Welcome

to the third month of this free online shooting magazine for shooters in the UK

June 2009 Issue

Club
Features

Support Your local

Gunshop

Event reports

Second part of two Rimfire, Air Rifle and

feature articles Centerfire Benchrest
Target Shooter 1
FT Scope Review • Quigley Report • New Products • and lots more…..
 UK CUSTOM SHOP LTD
Home of Wildcat Sound Moderators
NEW RETAIL SPECIALIST RIFLE SHOP
Opening in the Midlands
Only 3.5 miles from J5 of M5 Only 8 miles from J1 M42
UK Custom Shop Ltd, 20 Wassage Way, Hampton Lovett Trading Estate,
Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire WR9 0NX
Opening beginning of June
We Will Be Announcing An Open Weekend
With Many Special Deals !!!!!!! Watch website for details
250 plus rifles in stock ~ 75 plus shotguns in stock ~ Airguns in stock
Wild Cat Sound Moderators ~ On Site Air Bottle and Air gun Charging facilities
We Stock guns from the following makers:
Howa, Vorer, Steyr, Browning, Winchester, Miroku, Tikka, Sako, CZ, Remington, Blaser
,Sauer, Mauser, Stirling, Laurona, Sig, AYA, Beretta, Bakial, Fabarm, Franchi, Ruger, BSA,
Webley, AirArms, Lincoln, Weihrauch and Fabarm
We stock the following shotgun cartridges: Eley, Fiocchi, SIMI, Rio, Express.
We stock metalics by: Fiocchi, Eley, Remington, CCI, Federal, Lapura, RWS, Norma, Sako.
Optics by: Zeiss, Kahles, Swarovski, S&B, Lynx, Nicco Stirling, NightForce & many others.
Reloading Products, Bullets, Primers, Powder, Cases, Dies, Presses, Scales etc.

Always willing to deal Try Us!

Gifts for the sportsman, Silver LDT edition Coins with African Animals on face,
Hand-made knives, walking sticks and many other items.
Stalking Equipment Including: High Seats, knives, Knife sharpeners Roe
sacks, Optics, Butchery kits, Stalking sticks, Bi Pods, Rifle slings,
Gunslips and much more. Full
Stalking Trips Arranged Custom
On Site Workshop and Gunsmiths. Repairs to Shotguns, Bolt Rifles
Work
under taken
and Double Rifles. Alterations to Shotguns and Rifles and Double
Rifles. New Rifles, Double Rifles and Shotguns built to
specification. Air Guns Serviced & Repaired.
If we do not have what you want let us quote you.

• Tel Shop: 01905 797060 • Fax: 01905 796620 • Tel Trade: 01905 796610
• Web: www.wildcatrifles.co.uk • Email enquiries@wildcatrifle.co.uk
2 Target Shooter SS06.09/58/a
World Cup Success
- 9/9 Prone Medals
- 11/12 Gold medals in 50m events
- Total of 35 medals won by ELEY
2009 ISSF World Cups 1, 2 & 3

Champions shoot Tenex

www.eleyammunition.com TargetELEY - the home of Tenex

Shooter 3
Welcome to the 3rd month

.......of Target Shooter
17 Basic Rifle Maintenance Sections
Part 2 by Vince Bottomley
6 Shooting Sport News

9 Shooters Calendar

14 Support your Local Gun

32 Leupold Competition Shop
Scope By Carl Boswell
24 Pennine Challenge Cup
event review

53 Future of Gallery 26 Air Rifle Equipment Part 3

Rifle By Gwyn Roberts by Stanley Shaw

38 Savage Model 12 By Laurie
Holland

57 HFT 46 Wildcat Cartridges by

Scopes By Tim Richard Wild

Finley 76 Shooting Website of the
Month

78 Practical Shotgun event
65 AR15 report by Tony Burford
combinations By 81 Phoenix Meeting Report
Nigel Greenaway by Gwyn Roberts

94 Gun of the Month

96 Club Feature
72 Project Rifle
By Vince Bottomley

85 Rifle Twist
Rates Part 2 by Laurie
Holland

4 Target Shooter
 Association Pages
99 UKBRA

103 UKBR22 Editor(s).

Carl Boswell and Vince Bottomley
104 F Class UK
Advertising and Office Manager
107 Quigley Association Andy Dubreuil. email; admin@targetshooter.co.uk

109 HFT News Contributors

Vince Bottomley Richard Wild
111 Gallery Rifle Laurie Holland Tim Finley
Carl Boswell Tony Burford
113 UKPSA Nigel Greenaway Gwyn Roberts
Stanley Shaw Ken Hall
Webitorial
Our third issue already and we continue to be amazed and humbled by your response to our efforts.
Although the production costs of an on-line magazine are minimal compared to a ‘paper’ magazine,
nonetheless there are web-hosting costs involved and eventually we need to cover those costs and
of course pay our loyal contributors if we are to survive.

It is therefore essential that we keep advertisers on-board if we are to survive and prosper. Please
help by mentioning Target Shooter when responding to advertisements.
With your help, our small team will strive to bring you up-to-date coverage of all target-shooting
sports from small club competitions to international events and we will continue to bring news and
reviews of the latest target-shooting equipment to your computer screen as quickly as possible.

We now need your support more than ever. We have done our best to publicise Target Shooter
but there is only so much we can do and your ‘word of mouth’ is the very best way to maintain and
increase our readership. We thank you sincerely for your continued support and it was a great
pleasure to meet so many of you at the Bisley Phoenix Meeting last month.

The only real complaint we have heard so far is that the magazine is not easy to read on-screen. I agree
with this observation – or at least I did until I read the instructions! If you click on ‘More’ on the SCRIBD
button bar at the top of the page, then click on ‘View mode’ and check ‘Book mode’ you can read Target
Shooter just like a proper magazine! Click on the top right-hand corner to turn the page – amazing!
The other thing is we have updated the software so you can now download this magazine to you
desktop in a similar format - the free subscription provides a link to do this.
Finally, we are extremely fortunate to have the continued support of our writers. We have even
received offers from overseas writers who just want to be part of the Target Shooter phenomenon.
But, one stipulation – all our writers must be active competition shooters, out there on the ranges,
what ever the weather, shooting shoulder to shoulder with you, our readers!
Carl Boswell - carl@targetshooter.co.uk and Vince Bottomley - vinceb@targetshooter.co.uk
Copyright © Target Shooter Magazines

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

G
U.K
SG 22lr
rifles in the
York Guns Ltd is proud
to announce that they
are the newly appointed
distributor for GSG
22lr rifles in the U.K
and have two new models for 2009.
135mm.
The range will consist of the already popular GSG-5
The new GSG-47
and its new variant the GSG-5SD, the new model
Kalashnikov copy will also be available in two
features a large oversized barrel shroud and tubular
models, black synthetic or wood stock and fore-end.
ribbed fore-end. A full range of accessories
Again a large range of add on accessories will be
including Tactical scopes, mounts, collapsible stocks,
available to customise your rifle.
front grips and spare magazines will be available for
For more information please contact the York
both models.
Guns Ltd Retail Team, details below:
York Guns have also developed a brand new
Marketing: fay.stephenson@yorkguns.com
design sound moderator for the GSG-5 which is
extremely effective and will only cost £79.95; the new
Retail Sales: sales@yorkguns.com
moderator takes the place of the dummy moderator
shroud and extends the length of the gun by only

P restige are a new company on the level 10-

block, having brought out a new range of shot PCP
air rifles with quite a selection available. Their - roll out at
Press release states‘High quality products the end of
backed up by a very high standard of customer May.’
service is the driving philosophy behind The Good luck
Prestige Airgun Company – a brand new outfit to this new
that’s headed-up by Jeff Cooper, a well-known company
and highly-respected name in the airgun as this is
shooting industry. what we
“As the company’s name suggests,” explains need in
Jeff, “Prestige Airguns will be focusing on the the UK to
distribution of top quality air rifles and diversify
equipment exclusively through a select number our sport.
of dealers across the UK.” We may
With 15 years’ experience of the UK airgun be able to
industry, Jeff is very much in tune with see one of
what both dealers and shooters want, and these be-
he is confident that the Prestige brand will ing tested
deliver in every respect. in the near
Jeff has been busy working on a number of future?
exciting new projects with many of the global
contacts he has built up over the years and
the first of these - a top-end precharged
pneumatic multi-shot carbine and an entry
6 Target Shooter
M cRees stocks
E ley attends the
Phoenix
Eley attended the Phoenix this
year for the first time, having a
marquee just outside the main
pavilion. This was a trial run
through to test the consumer
market at the event and by all
accounts they succeeded in
their target; speaking to many
individuals and selling quite
a lot of the merchandise they
have begun to establish as a
company.

Having achieved a great

deal of success at the recent
Munich World Cup, with
shooters using Tenex
Whilst on the subject of North West Custom Parts, we made a ammunition, the company is
quick mention of their McRees stocks from the USA last month. looking forward to developing
Although I’d seen a couple of stocks at my local range, I hadn’t
the use of its range of
really got to look at one up close. Wayne obliged and supplied the
ammunition even further. (Eley
benchrest example shown in the pic. This has the three-inch wide
fore-end and would be suitable for benchrest or F Class compe- Tenex was used to attain 10
tition. Stuart Amselm of Osprey Rifles lent me the Savage 6.5-284 out of the 18 medals available
barrelled-action to make the stock look a bit more like a rifle and in at the World Cup)
fact, if you are interested, it’s for sale e-mail stuart@ospreyrifles.com
The stocks are CNC machined from billet aluminium, making them Speaking to Clive Scrivens,
immensely strong and true. The standard of machining is very the commercial team were
high as you would expect and various anodised colour finishes very pleased with their
are available. There are inlets for most popular actions, so it’s just success at the Phoenix, over
a matter of deciding on configuration and ordering the correct one. the Saturday and Sunday,
In addition to the benchrest fore-end, there is a tactical version which
#saying that they would be
looks very nice in satin black. You could of course
back next year.
have two or more fore-ends, making the stock
very versatile. The pistol-grip is standard M16 so
there are lots of aftermarket options. The picture
shows a bag-riding butt but others are available.
I didn’t weigh the stock but I would guess that it
would come in under 17 lbs with scope which
would nicely make Light Gun class or F/TR class.

It’s a testimony to the quality of these stocks

that the US Army are currently evaluating them.
Contact Wayne at www.nwcustomparts.com

If any association, club or retailer or

manufacturer wishes to provide news for
this section (Copmpetitions, new The Eley team over
products, etc), please get in touch with thePhoenix weekend
us via the customer support email
address on the magazine website.

Target Shooter 7
8 Target Shooter
Calendar of events over the next two months
If your club or association has events you want to publicise here then email us.
5 June to Sunday 7th june - Scottish Open
Championships (Blair Atholl (Scotland). http://www.
scottishrifleassociation.org.uk Contact Allan Mabon
Sat 6th – 7th June MLAGB National Pistol
Championships, Bisley
6/7th June - GB F Class League Round 2 Bisley
(mik@mikdolphin.demon.co.uk)
6th June 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.
If you would like to attend you must book in at least a
week in advance by contacting Heather Webb at the
NRA.
12th to 14th - British Intl 50m Championships
Friday, 12 June 2009. The Championships run from
12th to 14th June. Contact NSRA
12/13/14 June 2009 Cumberland News Rifle Club,
Carlisle Air Gun Championships 60+60 for Air
Pistol and Rifle contact: Bob Nicholson
info@cnrc.org.uk or web: www.cnrc.org.uk
Fri 12 June - AGM of National Rifle Association
(National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) - Annual
General Meeting of the NRA. To be held at Bisley at
5.30pm. All members are encouraged to attend.
14th June 100 yard benchrest – Bisley Sunday
18 June - NRA Shooting Club Day (National
Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)Multi-discipline
NRA Shooting Club Day. Targets have been
booked on Melville and at 100, 200, 500 and 900
yards. Contact Heather Webb.
20 June - Club Instructor Course - NSRA Cost
- £75.00. Fees include NSRA registration costs,
course attendance and assessments where
necessary. They do not include meals and
accommodation.
Sat 20 June - MLAGB Long Range Rifles Branch,
900 yard Champs. (am), 1000 yard practice (pm),
Bisley.
100 yard benchrest – Diggle Saturday 20th
June
1000 yard benchrest – Diggle Sunday 21st
June
27th June Hampshire Open Prize Meeting
(National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
Thu 02 Jul to Sun 05 Jul Jul NRA Imperial
Meeting (National Shooting Centre (NSC),
Bisley)
Sat 4 and Sun 5 MLAGB Pedersoli
Challenge, Wedgnock
Thu 09 Jul Ireland v Scotland - Lex Lyons Match
(National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
Fri 10 Jul to Thu 16 Jul NRA Imperial
Meeting - Match Rifle Events (National
Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
Sat 11 MLAGB DTL Shotgun Training, Sywell
Ranges
12th July 100 yard benchrest – Bisley Sunday
Mon 13 Jul to Thu 16 Jul NRA Imperial
Meeting - Schools Meeting (National Shooting
Centre (NSC), Bisley) Competitions for School
Combined Cadet Forces affliated to the NRA.
Fri 17 Jul Wind Coaching Course (National
Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) Short wind
coaching course.
Sat 18 Jul to Fri 24 Jul NRA Imperial Meeting
- F Class Rifle Events (National Shooting Centre
(NSC), Bisley) Individual and team competitions
for F Class Rifle competitors. Starting with
warm-up matches on Friday and Saturday, the
Grand Aggregate begins with the Daily Telegraph
competition on the Saturday afternoon and
culminates with the F Class International team
match.
Sat 25 MLAGB DTL Shotgun Training,
Sywell Ranges
Sat 25 Jul NRA Imperial Meeting - HM Queens
Prize (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley)
Shot at 900 and 1000 yards on the Final
Saturday of the Imperial Meeting.
Sun 26 MLAGB Rifle Practice, Bisley 100yd -
advance booking required
Sun 26 Jul to Thu 30 Jul F Class World
Championships (National Shooting Centre
(NSC), Bisley) In July 2009 Bisley will host the F
Class World Championships.
Target Shooter 9
 44 Harrowby Street
LONDON W1H 5HY
Tel: 020 7262 1881
Fax: 020 7402 0959
Armalon „PR‟ Custom Rem 700s: The truly practical rifle for stalking, foxing, PR, SR,
‘
F’Class, Sporting and Benchrest. Choice of calibre and options, e.g. H-S Precision,
AICS, Bell & Carlson stocks, RH or LH, a premier optical sight, plus our superb Picatinny
20 moa inclined bases and 30/34mm rings. Please call/email for prices and options list.

Armalon „PR rifle in Bell & Carlson Tactical chassis

stock, 5,10 & 20 rd .308 mag options, fluted barrel and
muzzle brake for lighter weight and lower recoil

Sarony‟s EasyCam — This cock-

ing assembly resolves most hard
extraction problems with fired
cases on ARs, from .223 to .308
including 6.5 Grendel from £132 +
p&p
Only from Armalon–
L/H „AICS‟ with AI or
Armalon „PR‟ mag
conversions

Armalon‟s 20 moa ‘
PicT‟
Picatinny scope mounts for SA
& LA Rem 700 (inc. LH option)

Armalon 30mm & 34mm

‘PicT‟ Tactical scope rings—
steel (shown) or ali magnum
from £125 + p&p

.Armalon .223 AL42 - similar model in .30M1 (AL30C) also avail- Armalon tapered ali bolt knob &
able POA. Fitted with Armalon No.4 “no gunsmithing “ scope conversion £82.50 (conversion
mount £83.00 + p&p. with 25,30, 32 and 35mm ball
knobs also available £64)

ARMALON HAMMER FORGED BARRELS: Armalon‟s “pukka” .303 Enfield No.4 ham-
mer forged barrels, fitted, finished & proofed from £304. Armalon‟s Remington 700 HV
profile barrels, 1 in 200mm twist .223, 260/6.5, 1 in 12 twist .308/7.62, fitted, finished &
proofed from £304. Our hammer forged premium barrels are available for most actions and
in most calibres and twists POA.

