More reviews, news and information at your finger tips

August 2010 Issue

Club
Features

Supporting
Shooting Sports

Event reports

Gallery Rifle
Mini Rifle—Scopes
F Class and
Classic Rifle with Centerfire Benchrest News
the SMRC
Target Shooter 1
This Smallbore Business • Bipod Review • New Products • and lots more..
2 Target Shooter
 With FL lens.

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riflescopes offer razor-sharp details and bright images which
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The innovative ballistic concepts ASV and RAPID-Z® allow for
defined and accurate aiming via holdover point or indexed hol-
dover lines.

New: Victory FL Diavari 4 –16 x 50 T*

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Target Shooter 3
Welcome to the August Issue......................

.......of Target Shooter

Sections
24 True Flight Stock
by Vince Bottomley 6 Shooting Sport News

8 Shooters Calendar

10 Support Shooting Sports

30 DIY Windflags 16 An unusual Sporter .204
Part Trois AR15 by Laurie Holland
by Carl Boswell
20 Shooting Black Powder
Pistol by Chris Risebrook

42 F/TR - Breaking the Mould

by Vince Bottomley &
36 My .308 is Dead by Laurie Holland
Chris Parkin
47 Snipersystems MII Bipod
by Nigel Greenaway

52 Handloading ‘Old Faithful’
the .308 Part 10 by
63 Mini Rifle Sights Laurie Holland
by Tim Finley
74 This Smallbore Business
by Don Brook

79 Profile on Jon Hounsell

by Hayley Platts

69 Scope Ring 88 Club Review

Alignment
105 Advertisers Index
and Lapping Kit
Review by Andy
Dubreuil

82 Gallery Rifle
Optics for
LBR’s and LBP’s
by Gwyn Roberts

4 Target Shooter
 Association Pages
90 NRA

92 UKBRA
Editor(s).
93 UKBR22 Carl Boswell and Vince Bottomley
Advertising and Office Manager
94 F- Class email; admin@targetshooter.co.uk
Contributors
96 Quigley Association Vince Bottomley Tony Saunders Tim Finley
Laurie Holland Chris Risebrook Carl Boswell
98 Gallery Rifle Don Brook Alan Whittle Nigel Greenaway
Gwyn Roberts Ken Hall Les Holgate
101 UKPSA Hayley Platts Chris Parkin
Webitorial - August 2010

This August issue of Target Shooter is the first one not to go on-line on the first of the month – it
actually went live a few days earlier!

Reason? Our Production Editor Carl Boswell is off to do battle in the European Rimfire and Air Rifle
Benchrest Championships in the Czech Republic and, if you are reading this on or after the first
of August, that’s where Carl will be - as part of the British Team. I’m sure we all wish Carl and the
rest of the Brits ‘good luck’ in this event and fingers crossed, they may even bring back the odd
medal – either way, they will make us proud and I for one look forward to reading Carl’s report in
September’s issue of Target Shooter.

We like to think that this is the real strength of Target Shooter – the three of us have been fortunate
enough to have represented our country in our chosen disciplines and so have many of our regular
contributors. Tim Finley has made his mark on the World Field Target scene and Vanessa Duffy is
the current lady European Practical Shotgun Champion and if you really want to be impressed, try
Googling Hayley Platts!

In other words, we are not simply ‘hacks’ driving a desk who ‘talk the talk’ without ‘walking the walk’.
We are out there shooting, every weekend, just like the rest of you.

Until next month. Vince, Carl & Andy

Carl Boswell - carl@targetshooter.co.uk and Vince Bottomley - vinceb@targetshooter.co.uk and

Andy Dubreuil - admin@targetshooter.co.uk 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.

Target Shooter 5
 Shooting Sport News

B erger ‘Hybrid’ Bullets

A recent double first for Berger Bullets was its en-
try into the 0.338” bullet market with a 300gn HPBT de-
flowing in smoothly, the secant having an abrupt, sharp
join almost like a corner. The tangent form junction guides
the bullet as it enters the rifling, so bullets tend to be
position tolerant and will accept varying amounts of ‘jump’;
the secant form is fussy and usually needs to be either
pushed well into the ‘leade’ as the cartridge is chambered,
or have a large but very precisely set jump. The new
‘Hybrid’ design has a tangent form at the junction, but
transitions into the straighter and more ballistically
efficient secant shape as you move forward to the tip. It
sounds simple and obvious, but probably isn’t! Looking at
the 0.338” bullets, Berger stole a ballistics march on the
existing suppliers with its introduction, the Berger having
a G7 BC of 0.455 compared to figures around 0.400 for
the Sierra MatchKing and Lapua Scenar (0.891 v 0.778
/ 0.783 for those who must think in traditional G1 BCs).
What this means in practice is that the Berger stays
supersonic for another 200yd + at 2,800 fps MV (to
beyond 1,800yd at sea level) and suffers over 20 inches
less wind drift in a 10mph crosswind at 1,500yd than its
competitors, but has proven to be ‘accurate’.

Berger 7mm 180gn Match Bullets: VLD (left),

Hybrid (right)

300gn 0.338” match bullets. Left to right:

Sierra MK, Lapua Scenar, Berger Hybrid

sign intended for the .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge and

similar, and its being the company’s first attempt at what
it calls its ‘Hybrid’ design. Heavy bullets in this calibre
excite a small elite group of target or tactical shooters
– those who use the big Finnish cartridge at ranges of
1,500yd or more – and as there are few if any such here at
TargetShooter, this development rather passed us by.
Perhaps a mistake, as the Hybrid element looks like it may
soon become important to all long-range target shooters,
the first straw in the wind being a new 180gn 7mm match
bullet with a higher BC than the existing VLD of the same
weight. Also, Berger might roll the feature out to other
calibres with .308” first in the queue.

What is a ‘Hybrid’ bullet? It’s back to the tangent v secant

ogive issue that comes up every time long-range shooters
discuss bullets. A bullet’s nose shape has far more effect
on the projectile’s drag, hence its ballistic efficiency, than
any other design element at supersonic velocities.
Assuming they are of equal length, a secant-form nose
generates significantly less drag than the more rounded
tangent type. The fly in the ointment lies in the nose (ogive)
to bullet body / bearing section junction, the tangent type

6 Target Shooter
Having proven the concept with the 0.338, Berger has doesn’t seem unreasonable to assume that since it works
now announced the introduction of a new 7mm 180gn with 0.284” and 0.338” dia. bullets, it should be ‘on’ for
‘Hybrid’ which outperforms the existing VLD of the same the intermediate 0.308”. Moreover, a ‘scaled’ version,
weight, and should also be easier to ‘tune’ to most rifle either upwards of the 7mm, or downwards of the
barrel throats. Dimensions and BCs are listed below. 0.338”, take your pick, would produce a bullet weighing
The new 7mm design is the 300gn 0.338” model more or somewhere between 220 and 230gn. Now there’s a
less ‘scaled-down’, that is retains the shape/dimensional prospect – a truly modern high-BC 225gn design for
relationships throughout, but everything is reduced in size .30-cal magnums or even the .308 Winchester in F/TR.
by 0.284 over 0.338, or 16%. Apart from the ‘Hybrid’ ogive Berger says no work has started on any such concept, so it
shape, there is another change to the design compared is inappropriate to even speculate about bullet weights, BCs
to the existing 7mm VLD, a significant increase in the or introduction dates. However, here’s a thought.
diameter of the hollow-point tip or ‘meplat’. This What is the most significant upcoming date in F-Class
apparently regressive move provides a greater degree shooting? It’s the next F-Class World Championship
of manufacturing consistency. Berger engineers are which takes place in the USA (Raton, New Mexico) in
unhappy with the size of bullet length variations in the July 2013. Who’ll take a wager that members of the US
VLD model to produce its small meplat, which in turn F/TR team will be fielding ammunition with a new heavy
produce BC variations that affect long-range elevation super-BC Berger bullet and optimised twist barrels in this
consistency. high profile event?
However, this move means that shooters who ‘point’ their
bullets in a Whidden or Hoover pointing die will
see a disproportionately large improvement with
Berger 7mm VLD v Hybrid
the new Hybrid model, Berger’s ballistician Bryan VLD Hybrid
Litz estimating that an 8% BC betterment will be OAL 1.525” 1.529”
available. Berger says the new 7mm Hybrid is in Boat Tail 0.220” 0.220”
production and on sale ‘in limited quantities’, so if
you’re a ‘Effer’ who shoots 7mm, get on the horn
Nose  0.764” 0.850”
to our importers, Tim Hannam and Norman Clark Length
Gunsmiths Ltd as to delivery dates here. Bearing  0.541” 0.459”
Surface
Berger is coy about whether the ‘Hybrid’ ogive
G7 BC 0.337 0.345
form can be adapted to smaller calibres, but it
G1 BC 0.659 0.674

S cope rings from Tactical Rifles Inc.

When you are looking for new scope rings is Ebay
your first port of call? Yes, I’ve had decent rings off
guaranteed +/- 0.002 inches alignment.
They are sold as a ‘matched set’ and only come in
Picatinny rail fit and although they look super-heavy
Ebay but if you are a serious shooter, you will know they aren’t – thanks to titanium alloy construction.
that scope mounting is not the place to try and save a www.tacticalrifles.net
few pounds.
These rings from the
American Company
Tactical Rifles Inc.
really are the ‘dogs’.
Tactical Rifles
only build serious
‘working’ tactical
rifles and I suspect
that they may have
found that other rings
were letting down
their rifles in terms
of accuracy and
reliability and so
have decided to do
something about it.
They look as if you
could lift a car engine
out with them – they
have a triple screw
fixing using larger
than normal torque
screws and they are

Target Shooter 7
Calendar of events over the next few months
If your club or association has events you want to publicise here then email us.
7 Aug to 8 Aug F Class League (Blair Atholl
(Scotland)) Contact Des Parr
3 Aug Highpower Rifle Association Match
(National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
80 round XTC. Details can be found by clicking
on the links below.
http://www.highpowerrifle.co.uk
Contact(s): Highpower Rifle Match Entries
13 Aug to 21 Aug NSRA Small-bore Meeting
(National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
http://www.nsra.co.uk/
21 Aug 5th Historic Breech Loading Loading
Competition (Battle Hill, Co Durham)
Download Entry Form
http://www.consetthistoricrifleclub.co.uk
Contact Griff Elliott
22 Aug HBSA Open Long Range Classic &
Veteran Championships (National Shooting
Centre (NSC), Bisley) AM 900, PM 1000: classes
for Classic (pre-1919) and Veteran (pre-1946)
rifles, including Service, Sniper, Match and Target
Rifles and for Post-Veteran Early 7.62mm Target
Rifles. Contact Mark Hodgins
27 to 29th Aug - UK National Rimfire and Air Rifle
Championship - held at Paul Lane Rifle and Pistol
Club. Cotact via the UKBR22 website
http://www.benchrest22.org
28 Aug to 29 Aug Welsh Open (National
Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
The Welsh Open will be held on 28 - 30 August
with the traditional Queens 1,2 & 3 format
starting on Saturday lunchtime plus a match rifle
competition on the Monday morning.
http://www.welshra.com
Contact(s): LouLou Brister
28 to 29 Aug Gallery Rifle National
Championships (National Shooting Centre (NSC).
Some of the events being shot are 1500, Bianchi
Match, Timed & Precision 1, 2 and 3, Multi-
Target, Precision at 25 and 50, Phoenix A,
Advancing Target and Speed Steel Challenge.
Contact Brian Thomas
8 Target Shooter
13 Aug to 21 Aug NSRA Small-bore Meeting
(National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
http://www.nsra.co.uk/
11 Sep NRA Open Day (National Shooting Centre
(NSC), Bisley)
Contact Libby Gendall via the NRA
12 Sep 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,
300 and 1000 yards. All disciplines welcome.
18 Sep East of Scotland Meeting (Blair Atholl
(Scotland))
The East of Scotland Open Championships for
2010 are scheduled to take place at Blair Atholl
on Saturday 18 September. The event includes
both TR and F Class and offers discounted
entries for seniors, students and schools. Course
of fire is 2 & 17 at 400, 500 and 600 metres with
a final of 2 & 15 for the top 12 TR shooters and
top 4 F Class. Entry forms will be available in due
course at the Imperial Meeting at Bisley and by
e-mail from baitkenshooting@hotmail.com
http://www.scottishrifleassociation.org.uk/
19 Sep HBSA Open Mid Range Championships
(National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
AM 300, PM 500: classes for a wide range of
Vintage (BP), Classic (pre-1919) and Veteran
(pre-1946) rifles and for Post- Veteran Early
7.62mm Target Rifles. Practice targets available
on Sat 18 September. Contact Mark Hodgins
NRA
25 Sep to 26 Sep Range Conducting Officer
Course (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
Two day course - successful candidates will be
qualified to conduct live firing on MoD or TAVRA
ranges. Contact Maureen Peach via the NRA
26 Sep Somerset SBSA – Open Shoot. (Rifle)
Long Ashton Ranges. Tel. 01275 836442. Email.
julian.withey@btinternet.com
1-3 October: Field Target World Championship,
Hungary more details: http://www.fieldtarget.
hu/ftob2010
more info:fieldtarget@fieldtarget.hu
 Target Shooter 9
 ‘Supporting Shooting Sports’
Fifteen years of the SMRC Meeting
(The Historic Arms matches during the first weekend
of the N.S.R.A. August Bisley Meeting.)
The first NSRA ‘Miniature Rifle Meeting’ was
set up at very short notice after the NRA’s
‘Imperial Historic Arms Meeting’ in July 1996 by the
NRA’s ‘Historic Arms Resource Centre’ to cater for
the Smallbore aficionado of older rifles and as a
deliberate link between the NRA and the NSRA.
Despite minimal publicity this event was enjoyed
by 28 entrants who shot 53 prone targets in just
two time-lined Matches -- the earlier ‘Miniature
Rifle Class’ equating to HBSA Classic pre-1919
designs and a later ‘Historic Smallbore Rifle’ for
Veteran (1919-1945) designs. The fundamental
HBSA principle of “in the spirit of the original”
was adhered to, both for firearms AND
equipment and for fairness, shooters were placed
in ‘divisions’ according to their NSRA/NRA Class
and in accordance with established practice
at the Trafalgar and Imperial Historic Arms
Meetings. The Place Awards were reproductions
of the colourful Victorian NRA Certificates, the
number in each match depending upon the number
of entries.
10 Target Shooter
To encourage participation the Match Fee was
£2.00; multiple entries (with different rifles) and
the use of repeating rifles were allowed and
traditional ‘Skilled Shot’ Certificates were
awarded on a percentage basis* in addition to
the Place Awards. (*rather than a bogey score.
Top 5% = ‘Marksman’, next 10% = ‘First Class
Shot’ and next 20% = ‘Skilled Shot’, ensuring that
whatever the weather, there was a reasonable
chance of taking away something).
The basic course of fire was 20 shots plus
unlimited sighters in 20 minutes at 50 yards
on the American decimal target (used for the
Randle, of course) produced some fine scores
- the highest being 196.10 ex 200 by Les King in
the Veteran Match, using a Winchester M52B
and he then proceeded to make the next 3
best scores** with different rifles. Fine scoring
indeed -- but as Bill Phelps said “... these old rifles
are probably being shot for the first time with decent
ammunition.” (**The rules, as now, did not
allow more than one PLACE in a Match so the 5th
highest scorer gained 2nd place, with Les getting
three Skilled Shot certificates.)
Rifles used included Martini-Henry conversions,
BSA Model 8, 12, 12/15, War Office Miniatures,
.22SMLE Pattern 1914, ‘Sportsman’ and
‘Century’ (allowed in because of its basic
features), a Winchester ‘Winder Musket’ and
Model 1903 S-L, Vickers Jubilee, Mauser
‘Sportmodell’ , Remington M37 and even exotica
such as the Greener ‘Queen’s Cup’ and a
‘Dewarifle’ - so there was adequate data
available in order to consider future plans.
It was clear from the results of this Experimental
Meeting that there was a need to separate
Martinis from the more specialised rifles and that
there should be separate Matches for Sporting Rifles
and Military Trainers.
EXPANSION IN THREE STAGES
A) Types of rifle.
For the first ‘proper’ competitions, the 1997
Programme offered a wider range of classes such
as ‘Any Rifle’, and Martini-action and, over the years,
more opportunities were added for different TYPES
of rifle -- Target, Military Trainer, Sporting and
‘Schutzen’ - the latter of course being one of the
OFFHAND Matches which were added as the first
stage in the growth of the Meeting.
Additionally, we recognised the differences between
‘open’ and ‘aperture’ sights and that some firers
would like to use ‘scopes, so there is plenty of choice
in the current programme.
B) Different calibres.
Because of requests to use the old CENTREFIRE
‘Miniature Rifle’ calibres such as .297/.230 Morris
and especially .310 Cadet, sound tests were
undertaken to see whether the use of these at the
far left of the NSRA firing-point on Century would
inconvenience the ‘serious’ smallbore shooters and
it was discovered that the reports of mild loads were
perfectly acceptable. Hot loads such as .357 are not
permitted but, of course, people can readily use their
Winchesters and the like with downloaded cartridges
and indeed, the use of sub-calibre adapters in
suitable rifles is not excluded. Accordingly these
old CF cartridges were approved for use, along with
Gallery Rifle pistol calibres which were coming to the
fore after the Dunblane tragedy. This led naturally to
the next significant development...
C) Offhand shooting.
The course of fire selected was 2 targets, best 10
of 12 shots on each in 20 minutes, initially on the
old NRA 50yard ‘Martin Smith’ revolver target and
latterly on the UIT 50m pistol target, due to problems
Target Shooter 11
with supply of the originals. Crafty shooters do fire
2 shots on each target to give a string of 4 sighters
before their (2 x 10) scoring shots but they have to
count their shots carefully!
Possibly because some shooters are finding it harder
to get down into the prone position, we have noticed
a significant increase in ‘standing’ entries but there
are some who are still nervous about trying this, so
for 2010 (following some experiments in 2009) we
have added matches for STANDING SUPPORTED
shooting. Fremantle, in his 1901 ‘The Book of the
Rifle’ illustrates a continental training aid using a
stepped rest and we know that this system is still in
use in the USA in some of the Germanic ‘Schutzen
Vereins’, such as the one in New Braunfels,
Texas. Indeed, we are given to understand that
rested shooting has been formally introduced in
Germany for ‘Seniors’ - although what we will use
will certainly not be the costly equipment which one
can see in the current Gehmann catalogue! The
2009 experiments used basic wooden pegs and the
scores obtained suggest that we can continue with
the same course and target used by other standing
matches.
Our Rules allow the resting of the barrel or fore-end
but NOT holding onto the rest or forward pressure
on the rest by means of the hand-stop, front of the
fore-end or other means. The firer may use one
12 Target Shooter
hand or two to support the rifle but both of them must
be behind the resting point.
WHERE WE STAND IN 2010 (Pardon the pun!)
Nowadays, the NRA’s HARC is functionally defunct
so there is no formal link with them except for the
use of their Certificates but, the SMRC Meeting
soldiers-on having endured sunshine, howling gales
and floods. Its ever-decreasing band of volunteers
(hint, hint!) administering a meeting which features:
1 The cheapest entry fees of any Open
Meeting at Bisley.
2 A matrix of courses comprising matches:
(a) suitable for a wide range of rifles, cheap
to exotic.
(b) for Target, Military trainer, Sporting
(including Rook Rifle) and ‘Any Rifle’ and
‘Schutzen’ rifles.
(c) in .22RF and Centre-fire Gallery Rifle
calibres (with possible experiments this
year for BB, CB and ‘Zimmer’ rifles at
10 metres).
(d) datelined Classes for Vintage, Classic,
Veteran and ‘Extended period’ rifles.
(e) both prone and offhand (standing) and
now also for ‘Standing Supported’.
3 Awards for individual achievement including
(a) traditional illuminated Place Certificates -
number according to entries. larger PH 20 foresight from the 1930’s is ‘OPEN’ not
(b) Skilled Shot Certificates awarded on a ‘CLASSIC’ .
percentage basis (rather than bogey scores, EXAMPLE 2 - a Rossi copy of the Winchester M1892
thus making allowances for bad weather) lever-action is acceptable as ‘Classic’.
(c) a small number of Challenge Trophies -
the principal aim is PARTICIPATION. Timelined periods
4 Each entry also comes with a free chance CLASSIC - pre-1919 design (not date of
to win a .22LR Rifle suitable for historic events or for manufacture)
youth training. Jim Hallam of Classic Gun Company OPEN HISTORIC - pre-1446 design (not date of
has given a Savage Stevens ‘Favourite’ falling-block manufacture) -- encompasses ‘CLASSIC’ and also
rifle to the SMRC Meeting for many years - it is under the HBSA ‘VETERAN’ (1919-1945) periods.
5 lbs in weight and ideal for encouraging standing EXTENDED PERIOD - generally pre-1960 designs
shooting within Clubs. approved at Registration (it may be possible to
Why not come down to the S.M.R.C. Meeting on enquire before the Meeting)
August 14/15th and take part in living history as
well as having some fun? Volunteers to assist with Type of rifle
the running of the Meeting are always (more than) TARGET RIFLE - any rifle from the period
welcome - please contact the Match Director - including ‘lower’ classifications, provided the
Richard Collins richard.collins@hotmail.co.uk sights are as the ‘Conditions for the Match’. Some
What equipment is eligible for the SMRC meeting? matches allow early CF ‘Miniature calibres’
Spirit of the original -.297/.230, .297/.300, .310Cadet etc - but NOT .255J
Basic design within the period (not necessarily date and .300S.
of manufacture) without significant alteration - all
features (including accessories) must be ‘in period’ EXAMPLES:- Extended -- Winchester M52C,
. Firers must ensure that their rifles have a current EARLY Anschutz with sight box in butt-cap, BSA
‘sticker’ from Equipment Control before entering the Internationals Mk II: Open - All BSA & Vickers
firing point. ‘small-frame’ Martinis, Win M52A & B, Rem M37,
EXAMPLE 1 - a BSA Model 12 fitted with the KK Sport.

