Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
to the second month of this free online shooting magazine for shooters in the UK
No 5 Jungle
Carbine Club Features
Gallery Rifle
The Tikka T3 Hunter is made for the rifle shooter who is looking for top performance and
accuracy with a classic style and feel. The high-grade walnut stock is selected and shaped by
Tikka T3 Hunter Tikka master gunsmiths. The T3 Hunter offers an extensive calibre selection and is available
left handed.
The Tikka T3 Lite features an all-black, sturdy, but lightweight, fibre-glass reinforced polymer
Tikka T3 Lite stock with positive checkering for improved grip and comfort. The cold hammer forged barrel
has a traditional blued finish. Also available left handed.
Shooters facing extreme weather conditions require their rifle to be a trusted, hard-wearing
companion, offering faultless long-term performance. The Tikka T3 Lite Stainless is ideally suited;
made from Tikka’s high-grade stainless steel with a glass fibre reinforced polymer stock, this
Tikka T3 Lite Stainless model gives the double advantage of easy maintenance combined with great looks. Also available
left handed.
All three Varmint models feature a free-floating precision barrel that effectively eliminates
vibration and will not over-heat even in fast-paced shooting. They are produced with a synthetic
stock that has an extra-wide forend for bench resting, and a swivel stud which accommodates
Tikka T3 Super Varmint, either a bipod or a sling. The ergonomically-designed Varmint cheek piece provides comfortable
head positioning with a large scope.
Varmint Stainless & The Varmint Blue features a barrel and action that are made from high-grade blued Cr-Mo steel.
Varmint Blue The T3 Varmint Stainless features a barrel and action made from heat-treated special stainless
steel, which is bead-blasted to a non-glare finish. This model is available left handed.
The T3 Super Varmint is a new model. Like the Stainless model, it features a barrel and action
made from heat-treated special stainless steel, which is bead-blasted to a non-glare finish.
Additionally, the ergonomically-designed cheek piece on the Super Varmint is adjustable, and
this model also features a Picatinny rail and large bolt handle as standard.
When it comes to consistent accuracy, be it on the range or hill, the T3
Varmint models are hard to out-shoot.
For further product information and details of your local Centre of Accuracy
TI0309UD
2 stockistShooter
Target please call GMK Ltd on 01489 587500 or visit www.gmk.co.uk
Target Shooter 3
Welcome to the 2nd month
.......of Target Shooter
22 Basic Rifle Maintenance Sections
by Vince Bottomley
6 Shooting Sport News
10 Shooters Calendar
4 Target Shooter
Association Pages
105 NRA
Editor(s).
106 UKBRA Carl Boswell and Vince Bottomley
Wow, is all I can say about the response to the first magazine! As we get to the publication of the
second instalment, we are in double figures for the amount of unique views of the website and the
first magazine. This currently stands at approximately 15,000 people worldwide.
We started this venture off knowing that we would ‘market’ Target Shooter, with little more public
voice than that of relying on word of mouth to get the message across; ‘we are here’! So please
continue to email your friends, your shooting mates, their wives and their dogs, cats and other pets,
to let them know there is a new shooting magazine in town; and it’s called ‘Target Shooter’. For
passing this on we are much obliged. For the great letters we have had…. well they made us blush!
So with this good news we would like to say a big thanks our readers and our advertisers for the
first month of which promises to be a very successful magazine. It is early days, but we have plans
for articles, columns and events for the next few months and beyond.
With is in mind, please do come to the UKBRA/ UKBR22 stand in the Pavilion on the Phoenix
Meeting weekend. There will be a few of us there promoting individual sports, but also this
magazine. I also know that a few of the writers will be in competition over the weekend so you might
get to see them in action.
We have had a number of requests for articles, some of which we are working towards and others
that might be a way off. However our goal is the same; to promote shooting in all its forms within
the UK and apply that diversity within the magazine. As we build up issues of the magazine, articles
will be placed into an archive. This will happen in the next few months, so watch out for this feature
and links to articles written by some of our writers that have not been published in the magazine.
So coming to the May edition, please read on, excusing the odd typo and spelling mistake (which
will be me); we hope you enjoy it as much as you did the first one.
Disclaimer
The website www.targetshooter.co.uk is part of Target Shooter magazine with all contents of both electronic media copyrighted. No reproduction is permitted unless
written authorisation is provided.
Information, prices and data is believed to be correct at the time of posting on the internet which is on or around the 1st of each month. Advertisements that are firearm
related are from companies or individuals that Target Shooter magazine believes are licensed to hold such firearms and accepts no responsibility if companies or
individuals are not so licensed.
Letters and photographs submitted by members of the public to Target Shooter magazine will be accepted on the basis that the writer has agreed to publication unless
otherwise stated. Target Shooter magazine has no control over the content or ownership of photographs submitted.
The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the views of the publishers and relate to specific circumstances within each article. These are the opinions
and experiences of writers using specific equipment, firearms, components and data under controlled conditions. Information contained in the online magazine or on the
website is intended to be used as a guide only and in specific circumstances caution should be used. Target Shooter Magazine does not except any responsibility for
individuals attempting to recreate such testing using any information, data or other materials in its electronic pages.Publishers of Target Shooter magazine.
Target Shooter 5
Shooting Sport News
NRA CHOOSES RWS 7.62mm Volunteer TR shooters tested the quartet under
Shooter dissatisfaction with ammunition quality in the ‘blind’ conditions at 300 and 600 yards using a
2008 Imperial Meeting saw the NRA and its supplier representative sample of TR rifle makes, barrel
BAE Systems-Radway Green (BAE-RG) under fire specifications with varying round-counts. ‘Loaders’
yet again. Some might ask what’s new about this, but were even employed to place cartridges in the
changing circumstances brought matters to a head testers’ rifle actions and pick fired cases up, so
last year. Crucially, the MoD had advised the NRA in testers could not tell which batch they were shooting
late 2007 that it was terminating the long-standing and allow unconscious bias to affect results. Not too
arrangement whereby the military shot on the Bisley surprisingly, RG was the first dropped – on accuracy
ranges and paid for use of the facility with 7.62mm grounds. While the others performed well, Lapua
sniper grade cartridges, so the civilian body had to went too thanks to its much higher cost than the
procure its ammunition through commercial channels. others, leaving the field to HPS-TR and RUAG.
The former’s 7.62 is a proven performer, so the
This change came too late to institute a tendering focus shifted to trying the RUAG ammo at long
process and arrange product testing for last year’s range, it being issued for the European Long Range
Imperial, so a short term contract was entered into Championship meeting and one of the short-range
with BAE-RG for the NRA’s 2008 requirements, a testers used it in the Surrey Open at 900 and 1,000yd.
Results were good at 800 and 900yd but
fell off at 1,000, apparently due to it
TR shooters will be adding up scores for RWS being loaded on the light side. RUAG
ammunition in 2009. rectified this and another round of
comparative tests at 300 and 1,000yd
against HPS-TR’s ammo last December
showed there was little between the pair in
terms of performance. In the end, RUAG got
the contract on price, initially for one year.
6 Target Shooter
Andrew joined ELEY Limited at the start of April taking over from Mike
Semens-Flanagan who was promoted within the IMI group, in which 20 MOA Picatinny Scope rails
Target Shooter 7
BERGER REDUCES BULLET that show how they really perform at long ranges,
and is pressing manufacturers to move from
BC VALUES existing G1 drag curve based BCs and ballistic tables/
Berger Bullets has recently revised the quoted programs to the G7 standard. This gives far more
ballistic coefficient (BC) values for most if not all accurate velocity, trajectory, and wind drift projections
of the bullets in its large range of Match Target BT for ranges beyond 500 yards. Expect some debate
and VLD (Very Low Drag) bullets. Bryan Litz, the on this subject in long range shooting circles! Berger
company’s ballistician, explained that this Bullets had promised to have its first ever
results from a change in methodology with BC handloading manual in print last autumn, but
values now calculated through experimental results publication has been delayed with no
measuring velocity drops over distance instead target date quoted now. One has to wonder if the
of computer generated figures ‘BC-issue’ is at least partly behind this deferral.
based on the bullet shape and
theoretical efficiency. Most
bullets see a BC reduction of
something between 4 and 7%,
but some almost ‘escape’,
and there are a few that suffer
significant reductions. The
new BCs are those shown
in the ‘Products’ list on the
company’s website – www.
bergerbullets.com. Berger
stresses that the bullets
themselves have not been
changed in any way.
As an example of the
amount of change, here Berger Bullets has revised its
are some old and new bullets’ BCs downwards
values for a selection of 0.308” dia. Match
bullets.
Old N e w
155gn Match BT
155gn VLD
175gn VLD
0.453
0.472
0.528
0.438
0.439
0.498
S ightron Scopes
8 Target Shooter
S PECIAL REPORT Last in is this piece brought
to us, that we think will be worth everybodies
time reading;
The compromise at court was sensible and, for the
merits of that case, an acceptable way out of the
polarised positions each side held, thus avoiding
In July 2008 two prominent and well-respected the additional cost and time of a drawn out hearing.
members of the NRA had their estate car broken into
whilst away from home on a weekend of shooting What this case does show is that where the leg-
competitions in the North of England. They stayed at islation requires such “reasonable precautions..”
a hotel that had CCTV and good lighting in the car police may well view any situation where guns
park. They had taken handguns, ammunition and are stolen from a parked and unattended car as
removable parts of other rifles into the hotel leaving NOT having had reasonable precautions taken
only those larger rifles concealed in the boot of the and then revoke the loser’s certificates leaving
car, which was itself fitted with an immobiliser. Stolen the holder with no guns, possible prosecution for
from their car in the early hours by four masked breach of certificate conditions and no certificate.
persons were the rifles that had been concealed in The only resolution to the problem is to apply
accordance with the Home Office Guidance to Police. much higher security in the vehicle or keeping all
the firearms and ammunition with them personally.
In September 2008 their local police force revoked
their certificates and these revocations were The merits of this case were not tested in this par-
appealed. ticular court case as a sensible resolution was
found. Whilst the law does not require absolute
On 8th April 2009 the case was heard before the security, this police approach to the subject means
Crown Court. However, whilst at the court that the loss of firearms, whatever precautions are
awaiting the calling of the case, through their taken, is likely to result in certificate revocation.
legal representatives, the appellants served So, preventing such loss by ALL possible means
on the respondent police force’s legal is the only safe way to proceed. The current ad-
representatives the full grounds for the Appeal vice from the 2000 Home Office document led to
supported by legal argument and numerous character a difference in interpretation by the police on one
witnesses four of whom were at court. The Appellants hand and the appellants on the other and its ap-
were very confident of succeeding in their appeals. plication did not prevent the theft of these guns.
Their objective was to recover their firearm Police had suggested that physical means of secur-
certificates. The police had opposed the appeals ing guns to the chassis or body of the car is rea-
even suggesting a short time before the hearing that sonable or taking them into the hotel. Anything less,
the appeals should be withdrawn but at court saw they considered, was not reasonable. Of course the
the sense in a compromise whereby they agreed case of R –v- Chelmsford Crown Court (ex parte
to the court making an Order for them, the police, Farrer) 2000 makes it impossible in law for certifi-
to reinstate the certificates within 14 days upon the cate holders to leave their firearms and ammunition
appellants agreeing to review their future in hotels even if secure means are provided unless
arrangements for the transit of firearms and only that holder has access to them and that is an
ammunition. An amicable agreement on costs was unlikely situation. Enquires of hotels in the area
also reached. concerned resulted in none having such facilities
and none wishing to have firearms taken into their
It is clear that despite the appellants following the premises anyway given the choice. So, for the fu-
standard advice upon security of firearms and ture more diligent enquiries are suggested as to
ammunition in transit and overnight away from overnight stay locations prior to selection and higher
home, thieves were able to smash the windows of physical security fitted in vehicles used for the transit
the car and steal firearms. or unattended overnight storage to prevent thefts.
Jeff Hide
The Firearms Act 1968 requires certificate holders Knights solicitors
to take reasonable precautions as to the security of
A
firearms and ammunition when not secured at home nd finally....... We are thinking about
in the approved cabinet. What is “ reasonable” is a running a few personal advertisements
matter for the opinion of each police force although
in the magazine for selling you own items.
quite detailed advice is contained in the relevant
Please contact us via the customers servic-
police and Home Office publications. In this case the
police claimed that the advice had not been followed es email address by the 17th of each month
whilst the appellants insisted that it had been followed. to place personal adverts.
Target Shooter 9
Calendar of events over the next two months
If your club or association has events you want to publicise here then email us.
Sat 02 May 5 June to Sunday 7th june - Scottish Open
NRA Open Day (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Championships (Blair Atholl (Scotland). This
Bisley) years Scottish Open Prize Meeting will be held at
Visitors will be able to try shotgun, air rifle, fullbore Blair Atholl. Further information and entry forms
rifle, sporting rifle, laser clays, precision snap, may be obtained from Allan Mabon in due course.
practical and historical rifles to name but a few, all http://www.scottishrifleassociation.org.uk Contact
with one-to-one coaching. Allan Mabon
Contact(s): Libby Gendall NRA
Sat 6th – 7th June MLAGB National Pistol
2nd May 100 yd Benchrest Diggle Ranges Championships, Bisley
3rd May 1000 yd Benchrest Diggle Ranges
Contact via UKBRA website 6/7th June - GB F Class League Round 2 Bisley
(mik@mikdolphin.demon.co.uk)
Sat 09 May to Sun 10 May
The English Eight Club, National Rifle Club of 6th June NRA Shooting Club Day (National
Scotland & Welsh Rifle Association Spring Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
Meeting. Match Rifle (F-Class Rifles may be used Multi-discipline NRA Shooting Club Day. Targets
if desired but cannot take any of the prizes except have been booked on Melville and at 100, 200,
for the Cash Sweep) 300 and 1000 yards. All disciplines welcome. If
2+15 at 1000, 1100 & 1200 yards on each day you would like to attend you must book in at least
Contact(s): English VIII Secretary a week in advance by contacting Heather Webb
at the NRA.
10th May 100 yds Benchrest Bisley Ranges
Contact via UKBRA website
12th to 14th - British Intl 50m Championships
Sat 16 May to Sun 17 May Friday, 12 June 2009. The Championships run from
Range Conducting Officer Course (National 12th to 14th June. Contact NSRA
Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley). Two day course -
successful candidates will be qualified to Fri 12 June - AGM of National Rifle Association
conduct live firing on MoD or TAVRA ranges. (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
Contact: Maureen Peach NRA Annual General Meeting of the NRA. To be held
at Bisley at 5.30pm. All members are encouraged
Wed 20 May NRA Shooting Club Day (National to attend.
Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) Multi-discipline
NRA Shooting Club Day. Targets have been 18 June - NRA Shooting Club Day (National
booked on Cheylesmore and at 100, 200, 600 and Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)Multi-discipline
900 yards. If you would like to attend you must NRA Shooting Club Day. Targets have been
book in at least a week in advance by contacting booked on Melville and at 100, 200, 500 and 900
Heather Webb. yards. Contact Heather Webb.
