try to re-create the excitement of Practical Pistol competitions with the equipment that was legally available.There were two options, either Airsoft replica imitation firearms or Co2 multi shot air pistols. It became apparent quite quickly that the Airsoft guns lent themselves perfectly to IPSC Practical Shooting and the more powerful Co2 multi shot air pistol (with some tuning) were perfect for Iron Plate Action Shooting (IPAS) the UK version of ‘Steel Challenge’ as it is known around the world.
IPAS is the fastest growing sport for Co2 multishot air pistols in the UK; it is extremely exciting and has an extensive competition circuit with events taking place throughout the year across the country culminating in the National Championships held November of each year
The object of the sport is very simple - shoot fast and don’t miss!
In any given event there are a number of ‘stages’ - each stage is a different array of five steel plates fixed to a wooden stand approximately one metre off the ground. The plates vary in size from 8”x 8” to 24”x 12”. One of the five plates is painted a different colour to the other four (usually yellow or red) and this is known as the STOP plate. The stop plate must be engaged last.
The shooter begins by standing in the ‘box’ facing down range, the instruction from the Range Officer is given “Load and make ready” ……..the gun is loaded and holstered and the shooters hands are in the ‘surrender’ position - the shooter is ready.The RO, with shot timer in hand, gives the command, “Shooter, are you ready?”……. “Stand by”…….the shot timer is engaged and the shooter waits for the inventible “beep” to sound……as it does he goes in to action, the shooter engages four plates in any order he chooses and then the stop plate. A good time is around 3 seconds!The shooter gets five ‘runs’ on each stage with his worst time being discarded, so there is only one ‘throw away’ the other runs must count.
‘Supporting Shooting Sports’An introduction to Iron Plate Action Shooting
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AttheendofthestagetheROgivesthecommandtounloadandshowclear-thegunisre-holsteredandthenextcompetitoriscalledtotheline.Thetimesforeachshooterforeachstageareaddedtogetherandthecompetitorwiththefastestoveralltimewins….simple!
Safety,asalways,isanumberonepriorityandtheIPASassociationareveryproudofits100%safetyrecord. It is very simple to set up, all you needare five steel plates on suitable stands, a decentmulti-shot air pistol, safety glasses (worn at ALLtimeswhilstontherange)andashottimer.Asmallamountofspaceisrequiredandcardboardcan be used for backstops, the .177 lead pelletsimply falls to the ground after impacting with thesteelplatesbutnotbeforesoundingaverysatisfying‘ding’.IPAS is an inclusive sport, with men and women,youngandoldfromallwalksoflifetakingpart.Itisfun,fast,competitiveandaboveallitdoesn’tcostafortunetodo.The Action Air Shooting company was borne outof desire toobtain, produceandprovide thebestpossibleequipmentforthesportofcompetitionIPASforthosewhowantedtocompeteataseriouslevel.ThegunsmithatSTC-himselfaveryaccomplishedIPAS competitor - spent years fine-tuning andincreasing theperformanceofhisowngun,aCo2Colt1911A1airpistol fromGermanmanufacturesUmarexandthisgavehimaclearadvantage.Other
shooters,keennottobeleftbehindinthewakeofhiscontinuedsuccessaskediftheytoocouldhavegunsmodified for themandsoActionAirShootingcameintobeing.
At presentActionAir Shooting offers two types ofCo2 pistol with various optional extras available.TheColt1911A1SuperSpeed&theSmithUltraliteRevolver. There are two divisions, Open (withoptics)andStandard(ironsights)andbothgunsareavailableforeitherdivision.Every gun is built to order (so there is a waitinglist) and each has between 8 and 11 hours ofgunsmithingbeforeit isready.Manycustompartsare fitted as standard, such as the lightweightaluminumshroudsfortherevolverswhichare55%lighter than the original part. For speed shootingthis lightened front end allows for an even fasterdrawandtargetacquisition.Thegunislighterwhilstretainingitspotency,thiscombinedwithafullytunedtriggermakesforanoutstandingperformance.Thecustomer canchoosea varietyof options suchasdouble-action only , ‘bobbed’ hammer even thetrigger-guards can be machined so they can beusewithaspeedholster,suchasthosefromGhostInternationalorSafariland.The attention to detail, the finish and the overallperformance of an STC Custom Air Pistol fromActionAirShooting is vastly superior to that of anordinary ‘off the shelf’ air pistol. A truly bespokepieceofkit thesegunsaresuppliedwithaunique
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build number, chronograph reading to show theaverageFPSofeachgun, a10mbenchrest test-target to showaccuracyand Corduradoublegunbag.STC guns can are also ideal as a training aid forusers of real firearms outside of the UnitedKingdom. Seasoned shooters looking for a costeffectivetrainingsystemorinstructorswithstudents
newtofirearmskeentolearngoodguncontrolandgunsafetyinacontrolledenvironmentbothbenefitfromanSTCCo2AirPistol.IftherewasabettermadeCo2multishotairpistolavailableanywhereelseintheworldwe’duseit!For further details full please contact us at [email protected]
Target Shooter 13
GhostInternationalbyDavidThompson
GhostInternationalLimitedcameaboutastheresultof the cooperation between three individuals whohadavisionarygoal todeveloponecompany thatwould combine the civilian sport shooting worldwithdutyequipment thatwassuitable forboth lawenforcementandmilitaryunits.Theybelievethatthecombinationandmixofknowledgeandexperienceof both these worlds would assist in deliveringthe perfect end result in each product theymanufactured.
Since1975SandroAmadinihasbeentheownerofAmadiniCustom,oneoftheleadingmanufacturersof IPSC belts, holsters and magazine pouches.
Sandro isoneof Italy’shighly regardedgunsmithsforboth IPSCaswell forSpecialOperationsUnitsthroughoutEurope.Overtheyearshehasinventedmost of the products to come from GhostInternational.
RobertoAmadiniistheownerofGhostInternational.Heisanexperiencedshooterandrangeofficerforboth IPSC and IDPA. His ties with both the IPSCworld and with law enforcement and the militaryenablesGhosttotrialtheirproductsinthefield.
MarcoPescaroloistheownerofPieffemme,whichis a factory specialising in producing injection
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mouldedABSparts forEuropean companies suchas Porsche and Alfa Romeo. This factory has aComputer Aided Design – Computer AidedManufacturing ( CAD-CAM ) unit capable oftransferringdesignsintofinishedparts.Ghost International is an Italian company, whichwasofficiallyfoundedin2004afteryearsofproductresearchanddevelopment.Inthelate1990’splanswerealreadymadeforthefoundingofthecompanyandbothmodularandrotationholsterandmagazinepouch systems were patented. Fine tuning of theproducts was undertaken with close cooperationwith top IPSC competitors and various police andmilitaryusergroups.In2004Ghostlaunchedtheirmodularholstersystemwhichcausedarevolutionaryturninthebuildingofholstersystemsworldwide.Allmajorholsterbuildersfollowedsoonwithcomparablesystems.Ghostthengavetheholsterarotationsystemforuseinvehiclesandmotorcycles.Again,therestofthefieldfollowed.Ghost is now an accredited ISO9001 qualitycertified company and as of 2005 most of theirproductsnowhasaNATOStockNumber(NSN).Ghosthastheflexibilitytousetheirbasicitemsandmakechangestotheminordertomakespecialisedproductstosuitcustomerneeds.
Ghost Competition HolsterPractical pistol competition shooting has lead tothedevelopmentof holsterswhose task is tobothsecurelyholdthepistolandalsoallowtheshootertopresentthepistoltothetargetintheleastamountoftimepossible.Aholsterthatisgaininginpopularity,whichisdesignedtosecurelyhold,andthenpresentthepistoltothetargetintheshortesttimepossibleis theGhostHolster.This rig offers youa positivelockingmechanismtokeepthepistolsecurelyintheholster.Therigalsoisalightweightdesignthatwillnotweighyoudownanalreadyheavygunbelt.Thisholstercomesinseveraldifferentconfigurationstosuitvariousmakesofpistol.Ithasablackcarbonfibrebodyand isattached toyourbeltwithahighimpactblackplasticclipbytighteningdownonfourhexheadbolts.Theholstercomescompletewithaninstructionalmanual and twoAllenwrenches, withwhichtoattachtheholster toyourbeltandalsotoadjustitsheightandangleofrake.This holster has a specifically shaped wedge isusedtosecurethetriggerguard.Theholstercanbeattachedtoabeltthatisnomorethan37mm(1.5inches)wideusingthesuppliedAllenwrench.Theholster is then adjusted into a position to suit theuser by loosening the various locking screwswiththe second Allen wrench. Remember to retightenthem all after you have finished making youradjustments. In the holstered position the pistolshouldnotbepointingatyourlegorfoot.Therearefouraxesof adjustment toget theperfect positionfortheuser.
Using the GhostOverthepastfewyearsIhavetestedouttheGhostholster using various CZ, Glock, Grand Power,Sphinx and STI pistols and Smith and Wessonrevolvers.With the rig unlocked the pistol can belifted cleanly and presented to the target. I tried
Ghost also make a competition holster for Smith and Wesson K, L and N frame revolvers
The revolver holster offers all the same advantages as their competition pistol holsters
Two types of magnetic magazine pouch are made, a magnet on its own and a magazine pouch with a magnet attached to the front of the pouch.
Target Shooter 15
some rapid turns and jumps and disengaged thelockingmechanism todrawwhen Ihadcompletedthesemovements. The time required to draw andfirewasfasterthananythingIhaveusedpreviously.Thepistol issecurely locked in theholsterwhen itneeds tobeandcan thenbepresented inaquicksmoothdrawupondemand.AswellasbeingusedwithbulletfiringpistolstheGhostcanalsobeusedwithairsoftpistols.Practice,trainingandfamiliarityare mandatory with the use of this or any otherholster. Do not use a loaded pistol during thistraining and familiarity period. Practice with anunloadedpistoluntilyouarecompletelycompetentinitssafeuse.
Ghost III Tactical Thigh HolsterAs a further development in their line of holstersGhost have developed a duty holster suitable forlawenforcementandmilitaryuse.Thisoneholstercanbeusedasatactical thighholster,beltholsterwithLevelIVtacticalbodyarmourandasastandardbeltholster.TheGhostIIIhasbeendesignedforlawenforcement and military use. Particular attentionhas been given to the safety systems and to thechoice of quality materials to give a long lastingproduct to combine reliability with comfort. Thefixingoftheholstergrouptodifferentmodulesallowsthe user to always have the same grasp on thepistol and the same safety systems. The fixingsystem of the holster body to differentmodules isalsoverypracticalandsecure.Ghosthas taken the lockingmechanismfromtheircompetitionholsterandhas furtherdeveloped it toproduce thisdutyholster.Theholster ismolded toaspecificpistoltype,whichinthiscaseistheGlock17. When the pistol is inserted into the holster awedgelocks intothetriggerguard.This,combinedwiththemoldedshapeoftheholstersecurelyretainsthepistol.Asyougraspthepistolwithyoudominanthandthe
releaseleverwillfallnaturallyunderyourthumb.Thereleaseleverisrotatedupwardstolockit,preventingthepistol frombeingdrawn.Therelease levercanbe pushed forwards and down with your thumb.Thiswilldisengagethewedgethatlocksthetriggerguard. The pistol can now be drawn from theholsterandpresentedtothetarget.Initiallypracticewithapistolwhichyouhaveconfirmedisunloadedtobecome familiar with this holsters system ofoperation.The tactical thigh rig (TTR) issecuredto your belt at waist lever via an adjustable webstrap. Two cordura straps are placed around theupperthighandlockedinplacewithplasticlockingclips.TheholsterlocatesontheTTRviaamodularkeyway.Pressdownthebuttonontheoutsideoftheholsterandslidetheholsteralongthekeywayuntilitlocksinplace.Two belt systems are supplied with the holster;awaist belt and drop belt that positions the pistollowerandawayfromthebodyforusewithLevelIVtactical armour. The holster is attached using thesame modular keyway. Both have slots throughwhich to threada belt.Also supplied is amodularattachmentfortheholsterthatcanbescrewedontoanyflatsurface.Thisallows theholsteredpistol tobepositionedunderacounter,inavehicle,boatoraeroplane.Eachadoptionsystemallowstheholsterto be rotated and locked at a specific angle, thusincreasingitsversatility.TogoalongwiththeGhostIII therearealsomatchingmagazinepouchesandbelts. All items are available in black, green andwhitecolours.
New ProductsGhost have reciently intruduced a concealableholster,which is for theGlock17/229mmand .40S&W pistol. Made from the same toughmaterialsthey use in their other holsters it would be verysuitable for plain clothed work and also verysuitable for those who use Glocks in IPSCProduction Division and IDPA competition. Initiallyavailable for the Glock 17/22, Ghost intend toproduceitforothermakesofpistolaswell.Anothernew product is a magazine pouch that uses amagnet instead of a convensional box into whichthemagazine.ThiswasdesignedforstagesinIPSCcompetitionwhereyoustartwithanemptypistolandallmagazinespositiononatable.Onthestartsignalyougrab thepistol, load itandshove theaditionalmagazinesintothemagazinepouches,whichistimeconsuming.Withthemagneticmagazinepouchyousimplyslapthesparemagazineagainstthemagnet,which is much faster. Two versions are available;a magnet on its own or a conventional magazinepouchwithamagnetattachedtotheoutsideofit.
Theauthor isa competitor on theEuropean IPSCcompetitioncircuit.www.practicalhandgun.com
One of the most popular holsters on the IPSC competition circuit, the Ghost holster has an unlocked position and two locked positions when the pistol is inserted into it
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Tel/Fax 01722782432 Email; [email protected]/ Website; www.westlakeengineering.com
The Taurus ML Revolver is converted from a Taurus .357 Magnum Long Barrelled Revolver. The cylinder is removed and a Yoke extension fitted, this contains the spring loaded plunger that frees the action when the yoke is closed. As this extension cannot be removed, it prevents the re-fitting of the original cylinder. The Barrel is shortened to approximately 5 ¼ inches and the wristbrace is removed. A new cylinder is made which has pockets for shotgun primers at the rear with a small flash hole through into the chamber at the front. The chamber is made to accept .357” lead wadcutter bullets. The conversion of your pistol costs £330.00. Extra Cylinders are £180.00 each. If you do not have a pistol I can order a new pistol from the Importers.
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Another diversion this month into the realm ofderringers.Anaturalsuccessortothemuffpistol,thederringerwasthebrainchildofHenryDeringer(one“r”) who began his career in 1806 in Philadelphiamaking muskets for the government through hisfriendshipwithGeneralAndrewJackson.However,his name is synonymous with the large calibre(usually .41) short barrelledmuzzle loadingpistolswhichhestartedmakingaround1825.Sosuccessfulwas this genre of pistol that competing
manufacturersmade imitations under such namesasBeringer,Heringer,Derrringeretalia.The pistol really came to fame (?) in 1865 whenLincoln was assassinated with one of Henr’yspistols. Lincoln’s physician said the pistol hadthe word “Derringer” marked on it. In fact he hadmisspelt it, but from that point on, all such pistolsbecameknownasDerringersandthewordenteredthedictionaryaccordingly.Althoughanearlyconvertto percussion, Deringer never adopted breech
by Chris Risebrook
Shooting the Black Powder PistolPart 7
Pic 1
18 Target Shooter
loading, but William H. Elliott, a Remingtonemployee patented the double barrelled derringershown in photo 1 in 1865. Like most breechloadingderringers,itischamberedfor.41rimfire,a
nowobsoletecartridgewhichwasoriginally loadedwith 13.5 grains of black powderwith a 130 grainheeledbullet.Latersmokelessloadsproducedabout100 ft. Ibs. Although generally considered pretty
Pic 9
Pic 2
Pic 3
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gutless,bothpresidentsGarfieldandMcKinleywereassassinatedwith41s,sotheycouldnothavebeenallthatbad.Thepistolitselfwasproducedfrom1866to1935with very fewalterations,which is curioussinceithasaninherentweakness-thehinge,whichfor some reason was never reinforced The gunsshowninphoto2areunusualinthatthehingesarenot cracked, but a great many guns do display acrack,usuallyonthelefthandside.About250,000of these pistols were made in their near 70 yearproduction run, so they are not scarce, even thisside of the pond; but prices of good examples,particularlywithintacthingesaregettingsilly.Although no longer produced by Remington, thedesignisstillproducedtoday,butnotin41calibre.Several companies in America make these guns-withreinforcedhinges-inaplethoraofcalibresupto 45 Colt, and sometimes well beyond. Versionshaveevenbeenmadein45-70-Ouch!Thepistolsbearnumbersunderthebarrelandduplicatesontheframe,but thesearenot serialnumbers,butmoreparts batch numbers. I had assumed that if thesenumbersmatched,itwouldindicatethebarrelsandframebelongedtogetherandwerenotamarriage,but the difference in the degree of wear in theplating of barrels and frame of the gun shown inphoto 2makesme wonder if this is so. Dating isusuallybythelegendonthebarrels;E.Remington&Son=1865-1888,RemingtonArmsCo.=1888-
1910,andRemingtonArmsUMCCo.*1910-1935,aftertheacquisitionoftheUnionMetallicCartridgeCo.Boththephoto2gunsare1910-1935.Thereissomebarrelwearonthebluegun,probablyduetolackofcleaningafterusingblackpowdercartridges,but there is no sign of wear or even use, on thechromegun.Apartfromsomeluridtalesofthegoldrush andwildwest eras involving southern belles,ladies of easy virtue, and Mississippi riverboatgamblers, in practice the majority of these gunsprobablysawlittle, ifanyuse.Bearinginmindthattheywerenotintendedtobeusedatmorethancardtable ranges, it is surprising that they bothered toincorporatesuchluxuriesassights,orevenrifling.Photo 3 shows a pretty pair of Colt Thuer No.3derringers, also in .41 rimfire -Thuer invented theejector mechanism. These pistols were originallymadebytheNationalArmsCompany,subsequentlyboughtoutbyColt,andproductionranfrom1875to1912.TheydonothavethehingeweaknessoftheRemington,but,ofcourse,theyareonlysingleshot.Backinthe1960s,Coltmade.22versionsofthesegunsinvariousfinishes,includingmatchedpairsoflordandladyderringers-goldplatedandwithwalnutand pearl stocks respectively.Unfortunately, thesecharminglittleartifactsarenowforbiddentousbutat least we can have the original .41s as curios,althoughthepriceswillmakeyoureyeswater!
www.FoxFirearmsUK.com Tel: 0161 430 8278 or 07941 958464
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Target Shooter 21
Last month, we had a look at back-bags – forbenchrest competition and F Class shooting.Followingourvideo reporton thenewSEB rest–the Neo – in our March issue, we were accusedof somethingakin to a ‘sales-pitch’ rather thananunbiasedreview.Ouch!That comment came from one who signs himself‘Tag’ontheUK22BenchrestDirectoryforumandhealsochallengedustocarryoutanunbiasedreviewofthetoptenfrontrestsforbenchrestandFClasscompetition.Unbiased? OK, I’ll try but I must emphasise thatthesearemypersonalopinions,so that in itself isabias.However,Icanstatethatnoonehasgivenmeafreerestandnooneispayingmetosaynicethingsabouttheirproduct.Hopefully,noonewillbesuingmeafterreadingmycomments!Ihavenotactuallyusedall the rests reviewedbutI’veseenthemall‘intheflesh’sotospeakandhadaplaywiththemandmaybeshottheoddgroup.SomeI have owned and used in benchrest competitionfor many years and I currently have a modifiedCicognani (with a heavier base) for 100/200 yardbenchrest and a mk1 SEB for 600/1000 yardbenchrest. I havealsoused theSEB forFClasscompetition.Co-axial or tripod?Beforewegetintothe‘meat’ofthisarticle,perhapsweshouldsaya littleabout thetwobasic typesoffront‘machine’rest–thetripodandtheco-axial(orjoystick) rest. The co-axials are more expensive,
so do you really need one? The only advantageoftheco-axialisspeed–ifyouneedtoshootfast,consider a co-axial. In benchrest, we are alwaystrying to ‘beat’ thewind–getoffourfiveshots forgroup before the wind changes. With a co-axial,there is just one movement to get back on aimbut with the tripod there are two – windage andelevation and those two adjuster knobs are notto hand – unlike the joystick. Also the joystick isparticularlyhandy ifyouneed todropdown to thesighter-card to check out a wind-change. It’s justafewseconds-ratherthanafranticknob-windingexercise.Ifyoushootbenchrestforscore–i.e.firingoneshotateachtargetratherthanshootingafive-shotgroup,then speed is not so important and personally,Iwouldn’tbebotheredwithajoystick–getagood,solid tripod rest. Although the F Classers don’tneedtoshootquickly,it’sverydifficulttoreachthewindage and elevation adjusters on a tripod restfromthepronepositionandtheco-axialrestplacesthe joystick knob just a couple of inches from thetrigger–veryconvenientandprobablywhyyouseemoreco-axialsinFClassthanbenchrest!Ofcourse,the F Classer’s grassy platform is nowhere nearasstableasaconcretebench-topso,even if youdo perseverewith a conventional tri-pod rest, youwill still need to ‘manipulate’ the back-bag for fineadjustmentandholdontoitwhilstyoutaketheshot.Ajoystickismucheasier.Incidentally,therearetwowaystoshootaco-axial.
Front Rests – the Top Ten!
by Vince BottomleyAbove - World F Class Champion, Gary Costello uses a Farley Co-axial – say no more!
22 Target Shooter
Some like the tensionset tightsothat itholds theweightof theriflejust likea tripodrestwhilstothers(me included) like it loose. If youshoot ‘loose’ then you must holdontothejoystickwhenyoupullthetrigger. This takes some practiseas,withoutrealisingit,youmaybeflinching andmoving the knob asyou release the shot – not good.Getsomeonetowatchyoushoot.Ithelps tokeep the joystickstill ifyoucanrestyourhandonanotherbag.OK,let’shavealookatthetopten– in no particular order but I amawardingstars!We’llstartwiththetripodsandmoveontotheco-axials.Let’sstartoffwiththe‘daddy’ofallrests–theHart–thoughtobefair,daddyisabit‘longinthetooth’now!
