Target Shooter October

Target Shooter

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aunching the brand new airgun marque of Prestige Airguns, the Kub family comes in a trio of exciting carbine-format models - the SB (side-bolt), RB (rear-bolt) and SL (side-lever) - each available in .177 or .22 and with ambidextrous thumbhole or sporter woodwork in walnut. The Kubs weigh-in at just 6.5 lbs., yet are stacked with features - including an adjustable butt pad, plug-in charging, on-board air gauge, adjustable two-stage trigger, re-settable safety, threaded muzzle and a 10-shot rotary magazine. Notwithstanding its compact dimensions, a Prestige Kub also returns upwards of 100 full-power shots per air-fill thanks to its self-regulating firing valve. Against feather, fur, metal or paper targets, the new Prestige Kubs are the connoisseur’s choice for handling and performance. A pride born to make your shooting more rewarding.



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Welcome to the 7th month .......of Target Shooter Sections

13 Experience the Imperial Part 2 by Chris White



20 GSG-AK-47 review By Tim Finley 38 The 12-50x56 PM 11/P Telescopic Sight from Schmidt & Bender by Vince Bottomely

44 Batch Testing at Eley by Carl Boswell

53 Sniper Rifle No4 Mk 1 Part 2 By Nigel Greenaway 65 Commonewealth Custom From Fox Firearms by Laurie Holland 4

Target Shooter

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Shooting Sport News

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Shooters Calendar

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Support your Local Gun Shop

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McRee’s Precision Stock System by Vince Bottomley

30 36

257 Roberts Ackley Improved by Richard Wild

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Profile on Rory McAlpine by Hayley Platts

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Full Bore Ballistic Analysis by Bryan Litz

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Website of the Month

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Training Body and Mind by Andy Dubreuil

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Club Feature

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Malta, Sun, Sea, Sand and More by Stanley Shaw

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Letters

Gun of the Month

Gallery Rifle Basic Part 4 by Gwyn Roberts

95 Advertisers Index

Association Pages 84

UKBRA

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UKBR22

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F Class UK

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Quigley Association

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HFT News

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Gallery Rifle

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UKPSA

Editor(s). Carl Boswell and Vince Bottomley Advertising and Office Manager Andy Dubreuil. email; [email protected] Contributors Vince Bottomley Andy Dubreuil Chris White Tim Finley Laurie Holland Richard Wild Carl Boswell Hayley Platts Bryan Litz Nigel Greenaway Gwyn Roberts Stanley Shaw Ken Hall

Webitorial - October 2009 We are rapidly approaching the close of the summer season and what a summer! Not the weather of course but lots going on in shooting – plenty of national matches, a World Championship and a new British World F Class Champion and a Gold Medal winning GB Team! During the coming months, some of us will go inside, preferring the warmth of a heated range rather than braving the cold of the English autumn and winter. I don’t blame you but personally, I don’t mind the cold and I’m happy to continue shooting outdoors. Winter is also the time when we tend to buy our new gear for the coming season and maybe order a new rifle in preparation for spring, when the roller-coaster starts all over again. This year, in addition to a hectic shooting programme, we have also had the added excitement of developing Target Shooter. It has been a great pleasure and a privilege to reach out to you, the target shooter, via the world wide web but convincing advertisers to go with an ‘unknown quantity’ is more challenging. With your loyal support however we have survived – if not exactly prospered! From a zero starting point we now average a phenominal 10,000 readers per month. Even though we offer a totally free magazine, we still find shooters who haven’t heard of us and have yet to read Target Shooter. Yes, the on-line magazine concept is new and shooting is a sport steeped in tradition and maybe, in some cases, the two are yet to meet! To help with this we have bought-in new software, allowing readers to download the magazine to their own computer and read it at leisure rather than on-line. Hopefully this will assist those who are less able to spend time reading the magazine ‘live’ via the internet. You, our loyal readership base, are our most valued asset, as you are best equipped to spread the word and get your fellow shooters acquainted with www.targetshooter.co.uk Winter brings plenty for the shooter - we can look forward to Bisley’s Trafalgar Meeting in October and, although we will not be officially promoting the magazine, we will be there, with the rest of you, buying bits and pieces, searching out the bargains at the trade fair and hopefully having a relaxing day and maybe a shoot. At the end of October, it’s the F Class ‘Europeans’ - another great weekend of competition and our writers will again be shooting alongside you and bringing you the latest match results. It has certainly been a busy year for Bisley, which is great of course as it means that our sport of shooting is far from ‘in recession’ and the trade fairs have provided a great opportunity for dealers to showcase their products to a ‘captive audience’. As Vince stated in last month’s Webitorial, we would like to have lots more information from clubs so we can help promote any events that you are running. We are here because above all, we eat, sleep, walk and talk shooting! E-mail us with your news, be it local, regional or national and let’s get the whole of Britain shooting! Until next month. Carl Boswell - [email protected] and Vince Bottomley - [email protected] and Andy Dubreuil - [email protected] Copyright © Trinity Digital Publishing Ltd

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.



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Shooting Sport News

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armoor Stocks

start from scratch with a complete blank.

Here’s a new stock and it’s made in the UK. If you would like to know more, e-mail Suggested Red cedar is used as this is very light and [email protected] retail price is £195 plus postage. the stock weighs in at just 24 ounces and that’s before inletting. This should make it the ideal basis of a 10.5lb gun for rimfire or centrefire benchrest. The shape is typical of modern benchrest stocks and reminds me of a Tom Merideth design, with three-inch wide fore-end and a half-inch flat on the underside of the butt. If there is a demand, inlets could be offered but personally, I would prefer to

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olt Knob

OK, maybe you can’t get excited about a bolt knob but I can! As soon as I got this one from North West Custom Parts www.nwcustomparts. com I just had to bung it on my Barnard 07 tube

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gun. Design is similar to the Badger Ordnance tactical knob with one or two subtle changes and it comes anodised in a variety of colours. The retail price is £20 - though you may have to get your favourite gunsmith to fit it depending on your rifle.

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hooting Mat

This one is from America and is being imported by our friends at North West Custom Parts. It packs up nice and small yet is well padded and very comfy to lie on. Like most stuff from America, it is very well made with various pockets and things. Retails at £85 from www.nwcustomparts.com

It has been a good year for the UK on an international level. With a total score of 123 from the 3 matches, James Woodhead from England has just won the FT World Championship , held in South Africa. Our congratulations to him and the UK team that went Position Number 1 8 2 11 3 115 4 59 5 72 6 9 7 113 8 5 9 58 10 106

First Name James John Mark David Hennie James Matthew Dorian John Andy Curt Werner

Last Name Woodhead Costello Basset Combrink Breytenbach Osborne Falconer Calpin February Breedt

over there. John Costello, also from England came second, with Mark Bassett of Wales coming in third place. With an overall score of 469, the English team also came in first place for the team event. Well done to all concerned.

Country Group Shoot 1 England 3 46 England 3 43 Wales 1 38 South Africa 2 41 South Africa 2 44 England 1 39 Wales 2 36 England 2 37 South Africa 1 40 South Africa 3 37



Shoot 2 38 38 39 34 33 35 36 34 31 30

Shoot 3 39 42 36 38 36 38 37 37 33 34

Target Shooter

Total 123 123 113 113 113 112 109 108 104 101

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enchrest goodies from Fox Firearms

loading presses - used by most centrefire BR shooters to re-size their brass on the point and some of the superb Harrell powder measures. Brian also has Harrell’s CNC muzzle brakes and is selling all his stuff at the price you would pay for it in the States – in other words you save the cost and hassle of shipping. Visit the Fox website at www.foxfirearmsuk.com

Harrel Tunner

Brian Fox has just received his first shipment from Harrell in the USA. He has a box full of tuners for the rimfire benchrest guys which look really nice. I’ve never had a close look at a tuner before and like all Harrell products they are well made and beautifully finished. Also in the shipment were the portable

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PSC European Shotgun Championships 2009

The photos are from the award ceremony at the IPSC European Shotgun Championship. Held in Oparany, Czech Republic. 14th - 19th July 2009. Also known as ESC09.

Venessa Duffy won Ladies Standard Semi Auto. Along with Sharon Sell, Josie Adam and Caroline Norman we took first team prize in the Standard Semi Auto. Andrew Duffy was Ladies team manager. See the UKPSA pages at the back of the magazine. 8

Target Shooter

Calendar of events over the next month

If your club or association has events you want to publicise here then email us. 4 Oct Instructor Workshop (Methods of Instruction) Course (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) A new one day training workshop for those wishing to become either NRA RCO Assessors or Club Coaches in the future.

From 10 Oct To 11 Oct 2009 NSRA/Eley Finals (all except prone & 3P), Bisley - Lord Roberts Centre 11 Oct NRA Shooting Club Day (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) Multi-discipline NRA Shooting Club Day. Targets have been booked on Melville and at 100, 200, 600 and 1000 yards. All disciplines welcome.

17 Oct to Sun 18 Oct Trafalgar Meeting (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) As the enjoyable memories of the Imperial Meeting fade, the thoughts of many shooters of an historical inclination turn towards the NRA Trafalgar Meeting. 17 Oct to 18 Oct Freelancers Fiasco (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) The Freelancers Fiasco 2009 Open shoot (Organised by Langar Rifle Club) have fixed this years dates for the 17 and 18 October. Comprising a Queens I, II and III, the weekend welcomes all competitors to join us for a relaxed wind down of the shooting season of 2009.Download entry from the NRA website.

22 Oct NRA Shooting Club Day (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) Multi-discipline NRA Shooting Club Day. Targets have been booked on Cheylesmore and at 100, 200, 300 and 900 yards. All disciplines welcome. 24 Oct to Sun 25 Oct Target Rifle Skills Course (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) This weekend course is aimed primarily at those who have recently taken up target rifle shooting to help them develop their individual skills

24 Oct - Long Range Rifles Branch, 600yd Whitworth/Rigby Cup & Annual Dinner, Bisley 24 Oct to Sun 25 Oct Gallery Rifle - Autumn Action Weekend (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) This is the last of the 2009 main Gallery Rifle Action Weekends that encourages ‘Action Shooting’ for the Gallery Rifle community who visit Bisley. This includes competitions for Gallery Rifles (centrefire and smallbore), Long Barrelled Revolvers and Pistols. There are also competitions for those of you who have an interest in Target Shotgun.

30 Oct to 01 Nov - European F Class Championships (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) 07 Nov Start of Probationary Members Course 2009/5 (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) This course is primarily a course in safe handling and provides an introduction to Target Rifle, Gallery Rifle and Black Powder Pistol. Each course consists of four separate lessons. Course date to be allocated once entry conditions are fulfilled. All applications for Probationary Membership should be made to the NRA Membership Secretary. 14 to Sun 15 Nov Club Coach Course (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) Candidates should be experienced shooters who have already completed a Club Instructor course. This course covers coaching techniques, and methods of instruction. Candidates will be formally assessed on the range and in the delivery of classroom lesson. Qualified Club Coaches may run NRA Probationary, Skills and Club Instructor Courses. 14 Nov NRA Shooting Club Day (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) Multi-discipline NRA Shooting Club Day. Targets have been booked on Melville and at 100, 200, 500 and 1000 yards. All disciplines welcome.

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Welcome to GT Shooting. The premier shooting sports shop in Surrey

Optics Ammunition Reloading equipment and more...

Fullbore & .22LR Black Power Air Rifles and Pistols Used rifles and Pistols Our premises are located at

53 Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5 2RB www.gtshooting.co.uk Tel: 020 8660 6843 Fax: 020 8660 6843 10

are conveniently situated near the M23 & M25. TargetWe Shooter

Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday 10.00am - 5.30pm

‘Support your local gun shop’

Aaron Wheeler, Brighouse, W.Yorkshire

Gunsmith Aaron Wheeler is certainly bucking the trend by starting a new business venture despite the current recession. West Yorkshire shooters will already know Aaron through his involvement with the gun trade in the area for over 25 years but now, he has his own premises, situated on Bethel Street bang in the centre of the village of Brighouse. I must confess I was surprised to see the very smart exterior of the shop and going through the door didn’t disappoint either and Aaron has fitted out the shop superbly. The walls are lined with full gun racks and the shelves are heavy with ammunition and reloading components and all the other accessories you expect to see in a good gunshop.

Aaron’s strength is his in-depth knowledge of firearms, particularly historic and the gun racks carry a good stock of classic military rifles as well as modern stuff. Shotgunners and airgun shooters are also well catered for. Although the shop has been open a scant two months Aaron reports that business is brisk and due to the amount of work he is taking in for repairs, moderator fitting etc. he has had to close the shop on Mondays just to keep up with the demand. Target Shooter wishes Aaron well in his new venture and we look forward to seeing his website at www.aaronwheelergunsmith.co.uk which is currently under construction.



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Forster Co-Ax Press

The simplest, most powerful and most accurate press on the market, bar none. The press delivers perfect alignment of the die and the case because the shell holder jaws are designed to float with the die, thereby permitting the case to center precisely in the die. Dual floating guide rods ensure perfect alignment.

Forster Benchrest Reloading Dies

Forster dies set the standards for quality and precision. Pinpoint accuracy and uncompromising performance begin with dependable reloading equipment that delivers time after time. The perfect dies for benchrest and target shooters seeking the very best accuracy. Bench Rest Quality Dies

Original Case Trimmer

Co-Ax Case & Cartridge Inspector

For the full range of Forster Products visit www.forsterproducts.com UK distributor of Forster Products

Tim Hannam

The Reloading Specialists

Peckfield Lodge, Great North Rd, South Milford, Leeds, LS25 5LJ Tel: 01977 681639 Fax: 01977 684272 email: [email protected] 12

Target Shooter

Experiencing the 2009 Imperial Part 2 Chris White continues his odyssey of the 2009 Bisley Imperial Meeting

by Chris White ‘The Times’ at 300 yards on Monday morning should have earned an HPS cross but for shot six being ¾ MOA high on a called good shot. This was followed by another elevation anomaly in the Wimbledon which did not cost any points but should have rung a very loud alarm bell. At the time I thought it was ammunition related. St George’s 1 (300 yards again) on Tuesday morning again displayed elevation problems in a re-run of the Yorkshire meeting with two high unexplained shots. My massive group at 300 yards in County Short Junior cost Durham a medal and I pleaded with my Captain to drop me from the Long Range team and let me coach. Highlight of this event was coaching County Cadet Force member Connor Atherton to a 49 at 900 yards in his first ever serious team shoot. Tuesday night, the day before Queen’s I, is not the time to be doubting your equipment and I gave no more thought to elevation. A point was lost at 300 to elevation but 500 and 600 were tight elevations. Too many points were lost to wind to make the second stage but some honour was snatched from the day by getting a 50.7v in the ‘Conan Doyle’ at 900 yards with a true wind which varied between 10½ and 6. Incidentally this was only good enough for 15th place! The day’s post mortem lead me to consider the

elevation anomalies in the short range rifle. These had, I thought, started to occur shortly after a new rearsight iris/filter assembly had been fitted. Since I had not made either George’s II or Queen’s II, I had only one shoot left, the Prince of Wales at 600 yards on Thursday morning. Should I shoot my back-up rifle or stick with the Barnard? The master plan was to take the iris off the Steyr and fit it to the Barnard and see what happened. In the event I forgot. The message one was given and since I was number three I had a quick peep at the target through my sights. I needed to open the aperture up a bit. As I put my hand on the ring I felt an almost imperceptible click. Surely the devil was not loose. How could I make such a fundamental mistake? Checking your aperture assembly is tight in the rearsight should be routine. I grabbed the 12 mm spanner from my bag and addressed the lock nut. Rock solid! However there was no gap between the assembly back plate and the lock nut. Spanner on back plate. This nipped up about a 30th of a turn. I thought the wind was pretty unreadable and I was busy trying to set the sights to the mean of what I thought was on the way with really temperate sight alterations since many other shooters seemed to be loosing points by reacting to changes which appeared to be there but weren’t. I’d got to about shot 11 when I realised that I was shooting to about ½ minute and with only one out of the V bull



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- I wasn’t shooting for a medal but for the trophy. Hell appeared to be let loose when the guy on my right, a very good friend and sound wind judge lost a shot well out down wind. This immediately preceded my 14th to count. Looking along the line there was a string of them. With no mirage I studied the up wind flags which looked the same. Based on where my buddy’s shot had gone there had evidently been a 1 ½ minute drop off which he hadn’t seen. I couldn’t see it either. I rarely correct on other people’s shots but in this case felt compelled to and tempering rashness with judgement took ¾ off and settled into the aim. For no reason other than gut feel I slipped the sight half a click right to make the three quarters into seven eighths. It saved the point since shot 14 was clinging on the edge. Shot 15 went with the mean of the last four shots on the gun. It probably wasn’t the best shot I’ve fired in my life but it was good enough. In my opinion the resultant 75.13v, shot under trying conditions, was one of the best shoots of my life. 75.14v took the prize but of five 75.13v, three were better than mine on the countback. Tied second counted to fifth! This should be the ‘here endeth the lesson’ point but there is still a sting in the tail. With nothing better to do I entered the ‘Barlow’ in the afternoon. This is a ten-shot shoot at 900 yards. Squadding was ignored and the range

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officer detailed us to a target. In my case target 23. Unfortunately four of us hove up there and my old friend Dr. Gray Robertson from Australia was unceremoniously kicked up hill which did not amuse him. I don’t blame him. With the benefit of hindsight I wished it had been me. At the start of the shoot it rained pretty heavily and I lost a point early on to a questionable shot delivered on a less than optimum sight-picture. The rain soon died out and a mirage became visible. Wind was pretty readable between four and six with a good mean at five and moving the odd half minute either side of the mean was a sound and successful strategy when out of the blue I was given a miss after a bull and two Vs. The challenge produced naught. Now I’m not arrogant enough to say that I never miss the target at long range but with ammunition of this quality and in such relatively benign conditions, I think I would have known. This turned a 49 into a 44 which left me fairly hacked off. This was on the same butt as the Cambridge incident - was it the same marker? Now there is another tale here which did not involve me but it needs telling. I was squadded on the second detail of the Barlow but the first detail and the 300 yard detail of Queen’s 2 were due to start at 2.30pm. Shortly before this the heavens opened and I was drenched just

The hard-working Imperial butt crew do a very good job on the whole

shutting the caravan door. Those about to shoot the Queen’s were on the firing point. Within a couple of minutes of 2.30pm there was a massive lightening strike very close. My experience of shooting in Canada is that you are kicked off the range if there is any prospect of electrical activity. This does not appear to happen at Bisley. It ought to.

tion of what was actually being used. The results surprised me a little since I expected up to date equipment to be very much to the fore, which it wasn’t.

