Target Shooter 1

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Sections

6 ShootingSportNews

12 ShootersCalendar

18 Duracoatprocess by ChrisParkin

23 ShootingBlackPowder PistolbyChrisRisebrook

25 9thWorldMilitary&PoliceSniperChampionship- Part1 by RobHunter

28 2010DiggleFlyShoot byVinceBottomley

51 IronPlateActionShooting the1911byVince Bottomley

57 WebsiteoftheMonth

73 ThisSmallboreBusiness

Association Pages

82 NRA

86 UKBRA

88 UKBR22

91 F-Class

93 Quigley

96 GalleryRifle

100 UKPSA

13 European Benchrest ChampionshipbyBruceLenton 35 Basic Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest technique byCarlBoswell

44 Brocock Aim X PistolsbyTimFinley

69 IPC Shooting World Cup 2010byDonBrooke 77 Getting started in Gallery Rifle - the Ruger 10/22 byGwynRoberts

59 Hanloading Bench byLaurieHolland

WelcometotheNovemberIssue................TargetShooter

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Editor(s).CarlBoswellandVinceBottomleyAdvertising and Office Manageremail;admin@targetshooter.co.ukContributorsVinceBottomley TonySaunders ChrisParkin LaurieHolland ChrisRisebrookCarlBoswellDonBrook AlanWhittle GwynRobertsLesHolgate AndyDubreuil TimFinley

DisclaimerThewebsitewww.targetshooter.co.ukispartofTargetShootermagazinewithallcontentsofbothelectronicmediacopyrighted.Noreproductionispermittedunlesswrittenauthorisationisprovided.Information,pricesanddataisbelievedtobecorrectatthetimeofpostingontheinternetwhichisonoraroundthe1stofeachmonth.AdvertisementsthatarefirearmrelatedarefromcompaniesorindividualsthatTargetShootermagazinebelievesarelicensedtoholdsuchfirearmsandacceptsnoresponsibilityifcompaniesorindividualsarenotsolicensed.LettersandphotographssubmittedbymembersofthepublictoTargetShootermagazinewillbeacceptedonthebasisthatthewriterhasagreedtopublicationunlessotherwisestated.TargetShootermagazinehasnocontroloverthecontentorownershipofphotographssubmitted.Theviewsexpressedinthismagazinearenotnecessarilytheviewsofthepublishersandrelatetospecificcircumstanceswithineacharticle.Thesearetheopinionsandexperiencesofwritersusingspecificequipment,firearms,componentsanddataundercontrolledconditions.Informationcontainedintheonlinemagazineoronthewebsiteisintendedtobeusedasaguideonlyandinspecificcircumstancescautionshouldbeused.TargetShooterMagazinedoesnotexceptanyresponsibilityforindividualsattemptingtorecreatesuchtestingusinganyinformation,dataorothermaterialsinitselectronicpages.PublishersofTargetShootermagazine.

Webitorial - November 2010

If,likeme,youwereexpectingatelevisedfeastofshootingfromtheCommonwealthGamesinIndia,then,likeme,youweredisappointed.ShootingisoneofthemaineventsforIndia,soI’msureitwaswellcoveredTV-wisebut,asusual,theBBCchosenottoshowusmuch.ThiswasagreatpityasUKathletesacquittedthemselvesverywell-ourtotalUKshootingmedalhaulwas40–including13golds.ThetotalgoldmedalhaulforthewholeEnglandTeamwas39,with9ofthesewonbyshooters.ScottishshootersaccountedforalmosthalfoftheirTeam’s26medals,includingfourgolds.Oursmallboreshootersacquittedthemselvesverywellwith14medals–includingfourgolds.ProneRifleshooter,JenMacIntoshofScotlandaccountedfor twoof these(one inapairseventwithKayCopland).Welldoneladies.UKClayshootersaccountedforanotherninemedalsincludingfourgolds.OurEnglandfullboreguysreallyexcelledwithfourteenmedals(againcounting‘pairs’medalsasone)withnolessthanfourgolds–alldowntoParagPatelwhomadeaclean-sweepofthefullboresinglesevents.IwonderifthismakesParagthemostsuccessful2010UKCommonwealthGamesathlete?Aswellasfourgolds,healsohadfourbronzemedals!England pistol shooterMikeGault has achieved this honour in pastGames –with of course littlerecognitionfromtheUKmedia.Thisyear,MickwashopingforasinglegoldmedaltomakehimthemostsuccessfulCommonwealthGamesathleteofalltimebutitwasn’ttobe,withjustabronzeandasilverbutisitanywonder,withtheabominablerestrictionsplacedonourpistolshooters.Elsewhere,wehavelistedtheachievementsofUKshootersinfull,plusalittlebitofcontroversywhichmarredthefullboreevent.

Vince,Carl&Andy

CarlBoswell-carl@targetshooter.co.ukandVinceBottomley-vinceb@targetshooter.co.ukandAndyDubreuil-admin@targetshooter.co.uk Copyright©TrinityDigitalPublishingLtd

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Shooting Sport News

Shooting at the 2010 Commonwealth Games – New Delhi, India brings success for the

UK teams but bad feeling at the Fullbore event

Unfortunately, Target Shooter couldn’t afford tosenda representative to India butweare listingbelow,themedalswonbyUKshooters.Theyhavedone us proud but theywill get little recognitionfromourmedia so the leastTarget Shooter cando is list theirnamesandachievements. Istressthattheseresultsare‘provisional’assomeresultshavebeendifficulttoobtainattimes.Pleasetakethetroubletoreadthroughthislistofnames–ourshootersatleastdeservethat.Fullbore 300 yardsGold–ParagPatel–England

Pairs Fullbore 300 yardsSilver–AngusMcLeod&IanShaw–ScotlandBronze–JonUnderwood&ParagPatel–England

Fullbore 500 yardsGold–ParagPatel–EnglandBronze–DavidCalvert–N.Ireland

Pairs Fullbore 500 yardsSilver–AngusMcLeod&IanShaw-ScotlandBronze–Paragpatel&JonUnderwood–England

Fullbore 600 yardsGoldParagPatel–England

Pairs Fullbore 600 ydsSilver–AngusMcLeod&IanShaw–ScotlandBronze–JonUnderwood&ParagPatel–England

Fullbore 900 yardsGold–ParagPatel–EnglandBronze–DavidCalvert–N.Ireland

Pairs Fullbore 900 yardsSilver–AngusMcLeod&IanShaw–ScotlandBronze–ParagPatel&JonUnderwood–England

Pairs 10m Air Pistol MenSilver–NickBaxter&MickGault–England

10m Air Rifle MenBronze–KennyParr–England

Pairs 10m Air Rifle MenSilver–JamesHuckle&KennyParr–EnglandPairs 25m Pistol WomenGold–JuliaLydell&GorgsGeikie–England

Pairs 25m Pistol MenBronze–MickGault&IqbalUbhi–England

50m Rifle Prone WomenGold–JenMcIntosh–Scotland

50m Rifle Prone MenGold–JonHammond–ScotlandBronze–MatthewHoyle–N.Ireland

Pairs 50m Rifle Prone WomenGold–JenMcIntosh&KayCopland–ScotlandSilver–MichelleSmith&SharonLee–England

50m Rifle 3 Position MenSilver–JonHammond–ScotlandBronze–JamesHuckle–England

Pairs 50m Rifle 3 Position WomenBronze–KayCopland&JenMcIntosh–Scotland

Pairs 50m Rifle 3 Position MenSilver–JamesHuckle&KennyParr–EnglandBronze–JonHammond&NeilStirton–Scotland

Pairs 50m Rifle Prone MenGold-NeilStirton&JonHammond–ScotlandSilver–MikeBabb&RichardWilson–England

Pairs Trap WomenSilver–AbbeyBurton&AnitaNorth–England

Pairs Trap MenBronze–AaronHeading&DaveKirk–England

Singles Trap WomenGold–AnitaNorth–EnglandSilver–ShonaNorth–Scotland

Singles Trap MenGold-AaronHeading–England

Pairs Skeet MenBronze – Richard Brickell & Clive Bramley –England

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Double Trap MenGold–StevenWalton–EnglandBronze–JamesKneale–IOM

Single Skeet MenGold–RichardBrickell–England

Therewaslittleinformationontheshootingeventsin theUKpress but clearly therewas trouble attheFullboreeventandIdidfindoneortwochoicecommentsfromafullborecompetitiorintheleadingIndiannewspaper,theHindustan Times.

Quote:A leading Australian fullbore shooter, here forthe Commonwealth Games, has termed thecompetitionattheKadarpurRangesa‘farce’.AsreportedbyHindustan TimesonOctober14, theevent was marred by angry protests with manyaggrieved shooters holding up the competition,forcing the Chief of the appeal jury and otherofficialstorushtotherangetobringsanity.James Corbett, 51, arguably the best fullboremarksmaninAustraliawithoverthreedecadesofexperience, has written to theHindustan Timessaying:

“We are devastated by the ineptitude of thepromoting body (National Rifle Association ofIndia and Commonwealth Shooting Federation) in providing a clear set of rules. Our reputation and sport was brought into disrepute by a few individuals who had no integrity of the competition. The host nation must take responsibility and therefore I humbly ask the Indian Prime Minister for a written apology to every one of the 42 shooters who participated in the fullbore competition.”

Corbett,whowasaccompaniedbyfellowshooterGeoffGrenfell,saidthatthehardworkputinoverthelastfouryearshadcometonaught.

“We came through an extremely tough elimination series to determine the two best shooters to represent Australia. In April, we travelled to New Delhi for the CSF Championships (a pre-event for the Commonwealth Games) at Kardapur. However, it was apparent from day one that the target system was faulty with some of the earlier 300m shooters having to fire over 20 rounds to have ten counting shots recorded on the monitor.

The contractors for the targets, Suis Ascor, were having great difficulty in ensuring reliability of the system. The software engineer revealed that the operating system was 30 years old. We held a

meeting with CSF Chairman Graeme Hudson and told him there were a lot of deficiencies.

When we arrived at the Games Village on October 1st we were shocked to discover that the contractors had failed to rectify the target system during the six-month rest. A managers’ meeting was called. It was agreed that in the event of unusual, missed or unexplained shots, the shooters would be given another round to fire as a provisional shot. After five days of practice, a few targets were deemed to be terminally malfunctioning.

We commenced the competition with much apprehension. On the fourth day, both Geoff and I were leading in the Pairs match and were placed first and second in the individual match. The fifth day can only be described as hell. At the longest range, the 900 yards competition, targets started to fail and so did tempers and the ability to control order. Geoff’s target malfunctioned so badly that at one stage he was battling to record a hit.”

BothAustralianshooterssawtheirscoresplummetandtheywerenotalone.Almostallteamsborethebrunt.

“Rules were not being applied evenly for allcountriesandwrittenprotestsstartedtocirculate.”Hesaid.

T S Dhillon, sports manager at Kadarpur said“Australians are bad losers. They are crying foul because they finished below the Indians.” Thehosts finished eleventh whilst the Australianscame14thinthePairs.

Heconcededtherewereprotestsbutclaimedtherewasnothing inwriting. “There were 42 shooters, we cannot appease everyone.” He said. (Target Shooter has it on good authority that writtenprotestsweremade).

Endofquote.Clearly, the electronic targets just weren’t upto the job and seemingly little was done by theorganiserstotrytorectifythings.Infact,accordingtocommentsonvariousinternetforums,itsoundsas though they tried to cover up any problemsratherthansolvethem.Nonetheless,itdidn’tseemtoaffectEngland’sParagPatel,whowillhopefullygiveusafullaccountofthingsviatheNRAJournalinduecourse.Unlessofcourseyou’dliketowriteitupforTarget ShooterParag?

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Internet ForumsNodoubtaboutit,internetforumsarenowapartof

allourlivesandveryusefultheyaretoo–asasourceofinformationandagreatwaytomeetorkeepintouchwithlike-mindedshooters.Most are quite specialised, based around a specificshootingdisciplineorevenaparticularweapon.Bestofall,theyarefree,informativeandreadilyaccessibletoall.AnewforumhasjustappearedaimedattheUK-based22rimfirebenchrestshooter.ThemoderatorisyoungJakeHealey,whohasalreadymadehismarkonthe

international competition scene at the tender age offourteen. Check out Jake’s forum at www.north-ernarea22benchrest.webs.com Anotherbrand-newforum,whichambitiouslyseekstocover thewholeof thetarget shootingsceneisTheTarget Range forum started by our very own AndyDubreuil–onethirdofTrinityDigitalPublishing–asifhedidn’thaveenoughtodo!WemuststressthisforumisnotinanywayconnectedtoTargetShootermagazineandthisispurelyAndy’spersonal venture. You can access Andy’s forum atwww.targetrange.webs.com

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John Nosler 1913-2010John Nosler inventor of the famous Nosler

‘Partition’ sporting bullet and founder of theeponymousandverysuccessfulbulletmanufacturingcompanydiedon10thOctoberat the ripeoldageof 97.Mr Nosler was born in California where hegrewuponafarm,becamefamiliarwithmachineryfromanearlyage,andinitiallyputhisconsiderablemechanicalandbusinessacumentogooduseinthegaragetraderisingrapidlyfrombeingadepressionera teenage school-leaver who persuaded a localFord garage to take him on as a virtually unpaidcleaner to being its foreman in a couple of years,then getting his own Ford agency in his earlytwenties.ItwasthisventurethattookhimtoOregonwhereaone-vehiclesidelinetruckingfreshfruitandvegetables fromhis nativeCalifornia turned into asubstantial and highly successful long-distancehaulagebusinessduringWorldWar2.

Asanavidtargetandsportingshooter,hisbusinesssuccess allowed him to indulge these pastimesincluding an annual fortnight long trip to BritishColumbia to shoot moose, an adventurous andexpensiveundertakinginthosedays.Itwasoneofthese trips in1946 thatproduced the incident thatultimately gave the shooting world today’s NoslerInc,bestknownformakingbulletsbutalsosupplyinghigh quality brass and rifles under its name.JohnNoslerhadtreatedhimselftoaWinchesterModel70 in .300H&Hcalibre, thenanexoticbig game cartridge, but found the .30 calibresoft-pointbulletsofthetimewereoverlyfragilefor its velocities, often breaking up instead ofpenetrating – or perversely, over-penetratingand failing to expand. Early and excessiveexpansion was a particular problem with BCmoose which liked to roll around in swampsthen dry out in the sun, already tough hidesacquiringa thick coat of harddried clay.Onesuchbulltookfourshotsbeforeitevenshowedahit,thenseveralmoretofinishthejob.

Noslerwasdepressedinhavingastateoftheartriflewhosebulletsweren’tuptothejobanddecided he’d do something about it himselfrather thansimply complain, ormoveback tothe old low power .30-40Krag cartridge.Theoriginalpartitionbulletwasdevisedonapieceof scrappaper in the truckingcompanyofficeandmanufacturedinitsworkshopbymachiningcavities into sections of copper rod andpouringmolten lead into them in theabsenceofcorecastingandswagingequipment.FredHuntington, founderofanother youngOregonbusiness, RCBS was involved and helpedby supplying expertise, dies, and presses toreducethetimeandeffortinvolvedinproducing

these near handmade bullets and improving theresults. During the 1947 British Columbia moosehunting expedition, one shot became one kill withthePartitionbullet,sameresultsonsmallerOregonspecies. Friends wanted copies, the word gotabout.....ultimately,thehobbybecameabusinessand the truckingoutfitwassold tofinanceabulletmanufacturing operation in the attractive town ofBend.Therestastheysayishistory.Today,NoslerInc.isthatrarebeastinthecorporateworld,alargefirearmsrelatedcompanythatremainsfamilyowned,John’ssonBobNoslernowincharge.

AlthoughMrNosler officially retired in 1988at theageof75whenhesoldthebusinesstohissonanddaughterinlaw,hecontinuedtogointotheofficeonadailybasisuntilshortlybeforehisdeath.Healsocontinued to shoot at both targets and game untilaveryadvancedage.Readersinterestedinhislifestory,shootingandmanufacturingtalescanindulgethemselvesbybuyingacopyofhisbiography:JohnNoslerGoingBallisticbyJohnNoslerastoldtoGary Lewis, published byGary LewisOutdoors in2005andavailablefromAmazon.co.ukorAmazon.com.Wecanconfirmthat this220pagebook isa‘darngoodread’,aswellasbeingatestamenttoatalentedindividualandtheAmerican‘CanDo’spirit.

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Target Shooter 11

Valkyrie Rifles New

Gunsmithing and Custom Rifle Building VentureOur look at SouthYorkshire ShootingSupplies’ operationsin the Septemberissue mentioned thatSYSS’gunsmithDave‘Baldie’Wylde was intheprocess of goingindependent as a fulltime gunsmith andcustom rifle builder.This has now

happened with the creation of his own operation,Valkyrie Rifles which remains situated alongsideSYSS at Everill Gate Farm, on the edge of thevillageofBroomhillinSouthYorkshire.DaveandSYSSproprietorRogerFrancis haven’t formally announcedthenewarrangements at the timeofwriting, but thegiveawaywasDave’snewwebsitehttp://www.valkyri-erifles.netaprofessional lookingandcomprehensiveeffortwhichliststheservicesprovided,contactdetailsetc.A chatwithDave confirmed that yes, he is nowupandrunningasanindependentriflebuilder,buthe

and Roger will delay the official announcement until1st January 2011. Both remain on good terms andcontinue to collaborate on many aspects of theiractivities,onlyDavewillnowtradeindependently.

Valkyrie Rifles provides a full range of gunsmithingservices – rebarrelling, restocking, threadingmuzzles for sound moderators etc as well ascontinuing to undertaking semi-custom ‘tune-up’work on Remingtons for both parties – but willincreasingly see Dave expand his bespoke customrifle building activities, also experiment in newareassuch as semi and full-custom modification of Tikkarifles. He will continue to provide his excellentDuracoatingfinishingworkandotherservices.

We in TargetShooter wish this likeable and reallycompetent new gunsmith well – the demand for topquality services is this line of work still far outstripsthe availability of skilled and experienced peopleofferingsuchservices.And.....anybodywhoshootsafive-shot500yard1.152”groupwitha self-built .338LapuaMagnumrifle(DiggleFlyShoot,August2010),reallydoesdeservetosucceed!Dave will work at his Everill Gate Farm workshopTuesday to Saturday most weeks, but visiting isby appointment only. There is contact and locationinformation on the Valkyrie Rifles website includingan ‘online contact form’. Telephone: 07889 388378;email:dave@valkyrierifles.net

Dave ‘Baldie’ Wyldeproudlydisplayshisrecordbreaking 500yd Fly Shootgroup shot with a .338Lapua Magnum Surgeonriflethathebuilt

Berger Bullets Rationalises Its Product Range

Therehardlyseems tobeaweekgoby thatdoesn’tseeanannouncementfromBergerBulletsthat ithasintroducedyetanothernewbullet, to thepointwhereaparticularweightinagivencalibrehastwoorthreemodels, some available in Moly-coated form. Theresult has become a bulging, some would sayconfusing, product range, especially with manymodels available in both ‘Hunting’ and ‘Match’versions. The inevitable has now happenedwith thecompanyannouncing that a number of oldermodelsthat no longer sell well are to be withdrawn. In thetargetbulletfieldthisinvolvesits50gnand62gn0.224”;62gnand70gn6mm;85gn6.5mm;182mmXBT7mm;and 155gn 0.308” models. There are alternativesavailable in each case, usually newer and moreefficientdesigns,suchasthe155.5gnBTFULLBOREwhichreplacestheoriginalandlowerBC155gnmatchbullet.Acoupleofvarmintbulletshavegonetoo.

What is perhaps equally interesting is a statementby Berger marketing manager Michelle Gallagherannouncing an end to the provision of Moly-coatingonseveralmodels.Shenotes thecompanywatchedthe rise in popularity of this treatment after its initialintroduction, followed by a decline, and now aconsiderable revival. However, while the materialsare cheap, applying them is a time consuming and

thereforeexpensivebusinessforamanufacturer,andmost Moly fanciers now use DIY treatment kits. So,a listofbulletswhichareno longeravailable inMolycoated form has also been published, and althoughMs Gallagher’s statements don’t make this plain, alookat(theyettobeupdated)productslistonBerger’swebsiteappearstoshowacleansweep.So,ifyoulikeyourBergersfactory-Moly’dorwanttostickwithsomeolderandtobewithdrawnuncoatedmodels, itwouldbea good idea to check the link belowand ring thecompany’s UK importers to see if there are any stillin stock. For further information, visit Berger Bullets’Blog(‘TheBergerBulletin’)whichalsocontainsalotofinterestingmaterial onBerger’s products and gettingthebestoutof them, suchas ‘tuning’VLDbullets toyourbarrel:http://02b0516.netsolhost.com/blog1andBerger Bullets’ main website address (http://www.bergerbullets.com).ThesebulletsareimportedintotheUKandalsoretailedbyNormanClarkGunsmithsLtd.,Rugby,andTimHannaminNorthYorkshire.

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CalendarofeventsoverthenextfewmonthsIfyourcluborassociationhaseventsyouwanttopubliciseherethenemailus.

20 Nov Saturday,20November2010To Sunday, 21 November 2010 Fees includeNSRAregistrationcosts,courseattendanceandassessments where necessary. They do notincludemealsandaccommodation.Email:tony.king@gbtsf.co.uk

13 Nov to 14 Nov Range Conducting OfficerCourseTwodaycourse-successfulcandidateswillbequalifiedtoconductlivefiringonMoDorTAVRAranges.ContactMaureenPeach-NRA

5 Nov to 7 Nov EuropeanFClassChampionships (National Shooting Centre(NSC),Bisley)Contact(s):MikMaksimovic

6 Nov Start of Probationary Members Course2010/5(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)This course is primarily a course in safehandling and provides an introduction toTarget Rifle, Gallery Rifle and Black PowderPistol. Each course consists of five separatelessons. Course date to be allocated onceentry conditions are fulfilled.All applications forProbationaryMembershipshouldbemadetotheNRAMembershipSecretary.

20 Nov Day2ofProbationaryMembersCoursethatstartedon6Nov(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)Thiscourseisprimarilyacourseinsafehandlingand provides an introduction to Target Rifle,Gallery Rifle and Black Powder Pistol. Eachcourseconsistsoffiveseparatelessons.Coursedate to be allocated once entry conditionsare fulfilled. All applications for ProbationaryMembership should be made to the NRAMembershipSecretary.HeatherWebb

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...

27 Nov Day3ofProbationaryMembersCoursethatstartedon6Nov(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)Thiscourseisprimarilyacoursein safe handling and provides an introductiontoTargetRifle,GalleryRifle andBlackPowderPistol. All applications for ProbationaryMembershipshouldbemadetotheNRAMembershipSecretary.HeatherWebb

13 Nov NRA Shooting Club Day (NationalShooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) Multi-disciplineNRAShootingClubDay.Alldisciplineswelcome.Open to all fullmembers of theNRA - contactCharlesPerry

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Havingshotbenchrestforjustacoupleofyears,youcanimaginewhenIwasaskedifIfanciedgoingtothe‘Europeans’aspartoftheUKTeam,Iwasthrilled.OfcourseIsaid‘yes’butthiswaswayback inDecemberof lastyearso, for thelast fewmonthsIhadbeentryingtofigureouthowitallworks.It’s now lateAugust sowith bags packed andmorereloadinggearthanIcouldshakeastickat, Dad and I set off for Austria. We knew itwasgoingtobealongslog-anightferryfromNewcastletoAmsterdam,then1200kmthroughHolland, Germany and into Austria. 30 hourslaterwearrivedatalovelyhotelabout30milesfromVienna and about 20minutes drive fromthe range.Thehotelwaskindlybooked forusby fellow benchrest shooter, Jack Searle whounfortunately had to withdraw from the Teamat the lastminute. (Many thanks Jack–a topchoice).WehadMondaytorelaxandseeabitofAustria,thenwemetupwithourotherteammembers,TomMorris (who had also driven) andMartinMiles, (whoelected tofly) foraspotofdinner.Overdinnerwewereintroducedtoseveralotherbenchrest shooters fromall overEurope,whomadeusfeeltrulywelcome.Tuesdaymorning and it was off to the Hollesrange.It’samilitaryrangeandweweregreetedbyasmallarmyofhelperswhoweresettingupthe targets and a large reloading-tent. By thisstage,theheavenshadopenedanditwasjustlikenormalDiggleweather……alotdifferenttothe30degreeheatwehadenjoyedthepastfewdays.