Email : enquiries@armalon.com www.armalon.com

We accept most major credit/debit cards
10 Target Shooter
SECTION 5
firearm solutions to suit you

Section 5 deals in all forms of these specialised weapons -

revolvers, semi-automatic pistols and rifles, and dart guns.
We have one of the largest and most comprehensive stocks of
these weapons in the UK, ready for immediate sale, magazine or
cylinder restriction, De-Activation or export to approved countries.
TRAINING

DE-ACTIVATION

HUMANE DISPATCH

Email: sales@sect5.co.uk Web: www.sect5.co.uk Tel: 07549 945 292 Fax: 0845 280 1620

Target Shooter 11
12 Target Shooter
L aunching the brand new airgun marque of Prestige Airguns, the Kub family comes in a trio
of exciting carbine-format models - the SB (side-bolt), RB (rear-bolt) and SL (side-lever) - each
available in .177 or .22 and with ambidextrous thumbhole or sporter woodwork in walnut.
The Kubs weigh-in at just 6.5 lbs., yet are stacked with features - including an adjustable butt pad,
plug-in charging, on-board air gauge, adjustable two-stage trigger, re-settable safety, threaded
muzzle and a 10-shot rotary magazine. Notwithstanding its compact dimensions, a Prestige Kub
also returns upwards of 100 full-power shots per air-fill thanks to its self-regulating firing valve.
Against feather, fur, metal or paper targets, the new Prestige Kubs are the connoisseur’s choice for
handling and performance. A pride born to make your shooting more rewarding.

Target Shooter 13
 Support your local gun shop
‘Norman Clarke Gunsmiths Ltd’
Norman and Andrea Clark stand in front of
their new showroom
I’ve visited Norman Clark for 10 years, each trip
memorable, but the most recent particularly so
as it was to his new premises. To anybody ever
shoehorned into its cramped predecessor, the
new showroom is palatial doing the company’s
comprehensive stock justice. How did Norman get
here? He started as an apprentice gunmaker in the
Birmingham shotgun trade, worked there for a while
after qualifying before going independent in Rugby
as a shotgun repairer, then took on rifle work to
become a precision rifle builder par excellence. As
business grew, Norman’s wife Andrea joined him
full-time, and today there are seven other people
working for them.
Norman found that shooters who commission
custom rifles are handloaders and serial
buyers of tools, accessories and optics. Since
he’d end up supplying them with cases, dies,
riflescope and mounts, sound-moderator etc, building
supply chains to source these items, it made sense
to sell them to the wider shooting public too. So the
workshops acquired a shop and Mick and Dean
to staff it. Redding tools, Berger bullets, Sierra
Bullets, Caldwell rests and bags, Wheeler tools,
Tipton carbon-fibre cleaning rods and more were
imported too for retail and trade customers.
Let’s move onto the new building. From the
outside it’s an unremarkable two-story former
machine shop surrounded by the mandatory paling
fence – no display windows, or even a front door!
You park behind and enter it at the side through
a high security ‘airlock’ arrangement, visitors
monitored by CCTV inside and out. On
passing through the inner door, you walk into the
showroom, a large brightly lit room with wide aisles
around what seem miles of product displays. The
counter takes up two thirds of the building’s width
with vast quantities of cartons of bullets (match and
14 Target Shooter
expanding) from all the main manufacturers, cases
and more visible through its glass top and front, with
powders, primers and factory ammunition on wall
shelves behind. A complete wall plus is taken up
by 200 or more longarms: air rifles, a few shotguns,
scores of smallbore and fullbore sporting rifles, and
more target rifles than the average gunshop sees
in a decade. While you might find a few die sets
in the average gunshop, there is a whole shelf of
them here, mostly Redding and RCBS, over 100
green boxes – and that’s only part of the stock.
But don’t think Norman Clark Gunsmith is just
rifles and handloading. This is a comprehensively
stocked gunshop with ‘scopes, rests, tools,
accessories, books, knives (and a new
Mick behind the counter and the display of
handloading components and ammo
comprehensive range of knife and blade
sharpeners from Smith), earmuffs, targets and
more, geared to field and target rifle shooters.
The half of the ground floor that customers don’t
see is taken up by an armoury, warehouse (yet
more books, presses, bullets, cases, die sets!),
gunsmithing workshops now seeing additional
lathes and milling machines being installed.
Upstairs, there is more storage, the office, and an
empty area above the showroom that will be fitted
out as an upstairs retail area if and when growth in
that side of the business needs it.
With a 24-carat reputation for its rifle work, now
supported by a fantastic new shop, this is one
shooting outfit you must visit if you’re anywhere
near Rugby! Oh, if you’re a Parker-Hale collector,
there’s another one – a set of three development
models / prototypes of the PH M85 sniper rifle, plus
the PH ‘LANO’ .223 prototype target rifle that so
influenced Australian TR shooters in the 1980s.
Norman Clark Gunsmiths Ltd.,
e-mail: info@normanclarkgunsmith.com
Website: www.normanclarkgunsmith.com
 HIGH QUALITY GUN & RIFLE MANUFACTURER
S

New shop now open

Come and see our large selection of
shooting components and accessories.
Norman Clark Gunsmiths Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 1788 579651 -
Fax: +44 (0) 1788 577104
19 Somers Road Rugby Warwickshire England CV22 7DG

website: www.normanclarkgunsmith.com
e-mail: info@normanclarkgunsmith.com
Target Shooter 15
 Over 10,200 guns for sale
82,000 visitors per month
Over 115 dealer stock
live online

Sect 5 Dealer Humane Dispatch, De-Acts,

16
Exports Please call 0845-458 9666
Target Shooter
 Vince Bottomley

Basic Rifle Maintenance

Part 2
Last month, in part one, we had a look at the Shooters Choice, Pro-Shot etc . and if I find one
bolt and what we could do to keep it in tip-top better than Butch’s, I’ll switch. Some bore cleaners can
condition. This month, I had intended to look at get the barrel almost too clean and dry, so I like to ‘cut’
the receiver but we had a request to cover barrel my Butch’s with a dash of Kroil – no more than 10%.
cleaning – which I had intended to do the month after –
so, always happy to oblige, we’ll swap things around. I recently read a piece on barrel cleaning in a well known
publication where it talked about 4x2 and Young’s 303
OK, barrels. Whereas we could strip our bolt gun-oil. If these items are still part of your cleaning
into its component parts and inspect, clean kit, maybe now’s the time to get up to date. There is
and lube as necessary, there’s not a lot we can an excellent family-owned American company called
do to a barrel, except clean it. Removal is not Pro-Shot. Tim Hannam at Leeds is the UK importer.
really an option and anyway, what would it achieve?
Get yourself some Pro Shot brass spear-point
Like most of you, I’ve been cleaning barrels for a jags, correct size patches and Pro Shot bronze
good number of years but, I have to admit, until brushes. These brushes by the way are not meant to
I bought a borescope, I didn’t really know what I There are plenty of
was doing. I should perhaps qualify that and say – I copper-solvents
couldn’t SEE what I was doing. The borescope made on the market but
me revise my cleaning regime! Sweets is as good
as any
We all have our favourite bore cleaners and mine
is Butch’s Bore Shine. I’d never used Butch’s
until I went to New Zealand for the World Benchrest
Championships in 2001. It’s customary at these
events to receive a ‘goody-bag’ and ours contained
a bottle of Butch’s. Naturally, my rifle was squeaky-
clean but, why not give the Butch’s a go and see if it
will bring out any more fouling? I was shocked to find
that it did - lots! My next step was to take my bottle of
bore-cleaner – which I had cunningly smuggled on the
plane in a shampoo bottle – and pour it down the drain!

There are other bore cleaners – like Hoppes,

17 Target Shooter Target Shooter 17
be used for years like those
horrendous Parker Hale
things with a steel core.
The Pro Shot brushes are
brass-cored and quite
cheap and you should
throw it away as soon as
you see any signs of the
bristles breaking off. And
don’t forget - ALWAYS
USE A BORE-GUIDE!

Money-saving tip - most

of us have more than one
rifle calibre to clean – guys,
you can clean everything
with a 22 rod – no need
to buy more than one
cleaning rod! I even use
just one 22 jag – fold your
patches in half or use Brushes, jags and patches from pro Shot – and don’t forget the bore-guide
two patches and you can
clean a 308 with a 22 jag! my 308 F/TR rifle, it’s maybe double that figure.
Both rifles use BAT actions and Bartlein barrels.
First off, I know that no one likes cleaning their
rifles. I don’t like cleaning my rifles but I do know The golden rule is – clean your rifle as often as you
that a rifle with a badly fouled barrel will not can - if you want it to deliver best accuracy. In other
deliver best accuracy. But how do we assess words, clean after every competition at the end of
when a barrel needs cleaning? To measure the the day. If your round-count is exceptionally high,
accuracy fall-off you would need to set up your clean during the competition – if you get the chance.
rifle benchrest style, to eliminate as far as Remember however, some rifles will need a shot
possible any human errors and shoot several groups or two to settle down after cleaning and you should
and watch the groups open-up as the round-count know how many shots your rifle needs from a clean
increases. But you don’t actually need to do it because barrel before it shoots ‘point of aim’.
thousands of benchrest shooters have already
done it. Everyone will have their own cleaning regime
but hopefully it will follow roughly similar lines.
Two points to note – the more accurate your At the end of a day’s shooting, here’s my routine:
rifle, the sooner fouling will be detrimental to
accuracy and, smaller calibres seem to suffer from 1 Pass a couple of loose-fitting patches
the effects of fouling more than larger calibres. soaked in you favourite cleaning fluid through the
My 6PPC benchgun will run to about 25 rounds bore. This will push out the loose powder residue.
before accuracy noticeably deteriorates. With

These patches came out of a 308 after 25 rounds – and it still isn’t copper-free!

18 Target Shooter Target Shooter 18


2 Scrub the bore with a bronze bore-brush
wetted with cleaning fluid – I use one pass for every
round fired as a rough guide. Please do not attempt
to reverse the brush in the bore – take it straight
out of the muzzle but be careful when you pull it
If your crown looks like this you
should maybe visit your gunsmith
A clean, sharp crown is the ideal
19 Target Shooter
A home-made chamber cleaning tool
back through the crown – it’s very easy to damage
the crown when cleaning. A bronze brush will not
damage your bore and most benchrest shooters will
scrub with a bronze brush every 10 to 15 rounds.
That equates to five or six cleans in a single day.
3 Next, pass two or three tight-fitting
dry patches through the bore to push
out the fouling loosened by the brushing.
4 Finish off with a loose wet patches
followed by a tight dry patches until they
come out clean. Finish with a couple of
dry patches so the bore is completely
dry. Completely dry? Don’t forget, we
‘cut’ our Butch’s with 10% Kroil which
prevents that ‘squeaky-clean’ effect.
5 Is there any copper in the bore?
Almost certainly! Pass a loose-fitting
patch through the bore loaded with a good
copper solvent – Sweets is as good as
anything. Many bore cleaners claim to
remove copper – Butch’s does but it is
nowhere near as effective as Sweets.
I also like Montana Extreme Copper
Killer and Pro shot Copper Remover. Most
copper solvents are ammonia based. The
ones that work well will bring tears to your
eyes if you take a tiny sniff! If you are
allergic to ammonia try the Pro-Shot, it’s
almost odourless. Sweets is not always easy
to get but Fultons at Bisley usually have it.
6 Let the copper solvent do its work
by leaving it in the bore for at least ten
minutes. Ignore any fables about Sweets
damaging your bore. After 10 or 15
minutes, push out the Sweets with a
tight-fitting dry patch. Any blue streaks on
it? Yes? Repeat until the blue disappears.
Target Shooter 19
 with a small square or two of kitchen roll
under it. Now smear the JB paste on
the patch and rod the bore vigorously!
It’s best to ‘short-stroke’ it by doing
eight or nine inches at a time. You’ve
really got to work that rod and change
patches frequently. The patches will
come out jet-black. After JB-ing, clean
thoroughly as steps 1 to 4 above.

JB doesn’t always perform miracles

but if your rifle has lost its edge, it’s
worth a go. JB is a once a year thing
– not every week!
Nobody likes cleaning but it’s got to
be done and done properly to maintain
We haven’t mentioned those aerosol
accuracy
cleaners yet like Forrest Bore Foam
and Wipe-out. On the face of it they are
7 Copper solvents can leave a slightly sticky the simple answer to all that scrubbing
coating in the bore so we need to clean it off with and patching. Unfortunately, the foam needs to be
the wet patch/dry patch routine as in step 4. left in the bore for a long time - maybe eight hours or
overnight - to do its job. Even then, how do you know
8 If you have a stainless-steel barrel, consider your rifle is clean? Repeat the process? Who can
it job done. If you have a chrome-moly barrel and you spend hours on what is really just a five-minute job?
use the rifle regularly and store it indoors – job done. Is there any other barrel maintenance we
If the rifle is likely to be left for some time or stored can do now that it’s clean? Well, if you know
in a damp atmosphere, then a patch sprayed with someone with a borscope, beg borrow or steal
WD40 and passed through the barrel will afford the a look at your bore. Borescopes cost a few
necessary protection but you MUST patch-out before hundred pounds but maybe your club could afford
you shoot. Incidentally, the stainless-steel used in one and charge members £5 a go. In fact, once
rifle barrels is not a true stainless and it will also rust members have used it, I predict much return business!
if left for any length of time in a damp atmosphere.
Finally, it’s often said that the most important part of a
After cleaning, I often have a look at the bore through barrel is the last inch. Have a good look at your crown
the borescope – particularly if the rifle doesn’t seem through a magnifier. There are many different ways
to be performing to its expected standard. Copper to crown a barrel but every crown should be free from
is often still in there even though the patches aren’t burrs or dings and should be evenly cut. The lands
turning blue. A more aggressive strategy is called for. should be clearly visible and undamaged. If you
suspect the crown is anything other than perfect,
You can make the copper solvent more ‘active’ go along to your favourite gunsmith and ask him to
by scrubbing the bore with a bristle brush soaked re-cut it.
in the solvent – don’t use a bronze brush for
obvious reasons! The scrubbing action will induce Before we close this article on barrels, don’t forget
oxygen into the solvent which acts as a catalyst and the chamber – particularly the chamber-neck -which
makes the solution work better. Copper solvents will soot-up in exactly the same way as the
need oxygen to work. If you drop a bullet into your cartridge-case neck. All gunshops sell cleaning-rods
bottle of copper solvent, it will still be bright copper but next time you go in your local shop ask for a
coloured after a week but if you put a drop of solvent chamber cleaning tool. You will likely be met with a
on a bullet, it will turn blue in minutes. blank stare – but why? Cleaning the chamber is
important. An old pistol cleaning rod fitted with a
As a last resort, you can ‘JB’ your barrel. JB is bronze brush will do the job (see pic). Wrap a turn
a specially prepared bore paste for removing of kitchen roll around the brush, apply a few drops
stubborn fouling. It’s popular with benchrest shooters of cleaning fluid and clean out that chamber! Dry it
as it can bring a barrel that has ‘gone off’ back to life. afterwards and pass a patch through the bore to ensure
that no fragments of kitchen roll are lurking in there.
It’s quite simple to use. Prepare a very tight-fitting patch
which really takes some effort to push through the Next month, we will take a look at the stock.
bore. You can do this by thickening a standard patch

20 Target Shooter Target Shooter 20

TIM HANNAM THE RELOADING SPECIALISTS
Tel: 01977 681639 Fax: 01977 684272
Peckfield Lodge,
Great North Road ,
Leeds,
LS25 5LJ Retail & Trade Enquiries
Welcome

Reloading Presses
We stock a full range of presses by Lee, Lyman, Hornady and Forster

Reloading Dies
We stock a wide range of die sets and individual dies by Lee, Lyman ,
Hornady and Forster

Scales
We stock both electronic and beam scales from Lee, Lyman , Hornady.
and MTM

Brass Cases
From the most popular to the fairly obscure Manufacturers include
Lapua, Remington, Winchester, Starline and IMI

Smokeless Powders
We carry a wide range of powders from Vihtavouri, Hodgdon, IMR
and Alliant

Case Preparation Accessories

We stock a wide range of equipment, tools and kits.

Bullets
Including Match, Varmint and Target bullets from Lapua, Hornady
Remington and Winchester. We carry a wide range of pistol bullets in
both jacketed and lead.