To round the week off, myself and Steve Penrose coached Newcastle University to second (again!) place in the ‘Musketeers’, a For the interest of readers I did a sample of esult which the team captain described as equipment used in the Prince of Wales. “Simply awesome” and third in ‘University Long’. From a statistical point of view this was fairly random since although I chose which range to From a shooter’s point of view there are two take the sample from, the squadding is supposedly events in the Imperial which overshadow random. Therefore the results, whilst not strictly everything else. The Grand Aggregate is scientific should be a reasonable representa- regarded by many as the true test of skill,



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Queen’s winner Nick Tremlett is chaired off range

whoever wins it may have had some easy details but they will also, inevitably had some difficult ones. Good shoots are not good enough! To win the Grand every shoot must be an outstanding shoot. It came as no surprise to most of us to discover, when the dust settled, that the Grand had been won by Jonathon Underwood, who has twice, recently shot 150.30v on Century range. That is all thirty shots in the V bull. To describe that as awesome is a little inadequate. Whilst few would deny that the ammunition was good, most would agree that wind conditions were rather testing. Out of a possible 705 Jon had scored a stellar 700. Bearing in mind that 100 of these possible 705 points are to be gained at 900 yards and 50 at 1,000 and given the conditions, anyone dropping five points over those three shoots alone would have had to have had three jolly good shoots. Whilst the Grand may be the ‘shooter’s shoot’ what really grabs the imagination is the Queen’s.

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Jonathon won it in 2006. This year it was the turn of an old friend of mine, Nick Tremlett. Nick is a renowned international wind-coach and an outstanding Match Rifleman, having won the ‘Hopton’, the Match Rifle aggregate four times and taken the silver medal twice in the last ten years. If anyone was in any doubt, he has now proved that he is an outstanding all-rounder. In a nail-biting finish, Nick scored 298 ex 300 just pipping John Warburton who made 297 and Andy Luckman - who won in 1995 – on 295. Of the next seven shooters, five were all ex winners - Jim Paton, Glyn Barnett (2). Martin Millar, Anthony Ringer (3) and Jon Underwood. One could say the cream generally comes to the top! Next time we will have a quasi-scientific look at just how good the RWS ammunition appears to be.

We are now building custom rifles based on these top quality US made rifle actions. We are sole UK distributors for these actions and are happy to supply the Trade.

Surgeon XL action in .338

Lawton repeater action in 6mm BR Please feel free to contact us to discuss your proposed custom rifle CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LADS AT BORDER BARRELS ON THEIR SUCCESSFUL F-CLASS SHOOT AT BISLEY WHERE TWO OUT OF THREE TEAM MEMBERS USED LAWTON ACTIONS TO BUILD THEIR RIFLES! ALSO, CHECK OUT VINCE BOTTOMLEY’S “GUN OF THE MONTH” FOR SEPTEMBER WHICH WAS BASED ON A SURGEON ACTION Please feel free to contact us to discuss your proposed custom rifle. We are please to advise shooters that ALL preparation and finishing of our custom rifles is now carried out on -site! This includes our latest development which is the introduction of Duracoat which we only apply to properly prepared surfaces and oven bake to give the best and most durable finish.

At last…we have received a batch of 1894C .357 Marlin rifles! These are available at £610 with the action checked and a Wolff reduced power hammer spring fitted. Alternatively we have them competition ready with a tuned and slicked action and trigger pull of around 2 lbs at £730 We have plenty of scope bases and Trigger Happy kits available, also one piece stainless steel firing pins.

We are proud to announce our new stainless steel Rimfire Magic action. This is now offered as an alternative to our own Rimfire Magic aluminium action which has proved so popular that we are currently engraving and proofing our second batch of fifty! The new stainless steel receiver is a similar shape to the Ruger 10/22 action which allows it to accept any 10/22 style scope base or of course it may be used in the Nordic Components kit to provide a .22 AR-15 style rifle with the associated reliability of the 10/22 system. We offer the stainless receiver with a bead blasted finish or Duracoated with the latest Duracoat SL which contains PTFE and other chemicals to give a high lubricity finish (shown above in semi-gloss black)

Everill Gate Farm Broomhill, Wombwell Barnsley S73 0YQ

Tel: 01226 756332 Fax: 01226 751321 e-mail: [email protected]

Shooter 17 Our retail shop is open Thursday to Saturday from 9.30am to 5.30pm toTarget allow us time in the workshop.

The ultimate visual experience

The Choice of Legends

LotuTec™

Only the best is good enough for one of the world’s greatest rugby league players, Keiron Cunningham. Keiron’s choice is the Victory Diavari 6-24x56 with illuminated reticle from the Carl Zeiss range of binoculars and riflescopes.

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www.zeiss.co.uk/sportsoptics

RingWerx

P.O. Box 4733 Roanoke VA 24015 +001 540 353 0368 [email protected]

In collaboration with Harrell’s Precision

Dealer Enquiries welcome!!

The ultimate in precision mounts

Off set scope mounts have been proven to be the choice of many Benchrest Shooters who are looking for that edge. Prices begin at $60 plus shipping All our scope mounts are machined from 6061 aluminum and are available in dove tail 30mm off set, 1” off set and 1” straight. Also available are bolt down style for 1.350 round receivers i.e. Turbo & Bat in 30mm off set, 1” off set and 1” straight.

For more details click on this advert to email

Also available in the UK from Fox Firearms visit www.foxfirearmsuk.com

Jackson Rifles

Parton, Castle Douglas, Scotland DG7 3NL Tel: (01644) 470223 Fax: (01644) 470227 www.jacksonrifles.com

• best-selling, proven design - made by Europe's largest manufacturer of high-power rifle silencers • shortest overall length – model T4 adds only 2½" (65 mm) to overall length of rifle • two-point mounting system resists harsh use • selected by the Forestry Commission to meet the latest European noise at work regulations • low-maintenance all-welded construction with tough parkerized coating - no need for internal cleaning • wide range of muzzle attachment threads

SAK-Products • • • •

Air Rifle/Rimfire silencer

Excellent performance on rifles up to .17 and .22 magnum rimfire Black or silver - standard ½"-20 UNF or ½"-28 UNEF thread No springs or plastic parts 34 mm diameter, 160 grams, adds only 5" (127 mm) to length of rifle

jet-Z, S-series and new NorthStar over-barrel sound moderators

Shoot to win

Ultra-lightweight sound moderators CMM-4 rimfire/air rifle – 105 g (3½ oz) CMM-4 centrefire – 220 g (7½ oz)

but we Target Shooter We are happy to give advice and information to retail customers, only supply the trade Jackson Rifles is a trade mark of Forge Consulting Ltd, RFD 108 (Dumfries & Galloway)

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sr0909bg

GSG-AK-47

By Tim Finley The .22 rimfire semi auto rifle market has been dominated by the ubiquitous Ruger 10/22 for decades. In this country it has been the rifle most used by the club shooter for speed and precision

Above - The GSG AK 47 with mount and scope - it looks and feels the business

purely aimed at the .22 rimfire sporting and target market. The rifle has been made to the same dimensions as the original rifle. The magazine takes 24 rounds Having shot a real AK I was keen to see if it felt like a real one and more importantly how it shot. York Guns supplied me with a wooden stocked example along with two magazines and an optical sight mounting bracket. I would need this list item as the open sights fitted to the rifle are of no use if I wanted to ascertain the rifles accuracy at 50m. The magazines for the gun are 24 shot and made to the same width as the real magazines. They do not of course take the 7.62*43mm rounds of the real gun just very much smaller .22 rimfire rounds. They cannot take any more than 24 rounds, the GSG-5 magazines are events as well as relatively new sport of mini rifle. billed as 20 but you can squeeze 22 into them. There is a new kid on the block or should I say Keeping the GSG AK-47’s magazines this wide does two new kids as the latest rifle from the firm has not spoil the looks of the gun as if that had only made only just reached our shores. I am talking of the them the width of a rimfire round. It also makes them German firm GSG, standing for German Sport Guns. easier to handle in a magazine change situation in Their first offering was a model based upon the Heckler and Koch MP-5, this model the GSG-5 has been taken up by the club It is stamped MADE IN GERMANY shooter, me included. I have used mine exclusively for mini rifle events at my club. Being fortunate enough to win all four of the events I have shot this year. The firm’s new offering distributed in the UK by York Guns is the firms take on another classic firearm. The AK-47 is world famous, or infamous depending upon your point of view. GSG did not enter into the project lightly they actively sort and obtained the approval of the original rifles designer. Mikhail Kalashnikov only agreed to put his name to the project as the rifle is

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speed shooting or mini rifle I fitted a scope events. They even hook into the action as a real AK mag does, there is a lip at the front of the mag and you hook this into the front of the mag well first then pull the mag back towards you from the bottom and the mag clicks into place. The magazine release latch is in front of the trigger guard and you grip the mag and the latch at the same time and push the mag forward and down. After taking the rifle from the packaging and fitting the rear stock the rifle did indeed feel like I remembered an AK to be. The gun is fitted with the same open notch and post sights, the

The big lever safety catch is ALL AK47

for the 50m testing. The optical sight bracket is a must buy.

the gun also acts as a dust cover over the round ejection port. Here the breech is forward of the front of the lever. Pushing the lever up with the bolt closed stops the bolt from moving back far enough to cock the action as well as preventing the trigger for being operated. The lever is also used to hold back the bolt with an open breech as it has a hook which latches over the bolts cocking handle. Pushing the lever down to the firing position when in this mode releases bolt, also the trigger cannot be pulled with the safety on and also if there is no magazine in the rifle. For accuracy testing I fitted the side mount, this clamps onto a moulded section on the left hand side of the action and has a 127mm long Picatinny rail. I fitted a low mag scope and proceeded to see what groups I could get at 50m. The gun was very consistent with around an inch and a quarter ten shot groups

very good tool kit and instruction manual also comes with a tool for adjusting the height of the foresight. I make no apologies for not using the sights fitted to the It made short work of the steels gun, fitting an optical sight enables the shooter to place their shots more accuracy The action of the rifle is not modelled upon the real weapon this as we know is a gas operated system, the gas feed tube on this gun is purely a fake one. The gun uses the same bolt and bolt carrier as the firm’s previous model. They have designed the safety catch to operate somewhat the same but on the real gun the large lever on the right hand side of



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shot off a bench. The gun is Shooting mini rifle with very difficult to bench shoot the GSG AK47 due to the very long curved magazine hanging underneath the action. This level of accuracy is to be expected as this is not a bench rest rifle, it is a semi auto large magazine capacity rifle for speed shooting short range events. My own GSG-5 is not very accurate compared to my bolt action Volquartsen carbon fibre barrelled bolt action rimfire rifle, but you cannot expect it to be, horses for courses as they say. I never done with my GSG-5. The groups at 50m could intended to test the AK in anger as it were by using have been influenced by the trigger weight, on my Lyman electronic gauge the AK gave trigger pull weights of around 4.5kg. In comparison the GSG-5 comes in at 2.5.kg. Interestingly the comprehensive manual had the trigger weight for the AK at 2.5kg. The model on test was more like shooting a real AK as their triggers are not the best, again you do not need or actually want a light trigger for speed shooting. With a fire and movement event such as mini rifle shooting a light trigger is even less desirable on safety reasons. The GSG-AK-47 is also available with black polymer furniture as well as a range of tactical hand guards. I really liked the A 10 shot group at 50m wood stocked version myself, it is more in keeping with the look of an AK. I would recommend the optical sight rail and at it to take part in a real mini rifle event. For this I removed the scope and fitted a Hawke low profile reflex red dot sight. This kept the height of the dot/sight line as close as possible to the barrel centreline, this is an advantage when it comes to shooting the 10 yards IPSC targets. The less you have to think were to aim off the faster you are at getting the shot or shots off. I zeroed the gun in at 17 yards and then checked it at 25 and 10 to see where my aim points were. I did not expect much as I had only fired 50 rounds or so though the gun before using it in the mini rifle event. Consisting of two stages I came 3rd in that round as I got use to shooting the rifle quickly. The second longer stage I won which gave me the win overall. I did not expect to win and the accuracy of the rifle for mini rifle is more than adequate. Looking at the groups I got on the second stage double tapping was an eye opener, one of them was a single ragged hole with two shots in it, and something I have

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A single hole double tap group with the AK47 GSG

least one (really two) spare magazines. York Guns are in the process of making a threaded adaptor for the AK which utilises the existing thread in the front of the guns barrel shroud, then goes into a ½ UNF so any rimfire rated moderator can be fitted. I also tested the GSG-5 moderator made by York Guns, this simply screws into the thread made for the guns fake moderator, it is 128mm longer and heavier than the guns original barrel shroud but it does work and is a clever way of fitting a moderator to the GSG-5, for those who want to use the guns for short range pest control or need a bit more hearing protection or recoil reduction when target shooting it is relatively cheap. There is a lot of talk from the Ruger shooters that these “air soft” guns are unreliable etc etc but as a person who has actually shot mine for over year I can say the only two jams I have had have been down to me, one where I stupidly held the magazine while shooting and the other when operating the cocking handle at the wrong time. I have only ever used quality sub sonic ammo in my rifle. Both the AK and 5 are marked up with HV for high velocity rimfire ammo. The firm stating that the guns will work with HV and quality sub rimfire rounds. I have never used HV ammo through any of my rimfire guns, suffering no feed malfunctions down to ammo issues. I only used sub sonic ammo for the testing and competition shooting of the AK-47 also, with the result of not one single jam. Do not go for the cheapo stuff however as that is not as reliable. The only problem I did have was not being able to clear an unfired round from the breech when finishing a stage of the mini rifle event,

hooking it out with a finger nail solved it, but I could have just as easily removed the magazine and fired the round into the butts to make the rifle safe. After winning a mini rifle event with the AK I must say I am impressed with it, opposed to the GSG-5 at least it looks like the gun it is supposed to be, unlike the 5 model which has had to have the ugly extended barrel shroud fitted to comply with the UK gun laws. As an alternative to the Ruger 10/22 it is worth considering, it already has a 24 round high capacity magazine which unlike the Ruger works every time and sufficient accuracy for speed and mini rifle events. Specification Country of origin Manufacturer Model UK distributor Action Calibre Stock test) Barrel length Pull length Overall length Weight RRP

Germany German Sport Guns ( GSG) AK-47 York Guns 01904 487180 Semi auto .22 rimfire Wood and Polymer (Wood on 450mm 350mm 927mm 3155g ( without Magazine) £564 ( Wood) £540 ( Polymer) £38 for spare 24 rnd mags and £56 for the sight rail

Bench resting is not easy due to the magazine, but the whole thing looks and FEELS like an AK47. The rifle has very plain but functional wood work



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McRees Precision Stock System

There are quite available at the to pimp your action and turn it

Vince Bottomley

a few aftermarket stocks Above - Your scribe Benchresting the moment, which allow you McRees at 400 yards boring factory barrelledinto something a bit special. ready pillar-bedded and was finished to a good standard – ready for lacquering – but Replacing your factory stock will hopefully when I screwed the action into the stock, the improve the handling, appearance and most barrel wasn’t central in the barrel-channel. More of all, the accuracy of your rifle. Many such work. Hardly what I would regard as ‘drop-in’. replacement stocks claim to be ‘drop-in’ – in other words it’s just a matter of taking your Aftermarket stocks are not cheap either. Most barrelled-action out of the factory stock and come from America and with the current dollar/ pound exchange rate, import duty, shipping, VAT screwing it into your new purchase. and Parcel Force handling charges, stocks like That’s the theory at least but, in practise, the excellent McMillan A5 tactical are topping some further work is often required. I recently £600 and that’s before we buy bottom-metal etc. fitted an aftermarket ‘drop-in’ laminate stock to a Savage barrelled-action. The stock came When Wayne of North West Custom Parts in This is a McRees tactical folder for the Remington and uses the AI detachable magazines. Paint job by Wayne at NW Custom Parts.



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Manchester showed me the McRees stock, it looked expensive – for the simple reason that it was beautifully CNC machined from billet aluminium and that don’t come cheap! The closer I looked, the more I was impressed. These stocks are built to the same standard as a custom action! A McCrees stock consists of three basic components which bolt together to form the complete stock. This allows McRees to offer their stock in several configurations. The original stock was developed as a tactical stock and is currently being evaluated by the US military but let’s take a closer look at each of the components. The middle bit This is the part which holds the barrelled-action and McRees currently offer inlets for just about any standard factory or custom action you can think of from the humble Remington, through Savage, Winchester, HS Precision, Surgeon, RPA, Howa etc. There are two basic middle bits – one for Remington size actions having a nominal diameter of 1.35 inches and larger one for bigger actions like the Surgeon XL etc. up to 1.6 inches in diameter – over thirty different inlets

are available with more being added all the time. The centre-section can be had with a solid bottom, with or without integral mag. or machined to accept a detachable magazine. The trigger cut-out will accept the factory or aftermarket triggers and an AR15 style pistol grip completes the job. The back bit Rifle butts have changed a bit in recent years. The main function of the butt is to make contact with the shooter’s shoulder to take the recoil. A cheek-piece is favoured by some – preferably adjustable and if you shoot F Class or Benchrest and use a rear-bag, then some form of bag-riding ‘rail’ is needed. This is exactly what you get with a McRees and some clever thinking has incorporated much more. The back bit is again CNC machined from billet aluminium and attached to the middle bit with a half-lap joint with two quarter-inch socket-head screws. The rubber-cushioned butt pad will adjust vertically and the cheek-piece can also be adjusted. The detachable bag-rider sensibly

This shot clearly shows the lap joints either side of the middle section

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The ‘middle bit’ showing the action bed. This one has a solid bottom but it also comes machined to take a detachable mag. mounts parallel to the bore and the whole stock available and Wayne can also offer an in-house can be had with a hinge - if space is a problem - Duracote service which can be as wild as your which enables the butt to fold through 180 degrees. imagination – Wayne has already done a bright red one! The pic shows one of Wayne’s camo The front bit finishes which gave me the idea for the TS Project Now this is where the McRees gets really Rifle paint job which appeared in last month’s issue. clever. Again machined from billet aluminium, the fore-end attaches to the middle bit with another How does it shoot? half-lap joint but this time using four screws. Yes - you may be thinking - it’s all very The fore-end is basically a flat-bottom U shaped well looking at photographs but what is a section which can hold a bi-pod, sling or even McRees stocked rifle like to use. Well, I was act simply as a hand-grip or impromptu rest and expecting Wayne to fix me up with that nice it blends-in with the middle section . It is slot- tactical rig but instead I have a stock with the ted on the sides and underneath to save weight benchrest fore-end, a rather flashy anodised and aid barrel-cooling. It also looks pretty good. finish and a Savage 6.5-284 barrelled-action But here’s the clever bit – if you shoot a bit of on loan from Osprey Rifles. This is the solidF Class or benchrest you can have a different bottom Savage ‘target’ action of course, so no fore-end with a three-inch wide flat to fit your magazine or anything like that but it does have machine rest. If you don’t want to go to a full the bag-rider rail on the butt. It just needs me to three-inches, then McRees also offer a 2 and mount a scope and we can do some shooting. 2.5 inch fore-end. Thanks to the accuracy of CNC machining, there’s no need to worry about Although I’m fairly familiar with the 6.5-284, alignment. I don’t own one at the moment, so it meant literally digging in my scrap-bin for some Wayne was able to show me a few old brass – OK, not recommended and different stock configurations and one or two are definitely not my style but ‘needs must’ and I beginning to appear at tactical shoots at my local managed to salvage about 25 cases. Not only range. A variety of factory anodised finishes are had these been fired to the extent where the base

This 400 yard group measures two and a half inches!