Available at
all good
gun shops
Prvi Partizan top quality hunting & target ammunition and reloading components
CASES
A208 6,5 x 52 Car FMJ BT 139gr £54.23 B105 7mm 158gr Grom £21.95
A084 6,5 x 55 SP BT 139gr £49.50 B010 30 FMJ RN 110gr £14.25
A083 6,5 x 55 FMJ BT 139gr £49.50 B009 30 FMJ BT 145gr £14.25
Priced per B007 30 FMJ 139gr £14.25
A227 6,5 x 55 SP RN 156gr £49.50
A161 270 Win SP 130gr £49.50 pack of 100 B099 30 FMJ 150gr £14.25
A027 270 Win SP 150gr £49.50 B345 30 FMJ BT 174gr £14.19
A141 7 X 57 FMJ BT 173gr £49.50 C193 22 Hornet £15.95 B366 30 FMJ BT 175gr £14.19
A400 7mm - 08 PSP 140gr £53.90 C032 222 Remington £19.25 B074 7.62mm FMJ 123gr £13.75
A024 30 Carbine FMJ RN 110gr £41.25 C132 223 Remington £18.70 B143 303 FMJ BT 174gr £14.19
A034 308 FMJ BT 145gr £45.65 C211 22/250 £26.40 B006 303 FMJ BT 190gr £14.19
A020 308 SP 150gr £48.95 C134 243 Winchester £27.50 B348 8mm Match FMJ BT 198gr £17.33
A362 308 PSP BT 165gr £49.50 C118 6,5 x 52 Carcano £39.60 B351 8mm 185gr Grom £23.98
A363 308 HP BT Match 168gr £59.29 C083 6,5 x 55 Swedish £30.36 B323 30 Grom 170gr £21.95
A366 308 FMJ BT 175gr £49.50 C027 270 Winchester £28.05 B140 38 158gr RNFP £5.94
A035 308 SP 180gr £49.50 C345 7,5 x 55 Swiss £34.32 B339 38 FPJ 158gr £13.64
A028 30-30 FSP 150gr £49.50 C030 7,62 x 39 £27.50 B221 44 FPJ 180gr £15.95
A346 7,5x54 French FMJ 139gr £53.90 C020 308 Winchester £29.15 B180 45 FMJ 230gr £15.95
A345
A094
7,5x55 Swiss FMJ BT 174gr
30-06 FMJ 150gr
£53.90
£53.90
C346
C031
7,5 x 54 French
7,62 x 54R
£34.32
£31.68 PPU BLANKS
A365 30-06 HP BT 168gr £53.90 C128 8mm Mauser £31.68 Priced per pack of 100
A323 30-06 Grom 170gr £66.00 C470 7.62 Nagant £34.32 BL18 5,56 (223) £37.40
A066 30-06 SP 180gr £53.90 C483 6.5 Grendel £35.64 BL22 7,62 x 51 (308) £46.20
A041 7,62 X 39 FMJ 123gr £46.20 C385 6.5 x 51 Jap £39.60 BL28 7,62x39 (7,62 Russian Short) £46.20
A169 7,62 X 54 FMJ BT 182gr £53.90 C383 7.7 Jap £41.36 BL32 7,62x54R (7,62 Russian Long) £46.20
A143 303 British FMJ BT 174gr £50.60 C424 7 .92 x 33 Kurz £39.60 BL40 7,92 ( 8 x 57 Mauser) £46.20
A267 375 H&H Mag 300gr £135.30 C417 8 x 50 Lebel £52.80 BL50 303 British £46.20
A128 8x57 JS SP 196gr £49.50 C384 8 x 56 Mannlicher £41.36 BL60 30-06 ( 7,62 x 63) £49.50
A348 8x57 JS FMJ BT Match 198gr £59.29 C413 7.63 (30 Mauser) £20.35 BL70 9mm (9x19) Parabelum £22.98
A351 8x57 JS Grom 185gr £66.00 BL80 38 SPL £22.98
SP - Soft Point PSP - Pointed Soft Point SPBT - Soft Point Boat Tail PSPBT - Pointed Soft Point Boat Tail
SPRN - Soft Point Round Nose FSP - Flat Soft Point HPBT - Hollow Point Boat Tail FPJ - Flat Point Jacket FMJ - Full Metal Jacket
FMJRN - Full Metal Jacket Round Nose FMJBT - Full Metal Jacket Boat Tail RNFP - Round Nose Flat Point
Target Shooter 13
A regular column whereby Ken Hall keeps us up to date
with black powder cartridge rifle shooting in the UK.
This month Ken offers a newcomers guide to the sample the fun of shooting these interesting rifles on
QSA and shooting the black-powder cartridge rifle. their local range.
Having said that, I am mainly involved with the QSA
The Quigley Shooting Association (QSA) and the though we do have a couple of inter-club
Single Shot Black Powder Cartridge Rifle Club team-shoots with the SSBPCRCGB guys every year.
of Great Britain (SSBPCRCGB) are now firmly
established as the premier UK associations The Competitions.
devoted to the use of black-powder ‘buffalo’ type The Quigley competitions were conceived with
rifles in competition. Events are held the intention of offering similar challenges to
throughout the year and, as luck would have it, those faced by the buffalo hunters of the old
the Clubs are situated at opposite ends of the American West and of course inspired by the
country (Diggle Ranges & Bisley) thus making Quigley Down Under film starring Tom Selleck.
this type of shooting accessible to most regions. QSA events are held at Diggle Ranges in the
north and consist mainly of rifle shoots at 400
The aim of this article is to provide a few pointers and 600 yards, where the targets are the Quigley
for those who have bought or are contemplating bucket (watch the Quigley Down Under video!) and
buying a BPCR with a view to trying the a half size buffalo, or occasionally steel silhouettes.
aforementioned competitions, or maybe simply Ample sighters are normally allowed and then
14 Target Shooter
Two happy winners
it’s usually fifteen shots to count at each distance heavier barrels and the availability of good quality
but our competition rules are not ‘set in stone’ and fore-sights and rear tang-sights. The excellent
continue to evolve to suit the requirements and Pedersoli catalogue from Viking Arms is a good
interests of the membership. As in any target rifle place to start, though models are available from
competition, shots are indicated by the butt’s crew. other European manufacturers such as Armi Sport
and Uberti. As you would expect, the United States
In addition, we also shoot the 1000 yard Billy also exports some very fine rifles, Shiloh Sharps of
Dixon competition, which celebrates the famous Montana and C. Sharps Arms are perhaps the best
Adobe Walls ‘long shot’ of 1874, when Billy was known over here, but they do tend to specialise and
seen to hit an Indian on horseback with his Sharps rifles are generally built to order and are therefore
‘Big 50’ at a distance later verified as 1,538yds. As more expensive, with a waiting time of around a year.
our maximum range is 1000 yards, we replicate this
by using a two-thirds size target. We also have a Ammunition.
few short-range events at 200/300/400 yards – This simple word can lead to much consternation.
a facsimile of Colonel Berdan’s ‘sharp-shooter’ Whereas it is a relatively simple choice to select a
US Civil War test, a mini Billy Dixon and a mini suitable rifle, when we come to deciding what to
Quigley competition, both shot with pistol calibre rifles. feed it with we meet a variety of ideas. QSA rules
state that any calibre over .35in is admissible.
The Rifles. Bullets must be of lead only (no jacketed
QSA rules specify a cut-off date of 1895 for rifles and bullets or gas-checks). The most popular calibre is
equipment, so any original or reproduction American undoubtedly the .45in - in various cartridge lengths
rifle coinciding with that date and having an – with the 45-70 being the clear favourite. The
external hammer is permissible. Some replicas in maller .38 and .40 cals are gaining a following in
current production might include the Remington this country but the heavier 45 bullet is pretty much
Rolling Block, the Trapdoor Springfield, the essential for the longer ranges. Unfortunately,
Winchester 1885 ‘high-wall’, the Winchester 1886, commercially made ammunition is not available,
the Marlin 1895 and of course, the many variants of you must make your own and there are many
perhaps the best known - the Sharps. choices of powder, primer, lubricants and of course
compression - cue for a separate article in the future
Whilst any of these rifles are up to the job, it here!
is worth noting that those listed as ‘target’ or
‘sporting’ versions are generally most suited to Equipment.
competition shooting due to their longer and As with many shooting sports, buying the rifle
Target Shooter 15
is only the start! With the BPCR there are many A decent shooting-mat along with good wind/
challenges to overcome and that is what waterproof clothing, whilst not compulsory, is
discourages many shooters from trying it. desirable, as shooting takes place in the open in all
weathers. Although our basic aperture-sights are
When black-powder is burned it leaves behind capable of good accuracy, they offer no
a lot of residue and this is not user-friendly. The magnification, so a good spotting scope is useful if
problems caused by fouling are many and varied. A you want to see your fall of shot.
certain amount of fouling is necessary to ‘condition’ the In future articles, we will look at the cartridge itself
barrel and maintain relatively constant velocities. in more detail and I’ll show you a few gadgets and
Accuracy can actually suffer from over-cleaning gizmos, which make shooting these fascinating rifles
the barrel between shots, just as readily as it can more successful.
suffer from the effects of insufficient cleaning. A
happy medium needs to be found that works for you. Questions and comments please to;
khall6548@aol.com
The solution to the fouling problem is as varied
as the number of people involved in the sport – Match report
every one has their own idea of barrel cleaning. This year’s Quigley Championship got under
Most shooters will bring along a cleaning-rod, dry way on the 4th April, sandwiched between two of
or pre-lubricated patches, cleaning solution and the best days so far this year but match day was
perhaps a blow-tube (to breath moist air into the probably the windiest day for some considerable
bore between shots – which hopefully keeps the time. Despite this, some very good scores were
fouling soft enough to be pushed out by the next achieved at 400 yards, although a few struggled
bullet!). Others use two or three rods, with both dry somewhat when we dressed back to 600 yards.
and lubricated patches and brushes and pass each
through the barrel after every shot. Watch what After the first round, Dennis Richardson lead with 63
others do and try and find a method that works. points, with Ian Hull, Dave Coleman, Dave Bownass
Consistency from shot to shot is the desired result. and Ken Hall all close behind with scores in the 50s.
The black-powder fouling creates another problem. The wind seemed to do the impossible and get worse
The life of your rifle and your brass cases can be as the day progressed and in stage 2 at 600 yards,
seriously reduced if the harmful salts left over from scores in the 30s and 40s were the norm. However,
firing are not neutralized or removed as soon as Dennis kept up the pressure and scored an impressive
possible. A means of combating this effect is 57 points to clinch the match with a total of 120 points.
required. Some shooters will de-cap and drop their
fired cases into a ‘neutralizing’ solution (soapy Results.
water!) immediately after firing and clean their
rifle on the point. Others are happy to clean when 1. Dennis Richardson Browning Hi-Wall .45/70
they get home. Either way, it is essential that 2. Ian Hull Sharps .45/90
you do not leave the rifle or cases unattended 3. Dave Gregory Sharps .45/100
for any length of time or their usefulness will be 4. Richard Healey Sharps .45/70
rapidly impaired. No special cleaning procedures are 5. Ken Hall Winchester Hi
required but you must do it as soon as possible! Wall .38/55
Shooting the BPCR Our next competition takes place at Diggle Ranges
If you look at any old prints of the buffalo on Saturday May 16th. Feel free to turn up on the
shooters you will almost invariably see the use of day and shoot with us or if you prefer, just come
‘crossed-sticks’. Any type of shooting will along for a chat and see what ‘Quigley’ is all about.
benefit from a stable firing-position and in the QSA
the use of cross-sticks is permissible. This simplest of The following week, May 23rd, we depart from out
supports can be fabricated by anyone of modest usual format with our ‘Tight Group’ competition.
ability and provides an excellent shooting-rest. I This gives you a chance to see just how well your
know of no suitable commercially available product hand-loads are working when shot off a bench at
and so firers are forced to make their own and as a 100 yards.
consequence we see everything from the elaborate
to the rudimentary. The key phrase here is ‘spirit of
the original’- in other words, we don’t want to see Please mention us
when using
something like a steel tripod with windage and
advertising
elevation adjustment – keep it simple and authentic in the magazine
-looking.
16 Target Shooter
ELEY product range
Class leading products
across all disciplines
www.eleyammunition.com
Tenex Pistol: The highest quality Tenex Semi-Auto
* cartridge for semi automatic pistols and
rifles, featuring a round nose bullet profile.
* Dependant on shooters preference, Firearm manufacturer and setup. ** In suitable firearms only.
Please note this is a simple guide illustrating which ELEY products are suitable for different applications. NB Some of our products may also be
appropriate for other applications not shown above, this may depend on how Firearms are set up and maintained.
Target Shooter 17
18 Target Shooter
Support your local gun shop
‘York Guns’
others. There is something for nearly
every clay or game shooter though
including a large choice of used
guns. Around 100 rifles are on
display, with yet more stored
out of sight. Most are sporting
models these days, although
you’ll find some heavy-barrel
tactical types and the odd target
model. With YGL the country’s main
supplier of Schmidt & Bender
riflescopes, a Zeiss ‘Centre
Partner’ and stockist of Leica,
Leupold, Nightforce, Burris, Hawke
and Steiner optics, there is plenty
The customer’s view of the retail area on entering showing
of choice in this field too. Nearly
one part of the clothing displays.
every employee is a keen and active
John Smith started York Guns up around 30 years shooter, the workforce able to provide
ago as a one-man band. With a passion for, and expertise and direct experience in any shooting sport.
encyclopaedic knowledge of, vintage and antique
arms, that was a large part of the shop’s original Most shotguns, rifles and optical goods in
business alongside the obligatory well-used BSA stock are listed on the company’s website
Martini target rifles and Brno Model 2s. Pistols (www.yorkguns.com) the ‘current stock’ section
and revolvers old and new featured heavily too. updated weekly, over 90% of the shotguns also
After a few years the workforce doubled in size having images attached. An online retailing facility
with the arrival of Gary Hyde, now the company’s is a recent development.
managing director and grew steadily from then Wholesale or ‘trade sales’ is an important
on, but by the 1990s the original premises were activity, all products also offered to shop
massively overcrowded at busier times and customers too. It encompasses a varied mix of
restricting further opportunities. Somehow or products and price levels providing dealers with
other, a wholesale supply business was also some of the cheapest shotguns going, while at the
being run from a desk shoehorned into a perennially other extreme, Schmidt & Bender riflescopes offer
overcrowded storeroom upstairs. Building and phenomenal build quality and durability, but cannot
relocating to a new bespoke shop and trade be described as ‘budget’.
warehouse facility on the outskirts of the village
of Dunnington east of York in early 2003 was a Recent additions to the product stable include the
vital step in meeting John and Gary’s aspirations popular Muck Boots range of ‘super-wellies’, and
for the business. It provided a huge increase in York Guns has just become the importer of GSG’s
the amount of space and a quantum leap in the .22LR copies of the H&K MP5 machine-carbine,
quality of the ‘retail experience’, saw further rapid with a new GSG-47 (‘Kalashnikov AK47’) model
expansion in product lines, staff numbers (now 14), imminent.
and wholesale activities.
Target Shooter 19
Continental Shooting Supplies
North Ayrshire Shooting Ground, Blackstone Farm, Dalry, Ayrshire KA24 5HN
Tel: 01294 833297 Fax: 01294 833312 e-mail: enquiries@continentalshooting.co.uk
20 Target Shooter
Jackson Rifles
Parton, Castle Douglas, Scotland DG7 3NL
Tel: (01644) 470223 Fax: (01644) 470227 jacksonrifles.com
Shoot to win
but weTarget
We are happy to give advice and information to retail customers, Shooter
only supply the trade 21
Jackson Rifles is a division of Forge Consulting Ltd, RFD 108 (Dumfries & Galloway) ts0904
Vince Bottomley
22 Target Shooter
a very small amount of
grease on the threads or
bayonet prior to
assembly.
Picture three, below,
shows the angled
cocking ramp. This
should be completely
free of burrs to ensure
smooth operation. You
can put a tiny dab of
grease on the ramp.
That’s it, apart from
a visual inspection to
see that the pin is not
unduly worn or bent and
there are no signs of rust
anywhere. Dry off any
excess WD40 with
kitchen roll and
picture two re-assemble using the
stripping tool to
compress the spring.
put the spring assembly to one side and we’ll deal
The bolt is now ready to use but don’t forget to
with the bolt-body first.
grease the back of the bolt-lugs lightly and a tiny
The problem here is the likelihood of crud
bit of grease on the camming-point before use.
accumulating deep down inside the narrow passage
(Picture four). Please be very sparing with the grease
that guides the firing-pin. Gases blow back through
– do not get grease anywhere near the bolt-face.
the firing-pin hole and if you’ve ever pierced a
Unfortunately, we need to take things a bit
primer, this is where the small metal disc ends up. An
further with our Remington as we have a problem.
aerosol of auto carburettor cleaner (Halfords) is
Light-strikes can be due to a number of things:
useful here . Spray inside the body and swill out
the crud. If it looks very dirty, use a pointed stick –
Firing-pin protrusion: Generally we are looking
like a kebab stick with a cleaning patch attached.
for something around 0.05 inches (fifty thou.) The
Shine a torch inside to ensure it’s clean. Whilst
Remmy is spot-on at 51 thou. so this is not the problem.
you’re at it, spray the bolt-face with the cleaner –
Excessive headspace: If headspace is too great,
particularly around the extractor and ejector pin.
it will have the same effect as lack of firing-pin
Depress the pin a few times to make
sure it’s running free. If you have
picture three
access to an air-line, give it a blast
inside and out and the job is done.
Target Shooter 23
picture four
protrusion – leaving a small gap between the bolt- de-priming die) and replaced them with Federal –
face and case-head but when the go-gauge was no difference. There was an indentation from the
inserted, headspace was spot-on. Again, if you over- firing-pin impact but not quite enough to fire the primer.
On taking the pin and spring apart, the problem is
revealed. Moisture has found its way into the bolt and
the pin is rusty. Look at picture five and you can see
that corrosion is particularly bad under the spring (I’d
actually cleaned off the excess rust with steel-wool
before this pic was taken) but we are more concerned
with the bit that slides inside the shroud. It’s a close
fit and the light corrosion was causing the pin to drag
very slightly – enough to cause an ignition problem.
The rifle had been laid up over the winter, allowing
the corrosion to form. A good clean with wet ‘n’ dry
paper soon had it looking as good as new and a
light application of WD40 will prevent re-occurrence.
picture five Whilst the bolt was in pieces, it was a simple job
to fit a new spring. Springs for the popular rifles
bump the cases on re-sizing, it will shorten them and are available from www.brownells.com for a few
exhibit the same problem as excessive headspace. dollars - picture eight. For a few dollars more, you
can buy a slightly stronger (longer) one which will in
Primer problem: This is rare but not unknown so theory give you a shorter lock-time. It arrived within
worth checking. Duff primers are uncommon but if a week!
they get damp or oil on them, they won’t fire. The One last thing to check - particularly if your rifle isn’t
remedy is to replace a few primers and try again. I as accurate as you think it should be. Check that both
popped out the CCI primers (using a Lee universal bolt-lugs are making contact with the action lugs. The
pictures si x and seven
24 Target Shooter
know what could be caus-
ing the accuracy problem.