Primers
For both Rifle and Pistol calibers from Remington, Winchester,
CCI and Federal

plus lots more inc Pro-shot, Birchwood Casey, G96

Target Shooter 21
22 Target Shooter
 100 - 104 Lowtown, Pudsey Prvi Partizan Catalogue
Henry West Yorkshire, LS28 9AY
Tel: 01132 569 163 / 565 167
Fax: 01132 574 962
available on request
Visit our new website:
Krank Email: sales@henrykrank.com
Open Mon - Sat, 9am - 5pm
www.henrykrank.com

Available at
all good
gun shops
Prvi Partizan top quality hunting & target ammunition and reloading components
PPU RIFLE PPU HANDGUN PPU PRIMERS
AMMUNITION AMMUNITION Priced per
Priced per pack of 100 Priced per pack of 100 pack of 1000

P111 Small Pistol Primers £22.00

P222 Large Pistol Primers £23.10
P333 Small Rifle Primers £22.00
A193 22 Hornet SP 45gr £39.60 P444 Large Rifle Primers £23.10
A032 222 Rem SP 50gr £39.60 A298 32 S+W Long 98gr w/c £22.44
A112 9mm Luger 115gr FMJ £22.44
A203
A132
222 Rem FMJ BT 55gr
223 Rem SP 55gr
£39.60
£39.60 A044
A033
9mm Luger 115gr FMJ
9mm Luger 124gr FMJ
£22.44
£22.44
PPU BULLETS
A188 223 Rem FMJ BT 55gr £39.60
A339 223 Match BT HP69gr NEW £51.70 A166 9mm Luger 147gr FMJ £22.44 Priced per
A495 223 Match 75gr £51.70 A140 38 SPL RNFP 158gr £22.44 pack of 100
A253 22-250 Rem SP 50gr £49.50 A326 357 Magnum 158gr RNFP £27.94
A211 22-250 Rem SP 55gr £49.50 A339 357 Magnum FPJ 158gr £33.66
A212 22-250 Rem FMJ BT 55gr £49.50 A222 44 Magnum 180gr FPS £38.28 B008 22 FMJ BT 55gr
A221 44 Rem Mag FPJ 240gr £38.28 B484 6.5mm FMJ BT 110gr £11.22
A270 243 Win SP 90gr £49.50
B083 6.5mm FMJ BT 139gr £13.75
A134 243 Win SP 100gr £49.50
A047
A208
25-06 Rem PSP 100gr
6,5 x 52 Car FMJ BT 139gr
£54.23
£54.23
PPU BRASS B127
B105
7 FMJ BT 174gr
7mm 158gr Grom
£13.75
£14.19
A084 6,5 x 55 SP BT 139gr £49.50 CASES B010
B009
30 FMJ RN 110gr
30 FMJ BT 145gr
£21.95
£14.25
A083 6,5 x 55 FMJ BT 139gr £49.50
Priced per B007 30 FMJ 139gr £14.25
A227 6,5 x 55 SP RN 156gr £49.50
£14.25
A161 270 Win SP 130gr £49.50 pack of 100 B099 30 FMJ 150gr
£14.25
A027 270 Win SP 150gr £49.50 B345 30 FMJ BT 174gr
B366 30 FMJ BT 175gr £14.19
A141 7 X 57 FMJ BT 173gr £49.50 C193 22 Hornet £15.95
B074 7.62mm FMJ 123gr £14.19
A400 7mm - 08 PSP 140gr £53.90 C032 222 Remington £19.25
B143 303 FMJ BT 174gr £13.75
A024 30 Carbine FMJ RN 110gr £41.25 C132 223 Remington £18.70
B006 303 FMJ BT 190gr £14.19
A119 300 WM FMJ 145gr NEW £60.00 C211 22/250 £26.40
B437 303 FMJ BT 170gr NEW £14.19
A034 308 FMJ BT 145gr £45.65 C134 243 Winchester £27.50
B348 8mm Match FMJ BT 198gr £14.19
A020 308 SP 150gr £48.95 C062 30-06 NEW £34.32
B351 8mm 185gr Grom £17.33
A362 308 PSP BT 165gr £49.50 C421 338 Lapua MagnumNEW £76.60
B323 30 Grom 170gr £23.98
A363 308 HP BT Match 168gr £59.29 C111 357 Magnum NEW £12.25
B140 38 158gr RNFP £21.95
A366 308 FMJ BT 175gr £49.50 C118 6,5 x 52 Carcano £39.60
B339 38 FPJ 158gr £5.94
A035 308 SP 180gr £49.50 C083 6,5 x 55 Swedish £30.36
B221 44 FPJ 180gr £13.64
A028 30-30 FSP 150gr £49.50 C027 270 Winchester £28.05
B180 45 FMJ 230gr £15.95
A346 7,5x54 French FMJ 139gr £53.90 C345 7,5 x 55 Swiss £34.32 £15.95
A345 7,5x55 Swiss FMJ BT 174gr £53.90 C030 7,62 x 39 £27.50
A094
A365
30-06 FMJ 150gr
30-06 HP BT 168gr
£53.90
£53.90
C020
C346
308 Winchester
7,5 x 54 French
£29.15
£34.32
PPU BLANKS
A323 30-06 Grom 170gr £66.00 C031 7,62 x 54R £31.68 Priced per pack of 100
A066 30-06 SP 180gr £53.90 C128 8mm Mauser £31.68 BL18 5,56 (223) £37.40
A041 7,62 X 39 FMJ 123gr £46.20 C470 7.62 Nagant £34.32 BL22 7,62 x 51 (308) £46.20
A169 7,62 X 54 FMJ BT 182gr £53.90 C483 6.5 Grendel £35.64 BL28 7,62x39 (7,62 Russian Short) £46.20
A143 303 British FMJ BT 174gr £50.60 C385 6.5 x 51 Jap £39.60 BL32 7,62x54R (7,62 Russian Long) £46.20
A267 375 H&H Mag 300gr £135.30 C383 7.7 Jap £41.36 BL40 7,92 ( 8 x 57 Mauser) £46.20
A265 375 H&H FMJ RN 300gr NEW £135.30 C424 7 .92 x 33 Kurz £39.60 BL50 303 British £46.20
A384 8x56 RS Manl FMJ BT 208grNEW £60.00 C417 8 x 50 Lebel £52.80 BL60 30-06 ( 7,62 x 63) £49.50
A128 8x57 JS SP 196gr £49.50 C384 8 x 56 Mannlicher £41.36 BL70 9mm (9x19) Parabelum £22.98
A348 8x57 JS FMJ BT Match 198gr £59.29 C413 7.63 (30 Mauser) £20.35 BL80 38 SPL £22.98
A351 8x57 JS Grom 185gr £66.00
SP - Soft Point PSP - Pointed Soft Point SPBT - Soft Point Boat Tail PSPBT - Pointed Soft Point Boat Tail
SPRN - Soft Point Round Nose FSP - Flat Soft Point HPBT - Hollow Point Boat Tail FPJ - FlatTarget
Point Jacket FMJ - Full Metal Jacket
Shooter 23
FMJRN - Full Metal Jacket Round Nose FMJBT - Full Metal Jacket Boat Tail RNFP - Round Nose Flat Point
 Event Report - The Pennine Challenge Cup –
Diggle Ranges, 4th May 2009
This well established competition for Target Rifle
shooters is held at Diggle Ranges every year around
springtime. It was devised in conjunction with BAE
Systems (Royal Ordnance) who carry out much of
their long range ammunition testing at Diggle and
generously supply us with free ammunition for this
Springtime at Diggle! The
900 yard firing-point.
event.Not all shooters choose to use the RG
ammunition but those who do so are eligible for
the Radway Green Trophy which is awarded to the
shooter making the highest individual score using RG.
The competition is for teams of four, who shoot at
800, 900 and 1000 yards. Competitors may shoot in
pairs, or singly with the aid of a wind-coach, which
adds a bit of variety to the event and the course
of fire is two sighters and ten to count at each
distance. This gives a maximum possible score of
150.30v for each competitor and a possible 600
points for the team. With Diggle’s unpredictable
– and often unreadable - wind, anything over 140
is considered ‘respectable’ for an individual score.
In the past, we have had up to eight teams
competing but sadly, interest has waned
over the years in spite of the lure of free
ammunition and this year, we had just five teams enter.
Huddersfield however fielded two teams, so really
we had just four clubs taking part. This is a great
pity as we have F Class shooters waiting in the
wings just itching to muscle-in! Come on Target Rifle
shooters – put this May Bank Holiday date in your
diary for 2010 and get in touch with Dave Riley on
djriley228@googlemail.com if you can field a team.
The advance weather forecast had predicted an
awful day and indeed for May, it was cold and quite
windy but thankfully the rain stayed away, making
for a challenging but not unpleasant day’s shooting.
Each team fields two shooters for the morning
detail and two in the afternoon thus sharing the
24 Target Shooter
conditions, though to be fair they were pretty similar for all
competitors. However, Dave Dyson’s 50.3v
at 900 yards was the only ‘possible’ of the
morning shift but after lunch, Cliff Brett (RG), Bill
Flentje (RG), Richard Hirst and Arthur Nicoll
(RG) all posted possibles at 800 yards but no
one managed the feat at 900 or 1000 yards.
Huddersfield Rifle Club were overall winners with 567
points and thus retained the Pennine Challenge Cup
but the home team Diggle, came a creditable second
with 554 points. I say ‘creditable’ because Diggle are
now down to a handful of Target Rifle shooters and
would welcome some new blood, so if you are a
northern based TR shooter looking for a new home
why not pay Diggle a visit? We hold TR shoots every
fortnight at all ranges from 300 to 1000 yards. E-mail
our membership sec. on vinceb@6ppc.fsnet.co.uk
The highest individual score of the day went to
Dave Dyson with 146.13v and the RG Trophy
was won by Dick Horrocks whose 144.13v was
the second highest score posted so that must say
something about the quality of RG ammunition!
Team results:
1st Huddersfield ‘A’ 567.48v
2nd Diggle 554.47v
3rd Huddersfield ‘B’ 549.30v
4th Altcar RC 538.34v
5th Manchester 533.34v
Individual:
1st Dave Dyson (Huddersfield) 146.13v
2nd Dick Horrocks (Manchester) 144.13v
(RG ammunition)
3rd Jeanette Whitney (Diggle) 143.14v
The winning Huddersfield ‘A’ team and
their coach.
 Osprey Rifles
‘The Savage Specialists’

In stock now:- Savage F Class in 6mm BR ***£1650

Only ONE remaining!!!

URL : www.ospreyrifles.com

Email : stuart@ospreyrifles.com

Tel : 0161 4083555

Target Shooter 25
 Outdoor Air rifle sports – Starter Equipment Part 3

In the last month’s articles we had a look at starter air
rifles and scopes that you can to start up outdoor air
rifle target shooting spots. Once you get the equipment
together the next steps are crucial for you to
understanding the performance of your air rifle and
A chronograph is used for testing
muzzle velocity of different weight
pellets
perform a good setup. Being a new or second hand
air rifle you purchased, the fist thing you need to
do is to check out its performance right away. With
second hand air rifles it is always a good idea to start
off by cleaning the barrel before performing any tests.
On the other hand new air rifles, need breaking in.
Some argue that a spring air rifle will require 2500
shot to break in. I suggest that a minimum of 500
shoots should be sufficient to perform the first tests
and set up. I suggest that these tests should be then
carried out every 2500 to 3000 shots to make sure
that your air rifle characteristics did not change and
if so retune. If your into competition then it becomes
second nature to recheck your air rifle at least a
week before the event. When performing test with
your air rifle be sure you have a clean barrel and
there are no obvious flaws such as leaks. Always
use the same pellet type, weight and skirt
diameter to perform a test, do not mix pellets during
a test keep variables as few as possible. If you want
to test different pellets do this in separate tests.
Stanley Shaw
calculated from the switching time taken by the
pellet whilst fly over both sensors and a known fixed
distance between the two sensors. There are
various types of chronographs on the
market but a bench type chronograph is
ideal for both PCP and Recoil type air rifles. Set
up the chronograph according to the manufacturer
instructions and observe safety precautions when
doing this job. Make sure that you have a safe back
stop and always wear shooting glasses. Also make
sure to keep the air rifle on level and parallel to the
chronograph during testing as it is very easy to
shoot dead your chronograph. Chronographs must
be handled with care as the sensors are fragile. If
you want to be extra accurate in test weigh in the
pellets that will be used for the test. Heavier or lighter
pellet will affect your muzzle velocity results. Cheap
digital scales that read in grains and grams are
easily available, if you purchase such a scale
make sure it can read at least 0.01grams. This
enables you to segregate pellets with up to
0.01 gram difference. Then convert grams to
grains. If you don’t have a scale then use the
manufacture data about the pellet weight for your
calculations. Make sure that the pellet skirts are not
deformed as the muzzle speed recorded will be
An electronic scale is very useful and
accurate in any testing

POWER & MUZZEL VELOCITY TEST.

This test we show us the performance the air rifle in
terms of muzzle velocity and power. We will not be
looking for shooting group accuracy, but speed
consistency of the shot. For this test you need a
chronograph. This is an instrument which
measures the speed of the pellet as it leaves
your air rifle muzzle. Two sensors will pick up
the pellet in flight consecutively, the speed is