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had expanded and would hardly fit the shellholder but they also had turned necks. Far from ideal but today, we are testing the handling of the stock rather than the accuracy of the Savage. Having borrowed a set of dies – another set-back – no powder. I’ve always used Vit 165 in this cartridge with 139 grain Lapua Scenars but the nearest I had was Hodgdon 4831SC. This is a little bit faster than Vit 165 so I dropped the load by a full four grains to play ultra-safe and put ten rounds together. I didn’t even check the seating depth as I didn’t want to alter the borrowed dies but I did check that the rounds would chamber (using a dummy). I had a spare 8-32 Nightforce with Weaver rings that fitted the Picatinny rail on the Savage so I am almost ready to shoot – I just needed to boresight the scope. When I arrived at the range, a shooter was already testing at 400 yards so I joined in and cheekily asked if I could put a few shots on his target! After a couple of sighters on the sand backstop and another couple on target to zero, I was ready to shoot a group. I simply wanted to see how the McRees stock performed under benchrest conditions so the idea was to put five shots down in rapid succession, noting how well the stock returned to battery and how it generally handled. The answer – quite well; some PTFE stock-tape would make it a bit slicker in the bags though it would be fine for F Class. Even the AR15 pistol grip was OK as the 6.5-284 has a bit of recoil so it gave me something to hang on to.

wiping the floor with everyone in the Factory benchrest class! To prove this was no fluke, the Savage recorded a 3.5 inch group in the 500 yard Diggle Fly shoot a couple of days later in the hands of another shooter, in extremely blustery conditions. So there we have it. The traditional wooden stock was replaced by plastic and fibreglass. Then along came Accuracy International with that great concept using an aluminium chassis and plastic side-plates, which could be had as a ‘folder’ if required. Others, like Sako have followed suit with their own versions in plastic and aluminium. Now, McRees has taken it one stage further offering a serious tactical stock CNC machined from billet aluminium to military specifications and yet still catering for the competition shooter. North West Custom parts are the sole UK importer and carry a good inventory. Prices start at around £550 and anodising adds about £50 or you can opt for one of Wayne’s Duracoat paint jobs in any colour you like. But remember – no bedding, no bottom-metal and the adjustable butt and cheek-piece which usually cost extra are included. Our 6.5-284 Savage, as tested, weighs in at 15 lbs. 5oz. without scope. With a 36X Sightron, Leupold or Weaver, it should nicely make weight in the 17 lbs. Light Gun class for 600/1000 yard benchrest. For F Class Open, with its 22lb weight limit, you could use a big Nightforce and still be well under.

NWCP report that sales have been In benchrest competition, like to get 5 shots off surprisingly good with stocks being shipped all in about 15 seconds but the unfamiliar layout over Europe so give Wayne a call on 0161 408 of the Savage action with right bolt, right port 1155 if you are at all interested and of course our was naturally slower than a right bolt, left port test rifle is for sale if you fancy a good F Class or benchgun and it must have taken me long-range benchrest rifle. A new 6.5-284 about 25 seconds. I peered through the Savage F Class rifle in the factory laminate stock Nighforce to have a look at my 400 yard group. will now cost around £1800 so our McRees I was shocked to see four shots in about a stocked example is something of a bargain for one-inch group and a fifth shot about an inch the £1850 that Wayne has it advertised for on his and a half out of the group! (See pic) Wow – website and this includes the 20MOA Picatinny that’s some rifle, especially considering my old rail. brass and the totally guessed load and a barrel that had only two proof rounds down it! I Check out McRees Precision at www. shudder to think what this gun would do mcreesprecision.net and North West with some decent brass and a bit of load Custom Parts at www.nwcustomparts.com development. No wonder these Savages are 28

Target Shooter

Savage single shot PTA action McRee's Custom Chassis, custom bench rest configuration in a red and gold splash custom anodised

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Please mention when using advertising in the magazine To ADVERTISE in this space contact us at customer.services@ targetshooter.co.uk



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The 257 Roberts Ackley Improved – retrospective or tactical renaissance By Richard Wild My journey into super-accurate rifles and precision long-range shooting really started by accident. Basically, I wanted a better stock for a Ruger .223 but bought a stock for not only the wrong model but also the wrong action-length as well. These are the sort of accidents that you can’t take lying down - I had to get a new rifle.

Above -: A tactical rifle for all seasons. Enough has been written about the AI stock to fill volumes, but the Remington 700 action, match trigger, extended bolt handle and 10 round magazine makes for a potent rifle that meets the needs of a range of shooting positions.

the short, thin sporter-weight barrel which just wouldn’t do. I wanted a barrel that would make After a long time searching for an old Ruger the most efficient use of the powder-charge and Model 1 with the long tang safety in the long fit in with the whole ‘long range rifle’ theme and action, I finally came across a model in 257 I wanted a cartridge that would reach out and Roberts. While the bore was good, it still had still group at less than MOA out to 1000 metres. Sticking with the heavy bullets for tactical shooting appears to be the best way to go. From left: 85 grain Nosler BT, 100 grain Sierra MK, 100 grain Nosler BT, 115 Berger VLD (perhaps the pick of the bunch) and 117 Hornady SST

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I had thought of the 6.5x55 Swede but, while the ballistic coefficients are impressive, the velocities weren’t high enough for me. The hot factory 22 calibres were of passing interest, nevertheless I wanted a wildcat but one that was easy to use for a beginner. Then the 257 Roberts Ackley Improved with the 40-degree shoulder was suggested. This was a turning point and I had to find out more. The Nosler Handloading Book Volume 4 had a lot of detail on this cartridge. The reloading specifications indicated that after fireforming, the Ackley case would hold about 3% more powder for an increase in velocity of about 200 - 300 fps. and it is more powder-efficient than the 25-06.

The Ackley case before and after fire forming. The unformed case, on the right, shows its 7x57 heritage with sloping ioned case. The straighter case walls and 40 degree shoulder of the Ackley case are evidence of how much the case changes at first firing.

Fireforming turns the basic 257 Roberts case into the .257 Roberts Ackley Improved (AI) case. While there are a number of different techniques that one can use, both with and without bullets, I chose to use a cheap 120-grain bullet over a light 38 - 40 grain load of Varget. This had the dual effect of changing the case from its gently sloping shape with a 20 degree shoulder into a slightly larger, straightwalled case with a somewhat radical 40 degree shoulder. As an aside, fireforming also allowed me to learn about the new rifle’s shooting ability off the bench while running in the barrel. The 257 Roberts Ackley Improved cases are a good first step into the world of wildcat cartridges. The rifle will chamber factory ammunition with little or no velocity loss but the straighter case walls produce a more uniform powder burn while the 40 degree shoulder will reduce or eliminate case stretching and last longer. The greatest challenge for the 257 Roberts AI comes from the lack of available loading data. Not only is there no standard loading data for this cartridge but the ignorance, repetition and lack of development since PO Ackley launched the cartridge is noticeable and frustrating. A search of the Internet quickly shows that few shooters use the 257 Roberts AI and even fewer write about it. The greatest disappointment for fans of the 25 calibre has to be the lack of match projectiles weighing over 100 grains, with Berger the only manufacturer offering a match bullet and finding stocks of the 115 grain VLD in Australia is a challenge. Since the 6mm cartridge has a good

range of heavy match bullets to choose from and the 6.5mm shooter can pick from a range of 107 grain to 142 grain bullets, it is a source of continual frustration that there is not a similar range of choice in the 25, which lies between the two. It seems likely that market forces will slowly kill off this calibre in favour of the 6 and 6.5mms. While I originally designed this to be a long-range varmint rifle, its utility as a long-range benchrest rifle was quickly recognised. There is no better way of learning how to shoot small

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Close up of the neck and shoulders. The extra case capacity is immediately evident in the relative positions of the old (on right) and new shoulder position and angle.

rig was long ago relegated to the bin, its life as a hunting rifle also over and sold on to finance fancier equipment. But there was always the suspicion in the back of my mind that I could do more interesting things in a different situation with the 25 calibre. The purchase of an Accuracy International Chassis System (AICS) stock and Remington 700 action offered an opportunity to develop the 257 Roberts AI as a tactical-rifle alternative to the 308 and 6.5s currently doing the rounds of the tactical circuit.

This Short Action Remington 700 has been tweaked along the way with a 20 MOA Nightforce rail, extended bolt knob and Shilen target trigger. A targets well at long range than get out there and Nightforce NXS 5.5 -22 x do it - every week in rain, hail and heavy mirage. 50 scope with the MLR reticle rounds out the package. The National Rifle Association of Australia (NRAA) targets have a central bull that is just The 308 length of the AICS magazine means on one MOA at each range out to the 800 metre the Roberts can only be loaded to an overall mound at the McIntosh Rifle Range in Canberra. length of 2.865 inches. This gives enough room With a high power target scope, accuracy that for the 100 grain Sierra Match Kings to load and I had only read about was now possible. The feed without impacting too much on the overall 100-grain Sierra HPBT Match and the 95-grain powder capacity. There is no evidence of powder Berger HP (sadly now discontinued) performed compression with the 51 grain load being used. exceptionally well except in very high wind However, the Berger 115 grain VLD has to be conditions when the bullet’s relatively low loaded singly to get the best results from the ballistic coefficient (compared with the 6mm and load. An overall length of three inches gives 6.5mm match bullets) struggles to buck the wind. the best results with a load of 49 grains of 1000 yard shooting was the first real challenge for the rifle, the cartridge and myself. With a muzzle velocity of 3300 fps, the bullet remains supersonic at the target and my best five-shot group at 1000 yards was a creditable 8 inches. Time passes, rifles fall out of favour and calibre choices change. The 257 Roberts AI benchrest 32

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AR2209 (the case could easily take more) but theoretically the 2.865 inch magazine length is possible without impinging too much on the powder column.

Resurrecting my loading-data from the late 1990s provided sound starting point for testing the AICS on Known Distance (KD) targets. Even from a 24 inch barrel, the 100 grain Sierra Match

Canberra for a while provided and ideal situation to try five shots from the sitting position at 95 metres and then five more prone from the bipod from 220 metres at Fig. 14 Hun’s Head target. Really, this is where the 257 Roberts AI shines. In the wet, with 117 grain Hornady SSTs, shooting clover leafs from the sitting position was hardly a challenge. The AICS stock makes positional shooting easy but the sitting stage calls for an improved tripod for really precise shooting under a time pressure. Close up of the Accupod. I like it, not heavy, doesn’t get in the way when folded and provides on target stability.

Kings shot flat and hard. But accuracy on the smaller F-Class targets was disappointing. Despite having a decade more of skills and cunning, the 257 Roberts AI had not developed at the same rate as I had and results were much the same as when I competed with it on a full time basis. Nonetheless, 600 metre groups with the mild Berger load were pleasingly accurate and the 115 grain VLD appears to be a much better shooting proposition and seems much less wind sensitive than the 100 grain Sierras. Moving away from string shooting at KD targets and slightly different animal emerges. The 257 Roberts AI enjoys shooting under true field conditions. The mild recoil means the bullet can be tracked into the target as part of a normal follow-through. A couple of test shoots derived from the 2007 Simo Häyhä Finnish Sniper competition provided a useful test vehicle for the cartridge. Choosing the wettest Sunday afternoon in

The extended bolt handle makes for a fluid cycling action, which does not disturb the sight picture. Apart from the aesthetic, there are a number of reasons to replace the very basic factory bolt-knob, the main one in my book being the extra leverage which contributes to a fast, rolling action similar but not quite as good as the SMLE. Moving back to 220 metres and changing to 100 grain Matchkings demonstrated no discernible decrease in effectiveness. Dropping into the prone position, in a muddy field liberally coated with sheep and kangaroo droppings, five shots formed two one-hole groups. The decision to not adjust elevation was obvious in this group but the 257 Roberts AI shoots so flat that only a minor adjust would be required to centre this group. As an aside - whilst I am not a strong supporter of tacti-cool gear - using an Accupod on the AICS proved to be an unexpected accuracy bonus. It makes for a stable tripod when shooting prone but retracts when not required and doesn’t alter the rifle’s balance when shooting offhand. Overall, the time spent rebuilding and re-testing the 257 Roberts AI was not wasted. It does not cut the mustard as a BR type

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The pick of the loadings is just that little bit too long for the magazine. The 115 grain Berger VLD is a great choice for the 257 Roberts AI for range and tactical shooting. There is space in the case to load the bullet that little bit deeper and still reach the cartridge’s full potential.

target rifle but then it wasn’t meant to. Rather, it is a dour and flat shooting cartridge that Disclaimer: handles rapidly changing circumstances with a Note that these loads work in my rifle. Any grim, can-do attitude. It does, however, show such loads may not work in yours and you some promise as a tactical cartridge and can should work up your loads accordingly. show the newer 6.5s how things can be done.

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Osprey Rifles - ‘The Savage Specialists’ Custom Rifles Built On The Savage Precision Target Action From £1500 Complete. Rebarrelling, Recrowning & Threading Services Custom Rifles Built On Other Actions - POA F T/R Rifles a speciality URL : www.ospreyrifles.com Email : [email protected] Tel : 0161 4083555 / 07515 284315 Target Shooter

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Gun of the Month

At first glance you may wonder why we have chosen this rifle as Gun of the Month. Surely it’s just an ‘out of the box’ factory rifle – a common or garden Savage. Not quite. Yes, it is a Savage. Yes, that’s the factory’s laminate stock but look a bit closer. The factory butt-pad has been replaced with a Tubbs fully adjustable pad. The Savage barrel-nut has gone, so has the recoil-lug and yes, that small ejection-port marks this action out as the Savage ‘target’ action with solid bottom – not a factory option with this stock. The target action employs three retaining screws but the middle one is used to secure a recoil lug in this rifle. Furthermore, the front screw must be ‘repositioned’ by 0.125 inches in the ‘two screw’ stock to take the target action. And doesn’t that 28 inch stainless steel barrel look just a bit chunkier than the standard offering? It should do, it’s a 224 True-Flite with 1 in 8 twist, tapering from 1.25 inches at the breech to one-inch at the muzzle. So, a little bit special but what about the chambering? Yes, it’s a wildcat called 22 Christel or 22 x 47 if you prefer. In other words, it’s based on the Lapua 6.5x47 necked down to 22. Why ‘Christel’? That’s what the lady wanted. The 22 x 47 is a newish wildcat and a fairly unusual one at that and there is no standard specification as yet. Therefore, you must spec. your own reamer and although there are one or two about, no two

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will be exactly the same so, why not choose your own name for your personal wildcat? This makes sense as there could be a small number of 22x47 rifles in circulation but if the chambers are slightly different, the ammunition won’t be interchangeable. This is therefore a 22 Christel and you must use rounds tailored to fit this chamber. The neck is what we call ‘no-turn’ - in other words you don’t have to neck-turn your brass but you will benefit from a closer than standard clearance in the chamber-neck area. The rifle is throated to shoot 80 grain Sierra Matchkings at ………………… well, if it’s a UK range it will likely have a muzzle velocity restriction of 3275 fps but the Christel will do much better than that so the Danish lady who commissioned the rifle will have to throttle it back for the UK but who knows what she will shoot over there. The very first 100 yard 3-shot group fired in the Savage produced a stunning 0.192 inch group! And that’s off a bi-pod in a howling wind with no load-development! The 36 power Weaver benchrest scope is mounted in QD Leupold nickel rings on a NW Custom parts aluminium Picatinny rail.The rifle was put together by UK Savage specialists Osprey Rifles www.ospreyrifles. com

Portsmouth Gun Centre Ltd 295 London Road North End Portsmouth PO2 9HF Opening Times Mon 9.30 - 5.30 Tues Closed Wed Closed Thur 9.30 - 5.30 Fri 9.30 - 5.30 Sat 9.30 - 5.30

Tel 02392 660574 Fax 02392 644666 E-mail [email protected] Website www.portsmouthguncentre.com

We stock a full range of Rifles, Pistols, Air Guns, Shotguns, Ammunition, Reloading Equipment and Accessories. All major brands stocked including BSA, CZ, Air Arms, Marlin, Ruger, Umarex, Uberti, Cometa, Pedersoli, Berreta, Lincoln, Webley, Pedersoli, etc.

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SEB LAMBANG BENCH RESTS AND ACCESSORIES ARE THE BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE. WE STOCK HIS FULL RANGE AT LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICES, ALONG WITH THE BUDGET CALDWELL RANGE- BERGER BULLETS TO YOUR DOOR- EXPORT TO EUROPE, NO PROBLEM! SEE WEBSITE FOR FULL SPECIFICATIONS AND CURRENT STOCKLIST EVERYTHING WE IMPORT IS BY FAR THE BEST IN Shooter THE UK VALUE Target 37

The 12-50x56 PM11/P Telescopic Sight from Schmidt & Bender

by Vince Bottomley You could say that this is the scope the world has been waiting for – the world of long range rifle shooters that is – be it civilian or military! We waited for what seemed a lifetime for S&B to come up with a 5-25 but thankfully they have followed up quite quickly with the very desirable 12-50 power. Having said that, although it’s been ‘available’ for quite a while, do you know anyone who has one? Have you seen a review of one? The likely answer is ‘no’ to both questions but Target Shooter has one! Undoubtedly, Schmidt & Bender are at the very top of the optics ‘tree’ – or should I say ‘rifle optics’ for as the S&B website points out, they don’t make binoculars, cameras, spotting-scopes and the like – they make riflescopes, pure and simple and they arguably do it better than

The Schmidt mounted on my test rig – Laurie’s 6BR Remington anyone else. Until they introduced their 5-25 however, they had not offered a scope to really excite the serious long-range competition shooter. S & B have always concentrated on the civilian hunter-market and the serious Police/ Military user and for some unknown reason, a ten-power scope was once regarded as ‘sufficient’. This was perhaps true ten or fifteen years ago but Nightforce changed all that and we suddenly realised that it was much easier to hit your target if you could actually see it! If you are using a rested-rifle, you just can’t have too much scope-power.

Twenty-five power is now regarded as ‘the minimum’ for anyone who Here’s the 12-50 Schmidt shoots serious long-range (top) with my 8-32 Benchrest competition and if you walk the line at any of the GB Nightforce F Class League shoots or a 1000 yard benchrest shoot, you won’t see much below 32 power. Yes, Nightforce offer a 12-42 power and they don’t come much better than Nightforce but, when I speak to shooters about their 12-42’s, most prefer to use them at lower power. I own two 8-32 Nightforce scopes and I must say they are excellent on full power – particularly the BR version and of course, we now have

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Another big number that I never thought I would see on a Schmidt & Bender the remarkable 10-60 power March scope but there are too few out there to give any meaningful feedback. Now Schmidt & Bender are finally in the game can they offer anything that others can’t? When was the last time you twiddled your scopeturrets the wrong way or lost count of your clicks? I’ve been around long enough to know better but I’m certainly not immune. If you use a Schmidt, you just can’t make that mistake. For us, it’s an

embarrassment and dropped points – for a police marksman, it could be a disaster. S & B always worked on a single turn of the elevationturret to take you from zero to 1000 yards – foolproof. However, even with a 34mm body-tube, the 5-25 Schmidt wouldn’t adjust from zero to 1000 yards in a single turn of the turret for any of the popular cartridges, so they devised the

Not just a nice view - in the distance you can see the pylon I use for comparing image resolution – not scientific maybe but a good field test



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Here’s the turret ‘lit up’ showing that we are on the yellow elevation scale

‘lighthouse’ style elevation-turret which displays a yellow indicator when you get onto the second rotation. The same turret appears on the 12-50 and it’s still as ugly but now most shooters have already seen it and you don’t get those strange looks. The bottom ‘white’ scale gives us 32 minutes of elevation and then up pops the indicator and we are on the top ‘yellow’ scale for another 32 MOA, taking us to a whopping 64 minutes of elevation. To the civilian shooter, this pop-up indicator might seem to be a bit a novelty but it works and that’s the important thing.

might ask. Well, in lots of cases, it isn’t necessary. For example, benchrest shooters love top-quality optics but rarely adjust their scopes. GB F Class League shooters rarely shoot at less than 800 yards so a scope with modest adjustment combined with a 20MOA tapered scope-rail will be more than adequate.