Target
Shooter 25
Target Shooter 25
26 Target Shooter
Target Shooter 27
Thurnscoe Rifle Club Mini Rifle Competition
By Ross Burrough
Sunday 19th April saw the first Mini Rifle being a warm sunny day. The range had been
competition held at Thurnscoe Rifle Club located prepared and 3 separate stages set out ready for
a couple of miles from South Yorkshire Shooting the thirteen competitors taking part. After the Range
Supplies between Barnsley and Doncaster. Originally Action Safety Plan had been communicated to the
a range built for the Home Guard during the war and shooters a walkthrough of the first stage took place.
since purchased by the club, the range is outdoor and The main aim of this discipline is to challenge the
offers ranges up to 100yds catering for .22 rifle, Air shooter by introducing obstacles and different
Rifle, and Black powder pistol. The club also has shared shooting stances. The shooter is accompanied
through each course by a Range Officer who
ensures that the competitor follows all safety and
Mini Rifle in action
competition procedures. The course of fire is timed
with the total points scored divided by the time taken
to give a final score for the competition. Go too fast
and you can loose accuracy or go too slowly and
increase the time taken, the idea is to achieve a
happy medium to give the best overall result.
Preplanning also becomes important as some
courses require magazine changes which can
extended your time if you are caught by surprise
halfway through shooting a string.
The competition started at around 10am and finished
just before 2pm. The overall results were as follows:
access to a 100m full-bore range used once a month. 1st Dave Wylde 327 points
Mini Rifle was introduced as an alternative to 2nd Jeff Steed 292 points
practical pistol shooting after the handgun ban 3rd Mark Hardcastle 280 points.
but for unknown reasons has never achieved the
status or popularity of the previous discipline. The Full stage results available at www.freewebs.com/
competition naturally lends itself to .22 semi auto rifles thurnscoerifleclub
and various types including the Browning Buckmark,
obligatory Ruger 10/22 and, increasingly, the new The main aim of the day was realised as
GSG-5 (.22 MP5 replica) are evident at competitions. everybody who took part expressed their enjoyment
Earlier this year some of the guys from Thurnscoe and are now looking forward to the next competition.
visited Worcester Norton Shooting Club on one This was initially set for June but due to popularity
of their Mini Rifle Open Shoots to take part and another may now be staged next month. Our
hopefully learn how to stage competitions of thanks go to Bob, Gareth and all the guys at
this type at our own club. Bob Oakley and the Worcester Norton for introducing and instructing us
guys at Worcester Norton gave us a warm in this challenging and addictive shooting discipline.
welcome and gave us a great days shooting during
which we learnt all about the Mini Rifle discipline
including safety procedures, courses of fire, targets, and Prizegiving at the match
scoring. Worcester Norton run these competitions
on a regular basis and are extremely experienced
in setting up safe and challenging courses which
prove to be great fun. On our return to Yorkshire
we began the process of gathering the required
instructions and equipment necessary to stage this
type of competition ourselves. Sunday saw this
project come to fruition when we held our first
competition.
Although starting off overcast the sun gradually
burnt through giving us a rarity in Yorkshire that
28 Target Shooter
Target Shooter 29
Outdoor Air rifle sports – Starter Equipment Part 2
Stanley Shaw
In issue number 1 of Target Shooter magazine we determine and calculate the point of impact (POI)
had a look at the possible starter air rifles for one on the target without touching any part of the scope.
to pursue outdoor disciplines mainly, Field Target,
Hunter Field Target and Air Rifle Bench Rest. Now In Field Target the shooter is able to utilize all
functions of a scope. Here one can use parallax
Which scope to get ? You need a adjustment to determine the target range and use
starter scope capable of handline turrets to dial in zero for each range. The shooter
both ft and hft. in FT is able to manipulate any magnification that
suits him for all targets in ranges between 10 to
50 meters. The FT shooter would require a scope
that is capable of providing him with accurate
range estimation at a high magnification for more
accuracy. He would prefer a side wheel parallax
adjustment. This design is more ergonomic then
front objective lens focusing bell which is
sometimes hard to reach when shouldering the air
rifle. This side wheel parallax adjustment allows
the shooter to keep target in sight whilst fine
that we took a decision on the type of air rifle to tuning on the focusing to get the best range indication.
purchase, it’s time to decide the scope to fit. The
scope requirements vary between FT, HFT and Air In Bench Rest like FT the shooter is able to utilize
Rifle Bench Rest disciplines. We must first understand his scope to the full. However Bench Rest
these requirments before attempting to purchase scoring targets are static at a one known measured
an all rounder scope, so as not to be disappointed. distance so there will not be the need to focus or
find the range for each shot. The bench rest
In HFT you require a scope that is able to show you shooter is more inclined to use turrets to fine tune
clearly at target from distances of 7 yards to 41 yards, his shots on target at a high magnification. He needs
without adjusting the parallax. This means that range to do this by dialing in or calculate from reticule
finding through parallax adjustment is not possible. the POI according to the wind direction and
One can’t dial in the turrets for the target range. An conditions developing during his shooting time. High
HFT a scope must have low magnification to allow magnification and crisp image enables the bench
clear view of all target ranges and a visual capability rest shooter to clearly define the scoring rings
to aid the shooter in estimating the range of a known outline on targets at set ranges of 25 or 50 meters.
target size. The shooter must also have means to
The novice target shooter will ask, if
Hawke Varmint scopes are a good there a scope that I can be used for
choice amoungst airgunners. all these disciplines? The answer is
YES. However the huge diversity of
scopes on the market will confuse
one instantly. We will be discussing
some scopes that are ideal as
starter scopes, but before we
mention specific scopes we should
concentrate on scope features which
one need to know before purchasing
a the best possible all rounder scope.
30 Target Shooter
explanation of MOA this means the distance
changed in point of impact (POI) of a projectile when
the turret is moved by 1 click at a fixed range. On
a ½” @ 100Yards scope one click moves the point
scope mounts. one piece mounts are a must on
of impact by ½ “ at 100 yards. 2 clicks on the same
spring air rifles.
scope will shift the POI by 1” always at 100 yards.
Most scopes will be featured with strange numbers This also means that at 200 yards, 1 click shifts the
for example 6-24X44 or 10X50. This is a way to POI by 1” and at 400 yards 1 click shifts the POI
define the scope magnification and lens diameter. by 2”. The same scope requires 4 clicks to shift 1”
The first number or two numbers separated by a at 50 yards. A scope which has a setting of 1/8” at
dash (-) is referring to the scope magnification. A 100 yards requires 8 clicks to shift the POI by 1 “at
6-24 means that the scope has a variable zoom 100yards. At 400 yards this scope requires 2 clicks
from 6 to 24 times. A single number means that to shift 1”. The same scope requires 16 clicks to
the scope has a fixed zoom for example 10 times. shift 1” at 50 yards. This automatically shows you
A 10X magnification scope in theory must show that a 1/8” MOA scope give you more fine tuning
you the image 10 times closer then when viewed capabilities on your POI at far and close ranges. All
with the naked eye. The number followed by the the rest displayed in the specifications of a scope are
X sign is the objective lens diameter. The bigger cosmetic or quality features available for the scope.
the diameter of the objective lens, the more light
will reach your eye. This results in a brighter So what should one look for in a starter scope?
image. Scopes manufacturers will specify also the 1. Variable magnification and parallax that
Tube Diameter. The most common is the 25mm allows us to see clearly with with the lowest
and the 30mm. The tube diameter is referring to magnification targets as close as 7 yards and as far
the central tube dimension. Here the light entering as 41 yards. (HFT)
the objective lens is converged onto the reticule 2. A variable magnification and parallax that
and finally towards the eye bell lens. The bigger allows us to see at a higher magnification targets
the tube the more bright and crisp is the image. between 10 and 50 meters.(FT)
3. A reliable Parallax that is accurate enough at
The next very important feature is the MOA a particular magnification.(FT)
(minute of angle) setting. There are 3 types 4. An MOA setting that can give us the flexibility
available the ½” at 100 Yards, ¼” at Yards and of finer tuning in our scope zeroing. (BR)
1/8” @ 100 Yards. Without going in detailed 5. A crisp clear image. Lens quality – Scope
For Air Rifle BR – quality over gadgets. good magnification (min 24x) & a clear image (min 44mm
objective lens and min 1” tube). avoid ½” @ 100 yard for air rifle short range shooting. ¼” moa is
a good choice, 1/8” moa is better.
Target Shooter 31
Scope turrets. ½’ – ¼ “ – 1/8 suffer. A cheap scope on a spring air rifle without the
“ moa to fine tune your point correct mounts can easily be destroyed in less then
of impact. 100 shots. The following condensed specifications
will give you good results in all the 3 disciplines.
32 Target Shooter
Target Shooter 33
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LEE ENFIELD No5 Mk1 JUNGLE CARBINE
Richard Wild
The Lee Enfield rifle Number 5 Mark 1 carries with The Mk. 5 Jungle Carbine (above) is a rugged
it a curious mixture of romanticism and mystic. The and attractive military rifle but brings with it a
Jungle Carbine brings with it a reputation for brutal reputation for brutal recoil and a wandering zero
recoil and a wandering zero that often makes accurate that can make accurate shooting a frustrating
shooting a frustrating exercise bordering on cruelty. exercise. Keen observers will note a
successful 1Bn Green Howards patrol taken
The Jungle Carbine is the epitome of Georgian during the Malaya Emergency, June 1952.
military beauty. Conceived of during the grey more than an aesthetic embellishment and may
days of World War Two, it carries with it echoes of actually erode accuracy, to the lightened receiver
a more extravagant era. The finer aspects of rifle that flexes under high pressure cordite loads, to the
aesthetics rarely impact on the design of military hard rubber recoil pad that magnifies felt recoil, the
rifles, let alone on the design of a rifle whose key .303 Jungle Carbine appears built for its menacing
development period occurred in the last 12 – 18 military appeal than its ability to produce accuracy.
months of the Second World War.
Nevertheless, the Jungle Carbine has a number
A Design Enigma of characteristics that should make it popular with
the Infantry, especially those operating in the dense
However, the little carbine carries an air of vicious jungles of Southeast Asia. And when on military
beauty. From the flash hider, which provides little operations in dense, dark rain forests, battling steep
Target Shooter 35
terrain, humidity and poor food, these points should war-fighting, using one ammunition load for all 303
not be overlooked. It certainly fulfils the basic rifles and machine guns is understandable. But the
requirements of a military weapon. It is short, it is 174 grain Mark VII bullet and cordite loads are not
both simple and handy to use for an average sized the best choice of components when the rifle weighs
two thirds that of its parent rifle, the No 4. But
Projectiles used for testing. (l - r) when a mainline weapon fails to reach its potential
85 grain Hornady XTP, 125 grain because of this, hard questions need to be asked
Sierra, 150 grain Taipan, 174 and a more detailed explanation of how and why this
Sierra Match and 185 grain lead. carbine didn’t make the grade needs to be sought.
shooter. It is light to carry, compact and it can Given the speed that the basic dimensions of
quickly put down a lot of firepower with its ten shot the Jungle Carbine were decided on it becomes
magazine and charger loader – even under stress. apparent that the designers were probably
A short sight radius with a large ‘ghost ring’ rear working from a known pattern. A check of
peep sight are not handicaps when average other British military carbines from the last decades
distances during conflict can be measured in of the 19th century reinforces that view. A Lee
feet and where the enemy is rarely seen. It was Metford cavalry carbine made in 1891 and a Martini
also issued with a short, functional Bowie-style Enfield cavalry carbine from 1895 are the same
bayonet that could be used in a variety of support length as a 1945 manufactured Mk. 5 Jungle Carbine.
roles aside from fighting. But a light weight rifle is
rarely a success when the cartridge it uses delivers
Except for the change to the No. 4 style action and
an uncomfortable amount of recoil and muzzle blast.
peep sights, the Lee Metford is much the same
But when you do use it with Mk VII cordite roundsrifle as the Jungle Carbine. Handling the Metford
you certainly begin to notice its idiosyncrasies.
carbine is like its Lee Enfield successor as they both
When it simplifies the logistics support for share the same handling characteristics as well as
many of the same flaws
Close up of the front stock and flash hider. The amount of wood as the Jungle Carbine.
removed saves weight but prolonged exposure to tropical heat In June 1943, the
Infantry Weapons
and humidity would have had to have caused warping. The flash
Development
hider looks like a bell and rings like one too after every shot. Committee forwarded
a proposal for lighter
rifle for use mainly in
the battlefields of South
and Southeast Asia. Of
note was the realisation
that long range
accuracy was not to be a
major factor in its design.
Rather it should seek
to be as accurate as a
No. 4 up to 400 yards.
Initial tests at Bisley in
mid-July 1943 using
shortened No. 4 rifles
found that accuracy from
the carbine was com-
parable to the long rifle
36 Target Shooter
A close up view of the Jungle Carbine receiver. A simple bedding technique using light
carboard holds the action tight in the stock. The pink colour produces a tighter hold.
out to 500 yards but recoil and muzzle flash were design. Logically, a softer and larger recoil pad
considered “excessive”. After further troop trials to would be the best option but rubber technology at
address problems with muzzle flash and endur- the time could not survive the rigours of military
ance, the design of the “jungle carbine” was ap- life. The option that became standard is harder
proved on 21 March 1944 - less than a year after and thinner at the butt than required and actually
the concept was proposed. The official designation magnifies perceived recoil due to its wedge-like shape.
of Mk. V was announced in the List of Changes on
12 September 1944. Other problems were encountered once the rifle
entered service in the tropics. Storing the rifles in a
A Lightened Rifle conventional manner caused the rubber to
compress. The oils of the time also caused the
The Jungle Carbine is truly a lightened version of rubber to deteriorate over time. But the recoil
the No. 4 rifle and a true No. 5 immediately stands generated by a No. 5 using service ammunition is
out against any after-market builds. Non-essential no more severe than a No1 MkIII* with its brass butt
metal has been removed from the No. 4 build where- plate – for the odd angry shot or two. Both will bruise
ever possible. The knox-form, where the barrel joins after a while but the Jungle Carbine will no more
the action, is scalloped while parts of the action has break shoulders than a similar weight rifle in 308.
had
metal removed. The bolt handle on the Jungle Barrel Life
Carbine has also been drilled out. Disassembley of
the carbine also exposes the amount of extra wood Hot cordite rounds in the MkVIIz with corrosive
that has been removed. Space under the barrel Berdan primers will wear the lighter barrel of the
channel has been routed out and the butt stock not Jungle Carbine out faster than a No. 4 used in a
only has a shorter screw holding it to the action, it similar fashion. Troop trials suggest that maximum
has also been substantially hollowed. useful barrel life is between 6000 and 12000 rounds.
Bearing in mind the service that the average surplus
Myths and Misconceptions - Recoil Jungle Carbine has seen, a check of your barrel’s
The recoil pad is a contradiction in both terms and condition in the lead up to any load testing is advisable.
Target Shooter 37
The Jungle Carbine bayonet. A Bowie design and a
collectors’ delight when found in good condition.
38 Target Shooter
and 150 grain Taipan hollow points appear to fall projectile in this cartridge and so I set off into
into the ideal weight range for use in the carbine. the unknown watching intently for the signs of
danger. Two powders were used: 13 grains of AP-100
The aim was to find a load that would duplicate or pistol powder with a dacron filler and 40.5 grains
exceed the results of the 174 grain Sierra Matchking of AR2206. AP-100 averaged 1870 fps and was
load shot from a competition tuned No1 MkIII* with very pleasant to shoot. The AR2206 load averaged
a new Lithgow heavy barrel. This load averages 2640 fps. Recoil during the test session was not
2360 fps from the longer barrel. All groups would be unpleasant and fast follow-up shots were possible.
tested at 50 yards using a four power scope mounted
in a set of Cad-Technic mounts. The object was to Speer 125 grain soft points: These are beautifully
duplicate “jungle distances” and see how the carbine designed and manufactured projectiles originally
would perform at the close ranges it was designed intended for SKS and SKK reloaders after better
for. Unfortunately, groups hovered around the 12 ballistic performance than offered by ex-military
inch mark at this distance using the original barrel. ammunition. The load used with this bullet was
made up of 43 grains of AR2208 which averaged
Good examples of Jungle Carbine barrels do 2350 fps. Recoil during the test session was
exist but be prepared to spend both time and noticable and fast follow-up shots were possible.
money finding one. Barrels produced during the
1946 production run have a Proof mark on them Taipan 150 grain hollow points: Weighing
and a good example is worth grabbing. Fitting the halfway between the Speers and the Sierra
barrel is easy but if the rifle has seen tropical Matchkings these bullets appear to offer a good
service the action will be tight and a pressure ring heavy weight alternative for shooting out to 300
needs to be cut into the Knox form to relieve tension. metres as well as hunting the larger species of
game. Using 43 grains of AR2208, this load
Test Results averaged 2200 fps. Recoil during the test session
was intense and fast follow-up shots were not
Hornady 85 grain XTP: This is the land of pure possible. (Taipans are an Australian manufactured
experimentation. No loading data exists for this bullet).