26 Target Shooter
significantly lower and inaccurate. Personally I
prefer to carry out this muzzle velocity test with
pellets out of the then use weighed in pellets for
grouping tests later on. In this test we will shoot a
number of pellets through the chronograph and
record the velocities. With an average velocity and an
average pellet weight we will be determining our air
rifle power. The power measurement is calculated
as follows:
Energy (ftlbs) = Muzzle Velocity (Ft/s) X Muzzle
Velocity (Ft/s) X Pellet Weight (Grains)
450240 (constant).
For recoil spring type air rifles just record the
muzzle velocity of a 10 shoot string. Ensure that your
chronograph is reading in ft/s. Some can be switched
between ft/s or m/s. If m/s can only be measured
then convert the result by dividing the reading by
0.3048. Add the readings up and divide them by the
number of shots (10), this gives you the average speed
at which your air rifle is shooting a pellet of a certain
weight. Now you can calculate the power of your air rifle
Example: Pellet Weight 8.2 grains – Average Speed
780 ft/sec
780 X 780 X 8.2
450240
Power is 11.08ftlbs.
Note for conversions: 1 ftlbs = 1.356Joules.
and 1 grain = 0.065grams and 1ft = 0.3048m
However this is only part of the data we are
after. We also need to know the consistency for each
shot or better the variation of speeds between each
different shot, known as the Standard Deviation
(SD). To calculate the SD one can use tools like a
PC and Microsoft Excel, but in order to understand
what is happening, I will explain this with a simple
example. This can be done by using a simple
scientific calculator at your test bench. In this
example we are taking a test with 5 shots. The same
method must be used with more shots. The bigger
your sample the more accurate is your result.
Example: Test with 5 shots through chronograph of
a spring air rifle with 8.2grain pellet.
Shot 1: 780 ft/sec
Shot 2: 789 ft/sec
Shot 3: 778 ft/sec
Shot 4: 783 ft/sec
Shot 5: 785 ft/sec
To find the average count all speeds and divide by
the number of shots.
780+789+778+783+785 = 3915/5 = 783 ft/sec
Now we start the process to identify the SD. Subtract
each shot from the average and square the result.
Shot 1: 780 – 783 = -3= -3X-3 = 9
Shot 2: 789 – 783 = 6 = 6X6 = 36
Shot 3: 778 – 783 = -5= -5X-5 = 25
Shot 4: 783 – 783 = 0 = 0X0 = 0
Shot 4: 785 – 783 = 2 = 2X2 = 4
The next step is to add all the results obtained and
divide the total by 5 shots.
9+36+25+0+4 = 74/5 = 14.8
Now apply the Square Root (need a calculator here
with the function) to 14.8.
14.8 followed by Square Root button on your
calculator = 3.84
This is the SD of this typical spring air rifle is 3.84
ft/sec. If this deviation is less then 10 ft/sec then
consider your equipment as perfect. The change
in the point of impact (POI) is least effected in
variations of less then 10ft/sec. If the deviation is
more then 15 ft/sec then POI is affected and this
you want to eliminate in target shooting. Most
probability you need to service your spring air rifle
when more the 15ft/sec occur. I understand that
this is not fun shooting, but it is an essential part of
the process if you want to start on the right track.
This process gives you a clear indication of the
performance power of your air rifle. If you decide
to change service kits, always use factory parts
or commercial tuned custom parts. If you want
to do it yourself, make sure to follow the safety,
assembly and lubrication instructions carefully.
If in doubt or uncertain about the replacement
procedures or parts seek professional gunsmith
help. Sometimes when performing chronograph
tests on second hand air rifles the result might show
an higher muzzle velocity thus over power. This
is certainly the result of previously installed FAC
tuning kits or some home made tweaking. Remember,
always keep and adjust your air rifle power within your
country’s legal limits and legislations. We are target
shooters and in no way we want to mess with laws.
Pre Charged Pneumatic Air Rifles.
The same muzzle velocity and SD calculation
procedure applies to Pre Charged Pneumatic (PCP)
Air rifles, but with PCP’s we have to expand further
our knowledge. PCP Air Rifles especially starter air
rifles are fitted with self regulating valves. To keep
things as simple as possible we fill the pressure
vessel of a PCP air rifle by hand pump or from
a scuba tank according to the manufacturer
specification. Let’s take a typical PCP air rifle
that must being filled at 190 Bar of air pressure
Target Shooter 27
according to the manufacturer specification. We
load a pellet by cocking the bolt (locking the
hammer weight on the sear and compressing the
hammer spring), then we close the bolt to seal off
the pellet in the chamber ( leaving a compressed
hammer spring and hammer weight locked on the
sear). When we pull the trigger, the sear releases
the hammer weight and spring from a compressed
position. The spring transfers the energy to a
hammer weight. The momentum of the
hammer weight will open the valve blocking air
pressure in the air rifle pressure vessel
momentarily. The time the valve remains open,
depends on the momentum of the hammer weight.
Once the force acting on the valve by the air
pressure in the pressure vessel overcomes the
force of the hammer weight exerted on the valve,
the valve will be shut closed again. During this brief
time air escapes through a narrow port and expands
in the chamber behind the pellet. The air starts
to push the pellet through the barrel, if the seals
between the valve and chamber, behind the pellet
and between the barrel and chamber are good. If
leaks are present then a considerable part of the air
is lost and the efficiency is less resulting in slower,
inconsistent speed of the pellet.
But there is a problem with PCP’s even if
every thing is perfect. In our example we filled the
pressure vessel at 190bar. With each shot air is
28 Target Shooter
released and consumed, the pressure inside the
pressure vessel starts to drop. The hammer weight
has constant momentum whilst the pressure inside
the vessel is constantly decreasing with each shot.
This means that the time the valve is kept open
when hit by the hammer weight changes with each
shot. The hammer weight finds it more difficult to
open the valve at 190 then at a lower pressure. This
means that the amount of air released is different,
the result is reflected by the speed of your pellet
as it leaves the muzzle. Previously we said that if
your air rifle standard deviation is up to 10ftlsec it
is perfect and if more the 15ft/sec seek servicing
your spring air rifle. Spring air rifles generate their
compressed air when the main piston is
compressing air between the piston and pellet. This
is always constant until seals are functioning, and
the friction between piston and cylinder is constant
and the spring is not broken and
correctly guided. In self
regulating PCP’s the scenario
is different, thus a different
approach must be taken when you
chronograph one.
Fill your PCP according to
specification as suggested by the
manufacturer, never over fill, this
will not give you extra power but will
result in blowing your gun with the
risk of killing yourself or someone
else. Support your air rifle on bags
or bi pod, attach a chronograph or
align the gun over a chronograph
and ensure a good back stop. Take
a tin of pellets with known weight
and of the same brand. Take a pen
and a sheet of paper and start doing the following.
a. Start shooting pellets and record each speed.
b. After 10 shots note the pressure if you have a
pressure indicator on the air rifle pressure vessel. If
you don’t have a pressure indicator in your air rifle don’t
worry at this stage just keep shooting and recording.
c. Shoot until you notice a considerable
consistent drop in muzzle velocity, this can be
even after 100 shots depend on the air rifle.
At the end you have a long list with shot number and
speed. If you have a pressure indicator you also
have a pressure indication reading every 10 shots.
Put your air rifle away and back to mathematics.
Now we need to find out the SD for each group
of 10 shots to have an indication of how our self
egulating PCP air rifle is performing. You will end
up with a condensed table like the one shown in the
example below.
Shots 1-10 > Pressure 190B > SD 19.8ft/s
Shots 11-20 > Pressure 180B > SD 16.5ft/s
Shots 21-30 > Pressure 170B > SD 10.5ft/s
Shots 31-40 > Pressure 160B > SD 7 ft/s
Shots 41-50 > Pressure 155B > SD 5ft/s
Shots 51-60 > Pressure 150B > SD 13.6ft/s
Shots 61-70 > Pressure 145B > SD 14.5ft/s
Shots 71-80 > Pressure 140B > SD 25.6ft/s
Shots 81-90> Pressure 130B> SD 35ft/s
Examine the SD results. We previously said
that less the 15ft/s is good but less then 10 ft/
sec is perfect. If we look at our example results
we notice that shots 21-30, 31-40, 41-50 are
perfect, whilst 51-60 and 61-70 are good enough.
What does this all mean?
In short it means that the harmonics between the
air pressure inside the vessel and the momentum
of the hammer weight reached equilibrium. The
amount of air released gives your pellet a constant
speed with minimum deviation. This is called the
Heart of Fill of a PCP Air Rifle. If you want to shoot
competition then you must find and use this area.
The best area for our example is a fill Pressure of
170B and 30 constant shots. If you’re doing FT or
HFT it is good for 30 shots, maybe its good enough
to for 40 shots, before refill, that is up to you.
However you might have a problem with bench
rest unless you keep sighter shots to a minimum
because you cannot refill until the end of the relay.
This also means that the correct muzzle velocity of
your air rifle is between shot 21 and shot 50. It also
mean that our scope setting must be performed
within this parameter window. If you had the pressure
gauge readings during your test then fill the air rifle
to that pressure again and shoot again the correct
quantity of shots to confirm and fine tune your results.
If your air rifle does not have a pressure gauge then
you need to do this using the pressure gauge on your
scuba tank. First fill at manufacturer specification
and shoot 100 shots and record the speed for each
shot. Then group 10 shots at a time and find each
group SD. After this fill the air rifle 10 bars less then
the manufacturer specification and shoot 50 shots
and again record the speed of each shot. Then group
10 shots at a time and find the SD for each group.
Now match the SD of the 1st group of 10 shots
carried out with 10 bar less to the closest SD
obtained in the groups shot according to
manufacturer, this will give you an idea were the
group shot at 10 bars less starts when compared
to the manufacturer specification. Repeat the
process with different fill pressures and always
match to the last entry. In this way you will build
a picture of how your air rifle is behaving for each
fill pressure. Then select the range were you
get the most groups under 10ft/sec and the fill
pressure used. Fill your gun to that pressure and
repeat with 100 shots, group in 10’s and work out
SD for all groups to confirm and to understand the
correct amount of good shots when you fill at that
pressure. If you look at the example below you will
see that the test at 160 Bar gives us the highest
number of shots under 10ft/s. The shots carried out
at 170 bar are also within range. Hence from this data
one can draw a conclusion and test 100 shots starting
from 165 bar and establish the number of good shots.
In the next issue we will focus on scope set
up and zeroing, and understanding our pellet
trajectory pattern, and other tests we can perform to
find the best combination of pellets with our air rifle.

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
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
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Target Shooter 29
30 Target Shooter
 ACCURACY OUR FIRST PRIORITY
The Tikka concept is simple, pure and performance-orientated.
Now, with the introduction of factory-threaded barrels for moderators, in the
most popular right-handed calibres, this excellent rifle just got even better.

The Tikka T3 Hunter is made for the rifle shooter who is looking for top performance and
accuracy with a classic style and feel. The high-grade walnut stock is selected and shaped by
Tikka T3 Hunter Tikka master gunsmiths. The T3 Hunter offers an extensive calibre selection and is available
left handed.

The Tikka T3 Lite features an all-black, sturdy, but lightweight, fibre-glass reinforced polymer
Tikka T3 Lite stock with positive checkering for improved grip and comfort. The cold hammer forged barrel
has a traditional blued finish. Also available left handed.

Tikka T3 Lite Stainless
Shooters facing extreme weather conditions require their rifle to be a trusted, hard-wearing
companion, offering faultless long-term performance. The Tikka T3 Lite Stainless is ideally suited;
made from Tikka’s high-grade stainless steel with a glass fibre reinforced polymer stock, this
model gives the double advantage of easy maintenance combined with great looks. Also available
left handed.

Tikka T3 Super Varmint,
Varmint Stainless &
Varmint Blue
All three Varmint models feature a free-floating precision barrel that effectively eliminates
vibration and will not over-heat even in fast-paced shooting. They are produced with a synthetic
stock that has an extra-wide forend for bench resting, and a swivel stud which accommodates
either a bipod or a sling. The ergonomically-designed Varmint cheek piece provides comfortable
head positioning with a large scope.
The Varmint Blue features a barrel and action that are made from high-grade blued Cr-Mo steel.
The T3 Varmint Stainless features a barrel and action made from heat-treated special stainless
steel, which is bead-blasted to a non-glare finish. This model is available left handed.
The T3 Super Varmint is a new model. Like the Stainless model, it features a barrel and action
made from heat-treated special stainless steel, which is bead-blasted to a non-glare finish.
Additionally, the ergonomically-designed cheek piece on the Super Varmint is adjustable, and
this model also features a Picatinny rail and large bolt handle as standard.
When it comes to consistent accuracy, be it on the range or hill, the T3
Varmint models are hard to out-shoot.

For further product information and details of your local Centre of Accuracy
TI0309UD

stockist please call GMK Ltd on 01489 587500 or visit www.gmk.co.uk

Target Shooter 31
 Leupold Competition Benchrest Scope

Carl Boswell
Benchrest scopes are varied and there are a number
of models out there. Operation comes down to taste,
some preferring side parallax controls and others
more used to such controls around the objective lens.
One of the very best scopes that you can get has
been around for a number of years and is the Leupold
Competition series. These are purpose designed and
made for benchrest shooting fraternity and imported
through GMK in the UK. Can I firstly thank GMK A fine matt finish on
for supplying the two scopes I used for this review. the superbly made
This series of scope, which includes a range of competition series

x35, x40 and x45 fixed power magnification, is built

around a 30mm matte black tube with a 45mm
objective lens. An ocular adjustment can be found
at the rear of the scope to aid eyesight tuning.
Adjustments are in 1/8 Minute of angle which is
excellent for the precision needed in rimfire
benchrest. The scope weighs in at 20.3 ounces or
576 grams for the metrically inclined. Again a good
feature as this will make the Light Varmint class
The mil- dot and fine crosshair reticles on most rifles. Two reticules are on offer and both
were reviewed; the target cross hair which is very
fine and the 1/8 min
target dot. Both are as
The Leupold Competition scope. Brilliant in good as the other, but
everyway, but it will cost you. the choice comes down
to personal preference.
These are used by both
centerfire and rimfire
benchrest shooters the
world over. Made in the
United States, the name
Leupold is synonymous
with the term high
quality. Although high
quality does cost, you
do get what you pay
for. The retail price for
one of these scopes in
the UK is around £990,
but may have gone up
due to currency fluc-
tuations. Cheaper
scopes I have used

32 Target Shooter
over the years will inevitably get
you started in this sport, they did for
me and the ones I used performed
exceptionally well for the price!
However, as competition gets tougher
and tougher – believe me it does - you
may be considering getting a slightly
better edge over your competitors and
this is what spending that extra money
will do for you, both in rifle and scope.
If you have a rifle that is costing in
excess of £2400 it seems false
economy to put a cheaper scope on
top, as we would all want this rifle
to be able to perform very well. My
original theory when buying this scope Magnification on this scope is very clear obviously
was that I needed to move on due to the new Multicoat4 optics
equipment wise, as I initially started
rimfire benchrest shooting working
with budget rifles and scopes. a few of those recently! The large exit pupil does help
Moving ‘up market’ with equipment is especially with this, as more information is getting to your eye.
appropriate now as we are competing with people So, as we are shooting a quality and expensive
all over the world a lot more and they have similar rifle the scope that sits on top should also be equal
equipment. For this review, I put the scope on my in performance, if we are aiming for reliability and
main rifle which is an Anschutz 2013 custom. top class functionality. I would also say this of the
Usually I use my CZ for tests, which I customised a ammunition, but that is another article all on its own.
few years ago specifically for benchrest. The new As we are talking about putting a .22 bullet in a very
relatively new Anschutz replaces this, as does the small target diagram 25 times, all of the features of
Leupold Competition x45 in replacing the Tasco your set up must work extremely well with every shot
Varmint from the older rifle. This scope has to been you take. Anything that falls short will inevitably keep
seen to be believed, with excellent clarity, brightness you scores lower than they should be. (Remember
and contrast. Often .22 bullet holes are hard to make what we are aiming for is a score of 250 with 25
out and seeing the point of impact is very important X’s on each card at 50 meter and 25 yards. This is
in our sport. With high magnification scopes like this extremely difficult to do! This scope lends itself
a spotting scope is not needed as point of impact can very well to all these objectives and I find little to
be seen clearly, even on dull days; and we have had negatively criticise – apart from possibly getting the
scope to shoot the rifle for
The elevatio and horizontal me!!
turrets are clearly marked, but The Competition series
the parallax adjustment could of scopes replaces the
be marked for 50 meters Leupold 36 BR scope
which like its older cousin is
specifically made for
benchrest activities.
This has meant that the
company has been offering
a number of scopes for
benchrest for quite a
few years. As I have
mentioned before in other
articles a reasonably high
magnification in rimfire
benchrest scope is vital
and sometimes hard to find,
especially when we move
towards x40 magnification
or higher. The scopes
I tested were both x45

Target Shooter 33
 meters. I had to guess when adjusting the scope
Scope rear view - easy to adjust and control for the first time. All turrets come with caps as
standard.
I did hear of some initial technical difficulties
with an unstable wire reticule. This put quite a
few off the scope when it was first brought out.
Others have made modifications to older scopes to
compensate. However this issue seems to have
disappeared over the last few years and certainly
Leupold themselves have stated that the problem
has been fixed some time ago. However, even
with these initial teething problems it was and
still is one of the best fixed powered scopes for
benchrest on the market.
At the end of the day we all want a good scope that
will aid excellent shooting time after time after time.
The Leupold Competition scopes on review were
first class and I definitely put my money where my
mouth is and bought one, to aid competitiveness
in the forthcoming UK and European
Championships. This comes down to a number of
reasons, some previously stated. This is a versatile
scope that is light enough to go onto a 10.5 pound
and also be used on an unlimited rifle. The optics are
superb with high magnification and the
adjustments are precise and clear. For these
reasons it meets all the needs I have. There are
scopes on the market that come close to the
Leupold, some of which I have reviewed, but it
comes down to the sheer versatility of this scope
magnification and even with this level of
with all of its great features that sells it for me. With the
enlargement, the scope remained bright and clear.
fact that there is a lifetime warranty on this product, and
This may be down to the 9 lens elements that are
not just for the original owner, this has to be a good buy.
used and new coating called Multicoat4. This by all
A few last things you can look at. If you have the
accounts helps with light transmission and stops
money Leupold do have a custom shop which is well
glare….it seems to work. You may notice some
worth a look, as they have a list of options longer
‘shake’ if you move or knock your bench, but this is
than your arm. Here you can obtain a custom
normal with a high powered
scope so not to worry. What
I did find interesting about
this scope was the side focus
parallax adjustment, not
dissimilar to the Nikko
Diamond I looked at a
few years ago. I find this
design of side parallax
pleasing and easy to use. It can
be quite hard if you need to get
up during a match and want
parallax/focus adjustment
and have to do from the front
of the scope. As you would
expect the functionality of the
adjustment turrets were
very good for windage and
elevation. I would like to
see the parallax adjustment Leupold eye bell adjustments
be engraved to 50 and 25

34 Target Shooter
 finish (this may need to be decided before purchase)
on the VX-III and Competition range of scopes only;
which is good news for us. That is if you don’t like
the matt black and another colour would fit your
rifle setup a little better. This will cost you £130 for
a base charge for one solid colour such as silver,
and then you can add £90.00 for a gloss finish.
Other options are fade one colour to black,
splatter effect and tie dye, all at £32.00 for each
effect. However this is only aesthetic and will
possibly appeal to a few people including myself, if
I had the money!! Inevitably it will not increase the
accuracy of your scope which is excellent to start with.
There are several other things to consider with this
scope. One you can buy optical boosters specifically
for it, which I reviewed in the April issue. A boon if
you want to bring your level of magnification up to
the same level of a March scope at half the price.
The Bulzeye pro boosters work very well with the
Leupold and are easily detachable if you feel that there
is too much mirage for higher magnification. (More
on the optical boosters and mirage at a later date).
The other parts that you can get, via GMK again,
are lens shades. These obviously add weight, but
come in both 2.5 and 4 inch versions, so they can be
interchanged, added/ subtracted to each other in
numbers to extend the tube or to make the weight
of the class you are shooting in. These will reduce
the glare by extending a ‘shroud’ in front of the
objective lens. This is a key point for any scope,
as your sight picture will distort if there is too
much light hitting the objective lens. Depending on
where and the direction you are shooting, the lens
shade will come into its own to alleviate distortion
of the sight picture being received. The two shades
from Leupold do the job well and can be added
together in brighter conditions. They are worth
a look and will not burn a whole in your pocket.
So that is it. I just hope I have not made you
spend even more money. The only other
product I would look at for use with this or any
other scope – mainly for setting it up and testing
it – would be the Zero Point Magnetic Illuminated
Boresighter. But that is another review all on its own.