OK, you might be thinking – 64 MOA is no big deal, my cheapo Chinese jobby gives me that. Yes, but you inevitably ‘lost’ half of it just mounting and zeroing the scope. With the Schmidt, you zero, then reset the turret and you still have your full 64 MOA – that’s the difference and that’s impressive! Of course, if your mounts are way out of alignment, you could still lose some adjustment. Although 64 MOA seems an awful lot of adjustment, it will still only take you out to 12-1300 yards with a .308 but it will nicely take the 338 Lapua Magnum out to around a mile and don’t forget, the British Army have ditched the 7.62 Nato in favour of the 338 Lapua Magnum as their sniper rifle cartridge.

The mildot reticle - previously the first choice of S&B - ideally must be placed in the first focal-plane. The whole point of a mildot reticle is its range-finding ability. Everyone is offering mildots – even the Chinese but seemingly they don’t realise its purpose and the mildot reticle is placed in the second focalplane. In other words, its size doesn’t alter as you zoom-in on your target - the mildot is therefore only useable as a rangefinder at one magnification and seldom is this the top magnification. What’s more, you will need the manufacturer’s instructions to determine the setting at which the mildot can be used as a true range-finder. Clearly farcical for the professional user and a total waste of time for the target shooter as we always know the distance we are shooting at. However, the mildot can at least be used to judge ‘aim-off’ accurately and for this reason - providing it is fine enough - it is still a valid competition reticle and certainly preferable to the once-popular ‘duplex’.

Why aren’t all scopes made this way, you

Thankfully, with the PM11/P, Schmidt have

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finally acknowledged the target shooter and their ‘sport’ reticle is offered in the 2nd focal plane – in other words, it stays the same size irrespective of the power setting and we don’t now end up with a uselessly thick reticle at max. power which could easily obscure the F Class shooter’s tiny half MOA V bull! The ‘sport’ reticle is very similar to the Nightforce NP200 reticle – a tiny central dot with horizontal lines either side and a vertical line below with another dot at the bottom. Excellent for the target shooter, offering precise aiming and horizontal levelling. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, these scopes are still as rare as the proverbial ‘rocking-horse manure’ and the only reason we have this one for test is down to Laurie Holland, who somehow managed to get his hands on a ‘sample’ and has now loaned it to me. Not only that, Laurie has also mounted it on his 6BR Remington – a proven accuracy tool in 600 yard benchrest competition – plus, he has even brought me some ammo.! All I have to do is shoot but first, we’ll have a closer look at the Schmidt. That 34mm body tube is finished in the usual satin-black hard anodising and there are rubber-rings to aid grip on the zoom-ring and the ‘one-turn’ ocular focus. All figuring is tasteful and incised into the aluminium so that it won’t wear-off with use and click-value is marked in quarter- minute divisions on this scope but no doubt a metric/mil version is available. Overall length is 417mm – about the same as the Nightforce NSX – and it tips the scales at two and a half pounds with the A.R.M.S rings. These rings are about the only ones available for a 34mm tube – remember, S&B make scopes – not mounts! The object and ocular lenses are again similar in size to a Nightforce at 56 and 35 mm. These lenses are ground from special batches of Schott Werk glass. This glass is only made in small batches and if it doesn’t come up to the demanding Schmidt and Schott standard it is not used. This in itself could place restrictions on the output/availability of these scopes. Both have anti-flare coatings of course and the body-tube internals have also received an anti-reflective treatment. The accompanying literature claims that the scope is waterproof to a depth of three metres, which is nice to know as we all have to shoot in the rain – frequently! A few years ago, scopes had two turrets, then

three and now four!. The previous PM 11 model had an ‘either or’ choice - side-focus or illuminated reticle – now, we can have both. An illuminated reticle has no merit for the target shooter and sensibly, our scope has just three turrets. The side focus will take us from 50 metres to infinity in a single rotation and the windage turret offers 16 MOA in either direction. Let’s do some shooting. After focussing the reticle with the eyepiece adjuster and a couple of zeroing shots on my 100 yard target, we’re ready to put the Schmidt through its paces. The first test is a ‘return to zero’. We fire one shot on full-power, then wind-down the zoom-ring to the minimum setting and fire another shot. Few scopes now fail this test and the Schmidt comes through with flying colours with both shots touching. Test number two is ‘round the angles’ . This test checks the accuracy of the windage and elevation turrets and ensures that the scope returns to zero again. We use the same aimpoint in the centre of a large target and I’m winding on 8 MOA of elevation and 8 MOA of right windage to place shot one in the top corner of the target. Before I take the second shot, I wind-off 16 MOA of elevation and take another shot which impacts in the bottom right corner. Now it’s 16 MOA of left wind for the third shot in the bottom left corner. Finally, we wind on another 16 MOA of elevation and take shot four. If you are following me, we now have a target with four shots – one in each corner and, if I wind-on another 16 MOA of right wind, the fifth shot should go through the same hole as the first – given the limits of rifle, ammo and the ‘nut behind the butt’. The first and fifth shots are less than half an inch apart and by measuring diagonally, we can verify that the ‘square’ is a true square. The sides of the square should measure (16 x 1.047) 16.75 inches – they actually measure 161/8 to 16 1/2 inches. This is an excellent result. Even expensive scopes can exhibit a 10% error – the Schmidt is less than 3% and as far as I can recall, this is the best result I have ever obtained. Eye-relief is about three inches for me. Even shooting on a target just 100 yards away, I can tell that the Schmidt optics are something special and I can’t wait to have a look at my favourite skyline electricity pylon about 6kms away. No scope has ever out-resolved my 8-32 Nightforce BR in this test though the 5-25 Schmidt ran it very close and the 8-32 Sightron definitely gave an equally sharp and more contrasty image



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The lighthouse turret and the numbers that count – 64MOA!

so let’s see how the big Schmidt fares. I’ve always reckoned that the lenses in my old ‘benchrest’ Nightforce have the edge on the NSX model so that’s what I use as my ‘benchmark’ for scope testing. Not scientific but fair. With both scopes set on 32 power, I just couldn’t see any discernable difference but the Schmidt was totally devoid of ‘fringing’ or chromatic aberration, whereas there was a small amount present with the Nightforce. I mentioned earlier that shooters using the 12-42 Nightforce or the March preferred to use them at less than maximum settings – how would the Schmidt perform at its maximum. The answer? Superbly! When I would up from 32 to 50, the image quality was still there – pin-sharp, no fall-off whatsoever. This for me is the key difference between the Schmidt and its rivals – you will want to use this scope at full power, whenever the occasion demands. So, the 12-50 Schmidt ticks all the right boxes – superb optics, side-focus, heaps of accurate adjustment and all the controls move with that precision feel which exudes quality. Any criticisms? A slightly finer crosshair/dot reticle as we use in benchrest would be my preference for target work and would a sun/rain

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shade be too much to ask? Otherwise - perfect! At the present time, I can’t give you a retail price for this scope as no one is currently advertising them but I would guess that it will be similar to the big March, which means that you may not get a lot of change out of two grand. Yes, that’s a lot of money but this scope is the best in its class. Yes, the 10-60 March will match the scope on top-end power and it comes in a neater package and I would love to compare the optics but you just know the Schmidt is built like a tank and will give a lifetime of service. It comes from a European stable which offers an excellent 30 year after-sales back-up that includes a free 10 year service. For the professional user, it has no equal and it would certainly be my first choice for serious F Class competition though it would take my 308 F/TR rig way over the 8.25kg. weight limit! Finally, thanks to Laurie Holland for the loan of this fabulous scope. I’d like to think that Target Shooter has a world scoop with this report as I’ve certainly not seen another review. York Guns (tel: 01904 487180 or www.yorkguns.co.uk) are the UK importer if you wish to place an order.

To introduce our selves we are the United Kingdom Association of Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest Shooting. By that we mean "True Benchrest Shooting". The Association is recognised by rimfire shooters across in the UK, with partners across Europe and the rest of the world, as the presentative body that promotes rimfire and air rifle benchrest across this country and with other partners in European and World events. Visit our website for news about national and international competitions that all can ‘have a go at’. From novice to champion shooter, everyone is welcome www.benchrest22.org



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A Visit to Eley Batch Testing Facility

By Carl Boswell Finally, I have got around to the article that I above - Rifles are locked in a fixed vice bench have wanted to write for over a year! If readers after being put into specially made machined remember, I was going to write something about the stocks benefits of batch-testing ammunition back in 2008. company has a long history associated with the Sadly, the week before I tried to visit Eley, they development of rimfire ammunition and a few were faced with the untimely death of Bert Brookes, of their breakthrough ideas in ammunition the customer range officer at the factory. As manufacture have been adopted by other promised, I would like to dedicate this article to Bert, companies in their endeavours to make more for his contribution to shooting sports, his amazing accurate ammunition. level of knowledge and the support he has given More recently, the company has launched a whole to countless shooters worldwide over the years. new range, taking old brands out and introducing some new ones like Eley Team. I believe that For this article on ammunition testing, I am at this is a serious attempt to commit to the target last going to Eley to batch-test again. Eley is shooter, bringing in the Tenex bullet ‘design’ to a the rimfire ammunition manufacturer that is new model of ammunition that is more accessible to synonymous with the term ‘accuracy’. The the club shooter. As raw materials are escalating in price and Eley brands Batches for testing - 17 on this specific day. are used by target shooters around All for the price of £30 the world, this is quite a significant development. Eley has a complete customer range for batch-testing at its factory and this is where I headed on a pleasant summer day with fellow shooter Colin Renwick. As mentioned in previous articles, batch-testing could and should be your initial starting point for selecting the ammunition that will best suit your rifle.

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Martyn Buttery, Customer Range Officer at Eley

Each specific batch of ammunition may or may not ‘shoot’ in your rifle. You can easily see this if you go batch-testing. Some batches will open up to a 24mm group over 40 shots, whilst others will group as low as 14mm. A huge difference, especially if you are aiming to knock out a target-ring no bigger than a pin head at 50 metres. For those that have never experienced batch-testing, please take my word for it - it is staggering to see the difference between one batch of ammunition and another. I think in this one statement we come to the real point of batch-testing – it allows you to test a good number of different sample batches in clinical conditions, without the expense of buying lots of different boxes yourself and trying to test on range. Let’s face it, you are lucky if an RFD will actually let you buy one box at a time to test. You are much more likely to be sold 500 rounds at a time. This may or may not shoot well, so this process is a bit of a gamble and could be very expensive. Batch-testing at the facility Eley offer takes any ‘ad hoc’ methods out of the process. It also costs a mere £30 for the test, which uses at least four hundred rounds. The new range officer at Eley is Martyn Buttery – ranked sixth in the UK in ISSF shooting disciplines. He is, as he says, ‘a good all-rounder’ shooting both rimfire and air. Martyn carries with him a wealth of shooting experience in relationship to his position, both

I have produced a variety of articles on rimfire ammunition over the last few months. This has included the number of ways of preparing them and testing them for competition. When it comes down to it, we are talking mostly about ‘off the shelf’ Martyn setting the rifle in the fixed block ammunition of ‘very for testing good’ to the ‘cheaper’ qualities and the one thing I would always do is batch-test ammunition for specific competitions including what I will shoot over the coming year – as I take my sport seriously. This article lends itself to those of like mind who are prone, three positional or benchrest shooters and generally all who shoot .22LR ammunition in competition.



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the natural recoil of the rifle determine the accuracy of the rifle/ammunition combination. I can see the merits in both methods. Free-recoil testing from a bench should be capable of producing just as tight a group as a fixed/locked bench but of course, many of the shooters who test at Eley shoot off-hand and don’t have the benefit of a good benchrest set-up. Rifle harmonics may be different to your Martyn setting up the computer system to record normal stock when scoring using the system at Eley but we are gleaned by himself and that passed on from Bert. testing ammunition You could not be in safer hands when attending Eley . consistency and results show that the On arrival we are met with obviously heavy process works. If you look at the scores of the top security but it is done with a sincere good will. shooters who have tested this way, most if not all Martyn escorted both Colin and me into the would come to this same conclusion. test-range facility. This looks small, but good Before we started, both Anschutz actioned rifles things come in small packages. After sorting were placed into the testing bed by Martyn, set at out details of the rifles and having a chat – the their normal torque setting of 5 nm. These were other hobby that goes along with shooting – we locked into the testing bed and we started the moved into the testing area to make a start. initial firing sequences. The first part of the For years, shooters have discussed the mer- process is to trial the ammunition that we were its of locking down a rifle to a test-bed or letting currently using. This can then be compared to those that are on offer during the day. Twenty shots were therefore fired then we were ready to go through a further 17 batches of the ammunition which was available to us on the day we tested. The fascinating thing I find when batch testing is the different group sizes that the barrelled-action will shoot. Last year, the Anschutz factory barrel I had shot up to a 24mm 40 shot group. My rifle with view down the 50m tunnel This was the same with Colin’s this year.

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Groups sizes come onto the computer screen as you test

fired, with one coffee break in the middle for another chat with Martyn. At the end of the morning we had a variety of data to look at and compare. Colin had three batches to consider and I had six to choose from. The one that best suited my needs was slightly lower velocity than the others but there was very little in it to be honest. The one thing to remember about 22 LR ammunition is that is does perform differently than other ammunition in one simple fact - the lower the velocity the better this is for accuracy. If the bullet is moving slower it creates less drag in the air and thus lower drift. I chose mine and Colin chose his batch, which was excellent and beat mine by a couple of points and three-tenths of a millimetre. Calculations of the best batch can be determined in four ways;

However, that was one batch and a 40 shot group can go as low as 14mm - the current range record. The best batch tested in both rifles produced groups of about 16mm, which is great. The Lilja barrel I have changed over to this year provided analysis information that the barrel is pretty consistent over the 17 batches tested – so this batch process also provided confidence in that purchase. Two birds with one stone – cannot be bad! • 40 shot group size From some of the pictures within this article you • Distribution of 40 shoot score can see the way each shot and ten-shot group comes up on the computer screen for the shooter to review as they proceed. Although you get all this information at the end, this is quite an important feature of the process. I tend to analyse and judge what each batch is doing throughout the process. Martyn looks at this data either on range or in his office, where everything is displayed on his computer screen as it happens. 4 X 10 shot groups recorded for later The testing process analysis took a few hours and over 550 rounds were



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the minimum purchase after a batch test is an order of 5000 rounds. Overall a great morning! As a side note, the batch-test turned out to be a very sound investment as I have just won the 50 metre Light Varmint and Unlimited classes at the UK Rimfire and Air Rifle National Championship held the weekend after batch-testing session at Eley. In addition, I was also fortunate to win the aggregate cup for both 50 metre events. This new batch of ammunition is slightly better in my rifle than the one I chose last year – and I thought that was good! So mightily impressed, both by the quality of Eley’s service and the product I have chosen. My thanks to Martyn and all at Eley for putting up with me – yet again! It is much appreciated. So there you have it. Eley have the facilities to test your rifle and match it to the best ammunition available. Where you go to from here is up to you! Maybe even a few future national or international champions out there will start to develop testing processes for themselves. What make of ammunition you use is down to you. However, when you have a world class ammunition manufacturer on your doorstep, this is probably the first step to take. Analysis prints to aid sellection I hope the last few articles have been of the batch informative and do help people, even if some • Consolidated 40 shot score of the ‘processes’ I describe are a little fussy. • Each 10 shot test group X 4 tests Unfortunately consistency is the ‘name of the game’ From this information, shooters can choose the and all shooters are aiming towards this goal. batch that best suits their needs. In most cases If you wish to book as slot at the Eley the above data will match. customer range then you will need to book One really nice thing we did not expect was a this via the Eley website at www.eley.co.uk visit from Andrew Lane, the new Eley MD, who where there is an online request form to fill out. popped over to say hello and have a chat. I know All I would say is book well in advance as it is he was busy, so this was much appreciated. becoming very popular. Shoot well until next time. After this we said our goodbyes for the time being, leaving the Eley range happy but slightly poorer, as

Eley Tenex - with podium to help you access rounds from the new box during a match 48

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World Cup Success - Every 50m Prone Medal 12/12 - 87% of Gold medals in the 50m events - Total of 45 medals won by ELEY 2009 ISSF World Cups

Champions shoot Tenex www.eleyammunition.com



ELEY - the home of Tenex

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PROFILE ON RORY MCALPINE By Hayley Platts This month I am pleased to feature another of Scotland’s bright young prospects in the shooting world, and despite his age is adding some impressive results to his sporting CV. Rory began shooting at the age of twelve when he saw a notice at school recruiting new members to the school rifle club. Rory was intrigued by this new challenge, decided to give it a whirl and found it was something he took to and really enjoyed. The discipline he chose was .22 prone rifle shooting, and more recently has started to expand his shooting horizon to include air rifle shooting. Rory is now 18 and is proud to hold the post of Captain of George Watsons College Target Rifle Club where he trains around three times a

week. Additional to his live firing at the range, Rory says he does the majority of his training at home and tries to build in lots of different exercises to keep the interest during the slog of a hours of training. Whilst he varies the types of training he does, Rory says it is important that each exercise has an end goal to it, to stretch yourself and make the work meaningful and challenging. Currently coached by Sinclair Bruce and has achieved enough in his shooting career so far to be included and part of the Scotland Fast Track programme, for those aged under twenty five. Rory is in his last year at George Watsons College and it is good to hear that they have been supportive in his sporting endeavours although are perhaps understandably not

Up and coming Rory McAlpine in competition 50

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over keen on Rory taking too much time off from his studies. Rory’s choice of rifle is the Anschutz 1913 combined with Eley ammunition. In the last 12 months Rory’s international shooting career has really taken off. He won bronze at the Youth Commonwealth Games in India in October 2008 and has followed this up at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in January this year. In his favourite prone rifle event Rory moved two steps up the podium to take the gold medal with a score of 591. In 2009 Rory has followed up on his 2008 achievements representing Great Britain in Plzen for the Shooting Hopes event, finished 12th in the British Championships and was a member of the British Team that travelled to Croatia for the European Championships.

range. Rory does also point out that he does not feel nerves are a bad thing, and can of course be turned into a positive emotion if kept under control. Outside of shooting Rory enjoys some other more unusual outdoor pursuits including sailing, and what Rory describes as ultimate frizbee. Musically, Rory is a dab hand with the guitar. On the subject of why Rory feels that shooting is a good sport to recommend to others, his response was the fact that you’re always trying to get better and achieve the perfect score. If you are having trouble with your shooting and not achieving what you hope or expect to, Rory’s top tip is to completely erase those shots that have already gone, as he says “you can’t change them” in other words solely concentrate on the ones to come.