Wesetupourwind-flags,reloadingandcleaninggear and chatted to the masses of othershooters whowere steadily streaming in. Theonethingthatstruckmeasanewcomerwasthefriendlinessofeveryone - theywouldall comeup, shake your hand, introduce themselvesand start having a chat. It was like one largebenchrestfamilycomingtogether.The rain finally abatedandwegot chance forsome informal practice. Someone toldme thewindatHolleswasnotasbadasDiggle!Don’tmakemelaugh-therangehasabankateitherside,withvariousgapsinitandthenabigbaffleabout10yardsinfrontofthefiringpoint.Itwassoon apparent that, although the wind wasn’thowling, it was ‘interesting’ to say the least.Practice over, it was back to the hotel, somefoodandanearlynight -gettingpsyc’dup fortomorrow…….100metersLightVarmint.Wednesday dawns and sun is shining - acomplete opposite to yesterday. The localMayor was in attendance at the openingceremony, alongwith the regional army chief,ohandsomeoneby thenameof IanKelblyofthefamousAmericanKelbly(Stolle)dynasty.HewastobeourRangeMasterforthedurationofthecompetition.Finally, it’s time for Ian Kelbly to say thoseimmortalwords“RelayOnetothebenches!”Weareoff,theChampionshipisunderway.TheUKTeamwasnotshootinguntilRelay4sowehadabitoftimetoseewhatwasgoingon;thiswasreallyusefulandIlearntalot.Italsosteadiedmynervesabit,asIsawallthegroupsappearingonthe‘wailingwall’-somesmall,someaverage

European Benchrest Championships 2010 – Holles, Austria

byBruceLentonThe reloading tent – our home for the next four days

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and some not so small. I am now thinking tomyself’watchtheflags,watchtheflags’.RelayThree ishalfway through theirdetail - Ibettergetmyrifleandammo.

Satatthebench,thefirstthingthatstrikesmeisthemassofwind-flagsinfrontofme,Ihavenever seen somany inmy life and I have tokeeprememberingwhichsetofflagstowatch!My thanks must go to the Deletangs fromMonaco,whose flagsweusedmostly as theywerealsosquaddedtothesamebenches.Theyhadno less than25wind-flagswith them,nottomention all their gear and their dog - aptlynamed‘Benchy’.It was now 30 degrees in the reloading-tentandwithshooting,cleaningandreloadingplustheobligatory trip to the ‘wailingwall’ the timebetweenrelaysflewby.Soonitwaslunchandwhat a joy to have catering on site -Austriansausage,bread,cheese,pastriesyounameit.

The range and organisation was perfect, thespeed at which they managed to change allthetargets,andresetthemoving-backerswas

astonishing.However,theydidhaveadedicatedteamofatleasthalfadozenyoungsoldiers.Itwastheendofdayoneandweweredowntothewailing-wall to collect our targets and seehowwe had done.The one thing that quicklybecameapparentwasthataverysmallmistakecould cost you dearly and you could drop 20placeswithoutevenmakingaseriousdollop.Ifyouwere lucky, thereversecouldhappenandyoucouldgoup20places. At theendofdayone,TeamUKwerehoveringaroundmid-pack.Now it was off for another fineAustrian mealwithournewfoundfriends.Itwasagreatspiritinourweegroup-therewerefolksfromFrance,Monaco, Germany and even Botswana andSiberia!Day2wasidenticaltodayone,glorioussunshineand clear skies. Today was the 100 metersHeavyVarmint.TheUKTeamwereshootingthesameriflesfortheentirecompetitionbutothershadbroughtdedicated‘heavy’riflesfortheHVstage.Thetemperaturewassoonwellintothetwentiesandbymid-morninghadpassed30degreesinthereloading-tent.Thismorning’shottopicwas

The mass of wind-flags! Unfortunately, they weren’t always this benign

The aptly named ‘wailing wall’

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theBelgian shooterwhowasshootingnext toUKTeammemberTonyLenton.Heshotatinygroupof1.37mmintheWarm-upMatch-thatis0.049inchesinrealmoney!Therewasasmalldebateastowhetherornotthiswasanewworldrecord;intheenditwasn’tbuthewasstillaveryhappychappie.

Wehadanothergreatday,plentyofgoodfunonthebenchesandinthereloading-tent.Wesoonestablishedacleaningandreloadingregimeonour somewhat rickety table thatallowedusalltoco-existinperfectharmony.Itisconsiderablyharder to clean, reloadetc. ona small foldingbenchthanyouwouldthink-withoutupsettingMartin’sscalesorTom’spowder-thrower!The glorious sunshine held but thatwindwas

tricky, the baffle and the gaps in the banksprovidedsomereallyinterestingconditions.Thebench-rotationwasalso funaswenever shotfrom the same bench twice, which made thechange-over between relays a rapid exercise.Notetoself-nexttime,takesomekindofcarttomovegearupanddowntheline.It’s often said that you don’t win benchrestmatches, you lose them - by inconsistentshooting. Today was testament to that, theBelgian who shot the magical group in theWarm-up only finished in the twenties. Foronce, Imanaged a very consistent shootwithonly50thou.betweenbestandworstgroups.IwasgoingtobehappynomatterwhereIcamebasedonthisbutattheendofdaytwoTeamUKwerestillmid-pack.

Those three shots are well under a quarter of an inch. This is one accurate rifle!

UK shooters Tom Morris and Bruce Lenton prepare to do battle!

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Nowthetargetsaremovedbackto200meters.Thiswholeprocesstooklessthantwohoursandmygoodness, theywereslick.Weneedsometarget-changersliketheseguys!A fantastic Chinese meal was in store thiseveningforourlittlegroup,Ihavenoideawhatwe ate, maybe I don’t want to know, but myword it was good, thanks to theChinesewifeof Philip Octo, a French shooter. She did themenuselectionandweallatetillwecouldeatnomore.WhenyounextseeTomMorris-askhimaboutthesauce!Fridaydawnedand itwas thestartof the200metre shooting (Heavy Varmint). I had neverpreviously shot my 6PPC at more than 100yardsbutwithabitofhelpfromourcrowdtheytold me howmuch elevation I needed. Stageonesuccessfullypassed!Weallquicklymovedthe Deletang’s wind-flags and reset them. Nolanguagebarrier herewhenyouhaveaircraft-carrierlikehand-signalstoworkwith!At200meters thegroupsnaturallygotbigger.We had vertical stringing, horizontal stringing,diagonal stringing….. it’sawholedifferentballgame!Theweatherforecastwaspredictingrainandwind for todaybutmyshortswerestillonandIdidn’tthinkitwasgoingtocome.AsRelay3wasshootingtheirthirdmatch,thewindstartedtopickupandalmosteveryone’sgroupsstartedtogrow.BythetimetheUKshooterstooktothebenches, the rain was lashing down and thewindwashowling……normalDiggleconditionsatlast–yippee!I was having a reasonable day and Dad said“Just shoot one good group and you will beOK”.SoforMatch4Iholdittogetherandshoot

17mm - that will do when others are getting50mm groups. Match 5 and the rain is nowbouncingdown,theroadresemblesariverandthe skywas jet blackand thewindwas reallyup.TheFinnand the Italianeither sideofmedidnotknowwhattodoandIjustsaidit’slikebeingbackathome! Icouldhardlyseewheremyshotsweregoingasthetargetwassowetbut,asIputthefifthshotin,Isawasmallgroupinthebottomofthemothball…….13mm-Iwilltake that - yes please - especially when thewailing-wallwaslitteredwith70mmplusgroups.Just after the shooting finished guess what?The wind and rain stopped…. typical. Wecoveredupallourgearinthereloadingtentwithtarpaulinstostopdrippingcondensation,giventheamountofwaterintheatmospherebynow.ThetentbecamepackedwhentheraincameastheBelgiansandItalianshadpreviouslyhappilycleanedoutside.ItwastheendofdaythreeandTeamUKwerestilllanguishingmid-field.Another good night out followed but, by thisstage,Ithinkitwouldbefairtosaythatwewereallgettingalittleweary.Saturdaydawned, themajorityof the rainhadpassedbutitwasnoticeablycooler.Againitwas200meters,but this timeLightVarmint.TodaywasMartinMiles’ day, he shot someamazinggroupsandendedup6thoverallon theday….welldoneMartin.

Therainmainlyheldoffbutthewindwasupanddownallday,whichmadeforsomereallymixedconditions.NoWarm-upmatchtodayaswehadtogetpackedupsharpishsothatwewouldbeintimefortheprize-givingdinner.TonyLenton

Sixth place but no smile from Martin Miles!

Target Shooter 17

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 sales@portsmouthguncentre.comWebsite 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.

had some good groups today - due to workcommitmentsTonyhadonlymanagedtoshootbenchresttwicethisyearbeforetheEuropeansandwasthrown-in‘atthedeepend’sotospeakwhen, forvarious reasons,othershootershadto cancel but by the end of the event hewasreallygettingintotheswingofit.Soitwasbacktoourhotelstofreshen-upanddonourteamshirts.Wehadawonderfuldinnerwith speeches and a plentiful Austrian buffet,it was like anOlympic awards ceremony withnational anthems played for all the variouswinnersandmedalspresented.Afinalchancetounwindandchataboutthefourwonderfuldaysthat had just flownby.Wemaynot havewonanyprizesforshooting,butIthinkwedefinitelyhad thebest teamkit -many thanks toMartinMilesfororganisingthis.The ‘Europeans’ is essentially a Team eventand each country is allowed to send just onefour-man team. For the record, theUKTeamdidn’twinanymedalsthisyear–ItalywontheGold,GermanySilverandFrance theBronze.However, there is an individual EuropeanChampionandfor2010itisJean-LouisEspinetofFrance.

Imustatthispointthankeveryonewhohelpedto make this event such a success. I havecompeted in international events in the pastin other sports but the Austrian BenchrestShootingAssociation put on possibly the bestrun international event I have ever attended,fromtheregistrationprocesstothetarget-crewandprize-giving-allweresuperb.Also,manythankstoIanKelblytheRangeMasterwhoranagreatrangeandwasalwayshappytohelpoutwheneverneededandgiveadvicetoall.Onapersonalnote,IhavemadeahugenumberoffriendsthroughgoingtothiseventandIwilldefinitelyattendsomemoreoverseaseventsinthefuture.Shooterswilldoanythingforyouandwillalwayshelpout.All that was left now was the long drivehome………Interestedinbenchrest?CheckouttheUKBRAwebsiteatwww.ukbra.co.uk

18 Target Shooter

WehaveserialisedChrisParkin’stacticalriflebuild in theAugustandSeptember issuesofTargetShootermagazineand,followingoneortwoqueriesregardingtheDuraCoatprocess,wehaveaskedChris towriteafurtherpiecespecificallyon thissubject. I’ll letChris takeupthestory............Well, thegunwasfinished, thefirstshootingresultswereexcellentbutmoreworkwasstilltobedone.Thestockneededitsfinalsandingandoilingand Ihaddecided Ididn’t like thelookofthestainlessbarrelonabluedaction.Ilookedintosomecoatingsbutasever,adviceandexampleswerecloseathandsoIdecidedtotrytheDuraCoatfinishtoimprovethelooksofthemetalwork.

IhadseenDuraCoatedgunsbeforebutneverpaidtoomuchattentiontothemso,likealotofthingsinlife,Idecidedto‘dipmytoeinthewater’andseeformyself.Ispokeaboutthisfromthestartoftheriflebuildbut,astimewastightandthe gun ideally needed to be bedded into thestockbeforethecoatingwasapplied,Irealised

thatitwastoomuchtodobeforetheDiggleEggShootsoIshotthegun100%functionalbutugly.After the competition, I took the gun back toValkyrieRifles(www.valkyrierifles.net)inSouthYorkshiretohavethecoatingdonebyproprietorDaveWylde.Dave’sworkisfirstclassandheisrapidlybecomingthe‘industrystandard’fortheDuraCoatprocessintheUK.Hewasmorethanhappytoletmehangaroundforthemorningtoallowme to get a better understanding of theprocess and photograph the various stagesinvolved. DuraCoat is available in over 140colours,solikeHenryFord,Ichoseblack-flatmatt-black.

Ofcourseglossfinishesarealsoavailableandlikemanycolourcoatings,aninfinitenumberofcolourblendscanbeachieved if thecustomerwishes. DuraCoat themselves produce andsupplyamultitudeof‘peel-and-coat’camouflagestencils from which everything from DPM todigital camouflage can be created but Davehas had his own masking patterns cut to hisown design.These are thinner than the usualcommercially available stencils and this helps

The DuraCoat© process - by Chris ParkinThe gun is completely stripped and masked where necessary prior to sand-blasting

Target Shooter 19

prevent a build-up of paint which can give a‘stepped’finishbetween thecamo.colours. Ifyouwish,youtrulycancreateyourownworkofartbutobviouslyitalladdstotheprice.The coating processThegun isdismantled fully into itscomponentparts and everything to be coated is thende-greased and lightly sand-blasted. Thesand-blasting ensures an even surface finishandofcoursehelpstogiveagood‘mechanicalkey’ for the paint to adhere to. The barrel,recoil-lugandactionarethende-greasedagainand re-assembled - ensuring all the witnessmarks exactly re-align prior to coating. I wasalsohaving thebolt, its shroudalongwith the20MOAWeaver scope rail and bottommetalcoatedforafullyhomogenousfinish.

In a similarway to normal painting, areas aremasked off to avoid over-spray both duringsand-blasting and the painting process itself.Dave’sattention todetailwas impressive, littlethings like protecting the proof marks prior tosand-blasting toavoid themgettingdulledandpolishinguptheboltheadandnon-loadbearingsections of the lugs. Of course critical areas

likethechamberaresealed,thetenonthreadsmaskedandthecrownprotected.

Like any good painting or coating process, allthework is in the preparation and this part ofthe job takes several hours to ensure a goodend-product, with both aesthetic finish andadhesionbeingofequalimportance.DuraCoatisnot justaprettypaint job, it isalsoametalprotector and I was getting the latest ‘SL’versionwhichcontainsTeflonfor‘selflubrication’purposes. I have to say whilst watching theprocess, looking at previously finished itemsandtalkingtoDave,Irealisedallthesefactors,whichIhadneverappreciatedbefore,addeduptothefactthecoatingwasfarmorethanjustavisualimprovement!TheDuraCoat is appliedwith anairbrushandismixedwithahardener- theamountvaryingdepending on ambient air temperatures andequipmentusedforspraying.Severalcoatsareapplieddependingontheexactguncomponent,its location and of course, if you want amulti-coloured finish such as a camouflagepattern, several colours as well. The finish ataminimumis literallymicronsthickbutcanbe

Sand-blasting the components

20 Target Shooter

builtupinareassubjecttoheavywear-suchasthebolthandle-toaidlongtermdurability.Being100%non-artisticandterribleatpaintingof any type, I foolishly asked Dave how longit had taken him to master the airbrushingtechniquesandtheassociatedequipmentused.Heverydrylysaid the last20yearsofcustompaintingmotorbikeshadgivenhimalegup.When the painting was finished, I set offhomeandagreedtocomebacktopickupthegun later when it had cured and the bolt andbottom-metal fully reassembled. The followingmorningIreceivedatextsayingitwasalldoneandbeingtheimpatientbuggerIam,Iwenttofetchitandwasdelightedwiththeresults.Thegunlookedaperfectlyuniformsatinblackfromcarefullymaskedcrowntobolt-shroudwiththeWeaverrailandbottom-metalallsuitablysombretomatch.Icouldn’twaittogetitinthestock.

AlthoughtheDuraCoatbecomestouch-dryin20minutesandcanbehandledwithinanhour,thehardnessanddurabilityofthecoatingtakes4-6weekstofullydevelop.Afterthepaintisair-dryhowever,Davebakesthepartstospeedupthehardening process in a controlled-temperature

oven.DuraCoat themselves like to compare it witha fine wine - it improves with age! It boastsflexibility - to promote toughness as muchas hardness - helping to avoid the chippingassociated with some competitor’s ultra-hardyetcorrespondinglybrittlefinishes.Aftertwomonthsofuseandthreeorfourtripsinandoutofthestock,Icanreportnomarkingwhatsoever.Tobe fair, Ionlygave itfivedaysbefore I re-assembled the gun and shot it.Davedidtellmealittletrickthough,somethingthat would not have been noticed until it istoo late……………. when a Remington 700ejects thebrass it tends tospin thefiredcasebackwardsandthecasehitstherearrighthandreceiver bridge in the same spot every time.Ithappensso fastyoucanhardlysee it.Overthe course of a few thousand rounds this willmark theDuraCoat.Thecure -a tinypieceofmatchingprotectivetapeappliedtothespotandheypresto,nomarking.To complete the job, I spent several morehourssanding,buffingandTru-oiling thestockover the course of those five days and got itlooking superb. When re-assembled with the

The bottom-metal freshly sandblasted and degreased ready for coating. Good preparation work is essential

Target Shooter 21

DuraCoated barrelled action, it was finallyfinished and I was very pleased with the endresult.Thetrustyold308actionhadcomebacktolife.Thanksto:ValkyrieRifles:www.valkyrierifles.net

AndformoreinformationonDuraCoat: www.duracoat-firearm-finishes.com

The DuraCoat process starts – note masked bolt-head

The completed rifle

22 Target Shooter

Tel/Fax 01722782432 Email; ags.westlake@virgin.net/ Website; www.westlakeengineering.com

The Taurus ML Revolver is converted from a Taurus .357 Magnum Long Barrelled Revolver. The cylinder is removed and a Yoke extension fitted, this contains the spring loaded plunger that frees the action when the yoke is closed. As this extension cannot be removed, it prevents the re-fitting of the original cylinder. The Barrel is shortened to approximately 5 ¼ inches and the wristbrace is removed. A new cylinder is made which has pockets for shotgun primers at the rear with a small flash hole through into the chamber at the front. The chamber is made to accept .357” lead wadcutter bullets. The conversion of your pistol costs £330.00. Extra Cylinders are £180.00 each. If you do not have a pistol I can order a new pistol from the Importers.

www.thetunnel.co.uk or 01297 560049

Now open and accepting membership applications. Multi discipline ranges with 10m, 25m & 50m Indoor ranges. Air, Rimfire, Centre fire Gallery and black powder welcome. Open six days a week. Pre-booking recommended. Winter competitions to follow. Café and Shop on site.

Target Shooter 23www.thetunnel.co.uk or 01297 560049

Now open and accepting membership applications. Multi discipline ranges with 10m, 25m & 50m Indoor ranges. Air, Rimfire, Centre fire Gallery and black powder welcome. Open six days a week. Pre-booking recommended. Winter competitions to follow. Café and Shop on site.

Apologies for the jump in article numbers lastissue-editorseyes.Nowbacktonormal.........orasgoodasitgets!!

I made two mistakes last week.Thefirstwasgoingtoanauction,and thesecondwasnotkeepingmy hands inmy pockets!At thecheckout, I was informed I hadpurchasedfivepistols,whichjustshows what happens when youdon’tpayattention.Thiswasmyfirst experience of an auction,and it was an experience - anexpensive one! I wanted tocompare it to anArms Fair, andtheobjectwas toobserve ratherthanbid-fatchance!

ComparedtoanArmsFairthechoiceismorelimited,butthepricesshouldbenearertradethan retail. I hadspenthoursporing over the catalogueandmakingcopiusnotes-forall the good that didme. Fora start, viewing is limited, inthat everyone else wants toexamine the lots, and therejust is not the time to giveeachitemthecarefulscrutinyyouwouldlike.Justtoconfusetheissue,thereareanumberof lots not illustrated in thecatalogue, some of whichsound very tempting. In fact,theseitemsarenotillustrated

for a very good reason. Catalogue space islimited, and the auctioneer is obviously onlygoingtoillustratethebestitems.Thisdoesnot

by Chris Risebrook

Shooting the Black Powder PistolPart 10 - John Maslin Cooper

Pic 1

Pic 2

24 Target Shooter

meantherestareallturkeys,buttherearesomehorrors,asIfoundouttomycost!We have all seen the interminable auctionprogrammesonTV,withdealersbiddingwhilsthiding behind pillars, trying to blend into thewallpaper. In fact, this auction was quitecivilized, and once I had broken the ice bymaking the first bid, itwas all too easy to getcarried away. On the first lot of interest, Iresolutely stuck tomy limit, andwaspromptlyoutbid-by£10!Ithenmadethecardinalerrorofbiddingonthenextlot,whichIhadnotinspectedproperly, and of course, got saddled with it;servesmeright.Therestof theauctionvariedbetween bottom-numbing boredom, whileendless uninteresting lots passed by; boxesand bags of books, buttons and bayonets,interspersed with periods of frenetic activity,trying tokeep trackof the interestingbits.Thetroubleisthereisnotimetoconsiderthecurrentbid; an instant decision has to be made, andthat’swhenitcanallgopear-shaped.IwasnotevensureifIhadwonsomebids,suchwasthespeedoftheturnover,sotheresultwasabitofashock.However,whenadealerinfrontofmeat thecheckouthad toenquirewhetherornothehadboughtablunderbus,Ididnotfeelquitesuchanidiot.Convinced I had bought a collection of realdogs,Ideliberatelydidnotlookinthebaguntilthenextday.Actually,itwasnotasdepressingasIthought.Theresultwasfiverevolvers,tworimfiresandthreepercussion.Thepercussionsareall abitofamystery tome,aManhattan,

a Cooper, and a James Harper, of which Ipresently know very little, even less, andabsolutely nothing whatever respectively. So,hopefully,someresearchwillprovidethebasisfor a future article. In the meanwhile, I willdescribe thetworimfires,simplybecausetheyareeasy.Photo 1 shows the two revolvers, which areboth by Forehand &Wadsworth. These camefromthefertilemindofEthanAllen,amakerofcutlery and shoe making tools in GraftonMassachusetts. Although I have seen himdescribed as the same person as the famousEthanAllenof theAmericanRevolution, this isquitewrong.OurAllenwasbornin1808,andhisnamesakediedin1789.ADoctorLamberthaddesignedashotgunwalkingstickandengagedAllen to manufacture it for him. This workpersuaded Allen to get into the gunmakingbusiness for himself, and in 1836 he wentinto business with his brother in law ThomasWheelock and made several thousandunderhammersingleshotpistols,knownastheAllen Pocket Rifle. In 1837Allenwas granteda patent for the first double action pistol inAmerica. Combining this with another patentenabled him to expand his business intomakingthepepperboxrevolversforwhichheisbestknown,andwhich formed thecoreofhisbusinessformanyyears.In1837heformedapartnershipwithanotherbrotherinlaw,CharlesThurber, and the firm, now known asAllen &Thurbermoved to larger premises in NorwichConnecticut in 1842. By 1854, he hadmoved

Pic 3

Target Shooter 25

toanevenlargersite inWorcester,Mass,andWheelockfinallybecameafullpartnerbutdiedin1864,Thurberretiredin1856.With the westward expansion, the Gold Rushand the Civil War, there was a considerablemarketforAllen’sproducts.Allenhaddaughters,butnosons,andonWheelock’sdeathheformeda new partnership with his sons in lawHenryWadsworthandSullivanForehand.Allendiedin1871,aged63.Wadsworth retired in 1890 and the companywas remaned Forehand and Co. Forehanddied in 1890, and the company was sold toHopkins&Allenin1902.In1917thiscompanywastakenoverbyMarlintomakecomponentsfortheBrowningAutomaticRife,andofcourseMarlinisnowownedbyRemington.Phew!That’s the history bit done.Now to therevolvers.Photo2showsthe.41.This isasixshotwitha3”octagonalbarrelandanonflutedcylinder.Ithasaspurorsheathedtrigger,whichtomeneverlooksquiterightonarevolver,butthefirstSmith&Wessons,Marlins,theColtNewLineandalltheSaturdayNightSpecialsallusedthis system, and itwas a standard feature onderringers. It ischamberedfor thesame.41rfshortcartridgeasusedinderringers.Itismarkedwithpatentdatesof1861and1871.Note thatthe locking bolt stops are in the front in thecylinderratherthantherear.Thereisaloadingcut-outontheright,andunloadingisbypulling

out the rod under the barrel and poking outtheempties.Afingernailwouldprobablyworkbetter,butifyouneededtoreloadinahurry,youwereprobablyinthewronggunfightanyway.The second revolver shown in Photo 3 is a.32 six shot with a 2.25” round barrel with aconventionaltriggerguardandadoubleactionmechanism,andismarkedwithpatentdatesof1871and1873.Thistime,theboltstopsareatthe rear of the cylinder.Allendidnot normallynumber his guns, so it is difficult to knowexactlywheneachwasmade,but,tome,the32lookssomuchmoremodern than the41.ThewalnutbirdsheadgripsIfindverypleasing. InPhoto4Ihaveshownthe.32togetherwiththeHarrington&Richardsondescribedinapreviousarticleforcomparison.Botharenickelplatedwithsurprisinglylittlewearfortheirage,buttheH&Rhas retained its shine, whereas the F&W hasgonedull.The F&W is plated overall, whereas the H&Rhasabluedhammer,triggerandtriggerguard.ItisestimatedthatatleasthalfamillionpistolsweremadebyAllenandhisvariouscompanies,all for private sale - he never received agovernmentcontract.Interestingly,hedoesnotseemtohavebeenasuccessfulriflemaker.Now,thenexttimeIgotoanauction,Iwillsticktomychosenlots,andnotbidonanythingelse-andpigsmightfly!