The Hart Rest. The Hart familywww.rwhart.comhave involved themselves in benchrest for almostaslongasithasexistedasaformaldisciplineandmakeanumberofaccuracyitems,includingbulletsand barrels. Their simple tri-pod front rest wasinitially just that–averybasicpedestalwith threelevellingscrewsandaflattopforabag.Overtheyears,asthesporthasmovedon,up-dateshave come along in the form of a windage top,front-stop, speed-screw, different levelling-screwsetc.andsoequipped,theHartrestisstilltheequalofanytripodrest,inthatitwillofferyouaverystable,multi-adjustable shooting platform. The basicpedestalis$243andwithallthewhistlesandbells$370.IhaveseenshootersusingtheHartrestintheUKintheearlydaysofbenchrest–butIhaveneverusedonemyself.***
The Sinclair Rest. www.sinclairintl.com This rest is very similar to theHart and, like the Hart, it has grownovertheyears.It’squiteheavy(aplus)with a cast-iron tripod base and it hasavery largediametercolumn.Like theHart, it lacks a rack & pinion verticaladjustmenttoenabletheresttoberaisedorlowered(otherthanfineadjustment)withoutgettingupfromyourseat.Again,agoodbasicrest.Iusedone inmyearlybenchrestdaysand still use it for rimfire benchrest.FromSinclair,therestcosts$298forthebasicpedestaland$370withallthebitsandpieces.***
As I was preparing this article, Sinclair launchedanotherrest.Stillatripodbutwithasolidbasetoincreaseweight.This is a great looking rest and predicted price is
The Hart Rest
Here’s Toni Young with her basic Sinclair rest shooting ben-chrest at 1000 yards. She won Factory Sporter class last time
out.
The new Sinclair rest
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$599.ItlooksabitliketheJJIndustriesrestfeaturedbelow andmaybe that’s no coincidence.This is aseriousrestbutI’mstillsurprisedtheydidn’tgofora joystickas thiswouldhaveextended themarketintotheFClassshooters.NotseenoneinthefleshyetbutIwantedtoincludeit,soourtop-tenisnowtop-eleven! If it performs as good as it looks, myratingis*****JJ Industries rest. www.jjindustries.com If youreallydolikethegoodoldtripodrestandjustcan’tgetonwiththesenew-fangledjoysticks,thenmaybethisrestisforyou.It is a masterpiece of engineering and you willbe happy to gaze at it for hours - admiring thebeautifulCNCmachiningusedtocarvethisrestfrom
billetaluminium-whenyouarenotshootingwithit.I’dneverusedoneuntilquiterecentlyandthenonlybrieflybutIcansay,withoutreservation,thatitwasthemost solid, stable platform I have ever restedarifleon.Abeautifulrest ineveryrespectbutveryexpensiveat$875.******TheBaldEagleRest.Thisisperhapsthemostwidelyusedtri-podrestinAmericaanditwasalsotheveryfirstrestIeverowned.Itisaseriouscompetitionrestwithallthefeaturesyoucouldwantinatripodrest.It’s a well-made, well thought-out rest and, beforethejoystickscamealong,youcouldn’tgetbetter.I boughtmine from theman himself, BillGebhart,wayback in1993whenacoupleofuswentonabenchrestfact-findingholidayintheUSA.Ifyouliketotravelabroadtoshootthenyouwilllovethisvery
JJ Industries rest
This is an original Bald Eagle – now you can have it with the ‘catapult’ base like the Cicognani
24 Target Shooter
light tripod rest. Iused theBaldEagle in theearlydaysofUKbenchrestcompetition.BaldEaglehasnow been sold to Woodstock International www.woodstockint.com andIcouldn’tfindanyprices****
Caldwell rests. If nothing else, Caldwellmade thetripod rest affordable and, when I last checked,you could buy the small one for around £150. Itintroduced a lot of shootersto benchrest shooting – notnecessarily in competition butthey began to see the sense inshooting off a front rest whenammo. testingand the like.Thisdid tempt a few shooters intobenchrest competition but thenthey began to see the failingsof theCaldwell. I’mnotgoing to‘rubbish’ theCaldwell as it’s stillthebestrestyoucanbuyforthemoney by a long way. It has avery heavy base, which is goodbutthetopisabitlacking.A few diehards still use them incompetitionbuttheyhaveusually
‘engineered’afewmods.tomakethemmoreuseable.Again,norack&pinion,soyouhave togetoutof yourseat tomake major height changes – veryannoyingandnotconducive to intensecompetitionshooting.Idon’tthinkIhaveeverseenaCaldwellataninternationalbenchrestmatch. NormanClark is theUK agent for Caldwell productswww.normanclark.com *Cicognani rests. There may be other
tripod rests out there but this is the top ten – nottop twenty – so our last tri-pod is the ItalianCicognani. www.varidecicognani.com I firstmet Varide Cicognani at the World Benchrest
Championships in Italy in 1999.He was selling from the back ofa van and was offering all thebenchrestgoodieswenormallygotfromtheStatesbutforafractionoftheprice. Iboughtaspeed-screwand a barrel-vice (which is still inregularuse)andsincethen,hehasexpandedhisrangeenormously.It used to be much cheaper toimport from Cicognani and overtheyears,Imusthavehadadozenrestsoffhimforfellowshootersbutnow theEurohasgone thesameway as the dollar – so it isn’t socheap! The Cicognani tripod restis as close as you will get to aBaldEagle restso it’sdefinitelyagood rest. Nice and light aswell.TherearelotsontheUKcircuitbuttheyaregettingmoreexpensive–like610Euros for the fullyspec’d
model.****The piggy-back joystick rest. www.shadetreeea.
Caldwell rest
The Cicognani ‘catapult’ rest – very similar to the American Bald Eagle. Very light and compact
Les Holgate with his Farley piggy-back. He’s quite happy with it
Target Shooter 25
com Shooters who already havea conventional rest often wonderif they would be better off with ajoystick. Shadetree (and a fewothers, including Farley) give youthe opportunity to try a joystickwithout going the whole hog. Thepiggy-backjoysticktopfitsinplaceofyournormalwindagetopbutusesyourtripodbase.Clever.Drawbacks – the one I tried (theFarley) had the joystick workingbacktofront–i.e.whenyouwanttogoup,youmovethejoystickdown.OKmaybe,ifyouhaveneverusedonethatworkstherightwayroundbut I didn’t like it. I didn’t like theactioneither–notasniceasaproperjoystickbutfor
themoney............I’ve seen a few shooters try a piggy-back in anattempttosavemoneyoverbuyingaproperco-axialonlytosellitonafterafewcompetitions.Notcheapeitherataround$375.Ifyouareseriousaboutyourshooting, bite thebullet andbuya proper co-axialrest. If you are an FClass shooter youmight liketo have a look at the new Shadetree tripod basedesignedespeciallyforFClass.**TheFarley rest.Thefirst joystick tobreak into thebenchrest scene was the American Farley. www.farleymfg.com Like Hart, Farley are legends inbenchrestandtheFarleyrestisstilloneofthebest–andmostexpensive–onceyoushipitoverhere!But,unlikeabarrel,a restshould lastyou forever,sorememberthatwhenyouareponderingoverthecost.Likethemansaid“Buythebestandcryonce!”TheFarleyisalsoagreatfavouritewiththeFClassguys - it’s heavy, very robust, well engineeredand weather-resistant. You won’t regret buying
a Farley whatever your discipline. I don’t ownone but I’ve tried one and theyare all you could want from aco-axial. Incidentally VarideCicognaniisofferingtheFarleyfor800EuroswhichsoundslikeafairpricetomeasyouwillnotpayVATorduty.******Caldwell’s Co-axial. They broughtusthecheap‘n’cheerfultripodrestandtheyhavedonethesamewiththeir ‘Fire-control’ co-axial rest. Itlooks a bit weird but if you musthave a joystick but can’t justify£450 for a SEB, Caldwell havemadeitpossible.It works but it has a fewshortcomingsandtheoddonesIsee
The Farley rest
Another example of a piggy back system
UKBRA 1000 yard Factory Sporter Champion Ian Kellet with his Caldwell co-axial rest to which Ian has fitted a new top.
On the next bench, you can see a Sinclair tripod rest
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onthebenchrestcircuithaveusuallybeenmodifiedtotakeaproperfront-bag.Byfar thecheapestco-axialataround£275but,yougetwhatyoupayfor.It’sworthnotingthoughthatIanKelletusesaCaldwell
co-axialandhewontheUKBRA1000yard Factory Sporter Championshiplast year. Again, get in touch withNorman Clark www.normanclark.com **The SEB rest. www.sebcoax.com SebastianLambangisanIndonesianandheloveshisbenchrest.I’vemetSeb a couple of times at theWorldBenchrest Championships and notonlyisheaveryniceguy,heisalsoaverytalentedengineer.HesawtheadvantagesoftheFarleyco-axialbuthedidn’t simplyattempt tocopy it–
hesetouttoimproveitandhedidaddressacoupleoftheFarley’sshortcomings.Seb clearly thought that two posts were better
Phil Gibbon – UKBRA 600 yard Factory Sporter Champion with his mk1 SEB. Note long base-screws and rotating base
Pimp my SEB! This mk1 SEB belongs to American F Class shooter Shiraz Balolia. Nice! Note the bag ‘keeper’ – essential to keep your front bag in shape. Don’t transport your rest without a ‘keeper’
The SEB Neo is almost cranked up to full height on Diggle’s 600 yd benchrest range. Keep hold of the joystick as you release the shot but rest your hand on a bag for
maximum steadiness
Target Shooter 27
thanone–andwhocandispute that– thoughtheFarleyworksperfectlywellwithonecolumn.Theotherimprovement was the rotating base. One of theproblems of setting up any rest is judging thealignment.Thefront-bagmustbeabsolutelysquareto the fore-end. After setting-up your rest, youinvariably have to get up off your chair again to‘square’ it up - even more annoying if you areshootingFClasswhereyouhavetogetupfromtheproneposition.TheSEB’sswivellingbaseisaboon.Having said that, it’s not too difficult to modify atripodresttoswivelandmyownissomodified.The downside of the SEB mk1 is the tensionadjustment. It uses four screwswith lock-nutsandit’squitetrickyandfiddlytogetthetensionexactlyright – unlike the Farley. At around £450 thoughit’sagreatrest.I’veusedoneforacoupleofyearsfor600and1000yardbenchrestandIloveit.Irunmine looseand it’ssilky-smoothandhelpsmegetfiveaimedshotsoff inaround15seconds. Iuseacounterbalance weight on the front to support theweightoftherifle-ifyouscrew-upthetensionscrewstosupporttheweightoftherifle,theactionbecomesjerkyandspeedislost.Iwas100%happywithmySEB–untilIsawtheSEBNeo!FoxFirearmsaretheUKimporterswww.foxfirearmsuk.com *****TheSEBNeorest.AmI leaving thebest restuntillast?Inmyunbiasedopinion–yes!HowistheNeobetterthanthemk1SEBortheFarley?IfyoushootFClass,youwilllovetheextraheighttheNeooffers–afull10inchesfromground-level!
Noneedtobemessingaboutwithextra-longscrews–justcrank-uptop–andthereisaknoboneitherside–unlike theFarley. Ifyou like toshoot ‘loose’Sebhasbuiltinabitof‘up-lift’tosupporttheweightofyourrifle,sononeedforacounter-balanceweight.Finally,thejoysticktensionisnowspring-loadedandacinchtoadjust–twothumb-screws.By removing just two screws, you can evendismantletherestfortransportation–aboonifyougotooverseasshootsandyoucanrigitwiththetwolevelling-screwstothefrontorasinglescrewtothefront.Withasinglescrewtothefronttherestismorestablewhenyouarerunningtheriflequickandyouslam it against the front-stop.Anynegatives? Justone–youcan’tswivel thebase likeon themk1! IreallylikedthatfeatureonmyoldSEBbutthehostofotherfeaturesontheNeooutweighthatonesoformeit’sawinner.Interestingly, a couple of the guys using Farleyshavemodifiedthebasesoitwillswivellikethemk1SEB.NowifSebwouldofferaswivellingbaseasanoptionontheNeo,thatreallywouldbethe‘dogs’!Unfortunately,nopriceasyetbutBrianFox is thesoleUKimporterwww.foxfirearmsuk.com *******Hasthishelpedyoutochooseanewrest?Ihopesobut,beforeyouspendyour‘hardearned’Ileaveyouwithonemorephotograph.AtthemomentaphotoisallIhavesoIcan’tincludeitinourtopten.ItlooksabitlikeaSEBNeodoesn’tit?But,believeitornot,itwasmadeintheUK.Uptogoingtopress,I’venotseenitforrealbutIhopetoshortly.
A brand new UK manufactured rest - maybe a
review for the future........
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Introducing Kelbly’s Tactical Rifles.bringing benchrest precision to the tacticalmarket. With loads of options to choose from,and pricing that shatters the competitors.
Introducing the first hunting and tactical scopeswith 10 times power ratio on a variable scope.March 1x-10x-24mm and 2.5x-25x-42mm. 1/4” clicksand 25 MOA per revolution. All lenses in scopes arecemented in place, and do not rely on O rings to holdpoint of aim. Argon gas purged.
Kelbly 179mmX130mm 6/16/10 7:16 AM Page 1
Introducing Kelbly’s Tactical Rifles.bringing benchrest precision to the tacticalmarket. With loads of options to choose from,and pricing that shatters the competitors.
Introducing the first hunting and tactical scopeswith 10 times power ratio on a variable scope.March 1x-10x-24mm and 2.5x-25x-42mm. 1/4” clicksand 25 MOA per revolution. All lenses in scopes arecemented in place, and do not rely on O rings to holdpoint of aim. Argon gas purged.
Kelbly 179mmX130mm 6/16/10 7:16 AM Page 1
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Target Shooter 29
PGW Timberwolf .338 LapuaPGW Coyote 7.62
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The worlds ultimate sniper weapon systems
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www.FoxFirearmsUK.com Tel: 0161 430 8278 or 07941 958464
PUTTING SHOOTING FIRST For all your F Class, Centerfire and Rimfire Benchrest needs
VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO SEE THE VERY BEST VALUE CUSTOM PRECISION RIFLES FOR TR, MATCH, F-CLASS, AND BENCH-REST— http://www.foxfirearmsuk.com/
WE STOCK HUNTING RIFLES BY COOPER, KIMBER AND PFEIFER AND COMPETITION-WINNING RIFLES FROM KELBLY AND KEPPELER, AND ARE TRADE AGENTS FOR THE
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Cooper TRP-3 Rimfire Benchrest Rifle
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Harrel Barrel Tuner for Rimfire Benchrest Rifle
30 Target Shooter
Last month (Target Shooter June issue) I leftyou with the two 360 degree windflags. I madethesemanyyearsagoandtheyworkwellatshortdistancesuptothirtyfivemetersorso.ThismonthIwilllookatthedual-vanewindflagsIhavebeenpreparing, leavingthe180degreetonextmonth.(IhaverealisedthatIwillrunoutofwords/spaceifItrytodoitallinthisarticle).IalwaysfindtheseDIY‘describeandmake’articlesveryhardtowrite.Whatdoyoukeep inandwhatdoyou takeout?Hopefully thephotosanddiagramswillhelpwithyourproductionofone.
The dual-vane flag is just an elaboration onthe single-vane flag. The latter provides goodindicationofdirection,elementsofwindspeedbutthedual-vanewillhelpyoudeterminetheangleofthewindalittlebetter.Havingtwo‘panels’ontheflagtolookat,youwillbeabletoseepartsoftheinsideofthesecondpanelasthewindturnstoanangle,thusabletojudgethischangeofdirectionalittlemoreaccurately.(SeePic1)
Thereareanumberofdual-vanedesignsaround– again, a good place to look is on the DougWeeter’swebsiteathttp://www.thewindisnotyour-friend.com/flags/flags.htmlA very valuable resource, this website looks atmaking these products from scratch or via parts
foundinyoulocalDIYstore.Alotoftheideasherecamefromthiswebsite.
Forthisproject,youwillneedcorroflute,thesizesandshapearefoundinthediagramPic2.(ThereareotherdesignsifyouwanttolookforthemandI have experimented with a few). Some carbonfibre or stainless steel rod and someDelrin rod.Delrinisahighslickandstrongmaterialthatcanbeusedforanumberofapplications-joints,boreguides,etc.Thiscanbeobtainedfromavarietyofsuppliers at your favourite auction website. Youwillalsoneedapieceof20to30mmthickplastic(thebestisnylon‘breadboard’,polystyrenesheet(approximately25to30mmthick),nutsboltsandfixings.
The vane itself is made from three pieces ofcorroflute - two vanes and the support ‘bridge’.The dual-vane flag can be quite bulky, thus noteasy to transport. Therefore I wanted to makethemsotheycouldbeeasilytakenapart.Thiswasaccomplishedbygluingaplasticchannelontoeachvanewhichthebridgecouldbeslidinto.(SeePics3and4)Aftervariousexperimentsthebestwayofreinforcing thechannelandattaching the ‘bridge’toeachone isusing insulating tapeonall joints.Yes, thisworks, isverystrongandcanbe takenapartveryeasilyandreassembledwiththesame
DIY Wind Flags - Part Deux - the Sequel
By Carl Boswell
Target Shooter 31
ornewtape.(SeePics4&5)Vinylcanthenbeadded‘totaste’tohelpshowtheanglestheflagisturningthrough.
Therearetwowaystoattachthesupportbartothevane.Oneisbyusing4-5mmrodthatwillfitintotheholesinthecorroflute,simplyslidingitin–easy
and quick!The otherwayis to use approximately8mm diameter carbonfibrerodandscrewthistothe vane on the support.I personally went for thecarbonfibre rodas itwaseasy to get hold of at alocalmodellingshop.(SeePic5)
In designing yourdual-vanewindflag,youdoneed to consider how theoverallthingbalances.It should be perfect andthis may mean adding aweightatsomepointtogetat least a 2:1 ratio alongthe support bar. (See Pic6). A weight of about 7to 9 ounces should besufficient but this will bedetermined by the weightof the vane at the backand the materials youhave used. Therefore abit of experimentation
PIC 1 dual vane windflag
PIC 2 plan
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maybe inorder.Weightscanbemadefromanyheavymaterial and brass is as good as any forthis.Thebalance-pointorfulcrumshouldbewherethewholeflagattaches to thestand. Where theflagmeetsthestanddoesneedtobeconsideredcarefully so theoverall flaghasequilibrium.Thiscanbeachievedbymoving the fulcrumpointupanddownthemainsupportbar,butrefertoPic6forthediagramoftherationeededfortheflag.
Having used Delrin as the basis for the pivotedchassis,(seePic6)Ijustuseda¼‘female’threadand inserted it into the Delrin. Cutting a threadwithatapisjustaseasy.Astheflagneedstoturneasily,themountingontheflagandthestandwillneedtoturn.Thiscanbeachievedjustbyhavingahole ineachpiece.Somewouldsay thatIamoverzealousandusingthemwillmaketheflagstwitchybutIaddedbearingstobothmounts,allowingtheflagtomovewithgreatease.Theideahereisthattheywillindicatetheslightestmovementofthewind,eveninstableconditions.Ascrewcanbeadded,to‘brake’thepininsidethebearingifmovementistoomuchonwindierdays.
Thepropcanbeaseasyorashardasyouwant to make it. I can show you here theeasy way as this is what I have space forand this is what most would want anywayto get started. (If anyone wants this morecomplicated design they can email me via
themagazineand Iwill send the files). Anywayback to basics. The prop can be made fromnylon plastic sheet, like those used in kitchens,withaholesaw.(Pleasedon’tgocuttingthewife’sfavouriteboardthough).Theholesawwillprovideanabsolutecentreandkeepthepropconcentric.Once this is done, the blades of the prop canbe cut from polystyrene sheet, again found at alocalmodellingshoporonline.Thetrickhereistoensurethatthebladesareatthecorrectangleandaround55to60degreeswouldbeoptimum.(Pics7and8).Oncethepropisconstructedthisneedstobeattachedtothesupportarmandheldinplacewithsplitpins/tapedbolts.Thisisthelastfeatureoftheflagthatneedstobeproduced–exceptforthestands.
PIC 5 central arm assembly
PIC 3 the assembly channel
PIC 4 assembly and tape pattern
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Insteadofmakingthestands,whichwouldbeverytimeconsuming,IwentforsomelightingstandsIfoundcheap‘online’.(Havingasinglemetalpoleis another alternative, but not as stable) Theseareperfectforthejobandwhatyouwillgetifyoubuywindflagscommercially.Mostofthesestandscomewithastandard¼inchthreadedscrewfitso,
asnotedabove,youwillhave toget this typeofthreadonyourwindflagmounting,butcheck thethreadfirst.(Themountingisbelowthefulcrumofthevane).IfyoulookatPic6and10,thisissimilar
towhatyoushouldhavebuttheweightonmineisbehindtheprop.
Sotherewehaveit.ThisisshortandsweetIknow,but the information should allow a competent‘handyAndy’tomakeacoupleoftheseflags.Theydoworkandpractisingwiththemwillonlybenefityourshooting.
Next month - the last in this series – we willconsider the 180 degree wind flag, how to usethem and reading the wind conditions throughobservation. This is the skill you are trying to
PIC 6 dual vane diagram
PIC 7 prop marking out
PIC 8 diagram for prop angles
PIC 9 finished prop
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developthroughmakingtheseflags.Itisworththeefforttohavetheseoutinthegardenforawhile,lookingat themandseeingwhat theyare tellingyou–i.e.whatthewindisdoing.Iknowmostofyouhavebetter thingstodowithyourtimebut ifyouwanttoshootwell,itisanecessaryevilthough-seediagramtotheright.Untilnexttime.
My thanks to Doug Weeter for all of his kindassistance.
Jamie BeyerleJamie Beyerle
☆☆ 2007 Pan American Games3x20 Gold Medalist
☆☆ 2007 WC Milan 3x20 Silver Medalist
☆☆ 2008 Olympian 3x20 Fifth Place
☆☆ 5-Time NRA Camp Perry3x20 Junior National Champion
☆☆ Multiple Women’s NRA Camp PerryNational Champion
If you want to shoot likea champion, choose Lilja!
www.riflebarrels.comLilja Precision Rifle Barrels, IncPO Box 372 • Plains, MT 59859Tel: 406-826-3084 • Fax: 406-826-3083
Target Shooter 35
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Knowing your conditionsHelps to keep your aim true
Knowing your conditionsHelps to keep your aim true
36 Target Shooter
Last month, we featured a new all-British action– the GBR. Youmay recall that it is the result ofcollaboration between Fox Firearms, StaffordshireSynthetic Stocks and Rhino Rifles and isunashamedlyaRemingtonclonebutwithacoupleofniceimprovements.Ofcourse,it’smadetomuchhigherstandards thananyRemmyandfit ‘n’finishis approaching that of the best American customactions.