During competition Rory applies some mental discipline and strives to stay as calm during a match as he does on the training

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No.4(T) Sniper Rifle – The distinguishing markings on scopes and rifles.

By Nigel Greenaway My previous article covered the development and introduction into service of the No.4(T) sniper rifle in late 1941. This article will give a detailed description of the markings of the rifles to assist current owners and future purchasers in identifying whether the rifle in question is genuine. I have personally handled upwards of 75 No.4(T) rifles and after awhile one gets a feeling for what is genuine or otherwise. However, there are two well known experts in the United Kingdom who

Above - A 1944 made BSA Shirley No.4(T) showing the T on the receiver side wall near the ejector screw and the TR on the butt socket near the trigger between them have handled thousands of these rifles so I shall be drawing heavily on their experience and published articles and books. Peter Laidler is an ex-armourer and current curator of the Small Arms Museum and wrote two books - one on the No.4(T) sniper rifle and one on the No.32 scope. Roger Payne is a Registered Firearms Dealer and collector of WW1 and WW2 British and Commonwealth sniper rifles and has had several articles published. A fellow RFD and collector – David Tomkinson

Left - The right hand side of the rifle where you can just see the letter ‘s’ below the bolt head. This was stamped on the block where the old Trials rifle magazine cut-off would have hinged. The red W on the scope indicates that it has pass waterproofing tests. The sling swivel forward of the magazine is also present.

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D6E examiners mark which is stamped on the left rear body next to the bolt-way after conversion to a No.4(T). The telescope number is stamped on the upper wrist of the wooden butt

of the upright battle sight that would otherwise foul the scope) there is a 1/8 inch high stamp of the letter ‘s’ (sans serif). This was stamped on the block where the old Trials rifle magazine cut-off would have hinged. Another distinguishing mark is the ‘D6E’ examiners mark which is stamped on the left rear body next to the bolt-way after conversion to a No.4(T). The telescope number is stamped on the upper wrist of the wooden butt and the rifle number is stamped just forward of this number on the top part of the wooden socket which disappears into the metal butt socket when the butt is screwed onto the rifle. On the underneath of the butt is the Holland and Holland wartime manufacturer code S51 (always shares a trade stand with Roger at the Birmingham present even on the 1941 rifles). The rifle International Arms Fair and they always have a serial number is stamped along the underneath of the nice selection of either matched or mismatched, but fore-end at the muzzle end, instead of the more otherwise genuine, No.4(T) sniper rifles for sale. usual way of stamping across the camber of the wood. My thanks to David for supplying many of the close up photos used in this article. Roger and David Other standard features – front (three mounting have handled many of the early No.4(T) rifles and screws) and rear (two mounting screws) body pads herefore have seen how the distinguishing markings were soft-soldered and screwed to the side wall of the developed over a period of time before evolving in receiver to accept the mount bracket. The screws on to the accepted form of markings on 1944 and 1945 the front pads could work loose after as little as 1000 dated BSA Shirley rifles. The standard markings are: rounds so a solution was to stake metal from the pad in to the screwdriver slots of the screws using a Rifle Receiver, Butt Socket and woodwork – a punch. This became an official modification in March Holland and Holland examiner’s letter T stamp 1946 so many rifles subsequently going through (serif font) is present on the receiver sidewall, repair shops or refurbishment would have been so usually quite close to the ejector screw. On modified. It is not uncommon to see multiple punch the left hand side of the butt socket below the marks on the front pad whilst the rear will usually manufacturer’s markings is a TR (sans serif font so just have one punch mark. From late 1944 triangular quite different from the T on the receiver wall). This sling swivels were fitted in place of the front trigger mark was stamped by the manufacturer on rifles that guard screw (bedding screw) and many early rifles exhibited tighter than usual groups during accuracy had these retrofitted. Cheek pieces fitted on British testing and was thus earmarked for conversion to a rifles were most commonly made from beech but a Telescope Rifle. On rifles that did not require the back significant minority of 1944 produced BSA rifles had sight to be re-zeroed or exchanged for the modified oak – sometimes giving a pleasing tiger stripe look Mk1 back sight (the modification was the removal (as on my rifle). It was stipulated that split foresight

On the underneath of the butt is stamped the Holland and Holland wartime manufacturer code S51 54

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Three different woods were used for cheek pieces. On British rifles beech was the most common as seen on the lower L42A1 sniper rifle but a significant minority of 1944 produced BSA rifles had oak – sometimes giving a pleasing tiger stripe look as on the upper rifle. The middle Canadian rifle has a walnut cheek piece. blocks should be used but many 1944 produced rifles will be found with solid foresight blocks. Only Mk1 rear sights were used with the battle sight ground off. Enfield made rifles and conversions Mention has already been made of the 1403 Trials Rifles that were converted at Enfield. Roger is of the opinion that only Trials Rifles were converted by Enfield – all of those that he has inspected did not have the Holland and Holland S51 code on the butt and they all had an Enfield examiner’s mark on the front top flat of the front body pad - a mark not encountered on any other No.4(T)’s. Most rifles noted are dated 1931 or 1933 with an ‘A’ prefix and serial numbers up to about 2500 e.g. A0794 and A2215. Woodwork is walnut and they retain all the original Trials Rifle features. BSA rifles Peter Laidler has calculated that 23,177 No.4(T) sniper rifles were completed by Holland and Holland, the last few in April 1946. To this can be added the 1,403 Trials conversions plus 1,524 Long Branch No.4(T)’s to make a grand total of 26,104. Whilst no actual figures exist of the breakdown of different manufacturers’ rifles supplied for

conversion, the majority (85% is Roger’s estimate) were supplied by BSA Shirley with the remaining 15% being made up by Enfield, R.O.F. Maltby, Savage and Long Branch. BSA’s markings also evolved during the war, starting with a B from 1941 to 1943, which changed at some point in 1943 to their wartime code of M47 which changed again in late 1943 to M47C. The serial numbering system also changed but by early 1944 had settled on a five digit number starting with 3, usually, with a single l etter prefix. The latest production block of ‘T’ conversions being the ‘X’ prefix in 1945. No 1946 dated rifles have been observed although some of the last Kershaw made No.32 Mk3 sights are dated 1946. Early 1941 BSA rifles were stocked up in beech, although of a colour that is darker than the typical post-war ‘blonde’ beech. By 1943 it seems that BSA Shirley rifles were exclusively used for conversion. R.O.F. Maltby The Royal Ordnance Factory Maltby converted rifles were nearly all marked ROFM 1941 on the receiver side wall and the initial part of this will be obscured by the front body pad with either no letter prefix to the five digit number or a letter in the A or B series.



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Roger has only ever seen one 1942 rifle. Original rifles have butts marked S51 indicating that all the conversion work was carried out by Holland and Holland and not Enfield as some have speculated. The presence of the ‘T’ and ‘TR’ stamps is inconsistent, most without but some with one or the other. It is more than likely that these marks, usually of a non-standard style and size, were added by ordnance armourers at a later date whilst rifles were being repaired. The ‘S’ mark is absent on all Maltby converted rifles. Enfield examiners marks, if present, are located on the right rear body under

The main distinguishing mark of Canadian made sniper rifles was a sans serif ‘T’ on the left hand receiver wall

the point where the bolt handle joins the bolt body. Occasionally a genuine two groove barrel is seen. Only No.32 Mk1 scopes would have been fitted but it is not unknown for a later mark scope to be fitted ‘officially’ as part of an upgrade on an otherwise serviceable rifle. This point also applies to the Savage made rifles. There were probably fewer than 1000 Maltby conversions and a similar number for Savage. Stevens-Savage The American manufactured Savage rifles were converted from very early No.4 Mk1 production and a very few Mk1*, probably at the point when production changed over to the different bolt release system on the Mk1*. Serial numbers seem to be in the 12, 13 and 14C blocks. The odd two groove barrel will also be observed – this was supposed to be a reject feature if spotted by Holland and Holland! There is some speculation that a second batch of Savage rifles were converted by Holland and Holland near the termination of the sniper rifle conversion contracts in 1945/46 but were not fitted with scopes. Unfortunately these rifles do not exhibit the standard markings, which by this date had become standardised, so there are considerable doubts about these ‘scope less’ rifles. Long Branch Worthy of an article in its own right, the history of the Canadian Long Branch made No.4(T)’s is very interesting. They tried to develop the No.4(T) in

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to a more modern sporterised sniper rifle with a half length fore-end, a Monte-Carlo butt, rubber butt pad and a 5x magnification scope – all at a considerable weight saving. The British rejected it saying 5x magnification was too much and seemed to go out of their way to place obstacles in the way of future development! A great shame because all the trials showed that the users loved it! The Canadians did have six different scopes, Mk1, Mk1A, Mk2 and Mk3 which were the same or very similar to our three marks, plus one which was originally designated a No.32 Mk4 but, because it was a completely new development which owed nothing to the No.32, was subsequently re designated the C No.67 Mk1 (3.5x24mm). Due to production difficulties in churning out enough scopes through the Quebec based Research Enterprises Limited (R.E.L) the Canadians ordered 350 ‘off the shelf’ American Lyman Alaskan All Weather scopes which they designated the C No.32 Mk1 (TP) – TP stood for Trade Pattern. For a long while research showed that only 1,141 Canadian No.4(T)’s were made but Clive Law’s excellent book – Without Warning, revealed that all the rifles using No.32 Mk3 scopes were produced after the war bringing the grand total to 1,524. The Canadian markings did not follow any of the British stampings and the main distinguishing mark was a sans serif ‘T’ on the left hand receiver wall. About 500-600 Canadian No.4(T)’s were accepted in to British service and these tend to have the scope number stamped on the upper wrist of the butt. There are other specific Canadian markings but these are beyond the scope of this article. The next article will cover the ongoing development of the No.4(T) with the introduction, in British service, of the three main marks, plus one hybrid version, of the No.32 scope plus the associated scope tins, lens caps, wooden rifle chests and training literature. Sources: The Armourer Militaria Magazine, Issue 57 May/ June 2003 – WW2 Sniping Rifles by Roger Payne International Arms & Militaria Collector – Magazine No.20, 2002 – Roger Payne and David Tomkinson article on the No.4(T) An Armourer’s Perspective .303 No.4(T) Sniper Rifle – ISBN 1 85367 144 4. Peter Laidler’s bible on the history of these rifles. Telescope Sighting No.32 – An insider view of the Snipers Rifle Telescope - Peter Laidler - last reprinted in 1993 - a very comprehensive booklet on these scopes and how to strip and reassemble them (if you are very brave).

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"Phoenix A, X & A Class.” Two British Record Scores at Gallery Rifle National Championships 2009



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Fullbore Bullet Ballistic Analysis

By Bryan Litz Above - 155gn bullets are popular in GBFCA F/TR, although heavier bullets are permitted. 2008 F/TR champion Russell Simmonds (nearest the camera), and the GB F/TR team captain Stuart Anselm behind both use 155s With several developments around ‘fullbore’ some earlier work on these designs. What do I bullets in the recent past, I decided to update mean by ‘fullbore’, a term in general use in the USA, but which may have a different meaning American ‘Fullbore’ shooting is based on elsewhere? It refers to International Fullbore UK and British Commonwealth ‘Target Rifle’, and Palma competition shooting whose rules dictate the use of the .308 Winchester cartridge both restricted to .308 Win / 7.62mm with bullets weighing less than 156gn in single- loaded with bullets weighing less than 156gn. I shot rifles with long barrels and iron sights understand these limitations also apply to British Commonwealth ‘Target Rifle’, and to the ammunition used in the F/TR division of F-Class shooting in Canada and Australia. On top of that, 155gn bullets are a popular choice in club and regional level competitions. Design These rules fixing the weight, calibre and cartridge restrict the bullet designer severely. With Palma, Fullbore and F/TR rifles single-shot types utilising barrel lengths of 29-32”, muzzle velocities (MVs) also fall within a fairly small range, generally between 2,950 and 3,050 fps. All that’s left is the bullet’s profile or shape, which determines aerodynamic drag. The efficiency with which the bullet’s ogive parts the air to make way for the bullet, and the effectiveness of the boat tail in reducing base drag are the key factors that differentiate their performance. Hang on, have I forgotten ‘accuracy’? Inherent precision (usually referred to as accuracy) is obviously a vital attribute in determining success, but that is mostly dictated by manufacturing quality which is very high nowadays for all main contenders. 58

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Wind A most important step in any performance analysis is to decide what measure of merit you care about. In this case, it’s wind deflection. Assuming our bullets offer equal degrees of precision, the design that is less wind-affected makes the competitor’s reading of the prevailing conditions easier, so is likely to produce the best score. With all models being driven at similar MVs, we have a simple rule of thumb: the design with the lowest drag profile will have the highest Ballistic Coefficient (BC), and suffer the least amount of wind deflection. In order to calculate wind deflection, we need to know the bullet’s BC and muzzle velocity. I’ve assumed 3,000fps throughout, so any difference in ballistic performance is down to BC. To perform a meaningful analysis, we need accurate information, and unfortunately BCs advertised by the bullet makers are questionable for various reasons and may not be directly comparable thanks to differing methods used to calculate them. In order to make comparisons, we need BCs measured using a common method that’s repeatable. To obtain this, I devised an experimentally based

Bryan tested this trio two years ago – then the leading fullbore contenders. Left to right: ‘Old’ Sierra Palma MK (2155); Lapua Scenar; Berger VLD. The Scenar was found to be the ‘winner’ by a fair margin

measuring system in which a number of sample shots are fired over 1,000 yards with the bullet passing over acoustic sensors placed at precisely measured equal intervals on the range. The sensors are activated by the bullet’s supersonic ‘crack’ and use wireless transmitters to advise a computer loaded with a specially adapted ballistics program of the sectional flight times. In essence, the program runs BCs iteratively until values are found that match the actual times (hence velocities) over each section. It should be noted that this method gives repeatable results within +/- 1% between test shots, results moreover that are in

agreement sources.

with

other

published,

credible

Today, two newcomers are challenging the Lapua. Left to right: ‘New’ Sierra Palma MK (2156); Lapua Scenar; Berger 155.5gn Match BT FULLBORE.



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There is another problem with manufacturers’ BCs – they are referenced to the G1 standard which ultimately compares their aerodynamic performance to a projectile shape that bears little resemblance to the modern long-range rifle bullet with its long nose and marked boat tail. Fortunately we have a much better alternative in the form of the G7 standard projectile. (Figure 1.) If we define performance against G7 standard results, we get BCs that are much less sensitive to velocity than the G1 standard. For example, the 155 grain Berger VLD has a G1 BC that varies from 0.465 at 3,000fps to 0.402 at 1,500fps, a 14% difference. However, if you use the G7 standard, the

BC range runs from 0.228 to 0.223, under 3% which introduces far less error into ballistic calculations. However, as readers are likely to be familiar with G1 BCs, average values are provided in gray as a reference. It should be noted that there is no direct link between the values of the two sets, each used in a suitably calibrated ballistics program, so G7 values running at half the level of their G1 counterparts is of no significance in itself.

Octet Let’s look at the bullets, listed in Figure 2 in order of decreasing BC. Scale profiles are provided showing relative shapes and proportions in the left hand column. It’s noticeable that the more aerodynamically efficient bullets are longer than those at the bottom of the stack, in particular having longer noses – an important factor in drag reduction. Moving across, the sectional density (SD) is given. As this is the bullet’s weight (in pounds) divided by its calibre squared, and all of our fullbore Berger 155.5, Lapua 155 Scenar, HBC BJD, New Sierra, Berger VLD, PMP, Old Sierra, Hornady A-Max bullets have the same weight and Average Average Manufacturer’s diameter, they have an identical SD i7 Bullet Claimed G1 BC SD of .233 lb/in2, except for G7 BC G1 BC the marginally heavier 155.5gn Berger FULLBORE at 0.234 lb/ 0.234 0.988 0.464 0.464 0.237 in2. The next metric in the chart Berger 155.5 Fullbore is the bullet’s form factor, i7, referenced to the G7 standard. 0.233 0.988 0.462 0.508 0.236 This represents the bullet’s drag Lapua 155 Scenar as a ratio to that produced by the standard bullet, so one with 0.233 0.989 0.462 n/a 0.236 a value below 1.0 produces less 155 HBC BJD (Australia) drag than the standard projectile, 0.504, .470, one above 1.0 more. Because 0.233 1.018 0.447 .430, .380 by 0.229 the length and shape of fullbore Sierra 155 Palma (2156) bullets are restricted by the weight velocity bands limit of 155-155.5gn, low for the 0.233 1.039 0.439 0.439 0.225 calibre, the designer has his work Berger 155 VLD cut out to get i7 below 1.0, and only three achieve it. 0.233

1.041

0.224

0.439

n/a

155 PMP (South Africa)

0.450, .443, 0.233

1.092

0.214

0.417

Sierra 155 Palma (2155)

bands 0.233

1.100

0.212

Hornady 155 A-Max Figure 2. Ballistic performance comparison for 8 Fullbore bullets.