01299 822212
www.allcocksoutdoorstore.co.uk
10 York St, Stourport on Severn, Worcestershire DY13 9EG
Winchester, Remington, CCI,
A large selection of rifles, air rifles, scopes, Eley, Federal and Sako
and accessories always in stock. Whether ammunition
sporter or game, novice or pro, we have
something for all.

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See the latest products from Sako, Tikka, Browning, CZ, Anschutz,
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Target Shooter 35
36 Target Shooter
 0845 330 4153
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 Laurie Holland

SAVAGE MODEL 12 PRECISION RIFLES (part 1)

Above
The two types of Savage Model 12 Precision
rifles: ‘F’ in the foreground, and LRPV behind

and a .204 Ruger calibre ‘LRPV’ from the

‘Varmint Series’, and am delighted by their
performance and value for money.
Rebirth
What changed? To answer that, we have
to go further back. Savage, once the
USA’s largest sporting rifle manufacturer,
The Savage action is precision
machined from heavy gauge had been driven into the ground by
stainless steel tubing. The owners lacking any commitment to
Picatinny ‘scope rail is a 20-MOA making longarms. Throw in spiralling
slope Ken Farrell component skilled labour rates and economic
If you’d asked target shooters about buying a recessions, and the company went into
Savage rifle ten years ago, you’d have got Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1988, at which point
negative responses, particularly warnings today’s CEO and company president Ronald
about heavy, creepy trigger pulls. Most people Coburn stepped in with a small consortium of
regarded the barrel securing nut and bolt-head investors. Stage 1 of Savage’s rebirth was the
attached to the body by a cross-pin as ‘cheap and implementation of a survival strategy in which
nasty’ too. Come 2009, things have changed, operations were massively downsized and
and some. Look at what people are using in plants closed. The model range was slashed
F-Class national rounds, 600 and 1,000 with the survivors all using the Model 110 long
yard BR competitions, and more, and you’ll action for a time. Coburn changed attitudes
likely see one or more rifles with a chunky grey too, managers and key employees all became
laminated stock below stainless metalwork, active shooters, close links were forged with
Savage ‘Target Series’ models’ calling cards. customers, dealers, gun writers and top
A growing number of ‘foxers’ are getting the
word about the Savage 12 LRPV (Long-
Range Precision Varmint). This heavy rifle
is one of the most accurate factory sporters
ever produced, and it’s equally at home on
the rifle range. Over in the USA, Savage rifles
arouse no end of comment, overwhelmingly
positive, in forum posts on every shooting
activity, while accessory manufacturers are The Savage bolt is assembled from
turning out an increasing stream of far more components than those
goodies for the Model 12, things formerly the from competitors to reduce costs
preserve of the more favoured Remington and simplify manufacture. These
700. I own two Savage Model 12 precision bolts have the competition handle
with oversized grasping knob
rifles, a 6.5-284 ‘F’ from the ‘Target Series’,
38 Target Shooter
 at a mass-produced sporting rifle price – Savage
was producing winners again. Stuart Anselm,
proprietor of Savage target rifle specialist
Osprey Rifles successfully used a .223 Rem
BVSS-S in factory class benchrest and shorter
range F-Class and its performance was such,
also the ease with which it could be rebuilt and
developed, that it fired Stuart’s enthusiasm for the
design. He used it in very long-barrelled .308W
The single-shot ‘Competition’ action in right bolt – form to win the UK F-Class F/TR championship
right port form. Note the AccuTrigger with the red in 2007, and still has it as his back-up match rifle.
‘AccuRelease’ blade. The pull weight is owner
adjustable using a small (supplied) tool that slots ‘Competition’ Action
into the mechanism where the pencil lead is pointing.
Note the minimal size of the port and the receiver wall
The 12 BVSS-S action wasn’t perfect, its
thickness that is visible. long loading / ejection port still saw a section
competition shooters, feedback was actively machined out of the top of the receiver, likewise
sought. well down the right side creating a bigger opening
than needed and reducing component stiffness
– not ideal when you’ve got 26 inches of large-
diameter barrel hanging on the front. The trigger,
while much improved, was still US ‘factory class’
with the usual constraints, and there were no
upgrade kits available then (though there are
now). Another feature that many accuracy
orientated shooters didn’t like was the stock
bolts. Although the action has a tang, it’s there
to hold the trigger assembly not secure the
LRPV right side. There’s the
action in the stock, so the rear bolt is further
handle, but where do I put the forward than in most designs.
cartridge?
Moving closer to today, a key development was
Solid-Bottom the AccuTrigger, a user adjustable design that
With survival assured, the company started allows light pull weights to be set, but cannot
developing its products step by step. The action be accidentally released keeping the lawyers
has been continuously reworked and improved, happy. A thin red coloured blade (the
the result we’re interested in being the Model 12. ‘AccuRelease’) is set within and at 90
Savage actions use heavy diameter tubing as degrees to the main trigger, and must be
the starting point for the receiver, and in the age fully depressed before the sear is freed-up for
of CNC machining, Savage was the first major operation. Jar the rifle, in the case of the
manufacturer to realise it doesn’t
have to machine big holes in the
top and bottom of every receiver,
except for those models whose
users actually need them. The
much improved Model 12 Long-
Range rifle series was introduced
11 years ago, the first single-
shot varmint model with a solid
bottom receiver a year later. With
a heavy fluted stainless barrel
and pillar-bedded in a substantial
laminated stock, the 12 BVSS-S 8. Oh yes, in the other side!
produced match quality accuracy
Target Shooter 39
 The button-rifled Savage barrel is 1.1”
diameter at the breech on both ‘Target
Series’ and LRPV models. Note the
signature Savage barrel-locking nut
between the rear of the barrel and
action
‘Competition’ action simply operate the bolt
roughly or over hastily, and the ‘AccuRelease’
locks up so the rifle cannot be discharged
until the bolt is re-cocked to reset the trigger
mechanism. Breaking cleanly without creep,
this is an excellent design that overcomes
the longest standing criticism of the Savage
action, and sets new standards for factory rifles.
It comes in various forms depending on the type
of rifle, the version we’re interested in being the
‘target AccuTrigger’ which is adjustable from
6oz to 2½ lb pull weight, and fitted to all models
with the ‘Competition’ action.
being close to competitive shooters, Savage
was aware early on of new disciplines such
as F-Class, and the explosion of interest in
precision and long-range shooting, a market
it could exploit – enter the 12 ‘Competition’
action. It is available on its own for custom rifle Models
builders (complete with ‘target’
AccuTrigger, trigger guard, stock bolts
and trigger guard screws, recoil lug,
and barrel nut), as well as being at the
heart of the ‘Target Series’ and LRPV
sporting rifles. The port, or ports as some
models have two, are minimum size to
retain maximum receiver body stiffness,
a third stock-bolt has been introduced,
and the actions accept a larger
diameter barrel. Fit and finish are
excellent and they operate smoothly, bolts
displaying little slop.
How good is this action bearing in mind
it costs substantially less than small
production precision designs used in
most custom builds? One pointer was
40 Target Shooter
Gary Eliseo, the proprietor of
Competition Shooting Stuff, who
designs and makes tube-gun stocks,
taking third place in the Arizona
Long-Range Championship event in
February. Fielding a 6mm BRX (6mm
BR ‘improved’) S1 tube-gun, the
prototype of a new CSS stock kit
designed for this action, Gary shot
an aggregate of 596-27x (out of 600-
60x) in the 1,000yd matches, and on
the first day only dropped one point
out of a possible 400. It wasn’t Gary
shooting so well that raised eyebrows,
rather this performance from an
unmodified Model 12 ‘Competition’
action and AccuTrigger pitted against 50 of
America’s best long-range prone shooters
using custom actions. (See www.accurateshoot-
er.com/bulletin.html and click on the February
archives working back to the posts that cover
the 10th.) Hang on, isn’t this the ‘naff design’
with the pinned-on bolt head and barrel nut?
Dead on – next month I’ll explain how these
features are far from being the downsides they’ve
long been seen as, rather pluses – especially for
the home gunsmith or Savage owner looking for
a budget rebuild with minimum skilled gunsmith
input. I’ll say now that this was a consideration
when I bought my Savage 12 ‘F’ rifle – it’ll be a
cheap-to-rebarrel test-bed for a range of
cartridges after I move on from the factory
supplied 6.5-284 Norma.
So, we’ve got an action capable of producing
The barrel on the ‘F’
rifle has tapered to a
shade under the inch
at the muzzle, a full 30
inches from the bolt.
The LRPV’s four-inch-
es shorter tube is a
little fatter there
superb accuracy with the right barrel and stock.
What does the factory give us? The two
precision rifle ranges share the action and
trigger (but with minor variations – see table), but
differ in other respects – ‘Target Series’ models
have 30” barrels, the LRPV sporting rifles 26”;
the former have pillar bedded laminated wood
stocks, the latter H-S Precision Aramid / Kevlar
synthetic jobs with a moulded-in aluminium
bedding block. Barrels are stainless steel
throughout, large diameter starting at 1.1”
ahead of the action with gentle straight tapers,
to a shade under the inch at the muzzle with
the 30-inchers, a bit over on the shorter version.
They are manufactured in-house and unusually,
perhaps uniquely, for a large manufacturer are
button-rifled (every other large producer using
hammer forging). This sees an incredibly hard
‘button’ machined with a negative form of the
lands and grooves on its edges pulled slowly
though the bored barrel blank, turned as goes
to provide the rifling twist. Many match barrel
makers use this method – Pac-Nor, Lilja, Shilen,
Douglas, and Border Barrels but only on its lower
priced ‘Archer’ range. It comes into its own with
fat barrels – the stresses involved in swaging
the rifling into the bore can see it expand
fractionally in a small external diameter barrel
section, usually at the muzzle, and ‘loose bores’
do nothing for accuracy. However, when you’ve
got a one-inch diameter barrel, this is not a
problem. What you don’t get with a Savage
barrel, but will with an Archer, Lilja, Shilen etc, is
final lapping to polish out the minute tooling marks
left by the barrel boring and rifling processes, so
a Savage may take a little longer to run-in and
give its best. However, both of my Model 12s
produced little coppering during the running
in period, and performed well from the first few
rounds.
Next month, I’ll describe and evaluate my
examples of the Target and Long-Range
Varmint rifles, especially the former for UK
competitive shooting.
Savage ‘Competition’ Action Rifle Variations (all models,
‘target AccuTrigger’)
‘Target Series’ Rifles (all single-shot, right-hand bolt)
12 F, 12 F/TR, 12 Palma models: single right-side port.
12 Benchrest model: twin-port (insert cartridge from the
left; ejection from the right).
Long Range Precision Varmint Series Rifles (all models,
right-hand bolt)
12 LRPV Single-Shot: single left-side port.
12 LRPV Repeater: single right-side port.
12 LRPV Dual Port: twin-port (insert cartridge from the
left; ejection from the right).

G.T. Shooting
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Target Shooter 41
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Shooter 43
44 Target Shooter
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Target Shooter 45
 Wildcats I have known & loved
The 6.5/284 Shehane – a long range performer

Richard Wild
A myriad of variants have been developed to a number of dedicated fans around the world and a
improve on the performance offered by a parent little searching on the internet, I ordered a reamer
case and this is part of the pleasure of wildcatting in 6.5/284 Shehane and started to build the rifle.
cases. A subtle tweak of shoulder angle from 35
degrees up to 40, increasing the base diameter by 0.01 The 284 Winchester case has a rebated rim. The
of an inch and so on will increase powder capacity - case head is the same size and length as a 308
however the task of experimentation often becomes Winchester case but the case body diameter, and
a case of diminishing returns. But sometimes a therefore capacity, is larger at .475 inch at the
simple improvement will make a good cartridge better. shoulder. This gives the reloader and wildcatter
the ability to put more powder in for a wider range
As the name suggests, the 6.5/284 Shehane is of bullets and calibres. The case also shares
an improved 284 Winchester case necked down the same 35 degree shoulder angle as the super
from 7mm to 6.5mm or .264 calibre. Bill Shehane accurate 6PPC and 6BR cases. The 284
of D & B Supply, located in North Carolina in the Winchester case was poorly marketed in its original
US, designed the Shehane variant. Bill is one of form, being matched with a lever-action rifle but in
the driving forces behind the development and a suitable bolt-action rifle, it can be used in a range
marketing of the 1000 yard benchrest discipline of calibres from .22 through to .375 with good effect.
and loves to experiment with a range of cases.
The 6.5 calibre has long been recognised for its
After several detailed e-mail discussions on the accuracy at all ranges. The only thing that lets it
pros and cons of the 6.5/284 and its variants with down, in comparison with the 30 calibres, was the
lack of a
wide range
of match-
g r a d e
bullets. But
with the
explosion
of
interest in
long (800
- 1000
yards) and
extreme
( 1 0 0 0
yards to a
mile) range
shooting in
the United
States over
the past 10
years,
m a r k e t
A wide assortment of bullets can be used for hunting and targets (1 to (l r) 107 forces have
grain Sierra Match, 120 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip, 139 grain Lapua Scenar, 142 produced a
grain Sierra Match, 155 grain Sierra Match range of
precision