The top view of the receiver with the forewood removed. There is a different sight
graduated to 800 yards instead of 1300 yards for the No4 and count the lightening
groves in the action and knox form.
Target Shooter 39
Sierra 174 grain Match: This is the load used in Conclusion
a competition-tuned SMLE. Using 39.1 grains of The Mk.V Jungle Carbine was rushed into
AR2208, this load averaged 1980 fps or a loss of 370 service at the end of a six year World War with
fps in the shorter barrel. Recoil during the test little testing and a poor understanding of the
session was mild and fast follow-up shots were conditions it would see service in. If history is to
possible. 185 grain lead: Bang, poof. A cloud of lead be any judge then the Jungle Carbine was a failure
just beyond the muzzle. More work needed. as a military weapon. But then, the introduction of
the SLR into British service in 1957, increased the
Using pistol powder offered a possible low recoil firepower for the infantry and consigned the military
alternative to heavy loads. When coupled with the bolt action rifle to highly specialised roles.
125 grain and 150 grain bullets a load of 12.5 grains
of AP-100 with a cotton wool wad produced an But many of its characteristics are being reinvented
accurate short range load that had very little recoil. today. Jeff Cooper’s Scout carbine concept shares
many of the basic concepts developed for the Jungle
The 125 grain Speer soft points gave the best Carbine in its light weight and simplicity. With the
accuracy with inch groups at 50 metres. They also benefit of hindsight, a Jungle Carbine designed
recorded a decent velocity of 1100 fps. With such today would have a different flash suppressor or
a small amount of fast burning powder in the large maybe a muzzle brake and a stronger action. But
case it is extremely important that a filler is used many of the things in the existing design, its portability
otherwise ignition and pressure problems will occur. and its pointability stand out, would remain the same.
Email : stuart@ospreyrifles.com
Osprey Rifles
‘The Savage Specialists’
URL : www.ospreyrifles.com
40 Target Shooter
Chris Potter
Country Sports
Traditional Wooden
PO Box 308 Stocks, Rifle Barrels and Actions
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England GL2 2YF Gloves, Caps, Slings, Gun Bags, Rifle Boxes,
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E-mail: info@hps-tr.com Re-Barrelling, Full Rifle Servicing, Repairs, and
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Target Shooter
New Rifle Actions from RG Rifles Scotland
Vince Bottomley
When I heard that Scottish gunsmith and benchrest matches! That would mean working
benchrest shooter, Russ Gall, was building his to far higher tolerances than mass-production
own actions, you can imagine I got just a little allows.
bit excited.
Irrespective of tolerances, most ‘factory’
Of course, there are dozens of action-makers actions just aren’t stiff enough to carry a
in the world – the major manufacturers like heavy barrel and if the action flexes during the
Remington and Winchester for example but you firing-cycle, accuracy obviously suffers. Once
rarely find their products forming the basis of you cut a massive hole in the bottom of the
an accurate competition rifle. Why not? It’s all action for a magazine and then compliment
down to design – and to apply that design, you it with an over-size feed/ejection port, there
need knowledge. Manufacturers may have the is very little metal left to resist distortion and
knowledge but their objective is usually steered unfortunately, there are few solid-bottom
towards a ‘do-all’ product for price-driven mass-produced actions out there. Admittedly,
hunting market. Yes, their products will ‘do the Savage Arms have woken up to this glaringly
job’ but unfortunately, the ‘job’ isn’t winning obvious fact and now offer a solid-bottom
Target Shooter 43
action with tiny ejection-port. Not only that, especially shooting-related but, most gunsmiths
Savage will sell their ‘target’ action separatelywith any sort of reputation report full order books
and have made them available to shooters at and because 90% of custom actions currently
reasonable cost. Rifles built on these actions emanate from the US, Russ is able to take
tend to shoot very well. advantage of the weak pound which is forcing
up the price of American sourced products by
Incidentally, I’ll point out at this stage that a significant amount. In addition, a swingeing
the Savage target action has just had a $2500 license is now mandatory for American
massive price-hike but I happen to know that firearms exporters.
Osprey Rifles have two or three left at the
old price of £500 which includes a trigger. Russ has represented his country World level
Subsequent actions are likely to cost 70% more! in Benchrest competition and he has also built
E-mail stuart@ospreyrifles.com if you want one. rifles for many UK benchrest shooters – what
better pedigree could we ask of an action-
The Savages are still a mass-produced designer/manufacturer? His new actions follow
product however and stiffness is only part conventional two-lug design and are made on
of the problem we need to address if we are his Haas CNC machines. A selection of actions
to design an action for ultimate accuracy. In suitable for various applications are now in the
ddition to stiffness and trueness, we need pipeline.
precise bolt to body fit, good support for the Although disciplines like benchrest and F Class
barrel-tenon, provision for a quality trigger, a are the destination for many custom-actions,
decent bedding-area and perfect ‘timing’ and there is also a big market for the foxing-rifle –
lock-up. or accurate ‘field’ rifle. You don’t need to be a
competition shooter to enjoy using a fine rifle and
Some may question the wisdom of launching if you are having a new rifle built, you will need
any expensive ‘luxury’ item in today’s climate – to source an action from somewhere! Little point
44 Target Shooter
in choosing a rattley old Remy – yes, it might high-carbon EN30B tool steel. It starts off as
save you a few pounds but the second-hand a 10 lb. block which produces two 8 oz. bolts
value of a rifle built on a Remington will be nowhere complete with handle. These are heat-treated to
near that of one built on a proper custom action. 45 Rockwell after rough machining then ground
Remember, once you have your custom action, it to final dimensions. A Sako-style extractor
can be re-barrelled and re-stocked ad infinitum. and spring-plunger ejector are employed. The
In the pictures are two of Russ’s actions - one bolt-face is offered in 223, 308, PPC and
single-shot with heavy tang area suitable magnum, with stainless-steel shroud and fluted
for competition rifles and one repeater with body.
Remington-pattern tang and magazine All work is done by Russ in-house with the
cut-out which would form the basis of an exception of the EDM work and heat-treatment.
accurate field rifle. Both are 8” long and designed The recoil-lugs and firing-pins are sourced
to take the shorter cartridges. A long action and from Pacific Tool & Gauge – for the moment.
mini action for PPC/BR cartridges will follow.
A Gall action starts life as a lump of 17/4 PH As you can see from the photographs, the
stainless-steel, which is hardened to 39 actions have gone well beyond the prototype
Rockwell before machining to 1.36 inches in stage but there are still one or two minor issues
diameter. The raceways and internal cam are to be addressed before Russ is totally happy
EDM cut. The tenon-thread is the popular 1.0625 with his product and he will not release these
inches in diameter by 18 tpi as used on many actions until he is 100% satisfied. However, he
US custom actions and they will accept any hopes to be in full production later in the year
Remington style trigger. The Remington-pattern and he is currently building himself a 1000
action will accept bottom-metal designed for a yard benchgun and a 100 yard benchgun to
Remmy and employs a pinned recoil-lug. The show-case his actions and you can bet that
receivers are drilled and tapped 6 x 48 for scope Target Shooter will be first with a review. Meanwhile,
bases. check out Russ’s website at www.rgrifles.com
The bolt is machined from one piece of
ABSOLUTE PRECISION
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REPRESENTING THE RODING RIFLE &
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46 Target Shooter
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48 Target Shooter
Target Shooter 49
Visit our NEW website at
Henry
100 - 104 Lowtown, Pudsey
West Yorkshire, LS28 9AY www.henrykrank.com
Tel: 01132 569 163 / 565 167 100’s of
Fax: 01132 574 962 photos of
Krank
Email: sales@henrykrank.com antiques
www.henrykrank.com for sale
Open Mon - Sat, 9am - 5pm online
Carl Boswell
Coaxial rests have been around for
a number of years. What are they?
For those who shoot any form of
benchrest or F Class rifle, they are
well known.
Target Shooter 51
pedestal rests with mariner’s
wheel et al! This was something
completely different and novel.
At first glance the one thing that
anyone would say - and have - is
that the SEB rest is built like a
battleship. It is well constructed
and engineered. The tolerances
within the engineering are very
fine and this goes to show the
level of precision of its designer
and manufacturer, Sebastian
The joystick controls all movement and Lambang who is an accomplished
‘locks’ into position when released. No BR shooter who competes at
need for the mariners wheel or speedscrew ‘world’ level. The base has a
any more ‘hammertone’ finish, although
custom finishes can be requested
can be very beneficial . Not having to complete two – including polishing to a mirror-
operations - vertical and horizontal movements - finish. I think this service may have lapsed but
to get precisely onto the next target is a massive it is worth
boon, as this time can be used to observe the c o n t a c t i ng
surrounding conditions and let your hand the company
automatically guide the rifle into the next target dia- via their
gram. website to find
out.
New Toy
When I first unpacked the
rest I must admit there was a
feeling of excitement as this is
a product I have seen, but used
very briefly. (It’s all about having The
a new toy to play with). All the other whole thing
rests I have owned or weighs in at
reviewed have been the standard 21.3 lbs or 9.7
kilo’s, which is a lot,
especially if you
have to transport
it and your other
equipment any
distance or from one
country to another but,
once on the firing-point,
weight is a bonus.
However this provides a good insight
into how well the design has been
considered and developed.
52 Target Shooter
column or pedestal that supports the rest top with the
bag mounted on it and therefore the front of the rifle. The central joystick mechanism runs on
These are either from the centre of the base or from plates and bearing mechanism
the side as a cantilever. Everything rests on this one
column. I presume the thinking behind the dual post
is this creates more stability? Well it would and does.
Not only are there two posts, but also a central
mariner’s wheel for initial height setup to get your
sights where you want them, so the whole
target can be covered with the coaxial
mechanism. The posts are locked
with
Target Shooter 53
bag depending on what is needed for the rifle
Large adjustable pins are very useful for getting you are using. The knobs controlling these are
height just right large enough to get the compression you need
without ripping your fingers apart. (For those that
have had this experience this is an added bonus).
Setting the coaxial mechanism does take a
bit of practice, and this is where some may get
frustrated. (Now I say this with baited breath as the
rest comes set up and calibrated for heavy rifles
over 13 lbs so no messing around. My rifle weighs
in at 10.5 pounds so I had to adjust otherwise the
action became sloppy). Set the pins too tight and
the mechanisms can seem a bit sluggish when
moving the joystick around the target. Set them too
low and the cradle will proverbially fall. Therefore
you will need to play around with this a bit if you
are shooting light varmint at 10.5 pounds or one of
the sporter classes. Once adjusted, the rest works
well and Sebastian will help you out to configure
if you get stuck – like me – so send him an email.
In centrefire benchrest where group shooting is
the name of the game, it’s often necessary to get
five shots off in around 15 seconds – to ‘catch’
the wind. This is the technique employed by the
600 and 1000 yard shooters, so some prefer the
rest to be set on what I would call ‘sloppy’ – too
sloppy to support the weight of the rifle – but in
this mode, it can be returned very quickly to the
aim-point without ‘stiction’ or jerkyness. If you do
like the rest to support your rifle in ‘sloppy’ mode,
try fixing a weight to the front of the joystick spin-
dle. This will then ‘counterbalance’ the weight of
the rifle and your rest will work as smooth as silk.
The one thing that I could not get used to during
testing is that the SEB
rest did not need parts
locking down after I
have set up on a target.
After going through
this process for so
long it now feels alien
to not do otherwise
and this is my only
‘beef’ with this system;
even though the rest
will not move, if set up
properly. Having used
the SEB rest for a
number of practices I
can safely say that it
‘does as it says on the
tin’!
It is relatively easy
to set up, the
quality and finish
The SEB rest in situe with LV rifle are the best and
this says a lot about
the manufacturer
54 Target Shooter
of this product. I have had products from some Italy). Brian also supplies the front and rear bags, both
manufacturers who seem to think that they come of which I have already said are very good products.
in kit-form and the consumer is the one who So if you want a rest that has an innovative design,
finishes off any rough parts. Not so the SEB - it is a is extremely well constructed and employs all of the
superbly made product! current best practice in the benchrest sport then this
I am not sure about giving up my pedestal rest is what you are looking for. Like any of the products
just yet, as it is something I have got used to; it I review it is something you will have to work with
also does all that it is meant to and has served me to get the best out if it and yourself. Until next time!
well over the years. Maybe it is the control freak in
me that likes to lock everything down and say to Final thoughts - SEB rest modification
myself ‘this is precisely aimed and locked’. One of the issues with a SEB rest is rifle-support.
Possibly this says more about my own If you set the joystick tension tight enough to
psychological makeup than anything else, or it is support a heavy rifle you will find that the
just the way I have developed in this sport? If I did movement becomes stiffer and jerky, making it
trade up then a coaxial system would be my first point difficult to get back exactly on aim-point quickly.
of call. I would like to take the SEB rest away for a
few months and really work it in competition, get it The alternative is to back-off the tension so the action
tuned to my needs and get myself tuned to it as well. once again becomes silky-smooth and add a
The cost is also a determining factor, as investment counterbalance weight to the front of the joystick
in this product does not come cheap. At £498 the spindle where it protrudes from the front of the rest.
SEB is not the cheapest rest on the market, but The size of the weight will depend on the weight of
other ‘coaxial’ rests are even more expensive, so it your rifle but this shooter has come up with an ad-
is fair to say it is the cheapest coaxial around. It is justable one. If you look closely at the pic, the weight
imported into the UK by Brian at Fox Firearms. This slides back and forth so it can accommodate different
is good news, as currently we only get the Caldwell weights of rifles. The bar diameter is about an inch
range of rests that are commonly found in this and I know that an inch of barrel weighs about 4 oz. so
country through a number of retailers. (Over the if the weight is 4 to 5 inches long it will be just over a
last few years we have tended to import equipment pound. It works really well and I can’t wait to make one.
ourselves as groups or individuals from the US or
Target Shooter 55
http://www.foxfirearmsuk.com/
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Vince (sitting behind) talking to fellow benchrest and F-Class shooter Ian
(Willie) Dixon in the foreground at Diggle.
“What is Vince describing with his hands?”
56 Target Shooter
LaserScope
In Ballistic Plex and now
NEW Ballistic Mil-Dot reticules
The LaserScope is
the successful
integration
of a laser
rangefinder
with a quality
riflescope
to create an
affordable,
compact and lightweight package that
stands up under severe recoil.
The LaserScope is a technologically
sophisticated instrument that looks and
handles a bit differently to a conventional
riflescope. It functions not only as a self-contained
single unit, but also comes with a remote activation
switch that straps to the forend of the rifle to allow
more convenient and steady operation of the laser.
Additional features include:-
● micro-sized advance circuitry
● high performance lens system
● unique ultra-low Burris mounting configuration
Quad Scope
NOW 40mm Objective
3–9 x 40mm Ballistic Plex Reticule
The new Burris Fullfield II Quad Scope is the ultimate
aid to the Sako Quad rifle. The rifle has the option of
up to four interchangeable barrels; in .22LR, 17 Mach II,
17 HMR and .22 Magnum. The new Quad 3-9 x 40mm
riflescope has four resettable adjustment dials, colour
coded to match the colour coding on the Sako barrels.
Once all four barrels have been sighted in, the scope
can be adjusted to the corresponding dial colour when
the barrels are interchanged, with no loss of zero.
Target Shooter 57
Burris Laserscope/quad advert.indd 1 4/2/09 10:49:14
Gwyn Roberts
A record number of 180 shooters shot the first open whole time, the wind flags didn’t move all day either
Gallery Rifle competition of the year at Bisley over which is very unusual on Stickledown that’s for sure!
the weekend 28th & 29th of March under what turned
out to be very challenging conditions, depending on It was nice to see some new faces attending
what day you shot on. Friday was really a mixture Bisley for the first time this year and I’m glad that it
of clear skies followed by a bit of wind, then rain, didn’t end up being too daunting for them in the end,
then back to nice clear skies again and the only thing although some did have a few restless nights leading
that remained constant all day was the cold. And up to it! At the end of the day it’s just a gathering of
believe me, it really was cold! On the Saturday the shooters from different clubs enjoying their sport, and a
conditions certainly worsened and at times the gusts helping hand is always available to those that need one.
of wind were enough to blow the sights completely
off the target during some matches, as can be seen One shooter who didn’t need any help was Norman
clearly by some of the final scores that were posted. Brown who was the only shooter at the meeting to
At around 10.30am I turned up to shoot the Bianchi set a new British Record using his LBR in the Timed
Barricade match on Stickledown and the & Precision 1 match. Scoring a maximum of 300pts
wind was simply horrendous! When the and 19x, he beat Charlie Sears’ record of 17x that was
targets turned to face you they looked more like set back in 2006 so a big well done must go to Norm!
melons in the scope as the flimsy backing Another shooter to put in a first class performance
boards being used were bending so much, which was Mel Beard in the Bianchi GRCF match finishing
meant that some shots went low and others straight just 2 points off the maximum of 1920. It would have
depending on where the board was at the time you been great to see Mel clean it as it’s only been done
released each shot! At 25yds a gust of wind blew me once before by Layne Chisholm, when he went over
right off the target half way through a string of six to the U.S to shoot it a few years ago. Unfortunately
so I simply stopped pulling the trigger, unloaded and though a single 8 dropped on his last match, the
proved clear to the R.O, then packed my rifles up Mover, put an end to that but I’m sure he’ll be out to
for the day. In conditions like this, if I can’t keep the make amends at the Phoenix! Taff Wilcox was also
sights on the target then I won’t pull the trigger! The on for an easy win with a 300 28x in the T&P1 GRCF
weather on the Sunday however couldn’t have been until a lever lock up in one of the shorter stages caused
better and this was when many of the winning scores him to shoot a “skidder.” This meant he dropped
were shot. As well as being warm and sunny the 10 points off in the end to finish with 27x, which
Saturday…. and Sundays Tony Cooper enjoying his first Bisley experience
weather!