Theguysinvolvedhavenowgivenmeanactionsothatwe can put together a ‘project rifle’ forTargetShooter and this time, it will be something of an
‘all-rounder’–aJackofalltrades–thekindofgunyoumightchooseforyourfirstrifle-asitcouldbeusedforavarietyofdisciplines.Normally,Iprefertobuildsomethingforaspecificdisciplinebutthisgunshould be competent for F Class, tactical shoots,evenabitoflong-rangebenchrest.
Theundersideof theaction iscutawaytotakeanintegralboxordetachablemagazine,astheshooterrequires and for the build we’ll be incorporatingGBR’s own bottom-metal designed to take theAccuracyInternationalmagazine.
The tenon thread is identical inlength to a Remington (but thethread is 18 tpi as opposed to16tpi)and theGBRevencopiesRemington’s ‘third ring of steel’by recessing the bolt-nose intothebackofthebarrel.Remingtonclaimthatthisisanaddedsafetyfeature in theeventof a seriousblow-up and although it’sexceedinglyrareforriflestoblow,a bit of extra safety cannot becriticised–especiallyasit’softentheadjacentshooterwhogetstheworstofit.Havingsaidthat,fromagunsmith’spointofview, it justmakesalittlebitofextrawork.
Although our action looks like
The GBR rifle action and a new Project Rifle
by Vince Bottomley
Target Shooter 37
stainless-steel,itisinfactmadefromchrome-molysteelwithastainless-steelbolt.UsingtwodifferentmetalsisonewaytopreventgallingandproductionGBR actions will be blued. Mine is ‘in the white’as I intend to DuraCoat© the action and barrel.Thescrewed-onPicatinny rail isalsoaGBR item.The Picatinny is quickly becoming ‘the standard’onbothsidesof theAtlanticas it ismade toasetspecification, which means that if you use QDmounts, your scope will transfer from one rifle toanotherwithoutproblem.Now,youcouldrealisticallybuyonereallytop-classscopeanduseitonseveralrifles–providingyouarepreparedtomakeacarefulnoteofyoursettings.
Beforewediscusscalibreandourchosencartridge,let’shavealookatthestock.WewillbeusingaBell&Carlson‘tactical’stockwhichisdesignedtofittheRemingtonactionandcomeswithabuilt-inaluminiumbedding-block. This is an excellent systemastheblockextendsrightalongthefore-endaddingstrength and stiffness. However, I’ve had ‘issues’with this typeofbeddingsystembefore. In theory,the half-round bedding block should provide aperfect bed for our round action but seldom iseverything perfect in this world. In reality, we willprobablyfindthattheactionisridingonhigh-spotsonthebedding-block–exactlytheoppositeofwhatwearetryingtoachieve.Wecanalsohaveissueswith the action screw-holes – if these are drilled
The chambered Bartlein barrel – note the ‘ring of steel’ formed by the bolt-nose recessed into the barrel
This is Bell & Carlson’s top of the range tactical stock featuring adjustable butt and cheek-piece. It has now been adopted by Remington as a factory
option
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slightlyoff,ourbarrelcouldbeover toonesideofthechannel–which looksreallyugly!Wewillonlyfindthisoutwhenwedropourbarrelled-actionintothestockforthefirsttimeandI’veabitofworktodobeforewegettothatstage.
Ontheplusside,theBell&Carlsonisagoodsolidstock which will nicely lend itself to a variety ofdisciplinesanditwillalsositquitenicelyinthefrontbagofabenchrestpedestal–usefulforammunitiontesting. The butt underside incorporates a ‘hook’butthereisalsoaflatsectionwhichwillsitnicelyonaback-bagshouldwechoose toshootFClassorbenchrest.Thereisalsoanadjustablecheek-piece
andbutt-platewhichcouldbeusefuliftherifleweretobeshotoff-handbutmy ratherheavybarrelwillnotencouragethistypeofshooting.
Yes, the barrel. I’m fortunate here thatwe have aBartlein. I don’t think you will buy a better barrelthough certainly others are as good but Bartleinhavemadeanameforthemselvesinthefewshortyears they’ve been around. Success means fullorder-booksand that’swhyyouwillhave towaitawhileifyouwantoneandwhyIfeelveryfortunateto haveone spinning inmy lathe! Incidentally, ourbarrel is fluted, which will help keep the weightreasonable even though I intend to finish it at 28
The aluminium bedding block
I’ve finished the fluted Bartlein at 28 inches with a nice, sharp recessed crown
Target Shooter 39
inches.
Right, before we go any further, we need to talkaboutcartridges.Asregularreaderswillknow,Ilovemywildcats –wilder the better – somy choice ofcartridge may come as a bit of a surprise. Forreasonswhichwillbecomeclear,Iwantthisrifletoappeal to any accuracy-minded shooter whateverdisciplinetheyshoot.Idon’twanttoputoffanyonebygoingforsomefancybarrel-burningwildcatwhichwill require neck-turned and fire-formed brass andthelike.‘KISS’ismymandateforthisproject–‘keepitsimple,stupid’!
The cartridge I’m going for is the 260Remington.This is an often over-looked cartridge and mostshooterswantinganaccurate6.5arenowgoingforthe6.5x47Lapua.Forthoseofyounotfamiliarwiththe260Rem.,this6.5mmisbasedonthevenerable308Winchester case.Thecase is best formedbynecking-upthe243Win.from6mmto6.5mm,whichis easily accomplished in one pass, rather thanbuying inferior 260 Remington brass. If we useLapuabrass,wearewellonthewaytoanaccurate,low re-coiling cartridge which will give acceptableresultsallthewayoutto1000yards.
The 260 is often ‘improved’ by steepening the243/308’s20degreeshoulderangleto40degrees.This will increase powder-capacity slightly but itjust isn’tnecessaryand itwill involveafireformingprocess thatwilluse-upbarrel-lifeandcostmoney–takemyadviceandleaveitstandard!Ifyouwant
more–go for a6.5-284.As I’vealready said, ourrifle is an all-rounder and we are not going for atight-neck but, our reamer is ground to give us a‘no-turn’neck.Beforewegoanyfurther,let’sclarifythesetwoterms.
The tight-neck (sometimes referred to as afitted-neckbut this is slightly different) is designedtogiveaclearancebetweentheneckoftheloadedround and the chamber-neck of perhaps onethousandth of an inch. In benchrest competitionit may be even less than that but for me, onethousandth of an inch clearance is just fine.However, to run a tight-neck chamber, you musthave the necessary equipment to accurately turnnecks andmeasure the necks, otherwise you are‘skatingonthin ice’.Also,yourbrassandchambermustbekeptscrupulouslyclean–somethingwhichisdifficult todooutsideof benchrest competition -whichisshotundercoverwithplentyoftimetocleanyour rifle.FClass forexample is shot in theopenin all weathers and running a tight-neck in theseconditionsinacompetitionwithahighround-countisaskingfortrouble–sticktowhatIcalla‘no-turn’neck.
My no-turn neck is arrived at by loading severalroundsusingthebrassandbulletsweintendtousein the rifle – in this case Lapua brass and Lapuabullets–it’snogoodmemakingourmeasurementsfromsayWinchesterbrassandSierrabullets– it’sessential to measure from the actual componentsyouwilluse.Seatseveralbullets in thecasesand
This shot nicely indicates the difference in length between the 6.5x47 (bottom) and the 260 Rem.
40 Target Shooter
measureacrosstheneckwithamicrometer–NOTadigitalcalliper, it’snotaccurateenough!Takethediameterofthelargestonemeasuredandaddthreethousandthsofaninch.Thisgivesmethedimensionof thereamerneck. It’sprettyclosetoatight-neckbutitjustallowsthatextraclearancefora‘field’rifle.Even three thou. is not a lot – half the thicknessof a bank-note – so please, keep your brass andyourchamberCLEANifyouareplayingwiththesetolerances!
Our 260 Remington will give us excellent velocitywith the 123 grain Lapua Scenar bullet and willnicely fit our 308 AI magazine if we load thesebullets toanoverall cartridge lengthof2.8 inches.The velocity will comfortably exceed that of the6.5x47 Lapua and the 243 Lapua brass is muchcheaperthanthe6.5x47cases,whichnowretailatcloseto£100per100!Althoughthe260Remingtonhasbeenaroundforsometime,itneverreallycaughtonasatargetroundastherewerefew6.5mmmatchbullets available inAmerica.Thankfully, that’s nowchanged and we have a good choice of 6.5mmmatchbulletsfrommostofthemajormanufacturersbut remember, the heaviermatch bullets are fairlylongand ifyouwish to load froma308mag.,youhavetopushthebulletdeepintothecase.
Sierranowmakea120grain6.5mmMatchkingwhich
is significantly shorter than the 123 grain LapuaScenar. I initially thought of using these in myown260Remtacticalriflewitha308mag.butmyshooting buddy Paul Harper finally convincedme that Lapua’s 123 grainer is the better option.Amazingly, Paul won not only our club TacticalChampionship but also the F Class Openchampionship-whichtakesinallrangesoutto1000yards-withhis260Rem.tacticalriflefittedwitha24inchbarrelandshootingoffaHarrisbi-pod!Ifyoureallywantsomethingfaster, tryLapua’s108grainScenarwhichwillbeknockingonthedoorofmilitaryrangevelocitylimits!
That’s about it for this month. We have all ourcomponents – including a Timney trigger. Yes, IcouldhaveoptedforaJewelbut Iwantedtokeepthings inperspectiveas this isnotabenchgunso,theTimneysetataboutapoundwillbefine.Being a Remmy clone, the GBR will take anytriggersuitableforaRemingtonandtheTimneyisagoodtriggeratasensibleprice.ThebarrelledactionisnowonitswaytoDaveWyldeatSouthYorkshireShootingSuppliesforoneofDave’sspecialtacticalDuraCoat©finishes.Nextmonth,wewilldrop thebarrelled-actionintothestockandshootittoseeifanyfurtherworkisneededtoobtainagoodbed.
42 Target Shooter
Target Shooter reader, John Campbell-Smithkindlysentus thisarticlewhichwasa littlebitbeyondmyknowledgeandNokiabut Ihope itwillinspiresomereaderstohaveago.I have an iPhone and a Swarovski Z6 scope.Iwanted toget thereticle informationontomy
iPhoneforreferencewhenIwasoutandabout.IwenttothefollowingurlandselectedtheBR/BR-Ioption:http://ballisticprograms.swarovskioptik.com/step2_us.htmlWhichtakesyoutothefollowingurl:
Setting up scope reference information on the IPhone by John Campbell-Smith
Target Shooter 43
http://ballisticprograms.swarovskioptik.com/BR_en.htmlI then entered my data, got the followinginformationandtookascreenshot:
Ithengenerateddataforx30andx10aswelland created a PowerPoint presentation withthreeslides.Iaddedsomeverybasicinfotothescreen shots to confirm the magnification butlotsofstuffcouldbelayeredontopofthescreenshotabove.Ithencreateda.pdf:IthenusedQuickofficetouploadthe.pdftomyiPhone.
http://www.quickoffice.com/quickoffice_connect_suite_iphone/AboveishowitcanbeseenonmyiPhoneasfollows:SelectingQuickofficeOpening243reticle...SelectingapageAndfinallyzoomingin:Nothingspecialaboutanyofthis,andreallythesoleobjective is toshowhoweasily referencematerialcanbeputonaniPhoneforreference
inthefield.
44 Target Shooter
Target Shooter 45
Dolphin Gun Company & Ballistic Services (a division of Hobson Industries ) 2 Vine Street STAMFORD
Lincs PE9 1QE
Tel: 01780 481567 or 0774 7771962 Email: [email protected]
Website: www.dolphinguncompany.co.uk
Please feel free to contact us at any reasonable time to discuss any requirements that you may have.
Rifle Work Re-barreling work Fitting of Moderators and Muzzle brakes - Reproofing of
Rifle required Trigger work – See Trigger work
Ammunition Development Assistance in Ammunition Development up to and including .50 BMG
Ballistics Testing Offering Ballistics testing for research and development purposes to Stanag, NIJ and V50 testing of composite and steel materials. Including High speed photography and Certifiable Results of tests. Dolphin are now proud to announce that we are ISO 9001:2008 BSI certificate No FM32560 for our Ballistic testing.
Using Mobile devices - PDF viewers
By Carl BoswellThose who have anything to do with newtechnologies know that it moves swiftly, notalways in the right direction and we end uppurchasingnewproductstostayatleastwiththerestofthefield.Whyinatargetshootingmagazineare we talking about this? Well the previous
article suggests a lot that you can do withyourphonetohelpyouontherange.Notonlythis but there are lots of applications that arebeingdevelopedfortheshooter,suchastheonewereviewedlastmonth,thearticlethismonth,Mil Dot Ranger Finder, Winchester Ballistics
46 Target Shooter
andevenafewgames.Theotherreasonisthefact that this magazine is digital in its nature.Yes,lotsofyououttheredoviewyourmonthlyissueofTargetShootermagazineonyourphone,astherearelotsofthe‘apps’outtheretoaidthis.ThelaunchoftheiPadandthenewiPhonebringsthe nature of digital viewing to an evenmoreaccessible level -awayfromthefixeddesktopcomputer we have all become assigned too.Personally,Ihavebeeninvestigatinganumberof.pdfreaderstohelpviewthemagazine,someof which are reviewed below. Some of theseare very close in nature and ease of use tothemagazineviewers/software thatarebeingdeveloped at the moment. Now the .pdfformatisagreatlittletool,butmagazinesareabitmorethanthat.Howeveritistheformatthatisaccessiblebyallandoneof the formatsweoffer,especiallythosewhouseAppleproducts.
• GoodReader£0.59-Excellentinterface,thisisareallyeasyapplicationtouse!Supportsexternal links, so you can view websites
directlyfromTargetShootermagazine,email
people, etc. Quite easy to navigate(thereisagoodtutorial)andthetextonlyfacilityisamustforeasyreading.ThisAppisnowsupportedbyaveryeasy to use file transfer system viathedeveloperswebsite,whichdoesmakeittopofthisparticularleague.
• Fast PDF £1.79 – Excellentinterface and is a really easyapplicationtouse-muchlikeI-Books.This could be the best of the threetobehonest,butitdoesnotsupportexternal linksat themoment,whichis a big drawback for a digitalmagazine.Thedevelopershavesaidthiswillbeafeatureinaforthcomingupgrade, which could potentiallymakeitcomparativetoGoodReader.Ididfindtheappalittleslowtorenderpages,soIwaslefthangingaroundthinking it had completely frozen.Until these issues are resolved Iwouldassignitto2ndplace.
• PDFExpert£2.99–Alittlesimpleand does not have the features - Iwanted - of the other two. I foundthishardtogetfilesonto–something
Target Shooter 47
about the IPAD and IPhone that somepeopleareabitdissatisfiedabout.Itworkswell enough, once you have the file youwant,butitcouldbetrickyfornewusers.Justgoestoshowthatthemoreyoupaydoesnotalwaysgiveyouthebestproduct.Usable,butIwouldliketoseemoreformymoney.
Sowhydoyouneedaviewerforthesemobiledevices–becausedownloadingitstraightfromthe internet isnot thebestway toview - yourmagazinecannotbesavedforlaterviewing,etc.OutofthebunchIwouldgoforGoodReaderatthemomentandatthepriceitwillcertainlynotbreakthebank.Thesetechnologiesdevelopby the day and new ones are alwayscoming out. The experimental softwareI have seen would blow your mind.For thoseof you luckyenough toownaniPad,thiswillextendalotofyourexperienceswithcomputingandusingdigitalmedia–inaverypositiveway.TheiPad,forthoseofyouwhodon’tknowwhatitis,it’saportable‘tablet’ computerwithdirectaccess to thewebthroughwi-fiorthroughaphonenetwork.Wi-fi is obviously free in your own home.Having used one in anApple store for alimited time but based on my ownexperiencesof the iPhone, thisproduct isnothingshortofphenomenal.Fast,elegant,portable, easy to use, the iPad has suchpotential!!! Drawbacks? It is sometimesdifficult to get files onto it unless youuseiTunes, which is the interface for such adevice. (You don’t have to pay for thisas it is just using your computer). Otherpotentialsdrawbacksarenoflashcontent,whichisbothgoodandbaddependingonyourpointofview.TransferrringfilesisnotthateasybutcanbedoneviaSDcards(ifyoubuytheattachment).FormetheiPadofferssuchpotential,evenwiththecyberwarsgoingonoutthere,forsoftwaredominance.Forallformsofdigitalviewing this is the best thing that hashappened since ‘sliced bread’. Have alook at your localApple store - but I willbe there first! It does not come cheapat £429 but the e-book readers – whichare not computers – are around £200,whilst a netbook will cost you in theregionof£300buttheyarejustnotasfast.
Maybe more at a later date as we developour own software to bring youTarget Shootermagazineinthefuture.AlloftheseappscanbepurchasedviaItunesofcourse,butthewebsitesarefullofinformationandsupportsowellworthavisite;
GoodReaderhttp://www.goodreader.net
FastPdfhttp://fastpdf.eu/
PdfExperthttp://readdle.com
Target Shooter on the IPhone
Target Shooter 49
Shooting and Reloading .303 MkVIIFlatbasedbullets
byNigelGreenaway
IsupposeI’vebeenshooting.303’sforthebestpartof33yearsnowand for thefirst15yearsIwouldhaveexclusivelyusedflatbasedMkVII174grainmilitary rounds. I thenventured in totherealmsofreloadingandmanagedtosqueezeevenmoreaccuracyoutof thispopular round,courtesyoftheexcellentSierra174grainMatch-King. However, this isaboat tail roundbettersuited to barrels in good condition, preferablyones that experienced Mk7Z ammunition in
their early lives. The reasonis that theMk7Zwas loadedwithnitrocellulose insteadofthe very hot burning cordite.Cordite burns so hot andaggressivelythatitwearsoutthe lead of the rifling. Thebarrel reachesapointwhereall accuracy is suddenly lostas hot gases flow past thebaseoftheroundbefore it isproperly set up in the rifling.This is why armourers weretrained to always inspect forwearintheleadusingspecialgauges. It is a peculiarityof the burning characteristicsthat a well cordite wornbarrel could have excellentrifling at the muzzle –
something that can catch the unwary whenpurchasing an old rifle. Nitro has completelyopposite burning characteristics and wear isusuallyevidentatthemuzzle.
Sowhat happens if you purchase an old .303with pristine looking rifling at the muzzle endandyourcarefullyhandloadedboattailbulletsendupscatteredalloverthetarget.Oneoption
is to replace the barrel, the cost of which might be over half of the value originally paid for the whole rifle. Alternatively, you might try loading flat based bullets because these could stretch the life of the barrel by another 1,000 – 1,500 rounds because the flat base resists gas flow past the base before set up better that boat tails. Unfortunately, the availability of MKVII profile surplus bullets dried up long ago. There are a few manufacturers who produce flat based 150 grain soft point bullets but you shouldn’t really be using these for target shooting and you will need a variation on your FAC to obtain them. Try getting such a variation unless it is for deer stalking. Thankfully an enterprising company- BES - has solved the problem by manufacturing a MkVII profile flat based bullet.
BES is run by a retired gentleman who originally
wanted to shoot a .303 Martini Enfield and a Long Lee but found that the modern MkVII rounds shot nowhere near the sights, which originally would have been graduated for a 215 grain round nosed bullet. I have experienced this in the past using a .303 Martini Enfield Artillery Carbine in a rapid fire competition. At 200 yards
50 TargetShooter
you had to aim 2.5 feet low to hit the centre of the chest height bull using MkVII ammo. I had some old MkVI 215 grain ammo and this shot exactly to point of aim and I won the competition. BES have produced a 215 grain copper jacketed bullet for a number of years now – the two rounds on the left are BES with one of their
bullets in the centre compared to two MKVI rounds. The quality of BES bullets is such that they supply them to Kynamco for producing hunting rounds where penetration is required. It wasn’t long before BES was asked to reproduce a MkVII 174 grain profile bullet.
The task is very much a labour of love and involves eleven separate stages on a single stage, hand operated press. Each bullet is hand inspected and rejected if it does not meet the grade. The original MkVII round had aluminium or even cardboard in the tip so
that the centre of gravity was somewhat pushed towards the rear (not too far because .303 has a reputation for tumbling). If the complete jacket was filled with lead then the weight would massively exceed 174 grains. After much trial and error a soft plastic BB was found to be ideal
TargetShooter 51
52 Target Shooter
aswhentheleadiscompresseditforcestheBBtofollowtheprofileofthetip.Thenewroundisabout 1.5mm shorter than an original but theweightandprofileofthebaseiscorrect–whichis what matters most. The picture shows anoriginalMkVIIontheleftwiththeBESbullet inthemiddleandaSierra174grainboattailontheright–youcanseethattheSierraistheshortest.The loaded.303roundsareaPrviPartizanontheleft,BEScentreandSierraontheright.
Sohowgood iscottage industryproductiononthe target? Theshortanswer isexcellent– infact I was stunned to find that they beat mySierra handloads. This might mean that myCanadianNo.4(T)isgettingabitwornintheleadbut theresultsspeak for themselves. Thefiveroundgroupswereshotat10secondintervalsat100yardsonarathersteeplyslopingfiringpointwhich isnotconduciveto themostaccurateofshooting.InthepastmySierrahandloadshaveachievedjustovertheinchbutonthedayonlymanaged2.3inchescomparedto1.5inchesfortheBESbullets.
TheBESbulletswerefromanearlybatchwhichwasslightlyundersizedat.310buttheystillshotreallywell.Currentproductionhasbeenbumpedupto.3105sotheyshouldshootevenbetter!Costfor215grainor174grainbulletsis£17.50per50pluspostage.Youcantelephoneorderson01302330726oremailmseller208@aol.com
BES also produces .577 Enfield and .594Sniderbulletsinweightsfrom480–600grainsat£25/100pluspostage.Asyoucanseefromthe picture the Snider bullets are, just like theoriginals, hollow based and hollow nosed. Iknowofnoothermanufacturerthatisproducingcorrect hollow nosedSnider bullets and I lookforwardtotryingthemoutinmy2-BandSnider.The small bullets in the picture are 120 grain.310cadet rounds (I imagine thesewouldalsobeusableina.303asanindoorpracticeround).SwagedMartini Henry and Sharps bullets arealsoavailable–ringfordetails.
My thanks to the proprietor for showing mearound his production facilities but my specialthanks to him for his labour of love inendeavouring to produce high quality .303bullets that will keep some of these old girlsshootingformanyyearstocome.