Pic 4

26 Target Shooter

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Target Shooter 27

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WE STOCK HUNTING RIFLES BY COOPER, KIMBER AND PFEIFER AND COMPETITION-WINNING RIFLES FROM KELBLY AND KEPPELER, AND ARE TRADE AGENTS FOR THE

SUPERB BARNARD ACTIONS, AND RECORD-BREAKING TRUE-FLITE AND BARTLEIN BARRELS

WE ALSO STOCK PROFESSIONAL BORESCOPES (from £533) AND A RANGE OF HIGH-POWER SCOPES FOR COMPETITION AT AMAZING PRICES (eg 8-32X50 WITH 30mm TUBES FROM £100) ALONG WITH

STUNNING BINOCULARS AND SPOTTING SCOPES

SEB LAMBANG BENCH RESTS AND ACCESSORIES ARE THE BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE. WE STOCK HIS FULL RANGE AT LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICES, ALONG WITH THE BUDGET

CALDWELL RANGE- BERGER BULLETS TO YOUR DOOR- EXPORT TO EUROPE, NO PROBLEM! SEE WEBSITE FOR FULL SPECIFICATIONS AND CURRENT STOCKLIST

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28 Target Shooter

In2008 Iwas invited to the ‘WorldPoliceandMilitarySniperCompetition’inBudapest,whichinthesniper/tacticalcirclesisbilledasthe‘bestof the best’with teamsattending fromaroundtheworld.

Although I’ve attended many similarcompetitions, the skills required to competeat this levelmeant that itwas something of a‘baptism of fire’ but I had a great time,madesomegood friendsandvowed togoback thefollowing year. Unfortunately, shortly after

arrivingbackintheUK,IlefttotakeupapostinAfghanistan,soin2009ImissedoutbutthisyearImanagedtopullsomestringstogetmyR&RrotationstofallinthelastweekofMay-justintimetocoincidewiththecompetitiondates.

Havingattendedthecompetitionbefore,Iknewthatagoodlevelofpsychicalfitnesswasgoingtohelp,soafterseveralmonthsserioustraininginthe45degreesheatofanAfghansummer,IfeltIwasatleastfitenough.Although it was difficult to co-ordinate things

by By Rob Hunter

Ninth World Police & Military Sniper Championships Budapest Hungary 2010 Part1- I need a rifle!

Target Shooter 29

fromAfghanistan, Imanaged tosort theflight,organisea shootingpartner andorder variouspartsforanunfinishedproject–a6.5x47tacticalrifle-justintimeformyreturntotheUKinearlyMay.

AssoonasIhadrecoveredfromthethree-daytripbacktotheUKcourtesyoftheRAF,Iheadedoff to York Guns to pick up the new Schmidt& Bender in 12-50x56. This is a custom-builtscopewhich isfittedwithanew reticule that Ihad worked on for the last eight months withthe technicians at Schmidt &Bender tomaketheP4 reticulea little finer. I felt that thiswasnecessary in order tomake the really preciseshots thatwouldneededandalso ‘hollowout’theheavyblackside-barsinthereticlesotheybecome‘see-through’sotospeak.Thiswouldassistspottingmovingtargetsenteringthefieldofview.S&Balsomade the turrets to¼MOAclicksandturnanti-clockwiseformoreelevationand the same with the windage to match aLeupold and other US built scopes that I ammostfamiliarwith.

I’veneverownedaSchmidtbefore-duetothefactthetop-endofthemagnificationrangewasonly25powerand,Ialsopreferawiderzoomrange.Yes,the20-40high-endmagnificationis

onlyusableiftheweatherconditionspermitbutitalsodoesawaywiththeneedforaseparatespotting-scope.

Ihavetoadmit,thequalityoftheS&Bproductrange isoutstanding in thefieldofoptics.Thefocus at all magnifications snapped-in quickly-andmore importantlyclearly - intoview.Theturretclicksareverysolidclicks,almost to thepoint of being hard to turn! After mounting iton the rifle, Iusedagridpatternat100yardsto verify that the scope tracked consistently -whichitdid-makingsolidadjustments inbothwindage and elevation. (SeeOct 2009 TargetShooterforfullreview)

Thescopeisquiteheavyat1150grams(2lb.8oz).Thisisabi-productofthe‘milspec.’buildusingaverythickbody-tubebutI’mmorethanhappytocarrysomeextraweightintheknowledgethatitwillnotfailatthefirsthardknockinthefield.This was particularly relevant as, whilst I wasworkingon it, Idropped the rifleand it landedonthereareyepiece!Thisshatteredtheflip-upcoverbut thescopewasotherwiseun-markedandmoreimportantly,functionwasun-affected.

Thefitofthescopetotherifleisjustascriticalasanyotheraspectof theprojectand indeed

30 Target Shooter

skimping on rings would negate thequality of the whole build, so theringsIchooseforthisjobwereanewofferingfromUSOptics,madefromacombination of steel and aluminiumandwithasuper-largebearingsurfaceof¾ inch, ensuring the scopewouldnotbegoinganywhereunderrecoil.

ThesecondcomponentIhadtocollectwasasoundmoderator.Ihaveusedamod.onmostofmyriflesforthelasteightyearsandfinditmucheasiertoshoot with one rather than without.Also,it’sbighelpin‘healthandsafety’departmentwhilstsurroundedbyothershootersontherange.Thereducedmuzzle-fliphelpsyoutosee your round going into the targetandhelpsspeedupthefollow-upshot.Bothof these factorsare relevantonland and in on-range competition.Lastlyandmaybemostimportantly,ithelpswithmyshootingtechnique.Thereductionoffeltrecoil,noiseandrifle-jumpallhelptoovercomethedreaded

Target Shooter 31

‘flinch’.Themoderatorinthephotographsisarelativelynew offering from SYSS (South YorkshireShootingSupplies).They have taken someofthebestideasinmoderatorsandbroughtthemtogetherintooneunittogivethebestallroundperformanceinalloftheaboveareas.Themodfollowsthebestofthepresentdesignsprinciplesandcomesinfourparts:

1 The‘spider’.Thisistheinternalpartof the unit (usually unseen exceptwhen stripped) that screws onto theendofyourrifleandcomesbackoverthebarrel, this isalso knownas the‘secondary’ expansion-chamber. Italso holds the threaded bush thatscrews onto your rifle barrel andprovidesextrastrengthandsupport.

2 The ‘primary’ expansion-chambertube.Thisisatubethatfitsinsidethemoderatorbody-tubeandlocatesthebaffles.Thisalsohelpstostrengthenthe moderator body at a crucialpressure-point.

3 Thestainless-steelbafflestack.Fiveintotalandallidenticalsotheycanberotatedifrequired.

4 The end cap. This comes with athoughtful gadget – a ‘key’ to helpremovetheendcap.

5 Thealuminiumexternaltube-orbody-ofthemoderator.Anothernicetouchherewas toknurl theexteriorof thetubeallowingextragripwithcold,wetorglovedhands.

Finally,movingontotherifleitself,Ihavegottosayafterusingthe6.5x47LapuabuiltbyVinceBottomley for me in 2008, I am completelyhooked on this small, low recoil, flat shootinglittlecartridge.So,witha1 in8.5barrelblankfromBartleinBarrelsUSAandanewSurgeonactionfromSYSS,IsetofftoseegunsmithAndyMassingham.Andy is also a good friend and keen shooterandhehasbeenbuildinghisownriflesaswellas commissioned projects for several yearsand I’ve shot with him many times so I haveseenwhathishandyworkcando.So,Ihadnoreservationsinhandingthebuildprojecttohim.Afewweekslaterthebarrelled-action,completewith a threaded crown and invisible threadprotector,wasreadyforme.Thestockwasalsoa‘no-brainer’.McMillan,inmyopinion,produceprobablythebeststocksbarnoneandareusedworld-widebypolice,militaryandciviliansalike.TheA5TacticalIchoseforthisrifleisamultilayeredfibreglassconstructionwithafoam-filledcorewhichmakessurethereisnovibrationornoisetransmittedthroughthestock.TheproductsusedinthemanufacturingprocessbyMcMillanmean that if somealterationsarerequired for fitting the action to the stock oradjustmentsinthemagazinewell, theycanbedoneeasilywithsomebasictools.Ifittedsome

32 Target Shooter

quick-releaseslingswivelcups,thesearegreatlittlegadgets thatallow thesling toonandoffinsecondsjustbypressingtheplungerontheswivel,(alsoavailablefromMcMillan).The stock comes pre-inleted for the actionand the trigger floorplate so the bottom-metalaftermarket floor-plate (another product fromSYSS) drops straight in. This enables me tousetheAccuracyInternationalfiveandten-shotmagazines.Sowithalltheworkdoneandthepartsassembled,IusedtitaniumDevcontobedtherifleactionandthetriggerfloor-plateintothestock.Oncedone,thisineffectweldsthethreeparts(action,stockandfloorplate)intoonesolid

part,ensuring thatonce the twoaction-screwsaretorquedtothecorrectfoot-pounds,nothingwillmove.

Due to the lack of time, the only thing that Iwasn’tabletodowashavetheriflepaintedbutIwillbepayingavisittoDaveWyldeatSYSStogetthewholeriflefinishedinetheraKryolonoraDuracoatovercoatwhenIgethomenexttimebutfornow,havingbarelyhadtimetoobtainadecentloadandzerotheSchmidt&Bender,it’sofftoBudapestandtheNinthPolice&MilitarySniperWorldCup.Morenextmonth.

Target Shooter 33

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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.

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34 Target Shooter

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Target Shooter 35

Osprey Rifles - Savage & F T/R Specialists

Whether you want a factory rifle or a custom built offering give us a call. Record breaking, competition proved rifles built on Savage actions for less than £2,000. Other actions supplied - the choice is yours!Bartlein, Trueflite, Broughton & Lilja barrels supplied and fitted.Stockists of F T/R Bipods by Sinclair and Fito Force of Spain.

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Iroleanarticlelikethisouteverysooftentohelpremindmyselfmostofall,butalsootherswhoarewillingtoread.Itisparticularlyhardtowritesuchanarticleasshootingtechniqueforrimfireand air rifle benchrest can be quite individual.However the basics remain the sameand thiscanbebroughtdowntoonekeyfactor,whichinessenceisthesameformostformsofshooting;be consistent in all that you do in preparationand while you are shooting – work always intheway you train and shoot.Thenotes below

are ‘gleaned’ froma variety of shooters; somethat have been researched and some whocontributed ideas for this article. Can I thankthem now for their time and effort. If I repeatmyself here, in terms of things I have saidbefore,Iapologisenow.DohaveathinkaboutwhatIamsuggestingagain!

Preparing Equipment & Setting up the Rests • Set up your wind flags – Sometimes incompetitionweonlyhaveaboutfifteenminutes

Basic Rimfire & Air Rifle Benchrest Techniques

By Carl Boswell

Without windflags you may as well throw the bullets down the range

36 Target Shooter

to do this, and set uprifles, so training isparamount here to get itright! Flags will basicallyallowyoutoviewthatstate

of the wind at anymoment you are shooting.Have as many of these as you can use andspreadthemoutatdifferentdistancesbetweenyouandyourtarget,eitherasa‘tunnel’orinthewayyoufeelisbestforyou;thesemustbeatthesameheightasyourrifleandthesamepositioneachtimesoyougetusedtoreadingtheminthesamewayfordifferentconditions.Trainasyouwouldshootinacompetition.• The sand in the front rest should be evenlydistributedinthebag;youcanuseasmallpieceofdoweltoflattenit.Thisshouldtobecheckedeverysooftenasthesandormediumwillmove.Bothfrontandrearbagsshouldbecompactandtight. (Bang it downa few times tomake surethatitisflat;possiblybygentlyslammingontoawoodenbench!)Somebags,oftenthecheaperones,canbecomeconvexshapesatthebase,so forcing the sand to flatten is imperative. Itend touseSEBbagsnowas theyareoneof

the best out there and area very good price. Theyfit all the requirements forbenchrest shooting andcan be obtained via FoxFirearms. • Bag alignment is really,really important!!! The rearbagmust be in line and asstraight as possible withthe front bag at all times. Ioften use a cleaning rod to

Think about your bag and rest - prepare them for the job at hand

Bag alignment for good tracking is vital, seen her with a variety of rests

Target Shooter 37

help me set up alignment,asthisquickenstheprocessand in quite accurate. Bagalignmentwillneedtofollowthe centreline of the riflestock, as the rifle recoilwillfollow the bag setup. Therear bag’s ears should bein alignment with the front rest’s rear leg andpointedat thetarget.Alsomakesurebagsareplaced on the bench in a comfortable positionforyou.Gentlypat the legsof the front rest toensure pointsare firm andstable.

Try to make surethisisasclosetothefrontof thebenchaspossible.

Use the level on the front rest to guideyour setup; the front rest should becompletelylevelonthebench.•The frontbagneeds tobeadjusted tofit the

rifle comfortably. This depends on ifyouhaveabagoranadjustablerest.Whichever you have the front of therifle should sit comfortably and trackeasily.Thefrontbagshouldnotbesotight that the rifle does notmove asit is illegal inmost rulesbutwillalsodisadvantage accuracy. So whilesetting up the rests, you need toensuretheriflewillmoveinastraightlinebackwardsandforwards;sousea very light tension when tighteningthe front bag adjustment screws,

to allow easy indexing or tracking (Themovement backwards and forwards in thesetuprestandbags).Thisagainneedsabitofexperimentationuntilyougetwhatyouwant.•You can use talcum powder, unscented,onleatherbagsorsiliconsprayoncondurabags before placing the rifle in the rests;thisallowsasmootherslidebackandforthandactsasa lubricant.ThesamecanbeachievedusingTeflontapeattachedtothefront and rear of the stock – often calledstocktape,funnilyenough!!!•The riflecannowpresseddown into therearandfrontbags,whichcanbemoulded

A level on your rifle and your rest really helps with setup.

Placing your rifle in the bags is very important for good tracking

38 Target Shooter

or shaped to take the form of the rifle. Thefront of the rifle should protrude abouttwo inches from the front rest; the forendlaying against the stop – this is important forconsistency testingwhile you are shooting, sothe rifle isalways in thesameplace!!The riflebuttshouldbeplacedintherearbagsoitislevelwiththebackoftherearbag,sittingcomfortablyinthewholeoftherearbag.Again,experimentwith these methods until you are happy withyousetup.Remember,‘everythingworksuntilit

doesn’t’!•Trynot toplacetherearbagtooclosetothepistolgripofthestockasthismaycauseverticalgroups; the closer to the butt of the stock thebetter–formeit isattheveryrearoftherifle.Positioning can be experimented and you willfindwhatworksforyou.• The very end of the forend of the stock ispossiblynotagoodplace toput the front rest,asthiscanbeaplaceonthestockthatvibratesthemost. The thing here is knowing your rifle

TointroduceourselveswearetheUnitedKingdomAssociationofRimfireandAirRifleBenchrestShooting.Bythatwemean"TrueBenchrestShooting".TheAssociationisrecognisedbyrimfire

shootersacrossintheUK,withpartnersacrossEuropeandtherestoftheworld,asthepresentativebodythatpromotesrimfireandairriflebenchrestacrossthiscountryandwithotherpartnersinEuropeanand

Worldevents.Visitourwebsitefornewsaboutnationalandinternational

competitionsthatallcan‘haveagoat’.Fromnovicetochampionshooter,everyoneiswelcome

www.benchrest22.org

This mariners wheel has now - not shown - been extended for better access and speedier use.

Target Shooter 39

soyoucan tunethebestplacetoplace the bothbags.• I tendtouseabubble level onthe rifle, as well

astherest,toindicatethattherifleislevelandnearthesameaimingpointwhenindexingorithasbeensubjectedtorecoil.• The stock can now be pushed and pulledthrough the bags testing for fit and indexing.The rear bag can be moved to lineup the target if it is not in position.Index the rifle backwards and forwards untilyouarehappywiththefactthatthesights,andtherefore the rifle, are returning to the sameaimingpoint–takeyourtimewiththisisyoucan!• As the bags and rest are now set up, theyshould not bemoved again. If they do go outofalignmentforanyreason,thentheprocedureabove should be followed; unless the matchhasstarted!Goodtrackingoftherifleiseasytoobserve and the easiest way is to view thecrosshairsinthescopewhichshouldmoveinaverticallineupanddownwhilstindexingtherifleinthebags.Pushandpullwithyourhandsonlyandmakesuretheforendisagainstthestopontheresteachtimeyougotoshoot!• Vertical movement is achieved with themariners wheel and final adjustments withthe rear leg screwor speedscrew; if youhave

one.Myownrestnowhas themarinerswheelextended as this aids quick movement. Thespeedscrewforquickelevationisamust.(Somepeopleusearangeofjoystickrests,liketheSEB,butIhavenevergotonwiththese–buttheyaregoodproducts).Settherearfrontrestlegscrewto a central position and adjust the marinerscrewsotherifleisalignedwiththecenterofthetarget.Thiswillallowyoutohaveagoodrangeofmovementontherearlegscreworspeedscrewup and down for fine adjustments. Rememberafter each shot the rifle is again slid forwardand then backwards to check alignment, afterloadingtherifleisthenpushedagainstthestop.•Onceyouhavemovedthemountain,asitwere,and set all this up; stand behind your benchto confirm for yourself that everything looksalignedandthesetupiscentred.Alsomakesurehandlesaretightonthefrontrest.Ifyouthinkofityoucoulduseamarkerpentomarkplacementstohastenthesettingupprocessandtoensurethat ifanythingdoesmoveyoucanseewheretheoriginalpositionwasandmoveitback.•Tryandattachaleveltotheriflesothatacheckcanbemadeeachtimeyoushootthattherifleisvertical.Anycantwillpushtheshotoutintotheblack.

Sequence of Shooting •Adjusttherearbagtoensureastraightsmoothtrackofthecross-haironthetargetfromtoptobottom.Lookthroughthescopeandadjustthe

The speedscrew is a real must

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frontrestforelevationwiththemarinerswheelorrearlegscrew(speedscrew).Onceoncentreoftargetlockthefrontpost.•Indextherifleintothebagsbyslidingthegunback and forth. If the gun is properly alignedthe cross-hairs will be perpendicular to thetarget (not canted) and the rifle will move

smoothlyfromonerowtoanother.Itshouldnotbenecessary tomake leftor rightadjustmentswiththerear legofthefrontrestfortheguntotrackproperlyifitwassetupfirstonthecenterofthetarget,butifneedsbethiscanbedone.At50mthereissolittlemovementfromsidetoside(approx 6mm each way) on the overall target

Making sure you cross hair is aligned and returns to POA is imperative. Tracking and consistent placement of the rifle will help. Don’t forget to place the rifle against the rest stop

Target Shooter 41

that it should not disrupt the alignment. Ifnecessarytodothisslidethegunbackandforthwhilelookingthroughthescope.Movetherest’srear leg leftor rightuntil youaresatisfiedwiththegunstrackingcorrectlyagain.•Ensureyoualwaysplacetheforendoftherifleagainstthereststop.•Placesightcrosshairson thesighter ten ringand adjust the rear screw or “speed screw”up and down. If the gun is setup properly thecrosshairswillalsotrackinastraightlinewhentherearspeedscrewisused.Ifitdoesn’tminuteleft or right adjustment of the rear legmay benecessary.Thesecondcheckontrackingisthatwhen the rifle ismoved back and forth on thebags, thecrosshairsshould returnverycloselytotheoriginalaimingpoint.•Thebasicsarethattherifleshould,whenshotortracked,“returntothepointofaim”(POA).Itshould also do this in a straight line,with littlejittering. You won’t get completely consistentreturntoPOAwithsandbags,butitwon’tbefaroff,andifthebagsareproperlysetup,itwon’ttakemuchtogetyoubacktotheaimingpoint.• Both tracking and bag/rest alignment should

be checked before firing, but should remaintruewhenfiring.Iftheyaren’thappening,checkthepositionoftherearbag.Whensettinguparearbag,lifttheriflesoitwillcleartheears,andwiggle it slowly left and right. The centeredposition, where you feel the least resistance,shouldberightoverthegrooveintherearbag.Lastly. Are you comfortable, with chair theright height, are youwarmenough, etc; Beingconfidentinyourselfisalsoabouthowyoufeel,sodon’tforgetthisanddon’trushit.

Shooting from the Benchrest •Lotsandlotsofsighters;asyouhavealeastfivesighterblocksonmosttargets.ItooklotsofsightersintherecentEuropeanChampionship,as I needed this to read the conditions.Someshooters spend a large amount of the 30minutes available shooting sighters, watchingconditionsso theycanemulateagoodsighterintoagoodrecordshot.Thisworksformealso!Also think about shooting a sighter every timeyoumovefromonerowtothenext!Thistakesalotofdisciplineandpractice.• Use a smooth trigger action - a deliberate

Lots and lots of sighters on this 50m target. the more the better to get the ultimate score.