58 Target Shooter
to get to know the other range officers and shooters
at the same time. You can then take this experience
back to your club and help build up our sport at grass
roots level as it were. E-mail Brian Thomas at the
NSC if you can spare a bit of time!
Target Shooter 59
Westlake Engineering
Manufacturer of Target Pistols
Walnut Tree Cottage Camp Cottages
Druids Lodge Salisbury
Wiltshire England
SP3 4UQ
Tel/Fax 01722782432
Email ags.westlake@virgin.net
www.westlakeengineering.com
RFD Wilts. 157
Taurus .357 Muzzle Loading Revolver
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.
Each chamber is charged with Herco powder ( as per .38 S&W Spl data) and then the
bullet is pressed in. Once the chambers are charged the shotgun primers are inserted
into the primer pockets at the rear of the cylinder. The loaded cylinder is slid onto the
yoke from the rear and the yoke closed. The pistol is then ready to fire.
The conversion of your pistol costs £270.00. Extra Cylinders are £150.00 each. If you
do not have a pistol I can order a new pistol from the Importers. A Taurus .357
Magnum LBR costs £675.00
You will need a variation on your FAC for a .357/.38 Muzzle Loading Revolver, and
for each extra Cylinder you want.
60 Target Shooter
It’s simple. When you add
up the accuracy, performance
and value of our Match, Hunting
and Varmint bullets, it makes
choosing Sierra easy.
www.sierrabullets.com
Complete Sierra range distributed
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HIGHLAND For Trade enquiries contact Highland Outdoors
Ph: 01858 410 683
OUTDOORS Fax: 01857 341 111 Retail Price List now available
www.highlandoutdoors.co.uk sales@highlandoutdoors.co.uk Target Shooter to download61
online
Hunter Field Target Scope Test
Tim Finley
This is the first part of a four part series on scopes understanding of the rifles and scopes that are used
which lend themselves to the sport of Hunter Field in the discipline.
Target or HFT for Target Shooter online magazine.
HFT has not been going for that long but, as Field The over-riding factor with HFT is the ‘scope rule’-
Target did, it has driven forward the technology and the aiming device cannot be altered by the shooter
once they have shot the first target
on the course. With targets from 8
yards to 45 yards it is asking a lot of
the scopes and lenses, Why?
Because scopes suffer from
parallax error. The yellow star is the
reticle and the coloured squares
the target as viewed through the
scope.. In real terms the reticle
is not focused in the same image
plane as the target, so it moves
position on the intended target as
you move your eye/head about at
the rear of the scope.
62 Target Shooter
shooting. So with the 25 yard parallax, eight yard
targets will look blurred and so will 45 yard targets. Bushnell 10 mag mildot
Only the 25 yarder’s will look pin-sharp and have no
parallax error at all. If you move your head from side
to side the reticle will remain in the same place, but
only at 25 yards.
Zeiss3-9 reticle
Target Shooter 63
Discs are normally 40, 25 or 15mm in diameter. For
example with a 40mm disc the size it appears at
Bushnell 10-40 rainguard
certain ranges with a true mildot scope are:
YARDS MILDOTS
8 5.5
9 4.9
10 4.5
12 3.7
15 2.9
17 2.6
20 2.2
25 1.8
30 1.5
35 1.3
40 1.1
45 1.0
64 Target Shooter
reticle but S&B kindly agreed
to build one for me as I helped
them out with the design of the
first focal plane reticle in their
12-50x56 FT scope. I won the
2007 Gathering with the S&B
and came 9th in the first HFT
World Championships in 2009.
The next is another German
scope but from the 1980’s world
of FT - the Zeiss 3-9x36 is used
by a few of today’s top HFT boys
for its quality of glass. Thanks
to Pete Dutton for the loan of
the scope. Lastly is the Hawke
MTC sidewheel SR6 - with the Nick Jenkinson
designed reticle it gives the HFT
shooter the opportunity to aim off
in a more precise manner and I
have used one in HFT comps myself.
Bushnell 4-12 turrets
So, those are the scopes. The test will
involve using mildot calibrated test
sheets devised by Brian Samson, a
top HFT shot and the man behind the
NEFTA Hunter Series. These sheets
have the exact size in Mildots that should
appear at given ranges. I will be using
15, 25 and 45 yard sheets as the asis
for the test but other sheets every five
yards would be put out too. The scopes
had to be placed in a cradle built by Pete
Dutton attached to a camera tripod so
I could freely move my head around to
measure the parallax error. Damn, I
next and is, at the time of writing, the second appear to run out of space for this month
pre-production test scope featured here - kindly now! You will have to look at next month’s free
loaned for this test by Gary Cooper of MTC. It is on-line issue to find out my results.
aimed squarely at the HFT market so that is why it is
included, it does have their SCB reticle fitted too.
Hot on the heels of those two
preproduction scopes is another, line up for the next few
in fact the only one in the world issues
so far. A Schmidt and Bender
10x42 Klassik fitted with a P3
Mildot reticle and re-parallaxed
to 20m.
Target Shooter 65
Rapid S-Type
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Email: sales@sect5.co.uk Web: www.sect5.co.uk Tel: 07549 945 292 Fax: 0845 280 1620
68 Target Shooter
Reproduction No.32 Scope Brackets
Nigel Greenaway
Over the years the value of complete, shootable is likely to be £2,000. For a correct matching rifle
No.4(T) sniper rifles has continued to rise – no doubt with its scope tin, leather sling and lens caps, Scout
Regiment spotting scope and wooden transit cases
- then the price will be upwards of £3,500 and more.
All this has resulted in a veritable cottage industry of
miss-matched rebuilds made up from genuine rifles,
non-matching scopes and mount brackets, all the
way through to rifles where the only genuine sniper
Rose KD – close up of
the rounded profile Rose Dalglish plus Repro – close up of an original
Brothers brackets, marked Dalglish compared to a part finished reproduction
JG or KD which matches the Dalglish style
Target Shooter 69
material labs at Shrivenham and even that was the
same horrible black-heart (or was it white-heart...?)
malleable cast! It’s such an old formula that I can’t
find the mix in Machinerys handbook any more!”
70 Target Shooter
adjustment is left in the scope for relaxed civilian
shooting. Notice the emphasis on well made as
some of the foreign made reproductions need
considerable work to make them even fit on to
original mounting pads and collimation is often
non-existent so that most of the scope’s adjustment
is used up in one direction to even get close to the
target.
Target Shooter 71
expensive “pattern” with them. More time and effort
would then be taken to find another company and
more money expended to pay the pattern maker.
This time it was my job to find the pattern maker and
I made sure that I retrieved the pattern.
Hopefully it is now fully appreciated just how
much time and effort goes in to making these
reproduction brackets. The availablity of these high
quality brackets has resulted in a dramatic increase
in the value of No.32 scopes – they typiucally fetch
Reproduction bracket prior to hand finishing between £700-£1000 depending on condition and
– red areas are those where metal needs to the mark (Mark 3 or 2/1 scopes are easier to zero
be removed. so they tend to fetch more). If the scope comes
5. Machined brackets prior to hand finishing with a with a bracket then this adds £300-£400 to the
power file. It takes about one hour to hand finish each
bracket prior to stamping the rings so that remain
matching then shot blasting, parkerising and spray
painting with black suncorite (the official British military
finish). The original brackets had quite a rough
wartime finish with obvious pits and marks from
casting and finishing. Too smooth a finish makes
a reproduction bracket stand out from an original –
hence we deliberately try to retain the wartime look.
72 Target Shooter
Henry
100 - 104 Lowtown, Pudsey
West Yorkshire, LS28 9AY
Tel: 01132 569 163 / 565 167
Fax: 01132 574 962 Quality reproduction
Krank
Email: sales@henrykrank.com pistols and rifles
www.henrykrank.com
Open Mon - Sat, 9am - 5pm Ardesa Pistols
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Le Page Flintlock £732 Remington Stainless 8” Barrel £324 Hawken .45 Flintlock £354
Charles Moore Target Flintlock £486 Remington Stainless 5 ½” Barrel £324 Hawken .45 Percussion £328
Charles Moore Flintlock £426 Remington Stainless Target £342
Harpers Ferry Flintlock £325 Remington Navy Blue £234 Kentucky .45 Flintlock £272
Le Page Target Percussion £544 Colt 1851 Navy 7 ½” Barrel £216 Kentucky .45 Percussion £234
Le Page Match Target Percussion £582 Colt 1860 Army 8” Barrel £246 Pennsylvania .45 Carbine Flintlock £309
Howdah Double Percussion £510 Colt 1860 Army Fluted 8” Barrel £248 Pennsylvania .45 Carbine Percussion £260
Kuchenreuter Percussion £1092 Colt 1849 Fargo £216
Pennsylvania .45 Rifle Flintlock £456
Leigi Derringer £110 Colt 1861 Navy 7 ½” Barrel £229
Leigi Pocket £121 Colt 1849 Pocket £218 Pennsylvania .45 Rifle Percussion £409
Mang In Graz Percussion £1002 Siber £795 Shenandoah .45 Rifle Flintlock £372
Zimmer Pistol £262 Firearms licence required for all guns above.
Uberti Long Guns
Pedersoli Long Guns
Frontier Flintlock Rifle £498
1876 Rifle 50-95
1860 Henry Steel 44/40
£1014
£1062 Smart Reloader
Brown Bess Flintlock Musket £838 1873 Carbine 19” Barrel 44/40 £880 Kinetic Bullet Puller
Brown Bess Flintlock Carbine £838 1873 Special Short Rifle 44Mag £1004
Tryon Rifle £610
£15.54
1873 Sporting Rifle .357 £916
Tryon Creedmore Rifle £864 High Wall 32” Barrel 45/70 £876
Includes 3 sets of collets
Mortimer Whitworth Rifle £906 1866 Yellowboy Carbine 38SP £770 that will allow you to pull bullets from reloaded
Sharps 1874 Silhouette Rifle £1008 1866 Short Rifle 20” Barrel £804 ammunition from the caliber .17 up to .50 cal.
Sharps 1874 Quigley Sporting £1380 1866 Sporting Rifle 24 ¼” Barrel 38SP£804 Electronic Digital Scale
Springfield Trapdoor Carbine £882
£43.20
Springfield Trapdoor Rifle £1020 Mauser Rifle 1898 ‘100 Year
Springfield Trapdoor Long Range £1116 Included in kit: two powder
Anniversary’ Model measures, one 50 gram
An exact copy of the original Mauser calibration weight, powder tray and battery.
Military Rifles rifle model 98, made by Mauser. Accurate to 0.01grain. Max capacity 771gr.
Yugoslav Mauser K98 Rifle 8x57 from £245 Electronic Case Tumbler
Mossin Nagant 91/30 7.62x54mm from £215 Limited Edition £43.20
Mossin Nagant Sniper Rifle 7.62x54 from £495 Calibre 8x57 IS. ONLY £1250 Allows you to easily and quickly
clean your used brass. The ca-
Evapo-Rust 500ml
Bottle £8.75 pacity of the bowl is aprox 600
cases in 9mm or 250 cases in
Enfield Military Rifles & Rapidly removes rust 223 Remington. Full instructions included.
+ gun blue.
Accessories Tumble Media 1kg £7.20 5kg £16.75
Enfield No.4 .303 British (pictured) From £325 Speciality Mount for K31 Electronic Stereo Earmuffs
Enfield SMLE .303 Bolt Action Rifle From £295
Enfield Long Lee .303 Bolt Action Rifle From £425
Plus 3x20 Scope ONLY £95 £34.00 Excellent protection by
filtering out high frequency noise
Enfield P14 .303 Bolt Action Rifle From £395 Specially designed mounting system caused by gunfire above 85dB.
for Schmidt Rubin rifles. Suitable for
.303 Brass Cases 1” scopes with up to 44mm lens.
Enfield No.4 ONLY £9.99 per pack Wooden Black
Plus 3x20 scope.
Sight Adjuster 100. New HXP boxer Powder Storage Box
£18.50 unprimed. ONLY £99.00
Lee Enfield .303 Clips H 37cm x W 45cm x D 25cm
Packet of 15 £10.50 Delivery £4.00
Postage & packing £4.00 per order. Additional p&p charges apply for firearms + explosives.
Target Shooter
Above printing.
prices correct at time of73
74 Target Shooter
Target Shooter 75
OLD ‘FRIENDS RE-UNITED’ - SPRINGFIELD &
UNERTL
Rob Hunter
I’ll declare at the onset that I’m not especially a fan Choose your weapons
of old firearms. Yes, they’re very interesting from That’s a tough one - there were several different
an historical perspective/curiosity/collecting point of ‘sniper’ rifles used throughout the Vietnam conflict -
view and, if that’s your thing, then a visit to the Royal that is rifles which were pressed into service to fulfil
Armouries in Leeds is a must. the role of a sniper rifle. The old adage ‘today’s wars
are fought with yesterday’s technology’ is as true
It’s fine if you can afford to buy stuff to just polish today as it was then.
and hang on your wall but just how good were these
rifles, considering the quality of steels and methods At the start of the conflict in Vietnam in 1959, there
of production? Or perhaps I should say -
how accurate were they - compared to what
we have come to expect of modern rifles?
The Plan
Having made my dismissive statement on
historical arms, I should say I do have a more
than passing interest in the Vietnam war and
its weapons so, sometime ago, after reading
about the extraordinary shots and exploits
of the famous snipers from that era, such Scope and rifle
as Carlos Hathcock and Chuck Marwhinny, togehter in
I got to wondering, given their age and perfect
production methods, just how accurate were harmony
their rifles. Or were these well-documented
extraordinary shots just a case of these
men being truly exceptional marksmen.
76 Target Shooter
The Scope looking nearly new
was no official sniper training program or defined be bought off the shelf today. Of course, the semi-
weapons. Everything was mothballed after WW2 auto rifles such as the Garand were out because
and only slightly ‘re-kindled’ for the Korean conflict. of our nanny-state government has ruled that
we can’t be trusted with such WMD. So I decided
So, shortly after the start of the Vietnam war, on a real tough test - the Springfield M1903A1.
Lieutenant Jim Land managed to convince the upper
echelons of the USMC of the value of scout snipers To be totally historically correct, this rifle was well
for reconnaissance and harassment of the enemy past its sell-by date when the Vietnam conflict
on their own ground. In 1960, the first of the Marine started, having seen the majority of its use in WW2 and
Corps scout snipers graduated from their two week Korea but there are actual documented cases and
course at the Hawaian based sniper school (one of pictures of this rifle being used in action against the VC.
whom was one Private Carlos Hathcock) though at
this time there was no official issued sniper rifle and The sniper rifle was usually built on, or around, the
it was a case of whatever the local armourers had Springfield 30-06 National Match rifle which was first
at hand - this inevitably meant left-overs and accuracy tested and gauged and then fitted with
ad-hoc weapons from WW2 and the Korean conflict. what was the current top of the line Unertl scope.
78 Target Shooter
there were thousands of Springfield National Match However the point of this exercise was not to stroke
rifles made. When I started to ring round the dealers, it but to shoot it and find out what it’s capable of.