Target Shooter 13
MILITARY TRAINER - Issue-pattern .22RF of
‘sub-calibre adapted not exceeding .23’ based on
pre-1946 Service Rifle or SERVICE adopted training
patterns.
EXAMPLES:- ‘Bonehill conversions’ if using post
or barleycorn foresight and MID-sight (not rear
aperture); SMLE No. 2 Pattern 1914; Winchester
Winder Musket / Stevens ‘Armory’; Enfield No2 7,
8 & 9; KK Wehrsport etc. BSA Century deemed
eligible.
SPORTING RIFLE - Commercial sporter design,
maximum weight 61/2 lbs, .22RF or CF Gallery
Rifle (pistol calibres). NOTE: this excludes most
sporterised service rifles; some modern L-A rifles are
NOT in the spirit of the original designs and magnum
calibres MUST be downloaded (e.g., .38 Special in
a .357)
ROOK & RABBIT RIFLES - Traditional CF calibres
and (re)conversions to pistol calibres up to .38.
EXAMPLES:- BSA Sportsman (but not Supersport),
most L-A Winchesters, Marlins & copies, Stevens
‘Favorite’, Winchester pumps etc.
MATCH (Schutzen) RIFLE - allows ANY pattern
single-shot with no limitation on stock design, palm
rest, sighting system etc - provided that all features
are in period. (NOTE: there have been many
potentially winning scores shot in other Matches
using much more ‘basic’ rifles.)
Equipment
No specialised ‘modern’ Target equipment.
SHOOTING JACKETS - canvas but NOT leather
- modern shooting jackets may be worn if NOT
buttoned up / zipped closed. (Other clothing
14 Target Shooter
normally suitable for wear ‘in public’).
SLINGS - (TR Classes only) - single point not
permitted in ‘Classic’ matches: maximum width two
inches.
GLOVES - must not give undue support i.e. act as a
‘sandbag’: Rule of Thumb - if it stands up on its own
it is not permitted.
FOOTWEAR (standing matches) - no specialised
Target-shooting wear: ‘Doc Marten’ and other
workwear is permitted.
SIGHTS - as specified by the Conditions for a Match.
A REAR-sight is close to the eye, behind the
breech and is normally of Aperture type’.
A MID-sight is on the barrel in front of the
breech and is normally a notch - U, V or square.
A FORE-sight is near the muzzle: it may be
a post, bead, barley-corn with or without a protecting
ring but normally APERTURE foresights are
appropriate only for Target/Any Rifle Matches.
TELESCOPIC / OPTICAL sighting systems are
permitted under some match conditions, but NOT
‘red-dot’, holographic or projection (laser) types.
SUPPORTS - new ‘Standing Supported’ Matches. A
firer may provide his/her own support of thumb-stick
or simple crossed stick design but it MUST be
approved by Equipment Control and not
inconvenience adjacent firers. Rifles may NOT
be held onto any support, nor additional forward
stabilisation be employed by forward pressure of any
part of the rifle onto the support.
 Portsmouth Gun Centre Ltd
295 London Road
North End
Portsmouth
PO2 9HF
Opening Times Tel 02392 660574
Mon 9.30 - 5.30 Fax 02392 644666
Tues Closed
Wed Closed E-mail sales@portsmouthguncentre.com
Thur 9.30 - 5.30 Website www.portsmouthguncentre.com
Fri 9.30 - 5.30
Sat 9.30 - 5.30
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.

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

Fullbore & .22LR Optics

Black Power Ammunition
Air Rifles and Pistols Reloading equipment
Used rifles and Pistols and more...

Our premises are located at

53 Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5 2RB
www.gtshooting.co.uk

Tel: 020 8660 6843

Fax: 020 8660 6843
We are conveniently situated near the M23 & M25.Shooter
Target 15
Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday 10.00am - 5.30pm
 An Unusual Sporter: A .204 AR15 Straight-Pull
from NWCP
by Laurie Holland
The NWCP straight-pull .204 AR15. I tried the rear monopod shooting off the concrete bench
– not a success, definitely a support aid for softer surfaces
We regard AR type rifles, whether in the ‘15’ or larger
‘10’ varieties, as either military tools or target rifles
on this side of the Atlantic. It’s very different in the
design’s home country, the little matter of civilians
being allowed semi-auto operation aside, where an
increasing number are taking to the countryside as
varmint, even deer rifles. It makes sense, especially
in the varmint role – a light recoiling and accurate
smallbore centrefire on a stable and controllable
platform providing an instant follow-up shot if needed
without moving the rifle in the shoulder or the eye
from the scope. We see the same thing here, but
as match / sporting semi-auto .22 race guns that
can shoot a Bianchi programme on the range in
the morning, while reducing the rabbit population in
the evening – changing roles is as easy and quick
as changing the cartridges in the magazine, then
swapping sound moderator for muzzle brake. While
we think of AR15s as being chambered for the .223
Rem cartridge, maybe 6.8mm Remington SPC in
Below - Right side showing military type DPMS
‘upper’ with bolt-closure assist plunger and hinged
ejection port dust cover
16 Target Shooter
the Service / Practical Rifle competition role, most
American builders offer it in 20-calibre varmint
cartridges too – .20 Tactical, Practical etc .223R
based wildcats, or the .204 Ruger. Even Bushmaster
/ Remington Arms make sporting versions nowadays
and include the .204 option.
I’ve always been a fan of the AR, so was delighted
to accept an offer for a brief ‘go’ with one built by
Wayne Titterton in Manchester who trades as North
west Custom Parts, building and supplying a great
variety of rifles ranging from tactical bolt action jobs
to all sorts of AR types, straight-pull centrefire and
semi-auto .22 SIG and Spikes Tactical guns, as well
some very nice ’10-22 type’ custom rifles. Wayne
also does ‘duracoat’ finishing and produces some
really snazzy patterned jobs.
This rifle had been built for an AR-Lover who wanted
one for foxes, and who’d generously agreed to
Below - Left side showing the classic AR15 controls
layout with levers and smaller parts in an attractive
contrasting green
me putting a few rounds through his brand new rifle compact at 38.5” (980mm) sporting a Douglas
shooting stick. This is not a test, rather reflections on
barrel which was still reasonably meaty at two-thirds
a brief acquaintance. First impression were good, the inch (17mm) diameter at its muzzle some 20 inches
(515mm) ahead of the bolt. It was no
lightweight at around 9lb (4Kg) including
bipod but lacking scope or sound
moderator, these going to add another
two to three pounds. The receiver
halves were a good tight fit with no play
evident, not always the case even if it
doesn’t affect performance or
accuracy in these rifles. The action was
slick and the smooth single-stage match
trigger broke crisply at around two and
a half pounds (1.1Kg) pull-weight. Then
there are the looks, mostly black offset
with smaller parts in ‘AUG Green’ (I
The match trigger think), the first bit of the name coming
assembly gave a from the Austrian Steyr assault rifle of
smooth, crisp that ilk. Finishing off the description,
operation the ‘lower’ was from Southern Gun
Co., the ‘upper’ a DPMS ‘flat-top’ with
inbuilt M1913 scope rail. The rear end
is FAB Defense Line’s SSR-25 synthetic
‘Sniper Buttstock’ assembly with a
retractable monopod and height
adjustable buttstock / cheekpiece. As
can be seen from the photos, there is
a black square section tactical forend

Tactical forend details

The FAB SSR-25

buttstock with the
buttplate / cheekpiece
down and monopod
spike retracted

The operating handle proved fine for the .204 cartridge,

although its position here – high and rear-set – is not as
good as side-mounted handles

Buttstock parts extended. Both

cheekpiece and monopod are
height adjustable, the former
through 3-inches in seven steps

Target Shooter 17
 less tapered body than the .223, so was bulging the
front of the magazine slightly causing cartridges to
stick. As I said, .204 ARs are ten a penny in the USA,
so it’s just a matter of finding a suitable magazine
with thinner sidewalls giving an extra millimetre or
two of room inside. Accuracy? Five round 100yd
groups ran at half to three-quarters inch, so a bit of
load development should keep them down at the
bottom end of that range. On finishing a short
session, a lot of copper was visible at the muzzle
which obviously didn’t help – a good dose of copper
Hmm .... a lot of removing solution followed by proper barrel run-in
copper called for.
visible after All in all, this was an impressive little rifle. Shooting it
a few shots. off a bench didn’t do it justice – using it prone in the
Running-in needed field would be far more instructive, not to mention
fun. It would provide a very stable sporting platform,
especially with the buttstock spike deployed. If
DPMS bolt and carrier with intended to double up as a range rifle, a heavier
the operating handle profile barrel chambered for .223 Rem with 1-9”
duracoated ‘AUG Green’ twist would be more appropriate and would be very
versatile. For further information on NWCP products
and services, visit http://www.nwcustomparts.
com or telephone Wayne on 0161 408 1155.

surrounding the fully floating green duracoated

barrel providing four lengthy sections of M1913 spec
rail, the bottom having a bipod adapter securely
fitted. The big and heavy Schmidt & Bender PMII
scope is mine, its ARMS QD lever-rings already
spaced for an M1913 scope mount, so swapping it
to this rifle was a 30-second job, plus a couple of
minutes spent boresighting.

Pussy Cat
You don’t expect a lot of recoil from an 11lb AR in
.223 Rem, even sitting at a concrete bench, but
this was like shooting a rather noisy rimfire with
32 and 40gn .204 ammo, some Remington factory
cartridges from Wayne and a few of my handloads.
What I had wondered about was extraction as there
is no side-mounted handle on this rifle, just an
extension to the Stoner T-bar charger sticking out of
the back of the upper receiver. No problem – fired
cases slipped out as smoothly as the proverbial
.223 Rem cartridge (on left) alongside a
corn through a goose, no effort needed for primary
extraction. What was a problem was iffy feed from
.204 Ruger handload for my Savage 12
the DPMS polymer magazine. The .204 case has a single-shot rifle. Both cartridges are
factory loaded to the same COAL
18 Target Shooter
 Tel/Fax 01722782432
Email; ags.westlake@virgin.net/ Website; www.westlakeengineering.com

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

Target Shooter 19
 Shooting the Black Powder Pistol
Part 8

by Chris Risebrook
Only one example this month, since this is the only
one I possess and that is probably one too many!
Of all the useless, unhandy weapons ever invented,
the pepperbox probably takes the biscuit. The idea of
a revolving weapon goes back to the earliest firearms
but it was never a really practical proposition until the
invention of the percussion system, although Collier
produced some very beautiful flintlock revolvers
in the early 19th century and both Twigg and Mairet
aux Ponci in Paris experimented with flintlock
pepperbox revolvers around 1771. Heaven knows
how they avoided multiple ignition using flintlock.
was Ethan Allen who perfected the bar hammer
double-action system which remained in production
until around the 1870s as Allen & Thurber, or by his
brothers-in-law after his death, Allen & Wheelock.
It says something for the design that it remained in
production for so many years after the concept of the
revolver proper had been perfected and universally
adopted. Later cartridge versions were made but
except for the tiny four barrel Sharps, did not seem to
enjoy the same popularity, having been supplanted
by small cartridge revolvers.(The subject of a future
article).

The first successful American pepperboxes were In the early days of the Wild West, if you wanted
made by Barton and Benjamin M. Darling but it more than one shot, you either used a double
barrel or a pepperbox
and, if you were a
‘Miner 49er’, or even
Pic 1 if your name was
Clementine, you would
definitely try and afford
one of these things -
as a defense against
claim-jumpers and two
legged rattlesnakes.
When it came to
slithery ones, you were
probably better off with
a big stick!

The pepperbox had

many drawbacks; the
weight of a group of
barrels limited their
length to about three
inches, although some
longer barreled models
were made for the

20 Target Shooter
 Pic 2
military and they were distinctly muzzle-heavy. Ethan
Allen’s bar hammer precluded the use of sights
so they were simply ‘point and shoot’ weapons at
rock-throwing ranges. Needless to say they were
mostly smoothbore.
Trying to shoot one of these things is a hoot! The bar
hammer has a very short throw and a very heavy
spring which gives an horrendous double-action
only trigger-pull. The short throw requires the use of
a very thin cap - a standard cap just will not ignite
and I imagine that most makers would have included
a supply of special thin caps with their pistols. It is
possible to make up a cap from thin foil (a forming
tool for this purpose is available from the States) and
then to stick a ‘hot’ cap inside it.
Some years ago - long before Health & Safety - in
northern Spain, I found some toy caps which made
your ears ring and two of these (very) carefully cut
out with scissors and glued inside worked some of
the time. Even then, ignition is by no means certain
because the nipples have to be at right angles to the
bore to allow for loading - there is a small cut out in
the recoil shield to the right of the hammer- which
means the flame has to turn a right angle to reach
the bore.
In order to prevent the caps from falling off the
nipples, they are protected by a shield but there are
no fences between the nipples, so the flash would be
contained within the shield and could easily lead to
multiple ignition. Since there is no obstruction in front
of the barrel, this would cause the user no problem -
other than a nasty surprise and possibly a change of
underwear! However, it would do no good whatever
to the intended target who would have resembled
a colander! Since there are no stops between the
chambers, one chamber would have had to be left
unloaded or uncapped for carrying purposes.
Although of the ‘Allen’ type, the illustrated pistol
bears no maker’s name, although it appears to have
English proof marks. The frame is of brass and the
general quality is very good. The walnut grips are
chequered 25 lines to the inch, which is pretty but
useless so far as grip is concerned. The brass butt
is heavily indented where it has been used as a
hammer. Barrel length is three inches and it is .36
calibre smoothbore.
As a practical weapon, frankly, it isn’t but, as a
morale booster, it ranks right up there with the
blunderbus. Let’s face it, a six-barrelled pistol being
shoved under your nose would definitely get your
undivided attention!
Target Shooter 21
•
WMS Practice days and rifle shooting events for individuals,
gun clubs and professional clients
• Corporate days and events for companies
• Rifle, ammunition and product testing for manufacturers
• Product launches for manufacturers and importers
• Specific training courses such as Mountain Rifle, African
Rifle and Driven Big Game for individuals and groups who
want to properly prepare for hunting trips
• Practice and training facilities for Military, Police and
security companies

Jo, Al and the GGC Gang shot here!

You can too. Call me to book...
Individuals and groups for practice, instruction, testing and FUN!
www.wms-firearmstraining.org
or call Andrew Venables on 07767 365804 / 01686 440782
or email on andrewvenables@aol.com

www.FoxFirearmsUK.com
Tel: 0161 430 8278 or 07941 958464
PUTTING SHOOTING FIRST

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EVERYTHING WE IMPORT IS BY FAR THE BEST VALUE IN THE UK
22 Target Shooter
 Target Shooter 23
The True-Flite Flexi-bed Stock -
from New Zealand
by Vince Bottomley
We carried a brief ‘news item’ on the True Flite three socket-head screws to do up which sit in
stock in our June issue. This New Zealand ‘pillars’ which are also flexibly mounted. I was
company is famous for its barrels but now they expecting a rubbery flexible ‘feel’ as I did-up the
have launched a new rifle-stock. As you can see screws drawing the action into the stock but no
from the photograph it is a composite of aluminium - they suddenly go absolutely ‘solid’ - just as if
and wood. The aluminium is machined to take you were fastening two pieces of metal together.
the Barnard P action and it incorporates an The action is now tight up on the stainless-
interesting ‘flexi-bed’ system. steel pillars but supported by the Adiprene
flexi mounts and the flex-pillars. The system
This bedding system is quite clever in that the uses neither of the Barnard P recoil options but
action is pulled-down into the bedding area simply relies on the small amount of ‘give’ in the
on to two flexible synthetic ‘rails’ made from a Adiprene to absorb recoil.
substance called Adiprene. I would imagine
that the flexi-bed not only provides better As I said, the stock is intended for prone
bedding but also takes the ‘ring’ out of the stock, off-hand shooting so, for F Class, we need a few
which is often present with aluminium stocks. rudimentary modifications. That unbelievably
complicated butt-pad weighs a ton and is not
The stock is designed as a prone Target Rifle needed when shooting with a rested rifle –
stock – to be shot off the elbows in other words any simple butt-pad would suffice but for now,
and I don’t really do that anymore but importer I’m stuck with this one. The cheek-piece is
Brian Fox of Fox Firearms wanted the stock also a bit redundant but I can usefully turn it
‘put through its paces’ as it were. Although it upside-down to make an improvised back-bag
is initially expensive – think £1000 – remember, ‘rider’. With everything in place – including my
it saves bedding the action which could easily 8-32 Nightforce scope, the all-up weight is 18lb.
cost you £250 when using a conventional stock 12 ounces, so it’s already 10 ounces over the
and maybe, with a few small modifications, it weight limit for the F/TR class and that’s without
could make a good F Class stock – particularly a bi-pod!
for the F/TR class.
However, if we swapped the Nightforce for say a
Brian Fox kindly supplied me with a barrelled- 17 ounce fixed-power 36X Weaver for example,
action - using a Barnard P of course, for this is we would save over a pound and if we got rid
the action the stock is designed to take. The of that butt-pad we could save another pound
barrel is a 31 inch True Flite with a 1 in 10 twist which would give us just about enough for a
so I could shoot virtually any 30 cal. bullet up to decent bi-pod.
210 grains. Installing the barrelled-action in the
stock was a cinch – a two minute job with just Hopefully, without that butt-pad, the stock could

24 Target Shooter
 The red bits are the Adiprene flexi strips. The pillars are also flexi mounted
and are contoured to ‘snug up’ tight to the Barnard action

be made significantly cheaper and with a bit of Her verdict? “It was like shooting a 223 – hard-
work on the cheekpiece/bag-rider it could be ly any recoil, love the butt-pad, can I keep it?”
a viable F/TR stock – if it shoots! So that is OK, I agree, it proves nothing – except maybe
the next job. My home range has a 600 yard that this is an accurate 308 rifle that it easy to
F Class shoot coming up this Sunday but that shoot and well suited to the F/TR class. Also,
doesn’t give me any time to load-test, sight-in I didn’t realise that the Flexi-bed system would
or run-in the barrel so, it will be a bit of a noticeably absorb recoil – another ‘plus’ of this
‘baptism of fire’ to say the least and, as I’m in ‘hot system.
competition’ for my Club Championship there is
no way I’m risking a shoot with an untried rifle! So, maybe you might consider a True Flite stock
So, we need to find a suitable – well, shall we for your next (or current) Barnard actioned rifle?
say ‘test pilot’! Who better than a prone Target If you intend keeping it for a long time, I can tell
Rifle shooter with scant F Class experience? you that the Adiprene used for the bed has now
been tested for over 13 years and has proved
So, here we are, on the firing-point with only to be resistant to water, heat, cold, cleaning
a quick bore-sight and my normal F/TR load - fluids and anything else you are likely to encounter
using a case-full of VitN540 and 155 grain Lapua on range. I don’t think any gunsmith would give
Scenars. Honestly, it’s blowing an absolute gale that kind of guarantee with a more conventional
and my Dougie Lorimer ‘Whizz Wheel’ says we Devcon-type bed. Also, Devcon beds can
will need seven MOA of right windage! I wish be damaged or chipped when removing and
my test-pilot ‘good luck’ as I chamber the first replacing the barrelled-action.
round in my 308 BAT for our 2 sighters and 20
to count. It was one testing shoot with many Is the flexi-bed better than a conventional
shooters exploring the outer rings (and beyond!) Devcon-type bed then? Good question – if
of the tiny F Class target. In fact, I can’t it’s so good, why aren’t all rifles – particularly
remember a harder shoot and, to cut a long benchrest rifles – bedded this way? Remember,
story short, she beat me – by one point! Not only this is a dedicated stock for the Barnard P
that, she beat all the other fifteen F/TR shooters action only – it would require a completely
as well! different set-up for another action, whereas,
Target Shooter 25
All ready for F/TR. The bi-pod is one of several home-made creations now appearing on the
F/TR circuit
from a gunsmith’s point of view, Devcon is so offerings
versatile. and, although the stock in its present state is
not perfect for F Class, I’m hoping that True
The stock is CNC machined from a 6061 T6 Flite might take notice of our test and make the
alloy extrusion so you know it will be dead true necessary modifications to make it so.
– unlike many fibreglass and wood-laminate Ditching that expensive, heavy, multi- adjustable

I’ve turned the cheek-piece upside-down to make a

bag-rider. Note that butt-pad – costs a fortune, weighs a
ton – we don’t need it for F Class!