42 Target Shooter

squeezing action not pulling. Technique iseverything here, but work out what is best foryouanddoitthesameeachtime.PersonallyIgoforvirtuallynocontactoftherifleapartfromthetrigger–lotsofpracticeneededhere.• Most resources on the web and a lot ofshooterswill tell you toshoot ‘free-recoil’.Thismeans that everything is set up on the bagsand theonly thingyou touchwhenshooting isthe trigger. (Themaindrawback for this isyouneedaverylighttriggerpull).Anothermethodisthelightholdandisusuallydescribedasalittlethumb pressure with the trigger hand, appliedstraightdown.Thiscanbehardtodowithbothconsistent pressure and good trigger control,until practiced. In theory, from those in theknow,youshoot10.5lborUnlimitedfreerecoil.InSporterclassyoucanallowyourshouldertotouch the stock, andwrapyour fingersaroundthepistolgrip.Youjusthavetobeconsistentinwhatyoudotobesuccessful.•Otheralternativesaretoholdtheriflewithyournon trigger hand; at the front or back to add‘weight’.This can causepoor shoots if you letyounontriggerhandsteertherifleinsteadofjustaddingweight.Againa lotofpractice ifyoudothis.• Touch only the trigger with the pad of yourtrigger finger keeping your cheek off the

stock even though it does ‘brush’ it ( addtalcumtoyourrightcheekasaprecautionifyouwantto).Duringsetup,trytomakesurethattheriflewillpointbackatthePOAafterrecoil/trackingforward.Youmaywishtousetherearbagtoadjustaimingpoint,butsomepeople feel that therewas toomuch roomforerror,eventhoughrearbag-squeezingistraditionalandusedbymanyitisalsomuchfasterotherssaynottotouchitatall.•Yoursetup,bags,restandriflewillmove;andthisisexaggeratedbythescopewhensomeone moves or if you are unluckyenough to practice next to someoneshooting blackpowder for instance. Evensmall movements will be noticeable. Atighterfrontbagmayhelp,butgoodtrackingmaybegivenupforthissolution.Ifyouhavetocontactwithyourshoulderandcheekuseonlythelightesttouch,sothatnopressureisexertedontherifle.Anothertipisuseabagofsomesorttosupportyourtriggerhandsotiredness and excessmovement does nottransfer to the rifle. Ignoringallmovementandsoundswhileshootingisvital.

Any minor movements because you arestartled, even by your own muzzle blast, willaffectyourshot.Trynottomoveanypartofyourbodyexcept your trigger fingerwhenfiring.Assomeone said to me recently; lacking a pulsealsohelpsasnomovementistransferredtotherifle. Ifyoucanpull thisoneoffandshootwellthenyouarelucky!• After all this practice....... practice......... andagain practice. Consistency with everythingproducesthoseelusive10X’s…IfIhavemissedanythingout,Iapologise.Againthisismeanttobethebasics,asthingscangeta lotmorecomplicatedwhenyoustart to readwind,mirage,flags, ‘shootingoff’,etc,etc.Notallcanbeexplainedhere,asitwouldbeabook,probably written by better shooters than me.Maybeinthenextyearwemayhavesomethingalongthoselinesasgroupsofpeoplearetalkingaboutwritingoneat themoment.For the timebeing good luck with your shooting and neverendingexperimentation.Thesebasictechniquesdowork,notonlyformebutmanyothershooters.Howeveryoudohavetodecidewhatworksforyou.Ifyouaregettinghighscoresthenstaywiththetechniquethatishelpingyouachievethat.More importantlyyoucanshareitwiththerestofus.

Light hold or free recoil - the choice is yours!!!

Target Shooter 43

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Knowing your conditionsHelps to keep your aim true

Knowing your conditionsHelps to keep your aim true

44 Target Shooter

HavingbeenafanofpistolshootingsinceIshotmyfirstpushinbarrelpistolmany,manyyearsagoIhaveamassedaquite largecollectionof

airpoweredpistolsandevenusedthemtowintheoddFTandHFTpistol events, plusa fewmedalsatBisleywithmyBuckmarkLBPrimfire

BROCOCK AIM X PISTOLS

by Tim FinleyTim as ever seriously putting products throught their paces.

Target Shooter 45

pistol.Brocock are now an established name in theworld of airgun manufacture. They have nowcomeupwithaseriesofprechargedpneumaticair guns based upon a common power plantandbasicdesign.ThisisnothingnewastheoldfirmcalledTitandid it firstback in the1990’s,butBrocockhavedoneittodaywithmuchmorefinesse. Titan then became Falcon which isstilldoingthesamethingtoo.BacktoBrocockandfromastandarddesignofarearendofaprecharged pneumatic airgun action a wholerangeofairriflesandevenpistolscanbemade.Allsharethesametriggerunitandcylinderdia

withthelengthoftheairreservoirbeingalteredtosuiteachapplication,longforriflesandshortforpistols,turningthetriggerbladeupsidedownisthetrickusedtogetoverthedifferingtriggerpositions needed with rifles and pistols. Thebreechblockcanbechangedagaintosuittherifleorpistolapplication.IfirstsawtheprototypeoftheBrocockAimXpistolbackattheIWAshowin Germany three years ago, the productionmodelsarenowmorerefinedandinthistestI’llbelookingatthelongandshortversionsoftheAimX.TheshortversioniscalledtheAtomicandasitnameintimatesat,itisasmallpistolbutmighty

46 Target Shooter

powerful.ItisamongstthesmallestPCPpistolmade.IhaveaTitanMPsixinchbarrelledPCPairpistoland theAtomicabout thesamesize.The long version is called theGrandPrix andisarealhandfulcomparedtotheAtomic,thisisdespitebeingonly100gramsheavierandlessthantwoincheslonger.Both share the same wooden furniture, thestock/grip is held on by one screw in front ofthe triggerguardCHQ.Thepistol grip itself isambidextrousandhassomelasercutcheckeringforasurehold,withanicefleur-de-lyspatternatitsbottomofthepanelCHQ.Thewalnutstockisshapedtoformthetriggerguardtoo,thestockhasniceflowinglinesandiscomfortableontheaim.TheairreservoirisinthenormalplaceforPCP’s i.e. underneath the barrel. The end of

thecompressedaircylinderhasascrewoffcapunderwhichisapushfitquickfillcoupling.Thereisanicedesigntouchfollowedonseveralpartsof theAimX.A spiral grove pattern has beenmachinedaroundthedustcapforthequickfillandthispatternisalsocutintothecockingboltknobandthethreadcapontheendofthebarrel.Movingontothecockingprocedure,thereisasmallpressedsteelleverontherearrighthandside of the breech block. Pushing this downreleasesthecockingbolt,whichisunderspringtension. It flicks back some 29mm to exit thepelletprobe fromthebarrel. Ifneededapelletcanbeloadedatthispointbeforetheweaponisactuallycocked,whichisanicefeatureaslongas you always remember you have loaded apelletwithoutcockingtheaction.Thepistoldoes

Target Shooter 47

not have any other safety features, it can bede-cockedbyholdingbacktheboltandpullingthe trigger.TheAtomiccomesfittedwithopensights,therearofthebreechblockdiffersfromthe Grand Prix as it is machined higher thanthefront11mmdovetailwiththerearadjustableopen sight screwed onto the top of it. On theGrand Prix it has a full 11mm scope dovetailalongthetopof thebreechblockandtherearopensightisclampedontothebacksectionoftherail.TheGrandPrixcanbeboughtwithoutopensightsandIcanseeanypotentialbuyersoftheGrandPrixforpistoleventsinFieldTargetandHunterFieldTargetgoingforthenoneopensightoption.ForthechronographtestsonbothpistolsIfilledthem to190bar, the instructionmanualstates200bar is themaximumfill pressurebut fromexperienceIknowifyoufilltothatmaxfilllevelthefirstdozenorsoshotswillbeatalowerfeetpersecondvalue,withasimpleknockopenvalvesystemonaPCPyouhavetofindtheoptimumfillpressureinordertogetthefirstshotsyougetatthesamerelativespeedastheonestwentyor thirty shots down the charge. Filling to themaximumfillpressurewillonlycausethisdipinthefirstrunofshots.YouhavetoexperimentwitheachindividualPCPtofinditsownfillpressuretodeliverthemostnumberofshotswiththeleastvariation. It’scalledfinding thepowercurveofthecompressedairpoweredairgun.Bothofthegunsontestwere.177calibre,theAtomicgaveme50goodshotswithinfeetpersecondwith

10.5grainBisleyMagnumpellets.Thesewereatthe4andahalffootpoundsmarkDroppingthefillpressuredownto185baronthelongercylindered Grand Prix gave a better powercurvewith20feetpersecondvariationandstillatapokey5.5footpoundsofpower.ThemuchsmallerAtomicgavethesame50shotsbuthalfa footpoundsor sodown inpower comparedtotheGrandPrix.Fora.177calibrepelletfiringpistolitisnotasefficientat.22butthe50shotsfor such a small gun is still very impressive. IhaveaTitanandaDaystatePCPpistolandtheAtomicgivesmemoreshotsonitspowercurvethaneitherofthem.Thetwopistolsontestdiddifferinonebigwaywhenitcametothebarrels,ontheAtomicthebarrel is completely free floating ( meaningit is only held on to the gun by it’s fixing intothebreechblock.TheGrandPrixhasabarrelclamp,whichalsoservesasthefrontpostsightsfor the open sights. The barrel on theAtomicisabiggerdiameter than theGrandPrix.Thismeansthesystemforfittingamuzzlebrakeormoderator is totally different on both pistols.TheGrandPrix hasanexternal 10mm threadmachinedontotheoutsideofthebarrel.Itthenhas a½UNF adaptor which screws onto thebarrel.TheAtomichasa female thread turnedintotheendofthebarrel,thisisa½UNFfemalethreadsoamoderatorwithamale threadcanjustbescrewedstraightintothegun.IfyouhaveamorenormalfemalethreadedmuzzlebrakeormoderatorthenBrocockhavea½UNFfemale

48 Target Shooter

tomaleadaptor,thishasthefamiliarangledslotpatternCNC’daroundit’sdiameter.When it came to range testing I took the twoprechargedpneumaticpistolsouttomyrimfirerange rather thengoingup tomysix yard loftrangefirst.Toshoot twosuchpowerfulpistolsatsixyardsisnorealtestforthem.Iwantedtoshootthembothat10yards,whichistherangeIzeromyFieldTargetandHunterFieldTargetpistols inat.Onwhose twodisciplines targetscangoout to30yards.Withalwaysa few25yardtargetsthrowninoneverycourseoffire.Itested theAtomicfirstwith itsopensights, thefrontredfibreopticsightisprotectedbyahood,youmaythinkthis isamistakeasthepointofafibreopticsightisthatitgatherstheavailablelightandshowsabrightred(dependinguponthecolourofthefibreopticrod)dottotheshooter.Brocockhavealreadythoughtofthisbyopeningoutthesidesofthemetalhoodwithlongslotsoneithersideofthehood.ItdidworkverywellandIwasabletoshoota18.9mmcenter-to-centerfive shot group at ten yards with the Atomicusing6.8grainHobbyflatheadedmatchpellets.IfittedaHawkereddotsightthenandfoundasIexpectedthegroupsizescomedownmarkedly.The Grand Prix gave me 17.2mm center-to-center five shot groups with Bisley Magnum10.5grainpellets.Fittingthereddotopticalsightbrought it down to a very respectable 12mmat10yards.Thebettergroupswith theGrandPrixweremostlikelydowntoafewfactors.The

GrandPrixhasalongerbarrel,thismayormaynot aidaccuracybut the longer sight base forthe open sightsmost certainly does help withaccuracy.TheAtomic isstillanaccuratepistolanditsshorteractioniseasytohandleoverlongshootingsessions.AlltheshootingIdidwaswithatwohandedgrip,Ifoundthestocks\gripsverycomfortable and a left-handed shooting mateof mine confirmed they are ambidextrous. Healsofoundanewgripwiththebuttofthepistolgrip in the palmof his hand and a supportingfingerontheflatundersideofthetriggerguardsectionofthewoodenstock.BrocockalsosentoneoftheirnewWraithmoderatorsthishasthesamepatternofradialslantedslotswhichformacommonthemeonof theAimXpistol range.Ifounditaverygoodmoderatorindeed,ithasbeendesignedbyBrocockthemselvesandhasaverycleverbafflesystem.Whyshouldyouneedamoderatoronatargetpistol,wellforat leasttwo reasons.You can practice in your gardenor inmy casemy loft rangewithout annoyinganyonewiththecrackoftheairdischarge.Alsothe added weight at the front is favoured bysomepistolshootersasanaidtoholdingaverystablesightpicturewhileontheaim.ThefactorysettriggerpullontheGrandPrixwasmorethantheAtomic but both trigger let off’s were verypredictable. I can see the plain trigger bladeof theAimX’sbeingreplacedbybrassone’s. IwillgetPeteDuttontocomeupwithaflatbladewithwhichIcanadjusttheangletothepadof

Aim X Atomic at 10 yards

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myfinger.Bothpistolshaveablackalloybladewhichhas fourholesmachined into it’s face, IpresumetogiveatexturetothebladessurfaceorIcouldbewronganditmaybeasmallattemptatweightsaving.Ofthetwomarksthereisverylittletochooseintermsof accuracy, Imyself decided tobuyanAtomicas it’sdiminutivedimensionsappeal tomeandthepowerlevelsof4½footpoundsismore than adequate for FT/HFTevents. I canshootitwiththeverygoodopensightsorfitareddot.IfittedashortplasticSoundBitermoderatorto mine, again to try and keep the size andoverallweightofthepistoldown.IfahighshotcountiswhatyouareafterthenaGrandPrixin.22calibrewouldbethewaytogo.ForFTandHFTthena.177isthebestbet,againtheGrandPrixwillhavetheslightedgeontheshotcountbut it isabiggergun. Brocockhavecomeupwith a winning combination in the two pistols,eitherwayyouwillhaveatopqualityPCPpistol.

SpecificationDistributor-Brocock01527527800Model-AimXAtomicType-PrechargedPneumaticpistolBarrellength-200mm(8”)Calibre-.177or.22(.177ontest)Action-Singleshot,boltcockingSights-Open,adjustable.FrontfibreopticTrigger-TwostageadjustableTriggerpullweight-594g(1lb5oz)

Overalllength-315mm(123/8”)Weight-1.3Kg(2lb13oz)Price-£250rrp

Model-AimXGrandPrixType-PrechargedPneumaticpistolBarrellength-250mm(93/4”)Calibre-.177or.22(.177ontest)Action-Singleshot,boltcockingSights[-Open,adjustable.Trigger-TwostageadjustableTriggerpullweight-998g(2lb3oz) Overalllength-365mm(123/8”)Weight-1.4Kg(3lb)Price - £ 270 rrp (£295when fittedwith opensights)

Aim X Grand Prix open and red dot sights

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delays,itarrived.

Wow,wasI impressedonopeningthatparcel.The 1911 was uncannily similar to the onestolen from me (by the Government) in 1995– right down to thematt-black finish, polishedslide, beavertail grip-safety, red-dot sight etc.etc. Weight-wise, it was bob-on and it wasgreat to feel a 1911 in my hands again. Thered-dotmountwas farbetter thanmyoldone,with a mount that incorporated a well-placedthumb-reston the left,whichprovideda really

steadygripwith thestandardColtsyntheticgrips.

The box also containedanother strange item whichwasn’tatallfamiliar–aholster.Butitdidn’tlookanythinglikeaholster–notmyoldholsteranyway! There were alsosome magazines, a box of177pelletsandabagofCo2canisters. One thing the boxdidn’t contain was a set ofinstructionsbutIsupposeI’mflattered that Andy assumedI’dfigureitoutonmyown!I soon sussed out how to

The8-shotmagazinesresembleatinyrevolvercylinderandworkinmuchthesameway

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Lastmonth,wehada lookat thedisciplineofIron PlateAction Shooting which came aboutasaresultofane-mailfromMarkatActionAirShooting.Wouldweliketotryahopped-up1911pistol?The pistol that Mark described in his e-mailsounded too good to be true – especially tosomeone who thinks the Colt 1911 to be themost perfect semi-auto pistol ever designed!Apackagewassoonnegotiatingitswaytomyhomeaddressviathefiascowhichmasqueradesas the Post Office but eventually, after a few

delays,itarrived.

Wow,wasI impressedonopeningthatparcel.The 1911 was uncannily similar to the onestolen from me (by the Government) in 1995– right down to thematt-black finish, polishedslide, beavertail grip-safety, red-dot sight etc.etc. Weight-wise, it was bob-on and it wasgreat to feel a 1911 in my hands again. Thered-dotmountwas farbetter thanmyoldone,with a mount that incorporated a well-placedthumb-reston the left,whichprovideda really

steadygripwith thestandardColtsyntheticgrips.

The box also containedanother strange item whichwasn’tatallfamiliar–aholster.Butitdidn’tlookanythinglikeaholster–notmyoldholsteranyway! There were alsosome magazines, a box of177pelletsandabagofCo2canisters. One thing the boxdidn’t contain was a set ofinstructionsbutIsupposeI’mflattered that Andy assumedI’dfigureitoutonmyown!I soon sussed out how to

The8-shotmagazinesresembleatinyrevolvercylinderandworkinmuchthesameway

Iron Plate Action Shooting – Action Air Shooting’s 1911 Pistol

by Vince BottomleyThe1911ColtisadesignmasterpieceandUmarexandAASdoitfulljustice

Could be 1995 again!

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charge the tiny rotary eight-round magazinesand it only tookme a few seconds to accessthebreech–pressthe1911slide-releasecatchandtheslidesnapsforwardtoopenthebreech.Eachmagazineissimilar inoperationtoatinyrevolvercylinderandeasilydropsinplace.Iwasabit ‘fumbly’atfirstbutIwouldguessthattheIPAS guys and galswill do amag. change inaboutfiveseconds!

Nowweneedsome‘air’.Ifounda‘door’-wherethebaseof themagazinewouldbe– itopensbutalthoughIknewitwassomethingtodowiththeCo2cylinder,Ididn’tknowwhat.Eventually,Ifoundthatthegriphadtoberemovedtoinsertthecylinder.Onceinserted,thecylinderisheldtight against the valvewith a thumb-screw sothat when the ‘door’ is closed it pierces thecylinder.Wearereadytogo!

Thepistolisdesignedtobeshot‘double-action’and the grip and trigger was so good that itwasn’tdifficulttodothisandIwassurprisedby

mygroupingonatargetat15m.Ofcourse,thereisnorecoilbutthepistolmakesasatisfying‘bop’onfiringsononeedformuffsbuteye-protectionmust be worn as pellets do fly back towardsthe shooter occasionally. By this time, a fewinterestedclubmembershadgatheredsoitwastime to let a few others have a go. How longwouldtheairlast?Markrecommendedchangingcylinders every 25 shots but we were able toplay much longer but eventually we noticedthatthepelletsweren’tproperlypenetratingthepapertarget.One member produced his own Co2 targetpistol–single-shot, ironsights–the‘dogs’butamazingly, Iwasunable tobettermygroupingwiththe1911–andthatwasshootingrapid-firedouble-action! This is one user-friendly pistoland I can imagine that those who enjoy thisdiscipline can put in some fast and accurateshooting.You-tube video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07hscQq-ha4&feature=related

The 8-shot magazines resemble a tiny revolver cylinder and work in much the same way

Open the slide....

& pop in the mag.

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Ofcourse,IronPlateActionShootingisexactlywhat it says–dingingsteelplatesagainst theclock–farmoresatisfyingthanpunchingpaper.Unfortunatelymylittlerimfirerangedidn’thaveany steel plates but I did and it was great toshoot this little gun at home, in my garden,unencumbered by the rules and regulationssurroundingfirearms.InNovember–Sundaythe21sttobeprecise–theNationalIPASChampionshipswillbetakingplaceatSywellRange,NorthamptonShooting

Ground,justofftheA43,postcodeNN69TE.Ifyouhaveanyaspirationstotrythisfascinatingnewsport,avisittotheseChampionshipswouldbeagoodstartingpoint.

Now,althoughthereisavastarrayofCo2pistolsout there, this one is a bit special.Umarex ofGermany are one of the better makes and inaddition tobeinga veryauthentic replicabothin terms of weight and appearance (it’smadeunder licensewith theblessingofColt), ithas

Changing Co2 cylinders involves flipping off the right-hand grip and opening the ‘door’ on the base of the grip. Closing the door pierces the cylinder.

Up to this point I hadn’t tried the Ghost holster and belt and to be honest, this needed more sussing-out than the pistol. It’s clearly ‘sate of the art’ for action shooting but apart from posing for the pic, I decided that far more practice was needed before I could make proper use of this in a ‘quick-draw’ mode – the last thing I wanted to do was drop the 1911!

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also had the benefit of anActionAir tune-up.Thisinvolvescompletelystrippingthepistolandreworkingmanyofthepartsandfittingvariouscustom-madebitstoturnthegunintoamatch-winning competition race-gun. You can seesomeof thenewparts from thepictures - thecompensator, beaver-tail grip-safety, over-sizeCo2release,red-dotsightmountetc.Otherbitsyoucan’tseeimprovethegasflowandtrigger

andgeneralfunctioningofthepistol.AirActionShootingonlysupplycompletegunsand do not do tune-ups on existing guns,preferring to work with a brand-new guns toavoid existing issues in old guns thatmay bepresent.Checkout thesalesflyer forboth theColtandtheSmithrevolver, itdetails theworkAASdopluspricesetc-fromActionAirShootingTel:+4420 8808 4847

The target on the left was shot by me at 15m – eight shots, double action in about 20 seconds! The right-hand target was shot using a dedicated single-shot Co2 target pistol.

OK, OK – I’m not wearing eye protection and I should be – even if I am just posing for the camera!

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Dolphin Gun Company & Ballistic Services (a division of Hobson Industries ) 2 Vine Street STAMFORD

Lincs PE9 1QE

Tel: 01780 481567 or 0774 7771962 Email: mik@mikdolphin.demon.co.uk

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.

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ShootReviewisacommunityrunwebsitethatallowsyou,thereader,towriteareviewaboutyourfavouriteshootinggroundsandguns–whatafirst!!

Thereisanonlinedatabaseofshootingclubs,alltypesoffirearmsandaccessoriestofitanyonesneeds. The website even lets you comment onarticlesthathavebeenwrittenandforyoutosupplyyour own comments – nice one!! Links are alsosupplied to the websites pages on Facebookand Twitter pages – oh how the world of digitalmediahasgrownover the last fewyears tohelptheshooter.

The website is well thought out, supported byappropriateadvertisersand‘doeswhatitsaysonthe tin.’Obviously it needsour supportas targetshooterssothisisyourchancetosupportagooddigitalproduct thatgenuinelyhasour interestsatheart.Readerscansearchforfirearmsandthereisavast

arrayofmanufacturersandmodelstoselectfrom,withdetailsofeachmodelprovidedfortheviewer.The club side of things needs to be workedona little,but this isdown toall ofus tosubmitinformation to thissteadilygrowingresource.Weknowwhat it is like trying to get clubs to submitinformation for thismagazine.Socomeoneandcome all and help fellow shooters out! Regionalmaps have now been incorporated into theprocess of selecting clubs which is an excellentfeature.Thereareanumberofresourcesonthiswebsitewhichyouwouldhavetopayfor,especiallythinkingofsomeCD’sthatareonthemarket.What’smoreimportantisyoucanleaveyourownviewsonthereviewsthatarewrittenforthewebsite–nicefeature.Marktheownerofthesitehasdoneasuperbjobthisyear indevelopingthiswebsiteandit isverymuchworthalook.Againitisaboutsupportingwhatisoutthere,solet’shavealook.Untilnextmonth.

WebsiteoftheMonth

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I’velongbeenfondofthelittleRemingtonnumberand am now on my third and fourth rifleschamberedfor it,withnumberfivecomingalongsoon. The quartet’s past and present membersembracefourbarreltwistrates–oneinchin12”,9”,8”and7”forverydifferentbulletweightsandlengths.Thefastesttwist-ratebelongstotheSavage 12 PT, McRees stocked F/TR rifle builttohandle inchandaquarter length90gnBergerVLDs, and whose concept and build weredescribed over the August to October issuesof TargetShooter. I had intended to coverhandloading the cartridge in all its guises in amajor series startingnext year using three riflesandloadingbulletsasvariedasthe36gnBarnes‘VarmintGrenade’and90gnBergerVLD,butsuchhasbeen the interestarousedby theSavageF/TR rifle’s long-rangeperformance that I’vebeenprevailed upon to do an early report on loadingthe90s.