I was greeted by either a stunned silence, a sharp
‘sucking of air’ type noise or just plain laughter. Not Feed Me
an encouraging start but the one name that did crop Luckily there’s lots of loading information out
up time after time was that of Andrew Kukielski of there for this rifle and the 30-06 cartridge. A
Colenso Arms. Not only is Andrew a collector of this search on the net soon throws up loads for
type of rifle but he is also one of the few people in the everything from 155 to 220 grain bullets. I had plenty
country who is regarded as an expert and as such of 155 and 168 grain Lapua match bullets and in
that makes him an invaluable source of knowledge order to give the rifle the best chance, I gave it the
of where to get the various bits and pieces. Great, so best equipment to work with - Lapua brass and
I handed the problem over to him (a problem shared, Redding competition dies and in order to be a little
a problem halved...) and true to his word, 6 months more gentle on the bore, I moly-coated the bullets.
later I got a call saying he found one, in very nearly
mint condition. It was in great nick for a rifle that was I then ran two test batches and both showed similar
built around the 1920`s. promising results. Interestingly, the best groups were
with 48.5grains of Vihtavuori N140 which delivered
OK, got the rifle, got the scope, just a case of a muzzle velocity of 2650 fps. Both batches showing
getting them together. Did I say just? As usual groups at 100 yards with all five shots touching. I took
nothing is that simple - the scope mounting-blocks the two best loads and ran the same test at 300yds.
have to be fixed in set designated positions, one The 168 grain Scenars really came into their own,
on the barrel, one on the action. This pre-deter- giving me a 10 shot group of 2 ¾ inches - that’s sub MOA!
mined distance is what sets the value for the scope
adjustment clicks. Probably the only gunsmith in But how would it fare against a modern rifle? As a
country with such a jig to do this job is gunsmith Roger comparison test with a typical current sniper-type
Mason of Essex, who luckily was a friend of Andrew’s. rifle, I shot the Springfield alongside a friend`s Sako
TRG with a 8x32 Nightforce scope at 300 yards. The
A few phone calls later and all the bits were off to Sako does have smaller five-shot group at 3 inches
Roger to be assembled. Three weeks later, the which was only to be expected but the old rifle did
woodwork on the fore-piece had been altered put up a good show on the day with a 3¾ inch group.
and the scope-blocks fitted and the scope was This was not very a scientific experiment but I
on. The whole rifle had been stripped, serviced did wind the power down to 8X on the Nightforce
and cleaned to bring it back to almost as-new to make it a more level playing-field but it does
condition. Several days later and project that I show what this 70 year old rifle can do. I would go
had worked on for a year -without seeing the further by saying that with some more load
majority of the parts - landed assembled in my lap. development and in more experienced hands than
mine, I’m sure that this rifle could do much more.
Given that I said at the start of this project that
I wasn’t a fan of old military rifles, I fell in love Conclusion
with this rifle as soon as I un-packed it. It’s light, Going back to the beginning of this article I asked the
well balanced and comes up to the shoulder question “How accurate were these rifles?” The answer
really well. Andrew had even managed to get is - more accurate than I ever imagined - sub MOA!!
me an authentic leather sling to finish it all off.
Please mention
14 LAMINGTON ST, TAIN, ROSS-SHIRE IV19 1AA TEL: 01862 892171 FAX: 01862 892859 www.rmacleod.co.uk sales@rmacleod.co.uk
80 Target Shooter
Tel: 01977 681639 TIM HANNAM Fax: 01977 684272
THE RELOADING SPECIALISTS
Peckfield Lodge, Great North Road ,Leeds, LS25 5LJ
Website of the Month – Varmint Al’s Al and learn all about him, his lifestyle, pets,
www.varmintal.com family etc. but in addition there is plenty of
The word ‘varmint’ hasn’t found its way into my useful stuff for the shooter. The site is padded
copy of the Oxford English dictionary as yet out with powder burning-rate charts, holiday
but, as far as I can make out, it’s an American pics, free targets and of course the
term for an animal that isn’t worth eating but aforementioned dead animals. Al is also a radio
still fun to shoot. I therefore avoided Varmint ham and if that’s your scene you could even
Al’s site as I’m not really fond of looking at dead have a chat with him. Al clearly leads a very full
animals - unless they are on a plate with gravy life and if his site is anything to go by, he enjoys
and vegetables. every minute of it. Good on yer Al!
82 Target Shooter
BenelliÊKite
Proven by Champions ((Recommended by Mick Gault, OBE, Target Sports December 2007)
TwoÊnew,ÊinnovativeÊPardiniÊSectionÊ1ÊFreeÊPistols.ÊSingleÊshotÊ.22LRÊMatchÊPistolÊcompliantÊwithÊprevail-
ing firearms legislation. Choice of 3 grip sizes in left or right hand. Supplied complete with custom clean-
ing kit. Pistol supplied in hard case. The Pardini is available through our specialist retailers,
including Check-Mate Guns, Surrey Guns and NSRA.
Target Shooter 83
The HANDLOADING BENCH
RIFLING TWIST RATES (Part 1)
Laurie Holland
Although rifling twist and bullet stability fall under Take away rifling and you’re restricted to the round
the ‘external ballistics’ heading, understanding this musket ball which has lots of disadvantages –
issue is important to the handloader to choose bullets low weight for calibre; tiny bearing surface to seal
that are both optimised for the shooting purpose and powder gasses behind it in the barrel requiring wadding
match the barrel twist rate in use. It’s also an important or a patch; poor external ballistics. Some of you might
consideration for those purchasing custom rifles or comment that early rifled arms fired round balls which
having existing shooting sticks rebarreled – it’s no good seems strange as spin seems superfluous given this
discovering that the rifle won’t perform with the bullet shape presents the same shape to the air irrespective
you want to use after receiving it from the gunsmith of its orientation, and the centre of gravity should
because the twist rate isn’t optimal, or in the worst-case coincide with its physical centre, so a degree of
scenario, suitable. tumbling in flight shouldn’t affect the trajectory.
The very name ‘rifle’ indicates that this feature is at Rifling did in fact improve accuracy through imparting
the heart of our tools. Rifling imparts stability to the consistent spin to the ball, a problem with smoothbore
bullet during its flight by making it spin around its muskets being a tendency to impart spin in a random
longitudinal axis. Take this stabilisation away and any manner leading to inconsistent trajectories.
elongated projectile tumbles in flight producing nil
Gyroscope
accuracy and a severely curtailed range. ‘Stability’ means
imparting a force to a projectile that keeps its tip Spin-stabilisation utilises gyroscopic force to
pointing at the target, but achieving this isn’t restricted to
stabilise the bullet. A gyroscope always tries to
rifling. Fins or arrow flight-feathers at the rear end of the
return to its original alignment, so spin-stabilisation
projectile represent an older method which is still used in
provides an inbuilt ‘steering effect’. Our key measure in
modern devices including missiles, aerial bombs, determining whether a bullet will be stable is the
and tank cannon shells. It has not been successfully coefficient of gyroscopic spin or Sg, a value of
adapted to smallarms so far, the American ‘SPIW’ 1.0 or more deemed stable, but with 1.4 usually
project to produce a supposedly lethal while virtually recommended as a minimum. The Sg for any
nearly recoilless ‘individual weapon’ that fired combination of bullet, velocity and rifling twist rate
‘flechettes’ (small-calibre darts) at very high velocities
is easily found using Miller’s Twist Rule, but why do
proved a failure after much work and expenditure. we need to stabilise our bullets, gyroscopically or
otherwise, at all? The
Bullets and their larger cousins, artillery shells, come in all shapes and technical reason is that
sizes, and all must be stabilised except for round balls (and even they a projectile encounters
benefit from being fired in a rifled barrel). considerable resistance
as it pushes its way
through the air and this
has the effect of
imparting an equal and
opposite force pushing
backwards on its front
end. This is not focussed
on the extreme tip as
you’d expect, but on a
spot lying further back on
the central axis – up to a
84 Target Shooter
measured in calibres, and to a lesser extent to their
As soon as the very different shapes. Measuring 6mm Berger VLDs
round ball was gave an average length of 1.238”, and their diameter
replaced by is 0.243”, so a typical bullet is 5.095 calibres long,
elongated bullets, let’s say 5.1 calibres for the longest examples in the
rifling became carton. Hornady 265gn forty-four bullets came out at
essential. 0.807” ±0.001” and their diameter is 0.429”, so a bullet
is only 1.88 calibres long, or just over a third (37.5%)
that of the 6mm match bullet’s length using this form of
measurement. The Miller formula gives Sg values
of 1.47 and 1.39 for my 6BR and .444 examples
respectively under standard atmospheric conditions
(59ºF, 29.92” Hg pressure). Turning to 0.22 calibre,
Table 1 gives the lengths, Sgs and required twist rates
for a selection of 0.224” calibre bullets at .22 Hornet,
.222, and .223 Remington velocities. You’ll note a
relatively small change in bullet length is magnified on
conversion to calibres and this can have a substantial
third of the projectile’s length back from the tip. The effect on the required twist rate.
exact spot depends on shape – close to the front in
blunt designs, farther back in those with a long, pointed Military
nose. The centre of gravity (CG) also lies on the axis, I started my fullbore shooting with vintage military
but still farther back, say around a third of the bullet’s arms which led me to the mistaken belief that there is
length ahead of the base in a typical HPBT match type. one ‘correct’ twist for each calibre – one turn in 10” for
With air resistance acting on a point well ahead of the 0.30” and 0.303”, 8.8” for 8mm and so on. (To avoid
CG it quickly causes the projectile to turn and start constant repetition of the ‘one turn in….’ formula, I’ll
tumbling in the absence of any stabilisation, and with use the actual twist figure from now on as in ‘10T’
the CG lying towards the rear in the sorts of bullet for a full turn every ten inches.) This still applies to
designs we’re interested in, the base naturally wants military smallarms, to a lesser extent to factory
to overtake the point (which is exactly what happens sporting arms, and not at all with custom target and
when a military FMJBT type penetrates soft tissue). pest rifles. All 7.62X51mm (7.62 Nato) service rifles that
Different calibres, shapes, weights and lengths see I know of retain the late 19th century 10T twist as used
varying distances between these two key points – the in the original .30-06 and 0.303”, despite 7.62mm ball
further apart, the greater the turning motion in play, cartridges being loaded with relatively short 144-
hence the greater the amount of stabilising force
needed to counter it, in our case a faster rate of spin.
This is why long thin match bullets which have these
points widely separated need a ‘tighter’ or ‘faster’ rifling
twist, than short fat bullets. (To download a copy of the
Miller Twist Rate Formula spreadsheet, go to www.ac-
curateshooter.net/Blog/millerformula.xls)
To illustrate this, let’s look at two very different
cartridges and bullets. A 6mm BR Norma rifle fires a
105gn Berger Target Match VLD at around 2,800 fps
and needs a one turn in eight inches rifling twist to
stabilise it. Early .444 Marlin rifles have a much slower
(one turn in 38”) twist barrel, but stabilise the 265gn
Hornady FNJSP at 2,200-2,350 fps MV. Let’s look at
how fast these bullets are being spun: the 6mm rotates
at 252,000 rpm at 2,800 fps, while the .44 only has
41,684 rpm at 2,200 fps, under 17% of the former’s
rotational speed. (Current Marlin 444s have a 20”
twist rate, so modern examples see the bullet rotate The cover of the 1980s Speer No. 10 manual
at 79,200 rpm at 2,200 fps MV, faster but still only a shows a bullet in flight and the shock-waves it
fraction of that used in the 6mm.) Hang on, how often
generates as it passes through the air. This
have people told you that heavy bullets need a fast-
resistance acts on the bullet attempting to force
er twist rate than light ones, so our first finding is that
its nose out of alignment, and leading to
bullet weight is not what determines the rate of spin.
The reason for the vast difference in spin-rate needed tumbling if there is insufficient spin to stabilise
is down primarily to the difference in their lengths as it.
Target Shooter 85
M855 forms, equating to nearly 320,000 rpm from a 7T
The 6mm (0.243” dia) 105gn barrel, an increase of more than a quarter despite the
Berger VLD on the left needs shorter bullet.
an 8T barrel, while the short,
fat Hornady 0.429” 265gn JSP What this tells us is that the military chooses ‘over-fast’
bullet on the right manages twist rates. Why? It lets them use any available
with 38T ammunition that will chamber in the rifle in an
emergency, say tracer or armour-piercing rounds that
likely employ longer bullets; secondly, Sg figures and
the twist rates needed to achieve sufficiently high
values are calculated for standard environmental
conditions, or reasonable deviations from such, while
armies prepare to fight in extreme conditions, in
particular the polar regions in winter with their
exceptionally cold, dense air – I’ll return to
environment. Even so, 7T seems excessive for 5.56mm,
at least with the standard 62gn ball round, Miller’s
twist formula computing an Sg of 2.43 under standard
conditions, and 1.99 in Arctic winter temperatures.
We know that this bullet is fully stabilised when fired
from 9T barrelled rifles such as the standard Southern
Gun Co. SSR-15 or Remy 700PSS, the Miller formula
predicting an Sg of 1.47 from this twist rate. If you’re
among the many shooters who’ve tried to use cheap
62gn 5.56mm fodder in a 12T barrelled .223Rem rifle,
148gn FMJBT bullets which were successfully you’ll know it doesn’t work, and the Miller formula tells
stabilised in 14T TR rifle barrels in the pre-155gn you why – an Sg of 0.83, well below the minimum 1.0
era. The current Nato standard for 5.56X45mm rifles stability factor.
and machine-guns is an even faster 7T. The civilian
sporting equivalents in factory rifles are 10T for .30- Air Density
06, 12T for .308Win, and 12T for .223Rem, albeit you We’ve said the objective is to stabilise a bullet with a
can find 9T variations for this cartridge (Remington given set of characteristics composed of its weight,
‘tactical’ models such as the ‘Police Rifle’ and shape, and by far the most important factor, length
700SPS Tactical; and all Savage .223Rem rifles), the in calibres. Achievement involves three ingredients:
occasional 8T as in the Tikka T3 Tactical. You can rifling twist rate, muzzle velocity, and the environment
even specify the military 7T rate in the Savage Model into which the bullet is launched. Let’s dispose of the
12 LRPV (Long range Precision Varmint) rifle last of these first. Despite constant moaning about the
alongside 9T barrelled versions. Now this is a huge British weather, we see few extremes, and it is unusual
variation in some cases, especially amongst 5.56mm for a target shooter to be out in air temperatures below
and .223Rem models! 0ºC or above 25. Likewise, our rifle ranges lie between
sea level and around 1,000ft altitude. This may not
The UK L2A2 military 5.56mm apply elsewhere with American shooters testing
cartridge uses a 61.7gn FMJBT
bullet which has two cores – lead Blair Atholl in the Scottish Highlands is probably the UK’s highest
in the rear; (lighter) steel up front. rifle range for civilian target shooting. Its altitude reduces air
Throw in an airspace in the bul- density, but the region’s prevailing cool temperatures partly
let tip, and you have a long bullet counter this.
for its weight at 0.915”, but note
that it is shorter than the 105gn
6mm Berger VLD when converted
to calibres (4.1 v 5.1). Moreover,
rotational speed is a combination
of the rifling twist rate and MV, and
we know the 5.56mm is a hot little
number in its current milspec guise.
Let’s do the numbers – 6BR gives
the 105gn Berger 252,000 rpm at
2,800 fps MV from an 8T barrel,
while the 5.56mm has a nominal
3,100 fps MV in British L2A2 / US
86 Target Shooter
ammunition in much lower winter temperatures while
competing over some ranges at much higher altitudes. 62 RG + 64 Berger FB Match + 55
With the destabilising force on the front of the bullet M193
caused by air resistance, it varies according to altitude and
temperature, thickening it and increasing resistance
appreciably if both are low, thinning it and having the
opposite effect if both are high. You cannot do anything
about this apart from ensuring that you spin the bullet
fast enough to cope with the worst conditions that you’ll
shoot in. Let’s look at the 1.131” (3.67 calibres) long
155gn 0.308” Sierra Match King fired from a .308Win
/ 7.62mm TR rifle at 2,950 fps MV through a 13T
barrel, this twist rate now the most common in TR
and Palma rifles. I’ve listed a range of environmental
conditions inTable 2, and you can see that the calculated SG
varies between 1.51 at standard barometric pressure
for sea level (29.92” Hg) in 0 degrees F (-18ºC) air,
exceptionally cold for daytime in the British Isles, to 1.82
in a hot summer’s day on the upland ranges of Diggle
or Blair Atholl. In fact, 14T is more than adequate for
any likely conditions with this bullet in the British Isles.
Let’s say you’re only ever going to load the SMK and (rpm) is calculated by dividing the twist rate by 12 and
use the resulting .308Win rounds in ‘Palma Rifle’ at the then dividing MV by the result of the first calculation to
American NRA Whittington Centre range complex near get revolutions per second, multiplying by 60 for rpm.
Raton, New Mexico. Assuming the range is situated at My 6mm BR example sees 8 (inch-twist) divided by
a similar altitude to the town which is listed at 6,680 ft 12 = 0.6666. Divide 2,800 (fps MV) by 0.66666 and
above sea level, you would expect to encounter lower we get 4,200 and multiplying by 60 gives us 252,000
air pressure, standard barometric pressure being 23.7” rpm. We rarely if ever need to know what the bullet’s
Hg at this height. With summer temperatures reaching rpm is, but it’s instructive to know just how fast a bullet
80ºF according to the local weather station, our 13T spins in one load combination compared to another,
barrel now gives the 155gn SMK Sgs that could reach especially when doing something extreme like firing a
2.24. As rates with values above 2 degrade accuracy, tiny 40gn 0.224” Varmint pill out of a 7T barrel at high
you’d be better off with a 14T barrel if you confined your velocity! The reason I bring rpm up here is that it’s
shooting to this bullet over this range, and you could regularly said by ‘firing-point experts’ that if a twist rate
even safely specify 16T. is inadequate for a bullet, just increase the load and
MV ‘a bit’, and all will be well.