26 Target Shooter
 She even liked that butt-pad! Note the tactical
Badger-style tactical bolt-knob
butt-plate for starters!
With any rifle shot from a front-rest, weight
distribution is important – longer the stock and
more weight on the back-bag – where you need
it. I always go for a 36 inch long stock and I
would go even longer – if anyone made one.
Our True Flite test rifle is currently front-heavy
and it could do with a few more inches on the
fore-end – which of course will add weight.
A cheek-piece is superfluous on a rested rifle
but I do like the idea of using the adjustable
cheek-piece upside-down for a bag-rider and,
with a few tiny modifications, True Flite could
perfect this. It also means that you could use a
very light, non-adjustable bi-pod – to save weight
and it’s far easier to ‘tweak’ the butt-piece rather
than stretching to adjust the bi-pod to alter your
aim-point.
At the moment, this stock is the only one in
the UK but, if True Flite will make a few mods.
they could have a winner. As you can see from
the photographs, the supplied woodwork was
really nice but is it tough enough to stand up to
the British climate? Probably, as thousands of
military rifles coped in battlefield conditions and
of course, the wood is largely cosmetic.
Fox can supply a factory Barnard/True Flite
barrelled-action to any calibre or specification,
so you could put your rifle together quickly and
easily yourself with the flexi-bed stock for just
the bare cost of the bits. Contact Fox Firearms
at www.foxfirearmsuk.com if you think you
might be interested.
Target Shooter 27
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AND BARTLEIN
 DIY Wind Flags - Part Trois

By Carl Boswell
This is the last article in this series - the final will be up to you how you use these flags on range.
windflag - the 180 degree ‘windicator’. Unlike the Have a look at the picture below to see how the
others, it does not rotate but simply shows the windicator is set up at 50m. Being themost visible
wind movement along a 180 degree path to the of the flags we have made together, it is best used
bullet’s flight – i.e. from left to right or visa versa. at this or mid range.
This flag is specifically designed to work with the
other designs featured in previous articles to be
more visible to the naked eye, so it can be used at
longer distances - up to 50 metres. These are very
common in the USA, as I built a simple one five
years ago from simple plans. Again this design is
directly taken from - http://www.thewindisnoty-
ourfriend.com

The advantage of having ‘windicators’ on the field

is obvious - they will reasonably accurately show
the speed of the wind, if correctly calibrated! This
is a better measure than just using propellors
and ribbons which do display information and the On to making
windicator should be more accurate, as it only This is easiest design of all to make. You will need:
attempts to indicate the wind ‘vector’ at 180
degrees. Ideally, you should use the previous Corroflute - both red and white
dual-vane designs in conjunction with this one and 12mm aluminium rod
the 360 degree windicators discussed in the first 6mm aluminium rod
article. 6mm stainless steel rod
A 20mm aluminium flat
The six flags I have looked at over the last few 2 x 15mm aluminium flats
months can be used alone or together. You can An aluminium block 20mm x 20mm x 110
have more than six - or less, dependant on need. It approximately
30 Target Shooter
 production diagram
4mm stainless-steel rod for the flag/indicator
supports A 20mm x 45mm plastic or aluminium
block for the indicator joiner (Delrin is lighter and
better), 4mm and 6mm bolts Plastic glue and a
weight*
*This weight can be an issue as there are not
many cylindrical weights on sale going up to 350
grams or more and this may have to be made.
Experiment with different weights before you
make the real thing. The weight must ensure the
indicator is vertical and will move when wind hits
it the flag. There is a fine balance here that can
be adjusted on the bottom rod to calibrate the
windicator to your needs and the strength of the
Support arms
PIC 2 plan
wind.
I cut the Corroflute into two pieces, as I wanted
to be able to take it apart and flat-pack it like the
others. This is essential if you travel abroad to
competitions as space is limited when travelling
by air. No point making new flags for one specific
competition - ideally, I want to shoot with the flags
I train with.
The two pieces of Corroflute are supported with
by another piece of Corroflute that is attached
with glue on one side, with the other side left free.
These will both be fixed to the support arm with
4mm bolts. (See on picture opposite page).
Cutting the arc is done with a knife, after drawing
Target Shooter 31
 Windicator flag joiner

out carefully. All this can be sanded to form after inserted into it are 6mm this time instead of 4mm.
construction. (See Pic 8) This extra thickness helps with the
added weight of some of the parts. The rotating
The next part is the flag indicator. This is made from union also needs a longer support rod this time -
the red Corroflute and put together using channel between 90mm and 100mm.
bought from a DIY shop and using insulation tape
to fix – this is a very strong joint. (See picture The weight is a difficult one unless you can get hold
above) The indicator/flag is then attached to the of a lathe or have someone turn you up a piece of
rod by a joiner, using 4mm rods to stabilise the flag brass that weighs approximately 375 grams. You
itself. (See picture to the right) The joiner is best can find readymade weights but these are few
made from Delrin, as this is a durable material and and far between. I had mine made for me and it
easy to work. took some experimentation to get the weight right.
That is why I suggest you try using test weights
Three blind 4mm holes need to be drilled into the
top of this for the indicator support rods. Once
these rods have been glued in the joiner rods, you
only need to push it into the Corroflute channels
to attach. A 6mm tapped hole is put into the base
of this so that the indicator rod can be screwed
onto the joiner. The whole thing can eventually be
attached to the rotating union.

The aluminium block - where everything joins

and the 180 degree mechanism pivots - needs
to be drilled with two blind holes and one all the
way through for the rotating union to be screwed
into. The 6mm tapped blind holes are on the
reverse for the central support and support arms
to be screwed down using 6mm bolts. (See picture
on next page). A further 6mm tapped hole on the
base of this block is also required for the pin that
will slide into the Delrin mount that attaches to the
stand, as per last month’s article. (Side note - the
180 degree indicator should not rotate. Movement
can be stopped by placing a grub screw through
the mount to the pin to ‘brake’ flag movement).

The rotating union is the same as we attempted Flag assembly

with the 360 degree windicator but the rods

32 Target Shooter
 PIC 9 finished
Rotating union prop PIC 6 dual vane diagram

first, before you make the real one. If you do make arms to the Corroflute and bolt everything into
your own, follow the instructions on the production place on the central block.
diagram.
The final thing is to attach the diagonal support Diagrams for this windicator can be seen in
procution diagram on the
previous pages. These are
approximate sizes but it is
useful having a diagram to
follow with these notes. Again
I know this is brief but I hope
this is enough information to
get you started. If anyone
wants any more information
they can email me via the
magazine.

Making effective use of

these flags will take a bit of
experimentation - they will
indicate what the wind is
doing out there, between you
and the target but interpreting
that is another matter. The
diagram I did for a previous
article about wind flags
exemplifies this a lot better
than I can say it. (See picture
opposite). However you will
not always get straight cross
winds and each flag could
indicate a very different
direction.

I shot the same day that I

wrote this article and in some
situations one specific flag
can tell you a lot more than
another. From my limited
experience, I would say that
reading the wind starts off as
something between a guess
and gut-feeling and using

Target Shooter 33
 wind flags successfully is an art form in itself.
Those that can do it very well are the clear winners
in most competitions. My own suggestions would
be to use your windflags whenever you shoot and
train with them as much as possible. Study them
carefully and interpret the information they are
providing.
From one day to another it will be different - if it
is hot, sunny, cold, raining, etc. Read a lot about
shooting in the wind and what it does, how its
affects can be seen, even without flags. One
anecdotal bit of information is that this is what
shooters were doing in Milan - reading the flags but
not taking notice of the mirage on hot sunny days.
The flags were indicating very calm conditions
and that is why people lost shots - they missed
other indicators. The moral - we have to look at
everything going on around us if we are going to
shoot accurately.
Why is this game so hard? Well, would it be as
interesting if it were easy? Without wind flags you
will not shoot as accurately as your rifle is capable
of and building and learning to use a set of wind
flags definitely help you along the road of shooting
more accurately. Unfortunately, of all the items
discussed on benchrest forums, wind flags are
rarely mentioned. Shooters will happily spend
hundreds – even thousands of pounds on
equipment and never own a flag!
So there you have it – a range of wind flags for you
to make. It can be as easy or hard as you want
to make it and some of these can be simplified or
developed but at least this is a start. There is an
alternative 180 degree windflag that can also be
made easily and this can be found again on Doug
Weeters website: http://www.thewindisnotyour-
friend.com/flags/180-ind/180-Ind-Drawing.html
For me, making these windflags got me into the
idea of studying the wind and how it works etc.
Watch how your windflags work (even in your
garden) for a while and get used to what they are
showing you. This can only aid your shooting.

☆ 2007 Pan American Games

3x20 Gold Medalist
☆ 2007 WC Milan 3x20 Silver Medalist
☆ 2008 Olympian 3x20 Fifth Place
☆ 5-Time NRA Camp Perry
3x20 Junior National Champion
☆ Multiple Women’s NRA Camp Perry
National Champion
If you want to shoot like
a champion, choose Lilja!
www.riflebarrels.com
Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels, Inc
PO Box 372 • Plains, MT 59859
Tel: 406-826-3084 • Fax: 406-826-3083

34 Jamie Beyerle
Target Shooter
 Knowing your conditions
Helps to keep your aim true
Weather Meters

Easy to use

Accurate

Wind speeds

Cross Winds

Air Pressure

Humidity

Temperature

Dew Point

Wind Chill

Altitude

Time and Date

Graphical Display

Data Logging


ORDER ONLINE FROM

www.r-p-r.co.uk
Tel: 01590 679755
Target Shooter 35
 My 308 is dead!
What next?
by Chris Parkin
Above - Cartridge comparisons, 243 Win, 260
not hard to see why the latter is tiring
When I first started rifle shooting, it was just for
vermin control, helping out the owner of the land
that I used for archery practice with his rabbit
problem. I started to read some of the articles
in the shooting press, especially ones about
rifles and competitive shooting. It interested
me and I decided that at some point I would like to
give it all a go, not particularly for the competition
but for the experience of the longer ranges and as
usual, to get more trigger time. After doing a little
research and reading up on the disciplines shot at
my local range, I took the advice of one of the key
writers for this magazine and bought a Remington
700 heavy barrelled gun in 308 Winchester. I
greatly enjoyed shooting this gun for 3 years, shot
36 Target Shooter
Rem, 308 Win, 6.5x55 and 300 Win Mag. It is
everything I could from 100 yard benchrest,
through McQueen’s and tactical shoots all the
way up to 1000 yard benchrest and F-class.
Back In March while getting ready for the WMS
steel challenge (see Target Shooter June issue),
I wanted to make sure everything was running well
so I did a bit of serious load testing. This, combined
with a measurement of the distance to the
lands in the barrel and a borescope inspection,
brought me to the conclusion the barrel was past
its best. It was shooting over MOA with jump-
sensitive secant ogive bullets and only just sub.
with more forgiving tangent ogive designs. This
was significantly worse than the gun had shot
up until this point and, although it was still the
 The barrel was also bedded for the first two-inches

reliable warhorse it had always been, never letting common? In the past I had used a 6.5x55 stalking
me down, I decided the Steel Challenge would be rifle and the calibre was fantastic with an easy
its farewell and I could go trigger mad on the day reloading life (I’m not a fastidious reloader) but
with no worries that I was killing the barrel. A newthe action I had was a short action, and I already
barrel would be the next item on my shopping list. had a stock waiting for the build that fitted it.
Although a 6.5-284 was another option and
The Calibre can be shot from a short-action gun, it seemed
I had always had fun shooting the 308 and it a waste to hamper it with restricted OAL and I
had taught me a lot about different shooting did want to use my current magazine-fed setup.
disciplines, ballistics and wind but most It also is maybe a bit too hot to consider a
importantly, I had learned about the pros and fast-fire gun for the types of shooting I liked to
cons of other calibres and styles of rifles in this do, not in terms of recoil, but barrel life. My 308
time and decided that although a new 308 barrel had always been a bit ‘touch and go’ for staying
would be easy, it would be a shame to waste the supersonic at 1000 yards, it only had a 26 inch
opportunity to have something ‘better,. When barrel so, when I wanted to shoot this distance
I first started with this gun, it had to double as or beyond, I tended to go elsewhere. My 300
an occasional stalking rifle, although now, as I Win.Mag. shot well way beyond this distance but
had others suitable for that task, I could turn it recoil and ammunition costs were significantly
into a target-only gun, energy was unimportant, more. After a long day at the Steel Challenge,
ballistics were now king. it did become a bit tiring. Staying with a 6.5
I had long since decided I would have a 6.5mm mm was always going to minimise recoil.
rifle but which? The 6.5x47 Lapua was by now I looked through my manuals, scanned the web,
well proven and very successful but I am not asked around fellow shooters and we had a
a fan of small cases and especially small rifle winner. I rang a couple of gunsmiths I had used
primers, which I find fiddly. The cost of the brass in the past to see if they had the reamer and a
and dies was also getting quite considerable. suitable barrel and we had a goer - the 260
Dare I say they also now seemed a bit Remington.

Target Shooter 37
 The 1” Ball Nose cutter with 30mm bushing
The 260 Remington was initially submitted for
standardisation by the A-Square Company
in 1996, several months prior to Remington
announcing their plans to introduce the cartridge
under their own name. A-Square’s submission
was called the 6.5-08 A-Square, which to many
is more descriptive of its origins as it states
simply that is is a 308 necked down in the same
way the 25-06 or 7mm-08 are named/described.
This was a somehow grossly ignored factory
cartridge that even Remington - who standardised
the name in 1997 – currently only use this
chambering for hunting rifles. It seemed to suffer
from one weak point that I was bored endlessly
with…………no quality brass ‘off the shelf’.
Necking up Lapua .243 brass is a well proven
method but that was then, this is now. Nosler
now make their custom brass for the calibre and
it is weight consistent, primer pocket uniformed,
flash hole deburred and ready to go from the box.
I had always been a Lapua fan, and believed
the hype, but like I said, I reload from necessity,
not pleasure and case forming, if done for me in
advance was just the ticket I wanted. The brass
was about the same price as the 6.5x47, which
was expensive but the dies were easily available
38 Target Shooter
from Redding and considerably cheaper. The
260 seemed to tick all the right boxes, it would
reliably feed from the AI magazine, it had
good ballistics with 1000 yard plus capability,
reasonable barrel-life expectancy and economical
powder charge usage. I checked the specs on
the reamer that was to be used and it would
allow the bullets to be seated to magazine length
and still be close to the lands for the all important
VLD bullet’s needs, so my mind was made up.
The Barrel
I was once told there were three elements to a
good rifle - all began with ‘B’- bullet, barrel, and
bedding. Barrel was the first choice. I don’t like
the ‘how long is a piece of string’, endless wait
some gunsmiths can give you. I had spoken
to Dave Wilde at South Yorkshire Shooting
Supplies about the build, the timescale and
my component choices and he advised me he
had barrels in stock that were suitable for the
project. I wanted to have this gun built for the
Diggle Egg shoot so had an exact deadline
by which time the gun had to be completed,
re-barrelled, bedded, the stock finished and
the load development done, it was five weeks!
 The Barrel Inletting Jig with a
selection of profiling inserts
I called in on SYSS on a Saturday morning and
went through a selection of 6.5mm barrels that
were suitable with an 8 or 8.5 twist, as I want-
ed to be able to shoot 139gr bullets. Dave had
Tru-Flite, Krieger and Border Barrels that were
appropriate, in various contours with or without
fluting but, as I had a modest budget in mind
I chose a Border Archer Barrel in an 8.5 twist
in a heavy, straight taper profile. I was cautious
of going TOO heavy as I know the standard
Remington 700 action is not the most solid action
in terms of its open bottom, footprint and tenon
length but I was advised to bed the first couple of
inches of the barrel for extra support and the new
recoil lug that was to be fitted was a far beefier
design than the standard Remington one, both
thicker and extending deeper into the stock.
The gun was signed over as I had a one-for-one
variation to put in and later that very afternoon,
Dave rang me to say the job was done, with a
few added tweaks to the bolt, lugs and receiver.
The gun would go off to proof the following week.
The Stock
Throughout its life, my 308 had evolved more
and more into a target-only machine with bigger
scopes, 20MOA rail and a Tactical Rifles
bottom-metal from the USA to allow the use of
Accuracy International 5 and 10 shot magazines.
I had done full bedding jobs before on several
of my rifles and through trial and error taught
myself how to do a good job with a definite
accuracy benefit. I had decided to order a stock
In January to further customise the 308 and
chose a thumbhole Target Stock from Richards
Microfit in the USA. This was a heavy profiled,
prone style of stock that had plenty of meat to
inlet the larger bottom metal but when it arrived I
realised it had been an un-needed whim and it sat
un-used in my garage. When this project popped
its head up, I immediately had a use for the stock
and considered it a rather lucky coincidence!
While the gun was at proof and I awaited my
one-for-one variation, I set about sanding and
finishing the stock as I knew time was getting
short. It would not be fully finished until after the
gun was bedded into it but I needed to get started.
The gun was back from proof in a week and my
variation came back two weeks after that, so I now
had all the bits to put together. With two weeks
to the Diggle Egg Shoot, was that enough time?
Target Shooter 39
Stock Inletting and Bedding
The big recoil-lug and heavy-profile barrel
needed quite a lot of work but after playing
with most of my guns in different stocks, I felt
totally in tune with these tasks. I program and
run CNC machinery at work and although it is
limited to the specific jobs I do, I have found
ways to make it useful for DIY projects. I have
made several barrel-profiling jigs for different
contours that allow precise barrel channels
to be cut into laminate and timber stocks.
This project would need that and more as I was
going to have to re-inlet the bottom of the stock
for the larger AI magazine-compatible bottom-
metal. I was looking forward to seeing if I could
fit a whole stock into the machine to do this,
over-cutting the Remington BDL inlet the stock
came with. The stock did fit and although I was
pretty nervous pressing the GO button, it all
worked perfectly. This was all done before the
barrelled-action came back from proof but as soon
as it did, I took measurements along the barrel
to create a profiling jig to use with a standard
router at home to cut the barrel channel. This
barrel, although larger, was simple as it was a
straight taper whereas the ones before were
40 Target Shooter
sporting barrels with swamped chamber profiles
creating more complex shapes. The jigs allow a
one-inch diameter, ball nose cutter to be run in a
channelled jig using a 30mm guide bushing and
cut a precise identical profile with 2mm clearance
parallel along the barrel and are simple to use.
After these jobs were complete, it all came
down to measuring and fitting pillars, along
with a standard bedding job, which I will not
bore you with the details of. The stock inlet was
described as 99% fit and in truth was (other than
for my custom additions). All that was needed
mechanically was the bolt handle recess
enlarging for the oversize bolt knob already
fitted and, as the stock had a large rollover
cheek-piece, it needed a groove profiling out to
allow bolt removal. Everything else was purely
cosmetic and involved sanding and grain sealing
followed by Tru-oil. The final finishing was done
in two parts because I ran out of time and I
had another little plan up my sleeve for a later
date……………….more of which next month.
 Target Shooter 41
 F/TR - Breaking the mould !
by Vince Bottomley and Laurie Holland
Target Rifle – with capital T, capital R – is the
cornerstone of British rifle-shooting. Its present
incarnation is a descendant of what Queen
Victoria started all those years ago with her Queen’s
Prize – to encourage the British rifleman to develop
and improve his skills and avoid any subsequent
defeats such as that at the hands of the Boers
in South Africa . Although initially shot with
muzzle-loaders, it progressed to cartridge rifles
as the infantryman’s issued weapon progressed.
Unfortunately, when the SLR replaced the No.4
Enfield, the NRA declared a self-loader ‘unsuitable’
for Target Rifle shooting. What a tragedy, for look
how the M16 has progressed to be one of the
most popular and effective target rifles in the world.
Not only that, continued development by civilian
competition shooters has ensured that the M16 is
the battle rifle to have – unlike our much maligned
SA80.
Enfield’s No.4 was therefore the last true GB
Target Rifle and when the SLR was decreed
unsuitable it promoted the development of ‘dedicated’
single-shot rifles of which the Swing (and its
many derivatives) was perhaps the most famous
Laurie shooting the red F/TR Eliseo tube gun
42 Target Shooter
incarnation . Of course, the military rifle of the day
also used the military cartridge of the day and the
303 gave way to the 7.62 NATO and eventually,
when the 5.56mm was universally adopted by NATO
forces, it was also permitted in GB Target Rifle.
Initially, the 5.56 used a 55 grain bullet and
was never going to be effective as an accurate
long-range target round so, the NRA permitted
hand-loads to be used with a heavier bullet and
one or two shooters began to ‘push’ this little
cartridge to a level where it was – in the right hands and
conditions - competitive with the NRA’s ‘issued’
ammunition with its military origins. Before we get to
the meat of this article, we’ll conclude by saying that
the latest Ruag 7.62/308 ammunition now peddled by
the NRA is reckoned superior to anything emerging
from the former Royal Ordnance factory at Radway
Green and that has probably sealed the fate of the
5.56mm as a competitive Target Rifle cartridge.
Or has it? When some shooters read a statement
like that, it’s a ‘red rag to a bull’ moment and they
will do their level best to prove otherwise. One
such shooter is our writer and ballistics guru