More COALButfirst,IpromisedlastmonththatI’dlookattheSinclair International Seating Depth Gauge tofinishoffmylookatthesetools.Thisneatdeviceuses the same principle as Vince Bottomley’scleaningrodpluscollars,butworksfromtherearend of the barrelled action.The tool consists of

an11.8”(300mm)long0.25”(6.35mm)dia.steelrodwithashortsmallerdiametersectionon theendthat ispushed into theaction. Itcomeswithtwo stepped steel collars that are locked intoposition on the rod with thumbscrews, and atwo-inch (50mm) long 0.7” (18mm) dia. Delrinbodythatfitsmostreceivers(othersizesavailablefor smaller dia. actions such as some Sako/Tikka models). Operation is simple and quickrequiring the rifle with bolt removed, bullet,fired case with spent primer still in situ, and acleaningrod(toknockthebulletoutoftheleade).Thebulletisdroppednosefirstthroughtheactionand chamber to lodge in the leade, use of acleaning rod guide recommended to set it instraight. The tool body is then inserted into therearoftheactionanditslocatingpinturneddowninto the bolt handle recess. The rod is insertedthroughthebody,smalldiametersectionleadingand pushed forward until it contacts the bulletbase,andacollarslidalongtheroduntilitcontactsthe rear face of the tool body to be locked intoposition.Theassemblyisnowremovedfromtherifle, thebulletknockedout,andreplacedbythefiredcase.Thegaugeisreinsertedintotheactionafterslidingthesecondcollarontotherodinfrontof its partner.The rod is pushed up against thecase-head,heldthere,andthatcollaralsolocked

HANDLOADING BENCH - 90gn BULLETS IN THE .223 REMINGTON (Part 1)

By Laurie Holland

Above - Can .223 Rem hack it against .308W in long-range F/TR matches as here on Bisley’s famous Stickledown Range during last year’s European F-Class Championship meeting?

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down abutting the gauge body. You now taketwomeasurements with callipers – the distancebetween the collars and the bullet length – andaddthemtogethertogettheCOALofthatbulletwhenseatedintothelands,addingorsubtractingalittletotakeitoutoftheleadeonaloadedround,or seated to be jammed a little deeper in whenusingVLDs.ItrieditoutontheSavageF/TRrifleandcomparedit totheresultsfromrecalculatingthe COAL using the Hornady / Stoney-Pointgaugeandmodifiedcasemethoddescribed lastmonth.Thisgaveanin-the-landsCOALof2.709”foraBerger90gnVLDagainstareadingforthatsamebulletof2.696”fromtheStoney-Pointtool.The0.013”differencemostlikelyarisestwoways:droppingthebulletintotheleadethroughtherodguide likelysees itseat itselfa fewthou’deeperinto the rifling than pushing it in gently with theStoney-Point’s pushrod, and the differencebetween the length of the fireformed casemeasured by the Sinclair tool and that of anunfired modified SAAMI spec case in theHornady / Stoney-Point gauge, making theformerabitmoreaccurate.Incidentally,with1,089roundsthroughthebarrel, itwasmorethantimeto recalculate seating depths to counter throaterosion, this measured as 0.021” from new –smallerthanexpectedgivenanalmostexclusivediet of 90gn bullets and maximum loads ofdouble-basepowders,andprettywellinlinewiththatexpectedfroma.308WinTRrifleonadietof155gn2,950fpsloads.

Onto .223RSolet’smakeastartwiththemouse-guncartridgein this extreme form covering rationale, metalliccomponents and loading methods this month;component sorting and preparation, propellants,powder weighing, loads and results next. Icovered the rationale inPart 1of ‘BreakingTheMould’ three issues back, but I’ll summariseit as attempting to obtain .308 Winchesterlong-rangeballistics(winddriftvaluesandretained1,000yd velocity)while only producinga quarterof the largerF/TRcontender’srecoilandtorque.Settingballisticsobjectiveswaseasyas the two90gnBergerbulletshavereadilyidentifiablehighperforming0.308”matchbulletequivalents.Bryan Litz calculates average G7 BCs of0.262 and 0.281 for the twenty-two calibre BTLong-RangeandVLDmodelsrespectively,valuesthatcloselymatchthoseoftworecentlyintroducedhigh-performanceBergerBTLong-Range0.308sin 175gn and 185gnweights with BCs of 0.264and0.287.So,withthe90gn0.224”VLD’sBCamere2%lowerthanthatofthethirtycalibre185gn–adifference thatmaybeaccounted forby theaccuracyparametersofthetestmethodsanyway–wecanassumethattheirrelativeperformanceon the range depends upon the MVs that thecartridgescangivethem.Whythirtycalibre,andwhy focus on the 185gn Berger BT L-R? F/TRislimitedto.223Rand.308W,thelatterusedbyallbarone(me)ofthe46registeredGBF-ClassAssociation shooters who have submitted an F/TR score in a national league round this year.

The Sinclair Seating Depth gauge, a simple but effective tool for identifying the COAL that puts a bullet into the lands

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The0.308”Berger185gnBTL-Riscurrentlythemostpopularchoiceamongstthetopcontendersmakingitanexcellentbaselineinanycomparison.My own .308W 185gn BT L-R load runs at justunder2,800fpswithexcellentaccuracy,butIhaveheardofMVsapproaching2,900fpsfromothers,sothetargetMVfromthe90gnVLDin.223Remisdefinedasbeinginthe2,750to2,900fpsrange–asalwayssubject togoodaccuracy (0.4-MOAor smaller five round groups) and small velocityspreads(20fpsorless).

Howdoes .223R/90 compare to the .308Wwithvariousbulletweightsandmodels?Table1 listscomparativeBCsforthetwo90gnBergersagainstafewoutstanding0.308”designs.Tosummarise,.223/90 beats any .308/155 load hands downballistically,canrealisticallybeexpectedtomatch.308Wloadsusingmidweightbullets,butwillfallbehind the .308W loaded with new generationhigh-BC208-210gnVLDtypebulletsinmaximumloadsthatgive2,550fpsandhigherM|Vs.However, these very heavy models incurpenalties,particularlyadditionalrecoilandtorque,

so as always it’s about getting the optimummix that suits rifle and shooter, and this is notnecessarilythesameforeverybody.

Pros & ConsTable 2 lists my estimation of ‘pros and cons’of ultra-heavy bullet .223R against .308W. Theeconomy argument is mixed as Lapua .223Rbrassismoreexpensivethan.308W(£57.83per100v£47.95)andmaynotlastasmanyfiringsinequivalently heavy loads. American shootersmostly use Winchester brass and my previousexperience of this cheaper make is fairlygood, but recent Lapua ‘Match’ headstampedexamplesaresooutstandinglyconsistent,I’llstronglyrecommendyoubuythemifthat’satallpossible.They probably have stronger case-heads andwebareastoothanmostAmericanmakes,sowilltakemoreabusebeforeprimerpocketsslacken.Bullets and powder provide a good saving,although the former depends on make andmodel of course. The RRP for the two 90gnBergersis£32/100comparedto£47forheavierBerger 0.308s, but competing Sierra and

High BC 0.224” match bullets against ballistically equivalent 0.308s. Left: 80gn Berger VLD paired with the 155.5gn BT FULLBORE – .22 Cal 80s can only compete marginally with the best .308W 155gn loads, and that at shorter ranges. Centre: 90gn Berger VLD and 185gn Berger BT L-R – well matched in the two cartridges if .223R can produce high enough velocities. Right: Berger 210gn 0.308” VLD – there is no ballistically equivalent 0.224” bullet

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Hornady models are not as expensive. .223Ruses around 20gn less powder per cartridge, a

40% reduction and potentially significant for thehigh volume competitor. The big question markis barrel life both for the cartridge’s utility andper-round cost. Based on early .223/90experience involving the90gnSierraMKand itsrecommended 1-6.5” twist, plus the chambersused in US Service Rifle AR15s, barrels went‘sour’at low round-countsassoonas the throatsawsignificantwearandtear.Theproblemisthehighlengthtocalibreratiooftheseprojectiles,the90gnVLDrunningatanexceptional5.6calibreslengthcompared to4.4 for the0.308”185gnBTL-R, or 3.7 for the original 155gn Sierra PalmaMK.Theargumentgoesthatthehigherthelengthto calibre ratio, the more important the throatconfigurationandconditionin‘settingthebulletup’intheriflingandthegreaterthesensitivitytoanyprobleminthisarea.Notethoughthatthelongestof the thirty cal 210gn VLDs has a length tocalibre ratio of five, so this may be an issuewith the most ballistically efficient .308W loadstoo.Bothcartridgesare runwithvery ‘hot’ loadsanywayinlong-rangeF/TR,whichwhenalliedtotarget ringsizeshalf thediameterof thoseusedinFullboreandTargetRifledisciplinesseesmuchshorter barrel ‘accuracy life’ than traditionallyexpectedwitheithercartridge.

There are only three 90gn 0.224” bullets currently available in the UK. Left to right:

Sierra MK, Berger BT Long-Range, and Berger VLD

It is important to use Lapua .223 Rem brass that is sold as ‘match’ to get the high-capacity version of the case as well as match quality case to case consistency

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The reference tosmallbulletholes refers to tar-getmarkingproblemsespeciallyifthetargetcen-trebecomesbadlyshotupandheavilypatched.Ihadmy lastshot ina30-roundregional ‘Open’matchmarkedasa ‘miss’ recently.Well,maybeI did miss, or the bullet broke up in flight, orwhatever!Actuallyno,asthemarker(afriendandvery reliable individual) told me afterwards thathesawthebulletstrikethebackstopsandanditwas‘rightinthegroup’soconfidentlyexpectedtofindtheshotinthefour-ringatleast–butneither

henortheButtsOfficercouldfinditandnoholeequalsnoscore.This isa factof life inshootingsmallcalibreroundsincompetition,andyouhavetocome to termswith ithappeningoccasionally,trusting competition organisers to provide ageneroussupplyoftargetcentrestothemarkers,whichtheyshoulddoforF-Classcompetitionsasamatterofcourseanyway.

The final issue is getting the .223 to shoot welland produce small MV spreads. This applies to

These are both ‘Match’ cases, the recently manufactured version on the left is headstamped as such and seems to have slightly greater capacity

Luvverly brass – Lapua’s .223R is more expensive than its .308W, but is better made in the writer’s opinion

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thecartridgewhenloadedwithanyoftheheaviermatchbulletsandnot just90s. I reckon it takesmuchmore timeandeffort togeteverything justright for F/TR competition, .223R being more

finickythan.308W.Adownsideofsmallpowderchargesisthatanyvariationhasaconsiderableeffect on pressures and velocities, chargesrunningat±0.1gnconsistencylikelyproducinga25fpsMVspreadfromthiscausealoneanda0.3gntotalweightspreadrunningat1.2%ofmylong-rangematchloadchargeweightinthecartridgecomparedto0.65%inmyequivalent.308W/185load.

Metal BitsLet’sputbulletsoutoftheway.Thereareonlythree 90gn 0.224s available in theUK at themoment:aSierraMKandtheaforementionedBergers.TheSMKhasaslightlylowerBCthanthe Berger BT Long-Range model at 0.256(G7), but more significantly has a reputationforbreakingupinflightifdrivenatthesortsofspeedswe’reaimingfor.Forvariousreasons,it appears to be very barrel throat sensitiveaffectingaccuracyandwhetheritstaysinonepiece all the way to the target. Both Bergermodelsappear tobeexceptionallywellmadewithverylittlebearingsurfacelengthvariationseen when measured in callipers fitted with‘comparators’,producesmallweightvariations,and have nicely and consistently formednoses / tips with small meplat (hollow-point)

diameters. The other manufacturer whichproduces a 90-grainer in this calibre isSwampworkswithitsJLKbulletrangehttp://www.swampworks.com/jlk/withasingleVLDdesign.

Forster bushing-bump die set with Ultra Competition micrometer seater (for the .308W as it happens)

The bushing-bump die sizes the neck and also resets the shoulder position, this determined by using a Hornady L-N-L / Stoney-point headspace gauge on a fully fireformed case and setting it back 0.001-0.002”

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Lookingatthemanufacturer’slistofdimensions,itisalittleshorteroverallthantheBergerequivalentwith a marginally longer bearing section, bothhaving 18-cal radius nose sections, so shouldperformsimilarly.Iknowthatsomeoneinthetradeishoping to import JLKmatchbullets in variouscalibres, so this model may become availablehere in the future. (Norman Clark has importedsomeinthepastandhastheoddJLKmodelstillinstocktoo.)I’ve already said I use Lapua brass throughout,startingwithsomeolderexamplespreviouslyfiredonceor twice inanother rifleand leftprettywellasLapuamadethem.Theyareonlyemployedininitial load developmentwith recently purchasedexamples which have been fully ‘prepped’ andsorted used exclusively in final testing andmatches.Onehas to be a little carefulwith thismanufacturer’s .223R cases as it used tomakea thick-walled military specification version forhandloaders which had a significantly smallercapacitywhich increasespressuressubstantiallyas well as restricting usable powder chargesandvelocities. It thenswitched toa thinner-wall,higher-capacity version dubbed ‘Match’, but thiswordonlyinitiallyappearedonthecarton.Currentbrassisheadstamped‘Match’,soifyou’reofferedanyLapua.223Rcaseswithoutthiswordonthecase-headask toseethebox,and if this

isn’tpossiblebewary.Mylong-rangematch-roundcases come from three recent manufacturinglots which vary slightly in their neck thickness,but are extremely consistent within each lot inmostoftheirkeyfeatures.Afterfireforminginmychamber, they have an ‘overflowwater capacityweight’of30.6gnwhichaccordingtothe6mmBR.com ‘.223 Info Page’ section on handloadingthe cartridge puts them right at the top of a listproduced some years back of .223R casecapacity by make (http://www.6mmbr.com/223Rem.html).These recent ‘Match’ headstamped cases alsohaveaslightlyhighercapacitythanIfoundontheearlier‘Match’butnotsoheadstampedexamples,soappeartobeparticularlythin-walledlots.Thismay seem arcane and academic, but is veryimportant in loading thissmallcapacitycartridgetothelimitwithsuchheavybullets–andavoidingproblemscausedbyexcessivepressure.The other metallic component is the primer,and small rifle magnum or benchrest types areessentialinanyreasonablywarm.223Remload,not just in 1,000yd 90gn examples. StandardSmallRifleprimersuse0.020” thickbrasscups,whileMagnumandBRversionsare0.025”.Youwill crater or evenpierce standardprimers suchas theCCI-400andRemington6½ in .223Remwith loads that produce normal working through

Using two .22 calibre ‘bullet comparators’ to measure a 90gn Berger VLD’s bearing section length. Out of the box consistency is exceptional in these bullets – a bonus for long-range shooting

66 Target Shooter

maximum pressures (55,000-60,000 psi). Thesethin-walledmodelsweredesignedforearlysmallcalibre centrefire cartridges such as the .22Hornetand .218Bee thatemploy lowpressuresby today’s standards. You might get away withthem in the .222 Rem, but not anything hotter.I’veusedRussianmadePMCSRMagnumsandtheCCI-450equivalent throughout.(ThePMCismarketedas‘Wolf’inNorthAmericaandisnolongeravailable in the UK, sadly.) I’ve found this pairto give very similar results and regard them asvirtually interchangeable. Conversely,comparative primers tests in .223/90 with theCCI-BR4 benchrest model gave noticeablydifferent results–50 fps+MV rise, significantlylargerMVspreadsandbiggergroupsevenafterpowder charges were adjusted to reducevelocities.IbelievethattheBR4,inmylotatanyrate, is ‘too hot’ for the .223R and its 24-27gnpowder charges and should be restricted to

larger cartridges such as the PPCs, BRs and6.5X47Lapua.Primingwasdonethroughoutwithhand tools for their sensitivity, initially the LeeAuto-Prime, more recently the excellent 21stCentury Shooting model described in the Newssection in lastmonth’s issue that really lets you‘feel the primer in’ with a little extra pressure totensionitsanvil.

ToolsI’lldeferdescribingcasesortingandpreparationtasks to nextmonth’s issue when I cover loadsand results and briefly describe my loadingpractices and tools. My older load developmentbrasswas initially full-length sized in aHornadyNewDimensionssizingdiesetsothatshoulderswereonlyjustpushedbackenoughtogiveeasychamberingbeforetrimmingthembackto1.750”in an L. E. Wilson ‘lathe-type’ tool. Firing thiscartridge with full pressure loads and full-length

Like many small cased cartridges, .223R is primer-sensitive. Laurie has had good results from PMC and CCI Magnum primers, but the CCI-BR4 seems too ‘hot’ for the powder charge size

Target Shooter 67

sizing each time – as I had to do for mystraight-pull Southern Gun Co. SSR-15 – seescases grow rapidly with trimming needed everytwoor threecycles.Alwaysmeasureyourcases

afterFLsizing,notastheycomeoutoftherifle– important as the latter often deceives. Aftersizing,theyfittedtheSavage’sminimum-SAAMIchamberwellwithonlyalittleresistancetofinalbolt opening and primary extraction from beingmarginally oversize in the web area – but noproblemforthisapplication.

New‘Match’headstampedcaseswereinspectedandfoundtobeinexcellentcondition,notadent,scratch,ornicktobeseen,sowerenotfull-lengthsized. Checking lengths showed them to be atthe bottomof the allowable 1.750-1.760” rangewith tiny (0.001”) case to case variations, sotrimming was not needed. They were sizedbeforeusehowever,with thedie thathasbeenusedonthemthroughout,aForsterBushing-Bumpmodel, a neck-sizer type that employsinterchangeable bushings available in 0.001”diameter increments and also regulates thecase-shoulder position, in this case adjusted inthepress to set shouldersbackby0.001” fromhard contact with the front of the chamber –notas though this isan issuewithnewbrass itusuallyhavingsixtoeightthou’headspaceinmychamber before fireforming. Necks were sizeddowna littlemore thanneeded, thenexpandedback out using a Sinclair E22 mandrel in thatcompany’s expander die body ready for neckturning,butalsogivingnearidealtensiononthebulletforthefirstloading.

To be continued next month.

Table 1 

90gn 0.224” Bullets’ Ballistics Comparison with 0.308” Models 

0.224” 90gn Berger BT Long‐Range (0.262 G7 / 0.512 G1) 

Lapua 155gn Scenar (0.236 / 0.462) 

Sierra 175gn MK (0.243 / 0.475) 

Berger 175gn VLD (0.255 / 0.498) 

Berger 175gn BT L‐R (0.264 / 0.515) 

 

0.224” 90gn Berger VLD (0.281 / 0.551) 

Lapua 155gn Scenar (0.236 / 0.462) 

Berger 185gn VLD (0.281 / 0.549) 

Berger 185gn BT L‐R (0.287 / 0.560) 

Sierra 190gn MK (0.270 / 0.527) 

Sierra 200gn MK (0.285 / 0.557) 

Sierra 210gn MK (0.316 / 0.619) 

 

Table 2 

.223 Rem – Pros and Cons v .308W 

 

Pro  Con  Very light recoil and torque (around a 

quarter of .308W’s)  Economical – cheaper bullets, less 

powder  Lighter barrel profile acceptable 

(increasing weight allowance available for scope and bi‐pod etc) 

Equal accuracy to .308W  More development potential to come? 

(ie .223R development as a Palma / F‐Class long‐range cartridge is recent and limited compared to that of .308W.) 

Exceptionally consistent and efficient Berger bullets. 

Finicky to load. Difficulty getting MV spreads down 

Query over barrel accuracy life due to super‐long bullets 

Small holes in target  Small case capacity requires great care in 

load development and handloading to avoid overloading  

Cannot match ultimate .308W loads’ ballistic capabilities (210gn VLDs) 

Less bullet choice (only two models at present) 

 

 

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Target Shooter 69

The IPC Shooting World Cup at Stoke Mandeville October 2010

by Olivia DelamereThe Great Brain team achieved outstandingsuccessattherecentIPCShootingWorldCupatStokeMandeville.

ThefirsteventwasaFallingTargetcompetition,similar to the shooting discipline in Biathlon,wherethecompetitorhas2.5minutestohitfive

70 Target Shooter

discs. In theSH1Category,MattSkelhonwonthefirstgoldof thedayandKarenButler tookthe bronzemedal. Lotta Helsinger of Swedenwasthesilvermedallist.

MattSkelhonsaid,“it’sagreatfeelingtowinthefirstmedalatadisabilityshootingeventheldinBritain.The fact that it’sagoldmakes it evenmoresatisfying.IhopethatthiswillbethefirstofmanyatthiseventfortheGreatBritainTeam.”TheGBDisability teamhadmore success onFriday.DiCoateswonthegoldintheR2AirRifleStandingeventforwomenwithLottaHelsinger(SWE) insecondplaceandMonicaLillehagen(NOR)takingthebronze.Di, who has competed in seven ParalympicGamessaid,“Iamfully focused inmyattempttocompeteinmy8thParalympicsin2012.Thisevent hasgivenall of theGB teama tasteofwhatitwillbeliketocompeteinatopleveleventonhomesoil”.In the R1 10mAir Rifle Standing competitionformen,NathanMilgatecamefirstwithWernerMuller(AUS)andNorbertGau(GER)insecondandthirdplacerespectively.ThefinalBritishmedalofthedaywasyetanothergold, this timewonbyRobMcLeary in theR410mAirRiflestanding(mixed).HebeatVictoriaWedin(SWE)andTanongChanan(THA).

Ondaythree,inthe10mAirRifleProneR3mixedSH1,MattSkelhontookthegoldforBritainwithMonicaLillehagen(NOR) taking thesilverandKazimierMechula(DEN)comingthird.Matt, gold medal winner in this category for

the Beijing Olympics said, “Its a great feelingtowinmy thirdR3 gold of the year. Itmakesitevenmoresweettowininmyhomecountry,infrontofmyfamily.Iamasmotivatedaseverinmy shooting and I’m looking forward to theopportunity to defendmy title on home soil attheParalympicGamesLondon2012.”AnothermedalwaswonforGreatBritaininthe10mAirRifleProneR5MixedSH2withAdamFontain taking the bronze. Jonas Andersen(DEN)takingthegoldandViktoriaWedin(SWE)takingthesilvermedal.Adam,20fromBasildon,said“I’mdelightedtowinamedalat thisworld cupandplayapartinthesuccessoftheGBteam.Ourmedalhallproved that Britain is a force to be reckonedwith.”The IPC Shooting World Cup reached itsconclusiononSunday3rdOctoberwiththeAirPistolCompetitions.IntheintheP1event,theGold medal was won by Bordin SornsriwickaiofThailandwon thegoldmedal,withPoland’sFilipRodzikin2ndplaceandGyulaGurisattiofHungary in the bronzemedal position. TeamGB had two competitors in the Final, ChrisSummerscalesandAdrianBunclark.IntheWomen’sP2AirPistolcompetitiontherewasfurthersuccessfortheGreatBritainteam,withJeanGuildgettingthesilvermedalandPamGraingertakingBronze.ThistooktheGBmedalhaultoatotalof14forthewholecompetition(6gold,2silverand4bronze).

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Target Shooter 73

Continuing on from the original article, where Iaddressed the relaxation resulting from progressivemuscle relaxationbeingahomebasedexercise, thenextsegmentstillunderrelaxationresponseisthatofrelaxationbyimagery.