MV + Twist
The rate of spin, hence stabilising force is a result of Let’s take the cartridge that probably causes more
the interaction of the rifling twist rate and MV (muzzle confusion than most – .223 Remington. The widely
velocity). Rotational speed in revolutions per minute
0.224” bullets (2). 35gn – 45gn 0.224” Hornet bullets with a 55gn M193 alongside for
scale. This old .22 centrefire normally uses a 16T twist rate, and bullets have to be very
short to be stabilised.
Target Shooter 87
0.224” bullets (3). Bullets designed for .222 Remington with its 14T barrels, plus one or two later
.223Rem (12T) examples. Left to right: 50gn Sako FMJ, 50gn Norma FMJ, 52gn Speer Match,
53gn Hornady HP Match, 52gn Sierra MK, 52gn Hornady A-Max Match (.223Rem), and 55gn M193
FMJBT (.223Rem)
used rule of thumb is that 12T caters for bullets with a comfortably stabilised. Moving to an 11T barrel at the
maximum weight of 55gn; 9T does 60-75gn, and 8T is same MV should still just see the 69gn SMK stabilised
needed for the 77s and 80s. We know that the 69gn with an Sg value of 1.11, but using the standard 12T
Sierra MatchKing works with a 10T rate (it says “7”- drops it below stability level to 0.93. Even raising the
10” twist bbls only” on the end of the box), let’s say at MV to a very ‘hot’ 3,100 fps in this rifling twist rate only
a modest 2,700 fps. You’ve got a .223Rem rifle with produces an Sg of 0.97 which is marginally unstable
a 12T barrel. Can you load the cartridge up enough but might just work in some circumstances,
to get a suitably high spin-rate on the bullet? 2,700 especially given a factor I’ll cover next month. Note that
fps makes the bullet rotate at 194,400 rpm in a 10T this significant change to the cartridge’s load and
barrel, or 216,000 rpm in the more common 9T rate. chamber pressures represented by raising the MV
How about 12T? Even an impressive 3,100 fps only from 2,700 to 3,100 fps only increases the Sg by 0.04,
gives 186,000 rpm, still well short. We would have to or 4.3%.
increase the MV to 3,250 fps – which we can’t get with Let’s look at the SMK’s main competitor in this class,
69gn bullets in this cartridge, not safely anyway – to the 68gn Hornady HPBT Match, slightly lighter so what
produce 195,000 rpm. Change the barrel twist rate by works for the SMK will suit it too, surely? (It also says
one point to 11T, and a high but achievable 3,050 fps “twist rate 1/7-10” on the carton end.) However, this
MV produces just under 200,000 rpm which should do bullet is nearly a tenth of an inch longer than the SMK
the trick, however. at around 0.991”. Run it through the Miller formula and
Let’s check these combinations out with the Miller 10T at 2,900 fps barely works with a computed Sg of
formula. The 69gn SMK is just under 0.9” long, the 1.01, 3,100 fps only raising it to 1.05, both right on the
longest example in a sample I measured being line. A 12T barrel has no chance with an Sg of 0.72
0.897”. At standard pressure / temperature, 2,700 fps even at 3,100 fps.
from a 9T barrel gives an Sg of 1.65, and the Sierra
quoted minimum rate of 10T reduces that to 1.34, still
Alright, the Miller Twist Rule is only a mathematical
model run on a small
Microsoft Excel
spreadsheet. How
does it translate
to real bullets and
barrels? I can quote
an example from
direct experience
relating to these
two bullets. Some
years back an
importer loaned me
a newly introduced
.223 Rem ‘Heavy
Varmint’ variant of
a popular rifle for
review. The nominal
62 RG + 68 HDY + 69 SMK + 70 B VLD + 70 JLK VLD twist was 9T, so I
loaded up 50 rounds
88 Target Shooter
55 M193 + 77 SMK + 80 bullet stability, but British conditions are unlikely to vary
SMK + 80 Bgr VLD + 80 enough to require a change in the rifling twist rate – in
A-M either direction.
Let’s say the Miller formula says a bullet / twist / MV
combination produces an Sg barely above 1.0, (as in
the 0.308” 155gn Lapua Scenar at 3,000 fps from a
13.5T barrel for an Sg of only 1.07), but it groups well
in 100yd testing / load development? Won’t it be all
over the place at 1,000 yards as we know every aspect
of bullet performance degrades with range? I’ll finish
off this look at the rifling twist rate issue next month,
covering this and other factors, also introduce
another type of bullet stability that is separate from the
split between the 68gn Hornady and 69gn Sierra gyroscopic variety.
bullets, charges rising in small steps from recognised
starting loads. I sighted the rifle in at 200yd using an Table 1
existing load with 52gn Hornady A-Maxes that Bullet Length / Cals
performed well in my 12T Remy 700VS, and results MV Sg
were good, easily holding the NRA TR target V-Bull, .22 Hornet (16T is the standard twist rate)
1-MOA or less. 35gn Hornady V-Max 0.516” / 2.3
2,900 1.64
Switching to the heavier bullet loads saw a 40gn Sierra Hornet 0.488” / 2.18
dramatic deterioration: the Sierras found the target but 2,800 1.67
struggled to hold the 4-ring, 3-MOA plus; the Horna- 45gn Sierra Hornet 0.533” / 2.74
dy 68 loads wouldn’t hit the target frame reliably. The 2,650 1.46
eason was of course that the twist rate was 12”, not 9, 45gn Hornady SPT 0.615” / 2.74
despite what the manufacturer had quoted (rectified in 2,650 0.99
subsequent batches from the factory). I measured this as 45gn Nosler Hornet 0.561” / 2.5
a fairly accurate 12T rate in this particular barrel, so the 2,650 1.27
Miller results weren’t far out – Sierra MKs not quite fully
stabilised causing a serious deterioration in grouping .222 Remington (14T is the standard twist rate)
ability, the longer Hornady 68s completely unstable. In 50gn Sako FMJ FB 0.655” / 2.92
fact, Miller was a little pessimistic, as I wouldn’t have 3,200 1.3
been anywhere near achieving 3,100 fps with my test 50gn Norma FMJ FB 0.645” / 2.88
loads, 2,700-2,900 being more likely, or SGs for the 3,200 1.34
69gn SMK in the 0.93-0.95 range compared to 0.97 at 52gn Speer HP Match 0.712” / 3.17
maximum velocity. 3,100 1.05
52gn Sierra MK 0.710” / 3.17
So, let’s summarise what we’ve seen so far. First, don’t 3,100 1.05
get hung up on bullet weight as this can be misleading 52gn Hornady A-Max 0.798” / 3.56
with same-weight bullets in a calibre having different 3,100 0.75
lengths and requiring different amounts of stabilisation, 53gn Hornady HP Match 0.715” / 3.19
hence twist rate. Secondly, changing MV has 3,100 1.05
considerably less effect than changing the twist 55gn Lapua FMJ FB 0.720” / 3.21
rate, so ‘loading a cartridge up’ for a higher MV only 3,000 1.06
rarely works. Thirdly, air temperature and density affect 55gn FMJBT (M193 mil) 0.734” / 3.28
Target Shooter 89
3,000 1.00 3,000 1.47
70gn JLK VLD 0.991 / 4.42
40gn Hornady V-Max 0.686” / 3.06 3,000 1.30
3,400 0.92 70gn Berger VLD 0.967” / 4.32
50gn Sierra SPT Varminter 0.691” / 3.08 3,000 1.40
3,200 1.10 75gn Hornady HPBT M 0.997” / 4.45
2,900 1.35
.223 Remington (12T Barrels) 75gn Hornady A-Max 1.095” / 4.89
50gn Sako FMJ FB 0.655” / 2.92 2,900 1.03
3,400 1.78
50gn Norma FMJ FB 0.645” / 2.88 62gn Barnes TSX BT 0.944” / 4.21
3,400 1.85 3,100 1.34
52gn Speer HP Match 0.712” / 3.17
3,300 1.46 .223 Remington (8T Barrels)
52gn Sierra MK 0.710” / 3.17
3,300 1.46 68gn Hornady HPBT M 0.991” / 4.42
52gn Hornady A-Max 0.798” / 3.56 3,000 1.60
3,300 1.05 69gn Sierra MK 0.892” / 3.98
53gn Hornady HP Match 0.715” / 3.19 3,000 2.20
3,300 1.46 70gn Lapua Scenar 0.951” / 4.24
55gn Lapua FMJ FB 0.720” / 3.21 3,000 1.86
3,200 1.47 70gn JLK VLD 0.991 / 4.42
55gn FMJBT (M193 mil) 0.734” / 3.28 3,000 1.65
3,200 1.39 70gn Berger VLD 0.967” / 4.32
3,000 1.77
36gn Barnes Var Grenade 0.701” / 3.13 75gn Hornady HPBT M 0.997” / 4.45
3,800 1.10 2,900 1.61
40gn Hornady V-Max 0.686” / 3.06 75gn Hornady A-Max 1.095” / 4.89
3,700 1.28 2,900 1.22
50gn Sierra SPT Varminter 0.691” / 3.08
3,400 1.53 77gn Sierra MK 0.981” / 4.38
53gn Barnes TSX 0.795” / 3.55 2,700 1.80
3,300 1.08 80gn Sierra MK 1.076” / 4.80
55gn Nosler BTSP 0.735” / 3.28 2,800 1.43
3,200 1.39 80gn Berger VLD 1.106” / 4.93
60gn Nosler BTSP 0.782” / 3.49 2,800 1.32
3,100 1.25 80gn Hornady A-Max 1.153” / 5.15
2,800 1.18
.223 Remington (9T Barrels) 80gn Nosler HPBT M 1.070” / 4.78
50gn Sako FMJ FB 0.655” / 2.92 2,800 1.47
3,400 3.16
50gn Norma FMJ FB 0.645” / 2.88 Table 2
3,400 3.30 Effect on a 155gn Sierra MK’s Sg at 2,950 fps MV
52gn Speer HP Match 0.712” / 3.17 caused by Temperature and Altitude (Barometric
3,300 2.59 Pressure) Changes
52gn Sierra MK 0.710” / 3.17
3,300 2.59 Altitude (ft) Air Temperature 1 3 T
52gn Hornady A-Max 0.798” / 3.56 Barrel 14T Barrel
3,300 1.86 0 ft (Sea Level) 0ºF (-18ºC) 1.51
53gn Hornady HP Match 0.715” / 3.19 1.31
3,300 2.54 0 ft (Sea Level) 32ºF (0ºC) 1.62
55gn Lapua FMJ FB 0.720” / 3.21 1.40
3,200 2.49 0 ft (Sea Level) 75ºF (24ºC) 1.76
55gn FMJBT (M193 mil) 0.734” / 3.28 1.52
3,200 2.34 1,000 ft (Diggle) 75ºF (24ºC) 1.82
1.57
68gn Hornady HPBT M 0.991” / 4.42 6,680 ft (Raton NM) 80ºF (27ºC) 2.24
3,000 1.26 1.94
69gn Sierra MK 0.892” / 3.98
3,000 1.74
70gn Lapua Scenar 0.951” / 4.24
90 Target Shooter
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Target Shooter 91
We are a well established gun shop in surrey for the
last 36 years now under new ownership of Peter
Friend. Over the years the surrey guns has built a
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ESTABLISHED 1986.
92 Target Shooter
Part 2
The Sequel
Gwyn Roberts
should not last at least as long as this, if not longer!
We left off last month with receivers, here is the final There are two other trigger units out there that I
instalment. have tried, one has the trigger weight pre set whilst
Triggers – the other is made up of ‘drop in’ components but in
To help you reach your potential, especially in the my opinion they are really not worth bothering with
precision type matches, you should really try a KID as they are a lot of money for poor quality. If you
unit and then you’ll probably end up buying one! can’t stretch to buying a KID at the moment, why not
Although I’ve always preferred a single stage trigger just have someone who knows what they are doing
it doesn’t take long to get used to take up the first to slick up your standard Ruger trigger unit instead?
stage adjustment on the KID, (especially when a lot With a bit of time and effort the result will be a lot
of the travel can be taken out) then you are left better than just fitting one of the ‘drop in’ kits and
with a very crisp release which can be fine tuned cost less money too. You should be able to achieve
down to around 6 to 8 ounces if you like. Greg a trigger release around the 2 ½ to 3lb mark quite
Goldsworthy from Rude Fat Dog in Devon imports easily, and this along with an ABR should see an
them and will set them exactly how you want it improvement on the range. Another thing to bear
before sending them if you are not sure what to do. in mind regarding your trigger group is that some
These really are the best available on the market of the matches we shoot in require you to drop the
at the moment but due to the current exchange magazine and lock the action open quickly to move
rate against the dollar, they unfortunately aren’t between shooting positions. With this in mind you
cheap! From an investment point of view my should have a speed lever magazine release fitted
Jewel trigger cost me nearly £200 11 years ago, that will enable you to drop the magazine by
and apart from a spring breakage last year, it is pushing it forwards, and then allow you to lock
still going strong. That’s less than £20 a year for the action open by pulling it to the rear along with
a first class trigger and taking a look at the build the bolt. These can be operated very quickly and
quality of the KID unit I see no reason why they smoothly and don’t cost the earth to buy either.
Target Shooter 93
for functioning and you can put almost any type
of ammunition through them and they’ll work just
fine, which is probably due to the ‘generous’ sizing
of the standard chamber. Typically though, they
will group at least a quarter to half inch plus bigger
Target Shooter 95
it up that far, but it’s always available should you
ever progress to use it. As well as being able to
aim more precisely rather than guessing where the
centre of the target is, probably the best thing about
using a higher powered scope is being able to
see your point of impact on the target. This then
allows you to either adjust your aiming point or
quickly dial in a couple of clicks should your
hits be off centre due to different lighting or wind
conditions. With a low powered scope the only time
you will get to know about this problem is when
you go down to score your target and by then it’s
too late and the points have gone! I think the only
1.5 – 5 x 24, 6 – 20 x 50 exception to using a higher powered optic would be
for shooters who have dedicated Bianchi or Steel
and 4 – 18 x 75 scopes
plate rifles that are either fitted with a red dot or a
are usually the ones that shooters go for as they lower powered scope in the region of 2-10x56 or
give a definitive aiming mark as opposed to an 8 or 3-12x50. Being able to turn down the power to 2 or
10moa one that will cover half of the target. Quite 3x combined with a large objective lens makes it
a few people have commented to me over the years much easier to pick up the shorter range targets
about not being able to shoot with a telescopic much more quickly, especially on the plates and the
scope using their weak shoulder as their eyesight mover as you don’t have much time to play with in
on that side is very poor. This type of scope whilst this type of match.
not being ideal for the longer range stuff or the
rimfire sized targets, can overcome a lot of this Many people have told me that the reason they
problem for many shooters as the sheer size of the stick with their current scope (mostly in the region of
rear lens enables you to look through it and focus 3-9x 40or50) is that they cannot keep the rifle still
on the dot using both eyes, regardless of whether on a magnification setting greater than 9 or 12 etc
you are shooting from a strong or weak shoulder at 50m – but neither can anyone else! Your
position. crosshairs will always be moving on the target
whatever standard of shooter you are and it’s simply
Moving on to the various telescopic type scopes, a matter of learning how to release each shot as the
I think it’s fair to say that unless you shoot the reticule moves over the centre of the target. Over
majority of the GR matches with one of these fitted the last 3 or 4 months some friends of mine have
on top of your rifle then your success will always tried shooting with both my 1500 GRSB & GRCF
remain limited. I experimented with various rifles that were fitted with Edgar Brothers 5-20x50
magnifications and objective sizes over the first scopes. After a bit of time on the range gradually
couple of years of shooting GR to find what which increasing the magnification settings and learning
combination worked best and the two main factors better trigger control, they were certainly all
that will enable you to score well is having enough grouping better and getting higher scores on the
magnification to see the X ring on the 50m tar- target. They all now own, or have on order a
gets, along with the largest possible objective lens higher powered scope which should ensure their
that you can find. Recent discussions with some performance and classification improves to the next
friends’ who shoot at the top of the ladder as it level. Using a high magnification scope over the
were, all agreed and used the same principles when years has certainly helped me to post some good X
choosing the current scopes that they use. count scores during my matches.