Here’s what a 90gn 223 looks like (left) with
223 and a 308 for comparison
Laurie Holland. Yes, you are right, Laurie is not a
Target Rifle shooter but he does shoot F Class -
the F/TR Class to be precise. This class is a direct
descendant of Target Rifle and is similarly restricted
to the 7.62/308 and 5.56/223 cartridge. Laurie has
carried out extensive testing of the 308 for F/TR
shooting and has helped set a trend this year for the
heavier 185 grain bullet but he’s still not happy!
Ballistics show that the 5.56/223 could still be
competitive – using a 90 grain bullet! My
thoughts? Unprintable! But, Laurie has enlisted
my help in proving – or disproving his theory. In
other words, I’m building the rifle! But, before
we get into that, I’ll let the venerable Mr Holland
say a few words about the ballistics that were the
inspiration for this project, so over to you Laurie.
My objective with this rifle is to get close to 308Win
F/TR external ballistics out to 1000 yards. You can’t
do this with 80 grain 0.224 bullets even if you push
MVs up to 3000 fps - the best of this bunch BC-wise
being the 80 gn Hornady A-Max (G7 BC: 0.231; G1:
0.452) seeing 1,266 fps terminal velocity at 1,000yd
alongside 95 inches (9.1-MOA)of wind- drift in a 10
mph crosswind. That compares to an estimated 1,400
fps and 78 inches (7.5-MOA) from my current .308W
F/TR load utilising Berger’s 185gn BT Long-Range
bullet. To get there with the ‘mouse gun’,
you need a 90gn VLD bullet at 2,825 fps.
The 223 Rem ‘plateaued’ after
long-throated 1 in 8 twist barrels and
80gn bullets became the norm. This
combination produces 2900 - 3000
fps in 30 inch barrelled target rifles
- close to the long-time 308Win norm
with 155 grain bullets. With Sierra’s
80gn 0.224 Match King having a near
identical BC to that of the original
308 155gn Palma Match (0.217 v
0.214 G7), ballistic performance
was so close as to make no difference
at 1000 yards. This has long been
known to shooters in Australia, Canada
and New Zealand whose long-range TR
riflemen have taken the 223Rem to their
hearts but I’m sure will surprise many of
their counterparts over here.
Target Rifle and F/TR regulations in
the Commonwealth countries have
tried to create a ‘level playing field’
for the pair, limiting the 308 to bullets
of ‘less than 156gn weight’ and the
a standard 223 to ‘less than 81gn’. This formula
was also adopted by the International
Confederation of Fullbore Rifle
Associations (ICFRA). The UK and, surprisingly
given the cartridge’s origins the USA, have been
behind the curve in promoting the smaller cartridge
with the Palma Council only opening this discipline
up to 223Rem this year. Meanwhile things have
moved on, especially in F/TR, with the old 155gn
Sierra at 2,950-3,000 fps 308Win load now passé
with new higher-BC 155 and 155.5gn bullets over
improved powders going out at 3,050 fps, even 3,100
for some! The 223 has compensating advantages
I’ll come to, but losing out by 100 fps and getting
on for a full-MOA in 10mph wind drift at 1,000yd is
significant given the close competition that now
applies.
Nineties!
Sierra introduced a 0.224 90gn MatchKing bullet five
years ago but, it disappointed. Apparently targeted at
AR15 Service Rifle competitors, its BC improvement
was negated by recommended loads that produced
low MVs and the recommended 1 in 6.5 rifling twist
rate put off many shooters. Accuracy turned out
to be so-so with this twist rate, deteriorated as the
leade wore and the agony continued with bullets
disintegrating in flight if pushed above 2,700 fps!
This disaster has seen most shooters write-off
super-heavy 224 bullets and the cartridge with
them but fortunately, some white knights have since
Target Shooter 43
ridden to the rescue – namely JLK and Berger with
long-range 90gn VLDs whose BCs run around 0.281
(G7), 0.550 (G1). Top Canadian and American ‘off
the elbows’ iron-sight shooters Clint Dahlstrom and
Jerry Tierney have made the case for .223/90 by
undertaking extensive tests with these bullets and
publishing their results.
Clint’s work persuaded the DCRA (Dominion of
Canada Rifle Ass.) to change its TR and F/TR
rules to allow ‘less than 91gn’ bullets and this is
likely to happen elsewhere. Crucially, Jerry found
that a slower twist rate improves performance, his
Palma rifle using a 1 in 7.7 Krieger barely stabilised
the JLK in California’s ambient temperatures – he
recommends 1 in 7 but I suspect we’ll ultimately
find something between that and 7.5 is optimal.
I’m indebted to Jerry who e-mailed me a full year’s
worth of very detailed test results and comments
demonstrating Alliant Reloder 15 and Vihtavuori
N550 can produce 90gn MVs above 2,800 fps
and small groups. (His work has been published
under his forum name of Jerry_HM as two or three
topics in the External Ballistics section of the US
Palma Team’s forum – www.usrifleteams.com/lr-
forum )
So, we’re in business – and the 90gn Berger VLD,
a 1.26” long dart, certainly looks the part – but there
is ‘many a slip twixt cup and lip’ - or muzzle and
V-Bull. Running with a Savage 12 target action
rather than Jerry’s Barnard, my objective is 2,750 fps, the
downgrade due to likely earlier onset of the dreaded
small rifle primer piercing problem in the factory
action.
Recoil and Torque
While the USA wakes up to the 223 Remington’s
potential in long-range National/International
competition, many of her shooters are restricted
to 500 or 600yd ranges - unless they drive vast
distances by our standards. So the little cartridge
has seen rapidly growing use in F/TR at these
ranges to which it is eminently suited, helping the
discipline really take off continent-wide. There is
another driver at work – none of these “You can’t come
onto my rifle range until you’re 14 or 15” rules in the
land of the free. Mom (who is often a shooter as well)
and Pop get the kids into competitive shooting at age
10 or less and, while the adults start with a .308, they
buy or build a ‘mouse gun’ for the youngsters. The
‘trouble’ is that with a season-long learning-curve
over, Junior and his/ her .223 all too often rack up
higher scores. Many of the older generation are
moving over too, sneakily expropriating their
offspring’s rifle on some pretext, one imagines! I
remembered reading a Hornady press release on
this topic and eventually tracked it down. Dated
44 Target Shooter
19th November 2008, it lauds 12 year old Brianna
Rachinski for breaking four US National 500 yard F/
TR records with her .223 – Open, Women, Junior,
and Civilian – in a single match with a score of 199-
10x - using Hornady bullets, naturally.
How often do you hear it said or read that “308W
recoil isn’t an issue if the hold is good”? Whilst that
may apply to the average adult male TR shooter,
it might not to the ‘five-foot nothing’ size 10 lady
or slightly built teenager we’re trying to encourage
into the sport. As F/TR has become more
competitive too, seeing heavier bullets at higher
MVs being used in .308Win, recoil has become
an issue – not so much whether the shootercopes
but rather the bipod! This applies just as much, if
not more, to handling the substantial torque being
generated, hence the increasingly wide-set feet of
the custom bipods in use. Well, here’s the good
news for all those fancy bipod haters who say they’ll
shun F/TR as long as it isn’t restricted to a ‘Harris
type’ – because that’s all you need on a .223 rifle!
Sierra’s Infinity 6 ballistics program calculates
.223Rem free recoil of only 2.5 ft/lbs with a 90gn
bullet at 2,825 fps in an 18lb rifle compared to nearly
10 ft/lbs with a heavy bullet in .308Win and one
imagines a similar reduction applies to torque values.
Fitting a 14 ounce Harris ‘S’ bi-pod leaves more
weight allowance to go on the barrel or scope too. The
good news doesn’t end there – .223Rem has lower
running costs than .308W through cheaper bullets,
brass and a 20gn reduction in powder used per
cartridge.
In addition to commissioning the custom rifle
described in this article, I will be collaborating with
Savage specialist Stuart Anselm of Osprey Rifles on
a factory F/TR clubman’s rifle in 223Rem and Mik
Maksimovich of Dolphin Gun Company & Ballistic
Services Arms - whose other hat is that of GB
F-Class Chairman – and sees the 223 cartridge as a
potential way of attracting new entrants to the F Class
discipline and so will assist with ballistics and load
development. Now, back to Vince for more details of
the build.
Convinced? Mmm – sounds promising I must
admit but until we get this rifle built we’ll never know.
Next month we’ll put Laurie’s rifle together and
Laurie will carry out some initial testing and load
development and maybe enter his first competition.
Don’t miss September’s Target Shooter which will be
on-line, as always, by the first of the month.
Rifle Work Ammunition Development
 Re-barreling work Assistance in Ammunition Development up to and
 Fitting of Moderators and Muzzle brakes - Reproofing of including .50 BMG
Rifle required
 Trigger work – See Trigger work

Ballistics Testing
Offering Ballistics testing for research
and development purposes to Stanag,
NIJ and V50 testing of composite and
steel materials. Including High speed
photography and Certifiable Results of
tests.
Dolphin are now proud to announce
that we are ISO 9001:2008 BSI
certificate No FM32560 for our
Ballistic testing.

Dolphin Gun Company & Ballistic Services (a division of Hobson Industries )

2 Vine Street
STAMFORD
Lincs
PE9 1QE
Tel: 01780 481567 or 0774 7771962
Email: mik@mikdolphin.demon.co.uk

Website: www.dolphinguncompany.co.uk

Please feel free to contact us at any reasonable time to discuss any requirements that you may have.

Target Shooter 45
46 Target Shooter
Snipersystems Mark II Mil Spec tilting
bipod

by Nigel Greenaway
I’ve been using bipods for Practical Rifle
shooting for over twenty years now and
I have always favoured Parker Hale’s
bipod – itself based on the bipod from the
famous Bren gun. The reason I favoured
the Parker Hale over its Harris rival was
its canting or tilting mechanism which
enabled the rifle to be held upright
irrespective of uneven ground conditions.
The early Harris bipods did not have this
canting ability. This was a vital requirement
because there is seldom the time during
a competition to painstakingly adjust
the height of one of the bipod legs in an
attempt to keep the rifle level. Hence my
choice of Parker Hale – yes it was heavy,
twice the price and some would say its
canting ability made it too sloppy. I never
found this sloppiness to be a problem
because I tend to hold the rifle for-end as if
I am shooting conventionally, even though
I am using the bipod (the benefit is that my
zero does not alter whether I am shooting
with or without a bipod). Later Parker Hale
versions introduced aluminium parts and a
locking facility to reduce or eliminate the
sloppiness. Around the same time Harris
introduced their Harris S Swivel bipod
which overcame the original design’s
shortcomings but in the same lightweight
package. Since then the Harris bipod

Target Shooter 47
48 Target Shooter
design has been copied by a host of manufacturers. fitting to the Harris, and not to many other designs
of bipod.
The latest version introduced by Global Rifle is their
Snipersystems Mark II Mil Spec tilting bipod, similar Although originally designed for centrefire rifles, the
to the 20 year old Harris swivel design, but made Snipersystems bipod can be used on almost any rifle
of much lighter materials. Many other engineering or air rifle, so long as a sling swivel stud is attached
improvements have been built in to make them more to the stock. There are
user friendly, lighter in weight and less likely to pinch three sizes 6”- 9”, 9”- 13” and 13”- 27” which can
fingers! On the subject of weight the MkII version accommodate all types of shooting, be it benchrest,
weighs 13.1oz / 372g whilst the original all steel prone, sitting, kneeling, shooting off the bonnet of a
Parker Hale is almost double the weight at 1lb 4.3oz car or over crops. Apparently they have found favour
/ 709g. Weight is important because the old rules in military circles and Global Rifle has an NCAGE
of Practical Rifle stated that all equipment used by code as a supplier to the UK MOD. This speaks
the shooter should be carried throughout the shoot. volumes for the quality of the product.
The Parker Hale bipod can be quickly detached
and slipped into a pocket or belt pouch so the extra The bipod is designed to fit onto a standard sling
weight was not on the rifle during standing, kneeling swivel stud on the fore-end of the rifle. They are
or sitting stages. The rules have now changed and very easy to fit and I have fitted one to my Enfield
most competitions, including Civilian Service Rifle, Enforcer. One note of caution – I have seen many
stipulate that the bipod, if used, should remain fitted Harris type bipods fitted to No.4 fore-ends, usually in
to the rifle throughout the competition. the hollowed out portion you can see in the picture.
Although this is the right place to fit the bipod it does
The Mark 11 version launched in April 2010, reduce by half the amount of meat in the wood where
incorporates a tilt locking mechanism so the “Swivel” the swivel stud is screwed in. A better alternative is
action can be stiffened up or even locked in one to buy a swivel stud which has a metal thread and
position both quickly and easily. This ratchetting nut. By using this type you can drill a smaller hole
lever is similar to the American “Podlock”, previously and then use a thin metal plate to spread the load –
only available as an accessory and only suitable for resulting in a sling swivel stud that is fixed far more

Target Shooter 49
securely. I have seen too many Harris bipods, wood entirely off the bipod with the left hand holding the
screw and all, ripped off No.4 rifles as the shooter butt instead of the fore-end.
hurriedly throws himself down to adopt the prone
position in the middle of a competition! The bipod legs are sprung loaded so depressing the
catch pops them out. The legs are notched for extra
To fit the bipod, with the rifle stock facing upwards, security and the notches are in roughly half inch
offer up the bipod with the legs facing towards the increments. All in all I found this to be a sturdy and
muzzle. There are two claws on the bipod that clip well designed bipod, with some subtle improvements
over the stud. These should be protruding through over the first model. The tilt lock will appeal to some
the square aperture on the base of the bipod. shooters whose particular style of shooting will
Squeeze the top end together to open the claws derive some benefit from it – I imagine it would be
and locate these onto the stud. Now turn the knurled very useful when trying to bore sight a rifle. At the
knob on the end of the screw to tighten the claws last count there were about 70 dealers stocking the
over the stud. Excessive force is not required! Snipersystems bipods at prices that are probably
25% less than a Harris bipod. For more details and
The bipod is now securely fitted onto the rifle. A a list of stockists, visit www.snipersystems.co.uk.
sling swivel can also be fitted (not supplied with the My thanks to Global Rifle for supplying me with the
bipod) to the special knob on the bipod underneath bipod – I found them very knowledgeable and
the tilt lock, as indicated in the picture, and not to the helpful.
top of the claws. The tilt lock lever enables the tilting
mechanism on the bipod to be stiffened up once the
rifle angle has been adjusted to suit uneven ground.
The lever operates the screw tensioner and enables
the tension to be adjusted by turning it through a
small arc. It can be pulled out and moved back to
avoid contact with the stock. This replaces the thumb
screw usually present on other Harris type bipods. It
is more important to use this tilt lock if the rifle is shot

50 Target Shooter
 Target Shooter 51
HANDLOADING ‘OLD FAITHFUL’ THE .308 WINCHESTER -
Part 10

By Laurie Holland
Above - There is a huge choice of suitable powders for .308W. Ramshot TAC ball powder
(centre) was only briefly available in the UK, moreover the only powder that has given me
excessive pressures in the cartridge with 155gn bullets while sticking to factory loads data
Finishing off the loading process, we have powder charge shown was weighed on a set of RCBS
dispensing and measurement, before taking one 10-10 beam scales, most of the loads covered
step back to look at powder choice and settling this month ‘thrown’ beforehand by a Hornady
on the charge weight ranges to be tried. Every ‘Competition’ powder measure. This is an

All powder charges were

weighed after being
thrown on a Hornady
Competition grade measure

52 Target Shooter
 The FN Special Police Rifle and CED
Millennium chronograph during load-testing

excellent tool fitted with a smaller diameter thimble

choice, this powder widely used in ‘standard’
type metering stem than that on the standard 155gn Fullbore and Palma Rifle loads, but
Lock-N-Load measure. It also has a rounded very effective with heavier bullets too. I prefer
concave depression in the stem’s chamber slower burning N150 over N140 for most loads
end to improve charge consistency. (I now use with 155-180 grainers and N550 for 185gn and
a Harrell’s Precision measure for reasons I’ll heavier bullet long-range loads. Whenever
explain next month.) N140 and VarGet are known to be useful, I
automatically include Alliant’s double-base
The .308W is a ‘well balanced’ design that is Reloder 15 in the ‘must try’ category too. In
tolerant of a wide range of powder types and practical terms, you can produce an accurate
burning rates when loaded with bullets in the 150- .308W cartridge for any sporting or target
190gn weight range. It’s so tolerant in fact, and shooting application with only one or two
there is such a variety of makes and grades of members of this sextet such is the cartridge’s
powder on the market that choice can be difficult. powder tolerance and these powders’ flexibility.
Europeans think of Vihtavuori, with N140 first However, looking at other excellent propellants
choice for the popular 155, 168, 175gn bullets, a with similar burning rates and bulk densities,
smaller number choosing its double-base we find there are some 13 or 14 in total, and if
(added nitroglycerine) N540 version if higher we go a little outside the ‘standard envelope’ or
velocities are required. Most Americans seek out less commonly seen makes, the choice
probably make Hodgdon VarGet their default rises to 20 plus. Throw in the 30 match bullets

Target Shooter 53
available in the UK and evaluated in Part 8, and Above - Vihtavuori powders are popular in the
you see a large range of potential combinations, cartridge in the UK and continental Europe.
too many to ever try them all. While on the I prefer N150/550 to the more widely used
cartridge design, it is not only powder tolerant, N140/540 grades
but usually accepts small variations in charge sniper and hostage-rescue teams. Unusually
weights without affecting precision or MV for such a rifle it has a hard-chromed bore, an
spreads. You occasionally find a combination FN-Herstal speciality designed to enhance
that only seems to work with one charge weight barrel accuracy life originally developed for
and minimal variations on either side, but that machineguns. This is a good multi-purpose
is unusual. This is a good thing in that most performer, with a smooth magazine action
powder scales are accurate to ±0.1gn, and bedded in the excellent McMillan A4 tactical
with a bit of operator error thrown in, that easily stock and set up with minimum SAAMI
becomes a bit more giving a spread of maybe headspace. The 24” barrel length is a limiting
0.3 or 0.4gn across the contents of your factor if you want to shoot at long range, 800yd
ammunition box even if the majority will be on or being a sensible competition ceiling. My rifle
close to the desired weight. as used for testing was out of the box with one
exception – Halifax gunsmith Peter Walker
Special Police Rifle replaced the Winchester trigger components
I’ll split load combinations and results across two with a crisp Jewell assembly.
months’ issues, looking at my initial shorter-range
loads used in a 24” barrel FN Special Police Rifle While on the subject of barrels, the FN employs
now, moving onto higher performance the SAAMI-standard twist rate of 1-12”, so is able
long-range loads developed firstly for the FN, then to stabilise bullets as long as the 190 and 200gn
with lighter bullets for a season of high level F-Class Sierra MK, and slightly lighter weight VLD types.
competition in a 1-13.5” twist 30” barrel Although I never had the internals gauged, the
Barnard-Eliseo tube gun next month. Kicking off odds are that the bore (land) diameter was 0.300”
with the FN, it uses a beefed-up (WSM) version and the groove-diameter 0.3080”, again SAAMI-
of the Winchester 70 Mauser-system action spec standard. These dimensions are rather
and was one of two .308W rifles chosen by the larger than those employed in most British and
American FBI agency for issue to its elite Commonwealth TR and many F/TR rifles, a
54 Target Shooter
 Two evergreen powders that are useful across a wide weight range of bullets, Hodgdon
VarGet and Alliant Reloder 15 from Australia and Sweden respectively via the USA
slightly ‘tight’ barrel the norm in ‘Target Rifle’ ball type cartridges with their undersized 144-
running at 0.2980 or 0.2985” bore / 0.3065” groove. 150gn bullets – they really do need good quality
These dimensions suited those of the 155gn commercial match or sporting bullets that mike
bullet in the RG ‘Bisley Match’ military sniper round at the full 0.3080” or slightly more. I suspect, but
bought by the NRA for many years. RUAG (RWS) can’t confirm so far, that most European rifles
has developed the replacement UK TR .308W designed for military sniper use as well as law
cartridge that loads the original 155gn Sierra enforcement and civilian sales – Accuracy AE/
Palma MK to suit such barrels to provide small AW, Sako TRG, Blaser R93 etc – will have
groups and enough MV (getting on for 3,000 tighter bores so that they perform acceptably
fps) from 30-32” barrels for effective 1,000yd with military
performance. ball ammunition. This, allied to 25.5 or 26-inch
Returning to the FN and similar commercial barrels provide useful velocity increases for
sporting and tactical rifles means that a longer range shooting at the cost of higher
combination of the larger SAAMI dimensions pressures with commercial match ammunition
and 24” overall length will produce some pretty or handloads with SAAMI / CIP spec match
unimpressive MVs with all but very hot loads bullets. The freebore on the FN’s barrel was
compared to specialist competition rifles. such that cartridge OALs were in the 2.85-2.895”
Incidentally, such true thirty calibre rifles almost range with various 155-190gn bullets when
invariably perform poorly with standard 7.62mm seated just off the lands, and too long at those

Target Shooter 55
Above - IMR-4895 and 4064 are long-time US favourites that have gone out of fashion a little
but work very well in the cartridge, and regularly feature in Sierra’s ‘most accurate load’
listings for .308W
lengths to fit the detachable box magazine. Factory Fodder
This is not uncommon with heavy-barrel factory I try to use factory cartridges as a benchmark to
.308s, it often said that current examples of the measure my handloads against if I can get them
popular Remington 700 Police (PSS) having a at a reasonable price – and this is a cartridge
bit too much, so that many bullets have to make where shooters yet again have plenty of choice.
a long jump even when seated right out in the I got hold of half a dozen products from as many
case. Most tangent ogive designs such as Sierra manufacturers, four of which used Sierra or Lapua
MatchKings still shoot well in the majority of these match bullets. The odd men out were Radway
factory models when seated to produce 2,810” Green’s 155gn ‘Bisley Match’ and Prvi Partizan
or slightly longer COALs for magazine operation (PPU) 168gn match, both modestly priced back
despite the resulting forty or fifty thou’ jumps. in 2005/6. At the other extreme price-wise, I had

Table 1
Factory Ammunition Results
Make Bullet Group Av. MV  (Spread) ME ft/lb
RG 155gn FMJBT 1.4” 2,748 (40) 2,599
HPS‐TR / JHC 155gn SMK 0.6” 2,719 (26) 2,544
Prvi Partizan 168gn FMJBT 1.2” 2,559 (60) 2,443
Federal GM 168gn SMK 0.75” 2,683 (46) 2,685
Lapua Match 167gn Moly Scenar 0.7” 2,785 (30) 2,876
Norma Dia Match 190gn Moly SMK 0.9” 2,628 (36) 2,913