You must understand that even those with highlydevelopedsuperior intelligence,arestillonlyusingafractionofthepowerwithinthehumanmind.Rifle shooting, and particularly small bore, have adependenceonmindcontroltoregisterthereallyhighscoresthatconsistentlywinaproneriflematch.

Relaxationby imagery is justoneof themind facetsthatasmallboreshootercandevelop tobenefit thefightagainstanyformofcompetitionanxiety.Oncethisproblemisrecognisedwithinthestructureofthematch,apronerifleshooterisabletoemploythemethodstoalleviateanyformofdevelopinganxiety.Inthecaseofthesuddenrealisationthat“Hey,Icanwinthismatch!”whereupontheanxietyregistercanelevate drastically…. So badly that it becomes aphysicalproblemwithaholdthatsuddenlyreaches.7ontheRichterscale.Thepulseratealsogoesthroughthe roof, and this exacerbates the hold problems,combinedwiththeFearofFailure(FOF)asthemindelementsgoberserk..

Learningthementalskillsthatdealswiththisproblem,is totally controlled by mental gymnastics that areverycloselyrelatedtorelaxation.Yousimplyrelaxbythinkingaboutthis!

Inmyowncase,IlearnedthisskillonceagainfrommySportsPsychologist,andIreckonthatthisskillopenedthedoortothereallybigstuffinmysmallboreproneshooting.I developed a “key” to relaxation by imagery whenthespotspsycheindicatedthateveryshooterhastheabilitytorelaxfirmlyalreadysetintothemindsimplyby

recalling something from their lifetime that facilitatedtheabilitytorelax.Therearemanyavailable,inwhateverisassembledbyimagery,andthisappliestoall.Inmyowncase,IwasstandingonthebanksofLakePorirua in New Zealand, when I saw a quite largePelicanglidepast.This Pelican seemed to be etched in space about30cm above the mirror smooth surface of thismagnificentscenery,asheglidedpastme.Theonlythingmovingon thisPelicanwas the fletch feathersonhisoutstretchedwingsashemajesticallyflewpastme. He just swished past, reflected in the smoothsurfaceofthelake,andthenputhiswebbedfeetintothe water, and with hardly a ripple settled onto thesurface.Iwasmovedbythis,ashepaddledoff.I have been able to re run this “mind stuff” at will,andoftenusetheimagewhentheanxiousmomentsdevelopinaperformance.Ijustcalmdown,relax,and“see”thewaythroughadilemma.“Percy”PelicanhaslongbeenapartofwhatIdo!

Like I said above there are many examples. Somelike touse the imageryofstanding in thecoolwaterofastream,orintheeddiesofthesurfattheseaside.Someimaginetheeffectsofoilflowing,warmingthelegsas it slips down to the feet.Or the coolnessoffallingsnow, thequietstare in theeyesof thefamilycat,ordog,beitwhatevercontributestorelaxation.Manyalsobringtomindfamilymembers,theimageofafavouriteSon,orDaughter.Imagery plays a huge part in the formation of asuccessfulshooter,andisdevelopedfurtherwhenthegoalsarealsoencasedintheirownimagerysegmentsof“MindStuff”.This is what I mean when I say that you win thematchesintheprecedingweeks,thengooutthematchdayandproveyouhavedonethework.AND,NO,itisnotthatsimple!Itdoestakeacontrolledpatience,andpractice,andthesoonertheshooterlearnstodevelop

ThisSmallboreBusiness

ByDonBrook

74 Target Shooter

imagerytechniques,thebetter.Thebetterexamplesofthisisinsportssuchasweightliftinganddiving.Youseetheathletesdevelopingtheirmindwhenfacedwithaweightontheendofthebartheyhavenotyetreachedintheirstandard,yet,upitgoesasthetechniqueof liftingthething isplayedintheforefrontoftheathletesmind.Ihaveseenmanyexamplesofthis….

Iused this togreateffect inmy timeat the top,andoftenvisualisedbeing relaxed,andsettingmygoalsfortheupcomingmatch.Inmindstuff,Icould“see”thewholeshootingprocess.OfbeingrelaxedasIshotthematch,sometimesovercomingsomeimaginaryglitchin theperformance,even to thepointofstandingonthe presentation diaswith the gold gongaroundmyneck.Theeffectofimageryandrelaxationisendlessifyoulearntoapplythesinglemosteffectiveprocessinthebody,thehumanmind.AboveinthetextImentionedaboutwinningthematchthrough theweek, thengoingoutonmatchdayandproving you have done thework. In relaxation andanyformofimagery,youneedtounderstandthatthetechniquesarecarriedoutperfectly.Thereisneverapoorshot released,andyousimplybecomeused totheexcellenceofyourownperformance.Ineffect,youexpecttohitithard!

Withinthecompetitionenvironment,thereisalwaysa10minutepreparationtime,andonmatchdaythetimespent rehearsing your own standard of excellenceasyouwaitbehind thefiring line,orevendown intoyour position, is time that is serious business for acompetition shooter. The only thing not ready asyou have already set up your gear, is thementalityconfrontingaperformance.Aftertrainingformonths,(sometimes years depending on the goals) the finalpreparation time is devoted to relaxing, and gettingyourminduptothelevelyouneed.Thewindstudy,getting things in place forwind combatmethods, orperformancegoalsisallacontributoryfactorof“Mind

Stuff”.

In the preceding trainingweeks, I spent a fair bit oftimewith relaxationby imagerywithmypetPelican,“Percy”, andworkedout a great deal of themethodof the match based on contingency planning ifsomethingdidgowrongatsomepoint.Thesefactorsare also exercised in your mind, purely as havingthingsinplacetocombataproblemifitdidtranspire.Ineffectwhenyouarriveatyourallocatedfiringpoint,youarecompletelysetuptoexcel.Anxietyoftendevelopsiftheperformanceissuddenlyoutofyourcomfortzone,and Iwill leaveyou in thisarticlewiththisthought.

Youareshootingstandingwithacomfortzoneof95x100foratenshotstring,(380pointsaggregate)whenyousuddenlybecomeawarethatyouhavefiredninestraight10’s.Whatareyougoingtodo?Shootafivesoyoucanfeelmorecomfortable?Ihaveseenthis,eveninmyownshooting,andbeingfamiliarwithmypetPelican,resultedinthefirst100Ishotstandinginacompetition.Thiswasfired inanOceaniachampionships inNewZealand, and I was thankful formy techniques withPercy to alleviate the colly wobbles afterwards. Thepay back came when my Kiwi Mates said to me, “Brooksie,NOONEshootsa100ontheirfeet.”Iwasnotimpressedwiththeirthinking,becauseIhadseenthatgreatBritishshooterMalCoopershootquiteafewofthem!

Themindstuff Iput together thatdaywasbasedonbeing relaxed, staying relaxed, and reaching for ascoreoutsidemycomfortzone level.EverySINGLEshot I fired that timewasaproductofpreparation. Ilearnedagreatdealaboutmyselfthatday…….

Thinkaboutit,thisworks!Brooksie.

Target Shooter 75

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Target Shooter 77

After reading someof the negative commentspostedbyobvious “experts”ononeof theUKshooting forums recently it made me wonderjusthowmanypeoplemightbegettingputofftakingupGalleryRiflebecausetheyarebeingledtobelievethatyousimplymustshelloutthebestpartofnearly£1500ona“custom”rimfirerifleandscope just togetstarted inoursport.The same idiots also state that the standard10 roundmagazinesarecompletelyunreliableandthattheonlypartworthkeepingifyoubuyaRuger10/22rifleisthereceiver.Err….Really?Usually I would just dismiss stupid commentslike these butwhen they aremade by peoplewhoarrangetomeetupatthePhoenixMeetingonemorning just foraquickcoffeeanda lookaround the tradeshow foranhouror twoandthenbuggeroffhomeagainratherthanactuallycompetinginanyoftheevents,ittendstolight

myfuseifyouknowwhatImean.

In order for us to be able to attract morenew people into our sport it’s obviously veryimportantthattheinitialstartupcostsarekeptas reasonable as possible whilst still allowingthe newcomer to be competitive with theirequipmentontheline.NowI’mnoexperteitherbutyoudon’tneedtobeEinsteintoknowthatyoudon’t need toownanexpensive “custom”riflejusttobeabletoshootadecentscore,andwiththepreviouslymentionedexpert’sopinionsstillringinginmyearsIdecidedtogooutandbuya standardRuger 10/22 to help show anyonethinkingof takingupGalleryRiflewhatcanbeachievedwithjustabasicriflethat’shadafewsimple tweaks done to it.Once again though,thisideaendedupbeingalastminutedecisionand after seeing some of the cheaper used/

By Gwyn Roberts

The new finish on the action and barrel does seem pretty durablebut I’m still not sold on the colour. It still does its job though!

78 Target Shooter

abused examples that were available locally Idecided toopt foranewone insteadas therewouldn’t be much difference in price but thequalitywoulddefinitelybea lotbetter.AquickphonecalltotheeverhelpfulJeremyatVikingArmshadasilveroneonitswayanditarrivedonthedoorstep2dayslater.Nowthat’swhatIcallgoodservice!Nowtomeablackonewouldbeblack,andasilveronewouldbesilveri.e.shinystainless steel looking but not anymore as onopeningthebox,Iwasgreetedbyabrandnewgreyone!Thefinishonthelatest10/22barrelsandreceiversisnottheusualmetalfinishbutisnowmoreof aduracoat painted typeof finishwhichdoestakesomegettingusedto,butthat’sprogressIsuppose.Anothermajorchangeisthatthetriggerhousingisnowmadeoutofpolymer(asisthebarrelband)andthishasapparentlybeendonetopreventbreakagesassomeoftheoldcastunitswerepronetocrackingifdropped

onthefloorbyaccident.Somepeopleofcoursethinkitisacostcuttingexerciseandtherealanswerprobablyliessomewhereinbetweenthetwo,butthere’snopointindebatingaboutitbecauseattheendoftheday this isexactlyhow theyaregoing toarriveinthefuture.Now the three main issues raised wereyou had to spend out a lot of money,the standard magazines don’t work andeverythingelseontherifleisuselessapartfromthereceiversoI’lllookattheminthatorder.Asecondhandstandard10/22willsetyoubacksomewhereintheregionof£175 to£275dependingon its conditionwhilstthereareofcourse,moreexpensiveones for sale because the owners have

fittedsomecheapuseless(forGR)scopeand/oramoderatorbutyouwon’tneedthesesomakesureyounegotiatethemofftheaskingprice.Iflooks ismore important than functionandyoufeelyouwouldratherhaveaniceshinynewrifleinstead,youshouldfindthatanewonewillcostyou somewhere in the region of £295 for onewithablue/metalfinish toaround£350-£375foranewtypesilver/greyone.Sofartheinitialoutlayforeitheraneworusedrifledoesn’tlooktoo frightening although Iwould steer towardsa used one if the price was right, when forcomparisonjusta“custom”receiverandboltontheirowncouldsetyoubackbetween£290&£375dependingonwhereyouboughtitfrom.

Lookingatthisparticularriflethen,astimewasrunningshortthefirstthingIwantedtodowastake it down to the range and put four or fivehundredroundsthroughittoseehowgoodthe

Although the housing is now polymer it shouldn’tmake any difference to any inside tuning work.

Here’s the standard Weaver/airgun mount which I’ve started to modify to fit into a Ransom rest type block for future accuracy testing at 50m.

Target Shooter 79

reliabilitywasandleadupthebarrelabitbeforetesting it foranysortofaccuracy.Before Ididthis though, I decided to tap out the holes ontop of the receiver to a much more versatileandstronger4mmthreadsizecomparedtothesmaller American sized thread that it comeswithasstandard,whichequatestosomewherearoundthe3mmmark.ThiswouldalsomakeitmucheasiertomountthesparerailthatIhadinmyshootingboxastheonethat’ssuppliedwiththerifleisveryshallowandhasaraiseddovetailsectioninthecenterwhichisdesignedtotakethemuchnarrowerairguntypescoperings.Thisshapemakesitnighonimpossibletomountanynormal type rings onto it but then there’s lotsof other standard rail/ring combinations thatdon’t fit together properly either, so you mustalwaysmakesure thatyouuseacombinationthatfitstogetherperfectly.Ialwaysmachinemyowncantedscoperailstofitthecontourofthe

Warne type rings as this ensures a perfect fitregardlessofwhichscopeIdecidetofitontomyrifleorpistol.Irecentlymanagedtoacquiretwosecondhandscopes for£75eachwhichwereinexcellentconditionsavingmeatleastaround£85 on the retail prices and this will certainlyhelptokeeptheoverallcostofthisprojectdown.ThefirstwasaSimmons6.5-24x50buttheoneIdecided tofitonto this riflewas theexcellentEdgarBrothers’5-20x50Optimatescope.

Once the scopeand railwere attached I thensightedtherifleinatmylocalrangefor25mandcontinuedtoputaround400roundsofbothSKandCCIStandard ammunition through it ontosomeMultiTargetsmallboretargets.Imanagedto hold the vast majority of the shots insideeithertheXor5ringwithmaybe10%ofthemdropping into the 4 ring but I certainly wasn’tdisappointed with my result considering thestockdidn’tfitmeproperly,andthetriggerpull

weightwassomewherebetween8lbsandtowingabus.Thetriggeractionandpullweightonthe10/22isbyfaritsweakestpointbut it just requires timerather than

Once the trigger’s been lightened and the stock fits properly I’ll be able to compare the scores against those that I usually shoot

Left and next page - Removing the barrel band and releasing some tension on the action screw made quite a difference to the 10/22’s accuracy. You can see how much pressure was exerted by the high point on the fore end against the underneath of the barrel. Making sure it is free floating will improve both the accuracy and functioning of the rifle.

80 Target Shooter

huge amounts of money being spent on it inordertomakeitgoodenoughformostpeopletoshootinacompetitionwithit.

Themostpleasingthingaboutthisrifletomewasitsreliabilitystraightoutofthebox.Eventhoughnothinghadbeenruninasitwere,IexperiencednomalfunctionswhatsoeverthroughoutthetestsessionwhichisadefiniteimprovementonwhatI’vebeenexperiencinglatelythat’sforsure.I’mstill convinced that the rather loose chamber(compared to a Bentz orMatch) dimension isthebiggestcontributingfactortothereliabilityofastandard10/22rifleasmostoftheproblemspeopleseemtobehavingwiththemiswithanaftermarketbarrelfitted.Anotsotightchamberobviouslyisn’tidealifyourgoalisachievingtheultimateinaccuracy,butIforonewouldprefertoshootariflethatworks100%reliablyratherthanonethatyoujustknowisgoingtojamuponyouatleastonceduringamatch.

Whenordering the rifle I specificallyasked foronewithasimplewoodenstockinsteadofthenormal black synthetic option because I’veneverfoundastockthathasfittedmeproperlystraightoutoftheboxanyway,andtheyhaveallhadtobemodifiedinsomewayandthiswould

bemuch easier to accomplish with a woodenratherthanaplasticone.Itwillcertainlytakeabitoftimeandefforttochangetheprofileofthestocksothatitfitsmeproperlybutitwon’tcostmuchmoneyanditwillcertainlyhelptoimprovemy performancewith it when it’s done.As forthe magazines, I have around 25 standardfactoryonesandhavevery,veryrarelyhadanyproblemswithanyofthemoverthelast14yearsthat I’vebeenusing them,and thesamegoesformostoftheothershootersoutthereonthecircuit too. I strip and clean every single oneof them before a big competition and as longastheyarenotfullofsandormudthereisnoreasonatallwhytheyshouldn’tworkproperly.OnethingworthmentioningisthatRugeradvise

Using decent ammo……..

will help produce decent results

.....for example!!

Target Shooter 81

1½turnsoftensiononthemagazinespring/platebutIput3completeturnsonmine.Ifindthatifyoushootalotofmatchesoveralongweekendinallsortsofdirtyandwetconditionstheextratensionalwaysseemstoensurethelastroundis pushed up to the top properly, whereas aweakerspringtensionmightnotalwaysdothis,butseewhatworksbest foryouat theendoftheday.

I’mnotreallysurehowmanyroundsthisbarrelwillrequirethroughitbeforeitsettlesdownandgives its best accuracy resultsbut I put a fewgroupsdownrangeanywayjustrestingitontopofmygunbag toseewhatcouldbeachievedontheday.AtfirstIwasn’tthatimpressedtobehonestasIwasgettingsomeverticalstringingalongwith the odd flyer here and there but aquickcureformostofthiswasdonebysimplyremovingthebarrelband.Thiscertainlyhelpedto tighten thegroupsupand thingswere laterimprovedonagainby looseningoff theactionretaining screw as the barrel was definitelybindingupinsidetheforeendandwasnowherenearfreefloating.Infairnessthoughmanyofthe

aftermarketstocksthatIhaveusedinthepastalso needed some relieving inside the barrelchannelandthisissuewillbeaddressedinthenearfuture.Imaygetthebarrelshortenedandre-crownedasIdon’tneedthescrewcutthreadorsightpostontheendofit,andthismighthelpincreasetheaccuracyofthebarrelatthesametime,althoughIthinkthegroupsachievedbothfreehandandoffthebenchwouldbemorethanadequatetoachieveagoodscorewithinanyofthe shorts events.Once the trigger grouphasbeensortedoutproperly I reallycan’tseeanyreasonfornotbeingabletoshootstraight300’swith itallday long inaT&P1match,providingyoudoyourbitrightofcourse.

Unfortunately due to me moving house thismonthIjusthaven’thadtimetostartanyofthemodificationworkthatcanbedonetothisriflesothiswillhavetoberesumednextmonthwhenI’llcoversomeofthethingsthatyoucandotomake the stock, ABR, trigger unit, magazinerelease, bolt and some other bits and piecesworkalittlebetter.

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82 Target Shooter

Autumn has spread her glorious colours overBisley ranges although all the signs are fora hard winter. The bushes are dripping withberriesandthesweetchestnutsarebigenoughtobemistakenforconkers.Bumpercropindeedfor both people and squirrels alike, howeverthosechestnuttreesoughttocomewithnaturalwarning signs about the spiky case combinedwithgravity–especiallyinourcarpark!

I’m sure that you, likeme, tried to keepup tospeedwiththecommonwealthgamesshootingevents whenever they were on. You, like me,were probably disappointed by the lack of TVcoveragegiven toourmedalwinningathletes.Thecatchupprogrammesweren’ttoobadandIdidseeaniceinterviewwithMickGaultwhenheannouncedhisretirement.However,comparedtotheamountoftimegivenovertopeoplegoingdownwith ‘DelhiBelly’ itwasprettypoor.OneofmycolleagueswroteandcomplainedaboutittotheBBCandgotquiteagoodresponse.The

interestingbitwas:

“We’reguidedbythefeedbackthatwereceiveand to thatend I’d like toassureyou that I’veregisteredyourcomplaintonouraudiencelog.Thisisadailyreportofaudiencefeedbackthat’scirculatedtomanyBBCstaff,includingmembersoftheBBCExecutiveBoard,programmemakers,channelcontrollersandotherseniormanagers.The audience logs are seen as importantdocumentsthatcanhelpshapedecisionsaboutfutureprogrammingandcontent.”

Doesthismeanthatiftheygetlotsofcomplaintstheywilllisten?Hmmm……

However,despitepoorcoverage,ourguysdidamagnificent jobgaining10gold,9silverand13bronze(atleastthat’sallIcouldfindfromtheofficialsite!).ParagPatelalsobrokethegamesrecord in the Fullbore Queens Prize Open,scoring 396.42v with David Calvert taking the

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bronze medal with 393.35v. Parag also got abronzemedalinthepairswithJonUnderwood.TheEuropean long rangechampionships tookplaceovertheweekendofthe16/17thOctober.

This was primarily a team competition andattractedentriesfromEngland,Scotland,ChannelIslands,WalesGermanyandIreland.Theyshotat800,900and1000ydsonSaturdayfollowed

Parag, Jon & Jeremy

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by900and1000onSunday.Alldistanceswere2sightersand15tocount.EnglandwereintheleadfromScotlandby5pointsattheendofplayonSaturdayandforgedevenfurtheraheadonSundaytowinby13pointseventhoughtheyhad12fewerVbulls.ThefinalscoreswereEngland4317.338,Scotland4304.350,ChannelIslands4254.301,Wales4136.256,Germany4124.235and Ireland 4084.265. George Gilpin won theIndividualChampionshipwith73.6.

......................

SecretaryGeneral,GlynnAlger’sNotes

NRA Finance

AsyoumaynowbeawaretheAssociationhasannounced a deficit for the end of 2010. Asexpectedourcriticsare forecastinggloomanda return to theold failingsof theNRAprior to2001.

The previous £2 million plus debt wasaccumulated with little comment over anextended period, due to a lack of businessplanningandfinancialmanagement.TheexcuseusedbymanyatthetimewaswewentintodebtduetheCommonwealthGames. Inreality theshort-fall from the Games was approximately£250,000.Iwillletyoudothemaths.

This time it is different. TheAssociation hasnotifiedall of themembership in anopenandhonestmanner that it isgoing into the red,onthebasisthatthissomethingwecanfixbynextyear.

Why did this happen you ask? In truth wegot our budget forecasts wrong. As a resulthaving made assumptions about our incomewe believed we could bemore positive goingforward. We employed more staff to try toimproveservice,drivingcostsup.Atthesametime having listened to members we investedinnewtoiletblocksatBisley,supportedteams,discountedpricestoyoungshooters,inaneffortto bring them into the sport, sold high qualityammunition to members at a very low pricecompared with its real retail value and gaveinterest free loans to clubs nationally allowingthemtobuytheirrangesortoimprovefacilities.Allofthesedecisionsmadesenseandwerein

linewithourcharitableobjectiveswhenputupagainstthefinancialforecastsgiventous.

The basic mistake that we made was that inour enthusiasm to be charitablewemade themistakeofgivingbenefittoshootersbaseduponforecastsratherthanknownincome.Thisisnotamistakewewillmakeagain.

In the meantime we have to cut our clothappropriately by looking at cutting costs andincreasingincometoputusbackintotheblackin2011.

Cumbria

The NRA gave evidence to the ParliamentaryHomeAffairsCommittee(HAC)baseduponoursubmissionwhichwas in linewith thatagreedwith theBritishShootingSportsCouncil. Theevidencewasgiven to theHACbyGeoffDoeourFirearmsLiaisonRepresentativeintheinitialmeetinginSeptember.

Thekeyrecommendationsare:

• TheFirearmsActsof1968–1997shouldbeconsolidatedintoasingleAct

• No wholesale review of firearmslaw should take place in the currentemotionallychargedclimate

• Any new firearms legislation should bedivided into two acts; criminal justicemattersandlicensingadministration

• Appealsagainstpolicelicensingdecisionsshouldbedealtwithbytribunal

• Airgun control laws should not bedevolvedtoScotland

• The current regime for licensing riflesshouldnotbeextendedtoshotguns

During thecourseof theevidencebeinggivenit became apparent to those present that theHAC members had little or no knowledge offirearmsuseorthelaw,inparticularthevarioushoopsthatshootershavetoleapthroughtogetaFirearmsCertificate.ThisbeingthecasewemustbewarythattheCommitteethroughalackofunderstandingorknowledgedonotproposeinappropriate legislation that could furtherdamageoursport.Theparadoxofanysucheffortsbytheauthoritiestogodowntherouteofevengreaterrestrictionis

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thattheywouldnothavestoppedthetragediesinCumbriaorNorthumberland.

In an effort to ensure that the HAC arebetter informed and to create an appropriaterelationship,theNRA,NSRAandtheCPSAhavearrangedtheopportunityforthemembersoftheCommitteeand theirstaff tocome toBisley toshoot,rifle,pistolandshotgunsothattheyhaveapositiveexperienceandareabletogetaviewonthecurrentlegislationinaninformalsetting.ItishopedthatatsomestagetheCommitteewillcometoBisleyasecondtimetotakeevidencefortheirenquiry.