54 Target Shooter
Following Chris Parkin’s excellent review of the WMS Steel Challenge in June’s issue it was somewhat coincidental that I shot at the same venue on 12th June. I and eleven other experienced Practical Rifle and Civilian Service Rifle shooters met up for what turned out to be a very full and fun day of shooting. The day tested our rifles to the limit of their ability, back to 1,100 yards against a series of steel targets. We finally packed up at 6.30pm and our host, Andrew Venables, told us we had experienced about 15% of the available targetry on the 5,000 acre estate. The facility is near Llangurig, Powys – about 25 miles east of Aberystwyth, comprising steep hills and valleys, 900-1,000 feet above sea level and a fair number of sheep.
The purpose of our visit was to establish whether it would be possible to organise an introductory day for 30 or more shooters, probably split into groups of six or 3 pairs – one shooting and one spotting. These groups would be shooting in different areas, directions and ranges – all at the same time. This will take some organisation and some fair amount of discipline from the shooters – you can’t go wondering off when different groups are shooting over a hundred and
eighty degree arc. It was also an opportunity for Andrew to assess us and our ability before deciding whether he and his staff would want to manage such a large group. I like to think that our ability to quickly start hitting targets influenced his decision in a positive way, particularly following a challenge to hit a steel disc at 750 metres in 3 shots. This was achieved with one shooter achieving three consecutive hits with no sighters.
One aspect of the day that was new to many of us non- stalkers was the up and down hill shots. These can be up to a 40 degree angle which, even over medium ranges, can have a marked affect on point of impact. The picture shows Neil Beeby (the organiser) and myself shooting down hill at about 400 yards. Some of the targets were small steel discs on the edge of a small reservoir – great for spotting fall of shot if you miss. If you hit you hear a resounding ”clang”, if you miss you see a big splash. But what happens if the angle is 40 degrees at this range – how do you measure the angle accurately and where do you set your sights? None of us had any angle measuring devices so we had to guess. In the above example the new sight setting would be about 310 yards – a difference of about 3
TheWMSSteelChallenge-Part2
byNigelGreenaway
Target Shooter 55
minutes for a .308 or a clear miss over the top if you fail to make an elevation adjustment.One gadget that solves this problem is anAngle Cosine Indicator (ACI) – currently marketed by www.snipersystems.co.uk and sold to many armed forces around the world. It is a device that attaches to the scope using a special scope ring or it can attach to the scope base. When the rifle is held at an angle, the ACI indicates the cosine number of that angle by means of a highly visible index mark; for mathematical simplicity you treat these marks as decimals or percentages, hence 87 would be .87 or 87%. The line of sight distance to target is then multiplied by the reading which produces a reduced range and consequently a reduced elevation figure that is then applied to the sights. The cosine marks go up in increments of 5 degrees start- ing at “0” so you can also work out the angle of the shot if you wish (making it compatible with most etched reticule based sighting systems, and also the Mildot Master). Alternatively an Angle Degree Indicator is available with all readings in degrees. Whichever system you prefer I would strongly recommend purchasing one before visiting WMS or going on a stalk in hilly country.
We finished the day shooting at 1,100 yards – a distance that I don’t think anyone had ever shot at before. It was an experience that I will always remember and one that we hope to be able to repeat on a larger scale. Andrew was an excellent and knowledgeable host and I look forward to meeting him again.We hope to be able to arrange another event later on in the year. Shooters will have to be prepared to pay much more than a typical days practice shooting at Bisley and, if full value is to be derived from the distance shooting, a suitable calibre rifle should be employed.
Andrew can be contacted on 01686 440782 or 07767-365804, email [email protected]
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Wenowputbulletstoonesideandlookatloadingthebeast–toolsandtechniquesthismonth,startingonpowders, loadsandresultsnext.Thereare twoother components of course, primer and rifle. I’lllookattheformerinafuturefeature,coveringtools
and trying differentmakes in several cartridges toseehowmuchdifferencechangingthiscomponentmakes. (Also, the new smaller primer pocket /flash-hole Lapua .308W ‘Palma’ brass has finallyarrived at Tim Hannam, and I’ll compare it tostandard specification cases.) I’ll only say thatmost cases were primed using the semi-sensitiveLee Auto-Prime hand tool. Tests involved tworifleswiththreebarrelsbetweenthem,afactoryFNSPRA2(SpecialPoliceRifle)24”tactical jobandasingle-shotBarnard/EliseoF/TRtubegun,thelatterusingtwobarrelswithdifferenttwistrates.
I looked at case measurement, preparation andbatchingwaybackinParts2and3,sowon’tgointotheseagain,sufficeittosaythatIdoeverythingtomy ammunition!Howmuch all this effort achieves
HANDLOADING ‘OLD FAITHFUL’ THE .308 WINCHESTER - 9
By Laurie Holland
Above - My original Lee ‘Loader’ kit – you can still buy one for the .308W – and it works, but is very basic
Left - Lee Hand press and a .300 H&H Collet die set. Cartridges loaded with this gear group into under 0.5-MOA despite the rifle being built on an antediluvian Winchester P’14 military action
58 Target Shooter
isquestionable,but Iknowthat Ican’tblamecasedefectsorvariationsforawaywardshot.IuseLapuabrassformatchammunitionandhaveusedoldthin,light (160gn) 1980sNorma cases for practice andsome tests, but as they have sufficiently different
internalcapacitiestorequirechangingmaximumoroptimum loads,and their thinnecksmaynotbeagreatmatchtotheriflechamber,I increasinglyuseLapua foreverything.Rejects from thepreparationprocess,or‘matchcases’thathavebeenfiredmorethanhalfadozentimes,arefillingthedevelopment/practiceslot.
Lee ‘Loader’ and ColletIhaveachoiceoffourpresses,sixdiesets(threeof them bushing types), and a full set of casepreparation tools. Things weren’t always so – Istartedoff in amodestwaywitha young family,mortgage, and the family tabby to supportalongsidemy shooting. I’ve loaded for a baker’sdozenof.308Wriflesoverthelastquartercentury,sevenofwhichwerefirstgeneration7.62sforthe‘TargetRifle’ discipline, all past their salad days,dirt cheap, and whose purchase represented a
Left - A quintet of Lapua cases whose necks have been given a ‘clean-up’ turn to 0.015” thickness
“............ also stepping onto that slippery slope that sees you spend evenings with piles of brass, a neck measurement micrometer, and neck turning gear”
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triumph of hope over commonsense or experience. They weremarkedbytightboresandtheuseof military actions, but fortunatelytarget rings were large, rangesshort, and rifle-ammunitioncombinationsthatprobablygroupedbetween1.5and2-MOAweregoodenough, and a lot better than theavailablemilspec7.62mm.
I’ve always handloaded, only afew hundreds of the 30,000 or so.308W / 7.62mm rounds I’ve firedintotal‘factory’.SinceIcouldn’taf-fordabenchpressand7/8X14 tpi
dies,norhadIanywheretomountone,thebudgetLee ‘Loader’ was my salvation. This is a simpleneck-sizingdiekitinwhichoneknocksthecaseintothetoolwithasoft-facedhammer,thenejectsitwitharod.I’dbuy100once-firedWinchestercasesatatime,andafterreturningfromtherangeonSundayteatime, the second task of the evening aftercleaning the riflewould be to get the ‘Loader’ outand decap the 50 cases from the day’s shooting,resize their necks, and re-prime them with a LeeAuto-Prime, a safer and faster method than thatemployed in the ‘Loader’. I’d then have an MTMRM50box full of primed cases ready for chargingand bullet seating, usually done on the Fridayevening,readyforthenextweekend.The‘Loader’,Auto-Prime, hammer, and RCBS 5-0-5 scales(shop-soiledandsoldatadiscountbyasympatheticgunshopassistant )costme less thanacoupleoftitanium nitride coated bushings for my Redding‘Type S’ sizer die now. Even after comparing thereal cost at 1985 prices against today’s devaluedpounds,thiswascheapkit.
Nevertheless, it did the job if slowly, noisily, and
All of my .308W ammunition is
now loaded on a Forster Co-Ax, a great design that
produces concentric
results and keeps primer residues
completely contained within the
spent primer
collection system
Above - Forster Case-Neck Graphiter, Krazy Kloth (new behind and a well used example
in the left foreground), Sinclair primer pocket uniforming tool used gently to clean
residue out of primer pockets, and (front foreground), Sinclair’s new 0.081” flash-hole
uniformer
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withalotofwearandtearontheknees(usingthekitchenfloorasaworkbench).Relief camewith intheformofmoreLeeproducts,theHandPressandintroduced shortly afterwards, the Collet (neck-sizer) die set with its dead-length seater. Thisportable press is surprisingly powerful and willfull-lengthsizes.308Wcases,althoughitbecomeshardworkafterawhile.Iusedthispairon.308formany years, also building up quite a collection ofColletdiesetsforothercartridgesrunningfromthe.22Hornetto.300H&HMagnum.Meantime,I’dgotabenchandthefirstofmanypressestoboltonit,thesebecomingincreasinglysophisticated,powerfuland expensive over time, even if this gear wasreserved for the heavier jobs or loading largequantities in a session. By now I was loading forbetter quality secondhand .308W rifles, and wasstillusingtheColletdieset(nowonitssecondsizerhavingworntheoriginalout)whenIboughtmyfirstnew .308 rifle, anFNSPR, a few years backandlater startedusing it in long-rangeF/TR.However,measuringbullet runouton rounds loadedwithoutoftheboxbutbatchedLapuabrassgavetoomanyresultsonthehighside(0.004-.008”) formyliking,and that’swhen Idecidedmoresophisticateddieswereneeded,alsosteppingontothatslipperyslopethat sees you spend eveningswith piles of brass,
aneckmeasurementmicrometer,andneckturninggear.I’llpauseatthispointtonotethatthemoralofthislittlehistoryistopointoutthattheoldadageof‘horsesforcourses’appliestohandloadingasmuchasanyotheractivity–youdon’tneed£1,000worthofgeartoproduceperfectlyacceptableammunitionformostriflesinmostapplications.Iknowthatmanydisagreewithme,butI’ll justreminddoubtersthatthelawofdiminishingreturnsapplies.
Cleaning to SizingSo what do I do now? Most of my loads useneck-turned cases and being fireformed to theBarnard’s ‘minimum SAAMI’ chamber, firedexamples generally come out of the rifle withlight powder fouling on the neck alone. I used toemploywetcleaningmethods–‘Micro-90’chemicalsolution, lateranultrasonicbath,butnowIsimplywipe the fouling off with a Krazy Kleaning Kloth,available from Sinclair International, or in the UKfromTrentFirearms(www.trentfirearms.co.uk).ThecarbonfoulingontheinsideoftheneckisbrushedhardusingthelargestdiameterofthethreebristlebrushesinaForsterCase-NeckGraphiter(withoutusingthesuppliedmicapowder)leavingasmoothcoating. I now prefer this to squeaky clean brassas the foulingactsasa lubricant inbullet seatingandgivesmoreconsistentbulletgrip, thismethodas well as saving time and effort. (A recentconversation with a top 1,000yd BR shooterrevealedhe’scometothesameconclusion.)
This done, it’s off to the ForsterCo-Ax presswitheither a Redding ‘S’ bushing sizer or Forster
Redding Type ‘S’ FL sizer die and ‘Competition’
seater die set in Forster rings to suit the Co-Ax – a really superb set of dies
Forster’s BR ‘Ultra’ die set with the addition of a new Bushing-Bump (NS) die
(centre), more excellent kit
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Bushing-Bump die installed. The Redding is afull-length (FL) type that employs Redding orWilson bushings and also has an expander ballfor use with non-turned brass, although it can bedispensedwithifdesired.TheForsterisaneck-sizer(NS) thatalsoresetsor ‘bumps’ thecaseshoulderpositionaccordingtohowthedieispositionedinthepress,itsbushingsusableonlyinthismakeandtypeofdie.IusethelatterexclusivelyformyBarnardF/TR rifle’s ammo, having measured fired cases inaHornadycaseheadspacegaugeandset thedieto bump the shoulder back by 0.001”. It lacks anexpanderball,althoughonecanbefittedifdesired,so should really be restricted to turned-neck orotherwiseveryconsistentbrass.(Usingthebushingaloneoncaseswith inconsistentnecksmoves theout-of-roundnesstotheinsidewallsandrequiresthebullet to swage it out during the seating operationdoingnothing for thecartridge’sconcentricity.)TheReddinggivesamoderateFLsize,andifIwanttousecasesfiredinotherrifles,Igobacktoanold1986dated Lee die, the first 7/8X14 type I bought, thatnotonlygivesasubstantialdimensional reduction,butproducescaseswithstartlinglysmallamountsof
runoutifthebrassisgoodquality.LubricationisbyImperialsizingwaxthinlyspreadbythethumbandforefinger,onlyusedontheoutsideoftheneckwiththeForsterdie.
Pockets and TrimmingAfter sizing, there are two jobs before priming –primer pocket cleaning and a case length check.Since all primer pockets have been cut with auniformingtool,themostefficientwaytocleanthemistousethisdeviceagain,butnowwithathumbandforefingerholdproducingacoupleoftwistsandlightpressure – the objective is to remove carbon, notmetal.Incidentally,theappropriatephotographalsoshows Sinclair’s new 0.081” flash-hole uniformerup front, a use-once preparation tool, but havingjustgotmine,I’musingitoneachboxofcasesasthey’recleanedandpreparedfortheirnextloading.It only removes a small amount ofmetal frommyLapua cases, an apparently consistent amount atthat,buttakesalotmoreoutoftheold160gnNormaexamples,andtheamountcanvarysignificantlywiththese.
Above - The bits that do the work in bushing sizers – Forster top left and Redding titanium nitride coated examples in front. The pencil lead shows the point the case-neck is sized to – the slightly oversize section behind in front of the neck-shoulder join is a plus as it helps
centre the loaded round in the bore
Set up ready to go at 350 yards
62 Target Shooter
If caseshavegrownbeyond themaximumSAAMIlength of 2.015” (trim-to: 2.005”), there’s noalternative to getting the case-trimmer out, andperform my least favourite handloading chore. IalwaysdoawholeRM50’sworthof50casesevenifonlyoneortwoexceedthelimit,sothateverythingrestarts at a uniform length. TheWilson / Sinclairlathe toolwith individualcase-holderscutsmouthssquare–moresothanwithanydesignemployingacone-shapedpilottosupportthecase-mouth–andsoongetsthrough50cases.Atipistomeasureyourrifle’s chamber using a Sinclair Chamber Gaugein theappropriatecalibre,asoft leaded-steelneckdiameter button atop a bullet diameter stem. Youhave to sacrifice a sized case, trimming it back
another tenthofan inch,beforeseating thegaugewith its stem just inside. Carefully chamber it andthegaugeispushedbackintothecasetogivetheactual chamber length. A tightly chamberedcustom rifle won’t producemuch clearance abovethe .308W’s 2.015” max length, but factory and‘tactical’ rifles are often ‘chambered long’, so youmaybeabletoletyourcasesgrowanother10or15thou’beyondSAAMImaxbeforetrimming.
Aftertrimmingyouhavetotakethesharpedgesoffthecasemouthusingachamfertool.WhileIuseastandardHornadymodelontheoutside,Ihaveoneoftheearliestso-calledVLDinsidechamfertoolstoappear,aHolland’s(norelation)multi-flutedcarbidejobthatproducesalong,shallow-anglechamferforeasyandsmoothbulletseating.Itwasn’tcheap,butisveryeasytouseandgivesamirrorsmoothfinishtothecutunlikethosefromstandardtools.
COAL and Bullet SeatingWe’ll take priming as done, likewise choosing apowder and its charge weight, that being nextmonth’ssubject,so thefinal task isbulletseating.Actually, it isn’t otherwise we’ll have a case, orloadingblock’sworthofcases,sittingonthebench
Above - Stoney-Point (now Hornady L-N-L) bullet comparator body plus headspace gauge # ‘D’ on the callipers to measure the base to shoulder datum line measurement on a fired
.308W case. The sizer die has been set to reduce it by 0.001”
Set up ready to go at 350 yards
Left - Wilson / Sinclair case trimmer with .308W cal case-holder and case in position for
trimming. The Holland’s VLD (inside) chamfer tool is on the left foreground, a
standard Hornady model used solely for the outside edges to its right
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full of powder grains up to the shoulders whilewonderinghowweadjusttheseatingdietogetthecorrectCOAL(cartridgeoveralllength)fortherifle’schamberandthroat.I’dnormallyuseaStoney-PointOALGaugeIboughtmanyyearsago(nowsoldastheHornadyL-N-LOALGauge),afactorymodified.308Wcase,and thecompany’sbullet comparatorbody and appropriate calibre insert affixed tocallipers to identify the COAL that just puts thebullet ogive into the rifling lands, before setting itback10or20thou’intothecasefortangentogivebullets, ormoving it a bit more out into the riflingwith VLDs. No gowith the Barnard F/TR rifle! NomatterwhatIdid,thegaugewouldn’tgiveaccuratereadings, the results being over length and theresulting cartridge refusing to chamber becausethebulletwashard into therifling longbeforefinalbolt closure. The ‘minimum-SAAMI’ chamber wasstopping the gauge’s modified case from seatingfullybeforesomethingtouched.
Howdo youget around this?PlanB sawmeusethe rifle chamber and inert ‘seating dummies’–easywiththeBarnardactionasremovingthefiringmechanism is a 20 second job simply requiringtheboltend-cap/shroudtobeunscrewedandtheinnards slid out (to remove any cocking andmainspring pressure providing resistance to boltoperation). Old once-fired Norma cases were FLsized and checked to ensure they chamberedwith no resistance at all, before just seating abulletinone.Hereistheproceduretouse.Tryyourover-length inert cartridge gently in the chamber,
stoppingmovementassoonasanyresistanceatallisfelt.Usuallytheboltwon’tgoanywherenearfullyforward,soseat thebulletafairbitdeeperandtryagain.When thebolt closesenough that thebaseofitshandlestartstolineupwithitsreceivercutout,that’s the time to reducebullet seating incrementsto 20 thou’ or less (easy with micrometer toppedRedding‘Competition’orForster‘Ultra’seaterdies,otherwisemeasurewhataturnoftheadjusterscrewproducesonyourdieandworkoffthat).You’lllikelyfind a pointwhere the bolt chambers the ‘dummy’fairlyeasily,buttheogiveisstilltouchingtheleade,asseenby rectangular riflingmarks.Keepseatingthebulletdeeperinyetsmalleramountsuntilthereisnonoticeableresistanceatalltoboltclosure,thenstart againwithanother caseand ‘cleanbullet’ (toseeanymarksonanunmarkedjacket).You’lllikelyfindthelandsarestilljusttouchingasevidencedbyawaferthinline–amagnifyingglassisuseful–soanother10thou’inwillseeyoujustofftherifling,andletsyouusethatasyourdatumpointforalongerorshorterCOALdependingonbullet type. I keepaninert ‘seating dummy’ for eachbullet that I load inarifleattheactualCOALI’llloaditto,anduseittoreset the seater die each time I load that model,marking the dummies’ bodies with a write-on-everything pen with a narrow strip of 3M ‘Magic’tapeontoptostopitbeingwipedoffwithhandling.Iknowthereareothermethodsusingaroddownthebarrel with collars, but I use this one, sometimesevenwhen theHornady / Stoney-Point toolworksfine,asaveryprecise,ifabitlaborious,method.
A line-up of .308W ‘seating dummies’ for the Barnard used to reset the seater die for each bullet sit on a shelf in my components’ cupboard. Note the differences in COALs according to individual bullet ogive form
64 Target Shooter
Necks and BushingsWhy use bushing dies? I mentioned that the oldNorma brass is thinner than current Lapua, somebatchesrunningatonly0.012”neck-thicknessafter‘clean-up’turning,whilethethinnestofmypreppedLapuabatchesistwothou’greater,thenormthree.TheoldLee‘Loader’couldproduceveryconcentricammunition with good brass and fired in a goodchamber,butitwouldoverlysizeallbutthethinnestcasesgivingaverytightbulletfit.Manyhandloaderslike to feel lots of resistance on the press handleastheyseatabullet,butlightgripinbarelyworkedbrass not only usually gives the best results, butalsothegreatestcaselifeinaccuracytermsbeforetheneckbrassbecomeswork-hardened.Standardfactorydiesreducethefiredcase-neckdiameteralotbeforeexpandingitupagain,andthisisaggravatedbyatypicalfactoryrifle’schamberdimensions.Let’scomparewhathappenedtoanoutoftheboxLapuacase with 0.016” thick neck walls in my FN SPRand sizingwith a standard sizer, towhat happensnowintheminimum-SAAMIchamberedBarnardwithabushingdie.Theunfiredcartridgeneck’soutsidediameter (O/D) averaged 0.340” in the case ofthe FN consisting of bullet diameter (0.308”) anddouble the case-neck thickness of 0.016” and thisincreasedto0.346-0.347”,determinedbythechamberdimensions, on firing. Cartridge brass is very
ductilegivingoneor twothou’ ‘spring-back’ afterpressures dissipate, sothe necks had actuallyexpanded eight thou’duringfiring–nottoobadforafactoryrifle.
Resizing them in astandard sizer die withthedecapper /expanderstem removed reducedtheneckO/Dfrom0.347”to 0.330”. Remember‘spring-back’, so caseshave gone eight thou’in one direction theneighteen or nineteen intheother.Atthispoint,theneck’s inside diameterhas been reducedto 0.298” (0.330”minus 0.032” neck wallthickness), and in thefinal part of the normalcase-sizing process it isexpandedbackbyforcingitovera0.307”diameterexpander ball, pushingthe neck out by nineto ten thou’, taking
spring-back into account. So, total neck-wallmovementinthefiring–resizingcycleinthisexampleis 0.008” + 0.018” + 0.009” = 0.035”, and it couldbemorewithsomecase-chamber-diecombinations.Do this a few times, and the brass becomeswork-hardened causing accuracy and case life tosuffer. Conversely, the Barnard cartridge starts at0.336-0.338”dependingon thebatchofbrassandwhat I’ve turned the neck down to, andmeasures0.341” on fired cases, so has gone through0.004-0.006” expansion depending on what itstarted as (the thinnest Norma cases rathermoreat10 thou’).Bushingsizesoneor two thou’belowtheloadedcartridgeneckO/Dareusedtoindividualpreference, so 0.334-0.337” depending on brassbatch,amaximumsizing-downof8thou’,lesswiththe thicker-necked batches.No expansion is usedwiththeForsterdie,sothemaximumworkingis14thou’,andpotentiallyaslittleas11withnecksturnedto 0.015”. Bushing dies also let you play with theamountofbulletgrip,asyoumayfindaparticularcombinationofcaseandbulletrespondstoaslightlyheavierbulletpull,orgivesthesmallestgroupswiththebulletbarelybeinggripped.