46 Target Shooter
projectiles.
The introduction of the surplus 6.5 Swedish
Mausers into Australia in the 1980s offered
shooters the experience of a calibre that could do
everything a .303 or .308 could do but with less fuss.
The 6.5/284 does the same. The US experience
has shown that a 6.5/284 using a match
projectile in the 140 grain range has the same
exterior ballistics as a 300 Winchester Magnum,
except it uses less powder, with less recoil and equal
or better accuracy out to and beyond 1000 yards.
It is very easy to make a 6.5/284. Simply run a
284 Winchester case through a resizing die or
6.5/284 full length sizing die and out pops a new
case ready to load and use. Better yet, get a couple
of boxes of Lapua 6.5/284 cases, turn the necks
and start shooting. If you can’t get Lapua, Norma
and Hornady now make dedicated 6.5/284 brass.
The 6.5/284 Shehane takes one more step to
produce - when it is ‘improved’ by fire-forming
during the first shot. When the case is extracted,
the case taper between its base and shoulder
is blown out 0.009 per inch to give a .485 inch
diameter shoulder. However, the shoulder angle is
left at 35 degrees. This simple procedure makes
for a straighter case and increasing the powder
A long range benchrest rifle set up in 6.5 Shehane for 1000 yard shooting. The
Rem 7 action has performed well over the years but is sadly no match for a custom
action
capacity by about 5 grains from the standard
6.5/284’s 66.6 grains. The leade is best set so that
the pressure ring on the 139-142 grain projectiles
does not intrude into the ‘doughnut’ area at the neck
and shoulder junction. This particular improved
version of the 6.5/284 aims for better efficiency,
case extraction and bullet selection options than is
possible with the ‘base’ cartridge.
The rifle I built to compete with this round is based
on a trued and sleeved Remington Model 7
stainless steel action with a 2oz Jewell trigger.
Two barrels have been used - a 27.5 inch fluted
Australian made Tobler stainless steel barrel
with a 1 in 8.5 twist and a 30 inch Tobler with a
1 in 8 inch twist. The reamer cuts a tight .288
neck. The scope is a Nightforce 12-42 x 56
on Custom 30mm High Rings. The stock is a
McMillan Benchrest with 3 inch fore-end. The
rifle’s weight is adjustable and has ranged from
16.5lbs (1000 yard benchrest) to 22 lbs (F Class).
The rifle was built for one reason only -
shooting small groups at long ranges. In
particular, 500 metre Fly shooting and 1000 yard
benchrest disciplines and F-class style target
shooting from 300 metres back to 800 metres
on National Rifle Association (Australia) ranges.
At the risk of starting a war, I would note that all the
cartridges in the 6.5 family have one fault - they can
sometimes be finicky to load for using the heavier
projectiles. Tuning out vertical groups at long ranges
has been a consistent challenge and this becomes
more noticeable as the barrel reaches the end of its life.
Experience has shown that, for a truly competitive
cartridge for long range precision shooting, best
results are achieved when you keep velocities
between 2800 and 3200 fps with a sweet spot
emerging between 2900 and 3100 fps - regardless
of calibre.
Problems with 6.5mm bullets will occur as a
result of the long bearing surfaces and fast twist
barrels required to stabilise them. If the bullets are
pushed too fast, shooters will see their
premium projectiles disappear in a puff of lead dust!
The initial 1 in 8.5 inch twist was chosen as a
compromise between the 1 in 9 and 1 in 8 options
for heavy bullets. Groups were always tight but
something always seemed to be lacking. Changing
to the 1 in 8 twist shrank the groups from 142 grain
Sierras. The additional length of the 30 inch barrel
Target Shooter 47
also seems to have improved powder combustion.
As an improved cartridge, the case needs to
be fire-formed. The loading data for the 6.5/284
Shehane aims for a ballistic balance of around
2900 - 3000fps for the 139 - 142 grain bullet
range. I used Federal 210 Match primers only.
For powder choice, the reloader needs to look
at moderate to slow burning powders that fill
up the case to about the bottom of the neck
shoulder junction. Two powders immediately fulfil that
requirement: AR2209 and AR2213SC. I have
found that AR2213SC produces good and
consistent results with more than acceptable
accuracy at all ranges. 2213SC powder is
marketed under the Hodgdon label outside Australia.
For burn rate comparisions with Australian powders
cited below see: www.reloadbench.com/burn.html.
Being a variant of a wildcat, there are no
reloading manuals that a new shooter can
immediately turn to and explore the experiences of
others. As this was the first 6.5/284 Shehane ever
to be used in Australia with Australian powders I
was starting from scratch with load development.
Nevertheless, I have found that the specialised
message boards on the internet are
interesting forums for exchanging ideas and
contacting people around the world with similar
interests in cartridge development and an
equivalent starting load was soon settled on.
Using AR2213SC makes this a very versatile
cartridge to load for. Load down and you will find
yourself with a 6.5 Swede. Load to the top and
you’ll find magnum performances. For the UK
shooter, Vihtavuori powders in the N165 range
would make an ideal starting point.
An interesting comparison between
components can perhaps be
illustrated by the following test
using the same load of 52 grains of
AR2213SC, two different bullets, the
142 grain Sierras and the 139 grain
Lapuas, and two different primers,
Federal 210M and CCI 250 Magnum.
At 500 metres the Sierras with the
Federal 210M primers shot a 1.6
inch windage group and about 0.8
of an inch in height or 0.3 MOA.
When compared with the 308 Win case (extreme right) sev-
The Lapua/Federal load shot a 3” eral differences are immediately apparent. Overall length
windage group, exacerbated by a of the 6.5/284 case, the rebated rim and the greater volume
slight mirage change, and about an of the 284. An unfired Lapua 6.5/284 case is on the extreme
inch high. The overall group printed
48 Target Shooter
about an inch higher than the Sierras.
The CCI 250 loads both had a marked amount
of vertical in their groups. The Lapuas ran about
3” and the Sierras about 6”. Experimenting and
choosing the best components will pay dividends.
Like most wildcats, the 6.5/284 Shehane is not
the easiest cartridge to set up as it requires a
number of custom components but an experienced
shooter and reloader will find the production and
ongoing reloading easy. And with results that stay
within the quarter to half MOA out to 1000 yards,
when the shooter is doing his part, make the effort
worthwhile. The offset is that, for this performance
to continue, regular barrel maintenance is essential,
noting that barrels in this chambering tend to have a
1500 round maximum life for competition shooting.
Bullet Choice and Long Range Performance
155 Sierra Matchking: A ballistic dead end. The full
diameter bearing surface length of 2.615 calibres
and limited velocity at the top of the velocity range
removes any advantage the extra weight might offer
at distances greater than 300 metres. For example,
the load used above produced promising ¼ inch
groups at 100 metres and 300 metres during load
but results at 600 metres was very disappointing
with shot to shot elevation changes of about a metre.
A finicky projectile that requires a lot of individual
development for each range and a faster twist barrel.
142 Sierra Matchking: Perhaps the ideal
projectile for this cartridge. The bearing surface to
overall length ratio – at 0.53in:1.383in (13:35mm)
or 1:2.692. The full diameter bearing surface is
two calibres in length. One box of 142 Sierras
left
displayed consistent results in a concentricity
gauge indicating uniform consistency in the bullets’
manufacture – a significant cause of inaccuracy.
Using this bullet in the 6.5/284 Shehane, I can
consistently put five shots into a 0.2 inch group at
100 yards.
140 Sierra Matchking: An alternative for the
above. During load development the bullet
consistantly shot ragged one-hole groups at
100 yards.
140 Berger: Another good choice. A bullet with a
high ballistic co-efficient that shoots flat and fast.
140 Hornady A-Max: Similar good results were
achieved using the A-Max style of bullets. The
polycarbonate tip prevents deformation and
makes for a very slippy bullet at all ranges.
work but when conditions picked up a heavier bullet
was needed.
120 Nosler Ballistic Tip: A good 300 metre
performer and a superb hunting load. The feedback
from the butts and in the hunting field suggests that
thin-skinned game would not need a follow-up shot.
107 Sierra Matchking: This bullet is too short for a
throat set up for 140 grain projectiles. Furthermore
better accuracy is possible with the 142 grain Sierra
Matchkings. Nevertheless, a load was developed for
1000 yard shooting where it performed well in good
conditions but was easily blown off course when
the wind picked up. Also a barrel-burner of a load!

139 Lapua: On paper, the ballistics for this

projectile appears to suggest this bullet would be an
ideal alternative to the 142 MK. However, the full
diameter bearing surface length of 2.154 calibres
has proven to be a finicky bullet to load for in these
barrels. Either a slightly faster twist than in my
barrel would improve results or the bullet is
searching for a different or slower velocity in my rifle.
Other barrels may produce better results and I have
seen excellent results with this bullet in the 6.5 Swede.

123 grain Lapua: Great velocity for close in target

Loading Data

6.5-284 Shehane
BULLET BALLISTIC LOAD POWDER AV.
COEFFICIENT * VELOCITY
(FPS)
107 Sierra .43 57.5 2209 3370

120 Nosler .458 54 2209 3300

56 2213SC 3200

140 Sierra .535 52 2213SC 3000

140 Hornady A-Max .618 52.5 2213SC 3050
140 Berger VLD .627 52.5 2213SC 3050

142 Sierra .595 51 2213SC 2950

52.5 2213SC 3000

155 Sierra .570 50 2209 2800

***For safety reasons start at least 10% below these loads and work up.***
Readers use this information at their own risk. Target Shooter Magazine takes no responsibility for
this use of this loading data.

Target Shooter 49
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and value of our Match, Hunting
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Target Shooter 51
 Westlake Engineering
Manufacturer of Target Pistols
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Tel/Fax 01722782432
Email ags.westlake@virgin.net
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RFD Wilts. 157
Taurus .357 Muzzle Loading Revolver

The Taurus ML Revolver is converted from a Taurus .357 Magnum Long Barrelled
Revolver. The cylinder is removed and a Yoke extension fitted, this contains the
spring loaded plunger that frees the action when the yoke is closed. As this extension
cannot be removed, it prevents the re-fitting of the original cylinder. The Barrel is
shortened to approximately 5 ¼ inches and the wristbrace is removed.

A new cylinder is made which has pockets for shotgun primers at the rear with a small
flash hole through into the chamber at the front. The chamber is made to accept .357”
lead wadcutter bullets.

Each chamber is charged with Herco powder ( as per .38 S&W Spl data) and then the
bullet is pressed in. Once the chambers are charged the shotgun primers are inserted
into the primer pockets at the rear of the cylinder. The loaded cylinder is slid onto the
yoke from the rear and the yoke closed. The pistol is then ready to fire.

A loading press is provided to facilitate seating of the bullets at a uniform distance

into the chambers.

The conversion of your pistol costs £270.00. Extra Cylinders are £150.00 each. If you
do not have a pistol I can order a new pistol from the Importers. A Taurus .357
Magnum LBR costs £675.00

You will need a variation on your FAC for a .357/.38 Muzzle Loading Revolver, and
for each extra Cylinder you want.
52 Target Shooter
Gwyn Roberts
It was nice to see over a dozen ladies shooting at
the recent Spring Action weekend but there was
still only one junior on the line, although admittedly
she was a very good one! It seems to me that in
order for our sport to grow we certainly need to do
more to get some youngsters involved in our sport or
we’ll have to introduce some zimmer frame matches
in the not so distant future. Sometimes it’s not
always that easy to do, but nothings impossible if a
few of you are willing to put in the time and effort.
Here’s a few ideas along with some of the things
that we have done in my own club over the years to
get more juniors involved in Gallery Rifle shooting:
Probably the two biggest obstacles that they face to
get into our sport are Access and Cost. The access
will depend largely on your club rules and although
many clubs are accessible for younger people, it can
still be quite a task in others! Unfortunately there are
still some committees out there that are still of the
“old school” variety and are very reluctant to any
form of change, however small, as they see it as
losing some of their “power” as it were. Some see no
place for anyone under the age of 50 in their ranks
and would consider shooting anything other than a
Martini action rifle or installing something as
futuristic as a set of turning targets to be something
along the lines of treason! If you do belong to one of
these clubs I think you only have two possible avenues
Is your club an “open house” or “closed
shop”?
Target Shooter 53
 late night parties and everything else you’ll
never see them again, unless you are very lucky!
Once the access problem has been sorted out, the
other major obstacle for them to face is the cost.
This will be the deciding factor for many parents as
to whether or not they let them take part. For the last
12 years from our Steel Challenge competitions to
the present Welsh Championships we have always
made sure that the juniors shoot for free and will
continue to do this for as long as is possible to
help them out. If your own club could also do this,
charge them at“cost” or give them a 50% discount
to take part then this would also be a great help for
them. The other area that some of us have been
able to help them out with is their ammunition.
For those wanting to practice more or for
competition purposes, ammunition has been sourced
from various companies or individuals and was
given to them at cost price. This has given them
Whilst in the States I shot everything from considerable savings which were put towards
travelling and accommodation fees, enabling them
AR15’s to 9mm race guns with 10yr old
to shoot at many of the major matches around the
Wyatt Gibson. His gun handling skills and
country.
safety procedures were exemplary and his From the equipment side of things there are a number
age was never an, issue, only a compliment! of county or national grants out there to help your club
to go down if you want to increase participation and purchase some new rifles, scopes or other equipment
develop the various target sports disciplines within it! for your juniors to use, and we have been successful
The first would obviously be trying to educate them on a number of occasions. I’m sure that there
so that they understand that target sports are for would be a few sympathetic members of our gun
everyone, regardless of gender, age and mobility, and trade who would also be willing to help out any
that many positive things can be gained by allowing junior shooters you may have in some way or
individual sections to be opened up. If this approach another so ask them, you have nothing to lose!
fails, then the second option is rather more For those wanting to take juniors to shoot at
obvious…… just all get together and vote them out! Bisley (MOD range) the lower age limit is
This has happened at a number of clubs now and the generally 14yrs but it is possible to get dispensation
additional disciplines and club nights that have been for shooters who are 12 for .22lr so make sure you
introduced, along with the updating and development apply for it if needed! Also remember that “taster”
of the range facilities has been very positive for both sessions for schools, clubs and other groups can
the members and visiting guests! be provided by holding one of the 12 “guest days”
I’m sure there have been many long debates as to allowed under the Home Office Approved Club
what specific age you should let juniors start provision. It’s a great way for them to have a try and
shooting at but my club dealt with it by simply for you to make any initial assessments!
removing our age limits and each application is based
on its own merits, regardless of what they want to shoot.
Some of our current Duke of Edinburgh
This policy over the years has enabled thousands shooters who are already very competent
of members from the Cubs, Brownies, Guides, after only their 3rd session at the club!
Scouts and Duke of Edinburgh groups to take part in
the target shooting courses that we offer at the club!
In one week alone we took nearly 500 Girl Guides
through an air rifle taster session at one of
their international camps in North Wales.
Like most other sports, shooters need to start young
to have any chance of reaching their potential and
the main problem I find is if you get them starting
at around fourteen or fifteen you’ll spend a year
training them, then they’ll join in out on the “circuit”
for another year. Then, when they start going college
and get introduced to boys, girls, alcohol, the

54 Target Shooter
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Target Shooter 55
56 Target Shooter
Hunter Field Target Scope Test
Part 2
I set out the problems of parallax when related to
Hunter Field Target shooting with an initial note on
how we use mildots in last month’s issue of Target
Shooter. The nine scopes would be tested side by
side to see just how useable they were for HFT.
As mentioned last time, mildot calibrated charts
kindly supplied by Brian Samson would be set
at measured ranges. The prime test targets
were positioned at 15, 23, 25, 40 and 45 yards.
On these charts were exact representations of
what I should be seen through each scope if
they had been fitted with a true mildot reticle.
Of the first batch of scopes on test, only the Zeiss
Zeiss reticle
Tim Finley
Hawke SR6
had a normal 30/30 duplex-type reticle, all the rest
have graduated reticles of some description and
five of them mildots. By looking at the charts and
moving my head I could measure the parallax error
given by each scope when set up for HFT shooting.
All the scopes were adjusted to ‘optical
center’ and then set to a 23 yard (20m) parallax
setting, by placing a target at 23 yards and adjusting
the objective lens or side-wheel to the point where
the reticle did not move. This first step just setting
the scopes up produced some surprising results.
The Hawke was parallax free on the measured 23
yard target but the objective lens read 30 yards and
the MTC read 25 yards on the sidewheel. It pays to
actually set your own scope’s parallax using a card
placed at the range you want it at and not to rely on
the scopes P/A markings.
The Bushnell 10x40 is not a parallax adjustable
scope but, the front lens can be screwed out to
Target Shooter 57
Lightstream3-12 Bushnall10- 40
retcile reticle

EB sniper reticle

Lighstream 3 - 12 eyebell

center crosshair to the top of the thick post on a full

nine-times magnification, making it able to be used
for disc rangefinding.

Finally to the nub of the matter and the parallax test.

With a folding chair set up and each scope placed in
the custom-made cradle atop of a camera tripod, I
could move my eye/head all around the back of the
scope to accurately measure the amount each reticle
shorten the 100 yards factory set parallax. This I
did but the other two scopes I could not alter were
the Zeiss, which seemed to have a 35 yard parallax test set up
and the Schmidt & Bender which was factory set to
20m (23 yards) anyway.