Look down the line on a 1500 or ‘shorts’ line and The reason to go for the largest objective size
you will see that most of the top shooters are using possible is so that you will have a much greater field of
the higher powered 5-20x50, 6.5-20x50 or 6-24x50 view when you bring the rifle up into the aim, at
scopes. Even at the closest range of 10m you will every distance whatever targets you are shooting at.
be able to pick up the middle of the target quickly Using a 1-5x20 on full power at certain distances
on either 5 or 6x. If you can’t, then the problem has can mean having to scan down the target to check
to do with your preparation i.e. stance, head that you are shooting on the correct 2 targets out of
position and presentation and not the scope. At this the 34 others, during a Multi Target match. On the
distance I rarely use a setting of less than 12x same setting with a 50mm plus lens you should
whichever calibre I’m shooting. Having an upper limit allow you to see the target numbers whilst on aim,
of 20 or 24x doesn’t mean that you ever have to turn saving you at least a couple of seconds in some
96 Target Shooter
Scope covers will help keep the lenses clear and in top
condition
cases, and turning the power right up at 50m will give concentrate on the middle of the target and
you a much clearer and brighter sight picture as get on with the job. At the end of the day it may
opposed to that given with an equivalent 40 or 42mm well be worth considering having 2 scopes if you
item. If you can afford to buy a top quality scope want to shoot a wide variety of disciplines with a
like the Leopold’s’ or similar then the quality will be particular calibre and invest in a good set of quick
improved even more as the power is turned up - release mounts to go with them. They really do
they also come with a lifetime warranty! Whether hold their zero well provided you fit them properly
the scope is front or side focusing isn’t really an and could well be the difference between a current
issue but ideally it should be fitted with target compromise and reaching your potential in
turrets. These will enable you to sight in and the varied types of competitions that you
mark off of on a piece of tape wrapped around it compete in. Remember that in order to get the
precisely your zero point for every distance at which best from any scope it has to be fitted and aligned
you will shoot. Simply walk up to the line, dial in the properly so that every time the rifle is brought
distance, adjust the focus and then load when up into the aiming position, the eye is
told to, it’s just a routine that you get into and for consistently at the correct height and the correct
the people who tell me that they don’t do it this distance away in relation to the eye piece, so that a
way because they’ll forget to change the settings clear and fast target acquisition is attained every time!
each time... you’ll only do it once...... I can assure
you! Nearly all of the top shooters do this so that Finally, after taking the time and effort to set up
they don’t have to aim off and can therefore just your rifles so that they fit and work properly for you,
Target Shooter 97
you should finish the job off and make sure that An assembled rifle combination that is of the
the overall balance is right too! Quite a lot of rifles correct weight and balance. A Stock that fits you
tend to be front (rather than rear) end heavy but this and is contoured to enable you to easily shoot
can easily be corrected by simply adding weight from any of the positions required in the types of
to the appropriate end. To add weight to the front competitions in which you intend to shoot.
it’s usually best to remove some material from the A trigger set up that enables you to release
barrel channel towards the front of the fore end each shot easily, smoothly and consistently.
and fit some epoxy covered lead or a piece of A scope that will give you the largest field of view
stainless or mild steel bar. At the rear, you can and the magnification power that will allow you see
remove the butt pad and hollow out part of this section the centre of any target, at every target distance
then fill with the same materials as the front. Either used.
modification will be discreet and should provide
you with a properly balanced rifle that enhances Once these are achieved the rest as they say,
your stability in all of the shooting positions that we is up to you! I hope that this has been of some
shoot from. This in turn will reduce fatigue and should help and that it’s got you thinking more about
help to improve your performance at the same what should be achieved before you step up to
time. the line for a competition. Also, watch what other
shooters do and never be afraid to ask questions on
To summarise then regarding either your current the range as no-one knows all of the answers, and
rimfire rifle or those you intend to own in the near it’s the only way that we will all get to learn more!
future, make sure that you end up with:
Please mention us
when using
advertising
in the magazine
98 Target Shooter
Gun of the Month
If you want to put your rifle or pistol in as ‘Gun Russ is a keen benchrest shooter and the rifle
of the month, please contact use at; was built to Light Gun (17lbs.) specification for
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customer.services@targetshooter.co.uk
The heart of the rifle is a Kelbly stainless steel
Our thanks Grizzly action bedded in a Kelbly BR fibreglass
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“This month’s ‘Gun of the Month’ was built by chambered in 7mmWSM. The scope is a Night-
Scottish gunsmith Russ Gall to show case force BR model mounted in Kelbly rings.
some of his skills, which include the startling
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the barley-twist fluting. bullet at velocities in excess of 3000 fps and
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Incidentally, the Gun Kote finish is not just for this rifle is 4.4 inches!”
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Target Shooter 99
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The cap says it all – Dave Jackson did the double with a Light Gun win and
small group at 1000 yards.
Ian Kellet and Bruce Lenton also dipped under Your Target Shooter writers are all keen
ten-inches with their Factory Savages. competition shooters, out there on the range every
weekend and Laurie Holland and myself were at it
Results: again the following weekend at the first GB F Class
Light Gun League shoot of the year. Laurie gave his Eliseo tube
gun it’s first real competitive outing and I also shot F/
1st Dave Jackson 6.5 Tooley Musgrave 7.942 in TR with my new 308. We both came away with top
2nd Steve Dunn7mm Dunn BAT 8.371 five placings and you can read a full write-up of this
3rd Ross Burrough 6.5x47 Surgeon 8.887 event in Les Holgate’s ‘The Long View’ elsewhere in
Target Shooter.
Small group: Dave Jackson 4.585 inches
New Stuff
Factory Sporter Last month, I got news of a new British made action
but, rather than print half a story we thought it best
1st Phil Gibbon 6.5-284 Savage 12.967 in to investigate further and you will find a full write-up
2nd Toni Young 308 Remington 13.956 elsewhere in Target Shooter.
3rd Ian Kellet 6.5-284 Savage 13.961
Forthcoming events
Small group: Phil Gibbon 7.533 inches May is a busy month for all accuracy-nuts for not only
do we have our next 100 yd & 1000yd BR shoots
On a personal note, I had an uneventful day on May 2/3rd we also have the famous Diggle Egg
with a best group of ten inches. I have been Shoot on May Bank Holiday Monday (25th) and our
experimenting with a 284 Win. necked-down to final 600 yard shoot of the year on Sunday 31st May.
6mm and shortened by 50 thou. which I call the 6mm I hope to see you at some of these shoots. E-mail
Xtreme. It’s clearly past its best, though the barrel me on vinceb@6ppc.fsnet.co.uk for more details.
doesn’t look too bad through the borescope. It’s now
• Tel Shop: 01905 797060 • Fax: 01905 796620 • Tel Trade: 01905 796610
• Web: www.wildcatrifles.co.uk • Email enquiries@wildcatrifle.co.uk
108 Target Shooter SS06.09/58/a
Over 9,700 guns for sale
73,000 visitors last month
Over 108 dealer stock
live online
The three nations match between Germany, Ireland results were all UK and German shooters, with the Top 5
and the UK derived from the World Championship, being 4 German and 1 UK shooter. The whole team event
when Markus Feldmann of the German team said that was a success and the aggregate scores of each team
he and others would like to come to the UK to shoot a are below. Hopefully there will be more of these matches
friendly match. A few words with the Irish team later and around Europe in the next year. I know that Germany, Italy
we had an ongoing concern, so the planning started. At and Holland have held matches already.
this point it really is time to say a massive thanks to Ken 1st Germany - Total 8796 196
Stockham of Portishead club, who organised this event 2nd UK – Total 8655 133
and ran things with flawless accuracy from start to finish. 3rd Ireland – 8250 110
Without him and the good will of his club we would not The two shooters that really stood out were the eventual
have managed to have such an event in the UK. winners of course, which were Martin Menke for Light
Arriving on the practice day the weather was calm but
raining and misty – so calm that there was no wind Seated Markus Feldmann -
movement at all. For some this is a boon, for others not the overall Aggregate
so much. Well the latter group got their wish as the two
match days were a tad bit gusty. The first day I would say winners
blowing in all directions, at some points at about 20 plus
mph.
This knocked a few off their feet, but we recovered and
shot on. The wind remained with us for the rest of the day
with sun coming up very quickly in the afternoon, which
brought mirage. A very mixed English Spring day! Day two
was better, with the wind still there but the sun was with
us for the entire day. (Shooting benchrest dressed in your
best thermals, as we were on day one, is not conducive to
the nature of this sport).
The German team shot brilliantly, as did a number of
individuals in the UK and Irish teams. The Germans Varmint and Markus Feldmann for Unlimited. I have known
are very good shots anyway, as they gained silver Markus for a few years – lots of fun and a great guy to be
medals as individuals and as a team at last year’s world around. He was the aggregate overall winner from the two
championship. This is helped on by the custom kit they days shooting with a great score of 1478 35 x’s.
are using. A lot of these rifles are built by Martin Menke, We in the UK would benefit from more of these types of
the captain of the team, who is a well renowned center- head to head matches in the future. Hopefully this will
fire and rimfire gunsmith in Germany. He is also the 1999 happen as the UK nationals looks as if it will be very
world centerfire benchrest champion. Just from talking to popular
him I learnt a lot, as you tend to at these head to head If anything what we can learn from this is that we need to
matches. Andy Dubreuil did very well in the Unlimited class look more at moving towards custom actions and barrels.
coming in 5th, with Brian Kelly coming in 4th overall in the This is what other nations are doing, as relying alone on
aggregate scores and Carl Boswell coming in 6th overall factory firearms is not going to cut the mustard in years
from the two days shooting. In fact the top ten aggregate to come. This game is getting increasingly competitive
at international level, so it is about keeping up with the
All teams together - the UK won best Jones’s.
dressed. At the end of the weekend the German team went away
with most of the trophies and medals, with one exception,
Anthony Nolan of Ireland won Bronze in the Unlimited
class – well done. It was a great shoot and the people
taking part had a great time. So much so, that the Martin
and Jo of the German team have invited the UK team to
shoot in Germany sometime in October or November. We
are definitely thinking about it, with four people showing
interest so far. Will the result be the same……..well only
time will tell, so look for a report again in December!
The 2009 F class league would once again start fire would be 2 & 15 at 800 yards followed by 2 & 15
with the first round at Diggle Ranges near Oldham in at 1000 yards on the Saturday. Sunday would be 2
Greater Manchester. &15 at 900 yards, followed by 2 & 10 at 1000 yards.
Many of the F Class League shooters thought it Our League shoots will normally muster around 60
would be a mistake to have the first competition of competitors but it became clear early on that mak-
the year at Diggle. Not because of the range but ing the first shoot on the Easter weekend could limit
because of the weather. It is a long held belief was the amount of shooters to those brave enough to
that Diggle only gets one or two weekends a year abandon wives and girlfriends at this time of year! So
without rain, snow or some kind of terrible weather the maximum number of competitors was reduced to
of biblical proportions! 48 but most of the usual faces were in attendance
The previous year hadn’t helped Diggle’s case and Anthony Dunne and Joe Melia made their usual
because it had snowed but, with only a finite long trip from Ireland.
number of weekends available, the League just had
to take it’s chances and all those attending - if they Restricting the field to 48 competitors meant that
had any sense - should bring as much wet-weather we would only need four details of twelve shooters
gear as they could muster. That was what I did - I rather than five, thus usefully cutting down on time
even brought some old ski-gloves which I assumed I which always seems to be a premium at Diggle
would need to fight off the cold. shoots, especially when the weather delays the start
time as it did last year.
Once again though the Diggle weather managed
to trick everyone and it turned out to be one of the Around a dozen shooters turned up on the Friday
warmest Easter shoots I can remember. The gloves to take advantage of the practice day with shooting
never even came out of the car and if you would starting off at 600 yards. Unfortunately the dreaded
have set up a sun-tan lotion stall, you could have Diggle weather had other ideas and most just used
made a fortune! the time to get a quick zero then called it a day.
But enough of the weather, this is Round 1 of the The competition started bright and early Saturday
2009 GB F Class League, scheduled to be shot on morning with the plan for the first shot to be down
Easter Saturday and Sunday with the Friday being a range by 8.30 am. This was always going to be
practice day for those who wanted it. The course of difficult for the local contingent as Diggle shoots
Tactical 22RF AR15s 8-32 scopes as a prize for the World Championships.
and Centrefire This prestigious event is held every four years
straight pulls plus and clearly will not return to Bisley for some
the usual range of considerable time. It will generate world-wide
custom 10/22s.
publicity so this is a great opportunity for
TRADE, MILITARY AND POLICE CONTRACTS WELCOME manufacturers to get their products showcased on
Tel: 0161 408 1155 or the world stage. Any further offers of prizes should
07710 102887 be made to Mik Maksimovic at mik@mikdolphin.de-
www.nwcustomparts.com mon.co.uk
First of all a piece of really good news. classification ladder and get you noticed by
Two well known GR competitors were the national selectors.)
unlucky enough to have their firearm Also at the Phoenix, teams from England,
certificates revoked after the theft of some Germany, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
of their guns. A couple of weeks ago an will be competing in the European
agreement was reached at the Crown Teams Match for short events. On the
Court which resulted in the certificates Monday the national teams of Germany,
being returned. A full summary is in this Ireland and the UK compete in the 1500
issue. A wake up call to us all – think GR European Championship.
about security when you are away from June has the Derby 1500 and not much
home whether it is just a visit to the club else we are aware of so no excuse for
or a trip to Bisley or even abroad – you not heading there!
must ‘t be complacent and hope COMPETITION CALENDAR
that it won’t happen to you. May 3 GR&P The Mattersey Ten - 1500,
The first big meeting of the year, the Short Events etc. Mattersey RPC, Notts
Spring Action Weekend, was a great May 9 GR&P The Western Winner – 1500
success, apart from the weather and Frome RPC at Failand Range near Bristol
some of the scores, with a record entry. May 10 GR&P Steel Challenge
Have a look at the report in this issue and, Shield Shooting Centre, Dorset
if you didn’t go, see what you missed. May 21-24 Almost any gun! The Phoenix
This month you have the Western Meeting National Shooting Centre, Bisley,
Winner at Bristol and the Mattersey Ten to Surrey
chose from as well as the Shield Steel June 27-28 GR&P Derby 1500 Derby R&PC
Challenge. Please do your best to (Either contact the organisers direct
support one or more of these. They are or go to www.galleryrifle.com for entry
friendly competitions put on by hard forms.)
working club members. GR&P = Gallery Rifle Centre Fire (GRCF),
At the end of the month, the premier Gallery Rifle Small Bore (GRSB), Long
meeting in the GR calendar, the Phoenix Barrelled Pistol (LBP) and Long Barrelled
Meeting takes place at the National Revolver (LBR)
Shooting Centre. It’s not just for GR though RESULTS
as there so many events you will March 28-29 Spring Action Weekend
probably find at least one for every gun you Available in full on the NRA/NSC
own. See the article in this issue website or at www.galleryrifle.com.
which explains what it’s all about. Please go to the Gallery Rifle website
(Don’t forget that your scores in the www.galleryrifle.com for more news and
relevant events go into the national database information.
to get you onto another rung on the
114 Target Shooter
RHINO RIFLES
Custom made rifles in the heart of Cheshire
We stock:
ACTIONS
Remington BARRELS
Howa Pac-Nor STOCKS:
Sako Krieger Bell & Carlson
Barnard Bartline A I
RPA Broughton SSS
Stiller True-Flite H&S
Peirce Boyds
01978 290990
www.dragonfieldsports.co.uk
customer.services@targetshooter.co.uk
Happy reading and we hope you enjoy the magazine. The team at Target Shooter.
If you have any letters or news that you would like to air on a national basis then please contact us
at the magazine. This could be for those budding writers out there that would like to submit a full
article on specific firearms, competitions, shooting sports, etc.
The aim of the magazine is to include you the shooters in the United Kingdom. So having a regular
letters page or even a question and answer section would be really useful for a lot of people out
there. Let us know what you think!?
We would also like to have a gun of the month section - so send us your pic and spec and we’ll
include it in ‘gun of the month’.
Any news that your club or association thinks is worth viewing can also be sent in for selection.
What we would like is to get a letters page started with your views, news and perceptions about
all all the aspects of target shooting. So lets see those letters coming in and we will read your
thoughts in these pages.
Advertisers Index
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Allcocks Outdoors 35 Jackson Rifles 101
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Bassetts 63 Norman Clark Gunsmiths Ltd 15
Benchrest Directoryy 107 NRA 80
Border Barrrels 44 NSRA 84
Bromyard Sports and Leisure 105 Osprey Rifles 25
Check-Mate Guns 92 Rhino Rifles 22
Chris Potter Country Sports ltd 97 Riflecraft 64
Continental Shooting Supplies 98 RPA International 42
Countrymen of Derby 74 RUAG Ammotec 12
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Diverse Trading ltd 112 Prestige Air Guns Ltd 13
Dragon Field Sports 114 Section 5 11
Eley LTD 3 Shooting Supplies 95
BulzeyePro 36 South Yorkshire Shooting Supplies 29
Essex Guns 62 Steyr 102
Fox Firearms 45 Surrey Guns 95
Frederick Beesley 70 Targets Direct 93
G T Shooting 41 Theoben 110
GMK 0 Tim Hannam 21
Green Leopard 37 UKBR22 104
Gun Trader 16 UK Custom Shop 2
GunSeeker 114 Uttings
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Henry Krank 0 Webley 75
Highland Outdoors 50 Westlake Engineering 52
Target Shooter
118 HPS Target Rifles Ltd 83 York Guns 77
Innovative Systems 63
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