What it’s all about – trying to get (not always successfully) near nil bullet runout. This is actually a ‘seating dummy’ for the 210gn Berger BT grabbed off the shelf to use in the photograph. Despite being an ancient and untouched Norma case bought as once-fired and FL sized in my oldest 7/8X14tpi die, a 1986 dated Lee, bullet runout measures only half a thou’ (seater die: Forster ‘Ultra’)
Target Shooter 65Target Shooter Magazine is a publication of Trinity Digital Publishing Ltd
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66 Target Shooter
TheEggShoot isnowafirmfixtureon theDigglecalendar, yet despite offering a prize of £100for simply breaking a hen’s egg, it’s definitely a‘marmite’competition–youeitherloveitorloatheit!
Whereas many Diggle Club members give it awide berth, others travel great distances to shootthe egg and we have many loyal entrants whoweonly see for thisannualevent.TheEggShootoriginated in America and one leading Americanshooting publication described the Egg Shoot as“Probably the greatest test of field marksmanshipyet devised.” The Egg Shoot is unique in that itis the only competition I know of where sightingshots are not permitted and maybe that is whatfrightens off a lot of shooters but appeals to thefieldshooterwho rarelyhas the luxuryofsighters.Also,ifyoulikeahighround-count,thenmaybethe
EggShootisnotforyou.YouwillbeatDiggleRangesforsomesixhours,yetyouwillfireonlytenrounds.Ontheplusside,thisgivesplentyofopportunityto‘chill-out’, have a good old natter with like-mindedshootersandofcourseadmirealloftheinterestingkitthattheEggShootalwaysattracts.Remember,therearenorulesregardingcalibre,scope,weightofrifle,meansofsupportetc.so,providingyoucancarryallyourgearsingle-handedtothefiringpoints,anythinggoes.Assuch,wegeteverything fromthehumble223 factory rifle right up to 1000 yard benchguns.However,asyouwillsee,exoticequipmentisnotaprerequisite forsuccess in thisuniquecompetition.
Thecompetition is in twoparts.Firstweshoot thegroundhog–arabbit-sizetarget–at100,300and500yards.Stageprizesareawardedateachdistanceplus a small-group award and the three sets ofstagepointsare totalledtogivetheoverallwinner.Aftershootingatthesethreedistances,youshouldhaveaprettygood ideaofyourscopesettings foryour one and only attempt at the egg – providingthat is, you managed to hit the target at 500yards – 60% of the entry didn’t – including me!
Weather-wise, 2010 will go down as one of thebest–warmandsunnywithjustalightbreeze,soidealforarelaxedday’sshooting.Andsoitproved,with several respectable scores in the initial 100yard stage. The groundhog ‘head-bull’ is a scant0.75 inches in diameter and to get three shots inthere, out of a cold barrel, without cutting the lineisdamngoodshootingbyanyone’sstandard.Each‘clean’hitinthehead-bullscores15pointsbut,cutthe lineandthatdrops toanine.ChrisParkinand
The Great Diggle Egg Shoot
by Vince Bottomley
Steve Dunn’s fantastic 0.065 inch group at 100 yards using a
22 BR shot off a bi-pod
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ChrisVauxbothscoredamax.45pointsshootinga260Remingtonanda6.5x55Swederespectively.Neitherriflewasparticularly‘exotic’andbothshotoffHarrisbi-pods.Goodshootingguys!
Forthenextstage,wedressedbackto300yardsandatthisdistancemostshooterswillgoforthe‘body-bull’whichis1.5inchesindiameterandscores10pointsfor a clean hit, dropping to seven for a line-cutter.Believeme,it’seasytomissatthisdistanceandminewasoneof theseven ‘zero’scores–anicegroupbut about aminute out on wind estimation. I wasshootingmy22Dasherandaftera reasonable33scoredat100yardsonzerowindsetting,Ithoughtthat a quarter-minute of wind would be enough.Outof apossible30availablepoints (or 45 if youwereboldenoughtogoforthetinyhead-bullagain)Darren Grundle’s 19 was the top score. Darren’srifle?Abog-standard308Sakoshotoff thebi-pod.Greatshooting.Withtworelaysateachdistance,itwasnowapproachinglunchtimesoitwasbacktotheRangeHouseforalittlerefreshmentandachancetoponderoveryourtarget–aftertheyhadbeenscored.
Lunch over, the big question oneveryone’s mind of course –“HowmuchwinddoIneedfor500yards?”Idecidedtowhackonan-otherminute.Hopefully,evenifyoudo not have a high score on thegroundhog,atleastahitontheA3targetwillgiveyouabitofaclueforyouroneshotattheegg.Whenthetargetscamebackfrom500yards,mine,likemanyotherswasdevoidofanyholes!
With a hit on the groundhog bodyscoringonlyonepoint,youaredoingverywell toget intodoublefigureson the500yardStageand in factonlyoneshooterdid–wellshotMike
Booth,anEggShootregularandakeenfieldshooter.MikerarelygoeshomewithoutanawardofsomesortandthisyearhewasshootingaparticularlyniceriflebuiltaroundaBAT‘S’actionwithgunsmithingbyJimYoungofScotlandandstockworkbyMikehimself.
Whilstcompetitorswereponderingovertheirscope-settingfortheironeandonlyshotattheegg,theDiggleClubtreasurerwascountingout£100shouldtheworsthappen.Some years, no eggs have been broken,lastyearitwastwo.Thewhitehen’seggismountedagainst a black background so that competitorscannot glean any information by seeinganother’sfallofshotbutourbutt’sgirlplacesapatchover each shot-hole with the shooter’s initials sothatafterwardsyoucanseebyjusthowmuchyoumissed!But,beforewegettothat,let’shavealookatwhowonwhatintheGroundhogcompetition.
100yardStage 1stChrisParkin&ChrisVaux45pts2ndMikeBooth39
3rdDarrenGrundle37
Smallgroup SteveDunn0.065 inches (that’s nomisprint–lessthanone-tenthofaninch!)
300yardStage 1stDarrenGrundle 192ndMikeHainsworth 173rdMikeMcGuigan 15
Smallgroup DarrelEvans0.477inches
500yardStage 1stMikeBooth 112ndJohnDean 83rdSamNewton6
It’s always a great atmosphere at the Diggle egg shoot
The guys get to see their targets after each stage
68 Target Shooter
Smallgroup LesPrior 0.626inches
Overall1stDarrenGrundle&ChrisParkin 572ndMikeBooth 533rdChrisVaux 50
Stage 1 joint winner, Chris Parkin was the first toshoot theeggwith therestofuswatchingthroughour scopes and holding our breath. Chris pulledthe trigger but the egg stayed put. Next up wasChris Vaux and watching shooters were treatedto the spectacle of a scrambled egg followedby a loud cheer from Chris! Two shooters, oneegg broken! Third to shoot was John Dean,CEO of Aimfield Sports, importer of Sightronscopesandretailerofthebestgun-bagaround.John
wasshootingaHowabuiltbyRhinoRiflesandchambered in 6BRDX and fortunately, hewasusingaSightronscopeforhealsobroketheegg!Threeshooters–twoeggsbroken!Fortunately there were around twentyor so other attempts before Les Holgatebroke the third and final egg. Les was anegg-breaker last yearaswell.Thisyear,hewasshootinghis284BATFClass rifleandhadfailedtoscoreat300and500yardssosomeprettygoodguess-workthereLes!
That wrapped-up a pretty good Egg Shootforanotheryear. ItwillbeheldonthesameMay Bank HolidayMonday next year so, ifyoufancyyourchances,put it inyourdiary.Alternatively,ifyourclubhasaccesstoa100–500yardrange,whynotconsiderrunningyour own egg shoot? I will happily supplya sample target on request. It’s an easyshoottostageasbuttmarkersaren’tneededand it would be good to get a few moreegg shoots in different parts of the country.ManyofthepicturesusedinthisarticlewerecourtesyofprofessionalphotographerSteveThorntonwww.stevethornton.co.ukBetweenus,wemanagedtophotographeveryshooterand a CD containing over 120 pictures isavailable for £5.00 including p&p – just e-mail me at [email protected] AllproceedstotheHelpforHeroescharity.
Jeanette gets ready for an egg-shampoo!
All targets are carefully scored
That’s John Dean of Aimfield Sports and he’s just won £100!
Happy egg shooters – the various stage and small-group winners proudly display their targets
70 Target Shooter
MINI RIFLE TURNING TARGETS
by Tim FinleyMini rifle as a sporting target even is, as youknow is taking off in a big way. More clubsare taking up the challenge and shooters areseekingout theclubs thatdo thediscipline, totheextentthattheyarejoiningtheseclubs.Mini
rifle targets are the IPSC cardboard “ Coffin”targets as the norm. Certain clubs can anddo supplement these with other targets on aMini rifle courseof fire,WorcesterNorton isaclub which has been shooting Mini rifle for a
number of years, whenI shot there they had adifferent type of targeton the turning targetson one stage, it was afairlynormalblackcircletypeandthe“A“orhighestscoring zone seemedbigger than an “A”zoneonan IPSC targetfrom memory. Turingtargets are just whattheysaytheyare,itisamechanical/electricalsystem that as thename suggest turns thebackerthattheintendedcardboard or papertarget is placed upon.On the stage I shot
Guns on the table for the log chop
Target Shooter 71
at Worcester Norton they used three turningtargetsanditmadeitverychallenging indeed.The turning targets systems themselves areveryexpensive,ourownclubhadtowaitalmosttwo years to have the money to buy twoturners and a control unit. The good thing isadditional turning units can be added and
controlledwith thesamesinglecontrolunit.Atourclubbeforegettingtheturnerswecameupwithotherwaysofspicingupminirifleevents.Mainlywithtwobanksofsteelplateswhichmustbeknockedoveraspartofthe“coffin”shootingstage’s .Thurnscoemyownclubcanhaveupto12steelsonastageandDiggle too isableto have six to ten steel plates at a time on astage.Thesereactivespeedtargetsmakearealdifference to how a mini rifle event shoots.(Anystagewithsteelsshouldbeshotwitheyeprotection, Thurnscoe and Diggle have madeeye protection mandatory on any Mini rifle
event, even if no steels are beingshot.WorcesterNortonhasmandatoryeye protection although they do nothave any steel plates). Steel plateshavetobeshotinanenclosedbutttoensure the bullets knocking over thesteel plates are captured/retainedand both Thurnscoe and Digglealreadyhadthissafebackstopsystemin place beforeMini rifle came to theclubs.What canalso spiceupaMiniriflestageisbeingabitmorecreativewith the ordinary cardboard coffinshadedtargets.Thesimplestwayistoturnthetargetupsidedownorhaveitonit’sside,rememberthetopscoringor“A”zoneisnot inthemiddleofthecoffin shaped target. Shooters get
confused in the speed of competition as towherethe“A”zoneis.Evenbetteristohavefourcoffinsononebackertobeshotatthesametimewiththemallatdifferingaspects.Thereisanextleveltotargetdifficulty,ourresidentclubgeniusRossBoroughhascomeupwith twosystems
Shooter ready
Applying the safety before moving to the next stage
There are two targets to shoot
here
With three seconds for 4 shots on two targets
it is HARD
Two targets with a swinging arm in front
72 Target Shooter
tobedeviltheshooter.Bothareverysimplebuttransform how the coffin targets are shot. Hisfirst invention used a swinging/rotating arm tocoveruptwotargets.WithapivotinthemiddlethenormalrestingpositionofthefrontarmhastwosectionscoveringtwooftheIPSCtargets,oneaboveandonebelowthepivotpoint.Theweighted end of the arm is rotated up to theeleveno’clockpositionandthenitisrestedonaremovablesteelpin.Thispinissatinaholeinthebackboardofthetargetframe.Whenthepinispulledoutthefrontarmstartsrotatingaroundthepivotpoint.Thecompetitorhastoplacetwoshotsoneachofthetargetswithouthittingthefront swinging arm.The armsmovement getsslower and slower until it is covering up bothtargets.Ahitonthefrontswingingarmmeansaninstantminustenpointstakenoffyourtotalscoreforthestage.Thereallycleverpartistheshooter themselveshave to remove thepin tostart thearmmoving,before theycanengagethetwotargets.Thereisapieceofstringontheendof thepinandwiththegunat45degreespointeddownwardsthecompetitorpullsthepinoutviathestringthenattemptstoputtwoshotsintheAzoneofeachtargetWITHOUThittingthemaskingarm.Inpracticethetargethasworkedfaultlesslyand really concentrates themindoftheMinirifler.Thekeytothisdevilishdeviceistohavethegunreadytosnapupontotheaim,a pistol grip stock opposed to a sporting oneseemstohelpwiththis.Thesafetycatchcannotbetakenoffuntilthestringhasbeenpulledandtheriflebroughttoaimonthetargets.Ross then came up with another clever ideainvolving clay pigeon targets and four coffins.Two arms with blanking faces sit over twocoffins.Beloweachblankingfacesaretwomorecoffins.Sofourcoffinsmustbedoubletapped,the two hidden coffins can be uncoveredby shooting two clay pigeon discs, once theclays are broken the blanking arms drop outof the way to enable the other two coffins tobe shot. But the banking arms fall down thecoverthefirsttwoexposedcoffintargets.Sothecompetitor must shoot the two visible targetsfirst, then brake the clays with more shots toshoot the remaining two coffins. Theyworkedwellinpracticewithsomefunforthosewatchingassomeshootershad tinystrandsof clay leftholding the blanking arms in position, whichwere then very hard to hit with a rimfire toremove.Thekeywith theclayswas toaimat
One clay shot one to go
the swinging arm covers the two targets
the turning targets end on
The last of 12 steels on its way
down
Target Shooter 73
the edgesNOT at themiddle of the clay andof course shoot the two visible coffins beforeattemptingtosmashtheclays.Itwaswhenwereceivedourtwoinitial turningtarget units that our courses changedsignificantly.Rossgot his thinking caponandcame up with a tricky start to a stage. Theshooter starts off as normal with an emptychamber,boltforwardandmagazinein.Witha45degreedownwardangleontherifletheywaitfor thebeepof the timer.As thebeepsoundsthe rangeofficerwhoaccompanies the shoot-erpresses thecontrolunit tostart the turners.Thefirstturner is infrontoftheshooterandishastheiropeningpairofcoffinsonit.Thefiringpointisfivetotenyardsfromwheretheshooterbeginssotheymustmaketheirwaytothatpoint.Depending upon how quick they are the firstturnercanalreadybefacing theshooterwhentheygetthere.Itonlyfacestheshooterfortwosecondswithafivesecond“away”oredgeonnoshootingaspect.Theruleonthefirstturneristhatoncetheshooterhasbegunshootingonit that is their only chance to double tapeachcoffin. If the turner facesaway after they have onlyshot one target then theyhavetomoveon.Inpracticeshootersgettothefirstfiringpointtakeaimthenwaitforafull exposure to take on thepair of targets.All the whilethe second turner is goingthro it’s own sequence of2 seconds facing and fiveaway.However, it only doesthis for a certain number offacesandtheshooterhastoshoot one or two other setsof targetsbefore theyget toit. If youare very, very slow
orhavearifleormagazinejam on you then there isa fair chanceyouwill getto the second turner onlytofindit facingawaywithnomore facing turns left.Adisasterasthishasfourtargetsonittodoubletap.Rossevenspeededuptheturnersasweinitiallyshotthem with three secondsfacing but after shootingat Bisley in the Phoenix
meeting he changed them to 2 seconds inorderforustogetusetoshootingquicker.TheturnersatBisleyarelightningfastalthoughtheyarenotusedforMinirifleeventsjustTimedandPrecisionandMultiTargetcompetitions,whichareverysimilar toMini riflebutdonot involveanyfirewithmovementI.e.movingwiththerifle.TheturningtargetunitsweusearefromShieldInternational www.shieldtargets.com and areMinistry of Defence units which have beenre-furbished,making themaffordable to clubs.As mentioned before we can add additionalturningunitsnowwehavethecontrollerastheclub funds allow. The two units we have canhavetotallydifferentsequencesofturns,whichweoftenhave.Eachunitisprogrammedviathecontrolunit, thesequencebeingtransmittedtoeachunitwirelessly.Wecharge£4entrytoMiniriflecompsandweneedthistocovernotonlythe price of the turning target system but thecoffin targets and patches. Normally a browncardboardcoffintargetwillonlylasttwoeventsoftwostagesbeforeweloosewheretheAzone
12 steels
The log chop Before
74 Target Shooter
is for scoring. We have taken our turners toDiggletospiceuptheirMinirifleeventstoo,theclubisinterestedingettingtheirownastheunitscanbeusedforothershootingcompetitions.Even up to 1000 yards from the control unit,whichopensupevenmorepotential.One other element whichRoss has thrown inattheendofMiniRifleeventsatourclubistheteam“LogChop”.Thisputverysimplyiswhereteamsof4or5shootersattempttocutapieceof wood in half in the shortest possible time.Thelogconsistsofa50*15mmby600mmlongpieceoftimberheldateachendbystringaredline isspraypaintedinthemiddleof thewoodas theaimingzone.Two trestle tablesaresetout at 15-20m from the safe backstop. Ontothesegotheshootersrifles.Allwithboltforwardonanemptychamberandwithsafety’sonandcharged magazines inserted.Another 15-20mback away from the table stand the shootersina lineopposite theirown rifleson the table.UsingthesametimersasfortheMinirifleeventstheywait forabeepand thenrun towards thetable, pick up their rifles take the safety’s offandcockthenfireatthelog.Itisnotunknownfor 100 top 150 rounds to be fired at the log.I was on the winning team in the picturesaccompanying this article with a time of 19.2seconds,thelosingteamwasnotfarbehindon22.8seconds.ThealsodidthisatDiggleattheirlastMinirifleevent.It’safunwaytoendthedayforalltheshooters.Eyeprotectionisofcoursemandatory for such an event, The teams ofshootersareinalineandsothosetotherightoftheleftmostshooterwillallgethotcasesflyingatthem.IactasarangeofficerveryoftenandIweareyeandeyeprotectioneverytime.WhereIstandbehindtheshooterIamsometimesget
ahotbrasscasecomingmyway.On the last log chop Rossshowed he is a damn goodshot toobybreaking the laststrands of the load with twoshots, when it had turnededgeon.Therestofhisteamwere reloading and fromthe standing position Rosscalmlyblasted thewood intotwopieceswithadoubletap.ThatmeanthisteamwonovermineandIwassurewewouldwinwhenthelogturnedonit’sside,ahwell.
So it can be seen that there is no end to thethings you can do to make Mini rifle stagesinteresting.Aboveallmakesure thecourseoffireissafe,theroundsgoingthroughthetargetsarecaughtandeveryoneappliessafetiesbeforemoving.Wenowalsocheckthesafetycatchesof all competitors before they are allowed totakepartinThurnscoeandDiggleevents.NextmonthI’lllookatthetypesofsightsweuseforMinirifleandwhy.
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76 TargetShooter
I’ve shot benchrest for a few years now and, like most, started off with a basic rifle and equipment but as you gain experience and move into the national and international arena, then there is a point where you start to think about having something a little bit special to
remain competitive.My journey began almost a year ago now with research via internet forums and talking to other shooters. Looking at all the different components, listening to views and ideas of others leaves you in a state of flux, not knowing
GUNOFTHEMONTHBuildinganLVrifleforrimfirebenchrest–part2
ByAndyDubreuil
TargetShooter 77
which way to turn.In 22 rimfire benchrest there are a number of different classes and I currently had a Heavy Varmint rifle so, at international events, I had to borrow team members’ rifles for the Light Varmint class but it’s never the same as shooting your own gun. Many shooters have a rifle for each class but this is expensive plus
a lot more stuff to carry around so this got me thinking.Since the action on my original rifle is an Anschutz 1913 and only had two screws to hold the barrelled-action into the stock, it came to mind that it would be quick and easy to change stocks if I went down the route of having two of them that ‘made weight’ for either class - a
78 TargetShooter
novel way of covering two classes with one rifle.The LV class has a weight limit of 10 ½ lb and this is not easy to meet as you have to think about the weight of the stock, action, barrel, scope and any other devices that you want to add to the rifle. Luckily, the stock I already had was extremely light so I had that covered. That just left the barrel and scope sort out.Although there is a huge array of scopes out there, if you are looking for one which is light and of good quality it cuts down the choice considerably. Eventually, I came up with two scopes to choose from - the Weaver T36, the first choice of many benchrest shooters and the Sightron Big Sky Series II 36x42. Both weigh just over a pound so ideal if you are building an LV rifle. Reading the specs, I don’t think there is much between the two but I had a chance to look at the Sightron and being in the UK it was easier to purchase through Aimfield Sports the UK Sightron importer - a great and friendly company to deal with.The next item on the list was the barrel and with so many to choose from, I think it’s a good idea to speak to buddies who have different barrels to get their thoughts and more importantly, to check out the scores they are shooting with them. Many of my friends have a Lilja barrel and seem to be shooting extremely well with them. A couple of magazine issues ago, I had the privilege interviewing Dan Lilja, which gave
me an insight into how barrels are made and how well they have done on the international circuit. That left me with a simple decision - it had to be a Lilja barrel. Benchrest shooters are renowned for wanting a rifle that looks different from everyone else’s and I’m no different, so for my new stock for the LV class, I again researched via the web and talked to friends; I wonder how hard all of this would have been before the internet arrived?I wanted the stock to look different and act in a way that I want but obviously within the rules. Eventually, I came across Parmoor Stocks and after many discussions and viewing photographs we a came up with a profile that fitted in with what I was looking for. I do like natural look of wood and found an unusual laminate called ice wood. This is an almost white laminate with a black resin and once shaped it exhibits very unusual features.So with all the main components obtained, it was time to find the right people to put the rifle together and in the next issue I will be talking about the gunsmith who re-barrelled the rifle for me and what was involved.Until then safe shooting.