The first test on the charts was to see if the

reticles were correctly set to a mildot, to be able to
range-find a 40mm disc. The mildot reticles on
the Lightstreams, the EB Sniper and the Bushnell
were spot on. The graduated reticle of the Bushnell
Ballistic Plex bracketed the mildot on 10.5
magnification on the particular test scope I had.
The SCB reticle on the Viper mil’d perfectly and
the Zeiss 30/30 reticle actually gave a mildot from

58 Target Shooter
 it took me a total of six and a
CHART ONE half hours range time. The
Exit pupil Objective lens Mils on Made
results areshown in table one.
Bushnell 10*40 4mm 40mm 10 Japan
Bushnell 4-12*40 3.8mm 40mm 10.5 Japan
Lightstream 4.5-14*44 4.4 to 3.1mm 44mm ANY Japan The other factor involved in
Lightstream 3-12* 40 4.4mm 40mm 9 Japan getting a good HFT scope
EB Sniper 10*42 4.2mm 42mm 10 Japan
is to see just how clear the
Hawke SR6 3-12*44 4.4mm 44mm 10 China
Viper 10*44 4.4mm 44mm 10 China target or reticle was at each
Zeiss 3-9*36 4mm 36mm 9 Germany range,
as seen in table two.
Schmidt and Bender 10*42 4.2mm 42mm 10 Germany

CHART TWO
15 40 45 YARDS VFM Rangefinding Reticle Optics Overall
Bushnell 10*40 Target clear / Reticle blurred Both clear Target blurred / Reticle clear 5 5 4 4 5
Bushnell 4-12*40 Target clear / Reticle blurred Both clear Target blurred / Reticle clear 3 3 5 4 3
Lightstream 4.5-14*44 10 MAG Both clear (13y ret blurred) Both clear Target blurred / Reticle clear 4 4 5 4 4
Lightstream 4.5-14*44 14 MAG Target clear / Reticle blurred Both clear Target blurred / Reticle bit blurred 4 3 4 4 3
Lightstream 3-12* 40 Target clear / Reticle blurred Both clear Target blurred / Reticle clear 3 3 3 4 3
EB Sniper 10*42 Target clear / Reticle blurred Both clear Target blurred / Reticle clear 3 5 4 3 5
Hawke SR6 3-12*44 Target clear / Reticle blurred Both clear Target blurred / Reticle clear 4 5 5 3 4
Viper 10*44 Target clear / Reticle blurred Both clear Target blurred / Reticle clear 5 4 4 3 3
Zeiss 3-9*36 Both clear (10y ret blurred) Both clear Target clear / Reticle blurred 3 3 3 5 3
Schmidt and Bender 10*42 Both clear (10y target blurred) Both clear Target bit blurred / Reticle clear 5 4 4 5 5

ALL TESTED ON 23 YARD PARALLAX APART FROM ZEISS

moved at 15, 25 and 45 yards. This is the real key to

HFT and a lot of shooters do not realize this, if the head/ If the target is clear at 40 yards and slightly blurred at
eye is not in the correct place for every shot they take, 45 yards, you can range-find it that way, hence Pete
the pellet can strike up to half a mildot or more away Sparkes 23 yard parallax setting, I had Schmidt
from where they want it too - purely on parallax error. & Bender set my fixed 10x42 scope to 20m after
Remember, we are trying to get the scope to do talking to Pete - he is the most experienced HFT
things in HFT that it is not designed to do - because shot in the world, so you need to listen when he says
we cannot alter the scope during the competition anything. This did not work with the Zeiss, as the
we have to live with certain parallax error. Some parallax setting was too long at 35 yards and the
scopes however are more susceptible than others Schmidt & Bender, whose optical quality was just too
and there are a few things we can do to combat it. good to make the 45 yards target very blurred. Don’t
These first four articles will concentrate on testing get me wrong, it is a tiny bit blurred but it can be tricky
the actual scopes, not on the ways of beating it, to get it to blur depending upon what sort of a day
that will come in later issues once we have looked my eyes are having! With the other scopes, some
at all the potential best HFT scopes out there. I had the reticle blur at 15 yards, while others were
repeated the test several times over three occasions, both clear. There are other particular things which
influenced my overall ratings, such as
price, lens coatings, extras and build
quality.
4-12b rainguard
The Bushnell 10x40 has Japanese build
quality, a mildot reticle and is small
and light so good for junior /female
shooters. The only down sides are that
it is not made as a parallax adjustable
scope but, it is easily altered - and you
cannot alter the parallax in an HFT comp
anyway. The large target knobs can be
accidentally rotated/knocked if you are
not careful. The biggest plus for me,
apart from the optics is the ‘Rain Guard’
lens coating, which literally drives water
droplets off your lenses, very handy in
the UK!

The Bushnell 4-12x40 is parallax-

adjustable, Japanese built and the
Ballistic Plex reticle gives inexperienced
shooters a better windage aim-off

Target Shooter 59

Lightstream4-14
Bushnell 4-12 turrets
system than simple mildots. It too has the ‘Rain
Guard’ lens coating but it did seem to suffer more
parallax error at 45 yards than the other Bushnell
scope.
The Lightstream 4-14x44
is Japanese built has good
optical-quality, is parallax
adjustable and has target turrets
protected by dust caps. It has the
most useful reticle of the whole
bunch of scopes in that it is in
the first focal plane, the only one
in the test. As such, it ‘mildots’
at any of its 4-14 magnification
range. I tested it on 10 and 14
times with a longer 28 yard
parallax setting, this bigger
mag gives a tiny 3.1 mm exit
pupil and only 2/3 of a mildot EB sniper turrets
error at 45 yards. The word on
60 Target Shooter
the forums when these scopes
first came out was that they
gave more parallax error than
others. This was simply not
true in the tests I carried out.
The downside is the shorter
targets are a bit more blurred
than when set on 10X mag.
The EB Sniper is Japanese
built with a side-wheel P/A
adjustment. It is a big solid
scope but the turrets can be
knocked off zero if you are
not careful. The optics are not
brilliant but that’s what gives it
the ability to range-find so well.
On pure statistics alone the EB
has more HFT wins under its belt
than any other scope - bar none.
Next the Hawke - the next to the
cheapest scope here and built in
China. The parallax ring did not
correspond to what it was marked
at. The reticle has windage
advantages not being a simple
mildot. It ranges very well, but I
had trouble optically centering it.
The Chinese built Viper is
the cheapest and has locking
turrets, side-wheel parallax and
the SCB reticle. The illuminated
SCB is a bit too fussy for me with
multiple hash lines but it comes
with flip-up lens covers and a set
of two-piece mounts. None of
the other scopes have this level of extras thrown-in.
 Bushnell 10 mag
On value for money alone it’s worth a look.
The old German built Zeiss was not really
useable for me, the 30/30 is not versatile enough.
The Schmidt & Bender 10x42 is simply superb
in German build quality and optically it’s streets
ahead of the rest and a one off. I will continue to
use this scope for HFT as it has already proved
its worth to me with a string of Gold and Platinum
level badges at national and local level as well as
a 1st and 3rd at the two ‘Gathering’ shoots it has
shot and 9th in the 2009 World HFT Championships.
In conclusion for the first part of this mega test, I
rate the Bushnell 10x40 my choice scope on
Please mention
when using advertising
in the magazine
performance and price. I won the ‘Gathering’
with mine in 2005 and a 3rd place in the event in
2004. For beginners, I recommend the Hawke as it
can be used for hunting too and is P/A adjustable.
The second batch of scopes will be the Hawke SR12
which has the .22 version of the SR6 reticle, the
Hawke MAP scope with a simplified reticle, the AGS
3-12 side-wheel P/A scope and the Leupold 3-9x33
EFR with a mildot reticle. Another ‘special’ scope
made for me by Leupold, just like the Schmidt and
Bender. CLANG, bit of a name drop there, sorry!
Target Shooter 61
62 Target Shooter
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64 Target Shooter
AR15 Combinations
Hopefully it is now evident that Civilian Service
Rifle (CSR) has moved away from Practical Rifle
(PR) in some important areas – perhaps enough to
even consider using different dedicated rifle/scope
SGC Speedmaster AR15 CRS rifle with
Nightforce scope below PR Upper with
Leupold scope. Hensoldt scope on the left
combinations for each event. One would have
a thick barrel, bipod attachment and variable
power scope for PR and whilst the CSR rifle would be
lighter with a thinner barrel, no bipod and lighter
4 power scope. Depending on which competition
you are entering you just swap uppers and have no
worries about changing zero or getting used to a
different trigger pull. Given the current
economic climate and considering that the AR15 is
Hensoldt Ferro-Z 24
showing 1cm/100m click
adjustments
Nigel Greenaway
the dominant rifle in both these disciplines, I will now
examine the money saving option of using two different
uppers (upper receiver and barrel) with only one
lower #(lower receiver/trigger and butt). This offers
an immediate £300-£400 saving, plus £150-£200 if
you have an adjustable/match trigger and upwards
of £250 for a fancy butt! The savings could easily
total £700-£850.
Lower (receiver/trigger and butt)
This lower will form the basis of the rifle and will
allow you to become used to one trigger, one
pistol grip and one butt – consistency being one of the
founding principles of marksmanship. The lower
I have chosen is from the UK’s longest standing
producer of AR15 rifles; the Southern Gun
Company (SGC) have been making custom AR15’s
for the UK market for over ten years, over 1,000 have
been made and SGC are now producing a Mark 5
version of the receiver. On the basis that my first PR
specification SGC Speedmaster AR15 was able to
shoot half a minute of angle or less with handloads,
I saw no reason to change manufactures when
looking for a lighter Upper for CSR. The SGC
receivers offer both left and right hand cocking (being
able to grab both cocking handles can be very useful
when you have a stuck case) with the left hand cocking
Hensoldt Ferro-Z 24 showing 1cm/100m
click adjustments and bullet drop
compensated elevation drum
Target Shooter 65
 Jewel trigger showing
serrated wheel and spring
wire for trigger weight
adjustment

being designed for bipod supported rapid fire prone to be short for most people so adjustable butts
or weak shoulder PR stages. These receivers can are popular – particularly adjustment for length.
be had as a flat top or with a raised scope rail – both The standard pistol grip also places the trigger
machined to accept Weaver or Piccatinny scope rings. around the lower joint of the finger when the joint
The flat top has the advantage of being able to mount nearest the finger tip would be better. Magpul make
an Iron Sight Carry handle for use in Hi-Power rifle a MIAD Multi Grip which has five different sized
competitions or Any Iron CSR. The photograph front and rear panels which can easily be changed
shows both types of upper, my new CSR rifle having to suit all hand sizes – having tried one on the
a flat top with a Nightforce 2.5-10 x 24 scope. The firing point I shall be ordering one from SGC shortly.
smaller scope in the picture is a military surplus 4 power
Hensoldt on an A.R.M.S. #5 base for mounting on Uppers (upper receiver and barrel)
flat tops. This is the area where the divergent
My original SGC Speedmaster was fitted with an requirements of PR and CSR are most apparent
optional Arnold Jewel 2-Stage adjustable trigger with PR requiring at least a 20 inch long, thick and
which nowadays will not see much change out of preferably fluted barrel whilst CSR is better suited
£200. There are other match triggers available SGC Speedmaster with Nightforce 2.5-10 x 24
and the decision to opt for single or two stage is scope below Hensoldt with A.R.M.S. #5 base
largely down to personal choice. Single stage is
probably a better choice for the standing, kneeling or
sitting stages whilst I prefer two stage for prone. The
important thing is that you will have a much better
trigger pull that you can adjust to a precise 4.5 lbs.
Opt for the standard military trigger and you will end
up paying someone to tune it and altering the weight
of the trigger pull is largely down to using trial and
error to bend a piece of wire! Adjustable or
match type triggers are not eligible for Hi-Power
competitions. On the Jewel trigger the weight
of the trigger pull is adjusted by moving the
spring wire around the serrated wheel – this and
other adjustments can be done whilst the trigger
unit is mounted in the receiver. AR15 butts tend

66 Target Shooter

to a thinner, possibly shorter and consequently
lighter barrel. Both disciplines benefit from muzzle
brakes to help with faster target acquisition, less
recoil and the ability to stay on aim and observe
bullet strike (splash) in the sand at all ranges.
I never believed that a muzzle brake was required
for the lightweight .223 round so I didn’t have one
fitted to my PR barrel. It wasn’t a big drawback,
especially when shooting prone supported
because the heavy Parker Hale bipod I use helped
add weight at the forend. However, when the CSR
rules changed, effectively eliminating bipods in the
Service Optic class, I noticed two things when
using the magazine resting technique. First was the
noticeable barrel flip that made it hard to spot
splash at ranges of 300 yards or less and secondly,
the 1 in 8 tight rifling twist and the use of 77 grain
bullets created a twisting affect on the whole
rifle. A quick search on the internet revealed the
Primary Weapons Systems DNTC compensator
(www.primaryweapons.com) which is designed to
solve both problems. It really works so I had SGC
fit one to the 20 inch H-Bar profile stainless steel
barrel with 1 in 8 twist that I chose for my CSR
rifle. Both barrels are cut with a Wylde chamber as
I had specified to SGC that I wanted to shoot both
standard NATO 62 grain ball and 77 grain Sierra
MatchKing home loads. Wylde chambers are match
chambers but with a slightly longer throat than
commercial chambers, optimised for longer
bullets to enable safe use of NATO specification
ammunition. There are a multitude of different
AR15 forends that you can use but weight and a
comfortable grip are important considerations.
Nightforce NXS 2.5-10 x 24 scope
showing left hand side, illuminated
reticule knob and Unimount
For PR you might want to buy a forend with rails
so that you can attach accessories like bipods and
forward vertical handgrips but these are not allowed in
Service Optics so a simple Hogue over moulded free
floating forend, available in different lengths was my
choice. I also think that the same style of forend
will help with consistency when swapping the uppers
between disciplines. I had previously used a simple
DPMS Alloy Forend but this lacked the grip and heat
insulating properties of the rubber on the Hogue forend.
Scopes
When the rules changed for CSR the maximum
magnification allowed became 4.5 power for
Service Optic. Whilst my Leupold Long Range Tactical
4.5-14x50 was eligible on my AR15 I felt it was
bigger and heavier (22 ozs not including mounts)
than required for CSR. As a PR scope it is ideal
because you want at least 10 power for 600 yards
so 14 power is great whilst the ability to power
down to 4.5 is crucial for shooting at one hundred
yards. It also has quarter minute click adjustments
which is useful at the longer ranges. A great scope
for PR but I knew I would need a lighter and more
compact scope for my CSR rifle. The 4-power
Hensoldt Ferro-Z 24 ticks both of these boxes.
About a year ago the Germans were selling these as
military surplus and they were often seen on eBay,
selling for about £300 (the current strength of the
Euro would push this figure closer to £400). Hensoldt
is the military brand of the Zeiss group so the quality
is great (visit www.mg-42.net/G3_hensoldt.htm for
more information). The optics are very clear and you
can purchase an accessory that attaches to the side
Target Shooter 67
 different speeds – the slow pace
requires you to aim at the leading edge
(the fist of the figure) whilst the fast
target needs an aiming point in front (which
happens to be in line with the forward
knee of the figure). It is possible to adjust
the magnification of the scope so that a
Mil-Dot can be used to hold the necessary
forward lead at the knee and thus gain
the correct lead and height for the fast
mover). The more I thought about this
scope’s features and magnification range
the more I concluded what a great CSR
and PR scope this would be, 4 power for
the former and up to 10 power for the
5 shot group Sierra latter. Nightforce also supply their own
77 grain handloads Unimount with a built in 20 MOAtaper to help
you regain precious clicks for long range
of the scope and acts as a reticule illuminator. The shooting. These mounts fit Picatinny and
see-through reticule is a post with interrupted cross Weaver rails and is touted as being good enough to
hair – not to everyone’s taste but I like post reticules maintain zero when taken off and replaced on the
for fast shooting - having used them on an Enfield rifle. In theory you could swap this scope between
Enforcer, No.4(T), L42A1 and Swedish Mauser two different AR15 uppers, particularly where the
M41B sniper rifles. The elevation and windage same calibre, barrel length and rifling twist are
drums give very positive clicks of 1cm per 100 used. I’m sure there would be a minor zero change
metre. One inch is 2.54cm so these clicks are not between uppers but this could be allowed for by
quite half a minute of angle (MOA) which is a bit slipping the scale on the drums, as long as you
awkward if you are used to Imperial measurements! make a note of the difference. I have not put this to
The elevation drums are bullet drop compensated the test but it certainly would save at least another
from 100-600 metres (can be had in either 7.62mm £800-£1,000 by sharing one scope between two
or 5.56mm). Generally I felt this scope might prove rifles. I like the Nightforce scope – the only
ideal for CSR where the vast majority of shooting is criticism being that the Mil-Dot reticule is very fine
at 300 yards or below and it put up some half MOA for short range rapid style shooting but I believe
groups at 100 metres. However, the metric clicks that the illuminated reticule will overcome this. The
would need some getting used to and swapping results speak for themselves with a 3/8 inch or 11mm
back to my Leupold with its quarter MOA clicks would five shot group, shot prone at 100 metres with hand
inevitably lead to mistakes. I decided I would need to loaded ammunition from the new CSR rifle.
find another compact scope and, in order to match
up to my Leupold, it should have a
mil-dot reticule and quarter MOA Typical group
clicks. from issue
5.56mm Ball
Nightforce NXS 2.5-10 x 24
Luckily such a scope exists - the
relatively new Nightforce NXS
2.5-10 x 24, the UK wholesale
importer is RUAG Ammotec UK Ltd.
Nightforce has a great reputation and
this scope shaves 5ozs off the weight
of my Leupold, has a 30mm tube
plus an illuminated Mil-Dot reticule.
Other reticule patterns are available
but I wanted to have the consistency
of using one reticule pattern on both
rifles. An additional factor was
that one of the CSR stages is
the running man target at 100
metres. This target runs at two
68 Target Shooter
Box of 5.56mm L2A2 ball, RG’03 on left brass (one of the lightest cases with
and Sierra 77 grain on right maximum powder capacity),
Remington No.7 1/2 Small Rifle Bench
Rest primers, 24.4 grains Reloder 15
and 77 grain Sierra MatchKing heads
which reach 2,600 feet per sec (fps).
This is a top end load so I suggest
starting at a tad under 24 grains of
Reloder 15. Other popular powders are
Vit140 and Varget which are similar to
Reloder 15.