56 Target Shooter
 Set up ready to go at 350 yards
Above - IMR-3031, 4895, and 4064 are traditional long-stick powders, 3031 seen here on
millimetre grid graph paper. They don’t meter or flow over-well in powder measures
a box each of Federal Gold Medal Match (168gn
SMK) and Lapua Match (167gn Silver Scenar)
costing well over £1 a bang, plus Norma ‘Diamond
Match’ (moly-coated bullets) with 190gn SMKs,
old stock in battered cartons that I got at a heavily
discounted price. HPS-Target Rifle Ltd’s JHC
‘Target-Master’ came in between, a product
mostly geared to the 7.62mm TR competitor using
the ‘old’ 155gn Palma MK. This ammo is very
good value if you buy it by the thousand and
return the fired cases to HPS for a discount.
Table 1 lists the results – an average of four
five-round groups. The ‘Target-Master’ and
167gn Lapua were the ‘stars’ with small
groups and MV spreads. Note the modest MVs
produced by the two 155gn bullet cartridges
compared to the 2,800fps people regard as the
norm from this weight, never mind the 2,950+
expected from a modern competition rifle. The
190gn Norma fodder was loaded ‘hot’ as was
the 167gn Lapua 167gn match ammo producing
respectable MVs, no doubt helped by their use
of moly-coated bullets.
The Federal GM Match did everything its
specification says, in fact slightly more than the
advertised 2,650 fps MV, the FN being just the
sort of rifle it is designed to be used in.
Vanilla Flavour
Load development and testing with this rifle
encompassed two distinct phases. I’ll sum
up the first as ‘vanilla recipes’, popular bullets
with a range of mid burning rate powders and
generally sticking to the loading manuals’
maximum charge weights. A couple of faster
burning exceptions were IMR-3031 and
Nobel-Sport Tu3000, the former as part of trying
Target Shooter 57
Left - 47.3gn of IMR-4064 fills a .308W case to the brim even when poured
through a four-inch drop tube. Most
reason for the cartridge’s consistency and flexibility
the long established IMR range that importers
Edgar Brothers had only just reintroduced
to the British market after an absence of many years;
the latter because that’s mostly what the French
company provides data for in its limited choice
of loads for this cartridge. Most combinations
used a two-grain weight spread, the top end at or
near the powder or bullet manufacturer’s listed
maximum load and weights rising in half-grain
steps. This approach worked well, nothing
producing dirty case-bodies due to over-low
pressures. I also felt no maximum load tried was
anywhere near pushing pressure limits, and
the Lapua cases used throughout remained in
excellent condition with tight primer pockets
even when getting on for ten loadings. The
second development round took place a couple
of years after the first and mostly looked at
trying some more ballistically efficient bullets to
improve the rifle’s longer range performance, in
particular attempting to get some reasonable
(2,600 fps +) MVs with the 190gn Sierra MK,
consistent with small groups. (This was before
58 Target Shooter
powders give high fill-ratios, one
the high-BC Berger BT Long-Range tangent
ogive bullets appeared.) Some of the loads used
in this phase exceed those found in loading
manuals.
Anyway, the factory cartridges gave a good
starting point for comparisons, the examples with
Sierra/Lapua match bullets averaging 0.6-0.75”,
individual groups running between the half and
full-inch, maybe the odd one a bit larger. I expected
to better this with my handloads being tailored
for the action and barrel, and able to load using
milder loads than those used in the hotter factory
examples that I already knew opened groups up.
The problem I faced was exactly that – I quickly
obtained exceptional results, but at exceptionally
low MVs. While fine for short-distance work, I
needed accurate combinations running at 2,700
fps and above with 175gn bullets, 2,600 fps or
more with 185/190s, to minimise wind effects.
The problem was compounded by some powders
failing to produce the loading manuals’ MV
Table 2
RESULTS (5 X 5‐round batches bench‐tested at 100 yards)
Case/Primer Charges/Powder Groups Comments
155gn Sierra Palma MK
Lapua/Rem 9½ 41‐43gn IMR‐3031 0.35‐0.8” good combination
Lapua/Rem 9½ 42.5‐44.5gn IMR‐4895 0.5‐0.9”
Lapua/Rem 9½ 40‐44gn N140 0.35‐1.0” lowish MVs
Lapua/Rem 9½ 46‐49gn N550 0.7‐1.0”

155gn Lapua Scenar
Lapua/PMC 43.5‐45.5gn AA‐2520 0.5‐0.9” 43.5gn best
Lapua/PMC 43.5‐45.5gn N150 0.55‐1.3”

167gn Lapua Scenar
Lapua/Rem 9½ 43‐45gn N150 0.4‐0.75” Bad weather
Lapua/PMC 43‐45gn AA‐2520 0.7‐1.5”

168gn Sierra Match King
Lapua/CCI‐200 41.5‐43.5gn Re15 0.5‐0.7” Very consistent
Lapua/Rem 9½ 40‐42gn IMR‐4064 0.2‐0.7” smallest group
Lapua/Rem 9½ 42‐44gn IMR‐4320 1.0‐1.1”
Norma/S&B 41.5‐43.5gn H. Varget 0.6‐1.3”
Norma/Magtech 9½ 40.5‐42.3gn N140 0.7‐1.2” Low MVs
Lapua/PMC 39‐42gn N‐Sport Tu3000 0.7‐1.8” Very clean burning
Lapua/PMC 42.7‐44.2gn N140 0.5‐1.7” Small MV spreads

168gn Nosler Custom Competition
Lapua/PMC 40.5‐42.5gn IMR‐4064 0.5‐1.0”
Lapua/PMC 41‐44gn Re15 0.4‐0.6” Good combination

170gn Lapua B476 FMJ
Lapua/ Magtech 9½ 42.7‐44.7gn N150 0.8‐1.5gn Bad weather

175gn Sierra Match King
Lapua/Fed 210M 41‐43gn N540 0.5‐1.0” Bad weather
Lapua/PMC 40‐42gn AA‐2520 0.5‐0.9”
Lapua/PMC 43‐47gn H380 0.7‐1.3”
Lapua/PMC 39.5‐41.5gn Re15 0.35‐1.1” Excellent (4ex5 <¾”)
Lapua/PMC 41‐43gn IMR‐4064 0.5‐0.9”
Lapua/PMC 43.5‐45.5gn N550 0.45‐1.1” 4 ex 5 < 0.75”

180gn Sierra Match King
Lapua/PMC 40‐43gn IMR‐4064 0.3‐1.0”
Lapua/PMC 40.5‐43.5gn IMR‐4320 0.25‐1.5”
Lapua/PMC 41‐44gn Re15 0.3‐0.7” Good combination
Lapua/PMC 41‐44gn H. Varget 0.35‐1.2” Good at low loads

185gn Lapua 185gn Scenar
Lapua/PMC 39‐42gn N140 0.7‐1.1”
Lapua/PMC 44‐46.5gn N550 0.45‐1.0” High MVs

predictions. Luckily, I found QuickLOAD
predicted MVs with remarkable accuracy for some
combinations letting me increase charges with
some precision and see the likely chamber
pressures being produced. For example,
Sierra’s and Lapua’s N140 maxima for their
167/168gn bullets turned out to be identical at
42.3gn, Lapua saying it gives the 167gn Scenar
2,500fps; Sierra predicting 2,600fps for the
168gn Match King. Both companies use quite
long test barrels (25½” and 26”) so I expected
to be 50-60fps down with my 24” tube. (Lapua
has increased its N140 maximum load to 44.0gn
for the 167gn Scenar for 2,628 fps MV in more
recent data.) By sticking to this maximum load,
I only achieved a poor 2,480fps with the SMK,
QuickLOAD also being out here predicting
2,569fps from a still modest peak pressure
of 48,500psi. In fact looking at QuickLOAD’s
graduated table for this combination, my actual
MV would be produced by a chamber pressure
somewhere around 43,000 psi which is
15-18,000 psi below the cartridge’s allowed
PMax – very good for barrel life if it delivers
enough performance.
Since it was obvious the 168gn SMK produced
lower than expected MVs with this powder in
this barrel – hence running at lower pressures
– I increased charges in 0.4gn steps to
44.2gn (QuickLOAD said 2,666fps for around
55,000psi). This worked out as predicted with
2,639fps 12 ft from the muzzle, also giving
exceptionally small MV spreads. Unfortunately,
group size steadily increased from 43.4gn,
with 44.2 producing 1.7”, laterally spread. The
old 155gn Palma SMK was down on velocity
too with N140, Viht’s maximum 44gn giving a
modest 2,660fps compared to 2,750 promised by
the then current manual. With Vihtavuori listing
very conservative loads for some reason, maybe
reflecting concerns over using 0.3080-3085” dia.
bullets in undersize 7.62mm barrels, it’s easy to
see why most British handloaders use the nice
round figure of 45gn (or even 46gn) with this
bullet. QuickLOAD predicts 51,000 psi for 45gn
Target Shooter 59
 Table 3
MVs from Handloaded Combinations giving small groups
Bullet Powder Average MV MV Spread
155 SMK 42gn IMR‐3031 2,759 24 (Remington 9½)
155 Scenar 43.5gn AA‐2520 2,727 21
155 Scenar 43.5gn N150 2,700 7
167 Scenar 43.5gn AA‐2520 2,686 66
168 SMK 42.3gn N140 2,480 43 (Magtech 9½)
168 SMK 43.5gn Re15 2,594 9 (CCI‐200)
168 Nosler 41.5gn IMR‐4064 2,507 13
168 Nosler 43gn Re15 2,531 10
175 SMK 41gn Re15 2,427 22
175 SMK 43gn IMR‐4064 2,642 23
175 SMK 44.5 N550 2,520 21
180 SMK 44gn Re15 2,531 10
185 Scenar 46gn N550 2,624 21
(Lapua cases used throughout with PMC primers except where shown.)

and 55,000psi for 46gn (against a CIP allowed especially Enfield No.4 examples with
PMax of 60,191 psi, the latter expected to hammer-forged Enfield Lock produced barrels,
produce 2,783fps and approaching the 2,800 should note that many of these rifles have
figure most people assume they’re getting with exceptionally ‘tight’ barrels to suit the undersize
this bullet. I’ll stress these charges exceed 145gn RG ‘Green Spot’ bullet of the 1970s
Sierra and Vihtavuori maximum loads and and 80s and will produce excessive pressures
will be influenced by your barrel dimensions. with handloads that produce normal performance
Readers with older British 7.62mm TR rifles, from full-size match bullets. I believe that the
Below - IMR-4064 behind the 168gn SMK produced the smallest 100yd group in the FN SPR
at just under 0.2” despite poor weather (as can be seen in the inkjet printer produced target
running in the wet)

60 Target Shooter
Some less commonly seen powders or faster burning numbers that suit the cartridge. Reloder
10x, Hodgdon H322, AA-2460, and IMR-3031 can all produce tight grouping loads for shorter
range target shooting. The Accurate Arms ball powders produce high MVs but are ‘dirty’
NRA has banned the use of the new RWS Viht N550 looked promising with 175-185gn
155gn SMK cartridges in such rifles at Bisley – bullets also producing reasonable velocities.
you have been warned! All bullets could be made to group well, but the
180gn SMK performed exceptionally in the 12T
Table 3 lists MVs for a number of combinations barrel and was apparently suited to long ranges
that grouped very well in my rifle. When it came at the 2,600fps MVs that produced the smallest
to producing half-inch or smaller groups, Alliant groups according to the then available BC
Reloder 15 and IMR-4064 were the undisputed data and G1 based ballistics tables, but
stars in my rifle, and the former has the remember this is one of the MatchKing designs
advantage of running smoothly and metering that become unstable at transonic velocities,
consistently through powder measures. Three and should be restricted to 600yd shooting.
of the four IMR powders tried did very well
indeed, the relatively fast burning 3031 proving Important notice
surprisingly effective with the 155gn SMK. Note These components and loads performed
however that IMR-3031, 4895, and 4064 are safely in the author’s rifle. This cannot be
propellants that don’t flow well through powder guaranteed for other handloaders and rifles.
measures, their long grains getting caught by Good handloading procedures should be
the rotor and having to be cut by forcing the used at all times working loads up from rec-
measure’s handle down, also prone to ‘bridge’ ommended
in the drop tube. (IMR-4320 is short-cut in starting levels and looking for signs of
response to complaints from handloaders excessive pressure or other problems.
about this characteristic of most powders in
the range.) Hodgdon Varget and the Vihtavuori
powders gave good results in some but not all
combinations, both seemingly better suited to
heavier projectiles. Actually, the FN didn’t seem
to be over-fond of VarGet with most bullets, an
unusual state of affairs. AA-2520 did very well
with 155gn Scenars and 168gn SMKs, also
turning out good velocities. Unfortunately it also
produced very hard fouling on the case-necks
which proved desperately difficult to remove.

Target Shooter 61
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Target Shooter Magazine is a publication of Trinity Digital Publishing Ltd
 MINI RIFLE SIGHTS

by Tim Finley
Mini Rifle competitions make full use of .22 semi
to be more precise) to find most of the home
auto rifles. The distance to the targets does vary
club competitors using open sights. After when
depending upon the club/range they are shot at
I analysed this I knew the reasons why, on the
and also upon the course designers as to whatsecond stage the sun’s position and the use of
level of difficulty they build into each stage. Mini
white backers and black hit zones on the turning
Rifle events very rarely have only one stage.targets made the red reticle in my sight almost
I first shot a Mini Rifle competition two years
disappear. Also the shooters using open sights
ago, the hosting club put on three stages for the
had the advantage on the predominately short
event. Only one of which was on a range whoseranges of the targets on most of the stages. If
maximum distance was over 25m. Two of them you fit an optical sight of some kind you have to
were shot with targets only 15 to 10m away take into account the height of the centerline of
from the shooter. I turned up with my GSG-5 the sight above the barrel and aim above your
and a Barska red dot sight ( Or red crosshairintended target on the really short range targets
A Barska served me well when I started out in order to hit where you
want it too in the high
scoring zone. With open
sights the allowance the
shooter has to give by
aiming over is negated
and you effective use the
same aiming point for a
greater range of targets
as you would do on the
short ones. Those using
optical sights have to
remember where to aim
not easy in a fast moving
event like Mini Rifle. A
big disadvantage with
the optical sight I was

Target Shooter 63
 for example on one stage we had
to double tap two targets from
My second mini rifle scope was the prone position at a full 50m
a step up range, which is NOT easy with
a non magnified red dot sight. I
predominantly used non
magnified optical sights for my
first year of Mini Rifle. As well as
the Barska on the GSG-5 I used
a Hawke red dot on a GSG-AK47
to win one competition where
speed was of the essence and
the ranges to the targets was not
too great. It’s a fact that a red
dot which is not magnified gives
quicker target acquisition than
a magnified scope. On shooting
more and more courses and
gaining more and more
experience I felt sure a scope
with low magnification was the
way to go. That’s not to say I
was not winning with the GSG-5
and the Barska, I only lost one
shoot at Thurnscoe with that
combination but other shooters
were gaining on me and the gap
Good mini rifle sights do not was closing. Also the stages
have to be big were getting harder and harder
as we all got better and Ross was
getting more evil. It would be folly
to dismiss the red dot for Mini
using was the height above the barrel, which Rifle. I am keeping a red dot on
came out to 60mm from the centerline of the the GSG-5 to use on events were that type of
scope to the centerline of the barrel. So I had to faster sight would give me an advantage. I have
aim way off the top of the target on the 10m ones. just got hold of an Aimpoint T1 red dot sight and
When we started Mini Rifle at our own club we I have to say it is an impressive bit of kit. I have
are lucky enough to have three 50m butts and an old Aimpoint model 5000XD on my Buckmark
a 100m butt, so we have much more space and LBP so know how good Aimpoint’s are. They are
greater opportunity for differing courses of fire. quite unique in the red dot sight world as they
Our course designer Ross is also an evil genius, have an additional lens so ensure the reflected

rear sight fore sight

64 Target Shooter
red dot axis is always parallel to the scopes axis I keep a 15m dial
so reducing any potential parallax error. This
adds cost to a red dot sight so the majority of
sights do not have this. The other type of red
dot sight is the so called “reflex” sight where the
dot is projected forwards onto an angled screen.
These are usually smaller than the full tube
type such as the Aimpoint’s. The Hawke model
I used on the GSG-AK47 is one of the reflex
screen types, I now have that sight affixed to
the front of my Rimfire Magic rifle on an angled
mount in front of my telescopic sight. This I use
when shooting ten yard steel plates normally on I won a shoot with this Hawke
the end of staged at Thurnscoe and Diggle. By sight
turning the rifle over to the left by 40 degrees
or so I get a good sight picture with the red dot
reflex sight which is faster on the aim than using
the scope. Zero’d at ten yards, this is another
little modification to give you a time advantage
over other Mini Rifle competitors.
So moving on to a scope with some
magnification was I felt the next step after
using the Barska on the GSG for so long, even
with just a little magnification comes the a
bility to be able to see where your shots are
falling on the longer-range targets. This is a
major advantage in Mini Rifle as you can then
adjust your point of aim if you are not in the high- Open sights are still used by many
est scoring “A“ zone. If the competition is be- shooters
ing run to Comstock rules you have even more
of an advantage being able to spot your shots.
Under the rules you can fire more than the two
shots at any one target, the highest two scores
are taken for that target. The only disadvantage
with Comstock rules is you take more time on
each target and will have to magazine change
and keep a good handle on the number of shots
you have fired. You will probably need to do
more magazine changes than those only firing
two shots at each target rather than three four
or in the case of some of the Para’s who I shoot
with a lot more! With Comstock your score will
be higher if you use a scope and can spot all
your shots, its as simple as that. Having said
that it does not always work out, I got a perfect
160ex160 on a stage but was slower by 4
seconds to the guy who scored 159ex160 so I
lost the stage. There is a fine balance between
seen and scoring which is the real challenge
with Mini Rifle, tactics and where you magazine
change also play a massive part in the sport,
it is not just a question of running around and
blasting away, you can if you like but you will not

Target Shooter 65
 Parallax precise events I wanted to alter
adjustable helps the parallax to the range I
was shooting at and alter the
elevation to be able to aim dead
on the “V” bull at every range. I
shot to a Grand Master standard
and got a Grand Master medal
at my first ever Phoenix event
so my theory seemed to work
out, that’s another story however.
The scope I came up with was an
AGS 3-12*44 compact. I had one
in the loft so I bolted it on. This
has a side wheel parallax system
and target turrets, the reticle is a
nice Mildot style with reasonable
optics. I say Mildot style as a
lot of the Chinese made scope
state they are Mildot but actually
win anything. the reticle is not a true Mildot.
I began to look at specifications of scopes On the AGS it was set at two Mildot spacing’s
and what would work for Mini Rifle. It needed on ten times magnification, that’s the reason it
to come down to 3 times magnification as a was in the loft, it was no good for HFT where
minimum any bigger than that and on really short a true Mildot is king. This lack of true Mildot
stages you would struggle to see the targets is of no consequence in Mini Rifle and the
clearly, unless you have a parallax adjustable reticle was very good for the event. I won the first
scope but I’ll get to that later. Many shooters competition I shot with it. I did see a need to
use the old 1-5*20 Simmons Whitetail Classic improve the scope for optical quality and I then
and what a superb scope it is. I have several changed to a custom made Leupold 3-9*33
myself and swear by them for rat shooting with fitted with a USMC Mildot reticle. Leupold had
my .25 calibre airguns. These are non-parallax very kindly made it for me to try for HFT. The
adjustable optics and come set to 100 yards from reticle was not a true Mildot due to it being a
the factory. They can be very easily changed nine times magnification scope. That as I said
as the front objective lens locking rings are not before is not an issue, the lack of a dialling turret
loctied on and can be altered down to airgun was. I then remembered I had fitted a Stoney
and Mini Rifle distances in five minutes. Another Point target turret onto another Leupold scope
popular scope at our club
in the 3.5-10*40 Whitetail The low mag on this Simmons is ideal
Classic Simmons scope,
again another old scope
with the same non-parallax
adjustable front end. All these
are relatively cheap scopes,
but I reasoned if I was going
for the scope option then
I wanted it to be parallax
adjustable and have some
sort of target turret system.
I wanted to use it down at
Bisley on Gallery Rifle events
such as Advancing Target,
Timed and Precision 1 and
Multi Target. For these very
66 Target Shooter
The 1st scope on my Rimfire Magic rifle was an AGS getting close to beating me!
He was very impressed
with the optics of this sight
and has since rung me to
tell me again how good he
thinks it is. Turing it down to
three times magnification
and setting the parallax to
15m makes it ideal for Mini
Rifle. I go for four times
magnification on my
Leupold normally but do
alter it up and down
depending upon the
difficultly and distances of
each stage I shoot.
Another factor in sight
choice just may be your
eyesight, some shooters
can not get on with scopes
for fast reactive shooting
sat in the loft, so I removed it from that and like Mini Rifle. As I stated
fitted the scope to my Rimfire Magic rifle with before certain clubs where they only shoot very
some Hawke Low mounts. This superb scope is short ranges well inside 25m are dominated by
parallax adjustable and has cracking optical open sights and red dot sights, I’m personally
quality. The ability to spot my fall of shot has playing safe and having two guns, one with
proved very useful both in the Gallery Rifle and a red dot and one with a scope/red dot
Mini Rifle events. One of the Para’s at my club combination.
was putting in lets be fair average scores even
with a scope, be it a cheap one. When he went
down to the Phoenix event at Bisley his scope
gave up the ghost and the eye bell lens began
to rattle, much to the amusement of his Para 122 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea,
mate shooting with him. On his return he asked East Sussex,
TN37 6RP, England
me what scope he should go for on a limited
budget. He also used his rifle for pest control 25 years in business and 30,000 items of outdoor kit available, all for you!