Target Shooter 79
2010_ELY_08 Adverts Sporting Rifle outlines.indd 1 16/4/10 11:01:21
80 Target Shooter
The second segment of Natural Aiming Point. (NAP)
ThefirstsectionofthisarticlewrittenlastmonthdealtwiththelateralmovementsassociatedwiththeNAP.Thismonth there isa farmoredetailed input, andthus is extremely important as it deals with theelevation quotient of the NAP. The lateraldisbursementisrelativelysimple,gainingthisaroundthefulcrumpointoftheforwardelbow,andconcernsthepositionofthehips,andlowerbody.Once again the hips position is relevant in thissectionaswell,butitisnowherenearasdetailedasthe use of correct breathing sequences relative togettingtherifletopointdeadcentre!Iamquitesureyouhaveseentheriflemuzzlemoveupanddownastheshooterbreathes,anditisthisthatIintendtofocusonforthisarticle,asitistotallyconnectedwithpositionrefinementaccordingtoriflemovementasyoubreathe.While the breathingmovement is actually the lastrefinementyouneedtoworkonwithyourposition,it is really important tohave the rifle “point” at thetarget initially before the final stuff can beundertaken.Havingisolatedthelateralpointatthetargetaroundthe forwardelbowfulcrum,getting therifle topointexactly at the aimingmark (both left or right), theshooterneedstonowaddresstheelevation”point”of the rifle, and many make the mistake of usingmuscle force todirect theaim.Brute forcehasnoplaceinproneshooting!
Prone is a relaxed state, and this is dictated byposition refinement coupled with your breathingsequence.Theshooterneedstoexpelalltheairfromthelungs,
andadjust thebodyposition tohave theriflepointatexactelevation.(waterline.)beforethebreathingsequencesarecommenced.If therifle ispointingabove theaimingmark,oncemorearoundtheforwardelbowfulcrumpoint, thenthehipsareinchedforwardinsmallincrementsuntilthetargetisnaturallyintheforesightring.
Iftherifleispointingundertheaimingmark,thenthehipsaremovedalsoinsmallincrementsbackwardsaway from the fulcrumpoint of the forward elbow.This will bring the rifle muzzle upwards to effectcorrect elevation. You will have then achieveda rough elevation point from which to refine theforwardposition.Icanassureyou,thatthissegmentiscrucialtohighqualityscoring.Itisalsoextremelyimportant to recheck to see if those smallmovementshavemadeanydifferencetothelateralpointoftherifle.Iftheyhave,youneedtostartagain,isolatingthesmalldiscrepancies,continuallyrefiningthe“point”oftherifle,bothlaterallyandtheelevationofthemuzzle.This aspect of prone shooting needs to beunderstood that not even the slightest short cut,resultinginmusclestrengthtodirecttheriflecanbeentertained.Icannotstressthismoreurgentlythanthat.Keepworkingattheseaspectsuntiltheriflesitsontargetlikeabrickouthouse!Iwarnyouthough,thatthis may take some time in your training, but thebenefits are immense. There is no substitute forhardwork!
If you studyphoto “A” youwill seea forwardplanformof thepositionyoushouldbe lookingfor.Theforwardtriangle(inverted)betweentheforwardslingpoint (1) the forwardelbow (2)and thepositionof
ThisSmallboreBusiness
ByDonBrook
Target Shooter 81
thebuttintheshoulder(3)showsthebalanceoftheposition.Youwillnotetheslingisparalleltothebarrelwiththebuckleovertheelbowandclearofanycontactwiththeforwardarm.The forward hand, and the trigger hand are alsoparallelwiththebarrel,asisthetriggerfinger.Thehead isuprightwitha relaxedneck,while thecheekpiececontactofthecheekisconsistentandquitestrong.Theeyeisdeadcentreintherearpeep.Notealsothepowerintheshouldersoftheshootingjacketandthelackofwrinklesintheleatherofthearms.ThisisaStenvaagjacket,andinmyopinionisthebestIhaveseenintheaspectoffittingacrosstheshoulders.YoucanstillgetthesethroughAHGAnschutz.
Finally, though this is a full bore (NRA) rifleillustrated,notetheeasilyaccessiblepositionoftheammunitionbox.
Ifyourpositionlookslikethis,thenbelievemeitwillwork!
Now,wecometothecrunchofassuminganaturalpointofaim,asthefinalorientation isachievedbybreathingandpositioncontrolcombined.
POSITION ORIENTATION DIAGRAM. Elevationcontrolbyattentiontothebreathingsequence.
Oncemoreyouneed tostudy thediagramcloselywhereyouwillsee theperfectedaimprior to “finalaim”onthegraphic.
These three illustrate the elevation and aimingperfectionyouarelookingfor.
Asyoubreathe,therifledropsawayverticallyfromtheaimsothatyoureachthelowerforesightpicture(1) Then, as the breath trickles out again, theforesightrisestotheaimingpointagain(Dottedline).At this point you check visually through the sights
that the aim reaches the waterline and this iscrucialtotheperfectionofarelaxednaturalaimingpointastheriflemovesupward(2)Allthistakesisabout1.5,to2secondsofbreathintake,andtherifleshouldfallawayvertically,andwithconsistentdepthawayfromidealaiming.Thisactuallyregulatesthebreathingdepth,andaidsinrelaxation.
The second breath is taken (3) and once morethevertical fall away ischecked, togetherwith thedepthconsistency,andif theshooter ishappywitheverything preceding, the breath trickles out forthethirdtimeallowingthefinalperfectedaimtobereached AT THE POINT OF NATURAL BREATHEXPULSION.“A”
It isoncemorecrucial that if youhave to regulatetheaimingbyintake,orforcedexpulsionofthefinalbreathtoachievecorrectaim,thenmoreworkneedstobedone!
Ireiterate,thatwhenthenaturalbreathexpulsionisachieved,theaimingsequenceshouldbewaterlineandthenonlyfinalaimingdetailsarecarriedout.
Therifleshouldnotbeforcedinanywaytoachievefinal aim, otherwise you often can reach stresslevelswithbreathingandoxygenretentionthataffectthesightingclaritydrastically.(Moreonthisaspectlater.)
Now, having reached the final aim (A) the aim istotallyperfectedwhilethetriggerisoperated,andintermsofsecondsyoushouldNEVERhold theaimforany longerthanfour tofivesecondstoachieverelease. More also on this aspect later in thesightingsegments.
OnthediagramIhaveindicatedshotreleaseatfiveseconds, and the aimmust be held as the followthroughsequenceiscarriedout(aroundtwotothreeseconds)whereyouthenstarttobreathagainandthemuzzleoftherifledropsawayfromtheoptimum
Position plan form
82 Target Shooter
aimingpicture.Within this follow thru section it is really importantto study the riflemovementunder recoil.You lookfor consistency of the movement, the verticalstrikeoftherecoil,andtheresettletooptimumaimparticularlywithasmallborerifle.Themuchmoresevere recoil of a300morNRA full bore rifle isadifferent kettle of fish, but a small bore shouldreturntoexactoptimumaimafterrecoil.Somuchso,thataimingaftertheshotrelease,youcouldsaytoyourself“Yes,Icouldfirethatshotagain!”
The follow thru is crucial to utmost performanceaccuracy,bothintheanalysisoftheshotfired,andthenominationfactorofwheretheprojectileshouldstrike according to your aiming details. In idealweatherconditionswhereyournominationisbasedaccordingtotheaimingsequenceiswheretheshotholeshouldbeonyourtarget.Thismeansthatthenominationprocessisconductedatthemomentofshotreleaseaccordingtoyouraiming.Ifyou“call”a10o’clockshot,thentheshotholeshouldbethere,whereyouexpectedit.
Ifanewchumtosmallborefollowstheseguidelines,itshouldbenotedthatideallyitisbesttotrainyourformulativeprocessesinawindlessatmosphere,orevenindoors.Sometimesitisnotpossibletotrainindoorsat50m,sothe25yardsmallborerangesaroundareaverygood breeding ground for technique awareness. Ilearnedhowtoshootwellonour25yardrangesinAustralia,andreallyenjoyedtheshorterdistances.
It became apparent to me at an early age thatattitude to accuracy is extremely important. Somuchso,thatonanindoorrangeyoushouldsimplynotdropasinglepoint,becausethereisnothingoutontherangetoremoveyourshotfromthetenring.Nowind,orinclementweather,andifapointislost,youneedtolookforfindingoutwhy.The same applies to perhaps a windless day,outdoorsat50m,eithercompetitionortraining.Yourgoalsandattitudeshouldbetoshootthematch,ortrainingroundclean.Alltens,nomatterhowlongyoutrainfor,orshootacompetitionmatch.
JustabouteverytopproneshooterIknowhasthesegoalssetbothfortraining,andcompetition.OneofthegreatGermanshooters,HubertBichler,agoodmatewhomIhavenotseenforawhile,alwaysusedtosetagoaltoregistera100%performanceprone,nomatter what thematch or challenge in front ofhim.Ilearnedalotjustchattingwith,andwatchinghim.Ihaveseenhimcomeoffthefiringpointwitha599x600,andcranky(mildly)withthatoneshotthatcosthimperfection.
ThiswastheattitudeIcametoexpectfrommyownperformances,andlateronintheseriesinsectionsdevotedtocompeting,youwillcometounderstandwhatisneeded.Anotherlittlegemforyouall.……Youonlygetoutofsmallborewhatyouputintoit.Itisfunnybuttheharderyoutrain,theluckieryouget!Brooksie
Breathing Diagram
Target Shooter 83
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84 Target Shooter
EducatedinBelfast,DaveandsomeofhisschoolmatesallmovedtoUniversityatSt.AndrewsinScotlandandlookedto continue their interest of being in the CCF (combinedcadet force). The equivalent at St. Andrews was theOfficer Training Corps which Dave says was more like a‘dinnerpartyclub’soseveralofthegroupalldecidedtojointherifleclubinstead.WhenDavedecidedtogiveitawhirlinsteadofstaying inonaWednesdayevening tostudyhetooktothesportinstantly.“Ilovedeverythingaboutit.Theprecisepreparation,theintenseconcentrationandthefragilebalancebetweenrelaxationandcontrolthatmeansthinkingaboutmissingashotactuallymakesyoumissashot!Quiteadifferentsport fromwaterpolowhichwasDave’schoicewhilehewasinschool!The first timeDavewent shootingwasOctober 1998 andhewasfiringataneasytypeoftrainingcalleda‘2-bull’(twotargets, 5 shots at each) and he remembers shooting8,9,9,10,9 on the top target 10,10,10,10,10 on the bottomtarget! WithinafewweekshewasontheUniversityteamand within a year on the county and Scottish UniversityNational team. In oneof the local leaguesDavewon themost improved shooter for three consecutive seasons,and won the same award within the Scottish Universities.He is extremely proud to have been involved in themostsuccessfulrunofSt.AndrewsUniversityrifleteam.Afteradrought of somewherebetween19and21 years inwhichEdinburgh had had a tight grip on the University title, St.AndrewswoneverycompetitionatleastonceandoftenmoreduringDave’sfouryearsatUniversity.Davesaysapartfromthecompeting,thesocialsideoftheclubwasamazingwiththemosteclecticmixofpeoplefromanyorganization in theuniversity. Hegoeson tosay thatyoucouldn’t findamore tight-knit clubwhenyouconsiderthatwhenDavejoinedtwocoupleswhometattheclubgotmarried, andmost of the rifle clubmembers were on theguestlist!Davefreelyadmitsthathisshootingcareerwouldnothavegone above county level had it not been for the time andencouragement his coach at St. Andrews, Patrick Jessinvested inhim. ItwasalwaysPatrickwhoensuredDavegotthemostfromhistrainingsessionsandadvisedonwhichwerethebestvaluecompetitionstoattend.Daveexplained“Patrick at the timewasalmostworking full time coachinglocalsandstudentsand running thenearbyclubsandhasneverbeenpaidapennyfordoingit.He’sthetypeofpersonthatmakes amateur sport in this country such a success”Following Dave’s graduation Patrick continued to have a
stronginputintohisshootingcareerbutwasadamantDaveneededtogotoadifferentleveltogetthetypeofcoachingtoelevatehislevelofskill.ForonecompletewinterseasonPatrickensuredDavecompetedinalltherightcompetitionswherehisperformanceswouldbenoticed,ensuredheknewalltherightpeopleandestablishedcontactsenablingDavetolocatesecondhandequipmentatdecentprices.AllthishelpedtogetDavetothepositionofgainingahardearnedplace in theScottish ‘B’squad -which is thedevelopmentsquad for athletes with no international experience butobviouslywithtalentfromaclubshootingbackground.The shooting ability was not in question with Dave’sapplicationtotheScottishsquadseeingashehadjustraisedhis personal best from 586/600 to 595/600, however hiseligibilitywasindoubtseeingashehadgrownupinNorthernIreland.HoweverDavewassoonabletoresolvethisissuewithacopyofhismother’sbirthcertificate,confirmingthatsheisindeedanativeScot.Following a few years on the very lower rungs of theinternational ladder as Dave describes it, his trainingbecamemoreintenseundertheexperttechnicalcoachingofJimCole-HamiltonandCyrilDeJonckheere.DavenowhasestablishedhimselfontheSenior‘A’squadandhasmovedastepupininternationalterms.50metrepronehasalwaysbeenDave’sdisciplinebutheisnowconcentratinghiseffortsonthreepositionalwherehehopestoimprovetothestagewhereheisgoodenoughtocompeteinternationally inthisdisciplineaswell.
Highlightssofarinclude:*Winning the Scottish 50metre Championships where heshot594&595withagoodfinalensuringawinbyaclearmargin. Davesays this isprobably theresult thatputhimincontention foraCommonwealthGames teamplace thisautumn.*Currentpersonalbestscoreof596/600incompetition,withaPBtrainingscoreat598/600.*FirstmajorinternationalcapthissummerforGreatBritainattheWorldCupinBelgrade.Davealso recountsoneof his lowest pointswhenhehadan ammo malfunction at the Commonwealth ShootingFederation (CSF)Championships in Indiaearlier thisyear.Oneofhisroundswouldn’tgooffandhewasn’tentirelyclearon the rules. He thereforeendedup rushingandmissingwhenhecouldinfacthavecalledforan‘officialmalfunction’andbeenabletoshootagain.Daverecallsthiscosthimalotofplacesandthiswasparticularlyfrustratingashedone
ProfileonDAVECAUGHEY
ByHayleyPlatts
Target Shooter 85
extremelywell to get in to the final having completed thatinitial shoot whilst not feeling at all well. This is certainlysomething shooters need to be aware of, not only duringinternationalsbutinanycompetition-knowingexactlywhatyoucanandcan’tdosoyoucanbefullyequippedtodealwithanyunexpectedeventualitywillbeinvaluable,notonlyscorewisebutforpeaceofmindaswell.I’msureDaveisnowwellversedintheshootingrulebook!Not only training wise is Dave putting everything into hisshootingcareerbuthehasalsomadethedecisiontoworkforhimselfpart time inorder tomaximisehis time to train.Thisofcoursedoeshaveimplicationsfinanciallyandashesaysmoney is tighter just at a timewhenheneeds to beinvestingmoremoneyonequipment.Thetechnicalsideof thesportalso fascinatesDave-howtherifleswork.WhilstatUniversityitwascleartoseethatsomeoftherifleswerealmostatthepointofbeing‘retired’soDavewantedtounderstandforhimselfhowtheyworkedby trying to repair them. Hewasamazedat thesimplicityof the mechanisms in a bolt action rifle and the materialavailable online to describe some of the processes formaintainingandfixingthem.AfewyearsonDavesays“NowthatI’malittlefurtheroninthesportIleavethemechanicsofmyrifletotheprofessionals,sincemycompetitioncalendargivesmeampleopportunitytohavemyrifleservicedbythemanufacturereveryyear.AlthoughAnschutzlookaftertheimportant part of my rifle , it hasn’t stopped me tinkeringwiththerestofit.Anyonewhohasshotwithmebeforewillknowmyreputationforhackinglumpsoutofmystockandfashioningmyownparts”.Dave’s ‘bespoke’ set up is described below. Basically itis anolder styleHPSGemini stockwitha1913Match54Barrel and action, it is almost unrecognisable due to hismanycustomizations.
*Thesidepanelsonthestockreplacedwithverythin,smoothcontoured laminate to better fit my smaller than averagehand.*Thepistolgripshortenedtoaninchandwitharemovablemouldedgripfor3P.*Thecheekpiececompletelyreplacedbyasculptedwood,putty,neopreneandchamoisleather.Anatomicalfittedcheekpiece(nowonmark5incarnation!)*The whole stock shortened by 16mm especially for hisstandingposition.*Butt plate was a Gemini but has two custom madecomponentstocreatethe‘hook’aswellasMECrubbergripsandothernon-slipsurfaces.*Hashisowntriggerbladeandshoetoallowaveryprecisecontact,veryfarbackwithalargesideoffset.*Gehmannrear-sighthasbeenslightlyre-assembledtoputtheirisinsideinsteadofoutsideandhashadthetwopiecePerspexfilterreplacedwithanopticalglassfilterfromanoldcamera.*Ontopofthis,Davehasre-assembledthreeseparateslingsfor his own unique configuration,He had a saddle-makeradjusthisglovetofitbetterandmadehisownattachmentsfor3Pintheformofpalmshelfandstandingrest.
NotonlydoesDaveshowgreatdeterminationtoadvanceinshootingbuthasathirstforimprovinghisknowledgeofthetechnicalaspectsaswellashavingagenuineloveandgreatinterestinthesport.Tomakethedecisiontoworkforhimselfandonlyparttimeandsacrificeahigherwageinhisquesttosucceedisadmirableandyoucanonlywishhimallthebestwithhisshootingendeavoursandalongillustriousnationalandinternationalshootingcareer.
86 Target Shooter
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Target Shooter 87
The Phoenix Meeting scheduled for the bankholidayweekendat theendofMayalmost had tobe cancelled this year due to some large brushfiresthathadbeenburningfornearlyaweekinthePirbright training area just next door to Bisley.Thankfully though, a last minute safety check bytheM.O.DandFireServiceconcludedthatitshouldbesafetostartshootingagainandthegoaheadtocontinue themeetingwas finally given to the staffattheNRA/NSC.Thiswascertainlygoodnewsforthe560shooterswhobetweenthemhadenteredarecord number of 3055 individualmatches for thisyears’premierGalleryRifleevent.
TheshootingforthecompetitorswastotakeplacebetweenMay28&30thbut itstartedmuchearlierformany of theR.O’s and range crew,withmany
of themarrivingatBisleyoneither theTuesdayorWednesdayinorderforthemtobeabletoshoottheirownmatchesfirst.Asisalwaysthecasethough,afewofthemwerestilltryingtofinishofftheirmatcheson theSundaymorning, but thankfully I think theyall managed to complete them in the end. OtherearlyarrivalstothePhoenixwereasmallgroupofshootersfromtheSAHGCA(SouthAfricanHuntersandGameConservationAssociation)whomadean11hourflight just tosamplethedelightsofGalleryRifle competition first hand. Myself and fellowGB teammateTaffWilcoxmanaged to give thema quick crash course over the Wednesday andThursday, and although such a short time on therangeisn’treallyidealtotryandgetuptospeed,theyallcertainlymanagedtopickitupquicklyenough!Asnoneof theguyshadever shoton turning targets
By Gwyn Roberts
Bianch R.O Doug Green
88 Target Shooter
before,thetimingandtargetacquisitiononsomeofthe“shorts”stagesdidtakesomegettingusedto,asdid the rackingaction requiredwhenshootingwiththeMarlins but they all seemed to enjoy the newchallengesofGalleryRifle.Theamountofefforttheguysput into thepracticescertainlyshowed in thescorespostedduringtheirfirstfullT&P1match.NicRoets shota clean300with23x’swithhisMarlin,whilstDeonDeVilliersdropped just a singlepointwithhisrimfirerifle.TheyalsobothmanagedtogetanXclass“shorts”classificationduringtheirpropercompetitions later on over theweekend,with theirteammatesAndriesErasmusandCalvynVloknotfarbehind,sowelldone to themall. I’msurenexttimewemeetupwithournewSouthAfricanfriendstheywillprovetobeaforcetobereckonedwithandIlookforwardtocompetingagainstthemshouldertoshouldernextyear!Meetingupwithbothnewandold friends is a big part of our shootingwithin the
Gallery Rifle community and unfortunately due toa number of reasons this yearweweren’t able tomeetupwithsomeofouroldest friends frombothIrelandandGermany.Thankfullythoughmanyofourinternational friends did manage to make the tripover this year and everyone enjoyed catchingup and discussing the days’ performances (anddisasters)togethereacheveningoveracoldbeerortwointhebar.
An event the size of the Phoenix doesn’t just runitselfanditisonlymadepossiblewithhardworkanddedication given by the volunteer Range OfficersandthisyearImusthavemetatleasthalfadozenorsonewpeoplewhowereofficiatingthisyear,andaverygoodjobofittheyweredoingtoo.It’snoteasybeingontherangeforupto8to10hoursadaybutjudgingbytheamountofbarrackingandgriefthatIwasgettingbythemajorityofthemtheyallseemedtobeenjoyingthemselves,especiallywhentheicecreamvanmadeitsdailyrounds!Wealsohadquiteafewnewshootersjoiningusforthefirsttimethisyearandallof theonesthatIspoketowereimpressedbythehelpandadvicethattheyhadreceivedfromthe R.O’s during their matches. Once again ourR.O’sdidanexcellentjobensuringthatourmatchesremainedbothsafeandranontime,makingitaveryenjoyable event for everyone taking part so a bigthankyoumustgoouttoallofthem.Alongwiththismustgoabig thankyoutoTaff in theArmyTargetShootingClub for the excellentmeals and servicethatheprovidedforourR.O’sandotherrangestaffduring the course of the meeting. Match DirectorBrian Thomas also had plenty of things to keephimself busy with during this year’s event fromflyingaroundtherangesmakingsurethateverythingwasgoingtoplan,toattendingthenumerousmeetings
that took place both day and night.The one thing that stood out to mewas the fact that Brian was alwaysthere to welcome in the R.O’s ateverymealtime,withoutfailandwasalwaysaskinghowthingsweregoingor if there was anything that theyneededoutontheranges.It’sonlyasmallpoint,butI’msurethispersonaltouch was appreciated by everyoneand it goes to show that the wholeofthePhoenixmeetingisabigteameffort!
TherecordnumberofentriesthisyearmeanttherewasanawfullotofworktodoforSallyPhilcox&SallyAgnewfromtheNSC,andtheladiesonthemain reception desk but as usualtheywereallasefficientaseverandprovided an excellent service for all
Incorrect scorecards - You must fill them in correctly!