In themeantime theNRAwillcontinue to takepartin,monitorandcommentonanyevidencesessionsastheyoccur.

Theotherworrying issue,particularly followingCumbria, is the failureof thepolice todate toreport on the circumstances surrounding theobvious operational failure to manage andminimise Derek Bird’s tragic rampage aroundCumbria.

Traditionally thepolicewill tryandoffsetsomeof the blame to the shooting community byrecommending the introduction of yet morebureaucracy.Thiswillberesisted.

…………………………..

To help us continue our work you might liketo consider NRAmembership which is a verygood buy at the moment. £50 will get youthroughto theendof2011,normally£95!!Formore information and an application pack seeour website, www.nra.org.uk, or email NickHalford on memassist@nra.org.uk. All fullmemberships include a substantial insurancepackageaswellasmanyotherprivileges.

HeatherWebbMembershipSecretary

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Competitions

The last of our 100 and 1000 yard benchrestcompetitions were scheduled to take place atthe beginning of October and indeed our 100yardbenchrestshootdidgoaheadinunusuallywarmmildconditions.Forour1000yardshootthe following day, it was a different story withtorrential rain and gale-force winds forcing acancellation–theshootisnowre-scheduledforSaturdayOctober30th-whichwastohavebeenourfirst600yardshootofthewinterseries.Bestlaidplans.........

Despite the favourable conditions for the 100yardshoot,aggswerenotgreatbut IanDixontookhis fourthwinof theyearandwith it, theUKBRA100yardHeavyVarmintChampionship.Darrel Evans also wrapped up the FactorySporter Championship – with best four out offivestraightwinstocount,hecouldn’tbebeaten.Results:100 yards Heavy Varmint:

1st IanDixon 6PPCWalkerBAT 0.2902in.(av.offive5-shotgroups)2nd MartinMiles 6PPCRGRStolle 0.29183rd VinceBottomley 6PPCTGPBAT 0.2922

Small group:

MartinMiles 0.171inches

Factory Sporter:

1st DarrelEvans 6PPCSako 0.4446in.2nd AndyWolley 6PPCSako 0.7168

Small group

DarrelEvans 0.349inches

IthasbeenanothergreatyearwiththeUKBRAChampionships, attracting no less than 80shooters.However, this is somewhatdownonpreviousyearsandmaybereflectsthegeneralrecession. Although benchrest is no moreexpensive than any other shooting discipline,the cost of travelling and where necessary,overnight accommodation can make it so.Diggleistheonlyfacilityshooting600yardand1000 yard benchrest, so some shootersmusttravel considerable distances to compete. 100yardbenchrestcanalsobeshotatBisleywiththeBritishBenchrestClub,whoareaffiliatedtotheUKBRA.

Our Champions for 2010 are therefore:

100 yards Heavy Varmint

1st IanDixon2nd VinceBottomley3rd JackSearle

FactorySporter 1st DarrelEvans2nd AndyWoolley3rd DarrenGrundle

From The Bench

VINCE’S REGULAR COLUMN WHEREBY ACCURACY NUTS CAN KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE ACTIVITIES OF THE UKBRA

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Smallest group of the year:

JeanetteWhitney0.113inches

600 yards Light Gun1st JackGibb2nd JeanetteWhitney3rd VinceBottomley

FactorySporter 1st PhilGibbon2nd DarrelEvans3rd BruceLentonSmall group of the year:

BrianWebb 2.035inches

TheUKBRAAGMwasheldfollowingtheOctobershoot.Nextyear,weareplanningtoholdmore100yardshootsand, in thehopeofattractingmoreshooters,wewillbeshootingfor‘score’at

somecompetitionsratherthangroup–similartowhatthe22rimfireguysdo.Youcanuseexactlythe same rifleandequipmentandclasseswillbe the same.Keep an eye onTargetShooterandourshootingcalendaratwww.ukbra.co.ukformoredetails.

Darrel Evans has once again dominated the 100 yard Factory Sporter Class with his 6PPC Sako

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Inassociationwith

As our own championships draw to a closelets hear from downunder about their recentnationals, with a detailed analysis and a personalviewfromRebeccaRichards.

Australian RBA Nationals 2010The 2010 Australian RBA Nationals was recentlycontested at the Jim Smith Smallbore rifle rangeinBrisbane,Queensland,withtheeventrunbytheCliftonBenchrestUnion.Thisevent,heldover twodays fromSaturdayJuly31st to August 1st, was well attended, with 54shooterscompetingforprizesdonatedbygeneroussponsors. For some, this event would contributetowardsqualificationandselectiontotheAustralianBenchrestShootingTeam,headingover to theUSnextyearfortheRimfireWorlds.Thefirst dayʼs competition startedwitha cold, butquietandgentlebreeze,toeasealltheshootersintofamiliarroutinesandlullthesenses,whereholdingoffontheedgeofthe10ringwasusual.However,bythestartofthesecondround,thebreezehadpickedupsignificantly,wasnervousandshifty,thestrengthindicatorswerehorizontal,andpickingeach shotwas the order of the day.Many people

sufferedwithbigpointlossesduringthisround,butthe top shooters seemed to copewith the breezebetter,sodidnʼthemorrhageasmanypoints.After partakingof a saladand cold-cuts lunch,weproceeded toshoot the thirdandfinal card for theday,with thebreezemoderatingsomewhat,but itsshiftiness was still evident, with some wild shotsexperiencedbymany.Thislastroundwasachancetocatchuponcompetitors,rebuildtheconfidence,androundoutthedaywithgreatscores.The final dayʼs shooting started with similarconditions to the previous day, with very still andquiet conditions. The best scores of the dayoccurredduringthefirstround,buteventhesescoresweretrickytoachieve,asthesoftbreezethrewupunexpectedverticals,soanicestringof10ʼswouldberudelyinterruptedbya9at12:00.None-the-less,smiles froma lotofcompetitorswereseen,as thescoresreflectedthegentleconditions.As the day warmed up, and the thermals blewthrough,thebreezegrewstronger,butneverreachedthestrengthof theSaturday.Thesecond roundofthedaywas tricky,buthighscoreswereachievedwith a bit of patience, planning, and watchingthetime.

Australian shooters on the line at the RBA Nationals

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The last round of the competition was shotafterlunch.Onlyafewpointsseparatedtheleaders,andinsomecases,onlyafewcentres.Asaresult,itwasanervousfiringlineforsome.JustlikethelastroundonSaturday,thebreezedropped,buttheflagswerenervous,andneededfullattentioninordertoavoidsillyshots.After two days of competition, the overall resultswere:John Patzwald scored 1474 (63x) to be crowned2010RBANationalsChampionMitchellTallerscored1471(82x)placedsecondandwascrownedJuniorChampionRobin Cox placed 3rd with 1471 (64x), and wascrownedSeniorChampionLesFloodplaced4thwith1470(58x)BrettWilsonplaced5thwith1469(56x)RebeccaRichardsplaced6thwith1464 (68x)andwascrownedWomensChampionKathyLarkinplaced7thwith1462(68x)StuartElliottplaced8thwith1461(66x)StuartNealeplaced9thwith1461(62x)BillCollarosplaced10thwith1461(60x)Welldonetoallcompetitors!

Rebecca’s perosnal diary of the event.After driving twelve hours or so from a balmyBrisbanewinter(about26degreesC),throughpeakhour traffic, construction zones on freeways, rain,bitinglycoldwind,sleet,andevensomesnow,toacold,wetSydneynight,Iparkedthecar,andbegantounloadthegearintothegarage.Mybrother-in-lawmetmeinside,tookonelookattheRBAcards,andsaidmatter of factly, “gee, anyone could hit thosetargets,evenIcould!”.So that marked the end of the 2010 AustralianRBANationals forme,heldover3days from30thJuly to 1st August, in the Jim Smith SmallborecomplexwithintheBelmontriflerange,justoutside

ofBrisbane,Queensland,organisedandrunbytheCliftonBenchrestUnion.IdroveuptoBrisbaneontheThursday,takingabout12 hours or so, and thankfully, the trip was quiteuneventful (though rather long,even though I tookashortcut).AlongfortheridewasmytrustycustomFWBrifle,about500roundsofLapuaeXactammo,a Caldwell Rock BR front rest, andmy sister (formoral and emotional support). Doing the maths afew days beforehand, I thought Iʼd only consumeabout250rounds,butintheend,Icameawaywithabout60roundsspare!Friday 30th was the first “unofficial” day of thecompetition, being the practice day. This was thetimetolookaroundthecomplex,findwhichbenchesIʼdbeshootingfrom,layoutsomeflags,oogleoverthemyriadotherrifles(therewere54competitorsattheevent),andgetusedtotheidiosyncrasiesoftherangeitself.Onepieceofadvicegivenoutbythelocalswastonevershootinthedeadlulls-thePOIwouldalwaysbelowat6:00.Itestedthisoutduringpractice,andfoundittoberathertrue!IʼdonlyevercompetedinoneotherlocalRBAshoot,whichwasheldafewweeksprior.TheRBAtargetsaremuchharder than the targets I normally shoot(whicharebasedontheISSFsmallboretargetrifledimensions), as the target area is smaller - the10-ringissmallerat7mmdiameter,andthecentreXisabout1mmdiameter.Wewereduetoshoot6cards of 25 scoring shots per card plus unlimitedsighters over the following two days, so a perfectscorewouldbe1500(150x).Friday was devoted to tweaking the barreltuner,gettingthe“gameface”on,psychingoutthecompetition,and(moreimportantly)socialising.I didnʼt begin to feel the nerves until the nextmorning,thefirstdayofcompetitionshooting.We were split into three details (myself in the

Bill Collaros with his trusty Feinwerkbau

90 Target Shooter

second detail), 30 minutes per detail, would beshooting three of the 6 cards, and would have torotateamongstthe18benches.Thismeantthatthedetailswerenoisy,busyaffairs.The breeze started off quite mildly from theright, almost at 3:00, but by the time the seconddetailwasunderway, thebreezehad ratchetedupquiteabit,thepropellersontheflagswereablurofcolour,andthetailswerehorizontal! Iʼdnevershotinabreezethisstrongbefore, andwasholdingoff in the7-ring todrifttheroundacrossintothe10,orsoIledmyselftobelieve.Thesighterslookedliketheyʼdbeenhitbyashotgunblast,sweatwasstreamingintomyeyes,andIwaspanicked!Whattodo?After10minutesofblazingaway into thesighters,withnaryagroupforming,Istopped, lookedatmytimer,andwonderedwhetherthecompwasgonnabeoverforme.Nineteenminutestodo25scoringshots.SoImovedtothenextsighter,shot3quickrounds, theymagically formedanice tightgroup, Iwound on about aMOA ofwindage, and a tad ofelevation,movedtothefirstscoringtarget,andshota10.Withaheightenedsenseofconfidence,Iproceededtodrop12pointsovertheremaining24shots,andsteppedbackoffthefiringlinewith5minutestogo.Whenthetailsontheflagswerehorizontal,Iscored10ʼs.Whentheywerenʼt,well,….The saving gracewas that everyone else shot asbadlyasIdid,whichkeptmeinthegame.Luckily,after lunch, the breeze calmed down, but keptshiftingandturningenoughtokeepusallconstantlyonourtoes.Putaroundinthechamber,closethebolt, look down the scope, aim, quick glance attheflag,aimoffatadontheedgeofthe10-ringat3:00,squeezethetrigger,andwatchhorrifiedastheimpactislowinthe9ring,andtheflagshadchanged

from3:00to12:00.At theendof theday, thereweresmilesall round,therifleswerecleanedandpackedaway,andpeo-plerelaxedaroundabeer,acoffee,orasoftdrink,whilewaiting for thescorers tocompile the resultsandpostthemup.Theweather report for the second (and final) daywasencouraging.Thedaystartedcold, clear, andblessedlystill.Thebreezedidnʼtreallybegintowakeupuntiltheseconddetail,soIwasabletoputinaverynice249(14x).The lady Iwaschasing (KathyLarkin)intheaggregatescoringalsoshota249(18x),whichendedupbeingthehighestcardfortheday.Whenthebreezefinallywokeup,itwasveryshifty,and nervous. I had been suffering shots the daybeforewheretheyʼdgo intothe8-ringat1:30,andwasdiscussingitlaterwhenMitchellTallergavemea gem of advice. The flags were showing breezefrom the right, but the bottles (indicating the windstrength) were lifting back towards the breeze,pushingmy shots out towards the 1:30. Nomoreproblemsofthatnaturethisday!Another 3 rounds, another 3 shifts of benches,it came time to firing the last shots of thecompetition, and then a sigh of relief at survivinganother eventwith nerves intact. It tookmeabouttwominutestofirethat lastshot,a10tofinishtheevent.After much deliberation by the scorers, theprotest period passed without incident, theyfinally placed the dayʼs final result and theaggregatescoresontheboardsforalltosee-(seefirstarticle).

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The final round of the 2010 F Class Leaguewill be shot at Bisley in the first weekend inNovember.

Forafewshooters,theeffort,timeandmoneytheyputhaveputintotheirshootingthroughoutthe year will be rewarded with trophies andprizesbutformostofusitwillbetimetoreflectandthinkhowwecan improveover thewintermonthstobeinthetopgroupofshootersnextyear. I knowwhich one Iwill be in - I amnotplanningonbuyinganysilverpolish!

ThefinalroundalsocoincideswiththeEuropeanFClassChampionshipsandthisyear,wehavearecordentryofoverseascompetitors.ItisalsoBonfire Night over the weekend of the shootand inaddition to theShootBuffetwehaveafirework display laid on (not sure what someof the foreign shooterswillmake of this but itshould be a good night) - as if organiser MikMaksimovicdidn’thaveenoughtodo!

The shoot takes place over the Friday andSaturday with the ‘individuals’ and SundaydevotedtoateamshootandwiththenumbersattendingtherecouldbealotofteamsshootingontheSunday,notjusttheNationalteams.With

numbersexpectedtobeinexcessof160,thiswill be the largest F Class shoot ever held intheUK -andpossibly theworld - withmorecountriesrepresentedthaneventhelastWorldChampionships. Target ShooterscribesVinceBottomleyandLaurieHollandarebothshooting– intheF/TRClass-soyoucanrelyonafullreportintheDecemberissueofTarget Shooter.It isn’t just Target Shooter scribes who haveswitchedtoshootingF/TR-thistimeIamalsogiving itago–achange frommymoreusualOpenClass. I haven’t jumped ship - or goneover to the ‘darkside’ -aspeoplekeep tellingme-Ijustwantedtogiveitago,seeingasmy284 Win. Open Class rifle is currently beingre-barrelledbyPeteWalkerofWalkerCustomRifles.

The284hasservedmewell,givingsignificantlybetter barrel life than the 6.5-284 and onlyslightly inferior ballistics to the all-conquering7mmWSM. To save time and effort however,thenewbarrelwillhavea‘no-turn’neck–I’mnotconvincedthata‘tight’neckisreallynecessary–orwise-forFClasscompetition.

Butthatisn’ttheonlyreasonIamgivingF/TRa

The Long View News from the GB F-Class Association by Les Holgate

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go.Asmanypredicted,F/TRcertainlyseemstobe thegrowthdisciplineand inmyhomeclub,Diggle, itnowaccountsforthevastmajorityofFClassshooters. InmostLeagueShoots thisyear, F/TR shooters have outnumbered OpenClasscompetitors.

One thing Iwon’tmiss is carryingaround thatheavy front-rest - itmustbeworth tryingF/TRjust toavoid that!Maybe less tocarrybut it iscertainly no easier to shoot, as I am findingout! The F/TR guys have really pushed theperformanceof the308Win.cartridgeover thelasttwoyearsandthebestoftheF/TRshootersregularly secure top ten placings in theOpenclass!

Although the F/TRClasswas started to caterforshooterswith‘standard’308riflesandHarrisbi-pods, the top shooters have now gone thecustomrouteand thehumbleHarris isa thingof the past with some weird and wonderfulcontraptions appearing, which offer far betterstability. The latest offering - imported fromAmerica by Fox Firearms – is a fantasticaluminium and carbon-fibre affair weighingjust19ouncesbutcostingalmostasmuchasaproperOpenClassfrontrest!(LookoutforareviewinTarget Shooter verysoon).

AnyhopethattheF/TRclasswouldbeacheaper‘entry-level’ class has evaporated, though ofcourse the barrel-life of a 308 is maybe fiveor six times thatofa7mmWSM,so thatdoesrepresent a significant saving. Whilst on thesubject of F/TR barrels, they should be long

(30-32 inches)heavy (but remember that18lbweightlimit)andof‘match’quality-ifyouwanttohaveanychanceofregularlyfindingthathalfMOAVbull!

It isn’t just rifle that’s evolving, it is also thebulletsweuse.WhenF/TRfirststared,almostallshooterswereusingthe155grainbullet.Now,there is amove towards the heavier bullets –175,185andeven210grainers.Itseemstobearoutethatisyettobeconfirmedasa‘mustdo’andLaurieHollandiscurrently‘tippingtheapplecart’–ifnotexactlyoverturningit–withhislittle223,shooting90grainbullets!

Whether it’sOpenorF/TRyouwant toshoot,youdon’thavetohavetohavealimitlessbudgettocompete.Whenitcomesdowntoit, it’s justyou,thatlittlebulletandthewind.Theyarethemain factorsanddespiteall theotherexcusesweuseandhear-andtheyarecountless(barrelshot-out,bulletblewup,badrelay,poormarking,powderdifferenttolastbatch,sockstootight!!)thewindwill always be yourmain opposition,regardless of your budget. Come and try it!www.f-class.org.uk

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AregularcolumnwherebyKenHallkeepsusuptodatewithblackpowdercartridgerifleshootingintheUK.

QUIGLEY SHOOTING ASSOCIATION, ENDOFTRAILSHOOTOct9th2010.

Thelongrunofwetandblusteryweatherpreceding the Quigley Shooting Association’ssecondEndofTrail event of the year, led theorganiser,KenHall, toplan theshootsso thatadvantagecouldbemadeofthecoveredfiringpoint.Asthingsturnedout,thedaywasdry,but

ahorrendousfull-onwindmeantthateverythinghadtobeweighteddowntopreventitbecomingairborne.

The black powder cartridge rifle andmuzzle loading rifle or musket comps wereshot at 100yds, and25yds formuzzle loadingrevolver.

Event 1, for muzzle loading pistol,

DaveMalpas,UbertiRemington

GregHoskinchecksMikeDavenport’starget

KenHallandHi-Wall

KenJones,RugerOldArmy

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consistedofabenchresttypeTightgroupshoot,inwhicheachfirershotfourseparategroupsat25ydsonastandardpistoltarget,groupsizeswere added together and an average takento determine thewinner.Thiswaswon in finestylebyMikeDavenportusingaEuroarms.44cal Rogers & Spencer to achieve an averageof 2.37in. (His smallest group measuring afantastic1.83in).Runner-upwasDaveMalpas,usinghisUbertiRemington in .44cal,withanaverageof4.9in.

Event2wasformuzzleloadingrifleandconsistedof ten shotsat a racetrack target at100yds. Dennis Richardson won this with ascoreof89achievedwitha.50inLymanTryonRifle borrowed from Ken Jones. Ken Jonescamesecondwithascoreof86.(Don’tyouhateitwhenthathappens?)

Event3forbreechloadingblackpowderrifles,consistedoffiveshotsata“V”notchtargetat100yds.DaveMalpashitnearest the “V” towinthisoneusinghis.45/70Sharps.

Event4was5shotsatareducedbuffalotargetat50ydswithbreechloadingblackpowderrifles

Event 5, also for breech loading blackpowderriflesconsistedof5shotsatareducedsilhouetteofamountedIndian.

Event 6, also for breech loading blackpowderriflesconsistedof5shotsatamodifiedturkey target, KenHallmanaged towin thesethreewithhisUbertiHi-Wallin.38-55.

Blackpowdercompetitionsalwaysseemtobringout thebest inshooters,andallwhoattendedhadareallyrelaxedandlight-heartedday._____________________________________

THEQUIGLEYSHOOTINGASSOCIATION.

SEPTQUIGLEYCOMPETITION.

ThepenultimateQuigleyshootoftheseasongotunderwayonSaturday25thSeptemberwith,atlast,adryoutlookforthedaywithafairlylight,butnonethelesstricky,windtocopewith.Asusual,Stage1at400ydsconsistedof twosightersandfifteenshotstoscoreattheQuigleybucket at 400yds. It never fails toamazemethat, with the talent on show, we seldom getmorethanelevenhitsonthebucket,atestamentto the difficult conditions at Diggle even on amild day.Aswe broke for lunch the fieldwas

PaulSeymour,Win‘76andDennisRichardsonWin’66

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pretty close, Dennis Richardson led with acreditable59pointsbeingchasedbyIanHullandRichardHealey,eachwith 51 points. Resuming after lunch,stage2wasthebuffalosilhouetteat600ydsandtopscoreronthisstagewasIanHullwith57pointsfollowedbyEricToddwith51pointsandRichardHealeywith50points.UnusuallyforDennis,hecouldonlymanage39pointsat600ydsleavingthewayopenforIanandRichard.Itwasinterestingtoseeoneofourmembers,JohnEllinshootingpaperpatchedbullets throughanoriginalAlexanderHenryfallingblockriflein.45/100.Thefinalscoreswereasfollows.Pos. Shooter. Score.1.IanHullSharps45/90 1082.RichardHealeySharps45/901013.DennisRichardsonBrHiWall45/70 984.KenHallUbertiHiWall40/65895=.EricToddSharps45/90885=.GaryAllsoppRemington45/9088

Detailsfromkhall6548@aol.com

JohnEllinwithhisoriginalAlexanderHenryin.45-100.

RichardcalculatesthesightsettingwhileGaryspotstheshot

Winnerandrunnerup-IanandRichard

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Gallery Rifle Update

The clocks go back over the last weekend inOctober,signalling theendto theGalleryRifleseason,ornearly.

The lastevent thisyear isactually the thirdofthe International Gallery Rifle 1500 MatcheswhichisheldatLeitmarinGermanyonthe13thand14thNovember.Captain,AshleyDagger,istakingtheGBSquadtocompetewithGermanyand Ireland. Thematch is an open event soif you fancy joining in details are available onwww.galleryrifle.com.GoodluckTeamGB,Iwillreportyourprogressnexttime.WorkingbackwardstheAutumnActionWeekendatBisleyison30thand31stOctober.Thespringand autumn meeting have traditionally beenusedtotrialneweventsandthoseeventsthattake a little more time or range space, so in

addition toall the regular favourites theTimedandPrecisionThreeMatchforLBRandLBPisavailable.Toaddtothediversitytherearealso200metre rifle in threeclasses, theMcQueenand, growing in popularity, target shotgunevents.Yourlastchancetopostagoodscoreif you are bucking for inclusion in your HomeInternationalortheGBSquads.Theweekendofthe23rdand24thOctoberseestheTrafalgarHistoricArmsMeetingandtherearegalleryriflematchesfortheclassicenthusiasts.IamgoingalongtotrymyhandandIwillletyouknowhowIgotonnexttime,butfirstIthoughtit worth devoting a few paragraphs to ClassicGalleryRifleforthosewhoarewonderingwhatit’sallabout.

Classic Gallery Rifle

ThisyeartheNRAGalleryRifleSub-Committee

GalleryRifle&PistolNews

Plate 1

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decidedtoreorganisethecentre-firegalleryrifleevents into threeclasses. ThestandardclassisdesignedfortraditionalleveractionriflesthathavebecomethemainstayofGRwithanytypeofsightingsystem.ItisshotinfiveskillclassesDtoAplusX(forexpert),eachofthemaineventshasseparateclassificationsandonceyouhaveshot a qualifying score for a particular classyouare included in that class foranynationalmeetingsthereafter.