so that had to play a factor in my choice, I love We sell everything from socks, trousers, jackets, air rifles, rifles, shotguns,
looking at and comparing scope specifications, ammunition, telescopic sights, night vision optics, torches, rucksacks, tents,
sleeping bags, military equipment, body armour,camouflage, knives, pyrotechnics,
sad I know. I settled upon a Hawke 3-12*44 survival aids, bivvi bags and catapults, through to soft air equipment,
paintball equipment, replicas,blank firers, archery, crossbows and gps systems.
Varmint II Mildot scope which would not The range of products covers hunting, camping, trekking, survival, security,
military, police, nature watching and various other activities.
cripple him at £100 and would be able to be used
for both bunny bashing and target competition Check out our website about the new
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work. It has an adjustable parallax, target
turrets and a Mildot reticle. When I talked to
Hawke about getting a scope for the Para they
sent it off free of charge. Can I say a big thank
you to Tony Gibson for supporting the serving
Para. I fitted the scope before a Mini Rifle event
at Thurnscoe and he went on to finish in third
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place, gaining his highest ever placing with the
best scores he had ever done. A good scope www.outdoorsman.co.uk
choice can work wonders, but I wanted to take
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Target Shooter 67
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Wheeler Engineering Scope Ring Alignment
and Lapping Combo Kit
Most shooters will fit their own scope or perhaps
a new shooter will ask the gunshop supplying it
to do it. When you see it done, you maybe think
“Well that’s easy enough, what’s the big deal?” If
the scope-mounts are in perfect alignment it’s not
such a big deal but how do you know that one is not
By Andy Dubreuil
fractionally higher than the other or maybe with
cheaper mounts they may have been machined
out of true?
That’s where a piece of kit like the Wheeler scope
ring alignment and lapping combo kit comes into
play from Midway UK (or USA). If you have spent
Target Shooter 69
a small fortune on a scope you definitely want to
make sure that it’s fitted properly and not going
to be damaged by the scope mounts. Scope
mounts are not the place to economise and a
decent set can easily cost around £100. All scope
mounts are mass produced and even the better
ones may not fit perfectly - especially if the bases
on your rifle are not true. Ideally, fit a one-piece
mount if available – it’s more likely to be true.
70 Target Shooter
The Wheeler kit comprises of two sets of
alignment bars, one set being 30mm and the
other one inch, two lapping shafts again 30mm
and one inch, a handle for the lapping shafts
and grit lapping compound. The bars are really
solid with the 30mm one weighing 19 ounces
and the one inch just over 9 ounces. The lapping
bars have threaded holes to screw in the handle.
I found the outer point easier to handle for the
apping process.
The alignments bars allow you to make sure that
the scope mounts are in exact alignment on the
scope rail. Many mounts offer adjustment or use
riser-blocks so it’s important that the alignment is
perfect. As you can see from the picture, the cone
heads help you to line them up perfectly.
The next stage is to lap the scope mounts but
first I laid the scope in the mounts to see how
tight the scope tube would be and did seem to
be a bit tight. I then laid the lapping bar into the
mounts to see if I could see gaps but I couldn’t see
anything. The lapping compound when you first
try it seems to ‘separate’ so I placed the tub in
warm water for a minute or two to soften the
compound and made it easier to mix.
It important not to risk getting any of the abrasive
compound into the action so before starting the
lapping process I used my bore-guide to seal the
breach opening.
You can add the compound to the scope mounts
or to the lapping bar. I found it easier to put it
on the lapping bar. You lay the lapping bar on
the bottom half of the mounts and then screw on
the top parts of the mounts. The idea is to screw
down the top half of the mounts but not enough
to prevent the lapping bar moving. I ran the
lapping bar about six times until I felt that the bar
was running freely then I tightened the mounts
again - just enough so that the bar would run
through again. After the lapping was done I then
thoroughly cleaned the mounts to inspect them to
see how much metal had been taken off, showing
the areas that had made contact with the lapping
bar.
The compound is quite abrasive and you may
want to finish off with some fine wire-wool and
metal polish to give the mounts a smooth finish.
The Wheeler kit is a great aid for preparing to fit
your scope. It’s not the kind of thing you would
use every week and just under a £100 it does
seem a lot to spend but, if you are member of
a club then you could buy the kit and charged a
small fee for members to use the kit.
Scopes are expensive and need to be treated
with respect whereas scope mounts are relatively
inexpensive but you do need to fit the scope
properly and you want to know that you’re not
going to end up damaging or stressing the scope
and the only way to do that is to lap the mounts.
The kit might not help you shoot better, but
it could – I’ve found that if a scope is riding on
high-spots in the ring-mounts these can slowly
dig into the scope body allowing it to move slightly
and thus change the impact point. It pays to check
the mounting screws occasionally.
To find out more, or purchase this kit, visit www.
midwayuk.com or www.midwayusa.com and
don’t forget to tell them that you found out about
the kit through Target Shooter magazine!
Target Shooter 71
72 Target Shooter
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- 12/12 Gold medals in 50m events
- Warren Potent equals world record in Prone
with ELEY Tenex
- Total of 37 medals won using ELEY
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Shooter
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 This Smallbore Business

By Don Brook
Breathing anomalies for prone shooting, In that article I stated just how important this was
relative to aiming.. to developing a high standard, and once more I
urge you all to revisit the article and the diagram,
Last month I paid a lot of attention to the natural studying it until full understanding is achieved. I
aiming point connected with breathing, including can tell you this is crucial to extremely high scores.
a specific diagram to allow the foresight picture to
“stop” on waterline aiming elevation. Once a working position is put together, and this too
was illustrated last month, the final development of

A young Australian shooter

(Cameron) showing the frame
bridge up for prone shooting.
These glasses are prescription
lenses. (see text)

74 Target Shooter
the positioning standards depends on how well you
utilise the breathing techniques to allow the total
relaxation of the body position, thus allowing the
rifle to “point” naturally. Once more, brute force has
no place in successful prone shooting.
However, there are tell tale facets of pressures that
the shooter should be aware of as “alarm bells”
within the body, that indicates extremely accurately
that things are not right with the breathing set
up, and I mentioned these last month as needing
attention down the track. It is these anomalies that
this article is to set in motion for a prone shooter.
The tell tales are quite specific.
Say for instance that the shooter puts the aiming
graphic in place relative to breathing the sights to
waterline as I indicated, and the breathing depth is
just not quite correct.
The aiming is “sitting” fractionally below the optimum
aiming point at the complete release of the breath.
The shooter thinks, “Ok that is good enough” (as
many are wanting to do) and fires the shot anyway
without specifically setting the shot up correctly.
The result quite often may be a 10, which further
supports the thought in the process, but nearly
always it will be a low 10, and this is not optimum,
even though the score for the shot does not suffer.
The shooter then thinks… “OK that is where I put
it,” and goes along merrily quite immune to any
thoughts of danger, even though the process is
suffering.
Sooner or later as the position settles, the shooter
will find that there are traces of pressure in both the
lungs and diaphragm that they find uncomfortable.
It may even call for the forcing further out of the
breath to effect the correct alignment of the Natural
aiming point. This would telegraph to my way of
thinking that things were not ideal for this shot to
progress. I would know instantly that if I need to
force more of the breath out of the lungs , then
optimum aiming is in trouble.
Why is this?
OK, there are two things that are affected. The
first is the relaxed position and the consistency of
breathing sequence, and the second is that the
eyes are actually losing clarity due to the lack of
oxygen in the lungs system.
Clarity of sighting depends on oxygen in the lungs,
and even though I recommend the NAP depends
on the relaxed achievement of waterline aiming
with the breath out, when the breath is forced out
to further gain accurate NAP, then the eyesight is
being starved of the basic need of oxygen.
The shooter will find that the setting up of the aim
will suddenly be more difficult as the sub conscious
mind tries to repeat the NAP, and the sighting to
achieve this is severely affected. In effect they
cannot see the fine detail that is needed.
The optimum aiming time of 4 to 5 seconds for
shot release just cannot be implemented, and the
shooter suddenly finds an aiming time of upwards
of 15 seconds is needed to gain the accuracy
needed in the aim.
You must understand that many shooters find this,
and sure, they may get away with a shot in the 10,
but sooner or later they will find another anomaly
sets in, that of “Fixing” the aiming picture.
This anomaly happens when the shooter,
engrossed in gaining the clear sight picture of a
smack in the middle 10 ring shot, actually fixes the
aiming image because they stared at the sight for
so long it became embedded in the minds eye.
This is quite often the cause of a really off call,
(nominated) very strange result, of a perfectly (so
they thought) aimed shot that falls into the 8 ring
or worse, in any direction on the target according
to a NAP that wandered off unseen. It did this
because they simply did not see the rifle move off the
optimum aim because they had fixed the sight
picture by staring at it!!
This is also exacerbated when the shooter
knows that things are not correct, and takes an
extraordinarily long time to operate the trigger
release, trying to make it go…..
Also, when this type of release is evident, then you
can bet your best boots that the shooter is now
thinking of the trigger (and why the damn thing is
NOT going off) and therefore is not watching the
sight picture.
How, I now ask, is it possible to correctly nominate
a shot with a mental task such as that?
By reading this, you must understand that the very
last thing you need to see is the clear foresight ring
in place around the aiming mark, or where you
wanted to put it, if you felt the need to shade the
aim as a wind combat method. If your mind is on
the trigger release, it is difficult to focus the intense
concentration that a correct aim requires. (Even
more so if you are aiming off, or shading the aim
to combat the wind factors on the range in front of
you.)
In reading this, it must become obvious that the
trigger release is totally a sub conscious reaction
dictated by correct aim, and this is crucial in the
early learning stages of a very sound prone
technique. All of the trigger release training should
Target Shooter 75
Showing the bridge
down for standing
shooting (see text)
be directed at release without any thought to it at
all. This can be done but it does take a fair bit of
commitment to firing the shot at the instant of sight
picture recognition as correct.
The indoor 25 yard ranges are a prime source
of training this aspect, because you are not
distracted by any form of wind combat method,
such as watching for flag movement, that often are
there at the 50m ranges.
To train this aspect means that the sighting should
be totally a method of centering the foresight
picture, and coinciding the release of the trigger
on recognition that the 10 ring aim is achieved. It
MUST be completely a sub conscious reaction,
as so much of this aspect comes into play when
the standard you are looking for later on is in the
forefront of your mind.
Shooting is a complete mind sport, and this will
become supremely apparent when you suddenly
find yourself chasing world record 50m scores.
You would understand after reading this, that the
breathing sequence that I explained above is
crucial to your initial training, and it actually
becomes the springboard to far more developed
training methods that result in the fine tuning
necessary to reach an established goal. Sometime
in the future articles we will deal with the ability to
cross over into sub conscious performance levels,
based on the premise that the “Sub conscious mind
will move you to whatever the conscious mind is
picturing “ (Lanny Bassham. “Mental management
76 Target Shooter
for shooting sports.”) This section will come later
on, and is supremely interesting actually moving
into the sphere of mind control.
In the photographs with this article this month, there
are photos showing the use of both spectacles,
and optical frames for optimum sighting. The use
of glasses is mandatory if you have any optical
problems such as Astigmatism, short or long
sightedness, generally poor eyesight. (Not all of
us are blessed with 20x20 vision, nor the clarity
necessary to see the fine details of aiming.)
However, the use of shooting glasses often brings
the playing field back to level, and there are a
number of choices for your consideration.
I have a set for smallbore, and also full bore
shooting, the difference being that in small bore
I prefer the aiming image to be as acute as it is
possible, while in full bore I like to be able to get a
good view of the whole range and the wind/mirage
vagaries out there.
My full bore glasses are normal prescription, but
the glasses have an adjustable bridge (see photo
“A”) to allow the upright head position necessary for
my position to function. This allows the focal point
of the optics to be well into the middle of the lens
for aiming, as well as watching the wind flags with
BOTH eyes.
The small bore frames are adjusted to have the
eye looking through the centre of the right lens for
aiming while I utilise a small blind for the left eye,
 This photograph shows the
Jaggi (Switzerland) small bore
shooting frames. These are
fully adjustable and remain
fixed.
but still able to see around the blind for wind study.
(See photo “B”)
Some will ask “Why use the blind at all, why not
shoot with both eyes open as I do in full bore?
As I said above, the full bore glasses are normal
prescription, which allows me to see the whole
range while on aim, but the small bore frames have
a segment built in on prescription, that allows me
to have an extremely clear foresight ring, simply by
adjusting the point of infinity of the prescription to
be set at 12m. I can still see the wind vagaries on
the range, and retain an extremely accurate focus
on the foresight ring. (Much more on this later.)
I do shoot with both eyes open, and the principle
reason for this is just the relaxation factor of
the face muscles in small bore, while the blind
allows total focus on the 50 m required for ISSF .22
shooting. As I said I can still see the range around
the blind with the left eye, and also around, and
through the rear peep for wind combat with the
small bore rifle. This is highly desirable for small
bore shooting.
Now, there are a number of shooting frames
available on the market. Three come to mind, each
with their own factors.
The original frames, the Knoblock series which I
think were the first available on the market, virtually
revolutionised the shooting frames for small bore
shooters. They were extremely well made, (as all
of them are).
The first types were habitual in being able to be
knocked out of adjustment, and often the shooter
suddenly found it necessary to rotate the single
lens back to adjustment while actually in position.
Knoblock have since improved their product and
they now stay in correct adjustment.
The next type to arrive on the scene were the
Neostyle units which were made on flat frames,
not round as the original Knoblock were. These
retained the adjustments without fail, and came
available with both small and larger eyepieces.
The shooting frames that I finished up with are
the Swiss Jaggi units, (see photo “B”) which in my
opinion are the best available. These just do not
move out of adjustment (save for shooter error,
such as not doing them up tight enough!)
Each of the frames discussed are fully adjustable,
and readily available.
I have competed with all three, and the final
choice of the Jaggi unit is just a matter of personal
preference.
Another Gem for you all to finish off this month, is
simple.
If you cannot see it, it is extremely difficult to hit it!
Think about it,
Brooksie.
Target Shooter 77
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78 Target Shooter
 Profile on JON HOUNSELL

By Hayley Platts
later on in the summer to gain a
coveted place in the highly rated
and successful training ground
of the England Academy.

As part of the process of learning

to cope with the pressures of
shooting in competition following
on from learning good sound
techniques, the Great Britain
Junior Development Squad
do send their youngsters to a
number of international events
where they can gain experience
without being too overwhelmed
with the highest level
competitors.
This means they have a good
chance of performing well, and
in some cases they can get in
amongst the medals and start
to build up confidence overseas
Jon came into shooting via his brother Connor who had been whilst competing for their
involved in the sport for approximately two years and had country. It is of great benefit for our young shooters to learn
decided to stop shooting some time after he tried out for a how to compete abroad alongside people they don’t normally
place in the Great Britain Junior Development squad. Jon come up against, as well as understand how best to prepare
was twelve in 2005 when Connor gave up shooting and for overseas matches and cope with the very different
decided at this point in time to give it a go himself. Five environment an international on foreign soil presents. On
years on and Jon’s says after a few weeks he really loved it this subject I shall write up an article in the near future
and has been doing it constantly ever since. The difference which might be an interesting insight for those shooters who
between the two brothers dedication is evident as Jon have not had the great honour of representing this country
is more of the mind to work harder to improve if he isn’t and what this entails other than the obvious competition
achieving what is necessary to advance in the sport. We do pressures on match day.
however have Connor to thank for Jon’s involvement in our
sport, and is a talented young shooter for the future and will Jon’s international shooting career has taken him to the
help to ensure the next generation of keen competitors who Oldenburg match in Germany and at the end of last year
can represent us in the coming years. he was part of the immensely successful junior trip to South
Africa which brought back a massive haul of medals, along
Early on Jon enjoyed his shooting as part of his scouting with the annual international match each August on home
activities and actually gained a place in their national soil at Bisley. I asked Jon which of the disciplines he enjoys
shooting squad. As far as finding a dedicated shooting club, most, and if this differs to the one he excels at, and it’s great
Fort Purbrook and Fareham Rifle and Pistol Club provided for him to tell you that it’s a tough choice as they are all
the club bases for Jon to learn the skills of .177 air rifle, .22 fun, although he cites the air rifle as his best and he enjoys
prone and also .22 three positional at 25 yard and 50 metre competing in this discipline the most, although he prefers to
distances. Jon has worked hard and come a long way to train .22 prone.
become good enough to be a member of the Great Britain So far Jon has shot well enough to get into four British Open
Junior Development Squad and also on his radar is a trial Finals, won medals in South Africa and Germany and very

Target Shooter 79
recently Jon has shot personal best scores in all of this three
disciplines. In air rifle his personal best is 582, 50metre prone
rifle is 583, 3P is 1116. Jon thinks one of his best UK open
shoot results has been at the British Championships where
he got the bronze medal in the junior mens event, and this The Place to
year in May at the English Championships at Bisley is where
Jon gained his 3P personal best of 1116. As Jon says “each Shop at Bisley
year at the British Open my scores have been getting a few

The NSRA,
points better and being able to see this noticeable increase
each year adds a little bit more motivation.

Training wise Jon goes to the range at least four days a week
and allied to this are the numerous weekends he spends Lord Roberts Centre
training with the Great Britain Junior squad. Good luck to Now in stock ~ the popular
Jon with his England Academy trials and if he is successful Morini CM84E ISSF ‘Longarm’ Free Pistol
in gaining a place there he will have more weekend training
commitments to add to his diary, although with Jon enjoying
his shooting so much, this I doubt will be a hardship! As far
as fitness and conditioning goes, Jon is very disciplined and
follows a specifically designed set of stretches and balance
exercises he has learnt from his time on the junior squad Price: ~ £1236.00
which obviously benefits his overall flexibility for shooting. FAC Required
Jon also loves cycling and chooses to use his bike instead of
taking the bus and even has been known to choose it ahead
of accepting a lift on several occasions.

Jon is getting on really well with his chosen shooting tools,

his Feinwerkbau P700 is obviously suiting him and he
combines this successfully with Diablo match pellets, and on
the .22 front Jon is working well with a Walther KK300 which
prefers Lapua Match.

With not too much free time Jon does enjoy relaxing
and catching up with his friends, as well as a spot of
programming he does as a hobby. Jon is currently in
between the first and second year of a two year course at
Southdowns College studying for the Btec National Diploma
in software development and IT practitioner. Jon hopes this
will lead to go a place at University to learn game design or
software development.
I am currently finding several junior up and coming shooters
to feature in Target Shooter online and to be honest some
of the recent ones have been a joy to research as they are
showing so much enjoyment, grit and dedication to improve
in their sport despite so many other distractions that can be
on offer to youngsters today. Their hard work and sacrifices
for their shooting should really be applauded and I certainly
wish Jon well and will look out for him achieving more in the
future.
A wide range of pistols and rifles available, -
Anschütz, Walther, Morini, BSA, Air Arms,
Webley Limited, Steyr, Feinwerkbau.
Accessories from leading manufacturers Centra,
Gehmann, HPS, VFG, Walther; AHG, Knobloch,
Champion, Opticron, Hawke, BSA and many more.
Shooting Mats from Evans and HPS.
Gun Safes from Bratton Sound.
Ammunition from Eley, RWS, HPS Target Master,
SK, Lapua - including Air Gun Ammunition
Optics from Tasco, BSA, Hawke, MTC, AGS.
Clothing from Kurt Thune, Realtree, Holme,
Anschütz, Gehmann, AKAH.
We stock guns and Accessories for Field Target
and Hunter Field Target Disciplines
With many more items too numerous to mention so
come browse and ask if you don’t see what you
want. You’ll get a warm welcome, the best objective
advice, the right product at the right price with a
comprehensive after sales service.
Further information from out website
www.nsra.co.uk
Shop Tel: 01483 485510
Shop Fax: 01483 488817
E-mail: sales@nsra.co.uk

80 Target Shooter
 SURREYGUNS
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Target Shooter 81
 By Gwyn Roberts

Both speaking to, and watching some of the new
LBR & LBP shooters competing at the recent
Phoenix Meeting it soon became apparent that a few
of them had unfortunately been pointed in the wrong
direction regarding the scopes they were trying to
use to shoot certain matches with. Whilst some red
dot scopes certainly made it hard for people to figure
out where the centre of the Timed & Precision
target was at 25m, it was nigh on impossible for
those who were trying to use a fixed 4x powered
scope to find the target quickly enough on either the
snap stages in the “shorts” or any of the individual
Bianchi matches.
Whilst both types of optics certainly have their strong
points, they also have weak ones as well and it is
important to get the balance right if you want to
perform well on the day so here are a few things that
I took into consideration when I choosing my optics.
Starting with the red dots, the first thing that will
become apparent (especially when shooting with an
LBP) is that you may not be able to see the point of

Below and next page - You can see the advantages a scope would have over a dot at 25 or
50m. The dot above is 3moa which is one of then smallest you can get. Obviously a 5moa
would be nearly double the size. The telescopic sight is a Simmons Pro Hunter 2-6 x 32 on
2x setting with the other on 6x. These scopes retail for around £120 and are a popular choice
amongst GR shooters