Frank Heymel from the BDMP team
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of the shooters.Due to the popularity of thisNRAflagshipeventmanymatches suchas the “shorts”weresoldoutbeforetheshootinghadevenbegun,butthisdidn’tpresentaproblemforthevastmajorityofshooterswhohadpre-enteredtheircompetitions.It was, however, for some of the people who justturneduponthedayexpectingtobeabletoshoothalfadozenmatchesorso(nexttotheirfriendsaswell)astheyweren’tsoluckyunfortunately.Everything humanly possible was done to try andaccommodate thosewith lateentriesandprobably99%wentawaytoshootontherangeswithasmileontheirface.Fortheremaining1%there’snotmuchanyone can do if someone doesn’t want an 8amslotbecausetheyhaveanhoursdrivetogettotherange,ortheydon’twanttowaitacoupleofhoursinbetweenmatches,ortheywanttoshootalloftheirmatches“today”becausetheyaregoingtobebusytomorrow.
I really don’t know how the girlsmanagedtokeeptheircoolwithafewofthepeopletheyhadtodealwithatthecounterbuttheydid,andallcreditto them for doing so. Knowing theamount of work and effort that ittakes to runameetingof this size Idon’t think I’d have the patience orinclination to deal with a few of theindividuals that they had to put upwiththough!
Out on the ranges, the weather forthis year’s meeting changed prettymuch every day from light showersor overcast, to bright sunshine orblustering winds making goodperformances hard to come by fora lot of people. It was definitely anightmareforanyonetryingtoshoota Bianchi match on Stickledown at
varioustimesthroughouttheSaturdayandSundayas the strong gusts of wind just kept blowing youoffthetarget.Thisisn’twhatyouwantwhenyou’retryinghard tohit thesmallboresteelplatesor themoving target! Many shooters also experiencedchanges in points of impact on the targets at thesamedistancesbetweenonematchand thenext,which can only be attributed to the difference inlightingconditionsontheday.Shooting4or5backto back “shorts” matches I had to adjust my 25msettingsby6-8clickstogettheshotsintotheXringinonematch.Yetanhourlateronthesamerange,Ihadtorevertbacktotheoriginalsettings,whichisnotwhatyouneedwhenyou’rechasingeverylastxcountthat’sforsure.ThereseemstobealotmorepeoplecompetingnowwithbothLBR’sandLBP’sinboththeBianchiandAdvancingTargetcompetitions,with 26more shooters competingwith their LBP’sintheTimed&Precision1matchwhichisgreatto
Concentration is the name of the game in 1500
The GR trophies - 1500, Bianchi & the Phoenix trophy
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seeandhopefullythistrendwillcontinuetogrowinthenearfuture.Possiblyfortheabovereasonsthestandard of shooting over the weekend wasn’treallythatfantasticwithmanyofthevarioussquadmemberssayingtheyhaddroppedpointsneedlesslyin quite a few of their matches for one reason oranother,butthankfullythereweresomenewrecordssetandtheywere:
PhoenixRecord0721-Timed&Precision1LBPMichaelChinery30012x
British&PhoenixRecord0902-Timed&Precision2GRCFGwynRoberts60044x
British&PhoenixRecord0921-Timed&Precision2LBPPhilStead59629x
British&PhoenixRecord1301-PhoenixAGRSBJohnRobinson19728
British&PhoenixRecord1321-PhoenixALBPCliveFerguson18917x
British&PhoenixRecord1902-AdvancingTargetGRCFTaffWilcox18032x
British&PhoenixRecord1921-AdvancingTargetLBPPhilCowling18024x
Lookingthroughtheoverallresultstherewerealsosome excellent scores shot by Chris Thompson,MartinHale,AlanBarker,GregRastall,DavidPayne,JohnCrouch,MartinHale,DougGreen,PaulHunter,SteveFoskettandMickTedescowithinthevariousdisciplines. Their scores certainly gave the topboysa run for theirmoneyand itwillmake itveryinteresting on the line if they can repeat theirperformances again at the Nationals in August.Another shooter who impressed me over theweekendwasJeffKehoefromIrelandwhosaidhehasn’tshotmuchGRoverthelast12monthsorso,yet he still managed to put in some very credibleperformancesinsomeofhismatchessowelldonetohimaswell.FinalcongratulationsmustgotoWelshshooterChrisLewisonbeatingJohnChambers inthe rimfire Speed Steelsmatch. It certainly hasn’thappenedveryofteninthepast,norwillitprobablyhappenagainmuchinthefuture,butastheysay….itdidthisyear!
IthinkthecontinuedsuccessofthePhoenixmeetingis that it appeals to such a broad spectrum of
shooters as it offers a huge choice ofdisciplines to take part in, which in turncanbeshotwithawidevarietyof typesand calibers of firearm. Everything fromair and long range pistols, to classicmilitary or F class rifles are catered forand many shooters will bring at least3or4differentgunswith them toshootwith over the weekend. If you wantedyou could well end up requiring over adozen different firearms to shoot withbutthat’swhathelpsmakesthePhoenixsounique.There really is something foreveryoneandwearestartingtoseeafewofthetopshootersfromotherdisciplines
Match Director Brian Thomas
Another top meal from Taff at the Army Target Shooting Club
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coming into Gallery Rifle now to take up a newchallenge, and likewise some of us are venturingoutintosomeofthelongerrangedisciplinestoseehowwellwecandotoo.ThewidevarietyoffirearmsthatarecateredforatthePhoenixiscomplimentedby therangeofsportinggoods thatareoffered forsalebytheexhibitorswhomakeuptheverypopulartrade fair. The trade fair alone is the reason whymany people attend this event as pretty muchanything that you could want or need will beavailableforsalesomewherealongtheaisles.FromthemajorimporterslikeMidwayUKtolocalfirearmsdealersfromeverycornerofthecountry,therewascertainlyenoughonoffertopleasemostpeopleandonceagain itproved tobeagreatsuccess for thevendorsandcustomersalike.
At 6pm each day we could all finish ourshootingandallthatwasleftfortheR.O’stodowasclearuptheranges,butthedaywasstillfarfromoverforonegroupofdedicatedpeople. Charles Murton and the rest ofhisstatscreware thepeople thatareveryrarelyseenorheardfrombutwhose job isprobably the most stressful and arguablythe most important one (other than safetyofcourse)duringthePhoenixandagainwemustofferthemaverybigthankyoufortheexcellentjobthattheydoforus.Whenweallgettogoforashowerandstarttorelaxfortheeveningthestatscrewhavegotatleastanother3or4hoursworthofworklefttoget
through before they can start windingdown for the day. It takes up to half adozen people to hopefully decipherandtheninputallofthescoresintothedatabaseeverythedayinorderforourscores to appear updated regularlyon the results board. At the end ofshooting on the Sunday afternoon, allof this information has then got to bechecked and then re-checked againbefore it is compiled into a set of finalresultsthatareusedfortheprizegiving,which this year was held at the BisleyShooting Club. Presenting the prizesthis year wasMr Ian Robertson, a TRshooter of considerable marksmanshipskills who just also happens to be the
Chairmanof theNRA’sShootingCommitteeand itwasniceforoncetofinallyputanametothefaceasitwere.Theformatwaschangedslightlythisyeartotryandreducetheamountoftimethattheprizegivingactually took tocomplete,andafter thefirstdozen or so events were called out without thewinneractuallybeingpresenttoreceivetheiraward,thingsfinallystartedtogosmoothlyanditwasniceto see a lot of new faces going up to the front toreceivetheirprizes.AchokingmomentformewastoreceivetheRobertOwsiankaMemorialtrophyfromhiswife for theTimed&Precision2 rimfirematch.“Bob”sadlypassedawayattheendoflastyearandmany of uswho had the privilege of knowing himandcallinghimafriendwillcertainlymisshimonthe
range.Congratulations to the64 shooters who earnedGrandMastermedalsthisyear, and the results forthe three main PhoenixGallery Rifle trophies areasfollows:
The Sue MansbridgeRoseBowl
The wind certainly made the Bianchi harder than usual
LBR’s & LBP’s are definately becoming a lot more popular
R.O Jim Smith enjoys pointing out a miss to one of his rival team mates
92 Target Shooter
Rude Fat DogRFD 621 Devon & Cornwall
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Introducing the Target-Hunter barrel from KID. This high accuracy .920”solid Stainless Steel ‘Bull’ barrel is available in 12.5”, 14” and 16”versions. The barrel is threaded ½”x 28 and is supplied with a stainlesssteel thread protector. We can supply moderators to suit.
(Aggregateof1500GRSB&GRCF)1stJohnRobinson2990pts227x’s2ndGwynRoberts2976pts236x’s3rdDavidHackett2974pts205x’s
TheBianchiAggregateTrophy(AggregateofBianchiGRSB&GRCF)1stGwynRoberts3810pts319x’s2ndDaveEmery3724pts259x’s3rdMelBeard3702pts273x’s
ThePhoenixGalleryRifleChampion(Aggregateof1500GRSB&GRCFandBianchiGRSB&GRCF)1stGwynRoberts6786pts555x’s2ndMelBeard6593pts420x’s3rdNeilHornsby6250410x’s
I’msurethateveryonewhowasinvolvedwouldallagreethatthisyear’sPhoenixmeetingwasahugesuccessandour thanksagainshouldgotoBrianThomasand hisNSCstaff, theNRA,and the rest of the organizers, range officersand competitors from within the Gallery Riflecommunity formaking thePhoenix thespecialeventthatitis.ItisalsoimportantthatwethankMidway UK and the many other sponsors of
thisyear’smeetingfortheirgenerosityinsupportingoursport,andIurgeeveryonetosupportthemalsowheneveryoufinditpossibleinthefutureasweallneedeachother.AlistofoursponsorsisavailableontheNRAwebsitealongwiththefullresults.Resultsandphotosof theeventarealsoavailableonthegalleryrifle.comwebsite.Finally,don’t forgetthattheGRNationalChampionshipswillbeheldatBisleyat theendofAugustand it isopentoeveryclassificationofshooter,somakesurethatyouarethere!
Ian Robertson presents Mel Beard with his Speed Steels trophy
Target Shooter 93
Firstly,alittlehistoricalbackground-withapologiesto those among you who all ready knowmuch ofwhatisabouttobeexplainedinrelationtolegislativechanges. The Mayfair Shooting Centre opened in1981asanindoorshootingrangecateringprimarilyforhandgunnersandislocatedinpartofabuildingcomplex near Sunderland city centre that wasformerly a sweet factory and, appropriately beforethat,amunitionsfactory.
In theveryearlynineties theMayfair becamepartofBlueKnightOrdnanceofSouthShieldsandwasrenamed ‘BlueKnightPistolAcademy’.Acentreofexcellenceinthefieldofpistolandrevolvershootingand modification, it was owned and operated byretiredpoliceofficerRayBranch.Aformermemberoftherecord-breakingNorthumbriaPoliceShootingTeam which set National records in PoliceCompetition that have never been equalled. Agraduate of Smith&WessonAcademy andGlockService Pistol Division, he specialised in building,modifying and tuning competition pistols andrevolversusedbypoliceandcivilianshooters.
A life member of the United Kingdom PracticalShootingAssociationsinceitsformation,heisalsoone of the first of only a small number of Britishmembersofthe‘AmericanPistolInstitute’.Located
in Arizona and regarded by many as the world’smost prestigious firearms training establishment,itwas foundedby the lateCol.JeffCooperUSMCretired, the ‘father of modern pistolcraft’. Hegraduatedas‘Expert’withapistol,thehighestlevelachievable, and was later offered employment bythecolonel.
The Chief Instructor at BKPA during this period,Ray Coull, also a retired local police officer, waspreviouslyaNorthumbriaPoliceFirearmsInstructorand Adviser, Police National Individual ShootingChampion, and naturally, a leading light inNorthumbria Police Shooting Team. He is stillon-handtoofferhisexpertknowledgetomemberswishing to advance their skills and knowledgefurther.
Thevastmajorityofmembersatthattimewereandstillare,civilians.HoweverbothpoliceandmilitarypersonnelattendedBKPAintheirowntimeforextrapractice,tuitionandadvice.Theteamhasalsobeenconsultedby theauthorities foradviceonfirearmsandballistics,andsomeoftheirpremiseswereusedfor training and de-briefing purposes, using theirexpertiseandobservationsforevaluationpurposes.
At the end of the nineties, following the national
Club Feature
TheMayfairShootingCentre
94 Target Shooter
confiscation of handguns by the LabourGovernment, theclub reverted to itsoriginalnameof Mayfair Shooting Centre to emphasise the useof all types of firearms still lawful to use in thiscountry.Undauntedbytheunreasonablerestrictionsandchangesforceduponthem,theclubhasgonefromstrength-to-strengthandisnowthebiggestclubin the North of England, and probably one of thebiggestinthecountry.
Theclubcatersforbothsexesandpeopleofallagesandisproudtocountamongitsmembershippeoplewho have served their country in various conflictspastandpresent.Theoldestmembersare in their80s, and there is an ever-increasing family andjuniormembership.
The Indoorall-weather20meter rangeconsistsof9 lanes with electrically controlled targets and iswheelchair accessible. Members mainly use .22rimfire riflesandpistol-calibre carbines, aswell asmuzzle-loading and long-barrelled pistols but anyfirearmthatfallswithintherangesafetyparameterscanbeused.Ascanbegathered from theabove,most types of firearms and shooting disciplinesarecatered forandwealsohaveasmallpracticalshotgunsection.
We recently began booking military ranges in thearea for use by members and, as a result of thegrowing popularity of this type of shooting in thenortheast,anewsectionhasformedspecificallytocaterforthosewhowishtodolong-rangeshootingwithcentre-firerifles.Many of the members shoot solely for their ownenjoyment,andmeetregularlysocially.Otherstravelalloverthecountryandevenabroadtocompeteinmajorshootingevents.Thereishoweverabsolutelynopressuretocompeteatanyparticular level.Wehavevaryingdegreesofinterestandskilllevelswithalltypesoffirearmsandtheleveltowhichmembersaspire and the goals they set for themselves areentirelyuptotheindividual.
Whynotcomealongandmeetlike-mindedfriendlyindividuals of all backgrounds and walks of lifein a comfortable setting near the city centre. Weare close to all major transport links and routes,including a local Metro station and are openeveningsandweekends.•Formoreinformationonmembershipandgeneralqueries,contact;-TheMayfairShootingCentreon0191-5641966,www.mayfairshootingcentre.co.uk email: - [email protected]
Target Shooter 95
CompetitionsThefinal roundof ourwinter 600 yard series tookplaceonMay30th-whichwasjusttoolatefortheJuneeditionofTargetShooter.Asalways,conditionsweredifficultandagainpenaltiesforshotsofftargetcaughtoutseveralcompetitors–includingme.In Light Gun class, Jack Searle finally made itto the top step with his 243AI Stolle but I couldat least claim small-group award for my 2.64incher in the final Match. In Factory Sporter, PhilGibbon took anotherwinwith the 6.5-284Savageandshotsmallgroupwithhis4.37inchgroup.
Results:LightGun1st JackSearle 243AITGPStolle5.0752nd JackGibb 6.5-284OspreyBarnard6.4063rd VinceBottomley6.5TGPBAT 7.535
SmallgroupVinceBottomley 2.64inches
FactorySporter1st PhilGibbon 6.5-284Savage8.25in.2nd BruceLenton 6.5-284Savage9.5623rd GrahamWatts6.5-284Savage10.187
SmallgroupPhilGibbon 4.375inches
As thatwas the last round,wecannowannounceour UKBRA Championship winners. Five roundswere contested – it should have been six but theJanuaryroundwassnowed-off!
LightGun 1st JackGibb2nd JeanetteWhitney3rd VinceBottomley4th JackSearle5th ChrisHull
Smallestgroupoftheyear: BrianWebb 2.035inches
FactorySporter 1st PhilGibbon 2nd DarrelEvans 3rd BruceLenton 4th MikeMcGuigan 5th IanKellett
Smallestgroupoftheyear: PhilGibbon 2.218inches
Congratulationstothewinnersandthankstoallwhotookpartintheseries.
100/1000yardcompetitions19/20thJuneAlthough our 600 yard shoots have finisheduntil the autumn, our 100/1000 yardchampionship isonlyat thehalfwaystageandour100/1000yardsshootwere,foronce,heldinwarmsunnyconditions.WindshoweverweretypicalDiggleandthisisreflectedinthescoreswitheventhewinner,IanDixon,onlymanagingtoagg.inthe‘threes’.
Entries for the short-range benchrest shoots arecurrentlyaboutathirddownonpreviousyearsandwhetherthisistemporaryremainstobeseen.Unfortunately, a great deal of effort is requiredto stage a 100 yard benchrest shoot, with specialtarget-frames, moving backers, a dedicated targetchanger,plusupwardsofahundred targetswhichneedtobecarefullymeasuredafterwards.Ifentriesdon’timprove,itcouldseeareductioninthenumberof shoots next season. If you have made the notinconsiderable investment in a dedicated 6PPCbenchrest rifle, you need to come and use it,otherwise you could find it’s just an expensivecabinetfiller!
Results:Heavyvarmint1stIanDixon 6PPCWalkerBAT 0.3102inches2ndVinceBottomley6PPCTGPBAT 0.36643rdGrahamFrancis 6PPCWalkerStolle 0.3692
Smallgroup GrahamFrancis 0.148inches
VINCE’S REGULAR COLUMN WHEREBY ACCURACY NUTS CAN KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE ACTIVITIES OF THE UKBRA
96 Target Shooter
FactorySporter1stDarrelEvans 6PPCSako 0.514inches2ndAndyWoolley 6PPCSako 0.73083rdDarrenGrundle 308Sako 0.8476
Smallgroup DarrelEvans 0.270inches
Fortunately, attendances at our long-rangebenchrest shoots are still healthy and shootingat 1000 yards still holds a fascination for manyshooters. We have an enthusiastic FactorySporter following and as always we see someamazinggroups.ThistimeitwasBruceLentonandhis6.5-284SavagewhomanagedtonotonlywinhisclassbutalsoplacethirdintheLightGunClasswithhis10.01inchagg.–anexcellentperformancebutAlanSeagravewasn’ttoofarbehindwithhis6.5x55Sako,agging10.68inches.
In light GunClass, it was a battle between SteveDunn and myself which was very close until thelastmatchwhenSteveshotafive-inchgrouptomynine!Steve’sgroupwasalsosmallgroupoftheday.AnothergroupworthyofnotewasSteveBarret’s8.4inchershotwithhis308F/TRrifle.
Results:LightGun 1stSteveDunn 7mmBooBooBAT 7.906inches2ndVinceBottomley6mmXtremeBAT 9.2173rdBruceLenton 6.5-284Savage 10.01
Smallgroup SteveDunn 5.392inches
FactorySporter1stBruceLenton 6.5-284Savage10.012ndAlanSeagrave 6.5x55Tikka 10.6843rdAndySmall 243Win.Remington 13.453
Smallgroup BruceLenton 8.473inches
Next100/1000yardbenchrestweekendatDiggleon31stJuly/1stAugust.CheckouttheUKBRAwebsiteatwww.ukbra.co.uk forfurtherinformation.
600 yard UKBRA 2010 Champion Jack Gibb with his 7mm Saum
Target Shooter 97
Inassociationwith
ElliottBarkerTargetShooterProfile
For this month’s target shooter profile we aretakingalookatElliottBarker,amemberoftheUKJuniorBenchrestSquadwhoiswellonthewaytobecomingoneoftheUK’sleadingjuniorbenchrestcompetitors.
Elliott started shooting at the age of 9when hegotaspringairrifleforChristmasandthenjoinedKeighley Rifle Club with his father. It wasn’tlong before the springer was exchanged for apre-charged rifleandElliottbegancompeting, tobeginwithatclublevelbeforemovingontobenchrestshootingintheYorkshireleagues,initiallywithanairriflebutthenwithrimfire,andhenowshootsinthehigherdivisionsonanevenfootingwithalltheadults.Nomeanfeatfora13yearold.Infactheisincurrentlyinfirstplaceindivisiononeofthe
Leeds25yardbenchrestleagueanddivision3oftheYorkshire50m,bothofwhichareshotat2mmbullsfromtheshoulderwithoutrearsandbags.
Over the winter2009/10 season his bigachievement was coming 3rd overall in theUnrestricted 25 yard rimfire championship (and1stasa junior)withaperfect1250and84,only2 x’s behind2ndplace.Elliott’s scores so far inthesummerseasonhavebeenexcellentandheisarealhopeforjuniormedalsinalleventsattheEuropeanChampionshipsnextmonth.
“I’mreally looking forward togoing to theCzechRepublic, I’m a bit nervous but I’m sure I’llsettle down when I get there. It will be a greatexperience to shoot alongside some of the topguysintheworld.”
For equipment Elliott uses a Feinwerkbau P70
98 Target Shooter
air rifle and a Feinwerkbau 2700 .22 freerifle. “MyDad and I are working on the finalrefinementstogeteverythingjustrightbeforewego.We’vegotabarreltunerforthe2700andhavespentalotoftimeadjustingitandthetorquesettingstotightenourgroupsanditseemstoberunningprettywellnow.”
When not shooting Elliott’s other passion isrugby which he plays for his school and thelocalsideinKeighley,butnowintheoffseasonthereisplentyoftimeforpracticeandgettingaheadwithallhiscompetitionsbeforegoingtotheEuros.
Forthefuturehehopestoprogresswithbenchresting but alsomove towards prone rifle aswell.Likemostjuniors,theriflesaretooheavyforunder13’s,butnowheisgettingbigenoughElliott has started prone shooting and if hecantransferthebreathing,triggercontrolandconcentrationfrombenchrestingthenhecouldbeafuturehopeforOlympicgloryinyearstocome.
Top and below - Hi hopes for Elliot at the forthcoming European and UK national championship. Another of our junior shooters representing their country
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Following the short-range League openerat Diggle in April and a trek north to BlairAtholl in May for round 2, it was back toDiggle in June for Round 3 of the GB F ClassAssociation League Shoot but this time for ourmorenormallong-range–800to1000yards.
Diggle is famous for its inclement weatherbut thankfully, the last few League shootshave been blessed with extraordinarily goodconditions and this weekend was no exceptionand warm sun and a light breeze greetedcompetitorsontheSaturdaymorning.
The F/TR shooters on the first relay got thebest conditions with very little wind and sureenough, our 2009 World Championship Teammembers, Russ Simmonds, Stuart Anselm andPaul Dobson lead the way with solid 72 ex.75scores with Liam Fenlon, Adam Bagnall andIan Dixon just one point adrift. The conditionsalso held for the Open Class guys and I wasnotsurprisedtoseea ‘clean’withGrantTaylor -last year’s League winner - putting in amagnificent 75.5v. PeterWilson stayed in touchwitha73butDesParr(72)andGaryCostello(71)wereonlyabletomatchthescorespostedbythebestoftheF/TRguys.