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.417 by velocity

Target Shooter

0.415

0.435

Moving on, we have the bullet’s G7 BC obtained by dividing the SD by the i7 value. The BCs displayed have been averaged using the bullets’ measured velocities and flight times from 3,000 fps at the muzzle to beyond the point where their

the smallest 0.5%. The old and new Sierras together for comparison. Note how the new bullet on the right has had the nose section stretched to Top Trio So, onto the results. The top performers proved give a sharper front-end. to be the new Berger 155.5gn Match BT FULLBORE, the long established Lapua Scenar, and a bullet that was new to me, the Australian HBC, this trio producing practically identical BCs, certainly within the measurement uncertainty of my testing. Let’s look at each in turn. The Berger is an inherently accurate bullet, in its short life winning the 2008 US Palma Individual Trophy at Camp Perry (450-26X) as well as setting a new midrange (iron sights) US National Record of 450-39X. The Scenar’s excellent ballistic performance is no secret to top shooters, and it was well ahead of the pack until the last year or so when other companies caught up. Lapua advertises a G1 BC of 0.508 for this bullet and my experimentally measured value at 3,000fps was 0.497, a mere 2% difference at these high speeds, but note that my average G1 BC for this bullet over 1,000 yards is 0.462, a much lower value. The HBC BJD bullet was a surprise (to me at any rate), a friend down under sending some to test out of mutual curiosity. These bullets have an aggressive secant ogive and a long 7-degree boat tail which is a splendid combination that results in very low drag. To my knowledge, there is no advertised BC for this bullet, but my measurements indicate that it’s among the best ballistic performers in its class. HBC stands for

speed dropped to 1,500fps. It should be noted there was very little difference between any individual bullet’s highest and lowest individual The ‘New’ 155gn Sierra Palma MK on the right G7 BC readings over these distances / velocities. has also had its meplat ‘pointed’ (reduced in Finally, we have two columns displaying G1 diameter) to reduce drag BCs – those based on my velocity / flight time measurements over the 3,000 – 1,500fps range, and the manufacturers’ claimed figures. As I don’t use G1 BCs in ballistics calculations because of the problems they create in modelling bullet behaviours at long ranges, they are provided solely as a point of reference. These tests were a follow-up to some previously carried out for three bullets – the original Sierra Palma MK (#2155), the Lapua Scenar, and Berger’s Match VLD. They were tested again alongside the additional five models earlier this year, and their resulting BCs modified slightly based on the larger number of test shots’ data now available. I was gratified to find the ‘new’ results barely varied from those carried out two years ago, the largest BC variation being 1.3%,



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GBFCA F/TR options: 155gn bullets on the left; a match prepped cartridge with ‘pointed’ 155gn Lapua Scenar; heavy bullets (210gn Sierra MK and 210gn Berger VLD) on the right. The 210gn bullets’ much higher BCs are offset by a 400-500 fps velocity loss at the muzzle

High BC, and BJD for Bob and Jan Dyer who make them in their company, R & J Sportsgoods in Darwin. Auspicious Beginnings Next we have the new Sierra Palma MK bullet (#2156) which has a very much improved BC over the ‘old’ version (#2155 which remains in production). The new Palma bullet has only been out a short time, (barely reached the UK with the main importers still awaiting supply – Editor), but has already proven itself in international competition. The US Rifle Team used this bullet in September 2008 to win the Spirit of America International Fullbore Rifle Match. It was so new that supplies were delivered direct from the factory to the range, with the team coaches swapping out the bullets from the ammo that the shooters brought to the match! The winning result is a testament not only to the bullet’s excellent ballistic performance, but also to its inherent accuracy in so many different rifles with no

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load development. My average measured G1 BC for this bullet is 0.447, while the average of Sierra’s advertised values is 0.446, practically identical. The Berger 155gn VLD comes next. Once this company’s top Palma model, it now represents just another option since the introduction of the 155.5gn FULLBORE model. As with the old Sierra Palma MK it remains in production. The 155gn PMP bullets are from South Africa, and were also provided for testing by a good friend abroad. PMP stands for Pretoria Metal Processing, and the samples I tested were from lot #66. Dimensionally, they are similar to the old Sierra Palma MK (#2155), but have a very small meplat (tip) diameter. The meplats on the samples I tested measured only 0.052” in diameter which is extremely small for a factory (un-pointed) bullet. Again, I don’t have an advertised BC, but the measured figure came out just where I expected it to be according to the bullet’s shape. Old Guard The old model Sierra Palma bullet, which saw heavy use in international competition over two decades by many countries, now finds itself near the bottom of the performance league. An inherently accurate bullet and still a very good option for short and midrange matches, this bullet simply lacks the design features to compete with the superior ballistic performance of the newer offerings at long range. Finally, the Hornady 155gn A-Max comes in just below the old Sierra. The plastic tips ensure very consistent BCs, but are not sharp enough to make up for the other areas where this bullet’s design is lacking. The short boat tail is too steep at a 13-degree plus angle to achieve significant base drag reduction and the ogive is very short. As we’ll see next month, this combination results in hefty wind deflection compared to the better designs, and it remains barely supersonic at 1,000 yards from 3,000fps MV. If Hornady wants to offer a better Fullbore bullet, they’ll have to turn to a design that’s more like their outstanding 208gn 0.308” A-Max which has a long boat tail at a shallow angle, and a long ogive. Next month, we’ll see how these G7 BCs translate into wind deflection and retained velocities at 1,000 yards, and I’ll model potential shooting scores on long-range Fullbore and F-Class targets in varying wind strength scenarios.

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Shooting Website of the Month

This site is located ‘down under’ but if you are a benchrest or F Class shooter or just an accuracy nut, it is well worth a look. BRT – Benchrest Training – is operated by two of the nicest folk in shooting, Stuart and Annie Elliott. The Elliotts are known throughout the benchrest world and both are BR shooters of the highest level being part of the Aussie Team that beat the previously undefeated Americans in the South African Benchrest World Championships this year. With a wealth of experience at world level, the Elliotts can now offer offer benchrest training anywhere in the world and many countries have already benefitted from their coaching. Their windflags are as recognisable as the Sidney Opera House to benchrest shooters and are used by many top shooters world-wide. There are plenty of pics on the site which will give you a flavour of benchrest shooting and F

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Class – the Elliott’s latest passion. There is also a tips & tricks section which is worth a read and will no doubt grow. Finally, the Elliots are now supplying accuracy bits and pieces including March scopes. The Aussies are no different from we Brits – most of the good stuff comes from the USA but if someone else does the importing it takes the hassle and waiting out of the equation. We at Target Shooter wish Annie and Stuart all the very best with their venture – they are a great couple and deserve to succeed. BRT Shooters Supply – www.benchrest.com. au

COMMONWEALTH CUSTOM FROM FOX FIREARMS By Laurie Holland Target Shooter has given a lot of coverage to New Zealand company Barnard Precision with my F/ TR tube-gun, Vince Bottomley’s report on his Model 07 tactical rifle and Brian Walker’s visit to the

Above - The Barnard / True-Flite / Bell & Carlsson 6.5mm rifle

another Kiwi outfit, True-Flite NZ Ltd that makes button-rifled match quality barrels The Barnard ‘Model S’ is a precision-made single-shot match from top-grade US supplied 416R quality action that has the same external dimensions as the stainless blanks, available in many calibres, twist rates, profiles and in pre Remington 700. or unchambered form. Fox Firearms is a Barnard agent and the importer for the barrels, offering them to gunsmiths for custom build, or as in this case, the basis of budget pick ‘n’ mix job using a pre-chambered tube. With over 70 barrels in stock, plus several actions, there is a good chance of getting what you want quickly. Even if the barrel has to be ordered from New Zealand, delivery times are reasonable. The third major ingredient in the mix is the stock. If you’re in the market for an company. This month’s offering has an interesting F-Class or TR rifle, Fox Firearms offers good USP or unique selling point, being a quality looking, attractively priced rifles using an quasi-custom rifle available at a lower outlay than appropriate version of the Canadian Robertson if you go down the traditional build-it-from-scratchComposites H&H competition stock, the Barnard gunsmith route. single-shot Model Paction, and a match or Palma profile This results from the accuracy and consistency with which two components, the action and barrel, are manufactured, as well as the use of bedding-block stocks. Barnard actions are so precisely and consistently made, bolts are interchangeable between action bodies and the company says a competently manufactured pre-threaded and chambered barrel will marry-up to the appropriate action and provide correct The Barnard ‘S’ action has a headspace straight off. simple, but immensely strong Competently made prereceiver chambered barrels? Enter



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for review, anything I fancied within reason. I only made two stipulations – it should be accurate and in 6.5X47 Lapua calibre. I’d no idea what I’d get apart from the make of action and barrel, and was subsequently rather enigmatically advised it would be left-hand and ‘tactical’ – a magazine rifle All Barnard actions use bolts with three optimised for easy good-sized locking lugs handling and rapid operation? The rifle was ready True-Flite barrel in an appropriate chambering. Bedding block versions of the stock design are in around six weeks despite being built from scratch employed to reduce workload and costs – strewth, and turned out to be an‘interesting mix’ – a polished 30” Palma profile barrel like you’d find on a TR rifle; clever people these colonials! left-hand single-shot Barnard Model S action; the ‘tactical bit’ being the stock, a matte black model ‘Interesting’ My test rifle was also made using this formula, but from Bell & Carlsson. Up top, there was a Warne despite trying to keep those other one-time colonists rail, an 8-32 power Hakko ‘Tactical’ variable, all held in North America out of the picture, US bits now together by Warne tactical rings. While thanking my appear – a Bell & Carlsson composite stock and benefactor and opining what a fine piece it was, I Timney trigger. Let’s go back a step as I’m getting was privately having less flattering thoughts given ahead of myself, and recount how I got here. Brian the rather ‘unconventional’ parts-combination! Fox, proprietor of the eponymous gun supplier asked me late last year if I’d like a Barnard / True-Flite Bedding Block As with Brian’s Model P based custom rifles,

This version of the Bell & Carlsson stock is adjustable for ‘pull’ from 13.25-15”, as well as having an adjustable buttplate and cheekpiece

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incorporating the bedding block around the action broadening out to a wide forend incorporating an accessory rail. At the back, pull and cheekpiece height are adjustable, so everybody should get comfortable, and it can be set up for a variety of shooting tasks. What I didn’t spot was that it had started life in right-hand

The forend has a built-in bipod / accessory rail the model ‘S’ action and B&C stock combination doesn’t require bedding. Barnard makes this smaller diameter version of its strong three-lug action with external dimensions identical to those of the ubiquitous Remy 700 short-action as there are more inletted and speciality stocks and aftermarket trigger assemblies on the market for this design than all other makes put together. Splitting the barrelled action and stock revealed a Timney trigger (you have to supply your trigger for the ‘S’ unlike the ‘P’ which includes an excellent Barnard designed and made unit in the price). The only ‘bedding work’ was a small amount of machining of the integral bedding block to provide clearance for the trigger, otherwise it was bolt-on job. Let’s look at the stock. This model, product code 2958-7, features a deep ‘wrist’, a narrow, deep section

The muzzle has a nicely recessed crown having tapered down to 0.91” diameter at this point

The Hakko 8-34X56 Tactical scope offers a bright image and superb resolution, target turrets and side-knob focussing, and has been mounted using a well-made Warne rail and tactical mounts



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6.5X47mm Lapua cartridge (centre-left) alongside a .308Win for scale with 123gn and 139gn Lapua Scenars

configuration and had been altered to suit the action, the original bolt-handle slot filled and refinished so well it didn’t show. The only giveaway to those who know their stocks was the usual rough-textured surfaces on the stock body had been removed to match the smooth filled-in area. It was also originally designed for magazine operation, but with the solid-bottom ‘S’ action installed had an empty space above the hinged magazine floorplate, lacking a magazine box. Thoroughbred The action uses a three-lug bolt as with all Barnards and provided the slick-operation I expect from this company’s products. It might have the 700’s dimensions, but this is a far superior design. As well as three lugs and Barnard build quality so things that should bear on each other do, and things that shouldn’t touch don’t, they’re built concentrically – no ‘truing-up’ needed here. The receiver is rigid with relatively thick walls, small loading / ejection port, and solid bottom. Look wise they’re functional rather than beautiful, but this can be improved by replacing the black anodised aluminium alloy ‘lollipop stick’ bolt

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handle with aftermarket steel jobs with larger coloured knobs – a simple unscrew and replace swap-job. There is another plus in choosing this action that I didn’t appreciate at the time, but do now that I have my own 6.5X47L rifle – a rebarrelled FN Special Police Rifle with a version of the Winchester 70 action. The Barnard, as with other thoroughbred competition actions, has a small diameter firing pin tip which is a close fit in the bolt face. This provides support to the small-rifle primer used in 6.5X47L, 6BR and other such small-cased high-performance cartridges. As pressures rise to the full working level, primers flatten normally and only ‘crater’ or worse when the load gets too ‘hot’. Conversely, factory actions (Savage 12 precision models excepted) have larger diameter firing pins and you can expect to lose potential velocity through premature primer related problems. (This primarily afflicts small primer cartridge designs not those using the LR type.) Anyway, stock alterations for the left-hand action aside, the rifle had been put together with less skilled work than your usual custom job – no threading, chambering, crowning, and headspacing

Fox / Barnard Model ‘P’/ True-Flite F-Class and below F/TR rifles using Robertson H&H stocks incorporating a bedding block

the barrel on the action, plus full bedding job to install the result in the stock. Brian doesn’t build rifles, contracting this task out to a couple of gunsmiths, but it’s closer to an assembly than full ‘smithing operation for a big reduction in build time and costs. Performance So, to the range to see how it performed – the short answer is “very well indeed”. Despite the apparently mismatched ingredients, a well designed adjustable stock, slick action, crisp trigger, and excellent Hakko optics made it a pleasure to shoot and quickly produced good results on the paper. The latter was despite two barriers – the most unpleasant winter weather we’d had for years, and a barrel that needed a lot of running in (shoot one, clean etc) before it stopped coppering. Ammunition consisted of handloads using new Lapua brass, 123gn Lapua Scenar match bullets and modest Vihtavuori N540 and N150 charges from the Vihtavuori manual working up from starting loads. Despite the shoot / clean egime, the N540 combination soon produced a quarter-inch 100yd 5-shot group, and the whole series of N150 loads gave between 0.35” and just under the half-inch despite a three grain charge

range. I would have liked to try the rifle off a bipod in a McQueens, or F-Class competition – the left-hand action would have been no barrier in the former, you quickly adjust to it – but lying out on Diggle Ranges in sleet or freezing rain, you had to be joking! So, what does it cost? Thanks to the pound holding its value against the NZ dollar, and the large reduction in skilled work needed in the build, it’s very reasonable. As tested, the rifle would cost £1,900 without scope and mounts (the Hakko 8-34X56 Tactical is priced at £375, and Warne Tactical rings at £70). If you wanted a Jewell match trigger instead of the Timney, add £100; if you don’t need the adjustable buttstock, knock £200 off. I’ll stress that this rifle was built as a ‘demonstrator’ to show a section of the range of components on offer, not to offer single-shot 30” barrel left-hand ‘tactical’ combinations to the market! For further information on Fox Firearms’ wide product range as well as custom-built rifles, visit www.foxfirearmsuk.com, or contact Brian on 0161 430 8278. Incidentally, Fox Firearms also supplies True-Flite barrels as blanks for those who want to have them chambered and threaded by their gunsmiths.



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By Gwyn Roberts

In some of the Gallery Rifle disciplines such as the 1500, Timed & Precision 2 and Phoenix A matches you are required to shoot from both the kneeling and sitting positions, so here a few tips to help you achieve a stable platform from which to shoot. Probably the most common mistake made by novice GR shooters when shooting from the kneeling or sitting position is tilting or dropping the head down too low in relation to the scope, which will often result in a different point of impact on the target causing you to lose valuable points in the process! Whichever position you have to shoot from, the most important point to remember is to keep your head as upright as possible and align your head up squarely with the scope so that you attain the same contact/ reference point on the stock with your cheek as you do when shooting in the standing position. If this is done consistently then the point of impact on the target should remain the same regardless of which position you release the shots from.

handed shooter, kneel down on your right knee and sit back on the heel to take the weight of your body. The left foot should be planted firmly on the floor and the lower part of the leg should be kept upright at around 90 degrees. Placing the back of the arm just above the elbow on the front edge of the knee should then provide you with a good flat contact area to help hold the rifle in a good position. The right elbow should be held in a relaxed position so that the muscles are not under any undue tension or this can lead to unwanted instability. Depending on your physical stature and the profile of your stock, some shooters may find that the rifle ends up being held in a position that is too low to naturally acquire a proper head/sight alignment in the kneeling position. I have this problem with my Marlins and a simple fix is to add a small block of some description to the rear of the fore end which will help elevate the rifle so that the correct head/ sight position can be achieved. The fore end then simply rests in the palm of the left hand which Starting with the kneeling position (1) for a right applies just enough rearward pressure to hold the butt pad into the shoulder. When practicing shooting in the kneeling position, make sure that the position you adopt aligns your body up naturally onto the target without your having to twist or tension any muscles in order to hold it there. Also experiment by placing your right knee (2) at various angles in relation to your body to find which gives you the most stable position, as it will vary from person to person. Some of you may find the kneeling position a bit uncomfortable to start with so make sure that you only hold this position for a maximum of 20 – 30 seconds at a time when practicing before standing up to allow the blood to circulate properly again. This is also around the time it should take you to fire off 6 well aimed shots when shooting during a

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competition! Placing the foot too far in front of the knee (3) can cause you to push your body weight backwards causing instability and discomfort whilst conversely, having your foot tucked in under your knee (4) or putting all of the pressure onto the ball of the foot will push your weight forward causing a balance problem. This often

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leads to a tendency to pull the front of the rifle downwards when releasing the shots. If you find it impossible to place your elbow in front of your knee cap then you should try and place the lower part of your fore arm just in front of the knee joint. Note: Placing the tip of your elbow directly on top of your knee will produce a pivot point making it virtually impossible for you to hold the rifle steady and should be avoided completely. Due to either physical problems or injuries, there have been a few occassions over the years when some shooters have found it easier or slightly more comfortable to shoot with both knees on the ground (5) and sit back on their heels. This position is very similar to a normal offhand position as the body angle in relation to the target is pretty much the same and the knees are placed around shoulder width apart which allows the body and head to remain in an upright position. A good friend of mine and his better half use another kneeling position (6) when they shoot the 1500 match. It requires good flexibility and the right physical size to adopt this position, and although the head to scope alignment isn’t perfect, it does produce some very good results for those that can achieve it! In this position, the left forearm should wrap around the top of the left knee then keeping the left leg upright, the rifle simply sits in the v shape created by the bend in the arm. The left hand gently rests on the right fore arm and the right elbow drops down naturally by the side of the body. The right foot is turned inwards and the shooter sits down on top of it,

making sure that no other part of the body makes contact with the floor otherwise penalty points will be incurred! This position is only recommended for use with a rimfire semi auto rifle and is unsuitable for underlever rifles due to the racking action needed to operate them. The sitting position offers a wider variety of choice for the shooter and again your

physical size and flexability will usually determine the most stable position that you can adopt, although some positions will only suit the semi auto type rifles. Once again, keeping the head in an upright position will help you retain a consistant point of impact on the target and another important point to note is that when your feet make contact with



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the ground they should do so with either the sides or soles of your feet flat on the ground. Placing just the heels on the ground will obviously act as a pivot point and cause the ankles to rotate slightly causing positional instability. When shooting an underlever, I find that this position (7) allows me to rack the lever smoothly and quickly and still keep my sight focussed on the centre of the target, whichever magnification I am using at the time.

The right leg is extended outwards over the top of the left foot to keep it grounded and help it act as a brace, and the right foot is turned over so that the flat edge provides a stable contact area on the ground to stop the ankle from rolling around. The left foot is planted flat on 74

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the ground and the left knee is raised so that the fore end of the rifle can rest on top of it. The left hand is cupped with the lower two fingers gripping the front of the knee, whilst the other two grip the fore end to make sure the rifle is held firmly in place. Leaning backwards slightly allows a good head/scope alignment and the right elbow drops down naturally under no tension by the side of the body. It is important when in the sitting position to make sure that as many limbs as possible are anchored against another to ensure maximum stability is achieved. Another position to try is with the legs crossed over with the sides of the feet flat against the floor. Then, lifting the knees slightly to bring the rifle up to the correct height, the elbows can rest either on the outside (8) or on the inside of the knees (9) so that everything locks up together. This will also produce a very stable hold to shoot an underlever from. The most accurate sitting position that I have managed to find when shooting with a semi auto rifle (10) is to lift my knees up higher so that I can wrap my left forearm arm around my left knee. I then rest the rifle between the ‘v’ shape that is created and lightly rest my left hand on top of my right forearm. This ensures that everything is locked together and should guarantee you all 10’s or X’s at 50m, with a bit of practice of course! Another variation (11) which also gives excellent results is similar to picture no.7 except shooting with a 10/22 allows you to brace your forearm against the right knee to give an even more stable platform.

all improve in certain areas. When I practice for the 1500 match I use 4 separate target centres at 50m and shoot 6 rounds kneeling on the top left, 6 sitting on the top right, 6 weak shoulder at the bottom left target, then the final 6 from the strong shoulder on the bottom right target. This way there is no doubt about any shots you may think you have pulled from a certain position as the results will be there in front of you. It will also highlight any variations you may be having in points of impact on the target from certain positions. This way you can either work on achieving a better head/scope alignment in that position or visually see any corrections you may need to give if you end up having to aim off slightly in the future. In the next issue I’ll look at ways to speed up your loading and reloading technique along with how and where to It is always worth spending quite a bit of time practicing all of the positions that we shoot place and carry ammunition for GR competitions. from in Gallery Rifle competitions no matter what standard you shoot at, as we can

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Training Body and Mind.