82 Target Shooter
impact clearly enough on the target at anything over
15m as they generally have no magnification built
in to them. You can of course find red dot scopes
on the market with 2x or even 3x magnification as
standard and the main manufacturer of these to
consider if you ever intend to buy one in the future
would of course be Aimpoint. These magnified dots
are used to good effect in Bullseye pistol shooting in
the U.S and even a few of the Bianchi Cup shooters
are using them to try and up their x count. They do
take quite a bit of getting used to in the beginning
however as it’s a bit like looking into a goldfish bowl
and the narrower field of view that they produce isn’t
to everyone’s liking, but they do make the target look
bigger and that’s the whole point of them at the end
of the day. Using a standard red dot more often than
not will result in a shooter thinking that their hold
is pretty stable on the target whereas in reality, it
The Panorama screen type dots are very good
but only if the lighting conditions are too! The main points for you to bear in mind when
probably isn’t anywhere near as good as it needs to
be and it’s just that the actual amount of movement
on the target cannot be seen due to the various
factors involved. It has to be said that these scopes
can produce some reasonably good results in some
matches but much of it depends on whether or not
you actually know where the centre of the target is
to aim at in the first place. As an example the 10
or X ring on a disruptive patterned T&P1 target is
pretty hard to distinguish for a lot of shooters when
it’s at 25m when using a red dot. Trying to pick out
the same scoring rings when the target is out at 50m
then becomes pure guess work, which unfortunately
won’t produce very good results on the day. At the
same distances though it is usually much easier to
see the central aiming mark on a 1500 or Bianchi
target due to their more simplistic designs, so be
aware of this when deciding what competitions you
are going to use the scope for.
choosing a red dot scope are the body type,
objective lens and dot size as they can all make a big
difference to your performance on the day. There are
generally two versions of red dot scopes and these
are usually referred to as either a holographic/screen
or tube type. The bodies of the screen type scopes
are usually smaller than their counterparts saving
a little weight in the process and the minimalist
frame that holds the front lens in place gives a
simpler sight picture on the target. It also gives a
much wider field of view which will make shooting
multiple targets such as steels etc a lot easier and
quicker to achieve. The dot is projected from the
rear of the body up onto the flat screen and this
design does work very well……. until bright lighting
conditions are experienced that is! Whether you are
shooting indoors or outdoors, too much fluorescent
Target Shooter 83
A Simmons 2-6 x32 Pro Hunter and a Hakko 45mm tube with a 3moa dot. The lenses are
made in Japan and it offers a very good field of view
or natural light can and will bring your shooting to various sized light shields over the lenses and
an abrupt stop as the projected light is diluted to the doubling up on the batteries I still couldn’t see a dot
point where you are just left with a blank screen to so I’ve now switched to a tube type instead. The size
look at. Too much sun isn’t really an issue for us most of the objective lens is also something to consider
of the time in this country but for the last two years as the 20 & 25mm versions are pretty poor really as
I have turned up ready to shoot the speed steels at they give a very limited field of view compared to the
Bisley only to have to repack my guns again as I larger versions. A 30mm is usually considered the
couldn’t see my dot down range. This was with a norm or the minimum depending on how you look
Panorama screen type sight and even after placing at it and there are plenty of 40, 45 and even 50mm
Below and next page - One of my Burris 2-7 x32 Electrodots fitted with quarter moa hunter
style turrets. At around £350 each they are not cheap but the minute illuminated dot in the
middle of the cross hairs is excellent on all types of targets, and it comes complete with a
life time warranty

84 Target Shooter
versions out there as well to consider, so make
sure you try them all out before you make your final
decision.
Probably the most important aspect of your red dot
will be the actual dot size and this can vary from
anywhere between 3 to 10 moa in size. Most of the
top shooters use the smallest dot size possible which
Electrodot reticule
is typically either 3 or 4moa as they give a much
more precise aiming mark on the target. The much
larger dots from 5moa onwards tend to obscure far
too much of the scoring area on a precision type
paper target and are really only suited to shooting
steels with or other speed events. Many of today’s
scopes come with all sorts of fancy reticule patterns
built into them but I would advise to just stick with
the basic design as the various
multiple sized circles, Christmas
trees and crosses etc can be
distracting and just clutter up the
actual sight picture. There are
claims that a green dot is both
quicker and easier to pick up
than a red one but having shot
with both, I don’t really have any
trouble with either so again try
both options to see which colour
works best for you. If given the
choice and everything else was
the same on the scope I would
tend to go for a scope that has
11 brightness settings rather than
one that only has 5 as it will give
you much better control in some
of the situations you may find
yourself in on the range.
Personally I now have four 45mm
“tubes” on various guns with 3moa
dots in them and I think they’re
the ideal size for me as they give
me a totally un-obscured view of
every type of target that I shoot at,
and they won’t loose the dot either
however bright the conditions are!
Target Shooter 85
 The Simmons turrets are simple to adjust and 6x should
be enough magnification for most people
The biggest issue I find when using red dots is
getting them to fit the scope rail properly as many
of them have pretty poor dovetail sizes which are
usually offset due to the clamps that they use. If you
look at the angle of the scope from the rear when
it’s fitted to the rail you will probably find that 8 times
out of 10 it will be canted over to one side so it is
important to find a rail/scope combination that fits
together properly, and this is especially important if
you intend to use two different scopes on the same
gun. The prices of many of the red dots out there
on the market tends to vary considerably between
the various “brands” even though many of them are
made in the same factories and just have a different
sticker put on the side of them before they are sent
out of the door. Those fitted with Japanese lenses
can cost up to £200 or £300 whilst the majority of the
others which are made throughout Asia will probably
only set you back between £50 and £150. I have
known people to use the cheap and cheerful Tasco
ones to great effect which only cost them £50 and it
has lasted them several years without fault, but only
you can decide whether it is worth the difference or
not in the end.
On the telescopic side of things I think the only
option to go for is the variable magnification scopes
as the fixed magnification type have a very limited
use in the Gallery Rifle world. A fixed scope with 2x
will not give anywhere near enough magnification
for most people at 50m whilst one that is fixed at
4x will usually make it very hard to use at the closer
distances where short 2 or 3 second exposures are
86 Target Shooter
used. As with the red dots there are certain points to
look out for with the main ones being magnification
range, reticule type, turret type and the objective
lens size. Starting with the magnification range, most
of them are either 1.5 – 4/5x or 2 – 6/7x and it is
the latter one that I would suggest going for as the
difference at the lower end between 1.5 and 2x is
negligible but there is quite a difference at the top
end, even if you never use it. Burris actually make
a 3-12x version but I think a minimum of 3x may
still be too much for most people and I don’t think
many of us will ever need or use 12x for the type of
shooting that we do. The majority of shooters that I
know use 2x at 10 & 15m during a 1500 or “shorts”
match and then change to between 3 & 4x at 25m.
Most of them will also still stay on 4x for any 50m
stages but there are a few of the top guys who
will wind it up to between 5 & 7/8x at this distance
because it allows them to achieve a higher score,
but we are only talking about maybe 3 or 4 shooters
here at the most!
The shape and thickness of the reticule is very
important when choosing a handgun scope and most
people would be wise to avoid buying one fitted with
a fine crosshair as they can be very hard to pick up
on the target, and this is especially so when shooting
at one of the disruptive pattern type targets. Whether
it’s called a Duplex, 30/30, Dual X, Quadraplex or
whatever else they are all pretty much the same
design and all have thicker outer posts which are
connected together in the middle by thinner lines.
Some people prefer the outer posts to come in close
to the centre of the lens whereas others don’t etc, etc
so it is important that you look at the different types
available first (preferably against a proper target)
before committing yourself to buying one. If you dial
in your scope for the correct range at every distance,
having a turret dial that is easy to turn and adjust
will certainly be a plus point as some of them are
recessed slightly inside the housing requiring a coin
or similar in order to turn them properly. The final
point is the objective size and if possible I would tend
to go for a 30 or 32mm lens as they gather more light
than the smaller 26 or 28mm versions which may
be of benefit to you under certain conditions. Once
again you will pay a premium for a quality product
but you should manage to get something that will
be up to the job for around £120 - £150. You can
of course pay much more than that but again it’s
personal preference but you usually get what you
pay for, and paying a little bit more for something
of better quality which also comes with a lifetime
guarantee may be worth it in the end. Whatever
price you end up paying for your optics you should
always make sure that you use protective covers or
caps on your scope when it’s not in use, as this will
help to help keep the lenses dry and dirt free making
sure you get your monies worth out of it in the future.
At the end of the day to shoot at your best you
will have to use the scope that suits the type of
competition you wish to take part in, and in many
circumstances this may well mean having to have
two different types of scopes (or guns) at your
disposal. Personally I use a variable power scope
on one of my LBP’s to shoot all of the “shorts” and
1500 type matches with, and use another one
fitted with a red dot to shoot the Bianchi, steel and
3 gun type matches. I wouldn’t attempt to shoot an
LBR Bianchi match using a telescopic sight as the
recoil would make good follow up shots pretty hard
to achieve within the time restraints allowed, and
initial target acquisition and movement from one
target to the next would also be an issue using this
configuration. I also need to be able see the X or 10 ring
clearly during a 1500 match at each of the distances
we shoot at, along with where my shots are actually
going and this just isn’t possible using a red
dot scope. The same also applies whether I am
shooting one of my GRCF or GRSB rifles as they
are all set up to do a specific job and this makes my
life a lot easier on the day, and hopefully with a bit of
thought it will make your life a bit easier on the range
too!

Rude Fat Dog

Custom Firearms
RFD 621 Devon & Cornwall
Section 5
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technical expertise to help you become more competitive in your
Gallery Rifle competitions

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865830 87
Charmouth Tunnel Rifle Range
Club Feature
Target shooting has now started at the new
Charmouth Tunnel rifle range, which opened just
two weeks ago to the public. The former A35 road
tunnel has been changed into the Target Sports
Centre, a world-class shooting facility with a 25 and
50 Metre range. It open for business after 11 months
of major construction work with the official opening
planned for the end of July, but with the actual date
to be confirmed.
Richard Clist is a local man born into the farming
community. His wife and children live locally and
attend local schools. He bought the tunnel in 2004
after it was made redundant when the Charmouth
bypass was built. After looking at various options he
decided that the tunnel was the perfect shape and
size for a shooting range has he now provided a new
benchmark for design and shooting facilities.
He said: “Although there have been many obstacles
and it has been hard work the brilliant team around
me have worked exceptionally well to get the
building and all the facilities to the high standard it
is today.”
It is believed that this new and exciting sporting
venture will encourage more people to Charmouth
and the area. There will be practical training
facilities with a good number of courses to suit all
levels of ability.
The 25 metre and 50 metre ranges are over two
88 Target Shooter
levels, with a café, a shop and an armoury on the
lower level. The experienced and qualified range
safety officers offer training for the less experienced
adults and children, with an observation area
overlooking the 25 metre range.
Both ranges are built to the highest specification and
are lined with steel to ensure safety, and with the
sound deadening materials the facility is soundproof
to eliminate noise impact to the outside area.
The Target Shooting Centre ranges were designed
by Bisley and have the support of the UK’s two major
governing bodies for this type of shooting. It is also
affiliated to the National Rifle Association.
Whilst the centre is attracting both national and
international interest the facility is very much for local
people too, with anyone able to join. Shooting is a
recognised Olympic sport but it is not an elitist sport
and the Target Sports Centre is able to offer an
opportunity for everyone to try the sport in a safe and
controlled environment.
The local Brownies and Scouts have been invited
to come and many local children in the area are
already planning their visits for the school holidays.
With something totally different for children to have
a go at the Target Sports Centre looks forward to
offering real excitement in a controlled and safe
setting.
A varied and diverse range of local artwork is
displayed in the café offering a relaxing place to
enjoy that all important coffee and bacon roll.
It is open from 10am to 8pm on Monday and
Friday, from 10am to 5pm on Tuesday, Thursday and
Sunday, from 10am to 10pm on Saturday, and closed
on Wednesday.
For information visit www.thetunnel.co.uk or call
01297 560049
Target Shooter 89
Thoughts from the National Rifle Association
Your Scribe - Heather Webb
So, I send out one of my periodical NRA Notices,
which goes to all the full members of the NRA as
well as clubs schools and associations, to let
people know about upcoming events around the
country and anything else we need to let them
know about. I get an email back from Carl Boswell
asking if we want to put something in Target
Shooter magazine. Not being much of a writer, I
quickly passed it onwards & upwards, unfortunately
the NRA’s sex god sent it back down to me to deal with!
So, armed with a large bar of chocolate, here I go.
I’m Heather Webb and I’m the NRA’s Membership
Secretary dealing with safety certification as well as
all things membership. This often means answering
questions on anything from range bookings to
90 Target Shooter
firearms law and back again.
I’ve been asked for something each month but
there will be gaps as there are times when I don’t
seem to get a chance to breathe let alone write!!
I plan on making my articles light hearted but
hopefully informative and interesting, so just let me
know if you think I’m rambling on too much or if there
is a particular topic that you would like the NRA’s
opinion on – so long as it’s not too weighty.
The NRA is the governing body for fullbore target
shooting and as such are involved with the
MoD, Defense Training Estates, various Olympic
bodies, the government, the police and many more
too numerous to mention. This means that we
are well placed to help with major tragedies like
Cumbria as well as individual members having
problems with their FAC’s. Information about a
lot of what we do can be found on our website,
www.nra.org.uk, but if you can’t find what you are
looking for just email us and we will do our best to
help.
One of our Bisley based success stories is the NRA
Shooting Club which I started in May 2005 as I felt
we didn’t have anything to support new shooters,
either after doing their probationary course or just
as new members using Bisley. The idea was
that they would come along to a few club days,
gain confidence and then move onwards and
upwards. Well, it kinda worked, as in they came
along and gained confidence but they seem to
like it too much to move on. Consequently we
now have over 900 members registered for the
club and regularly have around 50 members out
on club days – even midweek and midwinter!
All of which is wonderful however I quickly had
to hand the reins over to Charles Perry, our
Chief Firearms Instructor, as I just plain didn’t
have the time to run it anymore. It is still gaining in
popularity and we recently had a guest day that
attracted 31 guests all of whom had a great time.
Charles was ably assisted on this occasion by
Nick Halford (Membership Assistant), Glynn Alger
(Secretary General) and Iain Robertson (Trustee)
pitched in as well. The next one is planned for the
6th August, so that will give me something to write
about next month.
The Imperial Meeting is well under way as I write,
with the Schools Meeting and the Match Rifle
competitions going on at the moment. Notable
highlights so far have been Angus Mcleod winning
the Hopton with 987.106v, the RAF, captained by
FS Crowe winning the Whitehead with 1969 points
and the Methuen Trophy being won by the Royal
Signals. The winners of Her Majesty the Queen’s
Medals were: for the Royal Navy/Royal Marines, Lt D
Anderson RN; Territorial Army, L/Cpl A. Chapman;
the Army, WO2 M. Cook; Royal Air Force, Sqn Ldr
LF Smith. This was Sqn Ldr Smiths 4th Queens
medal as was the same for L/Cpl Chapman with WO2
M Cook winning two in successive years, worthy
achievements indeed.
The Inter-Services Cadet Rifle Meeting was very
successful; there were 663 cadets from 131
teams, including the Royal Canadian Army Cadet
National Rifle Team and the Australian Army
Cadet Rifle Team. The winning team was 126 (City
of Derby) Sqn ATC with a score of 952.63v and
Sgt C Atherton of B Coy Durham ACF won The
Bossom, the individual prize, with a score of 248.63v.
I must finish now as I have to get ready for Gary
Alexander’s 50th birthday party tonight and have
to find something orange to wear – not my best
colour – so it might just have to be orange
eyeshadow!! Promise to include any seriously
embarrassing photos next month....
Target Shooter 91
 VINCE’S REGULAR COLUMN WHEREBY
ACCURACY NUTS CAN KEEP UP TO
DATE WITH THE ACTIVITIES OF THE UKBRA

Competitions 1000 yard Light Gun

Our benchrest weekend falls at the very end of July 1st Mal Roberts
so, with our slightly increased deadline this month 2nd Mike Weatherhead
– Carl is off to the European Rimfire Benchrest 3rd Phil Sammons
Championships – we have no competition reports.
1000 yard Factory Sporter
I can however recap on the season so far – with just
two rounds remaining. 1st Toni Young
2nd Ian Kellett
100 yard HV Championship 3rd Alan Seagrave

1st Ian Dixon The big event in August however will be the
2nd Vince Bottomley European 100/200 yard Centrefire Benchrest
3rd Steve Dunn/Jack Searle Championships which take place at the Holles
Range in Austria – the Venue for the 2007 World
100 yard Factory Sporter Championships.

1st Darrel Evans This year, we have some new faces on the GB team
2nd Andy Woolley (only one four-man team is allowed per country)
3rd Darren Grundle made up of Bruce Lenton, Tony Lenton (Bruce’s
dad), Martin Miles and Tom Morris. For the Lentons,
it will be their first International competition and we
wish them and Tom and Martin a successful shoot.

Toni Young is leading the 1000 yard Factory

Sporter Championship with her 308 Remington

92 Target Shooter
 In association with
This month a bit of new from down under - The
Weather forecast was for rain and driving winds, we
arrived at the range on The Coast of Sydney ready
to tussle with Mother Nature and Winter.
For those in detail 1, while looking up at the sky
and also at the flags it seemed like we may start off
easy and work up to a storm.There was no rain just
clouds, the flags were blowing and switching but
not too strongly. There were also definitely lulls with
no wind for anyone patient enough to wait. Detail 1
completed shooting and the local Lapua Shooter Dal
Larsen hit his first ever 250. Dal had been shooting
very well up to this event with his training scores
being very good but never 250’s. Detail 2 shot in
similar conditions for their first 30 minutes shoot.
By the 2nd round we were sitting to pretty much
perfect conditions, Dal was told he had just shot an
AUSTRALIAN RECORD single target of 250.18. Dal
went about his business and shot another 250 with
his factory standard Feinwerkbau 2700 Benchrest
model that had an Aussie made Lowey Tuner on it
using Lapua Midas Plus he had received under his
sponsorship from Lapua.
Before the 3rd round Dal was aware the current
Australian record for 3 targets was 746 and he could
afford to drop 3 shots as there was no one really
close enough to him, he was calm and had no real
expectations of a
third 250 but that is exactly what he shot. His first
three 250’s all shot on the same day and even better
on a match day. Dal’s new record of 750.43 will stand
for a long time and will require conditions, shooter,
equipment and ammo to be in perfect harmony for it
to be ever beaten.
TOP 5 Scores
Dal Larsen 750.43
Geoff Knight 747.47
Bill Collaros 740.40
Rebecca Richards 740.40
Ron Goulding 736.39
Bill Collaros - Club Captain Woollahra Rifle Club
Target Shooter 93
 The Long View
News from the GB
F-Class Association
by Les Holgate
Round 4 of the GB National League was billed as
‘The Long Range Challenge’ - a rare opportunity to
test oneself against the elements at distances (1100
& 1200 yards!) not normally encountered. Organised
by Mik Maksimovic, the Long Range Challenge is not
to everyone’s taste; it offers a severe test of ballistics
and wind-reading that puts some off. However, as
the GB World F Class Champions found last year,
shooting at extended distances helps tremendously
when it comes to shooting at ‘only’ 800 to 1000 yards.
This match offers the chance to really see what the
F/Open rifles in particular are capable of and some
competitors took the opportunity to bring something
special to try out. There were two shooters using
30/338 Lapuas and Les Bacon from Border Barrels
with a mighty 7mm/338 Lapua, using his own
extra-heavy bullets. Barrel life might be limited but
Les is in the right place to get more barrels! At
the other end of the spectrum, one of our German
visitors, Matthias Kern, used a diminutive 6BR
throughout and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the
ordeal.
On Friday afternoon, long-range shooters from all over
the UK and Europe started converging on Bisley.
There were contingents from Germany, Spain and
the Ukraine attracted by the opportunity to shoot at
distances normally unavailable to them.
The forecast was for warm, dry weather with a
moderate south west wind and Saturday dawned bright
and dry as forecast; the sun was out and it was already
hot enough for sun block - the wind looked pretty
reasonable too.
The F/TR guys got down to business on the first detail
for 2+15 at 1000 yards, it proved to be the best
detail of the day, as shortly afterwards the wind
seemed to become a lot livelier. Russell Simmonds
and Ian Dixon showed they were on superb form by
scoring 69.7 and 69.3 respectively. Little did we know
at the time, but those were to be the two highest scores
of that stage. It demonstrated that our F/TR guys have
really done their homework when it comes to load
development with the 308Win. The best the F/Open guys
could manage was a 68.2
94 Target Shooter
Stage 2 required us to fall back to 1100 yards for
another 2+15. This time, the F/Open detail started off the
fun. By now the wind was really testing, blowing strongly
from the south west and sometimes angling across the
range for full value. The difficulty was that the changes in
angle were not always seen, so a missed change could
easily send the bullet from the V-bull straight out to a one
or even a non-scoring hit.
Grant Taylor proved he could see the changes though,
he prevailed with a superb 65.2 using his self-built .284
with the beautiful ‘purple haze’ laminate stock, it’s truly
a work of art. Grant was 4 points ahead of his nearest
rivals Tony Marsh and John Carmichael for stage 2.
When the F/TR guys got to play, the wind was building in
strength and took its toll - of Russell Simmonds, who had
a most uncharacteristic disaster.
Liam Fenlon showed his mettle though, by taking stage
2 with a creditable 49.2, one point ahead of George
Barnard.
The final stage of the day was back at 1200 yards and
what a difference that additional 100yds was to make.
The wind was at maximum strength - as was the sun
and consequently, the mirage. It was notable though
that by now, some of the more capable shooters
were becoming accustomed to the conditions and
were quickly learning to be bold. The quickest learner
proved to be Diggle’s Peter Wilson with his 7 WSM, built
by Walker Custom Rifles. Even though he was up on
‘Magpie Alley’, he scored an astounding 82.3, a
comfortable three points ahead of Mick East of the
Dorset Riflemen and Tony Marsh again got into the top
three.
Top performer in the F/TR detail was a new League
member from the Ukraine, Dmytro Hrymalyuk.
Dmytro scored a superb 71.1 with his new rifle built
by the Dolphin Gun Company - clearly his gunsmith
has done a superb job. All credit to Dmytro for such
an excellent performance on a new range with a new
rifle. Taking second and third places were Adam
Bagnall who is having an excellent 2010 season and
Stuart Anselm who was working a double-shift as our
match statistician.
So ended day one of the Long Range Challenge, and
Overall winner Peter Wilson with his Walker Custom Rifles BAT
what a challenge it had been indeed. Some of the most
testing wind conditions combined with mirage had
conspired to challenge the best of League.
The scores looked like this:
Open
Peter Wilson 205.10v
Mick East 204.3
David Kent 203.2
F/TR Adam Bagnall 177.2v
Ian Dixon 175.5
Dmytro Hrymalyuk 175.3
Sunday dawned bright and dry, a little cooler but most
importantly, the wind seemed rather more reasonable
and so it was to prove.
This time, F/Open kicked off the day’s shooting with
stage 4 at 1000 yards for a 2+20 and Gary Costello
proved his World Champion credentials with a
solid 91.4. Following closely on his heels was that
man again, Tony Marsh with just one less V-bull. Peter
Wilson maintained his day one form, taking third place.
F/TR was a close contest with just five points
separating the top six competitors. Adam Bagnall
was in front with a point to spare on 81.1 chased
closely behind by Paul Harkin of the Altcar 101 Club
contingent and in third place, our friend Ramon Fito all
the way from Spain.
It was all to play for as we went into stage 5, staying
at 1000 yards for 2+15. By now the sun was
nearing maximum strength and the wind too, was
freshening. Grant Taylor again showed superb form by
racking up a 69.6. Despite having over 1,600 rounds
through his .284 it still shoots like a dream. Following
on from him was Ian Boxall and local man, Darren
Stewart with his mighty 300/338 Lapua in second and third
respectively.
The F/TR scores were not that far behind, showing the F/
TR guys were on song. Top of the pile by the narrowest
margin of one V-bull was George Barnard followed
closely behind by World Champion, Russell Simmonds
and in third place, genial Irishman Liam Fenlon.
So, it was all over as far as the shooting was
concerned, it was now up to our match statistician,
Stuart Anselm to do the number crunching and reveal to
us who had won what.
In F/TR, first place went to Adam Bagnall from the
Altcar 101 Club with 315.3. Close behind from the
Dorset Riflemen was Russell Simmonds with 307.10.
Third place went to veteran match rifleman, George
Barnard with just 2 v-bulls less on 307.8.
In F/Open, making a welcome return to form was
Peter Wilson in first place with 359.16, in second, just
one point behind, was F-class World Champion Gary
Costello and in third place with a superbly consistent
performance all weekend was Tony Marsh with just 2
V bulls less at 358.12. Full results are available on the
GBFCA website at www.f-class.org.uk
Thanks to Mik Maksimovic for organising a superb
shoot and also to our range officer Jim Carter who
did a superb job, Natasha who ran the butts, Tina
who collected the scores and Stuart who compiled
the stats. Special thanks to Brian Fox www.foxfire-
armsuk.com for his generous donation to the GBFC
Association funds. Next up, Blair Atholl in August – see
you there?
Target Shooter 95
 A regular column whereby Ken Hall keeps us up to date
with black powder cartridge rifle shooting in the UK.