Thishasbecomesomethingofanemergingtrendasdevelopmentofthe308cartridgebytheF/TRshooters continues and certainly at 800 yardsit is proving tobea viable ‘accuracy’ cartridge -especiallywhenused inariflebuilt tobenchreststandards. Bi-pods have also contributed tothis trend with some impressive contraptionsbeginning to appear but even so, the humbleHarris can still hold its own and its light weightallowsmaybeabetterscopeorheavierbarreltobeused.
Following lunch, it was back to 1000 yards.The sun was still shining but the wind hadpicked up and, as we in butts watched theantics of many of the Open shooters exploringevery ring of the target, we rightly began toworry! No one broke 70 – which is unusualand the best scores came from Simon Rogersand Grant Taylor, both on 68. Amazingly,their scores were matched by F/TR WorldChampion Russ Simmonds and the scores ofStuart Anselm and Adam Bagnall would havetakenthirdandfourthplacesinOpenClass!But,don’tgettheideathatconditionshadeased-up–onlysixotherF/TRshootersbroke60–it’sjustthatwecurrentlyhavesomeverygoodF/TRshootersandtosomeextent,thisisthebuzzofshootingintheGBFCALeague–youaremeasuringyourselfnotonlyagainst thebest in thecountrybutalsotheWorld! It’sfinebeing ‘kingof thehill’ inyourownlittleclubshootsbutthisisthearenawhereyougettoshootagainsttheverybest.ALeaguewin–orevenaStagewin–isarealachievement.
Attheendofdayone,thetoptenscoreslookedlikethis:
GrantTaylor Open 143.7vRussellSimmonds F/TR 140.10 (LookatthatVbullcount!)StuartAnselm F/TR 139.7AdamBagnall F/TR 138.4DesParr Open 137.8SimonRogers Open 137.4LiamFenlon F/TR 136.8GaryCostello Open 136.5HughIngliss Open 135.7PeterWilson Open 134.7
We normally list the Open and FTR shootersseparately but surely the F/TR guysdeserve full recognition for their extraordinary
The Long View News from the GB F-Class Association by Les Holgate
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performance.
Sunday morning could best be describedas ‘damp’ – not raining but the ground waswet and the sun had hidden behind someominously dark clouds but, as the OpenClass shooters took to the firing-point, a fewblue patches began to appear. The wind wasstrongerthanthepreviousdaybutsteady.
Today,the800yardstagewasa2&10shootandGaryCostello,DesParrandHughInglisscameoffthepointwithclean‘fifties’.Overnight leader GrantTaylor dropped one buthecouldaffordthatwithaleadofsixpoints.Noneof the F/TR shooters posted a ‘clean’ but LesDawson, Ian Dixon andAdam Bagnall droppedjustone.OvernightF/TRleaderRussSimmondsdropped two and that meant that AdamBagnall was now within one point with just the1000 yard stage left. Second overnight StuartAnselm dropped six, so effectively ruled himselfoutofcontention.
Itdidfeelquitewindyat1000yardsanditwouldbe so easy to drop pointswith a 308when the‘two’ ring isonlyoneMOAaway from thebull –that takessomewind-readingskilland inevitablybigpointswouldbedroppedintoday’sconditions.
Grant Taylor continued his domination of theevent with a fantastic 74.8v – just one shotescaping from that ten-inch bull and afull four points ahead of any his rivals butperhapsevenmoreremarkable,RussSimmondsshot an amazing 69.3v which was the fourthbest overall score inOpen class! That well andtruly sealed the win for Russell by a healthy
four points from Liam Fenlon, with AdamBagnallafurthertwopointsadriftinthird.Russell’s V bull count of 20 was way ahead ofanyone else and only beaten by Open classwinnerGrantTayloron22Vbulls.Remember,thatVbullisjustfive-inchesindiameterandRussellisusinga308shotfromabi-pod!
Finalresults: CLASSSCORE1 GrantTaylor O 266.222 RussellSimmonds F/TR 257.203 GaryCostello O 256.164 DesParr O 256.165 HughIngliss O 253.156 DavidKent O 253.157 LiamFenlon F/TR 253.138 SimonRogers O 252.129 AdamBagnall F/TR 251.0710 MarkDaish O 249.07
Finally,asalways,thanksmustgotoDiggleClubmembersforputtingonagreatshoot.Nextmonth,3/4thJuly, theLeaguemakes itsfirstvisitof theyeartoBisleythen,inAugustit’sbacktoBlair.Fulldetails on the GBFCA website atwww.f-class.org.uk
The remarkable Russell Simmonds with his 308 F/TR rifle
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QUIGLEY SHOOTING ASSOCIATION, END OFTRAILSHOOTJune5th2010.
In theearly daysof theAmericanmidwest at theendofthetrappingseason,itwascustomaryforthetrappers togatherwhere the riverboatwas to landin order tomeet the traders and deal for the bestpricesfortheirhidesandpelts.Whilstwaitingforthetrading to begin, some sort of entertainment was
needed to keep things sociable, especially oncethe liquor tents arrived. It was natural for thesehunters and mountain men to want to show theirprowesswithtalltalesandexamplesoftheirskillsandmarksmanship.Friendly (and sometimes not so friendly)competitionswouldbeorganised,usuallywithsomeitems of kit or provisions as prizes.(And perhaps
AregularcolumnwherebyKenHallkeepsusuptodatewithblackpowdercartridgerifleshootingintheUK.
Ken Hall with his 38-55 Hi Wall
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theoddwifeortwoforthemoreserious).Axeandknifethrowing,offhandshootingwithmuzzleloadingflint and caplock rifles and pistols, as well as theoccasional wrestling contest would keep the menoccupied as they awaited the riverboat’s whistle.Thesemeetings or ‘Rendezvous’ as they becameknown, gradually attracted many famous huntersand trappers and were eagerly awaited bycompetitorandopportunistalike.
Withtheexpansionwestcamethedaysofthecattletrailsasenormousherdsof longhornsweredriveneastwardtofeedtheever-growingpopulation.Attheendofthesecattledrives, themenwouldcontinuethe‘Rendezvous’traditionandorganise‘EndofTrail’events,alongthesamelinesastheirpredecessors.
TheQuigleyShootingAssociationorganisesits’own
annualEndofTrailevents in thequaintoldprairie townofDiggle,nestled in the Pennine foothills,andonafineand fairlywindlessday in June, held an eventconsisting of competitions formuzzle loading revolver, blackpowdercartridgerifleandmuzzleloadingrifleormusket.
Event1,formuzzleloadingpistol,consisted of 12 shots at astandard pistol target from 25yards, followed by 12 shots ata small figure silhouette from50yards. This was won by KenHall using a Euroarms .44 calRemington1858,withascoreof141.Runner-upwasKen Jones,usinghisRugerOldArmy in .44cal,with136.
Event2wasformuzzle loadingrifleandconsistedof five shots at amodified turkey target at 50yds.KenJonestookthisonewithhisLymanTryonRiflein.50cal.
Event3,also formuzzle loading rifle, consistedoffiveshotsata“V”notchtargetat50yds.GregHoskinhitnearestthe“v”towinthisone.
Event4was10shotsatareducedbuffalotargetat50ydswithbreechloadingblackpowderrifles,KenHallwonthiswithhistrustyUbertiHi-Wallin.38-55.
Event5,alsoforbreechloadingblackpowderriflesconsistedof 10 shotsat a reduced silhouetteof amounted Indian; Paul Seymourwon this using his
Cimarron’76in.45-60.
Black powder competitionsalwaysseemtobringoutthebestinshooters,andallwhoattendedhad a really relaxed andlight-heartedday.ThenextEOTisscheduledforOct9th2010.
KenHallforQSA.
L to R Ken Jones Dave Malpas and Greg Hoskin
Paul with his Win’76
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Since2005therehasbeenanannualInternationalGalleryRifleMatchontheBankHolidayMondayfollowingthePhoenixMeeting.TheNRAelectedAshleyDaggerfromFromeandDistrictPistolClubasCaptainoftheGBGalleryRifleTeamfor2010andAshleyselectedtwoteamstoshootthisyear’smatch. The format was two matches runningsidebyside; thePhoenixTrophy (also thisyearcounting as the European Gallery RifleChampionship) and the Phoenix Cup. The fiveman GB teams (red and blue) lined up againstteams form Germany and Ireland who couldfieldasingleteameachthisyearduetodifferentlogisticalproblems–so theirscorescounted forboth competitions. The course of fire was thestandard1500centre-firematchwithaggregatedscore for thebest fourshooterscounting towardthefinalteamscore.The final scores were GB Red Team (PhoenixTrophy) 5959 (426X), Ireland 5959 (408X), GBBlue Team (Phoenix Cup) 5949 (412X) andGermany 5920 (333X). The winners of thePhoenix Trophy (by the narrowest of margins –just18X)andEuropeanChampionsfor2010areGB.InthePhoenixCupIreland,withsomeveryconsistent team performances roundly beat GBintosecondplace.The problems that prevented Ireland (firearmslicensing—yes they have problems too!) andGermany (elections in their shooting governing
body, the BDMP) from entering two teams willhopefully be resolved and there is also theexpectationthatSouthAfricawillsendateamtonextyearsPhoenixMeeting.More International action for the GB Team inIreland 10th/11th July and in Germany inNovember – I will keep you abreast ofdevelopments.Coming up next is the ImperialMeetingGalleryRifle Match, which runs from Wednesday 14thto Sunday 18th July. Squadded matches onSaturday and Sunday and unsquadded“unlimited”entrymatchesthroughoutthemeeting.Entryfeesaremodest(aslittleas£3foraTimedand Precision One – still known as the PoliceMatch at the Imperial). Entry on the range atMelville on production of your FAC and rangesafety card and if you are not anNRAMember(whichwewouldencourage)youwillneedtogettemporary “MeetingMembership” for£5perdayor£20forthewholemeeting.OnSaturday 24th andSunday 25th July Fromehost their popular 3-gun practical match at theShieldShootingCentreinDorset.Thisisaverypopularmatchsogetyourentries insoon. Theformat is three stages (shotgun, small-bore andcentre-fire) with 100 plus round count for eachstageofpracticalshooting–thisyear’s“theme”is“extremepursuits”!Saturday 8th andSunday 9thAugust brings the
Stourport 1500 plus shorts,this match has been sadlymissing for the calendar forthe last couple of years butmakes a welcome returnin 2010. A great range atStourport with a very centrallocationandaccessfromanypartofUK.Thisbringsusupto the Gallery Rifle NationalChampionships over theAugust Bank Holidayweekend – more of whichnext time. As always entryfromavailablefromwww.gal-leryrifle.com
GalleryRifle&PistolNews
104 Target Shooter
Ken Brown Memorial PSG Match 21st/22ndMay2010
TheKenBrownMemorialLevelIIIPSGmatchisbasedatthewoodedrangeofHarlowTownRPC,offtheA414,ashortdrivefromJn7ofthebusyM11inEssex.The match is one of six Level III UKPSAsanctioned, national competitions running in2010andisapurelybirdshotonlyevent,sonobuckshotorsolidslugstagestobeconcernedwith.FiftynineshootersattendedincludingthewelcomereturnoftwomembersoftheSerbianteam:BranislavRaketicandIgorJankovic.
The day was warm anddry, with sunlight streamingthrough the ruffling leavesand adding to the challengeofseeingthegreysteelplatesagainst the dim backdrop oftheshrubbystageconfines.As I have mentioned morethan once in my earlierarticles,theHarlowteamliketo place targets well off thegroundonlongpoles.Theseare fiendishly hard to spot(particularlyinawood!)whenshootingastageagainst theclock,andveryeasytomiss– thus losing you valuable
pointsand incurringpenaltiesbothfor the miss and possibly for thenon-engagementofthetarget...youreallydon’twanttowalkbyatargetandfailtoseeit.
So you can imagine the groansand knowing looks as the matchkickedoffandthefirstsquadrolledtheirkitandammoboxesuptothefirst stage. Stage 1 encapsulatedseveral ingredients designed tomake a competitor work for thefew valuable points available...Imaginesittingonachairwithyourpalmsflatona large table in front
ofyou,spreadsothatyourshotgunisdirectlyinthemiddle.TheshotgunisinOption2startconfiguration – which means you have anempty chamber with a closed bolt, and themagazine loaded with 8 rounds (if shootingStandardManualorAuto)–moreifyoushootModifiedorOpen.Directly ahead of you on the far edge of thetable, no more than five feet away, are fourof the very smallest clay targets (mini clays)tapedtothingardencanessotheyappeartobefloatingaboutshoulderheight.Ateithersideofthetable,maybeeightmetresaway in the woodland gloom are two large
Target Shooter 105
“lollypop” targets (whichas thenamesuggestarejuststeelplatesonaweldedpoleattachedto a pivoted base so they fall overwhenhit).Aheadofyououtat10metresorsoandabout4metresoffthegroundisasingle,normalsized,claytargetonathinpolethusmakingtheclayappeartohoverinthedappledleaves.
“Shooter...AreyouREADY!...”...theROstoodjustbehindyourchairshoutsasyourpalpitatingheartstartstothumpagainstyourchest.Unlessyouobjectat thisstage,hecontinuesholdingthelargeyellowshottimerjustbackfromyourear...“STANDBYYYYYY!”...
BEEEEEEEEEP!...thestartbuzzeronthetimerechoesinyourheadasyourisefromthechairandgrabtheshotgun–liftingittotheshoulderinonesmoothmotion. It’saBenelliM2–andthankfully you remembered to press the shelllatchreleasebuttonafterloadingthemagazinethus allowing a cartridge to click forward andsitonthecarrier.Aswift,slidinghandcatchesthecharginghandle,rackingtheboltbackandfeeding thecartridge into thechamberasyoulean forward to within inches of the first miniclay...andfire–obliteratingthefragileclayinaninstantbeforeshootingtheotherthreeinaswift, smoothcadence.Well, that’s the theory
atleast!
Aquickmovementtostraightenupandtwofastshotstohitthesteelsateithersideofyou,theringoftheshotofftheplatefaceregisteringthehitbeforeyouhaveseenitfall...ifyouwaitforvisualconfirmationitwouldmeanaslowertime– you need to be confident of your accuracysuchthatyoucanfireandforget.Finally,ashotatthesuspendedclaytargetinthemiddleandafeelingofreliefasyouseeitfragmentandfall...
“IF you’ve finished, UNLOAD and SHOWCLEAR”–theRO’svoicesboomsasheleansforward to check as you rack the shotgun toclearanyremainingroundsfromthemagazine.Both of you carefully check the receiver toensureithasnocartridgesleftinthegunbeforethecommand “IFCLEAR,HAMMERDOWN”.This tells you to shoulder the shotgun andpointing at the backstop you pull the trigger.If therewasaroundinthegun, itwouldhavechancetodischarge inasafedirectionat thispoint.
...adryCLICK!Fromtheshotgun...
Thenopentheaction,applythesafety,placemuzzle vertically down and insert the breech
106 Target Shooter
flag.You then relax– thestage isover!...andyouknow before the time is announced (usually)whetheryourtimewasonetobesatisfiedwith.HopefullyastheROshouts“RANGECLEAR–FORWARDANDRESETPLEASE”toallowthescorersandresetterstomovedownrange,youwon’thearacryassomeonepointsoutatargetyoumissed or worse, failed to shoot at.Onemissonaquickstagewithonlyseventargetswill blowyour score for that stage–aswill amalfunctioninggun...orareloadbecauseyoufiredandmissedtargetsandhadtore-shootatthem.Now, a target placed no more than a gunlengthawayisgoingtobeeasytohitright?...ironically,itprovedtobealotmoredifficultthanmany thought.Afterall, theshotpattern threefoot fromthemuzzle isn’treallygoingtohavespreadanawful lot –maybe it’s about 0.8” ifyou’re lucky. Itmightaswellbeaslugat thatrange and that means you have to be prettyspotontohitaclaytargetthat isbarelymorethantwoinchesinsize.
Manypeoplechosetostayseatedtosavethe
time to stand. Othersstood and leanedforward to ensurethat the muzzle wasno more than inchesawayfromthefirstfourmini claysand togivethem a better viewof the other targetsfurtherback.
Igor Jankovic fromSerbia shot all seventargets, includingrackinghisBenelliM2to chamber a roundin 4.63 seconds –a blindingly fastand accuratedemonstration ofshooting skill... butthen he is the 2009European ModifiedDivisionChampion,soperhaps it was to beexpected.
Quite a few stages this time included claytargets – both stationary and moving(usuallyflippedsixfeetintheairbyafallingsteeltarget).These latter typearewhatare knownasdisappearingtargets–andassuchtheyareusuallyshotforbonusscore–withnopenaltyifacompetitorchoosesorfailstoshootatthem.Ninestageslater,andwitharound110roundsfired (not counting top-ups for misses andre-shoots) all the competitors ganged aroundthe awards table for the prizes and medals.Division scores below, but also a number ofothersignificantawardsweremade:
TeamEntrywenttotheBlueTeam(Men).Teamsareoptionalandconsistof four shooterswhodeclarethemselvesbeforethematchandpayasmallfee.Thebestthreescoresineachteamareaggregatedandaspecialprizeisawardedtothetopteam.Teammembersdonothavetophysicallyshootasateam–theycouldbeonseparatedays–it’sjusttheirscoresthatcounttowardsthefinalaggregate.Not surprisingly, the winning team includedMike Darby who shot extremely well , taking1stplaceinStandardAutodivision.Thereare
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plansafoottoweldhisgunshuttogivetherestofusachance–buttherearejustunconfirmedrumours,m’lud!
Senior category winners were: BranislavRaketic (SER) in Modified Division, GrahamHill(theGrumpyPumper”)inStandardManualDivision and Barry Sullivan in StandardAutoDivision.
TopLadywaswonbyUKPSAChairVanessaDuffy, thecurrentEuropeanLadiesChampion
2009.
FinalDivisionWinnerswere:
Modified:1stBranislavRaketic(SER)–100%2ndJamesHarris(GBR)–97.48%3rdNeilSmith(GBR)–96.22%
StandardAuto1stMikeDarby(GBR)–100%2ndIgorJankovic(SER)–98.69%
3rd Barry Sullivan (GBR) –88.16%
StandardManual1st Martin Davies (GBR) –100%2ndIainGuy(GBR)–99.71%3rd Adrian Sell (GBR) –91.38%
108 Target Shooter
HiGuys,
I justwantedtodropyouane-mail toexpressmythanksforasuperbmagazine.Ihavebeena roughandclayshooterover the last30oddyears and having recently retired I fanciedlookingintotargetshootingaswell.Ihavejustattendedandcompletedaverycomprehensiveprobationary course run by theNRA at Bisleywhich was an excellent introduction andgroundinginthesafeuseoffirearms,and I can thoroughly recommend it to anyoneinterestedintakingupthesport,theInstructorsaretopnotchandeverythingisaimedatmakingyouunderstandwhatmakesyouasafeshooter.
Ifoundyouron-linemagazinebychanceontheweb,andadmittohavinggonethroughallyourarchivedissues(whichisagreatidea)andtheinformation contained in those issues I foundextremelyhelpful,asIhaveadodgybackandknees,themaininterestformewillbeBenchrestshooting, as this will be physically the mostcomfortablewaytoshoot.
IamjustwaitingforthePolicetocarryouttheirhomeinspectionandquestionnairetohopefullyissue my FAC and hopefully I will be up andrunning, so to speak. I hope your readershipcontinuestoincreaseandtheadsrollin.
Thanksforagreatmagazine.
Bestregardsfornow
PeterHatton
Our thanks for your contact. We try to make the magazine as diverse as possible, covering a number of shooting sports. With this in mind we would like the readership to grow, develop and also help encourage shooting sports. Let’s face it there are lots of people out there that would like to push shooting sports even further to the background. It’s good to hear there are people are still coming into the sport from a variety of
backgrounds. Our best with your future shooting endeavours.The team at Target Shooter
DearTargetShooter,Ihavejustnowbeenintroducedtoyourezine.Iamnotabenchrestshooterbut,at63yearsandcrippledrightleg,InolongerhuntsoIspendmytimeshooting from thebenchatmy localGunClub.IenjoyallformsofshootingsportsandIparticularlyadmiretheaccuracyofthebenchrestshooters.
There’snothinglikehandloadingforgettingthatflyerresponsibilitywhereitbelongs.
Yourwebsite is superb and, as youBrits say,“wellplayed.”
Bestwishes,JoelWrightComfort,TexasU.S.A.
whenlifedealsyoulemons...takeanap!
It’s good to hear from some of our readers from around the world. This is one of the things that makes’ this magazine unique, in the sense that it was originally intended for the UK market, but is read by people in over 83 countries around the globe. Fascinating to say the least!I am guessing that we all have so much in common and that we want shooting sports to remain alive, develop and prosper. Having competed with lots of people from around the world I would say this is one of the things I enjoy most – meeting them and developing friendships. Good shooting to you and we hope you continue to enjoy the magazine.Carl
ReadersLetters
Target Shooter 109
NewsNextmonth we continue with reviews and bringing you updates on what is happening in thetargetshootingworld.Wearenowtrulyintothesummermonthsandtheheatisblazing-sogoodforadayattherange.Untilnextmonth,goodshooting.
customer.services@targetshooter.co.ukHappyreadingandwehopeyouenjoythemagazine.TheteamatTargetShooter.Ifyouhaveanylettersornewsthatyouwouldliketoaironanationalbasisthenpleasecontactusatthemagazine.Thiscouldbeforthosebuddingwritersouttherethatwouldliketosubmitafullarticleonspecificfirearms,competitions,shootingsports,etc.TheaimofthemagazineistoincludeyoutheshootersintheUnitedKingdomandfurtherafield.Sohavingaregularletterspageorevenaquestionandanswersectionwouldbereallyusefulforalotofpeopleoutthere.Letusknowwhatyouthink!?Wewouldalsoliketohaveagunofthemonthsection-sosendusyourpicandspecandwe’llincludeitin‘gunofthemonth’.Anynewsthatyourcluborassociationthinksisworthviewingcanalsobesentinforselection.Whatwewouldlikeistogetaletterspagestartedwithyourviews,newsandperceptionsaboutallall theaspectsof targetshooting.So letsseethose letterscoming inandwewill readyourthoughtsinthesepages.
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