By Andy Dubreuil Picking up a rifle, pointing it at your target and pulling the trigger doesn’t mean that’s it - job done especially if you are hoping for a medal or at least a decent place. You can have the best rifle, ammunition and equipment but unless you able to control certain things within you, all that stuff won’t be as effective as it could be. Breathing One of the hardest things to do behind a gun is controlling your breathing and I don’t think there is a right way for everyone but, relaxing your breathing is something that you have to practice and engage in so that each time you have it right. Firstly, you have to understand your breathing and learn how to slow it down so that you are in a relaxed state. If you sit in a chair or lie in bed, rest your hand on your chest and close your eyes, feel how your chest rises up and down as you inhale and exhale, just breath normally for a couple of minutes. Now take a deep breath then exhale through your mouth. From this point onwards inhale slowly and then exhale slowly through your nose just to the point that it’s comfortable. This can feel strange but if you are behind a rifle, the slower you inhale and exhale will give you better control behind the shot. The slower you can breathe the lower your pulse-rate. So when do you release the shot? Some will say on the exhale but many of us have a tendency to hold our breath. You have to realise that if you do this then your pulse rate will rise quickly so, if you hold your breath, then don’t take it to the point where you go blue in the face as all your effort will have gone to waste. There is the point between inhale and exhale and this is the key point as you’re still able to control the breathing for the next shot. Practising how you breathe is an essential thing to learn to control when you’re behind the gun so take time to practice - even as you fall asleep or even watching TV. Then, take it to the range and practice behind gun. Without control there is no control. Match Nerves Having the jitters before a big match afflicts most of us – especially newcomers. How many

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times have you thought “I know I am going to get beaten - I don’t think I’m good enough - there are better shooters here than me - I’m rubbish”. Negative thoughts are not the best foundation for a good performance. You could read books on how to think and behave in a positive manner and how to take control but why waste your money when all you need to do is think about YOU. It’s not about who is around you or what scores you have seen posted before you are about to shoot, it’s what’s in your head that you need to think about. You have a rifle like everyone else, you have the same ammunition as everyone else and you have the same conditions as everyone else. In other words, you have the same opportunity to equal anyone’s performance. You are on an equal footing but to get a better score, forget everyone else and shoot against yourself - just like you would when shooting alone. Set your sights on beating your personal best. You know you can hit the centre of the target - you have done many times before so why not now? Focus on how you achieved that the last time you did it. If you get a bad shot, then think how you corrected that the last time it happened. One bad shot doesn’t mean that is the end, I have seen many great shooters loose it when they have a bad shot and almost throw the toys out of the pram. Keep your cool, that shot has gone, you can’t bring it back or take it again so don’t dwell on it, put it behind you and focus on the next shot. Pause if you need to, concentrate on controlling that breathing again then apply yourself to the job in hand. When it’s over, it’s over. If you have beaten your competitors you have done your job. If you have achieved a personal best, then be proud of that fact – win or lose. Most of all, you should be satisfied by the way you handled yourself and happy that you have given your best no matter what position you finish. If you have got that medal, it proves that you kept your nerve whilst others fell foul of theirs. All good shooters have a ways of working with their body and mind and you just have to find the elements that suit your type of shooting and apply them. You are no different than any other shooter on the line and once you have that mindset, then you could be the ‘best of the best’ as long as you shoot against yourself and not the whole world!

PSSA, Diggle Ranges Club Feature Diggle is a former military range, established in 1897 and passing into civilian hands in the nineteen-seventies and now owned and managed by the Pennine Shooting Sports Association. The PSSA caters for just about every shooting discipline including F Class, Target Rifle, Benchrest, Practical, Tactical, Lever-action, Classic Military Rifle and Quigley BPCR. Club competitions are held every weekend and in addition, the PSSA hosts around 30 national shoots throughout the year which are open to non-members. Visitors fulfilling legal equirements are also welcome to shoot on a day basis for a nominal fee.

Above - Pennine cup shot at Diggle 2009 Shooting is available at all ranges from 100 to 1000 yards with 100, 300, 600 and 1000 yard firing-points under cover and the ranges are open seven days per week throughout the year. The Club boasts a splendid Range House with catering facilities and limited ‘bunkhouse’ accommodation is available. Plentiful, safe on-site parking and disabled access make Diggle one of the finest shooting venues in the country. A number of commercial organisations, police etc. already hire the ranges and the club is keen to expand this option. Enquiries in the first instance to [email protected] Enquiries from individuals seeking membership are welcome and can also be directed to this e-mail address. I am indeed fortunate to live close to such a fabulous facility but distance is seemingly no object and members travel from all parts of the country to take part in our shoots. If you are seeking to take part in competition shooting you will receive a warm welcome at Diggle Ranges. www.diggleranges.com



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MALTA – Sun, Sea, History and more …..

By Stanley Shaw Malta, for some is an unknown country. For many others, Malta is a holiday island resort in center of the Mediterranean sea. Malta has a vast rich history, a typical Mediterranean culture and exquisite traditional cuisine. Malta’s culture and traditions blend in with European and North African influences. This is the result of past dominance of the by earlier civilizations and empires, from the early Phoenicians to the British Empire. Unusual for such a small island, is the concentration of historic sites. The megalithic temples, the jewel fortified city of Valletta built by the Knights of St.John, to other more recent strongholds such as Rinella Battery Fort, housing one of the largest naval guns ever employed by the British Empire, the 100 ton Armstrong Gun. All monuments that stood against time, sieges and wars in Malta’s turbulent past. For many years the shotgun was part of the

Maltese culture. Hunting formed part of the every day farmer’s life and was the pastime for the rich. The British gave Malta it’s independence in 1969 and Malta was gradually moving towards being governed totally by Maltese. In 1974 Malta became a Republic and the British Forces completely left the island in 1979. The only p o s s i b l e shooting sport was shotgun clay pigeons or hunting but, as time passed, Malta evolved and so did the s h o o t i n g traditions. It is only 100 years ago that shooting as a sport started to appear and gain popularity. The oldest shooting sport organization, the Malta Shooting Sport Federation (MSSF) was the first organisation that evolved in Malta dating back to 1908. In those early days, shooters from all over the country would meet at organised shoots and shoot on a variety of targets. Eventually, clay pigeons became the only targets allowed in sport shooting, thus it was necessary to have

IPSC pistol shooting is popular in Malta

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Sun, sea and pistol shooting..... those were the days!

a more suitable location to allow for adequate practice of Olympic Trap. Mr. Paddy Stubbs, with determination and financial assistance of the MSSF members, inaugurated a new Olympic Range in Bidnija, limits of Mosta in 1977.The sport evolved to the extent that today Malta has no less than six Olympic Trap ranges, including one in Gozo. MSSF is today affiliated as a full active member of the UIT which later became to be known as the International Shooting Sport Federation or ISSF. This earned the Maltese athletes the right to participate in shooting competitions overseas besides giving Malta the right to organise international shoots. Today enthusiast shooters and athletes in Olympic disciplines of Trap, Skeet, Double Trap and 10 metre air rifles, together with the popular compact sporting and down the line, occupy practically every weekend. MSSF gave an active contribution to the new Arms Act 2005, and now is looking into the possibility of expanding further to provide for other shooting disciplines. Bone fide Maltese arms collectors and sports shooters had for many years yearned for official recognition of their activities. These were heavily suppressed by the authorities on account of the wide discretion granted to them by the colonial Arms Ordinance of 1931. In 1985 a

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small group of dedicated enthusiasts set up the Arms, Armour and Militaria Society (AAMS). This organisation immediately set to work on a gradual culture change. It organized the first exhibition of collectible arms the year after and in 1989 it obtained a Police permit to organize the first muzzle-loading target shooting event in Malta. Intensive lobbying led the AAMS to be commissioned to submit a draft bill for cabinet consideration. Towards end of 1995, policy changes were announced for the first time, Air guns and replica muzzle-loaders were allowed in Malta while collectors could now acquire firearms that were 50 years or older. It took several years more to convince the authorities to proceed with the introduction of an entirely new law based on the EU Arms Directive. By this time AAMS evolved into an association of six clubs while a splinter group set up the Association of Arms Collectors and Target Shooters (AACTS). AACTS was founded in April 2002. The situation of gun collecting and target shooting in Malta was at the time undergoing major changes. AMACS campaigned for the introduction of all forms of target shooting disciplines and no limitation on calibers. AACTS and the MSSF adopted a cautious approach in the hope that limited gains could be

organizations such as IPSC, IDPA, IMSSU, NARA, WBSF, and many others, thus ensuring that future shooting events are held on internationally-recognized standards. In 2008 the first independent clubs were licensed for the first time ever. These are dedicated to and focus on particular shooting disciplines . The fist license issued was to the Malta Allied Airgunners Club (MAAC). MAAC which is entirely dedicated to air gun shooting disciplines that are not under the ISSF banner. MAAC main interests are Field Target, Hunter Field Target and Air Rifle Bench rest. Later in 2009 a license was given to the Gozo Target Shooting Club (GTSC) a club with special interest to cartridge fire arm target shooting.

enhanced at a later date. However determination won the day as the Arms Ordinance was repealed and the Arms Act came into force on 15th August 2005 with the publication of Legal Notice (LN177) following an earlier unanimous parliamentary vote. One development followed another. The major associations exploited the possibilities of the new law. They affiliated themselves with important international shooting organisations that do not necessarily fall under the ISSF umbrella,

For the time being there are two army shooting ranges available for civilian fire arms target shooting, both are designed for pistol/carbine shooting. The major associations are given time slots to operate, however this limits sporting activities such as IDPA, IPSC, Bench Rest and others from starting at full swing due to army strict standing orders. On these ranges, pistols and carbines with calibers up to 9mm are allowed but 45 is only allowed in the Gozo Army range. Higher caliber pistols, center rifles and rim fire rifles, although are available to sport shooters, are still not allowed on the army

FT and HFT is a popular form of shooting in Malta



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indoor air rifle accommodates its members at their ranges in Bidnija.

ranges. Private ranges therefore are a must for shooting sport in Malta to develop and grow. Fortunately some of these ranges are being given the ‘green light’ after a long and bumpy road. Hopefully, in a short time they will obtain the licenses to operate. The government is also promising a National Shooting range of the highest standards for many years - a range able to accommodate both national and international competitions, in all types of shooting disciplines. In the mean time, what is available is being fully utilized. Those organisations dedicated to cartridge shooting, utilize the slots provided by the army in their ranges in Hal-Safi (Malta) and Qortin (Gozo). Olympic skeet and trap is operated in a number of licensed ranges exist around the island. MSSF, who are responsible for ISSF Olympics disciplines in skeet, trap and

Mini rifle next to the surf

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MSSF shooter athletes are now reaching higher places in international events. William Chetcuti in the China 2008 Olympic games, reached the highest place ever – eighth - obtained by a Maltese athlete in Double trap. Outdoor air rifle Clubs such as MAAC, who are specially dedicated to air rifle shooting sports like Field Target, Hunting Field Target and Air Rifle Benchrest, shoot in dedicated areas within privately licensed clay pigeon shooting ranges. Air soft shooting sport is also gaining popularity and special permits are released by the Police that allow licensed air soft clubs and enthusiasts to organize skirmish games in controlled areas. Malta’s main industry is tourism. Shooting sports tourism development will be an added feature to Malta’s sun, sea, history and culture. Malta would be a perfect venue, for international target shooting sports. The opportunities are there but we need to exploit them and the authorities must act before it is too late. All the local target shooting organisations must work together and look ahead. Having the adequate infrastructure will make it possible for all types of target shooting sports to be held. Maltese target shooters will benefit, as will the Maltese economy. Malta, in the near future, may offer venues for international events, an added bonus to the target sport shooters looking for an activity holiday.

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VINCE’S REGULAR COLUMN WHEREBY ACCURACY NUTS CAN KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE ACTIVITIES OF THE UKBRA Competititons With our earlier than usual deadline for the September issue, it was too late to include the results of our 22/23rd August benchrest weekend. It turned out to be a very good weekend for me personally as I took wins at 100 and 1000 yards – my first of the year - better late than never! The weather for the whole weekend was warm and sunny but the Diggle winds are never easy and Sunday was particularly testing for the 1000 yard shooters. Nonetheless, Les Holgate put in a very tidy four-incher, which was easily the smallest group of the day. At 100 yards, Laurie Holland returned to form with the 204 Savage taking Factory Sporter win and small group and Phil Gibbon put his factory Savage 6.5-284 to good use at 1000 yards though Ian Kellet stole the small-group award with his 8.5 inch group in Match 3.

3rd Bruce Lenton 6PPC Stolle 0.286 Small group Vince Bottomley 0.126 inches Factory Sporter 1st Laurie Holland 0.4304 inch 2nd Darrel Evans 0.5204 3rd Andy Woolley 0.6006 Small group Laurie Holland

204 Savage LRVP 6PPC Sako 223 Remington

0.283 inches

1000 yards Light Gun 1st Vince Bottomley TGP 243 Imp. BAT 9.927 inch (av. of four, 5-shot groups) 2nd Steve Dunn 7mm Dunn BAT 10.168 3rd Don Burrows 6.5x55 BSA 10.362

Results: 100 yards Heavy Varmint

Small group Les Holgate

1st Vince Bottomley TGP 6PPC BAT 0.2302 inches (av. of five, 5-shot groups) 2nd Ian Dixon Walker 6PPC BAT 0.2816

Factory Sporter 1st

4.737 inches

Phil Gibbon 6.5-284 Savage 13.62 inches 2nd Ian Kellett 6.5-284 Savage 15.232 3rd Bruce Lenton 6.5-284 Savage 15.355 Small group Ian Kellett

Adrian Evans shoots a standard 308 Remmy but he’s had single-figure groups at 1000 yards 84

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8.588 inches

Forthcoming events Next benchrest weekend (and the last of the series) is 3/4th October at Diggle Ranges. Our winter 600 yard series starts on Sunday 15th November. E-mail me at vinceb@6ppc. fsnet.co.uk for more information.

In association with

their own brand of complication. An alternative we are muting is travelling in a team coach. We are not sure how this much cost – there might even be a shooter out there that owns a company that could give us a good quote. I know that those organising the team will keep us all informed over the coming months. Prague is a beautiful city and this time I hope to at least see some of it instead of shooting every day. We will see, as it would be nice to have a day off during this event.

he next European Championship will be held at Plzen in the Czech Republic, 2010. The 50m range here is one 5 lane section of the 30 lane stand. European Championship and World Cup 2009 News just in over the last few days is that the dates for the European Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest Championship are now in. As this is being held at the Plzen range in the Czech Republic, a time frame had to be established with the military authorities. This is between the 26th July and the 8th August 2010. Obviously the Championship itself will only take about 6 days, with room for alternative shooting during that period. A world cup event will also be held during this championship, as a few countries outside Europe will be attending, including South Africa. Two for the price of one which cannot be bad! This is good news and I know that Ladislav Ninger, the Secretary of the ERABSF is excited to get this event going. In his own words though, ‘now the real hard work begins’. Those in the UK that have qualified for the matches at this event, via the recent UK nationals, regional matches, etc, have been informed and we have started to draw up the teams. Plzen is about 80km outside Prague and we are looking at ways of getting the whole team there. Obviously fights are the first point of call, but include

Bald Eagle Rests I have just heard that Bald Eagle, the US company who makes rest has been taken over by Woodstock International. The company hopes to be trading these rests, both new and old designs, in the next few months. The original Bald Eagle rest is very similar to the standard version offered by Cicognani in Italy. I personally find this style of rest comfortable and easy to use, although I have modified the mariner’s wheel so it is quicker to use. So let’s see what they come up with – hopefully it will be as good as the original or even better. Contact Bald Eagle at; http://www.woodstockint. com/brands/bald_eagle.aspx Final thoughts The summer season is nearly over! This is a time that I usually have about six weeks off to reflect and plan for the next year. One thing I have done in the past is develop some of the equipment I need, such as windflags. These little devices really do help your benchrest shooting and it is something that I would recommend anyone doing over the coming months. I have written a few articles over the last few years about how to develop your own – some complex and others not. If anyone wants a revamp of these pieces, just let me know. They cost little to make, only your time. Until next month.



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85

The Long View

News from the GB F-Class Association

GB F Class Championship – Round 4 – Diggle Ranges 19/20th September

the ‘norm’ so we thought we would try it. It worked well so we hope to carry on with it in the future.

This year, there are only five rounds in the GB F Class Association Championship rather than the usual six. Blair Atholl is missing as a venue this year and Bisley had an extra shoot, the intention being to give as much practice as possible to those UK shooters hoping to contest the World Championships last July.

Friday afternoon was set side as an informal practice day and as per usual several competitors took the opportunity to get a few shots down range to check their scope settings. The weather forecast was good for the entire weekend, once again bucking Diggle’s reputation for poor weather. For the record, the last three Diggle League Shoots have taken place in warm sunny conditions. Those of us who shoot there regularly know that whatever the forecast you go to Diggle with waterproofs but maybe now we should also pack the sun cream!

This strategy clearly paid off and the GB Open Team won the gold medal and the GB F/TR Team took the silver. A lot of shooters put in much time, effort and money and many were rightly feeling ‘shot-out’ after the ‘worlds’ and looking forward to a break before the Europeans at the beginning of November. Unfortunately, we already had a September League Shoot scheduled at Diggle but would the entry suffer?

Saturday’s shoot started with 2 sighters and 15 to count at 800 yards, followed by the same at 1000 yards. Although the change in the marking system certainly speeded things up, we didn’t want to change the format at the last minute so competitors had plenty of time to do what they Seemingly not, there was still a healthy do best – sitting around in the sun talking about interest with numbers only slightly down – you guessed – guns! Next time, it would on the previous year, which was nice as certainly be possible to increase the round count. both our new Individual World F Class Champions – Gary Costello (Open) and The additional spare time factor is always Russell Simmonds (F/TR) - had entered the handy to have and in this case it saved Diggle shoot. Not many sports can claim that! the day for one local shooter who had to go home to get the right bolt for his rifle There was also something else new with the but, by the time you read this he may have Diggle shoot – for the first time, the F/TR edited it out! OK, I admit it – it was me! (Vince). entry was greater than the Open entry. Not by much but it conformed the continuing trend of At the end of day one it looked like this, growing interest in F/TR. Also, it would be the with both our World Champions in the lead: first time that we would not be using competitormarking of targets at Diggle - we would have paid Open markers. On every other F Class shoot, this is 1st Gary Costello 146.13 F/TR 86

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1st Russell Simmonds 2nd Mark Daish 2nd Adam Bagnall 3rd Peter Hobson 3rd Steve Rigby

140.7 145.15 137.5 144.9 136.6

As with all the GB League shoots, a lot of the work is done behind the scenes so we must thank Ian Dixon (targets), Stuart Anselm (stats), Jeanette Whitney (RCO) and of course our butt crew made up of Diggle members.