Theothertwoclassesareshotasopeneventswithout handicapping. The open class is for

anyrifle(ofqualifyingcalibre)withanysightingsystem, except those which project dot ontothetarget.TheusualstyleofriflefoundintheopenclassistheboxmagazineriflewithstraightpullactionsandmorerecentlytheleverreleaseriflesthathavebecomeavailablefromSouthernGunCompany.

FinallyClassicRifle is for rifles thatqualify forthe historic arms events of the Imperial andTrafalgarMeeting.Ihavebeenhavingagoattheclassics this yearand the research I havedonemayhelpyougetstarted.

The Rifle

The qualifying date for “classic” is 1919; anyrifledesignedonorbeforethisdateiseligible.The actual rifle you use need not have beenmanufactured before the end of 1919, forexampletheShortMagazineLeeEnfield(SMLE)adoptedby theBritishArmy in1907obviouslyqualifies, but the rifle continued in productionuntilwellintothe1940inBritainandevenlaterintheEmpire.AllSMLEriflequalifyasclassicas longas theyare chambered in theoriginal.303”calibre,sotheIndian7.62SMLEarenoteligible.

ForGRthisisgoodnewsastheusualWinchesteror Marlin models 94s pre-date the key dateby25 years. Holdon I hear yousay the riflemaybeOKbut the .357”Magnumdates from

Plate 2

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Marlin Competition Special

1935and the44”Magnum from1955so theyareout,aren’tthey?WelllogicprevailsandtheHistoricBreechloadingSmallarmsAssociation,the guiding body for historic shooting, hasdecidedthat357sand44sareallowedaslongas they are loaded only to 38 and 44 specialvelocities,38and44specialsbothdatingfromthefirstdecadeofthe20thcenturyarethereforepermitted.

Implementation of the rules rely on shootersintegrityinensuringthattheysticktothe“spiritof theoriginal” anda competitormust be in aposition to justify his choice of rifle/calibre byhistoric precedent if challenged by a matchofficialorfellowcompetitor.

Soweallhaveasuitableunderleverbutsurelyyoudon’texpectmetoshootitwiththefactorysights!

Sighting Systems

The rule here is that sights must be ofcontemporary design and I am not surewhetherthismeansavailableatthetimeoffirstmanufacture of the rifle or before 1919, so Ihavetakenthewidestinterpretationandpickedthelatter.

I picked up a well run in Marlin 44 Cowboyand feed it with my normal GR load, whichperformswell(ifIdomypart)andthefeltrecoilinminimal.WhenIboughttherifletheoriginalsemi-buckhorn rear sight and blade with gold

bead foresight weremissing and a scoperail had been fitted.Discarding the rail Istarted to look at rearsightoptionsandIhavetriedthree.

ThefirstistheexcellentMarbles tang sight(figure 1). Marblesstarted making sightsof this type in the late1860s and a similarproduct made byLymanisshownintheir1889 catalogue (figure2).IhavenotseentheLymanversionbutIam

told it lacks windage adjustment so the onlyoptionisdriftingthefrontsightover,theMarbleversion features both elevation and windageadjustment.TheLymanisslightlycheaperbutthey come in at around the £130 mark – soclassicrifleisn’tcheap.

The only disadvantage I have found with thetangstylesightisduringrapidfirestagesitgetsinthewayofthethumbofthelever/triggerhand,butIhavestillmanagedtogetalltheshotsoffinaBianchiMatchsoyoucanlivewithit.Thetangsightscomewithareplacementbuttstockscrew but they also require another hole tobedrilledand tapped in the top tang. A localprecisionengineeringfirmwiththecorrecttapsdid the job in tenminutes for£12sonotabigproblem.Tangsightsdon’thaveanygraduationmarkedonthembutdohavedefiniteclicks,soIhaveputapaintblobontheadjustingknobtoensureIcanaccuratelyreturntozeroandmakeadjustments.

If thetangsight isnottoyour likingthenthereare receiver sights that screwdirectly into theholesdesigned for thescopebase, IpresumeonoriginalsalittlegunsmithingwasnecessaryandmyoldCowboyevenhasholesinthesideofthereceiverfortheLymanversionofreceiversights. The Lyman 1909 catalogue shows avernier style receiver sight so I think they areinthespirit.InadditiontoLymantheWilliamsCompanymake receiver sights that fitMarlinsandWinchesters(figure3). AlthoughWilliams

Plate 1

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sightsaresimilarinstyletoclassicdesignstheyare made from aluminium to reduce cost sowewillseeat theTrafalgarwhether theypassmuster.

IhaveevenfoundanotherreceiversightmadebyacottageindustryinthegoodoldUSA.TimSkinnermakesfullyadjustablesights(figure4)that fit the top receiverholesofMarlin rifles, Igotonemailorderandtheyarewellmadebutthe elevation adjustment is quite limited andnotcontusivetoquickadjustment.Otherwiseagreatanddifferentproduct,whichalthoughonlyrecentlymanufacturedthesimpledesignwouldhavebeenwellwithinthescopeoflate19thandearly 20th century engineering so I think onlyanabsolutepuristwouldchallengethistypeofsight.

Both tang and receiver sights featureexchangeable apertures but be warned verysmallaperturesmayappeartemptingbutdon’tlet much light through, I have found this aparticularproblemwiththeallblack1500targetswherepickingupanaimingpointcanbedifficult.TheLymantype66Areceiversightretailsatjustbelow£100,theWilliamsatabout£60andtheSkinnerIgotforjust£45includingpostageandcustomschargesfromthestates.

So that’s the back sight sorted, what aboutleaving the original blade and gold bead upfront?Youcandobutyoumaywishtoconsideratunnelfrontsight.Theideaofaperturesightsis the “ringwithin a ring” concept,where youreyenaturallylinesuptherearaperturewiththetunnelsurroundingtheforesightjustleavingyou

tocoverthetargetwiththeaimingmarkandpullthetrigger.

IobtainedaLyman tunnelsight for£30and itcame with seven different elements (figure 5)andayellowplasticfilter(don’tthinktheclassicboyswouldliketheplasticfilter).Therearethreebladesandfourringsights, theringsaremostsuitable for the roundelstyleprecision targets.Theonlydifficulty Ihave foundwith the tunnelsightisthatthefrontelementsarenotdistinctinlowlightoroncoveredranges,nowthismightbemyagingeyesbutitmaybeworthtryingoneoutbeforeyouinvestyourhardearned.

And finally

If you go with the tang/tunnel option you canseethatyourinvestmentwillbeabout£160ontopofthecostyourrifle,aboutthesameasaneconomyscopesetup,soit’snotmuchcheaperthanstandardclassshooting.

Butdoyouneedtodoallthisbeforeyoutryisout,wellmaybenot.PhilCowlingshootsanironsightedMarlinstillfittedwith the factorysightsthat camewith thegunandheseems togivemearunformymoney–wellmostlypipsmeatthepost!

NexttimeIwillreportontheTrafalgarGReventsandwe can look at the scores shooters havebeenachievingwithx1magnification.www.galleryrifle.com

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UKPSA Association News

UKPSAsanctionedmatcheshaverecentlybeenheldaroundtheUK.

The HomeCountries Level III ShotgunMatchwasheldatHarlowTownRifleandPistolClub,atharlowinEssexonthe8thand9thofOctober.GeoffSmithwasmatchdirectorforthe9Stage,110round(birdshotonly)match.

Theweatherwaskindtous,anditwasgoodtoseeattendancefromSerbiaagainforthismatch.Unavoidably absent for the first time in moreyearsthananyonecanrecallwasPeteStarleyofMidwayUKwhoshootsModifiedandalwaysperformswell.

ThankstoGeoff,KenandthebuildandsupportteamatHarlowformakingusallfeelwelcome.

HomeCountriesLevelIIShotgunresults:

StandardManualDivision(Pump)1stPlace MartinDavies(GBR)100%2ndPlace NeilSmith 95.16%3rdPlace IainGuy 93.92%

StandardAutoDivision1stPlace MikeDarby(GBR) 100%2ndPlace JamesStarley 95.05%3rdPlace DavidDowding 92.91%

ModifiedDivision1stPlace JamesHarris(GBR)100%2ndPlace BranislavRaketic 96.93%3rdPlace HowardRoberts 70.06%

OpenDivision1stPlace IainCorrigan 100%2ndPlace MichaelScarlett 94.01%3rdPlace NicholasHockley 90.99%

TheLBR/LBF/Mini-rifle&GalleryRifleLevel II

matchHostedbyLeicesterShootingClubatTallTreesGunClub,MiddlesboroughinSeptember.

ThankstoBobandDeniseDunkley,RoyeWest,Ian Chamberlain and Steve Sheasby for anexcellentandentertainingmatch.

LBR/LBF/Mini-RifleandGalleryLevelIIresults:

LBOResults1stPlace PeterStarley 100%2ndPlace RonnieGraham 34.60%

LBSResults1stPlace BobDunkley100%2ndPlace GrahamGuest 97.20%3rdPlace IanChamberlain 92.42%

MRSResults1stPlace VanessaDuffy 100%

Match Announcements

There is another UKPSA sanctioned LongBarrelledRevolver(LBR)LevelIImatchcomingup at Leicester Shooting Centre on SundayNovember21st. It isa10Stagematchwitharoundcountofabout130rounds.

YouwillneedaUKPSALBRcompetitionlicence,plusFACconditionedLongBarrelledPistol.IfyouhaveaPSGCompetitionLicenceyoumayenter the Lever Action / Gallery or Mini-RifleDivision.

Please contact Leicester Shooting Centre formoredetails.EntryisviathedownloadableformontheUKPSAforum.UKPSA Welsh Championships Level III Practical Shotgun match September 2010 Welcomebackback...

Last month we used the UKPSA WelshChampionship Level III shotgun match toillustratesomebasictheoryabouttheimportance

Target Shooter 101

ofstrategywhenshootingastageinIPSCPSG(Practical Shotgun) matches. Although wegenericallyrefertooursportasPracticalShotgun(PSG),itisinfactofficially“IPSCShotgun”,astheUKPSAistheUKregionoftheInternationalPractical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) andwe shoot to their rules and conditions.This isimportant to ensure that the same rules areusedacross theworld,andwhenweshootinginternationally, we all know what to expect.I promisedwewould continue this themewith

a look at one of the stages from the WelshChampionshipsthisyear,anduseittoillustratethe various shooting strategies employed.I’ve chosen a fairly simple stagewith only sixtargetsas theexample, rather thanoneof themuch longer stages. This is to try to keep itsimpleenoughforashortarticle,butyouhaveto remember that almost all larger stages canbebrokendownintosmaller“chunks”.Inotherwords, a 24 target stage can be broken intothreeorfoursmallershootingchallengesof6-8targetseach,andthecompetitorthenusesthe

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timebetweenmovingfromoneshootingpositiontoanotherasanopportunitytoreloadthegun.

It doesn’t always break downthat cleanly, but you get the idea.I will introduce some terminology first, justto prevent me losing flow later on tryingto explain mid-sentence. Please don’t fallasleep on me – I promise I will be brief...Amatchconsistsofanumberofstages-eachof which represents a shooting challenge.Each stage is run by one ormore Range Officers (RO).A stage always starts with a stage briefread by the Range Officer, covering theconditions, requirements and safety aspectsfor that stage, as well as telling you howmany targets,howmany rounds in thegunatthe start, any particular conditions governingthe start of the stage (i.e. how to hold the shotgun – sometimes you may not have it in your hands when starting – it may be resting, unloaded, on a tyre in front of you for example.)Safetyis,ofcourse,thenumberoneconsideration.

IPSChasanunenviablereputationforsafety,notleastbecausewealladoptsimplechecks intoeverythingwedo,and theshooteralwayshasanROwithhim/herfromthemomenttheycomeonto the stage with the gun, until they leave.Competitors are allowed a few minutes toperuse thestageafter thebrief.Theymaynottouch targets, but can ask to see anymovingtargets ormechanisms being activated by theRO.Thetimeistoallowyoutoworkoutthebestshooting strategy, where you need to load (ifrequired)etc.Youmaynotuseagunorother“prop”,soyouwillusuallyseeeveryonedoingan elaborate and often comical little dancearound the stage pretending to shoot andloadthegunwithoutstretchedarms.Thisistotry to “fix” your shooting plan into your head.Once the time to look at the stage is up, therangeisclearedandthecompetitorswillshootthe stage in a pre-agreed order. The start ofthe stage is controlled by an electronic timerthatemitsaloudbeepsignallingthestart,andit records the timeofeachshot taken (hence why you will see the RO literally right behind

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the competitor as they move through the stage holding a small box. He/she is also there to ensure that there are always “2 brains per gun” – and can step in or stop the stage instantly in the event of a perceived or real problem).The time for the stage will be from thestart beep to the last shot fired – and isrecorded to 100th of a second accuracy.There are three basic Start options for theshotgununderIPSC:

• AnOPTION 1 Start:Wherethegunhasaroundchambered,andthemagazineisfilledtothemaximumroundsallowedforyourdivision.SafetyMUSTbeON.

• AnOPTION 2 Start:WherethegunhasanEMPTYchamber,andthemagazineisfilledtothemaximumroundsallowedforyourdivision.SafetydoesNOTHAVEtobeON(asthere’snoroundinthecham-ber!)

• AnOPTION 3 Start:Where the gun iscompletely empty. Safety does NOTHAVEtobeON

You may not touch your ammunition until thestartbuzzerCOF:CourseOfFire(thematchstageyouareabouttoshoot).COMSTOCK Stage: Thismeansyoumayloadasmanyadditionalroundsasyoufeelyouneed

in order to shoot all targets. There are othertypeswhichareVIRGINIACOUNT–whereyoumustONLYshootasmanyroundsaretherearetargetsandonlyoneshotateachtarget.So ifthereare8targetsyouwillbepenalisedifyouhavetoshootMOREthaneightroundsinorderto hit all targets. In other words, don’t miss!ThereisalsotheFIXEDTIMEstage–whereyoumayuseandloadasmanyroundsasyouwish,butthereisafixedtimeinwhichtoshootallthetargets.Onlytargetsshotinthattimeframecount.NO-SHOOT–This isapenalty target,usuallycolouredRED,YELLOWorWHITE.Ifyoushootthistargetanditfalls–youwillincura10pointpenalty.FAULT LINE – A Painted RED strip of woodor barrier that must not be crossed and thegunfiredwhileshooting. It isused todefineashootingarea,orensurethatacompetitordoesnot cut through any area the stage designerwants to keep you out of. It is acceptable tocrosstheselinesandcomebackoverWITHOUTfiringashot,but if youcrossa lineandshootyoumaybepenalisedforeveryshotfiredfromthat point and certainlywill get aminimum10pointpenalty!–youreallydon’twanttodothis.(note: I’m not going into divisions too much here – but they are Standard Manual (Pump), Standard Auto, Modified and Open.)

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Diagram 1showsthestagewewillbelookingat. It isasimpletop-downdiagramandshowsthekeyelements.StageDesignersincreasinglyuse a software program to do this, as thestagemustbesanctioned forgradedmatchesto ensure it presents an appropriately safe,consistent, repeatable shooting challenge anddoesnotbiastall/shortorleft/righthandpeople.Note the tyres around the stage confine.Downrange is to the top of the diagram.Startposition is standing at position indicatedby the “S” with one foot touching a post.Here, for comparison is a photo of the actualstage: The start post is the white stick atthe back of the red shooting area definedby Fault Lines (this restricts the shootingarea if you’ve read the terminology bit.)Now, the photo is better because it’s inthree dimensions. It is very difficult (almostimpossible)toplanastrategyoffthesubmittedstage diagram. It is used to illustrate thechallenge–not include thenuances. Itshouldpresent a shooting challenge – a stage thattest the shooter’s accuracy and speed. Whatis to be avoided is an obvious “stand-in-the-middle”,straightblast-as-fastasthecompetitorcanmuster,hencewhytheno-shootsareused,andhowtheyarepositioned.Ashotgunisalotmoreaccuratethanpeopleoftenthink,butyoureallyhavetoaimcarefullytoavoidhittingthem.Paraphrasing the actual Stage Brief withsome comment thrown in for clarity...”This stage is a COMSTOCK stage (use as many rounds as you need) consisting of SIX METAL TARGETS and FOUR NO-SHOOT TARGETS. The Stage is worth a total of 30 points. (Each target is worth FIVE points. Penalty for hitting a NO-SHOOT is TEN points). Start Position is standing erect with the OPTION 3 (unloaded) gun held in both hands, with the butt touching the hip and muzzle pointing downrange. One foot must be touching the white post. On the start signal, shoot all the targets from within the confines of the shooting area (defined by the red box).”So,thefirstthingisthatyouarestartingwithanemptygun.Oneof thefirstconcernsthereforeisputtinginatleastsixroundstoshootthesix

targets. The distance from the start positionto the frontof theshootingarea isabouteightfeet. It is better to be closer to the targets sothe natural thing to do is get as close to thefront as possible. As you have an unloadedgun,youcanusethiswalkingtimeto loadtheshotgun.Hadthestartconditionbeenaloadedgun, it would present an additional angle of“doIshootfromthestartposition”andbalancethenecessaryextraaccuracyagainst the timetaken to move forward. As it was, this firsttestwashowquickcanyou load theshotgun.Therewere twobasicstrategies thatemergedfrom thisat thecompletion, thatare illustratedin the following diagrams. First (Diagram 1: Multiple Shooting Positions) was to load fourrounds as you moved from the Start to say,positionAwherea fairly clear viewof at leastthree targets was visible. Shoot those three,thenloadanadditional2roundsasyoumovedto position B to shoot the remaining threetargets. This was the most popular methodchosen, even though you had to make twoload sequences and two getting the gun intothe shoulder to aim, plus the moving time.An alternative (Diagram 1: Single Shooting Position)was to simplymove to pointB (orAifyouwished),loadingsixroundsandcarefully(moreaccurately)tryingtohitalltargetsfromthesameposition.Threewereeasier,threemeanthavingtoliterallygrazeavisibleedgeofatargetthatwaslargelybehindano-shoot.Thismeantlesswalking,oneloadingsequence(asquickaspossible)andonlyoneaimingposition,butwasslowerandriskierbecausethemarginforerrorwasreduced.

Ifyouwerereallygood,youcouldloadsixroundsasyoumovedto,sayPositionA.ThenwalktopositionBshootingasyoumoved.Thiswouldtechnicallybethefastestwaytoshootthestage,butitisnotoriouslydifficulttoaimcarefullyasyoumoveandtakeeachstep.Whatyouareactuallydoingisfiringaroundateachstep,takingyourfingerfromthetriggerasyoutakethenextstep,then firing... and so on. This is because youcannot keep your finger on the trigger as youmove.What itbreaksdownto isasuccessionofonestepshootingpositionsandisextremelydifficult to do smoothly, accurately and fast.

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targets. The distance from the start positionto the frontof theshootingarea isabouteightfeet. It is better to be closer to the targets sothe natural thing to do is get as close to thefront as possible. As you have an unloadedgun,youcanusethiswalkingtimeto loadtheshotgun.Hadthestartconditionbeenaloadedgun, it would present an additional angle of“doIshootfromthestartposition”andbalancethenecessaryextraaccuracyagainst the timetaken to move forward. As it was, this firsttestwashowquickcanyou load theshotgun.Therewere twobasicstrategies thatemergedfrom thisat thecompletion, thatare illustratedin the following diagrams. First (Diagram 1: Multiple Shooting Positions) was to load fourrounds as you moved from the Start to say,positionAwherea fairly clear viewof at leastthree targets was visible. Shoot those three,thenloadanadditional2roundsasyoumovedto position B to shoot the remaining threetargets. This was the most popular methodchosen, even though you had to make twoload sequences and two getting the gun intothe shoulder to aim, plus the moving time.An alternative (Diagram 1: Single Shooting Position)was to simplymove to pointB (orAifyouwished),loadingsixroundsandcarefully(moreaccurately)tryingtohitalltargetsfromthesameposition.Threewereeasier,threemeanthavingtoliterallygrazeavisibleedgeofatargetthatwaslargelybehindano-shoot.Thismeantlesswalking,oneloadingsequence(asquickaspossible)andonlyoneaimingposition,butwasslowerandriskierbecausethemarginforerrorwasreduced.

Ifyouwerereallygood,youcouldloadsixroundsasyoumovedto,sayPositionA.ThenwalktopositionBshootingasyoumoved.Thiswouldtechnicallybethefastestwaytoshootthestage,butitisnotoriouslydifficulttoaimcarefullyasyoumoveandtakeeachstep.Whatyouareactuallydoingisfiringaroundateachstep,takingyourfingerfromthetriggerasyoutakethenextstep,then firing... and so on. This is because youcannot keep your finger on the trigger as youmove.What itbreaksdownto isasuccessionofonestepshootingpositionsandisextremelydifficult to do smoothly, accurately and fast.

Here is Martin Davies adopting the multipleshootingpositionapproach.Picture2sequenceshowshimatpositionA,loadingashemovestopositionBand thenshootingagainatpositionB.MartinusesaBenelliSuperNova12gPumpShotgun. His time on this stage was 11.77secondsfromstarttocompletion.

I decided to shoot this using the opposingstrategy,andmanagedatimeof13.03seconds.

This doesn’t necessarily mean the strategywas slower. I did have to loadanextra roundas I was too cautious on one target that onlypresentedabout20cmoftargetarea.MartinisabettershooterthenIamandheisquickloadinghis gun, but on reflection, I did find the singlepositionstrategyrequiredpainstakingaccuracy.One NO-SHOOT would take 10 points fromthemaximumpoints availableof 30– it really

would blow the score if you hit a no shoot!The question is, in hindsight, which strategywouldIfollowifIshotitagain.Iwouldprobablygowiththefirstoneandmovebetweenbothfiringpositions.Ifnothingelse,Iwoulddoitforinterestto see if itwould improvemy time and score.Therein lies the dilemma and the challenge.Multiple strategies almost always presentthemselves. After watching an experiencedsquadofcompetitorsgothroughyougenerallysee a predominant approach start to appear.However,Ihavewatchedandshotwiththetopshooters in the UK and then tried somethingdifferent that has proved to work better (not often though). But itmay just have suitedmebetter because I am better, for example, atweak-shoulder shooting , or can load moreefficientlywhencrouching..orsomeotherfactor.Thisiswhatmakesitsomuchfun.Ifyouhaven’ttried Practical Shotgun, I would urge you tocomealongandhaveagowithus.YouneedaSection1shotgunonyourownFACtoshootcompetitively,butcancomealongwithathreeshotpumporsemi-autoshotgunonaSection2 (Shotgun) licence, or borrow a Section2 under supervision from a fellow shooter.Ifyouwouldliketoknowmore,pleaselookonthewebsitewww.ukpsa.co.uk formoreinformation,or contact your local club. I will be coveringPSGclubsovercoming issues inmoredepth.Inthemeantime,astheWelshChampionshipswasheldatBorderGunsPSGclub,herearetheirdetails:Border Guns PSG : Contact Martin and Jo Davies, or Neil Evans Websiteaddress:www.bordergunspsg.co.ukEmail:info@borderguns.co.ukTelephone:01588 640002

TheclubissituatedatTwoCrosses,ValleyView,NewcastleuponClun,cravenArms,Shropshire,SY78QXandwelcomesnewmembers.It isaPracticalShotgunonlyclub,andhosts regularshootdays.

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Next time in.....

Our 2nd Christmas issue—and looking forward to the New Year

December 2010 Issue

On Test

Features

Regular Columns

Reviews

...and lots more

See you next month.......................................

TheDecemberissuewillbeoutontheatthebeginningofthemonth.Lotsoffollowuparticles,newreviews,newsandaseverpackedwiththearticlesyouwanttoread.