JULY QUIGLEY COMPETITION.
Saturday 10th July, weatherwise, how pleasant for
the warm spell to continue for us. Unfortunately, the
infamous “Diggle Breeze” had decided to postpone
its’ holiday and played with us with its’ usual
unpredictable frequency. As there are no wind
flags on the prairie, then we also don’t provide
wind flags on the range for Quigley events. Being
unpredictable, the wind caught out many firers at
least once and caused the odd “flyer”. The 400yd
Quigley target is most unforgiving and a miss on
the 5 zone (which is only 2 ½ minutes wide and 4
minutes high) by a fraction of an inch can result in
a one or a zero score.
Stage 1 at 400 yds, consisted of two sighters
and fifteen shots to score at the Quigley bucket.
David Coleman read the wind best to lead the

Part of the 600yd lineup

96 Target Shooter
 Eric Todd at 400yd The final scores were as follows.

Pos. Shooter. Rifle. Score.

1. Richard Healey Rem 45/90 109

2. Ken Hall Sharps 45/70 101
3. David Coleman Sharps 45/70 98

4. Eric Todd Sharps 45/90 95

5. Gary Allsopp Rem 45/90 87

Enquiries to khall6548@aol.com

RCO Steve Hodge keeps a sharp eye

on things

stage with 63 points, with Richard

Healey, Eric Todd and Ken Hall all on
51 points. After lunch, stage 2 was
the buffalo silhouette at 600 yds and
despite a short period when the wind
strength suddenly increased, causing
the leaders to place a couple of shots
high, Richard maintained a high
standard to score 58, with Ken on 50 Quigley winner and runner up Richard healey
and David on 35 points respectively. and Ken Hall

Target Shooter 97
 Gallery Rifle & Pistol News
Derby Rifle and Pistol Club have been hosting a Open
Gallery Rifle Match for quite a few years now and
Saturday/Sunday 26th/27th June was graced by
splendid summer weather for this years meeting. The
attendance was excellent with nearly 400 match cards
being submitted in 20 different events, shot in 84
classes. The perfect weather attracted 30 campers
on the temporary camp site (actually the 200 yard
range) and a very social evening was reported. For
the first time the events included the shotgun Timed
and Precision One Match with 14 competitors taking
part, and four of them achieving the excellence of
a gold standard score. On the main range some
competitors blamed the hot weather for lead fouling in
their barrels; did it really get that hot? The excellent
facilities at the Derby Ranges were neatly manicured
and the friendly, well drilled range staff managed to
keep the shooters in line and the details on time. This
great weekend is one of the largest open classified
events held outside Bisley – well worth the trip, further
details, full scores and match report available on
www.drpc1999.com.
The Imperial Meeting Gallery Rifle matches will be
GB Shooters
98 Target Shooter
underway soon and the GB Gallery Rifle Team will be
returning from the Fermoy International Gallery Rifle
Match in Ireland there will be a report on these events
next time.
Looking ahead Frome Pistol Club (www.fdpc.org.
uk) have their annual 3-gun Practical Match over the
weekend of 24th and 25th July, at Shield Shooting
Centre in Dorset (www.shieldshootingcentre.
co.uk). There are stages for centre-fire gallery rifle
(or LBR), small-bore gallery rifle (or LBP) and
shotgun; which can be entered individually or you can
have a go at all three. Practical shooting is based on
non-standard courses of fire shot against the clock,
with scores reflecting both accuracy and speed. The
emphasis is fun and the whole thing is made safe
by one to one supervision by experienced range
conducting staff. Frome usually have a theme to their
matches so why not get down to Dorset and see what
this years theme is, it is a very popular date so get
your entry in early.
Stourport Club in Worcestershire make a welcome
 38 with stockade
return to the national match scene this year with their
open classified 1500 Match plus shorts on Saturday/
Sunday 7th/8th August. In the past Stourport has
offered unique 50 metre Timed and Precision and
Multi-target Matches – quite a challenge. Entry forms
will be available on www.galleryrifle.com soon as
will details of all forthcoming events.
So there is plenty to do and no excuse for not keeping
busy until the National Championships at Bisley over
the August Bank Holiday weekend. But don’t use up
all your ammunition as entry forms for the Nationals
are available now on www.nra.org.uk and if you aspire
to hold the title of National Champion in your favourite
gallery rifle event this is your opportunity – see you
there?
“Top Guns” – Centre-fire Gallery Rifles used by
the GB Team
You have just received your first firearm
certificate, money is burning a hole in your pocket
and you can’t wait to get down to the gun shop
and lighten your burden. Hang on a minute,
Marlin Competition Special
you are about to make a significant
investment, so what objective criteria
have you set for selecting your first gun?
Well if it’s a centre fire gallery rifle you’re
after we may be able to assist having
just completed a survey of the rifles used
by the GB Gallery Rifle Team – a sort of
line up of “Top Guns” or more precisely
“Guns of the Top Shots”.
European centre fire International
Gallery Rifle Matches are shot
exclusively with standard class centre
fire rifles. Standard class rifles are lever
action designs with tubular magazines
mounting any sighting system (other
that those that project red dots onto the
target). All GB Team shooters use
model 1894 Marlins but they don’t
all use the same gun – far from it in
fact. There are three main types of 1894 Marlin;
the 1894C with its 18½” barrel and 38/357
chambering, the 1894S with a 20” barrel chambered
in 44 and the Cowboy with 20” and 24” barrels
chambers in either calibre. There is one speciality
gun; the Marlin 1894 Cowboy Competition Special in
.38 special, and yes it gets representation with one
GB Team shooter.
Calibre choice seems to be the first agenda item. On
the plus side the .44 makes large holes so for inward
gauged shots they have a theoretical advantage but
suffer from slightly more recoil that increases recovery
time on the rapid fire stages. In reality both calibres
have a reputation for excellent accuracy with Marlins
capable of producing sub 1½” groups at 50 metres,
considering the “X” ring on a 1500 target is 2” wide
and 3” high as long as you do your part they are
both plenty accurate enough! Running both calibres
has show me that the .44 is more forgiving on load
development, whilst accurate loads can be
developed for the .38/.357 they are frequently more
critical, with very slight variations in powder charge often
having a drastic effect on accuracy. On
cost, and presuming you are loading your
own, the .44 works out about 15% more
expensive (more powder and bigger
bullets mainly) and the cost and
availability of cases is more
problematical. In truth I think its honours
shared in the calibre stakes, although
slightly more GB Team shooters use
.38/.357.
The next question is, “long barrel or short”?
One possible advantage of a long barrel
is additional weigh to help manage recoil;
conversely shooters have to bear the
additional weigh for an hour and a half of the
average 1500 Match. I can find no
Target Shooter 99
 home made cheek piece and bisley butt pad parts of the gun where they bear on
each other and one way of achieving
this is to put a few thousand rounds
downrange and it will do the job for you. If you
cannot wait that long then South
Yorkshire Shooting Supplies will provide
what they call a “slicked and tricked”
action, with a “Trigger Happy” Kit and
replacement springs included for £120 –
a bargain! This is one operation that I
would recommend the layman leave to
the gunsmith, it is easy to take metal off
a gun but the secret is knowing where to
take it from and not taking off too much.

The final modification is to make the

gun fit your stature properly, shooters
are all different sizes and I find the
convincing evidence that barrel length effects standard Marlin stock slightly short. If
accuracy out to 50 metres and only a few international you are lucky and the standard stock fits then no
shooters regularly use the heavier Cowboy models. problem but if not there are various add on butt plates
that both extend the stock and some have the additional
When it comes to the action the “out of the box” option benefit of being able to alter the attitude of the
is poor, with the American gun trade be hyper shoulder pad. Many shooters have fitted a butt plate
sensitive to civil litigation. The trigger is heavy and made by “Bisley” and at less than £20 it provides an
has creep in it and flops backwards and forwards extra inch on the stock length and has considerable
alarmingly. Nearly half the surveyed shooters have butt pad adjustment.
chosen the Wild West Guns “Trigger Happy” Kit,
which retails at between £80-90. It is easily fitted, Another issue is the height of the cheek piece, which
without the assistance of a gunsmith and removes the is critical for a consistent head height when looking
flapping about completely and is virtually creep free. through the scope. There seem to be two definite
methods of achieving this; the proprietary option called
The second regular modification to the action is to fit the “Stockade” or the DIY option, usually comprising
reduced power springs with replacement main and pipe lagging and tape or similar. At arround £40 the
lever springs available from Wolff for less than “Stockade” has plenty of adjustment for differing size
£10, another main spring replacement option is to scopes and whilst there must be some element of trial
substitute with the main spring from a Ruger 10/22. and error with the home made options both have the
Both main spring replacements have the same effect same effect of holding your head in the right position
of reducing the trigger weight significantly. The each time the rifle is brought onto aim. On preference
lever spring is small and fiddly to fit but both jobs are views are split 50/50 between designer and
relatively straight forward. Be warned lightening the extemporised cheek pieces.
trigger weight too much can lead to dangerously
sensitive triggers and associated unintended The current price of a new Marlin rifle is anywhere
discharges, if you have any doubts consult a between £650-900 depending on model and with the
competent gunsmith. possible additional extras discussed here costing up
to £200 it is clear an initial outlay of £850-1000 is in
Reduced power main springs also have the effect order but for that you get a match rifle capable of
of lightening the blow the hammer imparts on the performing at the highest level.
primer, which may affect ignition reliability. To solve this So when buying your first centre fire gallery rifle I am
problem the use of soft Federal primers is an option. A not suggesting that new shooters should ignore the
few shooters have gone for a replacement “one piece” advice so freely offered by local club members but
firing pin which has reduced inertia compared with the now, having read this article, you can compare local
standard two piece unit and thus redressing the power myth with national legend and if they correlate then
loss of the weaker spring. The cost of a new firing you can be confident that you know what to do.
pin is about £20 and again it is possible to swap them
yourself with a bit care. Next time we will look at the types of scopes the “Top
Guns” use and how they use them at the different
Some shooters have “tuned” their actions themselves, distances.
whilst others depend on recognised experts. Simple
tuning is just taking the rough edges of the moving
100 Target Shooter
As part of an ongoing series looking at the shooting How did you get into shooting?
profiles of some of the top practical shooters in the
UK, we start this month with Vanessa Duffy, current I started shooting when I met Andrew back in 1983.
British and European ladiesAuto champion (shotgun). In fact, the second date he took me on was to
____________________________ Bisley to shoot! He was already involved in many
___________________________ shooting disciplines, including practical pistol. We
___________________________ became members of the Metroplitan Police Shooting
Club and began shooting with the Practical Section.
Name Vanessa Duffy When Ian Butler joined the Met he persuaded us to
join the UKPSA, take a basic course and compete
Address Dumfries, in South West Scotland. in matches. We have never looked back. We became
qualified Range officers soon afterwards and
Age 56 years young attended most practical matches around the country
and RO’d at a lot of matches if our duties allowed.
Positions Currently UKPSA Chairman, I became a member of the Ladies National Squad
Competition Secretary, Trustee, and competed in two European Champions and
Forum Moderator. two World Championships. Neil Beverley and Phil
James persuaded us to get involved in practical
Division Standard Auto. shotgun around about 1995. Again we became
shotgun RO’s. So we were already shooting the
Champion British Ladies Standard Auto matches prior to the handgun ban. During 2007 &
Champion for past 5 years. 2008 I competed in handgun matches in Northern
Previously British Ladies Modified Ireland. Recently I have also been shooting the
Champion for 6 years. Long Barrel matches. Shooting both a LBR and mini
European Ladies Standard Auto rifle at graded matches.
Champion, 2006 & 2009. European Andy, a few others and myself set up
Ladies Modified Champion 2003. the Blue Team Club in 1994. This was another
European Ladies Team Champions name for the Met Police Practical section. Over
2009. the years we have run numerous matches in
European Ladies Team Champions collaboration with other clubs. These have included,
1992 – handgun handguns, Rifle, Gallery Rifle, LBR, and Shotgun.
Since moving to Scotland we have taken a back
Family Leave with Andrew my husband and my seat in Blue Team affairs but have joined Carlisle
dog, Rennie. Small Arms Club. There again we have become
involved in the running of practical matches.
Occupation Retired Police Sergeant
____________________________ What made you start shooting Practical Shotgun
___________________________ (PSG)?
___________________________
Target Shooter 101
Vanessa and Andy Duffy
I was a bit reluctant to take up PSG as I was
enjoying practical pistol so much and had little spare
time to shoot PSG matches as well as handgun
matches. But I was glad that we had already
became involved in the discipline when the handgun
ban came in. This meant that the trauma of losing
handguns was blunted a little. I soon understood
that I had a distinct advantage in PSG, as fitness
and body strength are a greater requirement than in
practical pistol. Once my scores began to improve I
was more motivated to work at PSG. I was thinking
of retiring from shooting when I was approaching 50
years. Fortunately, the European Championships
in Terni, Italy were announced and this persuaded
me to stay in the sport. Since my success in
Terni, I think I have become a little addicted to PSG.
What other shooting disciplines do you take part in?
As already mention I do shoot other
practical disciplines. I shoot Black Powder pistol
events and some Gallery Rifle disciplines. Andy and
myself were instrumental in setting up a new shooting
discipline which is an off shoot of PSG. We brought
about the introduction of Target Shotgun to Bisley
and it has now become an established NRA shooting
discipline at many of their Flagship events. Over
the past two years I have taken F Class Rifle
102 Target Shooter
Shooting. Now if you think that shotguns are expensive
then don’t get involved in this discipline! Again I was
reluctant to get into the sport. But Andy persuaded
me. I began shooting the F Class League events
with Andy’s Rifle. Last year we had a customised
rifle built for me. This cost over £3,000, but it is a
beauty of a gun and I really enjoy shooting it. I used
to think that lying on the ground and taking one shot
every now again was a bit boring. Now I realise that
shooting over long distances, 900 and 1000 yards
is not a breeze. In fact it’s the breeze that’s the
problem. I am slowly learning how to read the wind
and my scores are beginning to creep upwards. As
well as the F Class league we shoot F Class at the
Imperial meeting at Bisley each year. Last year we
also competed in the F Class World Championships
and I already have two European Championships
under my belt, these being held on an annual basis.
What is your current shotgun?
I shoot a Winchester SX3. I started life with a
Remington 1187. When I swapped to shooting
Standard division, on the advice of Mike Darby
I changed to a Browning Hunter Gold, which I loved.
This took me naturally onto the SX3. It was lighter
than the Browning and although it did not have the
auto feed, to me the SX3 just looked like a natural
PSG gun. I had a few teething problems to begin
with, but once it was up and running, it just felt so
natural to shoot PSG with.
Do you have a preference for certain types of
ammunition?
The SX3 is very particular about the length of
ammunition you use through the gun and requires
70 mm shotgun shells. I believe that if you want
the gun to perform well that you should shoot the
best ammunition you can afford for competition. At
the present time I shoot Lyvale Express bird shot.
32g N0 5 or 6. Magtech Buckshot, and S&B Slug.
You shoot in Standard Division. What attracted you
to that?
I believe that standard division gives you the
complete practical shooting challenge. Reloading
should always play it’s part in medium and long stages.
What would be your advice to new PSG shooters?
Buy a second hand gun for your first year in the
sport. Take a good look round at what other’s are using
before you invest in a permanent gun. Always watch
the top shooters, learn from them and ask questions.
Vanessa Shooting at the Europeans last year
What are your shooting aspirations?
To finish in the top five in the British
Championships. To continue to be British
Ladies Champion for as long as possible. To
compete in the first Shotgun World Shoot and do as
well as I possible can. Yes I would like to be World
Champion, but I have to be realistic, time is against
me, I am getting older. I hope that IPSC do sanction
a match sooner rather than later.
You have obviously shot abroad. Do you intend to
do more?
I have attended numerous shooting events abroad
over the years. I have visit a number of countries on
the continent but have been as far afield as Isreal
and Brazil to shoot. I am shooting in the Pan Am
Championships in the USA this year. I intend to
keep shooting as many L4 Championships as I can
in the future.
What are your thoughts on the UK Firearm Laws –
do you think they are fair and balanced?
We will always need regulation and control on
firearms. I believe that the way the laws have
been constructed over the years has made them
Target Shooter 103
difficult to understand and to administrate. The Until last year I was still playing Volleyball.
government should take a fresh look at them Actually this sport has always been my first love.
and start again. I believe that the Home Office Played it for over 40 years and if there were a club
Interpretation of Sec 11 of the Firearms Act is very local to Dumfries, I probably would still be playing.
unhelpful to practical shooters. It’s a nonsense that I train most days in the gym attending fitness
you cannot even try out a Section 1 shotgun or a classes. Shooting competitions, along with walking
Long Barrel revolver before you can even buy one. the dog and hours of unpaid UKPSA work
pretty much takes up most of my time these days.
What changes would you like to see?
What would be your Key Performance Tip?
The government will never support the shooting
disciplines, as seen by their woeful financial Learn from others. Learn from yourself.
support to those competing in the 2012 Olympics. Remember what works well and what doesn’t.
Until shooting is recognised as a legitimate sport,
no matter what the shooting discipline, we will Anything else you’d like to say?
always be second cousins to the mainstream sports.
Look after our sport. Others do not want us to do
Can you remember the best stage you ever shot? what we do, even though it is lawful. The UKPSA
have learnt a lot over the years. Please do not
Yes. It was a handgun speed shoot at a competition jeopardise what we have today with any unsafe
at the Bog. Loaded gun on shelf in front of you. practices or anything that would bring us into
Pull a rope to start a bobber target. Shoot through disrepute.
wooden bars at three targets. Six shots that went off
in a blur. Six A’s in a very good time. Just remember Many thanks Vanessa.
the great high I got from shooting the stage.

Do you have other hobbies?

104 Target Shooter

 News
Next month we continue with reviews and bringing you updates on what is happening in the
target shooting world. We are now at the height of the summer months and the heat is blazing -
long may it do so - with more good for a days at the range. Until next month, good shooting.
customer.services@targetshooter.co.uk
Happy reading and we hope you enjoy the magazine. The team at Target Shooter.
If you have any letters or news that you would like to air on a national basis then please contact us
at the magazine. This could be for those budding writers out there that would like to submit a full
article on specific firearms, competitions, shooting sports, etc.
The aim of the magazine is to include you the shooters in the United Kingdom 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.

Advertisers Index
Action Air Shooting 46 NSRA 80
AIM Field Sports Website & 29 Open Season/ KG Systems 28
Benchrest Directory 92 Phoenix League 19
Bratton Sound Gunsafes 68 Portsmouth Gun Centre Ltd 15
Dolphin Gun Company 45 Richard Paul Russell Ltd 35
Eley LTD 73 Roedale Precision 51
Fox Firearms 22, 29 & Website Rude Fat Dog 87
G T Shooting 15 Shooting Bags 40
Hull Cartridge 9 Surrey Guns 81
Indelfa industrial electronics 81 The Outdoorsman Limited 67
Intershoot 78 The Steel Challenge 22
Kelbly 28 Tim Hannam 23
Lilja 34 UKBR22 - Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest 78
Low Mill Range Website & 27 Viking Arms LTD 2
March Scopes 40 Westlake Engineering 19
Mayfair Shooting Centre 45 Zeiss Optics 3

Target Shooter 105

Next time in.....

The September issue will be out on the normal date of the 1st. Lots of follow up articles, new
reviews, news and as ever packed with the articles you want to read.
All the latest information at your fingertips

September 2010 Issue

On Test Reviews
Regular
Columns

Features ...and lots more

106 See you next month.......................................
Target Shooter