The social side of the GB F Class shoots is an important feature and a group of us ventured out for the now obligatory ‘Indian’ whilst the more sensible settled for an early night in readiness for an 8.30am start!

Now, we go to Bisley for the European F Class Championship, which is also the final League shoot of the 2009 season. This competition lways attracts a large entry from all over urope and with it a fabulous atmosphere. If you would like to enter, please check out the Sunday’s shoots would be 2 & 15 at 900 GBFCA website for details www.f-class.org.uk yards followed by a 2 & 10 at 1000 yards. The shortened round-count allows those If you shoot F Class or would like to try it with a long way to travel to get home at a but haven’t yet shot in a League match, reasonable hour but on reflection, with no please don’t be discouraged by the level of butt-duty, we could easily have shot 2 & 15. competition. Just bring along your scoped rifle and join in - everyone has to start somewhere. The weather was fairly similar to the previous day with a light wind – Next year, there may be an F Class particularly on the early details and John training day at Bisley and Diggle to Cross’s F/TR score of 73.8v was not only the introduce newcomers to the delights of best 900 yard F/TR score but it also beat the long-range competition. Watch Target Shooter top Open score as well! Soon however, the and the GBFCA website for more information. flags were stirring and often telling us very little, such is the difficulty of shooting in Diggle’s steep-sided valley. The superb weather continued however and it was impossible not to enjoy shooting long-range rifle in such conditions. But, would the World Champions maintain their form? Here’s how it all finished: Open Class 1st Mark Daish 2nd John Campbell 3rd Peter Hobson 4th Gary Costello 5th Grant Taylor

259.22 (ex. 275) 258.17 258.13 256.17 256.15

F/TR 1st Russell Simmonds 248.14 2nd Steve Rigby 247.13 3rd Adam Bagnall 244.11 4th Steve Donaldson 244.13 5th Paul Dobson 241.5 For the record, Russell Simmonds’ F/TR score would have given him seventh place in the Open Class – a remarkable achievement.

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A regular column whereby Ken Hall keeps us up to date with black powder cartridge rifle shooting in the UK.

E QUIGLEY SHOOTING ASSOCIATION. TEAM STEEL CHALLENGE. Sunday 19th July, and once again, wet and miserable, with a challenging wind. An early mist delayed the start and so a decision was made to shorten the usual course of fire by reducing the number of rounds on the bullseye stage at each distance. So eventually we started stage 1 at 400 yds, the bullseye stage consisted of 2 sighters and 5 rds to count, which was followed by a firer from each team engaging 5 steel javelina silhouettes with a maximum of 10 rounds in a 5 minute period, scoring 10 points per steel knocked down with a 2 point bonus per round remaining.

The QSA team

scoring 136.7 to the SSBPCRCGB’s 134.13. Interestingly the team scores on the bullseye The steel silhouettes however were a story………the SSBPCRCGB targets were very close with the QSA different knocked down 26 pigs with a 28 point 600 yrd Lineup bonus to the QSA’s 20 pigs and 16 point bonus, with Mark Stevens and Ian Hull scoring maximum points for each team. So at the halfway stage we adjourned for lunch with the SSBPCRCGB leading by a magnificent 70.9 points. After lunch we gathered in the 600 yd covered firing point for Stage 2 of the competition, a reprise of the bullseye stage followed by 3 firers from each team shooting successively at the half size steel buffalo silhouette for a total of 10 rounds each. This always provides a nail-biting finish to the comp, though the half time 88

Target Shooter

lead by the unassailable.

virtually

retain the trophy for another year. A fitting end to a great match.

The afternoon belonged to the Southerners, scoring 121.3 on the bullseye to the QSA’s 108, and also hitting the buffalo one more time than their opponents. The name of the competition reflects where the scores lie, the SSBPCRCGB hit 7 more steels than the QSA allowing them to

A hearty thank-you is offered to PSSA members Steve Hodge, Dave Tickle, Dave Bownass, Dave Malpas, Mike Davenport, Tony Bradshaw and Glen Wilson for their invaluable assistance in running the range.

SER

SSBPCRCGB

NAME

was

400yd Bullseye

400yd Pigs

600yd 600yd TOTAL POS`N Bullseye Buffalo

SSBPCRCGB

1

J. Gilpin

19.1

40

20

80

159.1

9th

2

S. Bonfield

23.3

56

22.1

90

191.4

6th

3

M. Silver

23.2

60

22.2

80

185.4

7th

4

A. Buck

23.2

20

15

80

138.2

10th

5

C. Taylor

23.2

54

21

100

198.2

2nd

6

C. Buck

23.3

58

21.1

100 202.4 GRAND TOTAL 1073.17

QSA

1st

7

I. Hull

25.4

60

22.2

90

197.6

3rd

8

D. Coleman

22.1

10

16

70

118.1

11th

9

R. Healey

24.1

56

16

100

196.1

4

10

D. Richardson

23.1

50

19

100

192.1

5th

11

E. Todd

20

30

18

100

168

8th

12

J. Barnard

22

10

17

60 GRAND TOTAL

109

12



th

th

980.9

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Hunter Field Target News OCTOBER 2009 Its all hotting up nicely for the 2009 UKAHFT series with the 8th of nine rounds shot last weekend( The 27th Oct) Pete Sparkes had a chance of wrapping the whole thing up. He did not expect to shoot well as he had all the work to do setting up the course for the round at his home club of Quarry. I know from past experience it is very rare indeed to shoot well on your own course, especially with all the running around organising the event etc. Pete and Dave Ramshead were shooting in the first session, Pete stormed in with a 58 after slipping up the peg on a 35 yarder. Dave shot well for a 57, these were good scores and Pete’s and Kieran Turners 58’s were the top scores going into the second session. Normally the top shots all shoot in the same session but a top runner Ross Hudson who with a 100% in round seven and round two shot in the second session to come I with a 59. This gave him 100% and opened up the series again. Ross and Dave need a 100% in the final round at Emley Moor FTC to threaten Pete for the title. So the pressure is on them if they do not get 100% then Pete has his forth series win. Pete Dutton with a good score can come in 3rd. The Current 6th place man, the 2008 champ Chris Cundey could have an influence as he is having a hand in setting the final round course out, expect a few tricky targets everyone! The .22 class is wrapped up with Johnny Smith having scored 100% 90

Target Shooter

in the first seven rounds to score an unbeatable 600% for his top six scores, well done Mr Smith. The two junior titles have been well attended and seen some fantastic shooting. Ben Russell has four 100% scores and is untouchable for the 14-16 year olds title, the next three places are up for grabs as Daniel Smith, Kyle Hampton and Ryan Martin scrap for the places with only five percent between the three of them. In the 9-13 year olds Jack Houghton has a four percent lead over Larissa Sykes with Luke Saunders nine behind Jack. Best of Luck to all the young shooters for the last round, if only their shooting enjoyment and the safe way they conduct themselves were recognised by the wider press. The MAD White team have run away with the title winning the first 7 rounds, I would say well done but I do not need to, they tell everyone they see just how good they are! ( But they did not win at Quarry) Their second string MAD red team are third behind Anston. Past winners Quarry languish at the bottom of the team table. Lloyd Scott Upton will take the recoiling title with a 20% point lead over Paul Bretland. The top six English shooters in the 2009 UKAHFT series will form the England team for the 2010 World Championships, so Pete Dutton is assured of an England team place.

Gallery Rifle News

The results for the GR National Championships have been out for some time now so I won’t go over them here except to congratulate Keith Cox on his usual consistent performance which gave him top place in the GR Aggregate. There should be a report in this issue too. It was a record turn out with over 200 competitors who entered a record number of events.

Next month there doesn’t seem to be anything in the UK but there is an international in Germany. The GB Gallery Rifle Team are going for a hat trick of wins this season so good luck to Sharon and the boys. There will also be other matches over the weekend for club and national teams.

The premier event of the national competition season, the GR Home Countries National Match, took place on the Saturday afternoon on Melville. England won with Wales second and Scotland third. There was a small reception and prize giving at the English Twenty clubhouse immediately after the match to which all the teams and range officers were invited. A special mention here for those who worked so hard behind the scenes to make the evening a success – the two Sues from the England Team supporters club and the two Sallys from NRA Shooting Division.

October 18

Shield Steel Challenge Shield Shooting Centre Dorset GRSB, GRCF, LBP & LBR

October 17 – 18

The Trafalgar Meeting National Shooting Centre Bisley

October 24 – 25

Autumn Action Weekend National Shooting Centre Bisley GR&P, Shotgun & Full Bore Rifle

November 14-15

International 1500 and Short Events BDMP Range, Leitmar Germany GRSB, GRCF & 30M1 carbine

It’s good to see that this year entries are up all round in spite of the financial pressures and that new competitors are coming along to join in. Next time you go to an open meeting why not take along someone new from your club? It only takes one positive experience and, with any luck, they’ll be hooked and join next year’s competition circuit. You’ll even get a voucher for a free shoot at the NSC if they compete at Bisley and aren’t on the national database yet. Last month I gave a run-down on the three meetings coming up this month at Shield Shooting Centre in Dorset and the National Shooting Centre at Bisley. All well worth the trip but very different in what they have to offer. Still plenty of time to get your entries in and you can enter on the day too if you have a free day or two at short notice.

COMPETITION CALENDAR

(Either contact the organisers direct or go to www.galleryrifle.com for entry forms.) GR&P = Gallery Rifle Centre Fire (GRCF), Gallery Rifle Small Bore (GRSB), Long Barrelled Pistol (LBP) and Long Barrelled Revolver (LBR) Please go to the Gallery Rifle website www.galleryrifle.com for more news and information.



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Ellis and Thomas McConnell took first and third in Senior Production. Thanks go to the Match Director: Piotr Poniedziałek, Range Master: Roman Šedy and everyone who helped to make the match happen. The UK contingent will return with more shooters in tow to take part in this most welcoming of competitions.

Malcolm Clark shooting at the Kracow Open Championships. Photo by Alexsandra Procajlo Kracow Open Practical Handgun Match By A. Ellis Eight UK shooters attended The Krakow Open IPSC Level 3 handgun match, in Krakow Poland on 28th,29th & 30th Aug 2009. Five were from N Ireland and three from the mainland. Five entered Standard division, with two in Production & one in Open. The match consisted of fifteen stages shot over two days with a minimum round count of just under 300. The match was organised to the usual high standard, very efficient and hard working Range Officers and officials. Saturday morning started out overcast and soon deteriorated to a steady drizzle which lasted till well after lunch. This suited the UK squad because it made us feel at home. However, Sunday improved immensely, blue sky’s right from breakfast but not too warm, unfortunately still quite muddy underfoot. This nothing but a minor distraction, since the shooters were all too busy figuring out strategies and making sure their magazines were full and trying to get at least two hits on every paper target. All to soon the last stage was completed, gear cleaned and packed away, nothing to do but while away the time till the prize draw and awards ceremony. So we sat around and told again the stories we had told before while our hosts set out the prize table. There was a wide variety of prizes, from a cheap cleaning kit to a microwave oven, First prize was a CZ pistol of some description. Quite a bit of the proceedings was conducted in Polish so that’s why some details are a bit sketchy. Then came the results (in English). Two of the UK shooters were placed, perhaps more due to their advancing years than hours of practice. Alexander

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Bedford LBR Match Postponment. Due to urgent repairs to the backstop the match planned for 10th October has had o be postponed. It will now take place in January. The British Open LBR Championship match is still on course to take place at Leicester Shooting Centre on 13th December. Last PSG 2009 Championship Round. Get your entries in for the last of this year’s shotgun Championships. To be held at Harlow on 23rd & 24th October. 9 challenging stages are planned. Results will help to determine the 2009 Champions in all shooting Divisions. ESC 2009 Short Article: By Tony Saunders With the holiday season coming to a close, the crowds in the departure lounge at Prague airport had t hankfully diminished as the tired, but jubilant, British competitors arrived en-masse in the heady aftermath of the Level IV European Shotgun Championships 2009 (ESC 09). Over thirty British shooters had attended the weeklong Practical Shotgun (PSG) event in Pisek/ Tabor and the ranges at Oparany, seventy miles South of the capital Prague in the Czech Republic. Almost 300 shooters from 24 IPSC regions met to shoot the fourth ESC, previously held in Greece, Italy and the UK. Vanessa Duffy, retired Metropolitan Police officer and chairman of the UKPSA, had particular reason to be pleased as she checked her Winchester SX3 through airport security. An early adopter of Winchester’s latest gas-operated semi-auto shotgun, she had experienced a few teething issues with the light and stylish 12 gauge and very nearly gave up on it. “I was close to going back to my trusty Browning Hunter Gold earlier this year” she explained. “Thankfully, Pete Starley persuaded me to keep it and he made some small changes to the gun to ensure it functioned smoothly. I also switched to using Magtech buckshot along with my Lyevale Express birdshot and Sellier & Bellot slug.”

for overall highest score. Josie Adam finished 4th overall thanks to a costly gun jam on Stage 8. Sharon finished in 5th place and Caroline Norman, shooting her first Level IV competition with her own Winchester SX3, came in a very commendable 10th place.

Caroline Norman It was quite obviously a winning combination. At the closing and awards ceremony held in the historic House of Culture building on the banks of the tranquil river Otava in Pisek the previous evening, Vanessa climbed the stage and accepted the gold medal proclaiming her as 2009 European Ladies Champion to the cheers of the four hundred strong crowd of shooters, organizers and civic dignitaries. Vanessa though is no stranger to this, having won the Ladies Modified division title in both 2003 at Terni in Italy and again in 2006 at Kavala in Greece where she won Ladies Standard Auto Division. The Ladies UK team, managed by Andy Duffy and comprising Vanessa, Sharon Sell, Caroline Norman and Josie Adam also took gold medal for the Ladies team position, beating the team from Finland into an easy first place. “Unlike the previous ESC competitions, it was good to actually have another Ladies team to shoot against.” Vanessa said. “Although there were other female shooters, most were either shooting individually or as part of other teams, such as the team from Thailand”. A little about team entrants. Each team comprises four members with a minimum of three team members scores needed to qualify. This allows a little latitude should a competitor be disqualified for any reason and it also allows the best three individual team scores to be put forward at the end of the match. These three highest scores in the team contribute to the overall team score. Individual scores, whether the shooter is part of a team or not, are calculated in each division (Open, Modified, Standard, Standard Manual, Junior and Ladies) to determine the top three medal places

The UK fielded team entrants in Modified, Standard and Standard Manual this year as well as the Ladies. The Modified team came in 5th place, with the Italians, Russians and Finns taking the top three places. Standard was dominated by the Finns in first place followed by the Slovenian team and the Russians in third place. UK made 7th place. In Standard Manual (Pump), the UK team made 5th place with the Italians, Germans and Slovenians making the top three places. Our very own Barry Sullivan took the Bronze medal and trophy as Senior Standard Auto. Barry (Bazza), a strong and competent shooter on the British Level III circuit, had a mixed first day before settling into his stride in the latter two days of the competition and shooting a strong consistent match to win the deserved third place. Jim Starley was the highest placed junior in Standard Auto with Mike Scarlett winning top Super Senior and Warwickshire RFD Pete Starley winning highest Senior in Modified Division. No award were made for these places unfortunately, due to insufficient entries.” Vanessa was particularly please with the levels of professionalism and commitment from the Czech hosts: “It was excellent to see so many shooters from so many countries coming together to compete in a match of this size and stature. The bar is constantly being raised and the shooting was of the highest calibre I have seen at a PSG match. I’d like to thank the organizers, range and build crews as well as our own Barry Pollard and Neil Beverley for putting their personal time and hard work into what I felt was the best European competition so far.” A full report next month

Vanessa Duffy in the final stages

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93

Letters I wanted to drop you a note to let you know that I think your magazine is about the best shooting sports magazine I have seen, in both our countries (I am in the USA). The content and layout are fabulous. And I thank you very much for making your magazine available to me. ( I had no idea that shooting was that prevalent in the UK....and I am glad to learn that it is.) I will be looking forward to getting each issue. Thank-you Robin T. Leeman USA Sirs, Have just downloaded the June issue of Target Shooter and wanted to congratulate you on a superb magazine and a wonderfully innovative online format. Despite myself I almost prefer this to the paper magazine I used to love. And the reference articles will take up far less room to store! Many thanks indeed for keeping this going. And yes, I would be prepared to pay a subscription for this kind of quality. Please pass on my best wishes to the editorial team. Regards,

In reply to Patricks letter last month; Patrick In response to request for help to solve your extraction problems with you No.5 Jungle Carbine that has been converted to .308. This might be caused by a number of problems: 1. Have you replaced the .303 extractor on the bolt with the correct 7.62mm extractor which has a deeper claw (they are usually marked with the Enfield mark D65)? 2. Are you using the more square shaped Enfield 7.62mm magazine which has a hardened steel plate on the rear left hand lip of the magazine which helps to eject the case? The Sterling magazine which formed part of the conversion kit to convert .303’s to 7.62mm does not have this lip on the magazine and relies on a relocated ejector positioned through the receiver wall (which requires machining). 3. If you are using the correct Enfield magazine then the different position of the magazine lips require machining of the underneath of the magazine well area of the receiver. This allows the magazine to sit higher up so that the bolt can pick up the edge of a rimless .308 compared to the rim of a .303 cartridge. I hope this helps but if not send me your email via the publishers and I can send you some pictures that will help further explain matters. I also have some of the deeper extractors if you need one. All the best Nigel Greenaway

Simon Barnett

If you have an issue, question or comment then please send letters via customer support on the website. 94

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News Our Thanks for the feedback you have provided to us. The last 6 months have been a bit of a rollacoaster, but it has been fun. Our readers, approximately 10,000 to 11,000 on average per month have been great. Hopefully the next 6 months will get even better. Our thanks.

[email protected] 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 and further afield. 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.

Arches Supplies Benchrest Directory Bratton Sound Gunsafes Check-Mate Guns Eley

Equiifix Shooting Bags Fieldsports Channel TV Fox Firearms G T Shooting Green Leopard Guntrader Indelfa industrial electronics Intershoot

Jackson Rifles Low Mill Range

Merseyside Armoury Midland diving equipment

Newlon Precision

North West Custom

Advertisers Index 57 69 78 57 49 82 24 37 10 83 70 83 51 18 Website 82 43 63 29

NSRA Osprey Rifles Portsmouth Gun Centre Ltd Prestige Airguns Rhino Rifles RUAG Ammotec Rude Fat Dog Section 5 Shooting Bags South Yorkshire Gun Supplies Southern Gun Company Stockade Products Ltd Targets Direct Tim Hannam UKBR22 - Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest

Viking Arms LTD Westlake Engineering WringWerx

Zeiss Optics



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78 35 37 3 24 29 75 63 57 17 52 57 78 12 42 2 10 19 18

95

Next time in..... It was our intention to use the picture below for the front cover of the magazine this month. News of a new European Champion superseded this. Nigel will be continuing with his No4 T articles next month, so will be glossing the front cover.

96

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