The introduction of the new .223 77

grain Lapua Scenar bullet, designed
for 1 in 8 twist barrels, is causing much
excitement both with American and
UK Hi-Power shooters. Very good
reports have been heard about its long
Ammunition range ability, no doubt helped by a BC
What reloading components do you need to of .402 and also its longer length. The Lapua may
achieve these sorts of groups? As usual when replace the Sierra as the most popular bullet for
reloading all the usual caveats apply as I have reloading magazine length rounds for the longer
found these loads to be a safe in my rifle using the ranges. Tim Hannam is importing them. Like all
components listed and I make no claim that they will Lapua reloading components the quality is very high
be safe in your rifle. All readers should ALWAYS but that comes at a price – in this case £27.12 per
start at least 10% below this powder load, especially hundred.
so if using different brass, powder, primers or bullets.
My thanks to the Southern Gun Company for making
Before I start on the subject of reloading .223 it is match winning combinations of AR15 Speedmasters
important to show how the CSR and and RUAG Ammotec UK Ltd for the loan of the
PR rifles perform with bog standard
military surplus 5.56mm x45. The
reason for this is that using reloaded Comparison of shorter Sierra compared
ammunition at the 100-200-300 yard to longer Lapua 77 grain bullets
stages is overkill. In fact - having too tight
a group is a positive disadvantage as I
have often had to challenge for a hit when
the score has come back as nine wash (9
bulls and a miss). Upon closer inspection
the butt officer found two bullets in one
slightly enlarged hole and a maximum
ten wash was awarded! I have found that
the 62 grain bullets found in British L2A2
ammunition shoot well enough in a 1 in 8 twist
barrel. Rapid fire, 5 shot groups of 50mm are
common at 100 meters and 30mm groups are
possible, which is more than adequate for the
targetry used at 100 to 300 yards.
However, if the wind is gusting then hand
loaded ammunition will come in to its own
at 300 yards and above. Nightforce. The real test will be how well I shoot my
new CSR rifle and Nightforce scope in this year’s
Many of my fellow shooters favour the use of 69 competitions. However, I’ll still be shooting a few PR
grain Sierra MatchKing heads but compare their events where a quick change of upper to the thicker
ballistic coefficient (BC) of .317 to the 77 grain barrel and a bipod will no doubt help gain a few extra
MatchKing’s BC of .362. Both these bullets are points.
designed to be loaded to magazine length (about
2.25 inches). My favourite load utilises Winchester

Target Shooter 69
70 Target Shooter
 Target Shooter 71
 Project Rifle

Target Shooter is now three issues old so I think it’s
time we built our first rifle.
A couple of tactical-style rifles which have come
out of the South Yorkshire Shooting Supply stable
have impressed me recently. One is owned by Tim
Finley and he wrote a little about it in Target Sports
magazine. The other is owned by Ross Burrough
and I’ve seen Ross shoot some pretty impressive
groups even at 1000 yards with his rifle.
Vince Bottomley
Above - Our AI stock comes with one
magazine and includes ‘bottom-metal’ which
would cost extra with an A5
much closer tolerances than the Howa or Remmy
but not so close as the Barnard. In other words, it’s
accurate but not too tight to be practical in the field.
This is also aided to some extent by the fluted bolt.
This is not for decoration – the flutes will hold any
dust or grit which might otherwise find their way into

Both these rifles are quite similar in that they

are based on the Surgeon action and the
McMillan A5 stock. I already have an A5 stocked
rifle and although it is a great tactical stock –
probably the best around – I fancy something
different. Also, although I’ve worked with the
Surgeon actions previously, I’ve never owned one.

Of course, any action could form the basis

of a successful tactical rifle. I’ve had tactical
rifles based on the Remmy 700, Howa,
McMillan and Barnard and all were accurate
and practical but the Surgeon is one of the few
actions designed specifically for tactical use.

So how is the Surgeon different? A few key points:

• The built-in Picatinny rail really stiffens up the

action, compensating for the magazine cut-out.
• The integral recoil-lug makes barrel-swaps/
removal so much easier, especially in the field.
• The Surgeon will take any Remington-style
trigger – including a Jewel.
• Although the action has the Remmy ‘footprint’ it
benefits from a larger barrel-tenon. The 308 Win and right, the 6.5x47 Lapua
The action also has ‘field’ tolerances. It’s built to

72 Target Shooter

The McMillan A5 is a great
tactical stock
the action, possibly locking-up the bolt as it could
do with a ‘benchrest fit’ action like the Barnard.
As always, it’s ‘horses for courses’ – if you are
building an F Class rifle choose the Barnard, or
maybe a BAT if you are building a benchrest rifle but
if it’s a tactical rifle, the Surgeon is a great choice.
So, that’s sort of set the tone for our project – a
tactical rifle based on the Surgeon action with
something other than an A5 stock! Chambering? We
have several to chose from, ranging from the little
6BR Rem. up to the 308 but remember, we need it to
feed from a 308 size magazine. My shooting buddy,
Rob Hunter is currently playing with the 260 Rem
– a necked-up and improved 6.5mm version of the
243 Win. and I’m doing a similar thing with the 243
Win. Improved. Both these would make fine tactical
cartridges but what would they offer over the 308?
Like many of the F/TR guys, I’ve recently found
new life in the 308 Win. It’s a great cartridge, all
Here’s our Bartlein barrel head-stamp – 5R rifling, 256/264 bore & groove,
8.5 to 9.25 gain-twist
the way out to 1000 yards – especially if you are
using a 30-32 inch barrel like the F/TR guys. If
you are using a 24-26 inch ‘tactical’barrel then
the 308 suffers at longer ranges and will lose out
to the 260 Rem. and 243 Improved. Both these
cartridges require some case-forming however and
with a tactical rifle, this takes away some of the
practicality as factory ammunition will not be available.
I can see that I’m slowly talking my way into
another 6.5x47 – just as Ross and Tim did.
It’s hard to beat this little round, for although
cartridges like the 260 Rem will outshoot the 6.5x47 in the
ballistic programmes, it just doesn’t seem to happen
on the range. I currently have rifles chambered for the
6.5x47 and the 6-6.5x47 and of the two, I’ve got to
admit that the 6.5 version appears to have the edge,
though initially, I favoured the 6mm as it appeared
to be a 6BR on steroids! The 6.5x47 has turned out
to be a superb cartridge however and it makes you
wonder why it took so long for someone to invent it!
OK, we’re a bit closer. Surgeon action, 6.5x47
chambering but we need a barrel. Heard about the
new ‘gain-twist’ barrels from Bartlein? A gimmick?
Maybe but we won’t know unless we try one and
fortunately Fox Firearms have just received delivery
of a batch which includes a 6.5mm with a gain-twist
going from 9.25 to 8.5.
Let’s not get too excited about gain-twist barrels.
Yes, the theory is there and for extreme accuracy
disciplines like short-range benchrest, there may be
a minute benefit
but for a tactical
rifle, I can’t really
see that it will
offer anything
but it will be
interesting to
work with one
and see if we
can detect any
difference.
All this time, I’ve
been thinking
of a stock which
will do the job
of an A5 and
maybe I have
one. I’ve never
been a great fan
of the Accuracy
International
stock but it does
have a few good
points and one of
Target Shooter 73
 these is the price! I can remember when
the AI’s were horrendously expensive
but now they seem quite reasonable
compared to the A5 and better still, this
one is second-hand, so a bit of a bargain.
It’s also a ‘folder’ which tend to command
a higher price but for me, it’s just heavier.

Now we have a barrel, an action, a

stock and a reamer so what are we
waiting for? Let’s fire up the lathe
and get working. More next month.

The superb Surgeon action – note built-in

Picatinny rail with 20MOA taper and
built-in recoil-lug

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74 Target Shooter
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Target Shooter 75
 Shooting Website of the Month

‘The wind is not your friend’ is run by Doug shooting long range rifle, charts, etc, etc.
Weeter in the US. It is a website that has Another good page to look at is the
a great deal to offer any shooter that deals description of the ‘Bernoulli Effect’ and the
with accuracy as their game of choice. way the wind causes a rimfire round to ‘shift’.
There is a lot of information about shooting I do know that Doug is in the process of
in the wind and a variety of wind flag designs rebuilding this site to make it even better. I
that will keep any part time craftsmen cannot wait.
going for a number of months. Within this
website there is on offer some DIY knowledge
that may stand you in good stead in
developing your own. Doug truly believes that
making your own wind flags will really teach
you more about what the wind is doing, as you
are designing then specifically for yourself.
These ‘flags’ have been developed over years,
with even some recognisable designs on the
site. All of these can be made easily, even
with spare parts lying around a garage. They
are very useful designs and can be made at a
fraction of the price that some would pay for them.
There are also articles on wind doping,

76 Target Shooter
 Target Shooter 77
Practical Shotgun - Harlow’s Very Close
Shave!
The first match in the UK’s 2009 Practical Shotgun
Championship gave the tightest results seen for many
years in the biggest divisions. Being a European
Championship year, with competitors vying for national
team places at the ‘big one’ in the Czech Republic in
September, we always knew that no quarter would be
given, but the results at Harlow were very, very close indeed.
First a little background. When we lost handguns
back in the late 1990s the then Cinderella discipline
of the UKPSA, Practical Shotgun with high capacity
Section1 self-loading and pump action shotguns, sashayed
into the limelight as many of the previously dominant
pistoleers tinkered first with mini-rifle and then airsoft
matches before drifting off to find other shooting styles
that suited them. Shotgun then needed a considerably
different approach to range craft, often needing
physical stamina not required for pistol, and usually involved
getting quite wet and muddy. Whilst a few die-hard
handgunners stayed with the Association and carried on
taking part in matches overseas using borrowed kit, as
the millennium turned over the shotgunners provided the
bulk of the membership and focus of the UK Association.
At a world level within IPSC, handgunning was (and
still is) the largest competitive discipline, but shotgun
was starting to build up a small but influential band of
followers around the planet. The international competition
calendar won it’s first true European Championship in
2003 at Terni in Italy, a small town with a legend of dragon
that had been defeated by a local nobleman many years
Practical
shotgun in action
78 Target Shooter
By Tommy Burford
ago. A large British contingent turned up, confident of
victory at the multi-day match, after all they felt that
they had invented the sport all those years back. The
dragon bit back and Terni proved to be a wake up call.
International Practical Shotgun was heading in a
different direction, the matches held on sandy bermed
and banked pistol ranges, with open targets and very few
‘load-one, shoot-one’ stages or empty gun starts. Not a
wood or stream to be seen; it was almost continuous run
and gun handgunning with a shotgun and most of the UK
contingent came home with their tails firmly between
their legs.
Since then the sport has evolved at both the world and
the UK level, with the UK having a considerable input into
the updated world rules through the hard work of Neil
Beverley. At the second, and better attended, European
Championship held in Greece in 2006 the older and
wiser UK shooters put in one the largest international
entries and came away with decent placing’s in the
popular UK divisions of ‘Standard Auto’, ‘Modified’ and
‘Standard Manual’.
And so to 2009 and the run up to the 3rd Europeans.
Whilst the majority of UK shotgun matches still take
place in woods using birdshot, some can run buckshot
and slug stages on adjacent approved ranges. Even
the NRA at Bisley are encouraging a form of Practical
branded ‘Target Shotgun’ based around the renamed
Police and Service Pistol competitions shot
with rifled slug. Along with a new one,
the Embassy Cup, these take place at the
Gallery RifleAction Weekends, plus two smaller
UKPSA style birdshot, buckshot and slug
‘Shotgun Festivals’ held in February and
October.
The Southern Area Championships at
Harlow on the 9th of May was birdshot only,
with targets being knockdown steel plates
at varying distances along with static and
moving clay pigeons. The current IPSC
rules and guidelines suggest that there
should be a ratio of roughly three ‘short’
course stages, to two ‘medium’ stages and
one ‘long’ course stage, only one unloaded
start per six stages, and no ‘load-one,
shoot-one’ in matches graded Level 3 (such
as the Harlow match) and above. Three
competitors entered from Serbia, and
they were known to be good, with another
veteran UK competitor driving up from his
retirement home in France, so the scene was
set for a grand International day. The range
crew shot the match on the Friday along with a small
number of competitors who could not take part on the
Saturday, and they had the pleasure of the cold drizzle
and wind (some things never change). The weather
cheered up on the Saturday, and the remaining 40 odd
competitors in four squads ripped through the nine
stages with everything done by late afternoon.
As usual with true practical shooting, all of the
stages were ‘new’ to the competitors and virtually all
of them could be approached in a number of ways.
Stage 1 had four simple plates in a wide arc, but one
released a high scoring, oscillating clay on a swinging
pole that would eventually disappear from view and
therefore did not incur a miss penalty. Since this was
only the empty gun start, you needed to work out
whether the bonus points were worth the time taken to
load an additional round and also risk missing. The stage
winners did, but they were closely followed by a few
who only loaded four rounds and ignored the swinger.
Stage 2 had four, long distance, heavy plates
that were visible through a slot in cover that was
almost at a normal shooting height, but also had
four close clays that could only be seen from under a
very low barricade that made it almost impossible to
use the common ‘rollover prone’ shooting position.
Stage 3 saw the ‘Harlow Horse’ dragged out from
retirement and give a coat or two of garish paint. This
was essentially a shooting platform where you could
take difficult but fast shots, or slower easier shots at the
eight steel targets spaced between red penalty targets.
Stage 4 introduced the competitors to another of Harlow’s
new bits of range equipment – high poles for clays. Four
of these along with four low clays either side of a short
corridor were a good test of fast gun handling and accuracy.
vision barrier), you needed to visit one of them twice.
Stage 8 was a 15 plater, a medium course that
included some big poppers that needed to fall
before smaller plates were exposed. Again, there
were a variety of ways to tackle the stage depending
on your loading skill and distance shooting confidence.
The final stage 9 started with a three position
traverse on three clays and up to eight steels before a
sprint downrange for the final, well hidden six steels.
When the results came out, the Serbs proved
triumphant with Branislav Raketic beating our own
James Harris in Modified Division by almost 15%.
It was far tighter in Standard Auto however, with
the Serbian Igor Jankovic beating the UK’s Mike
Darby by less than one match point out of 470. Hard on
Mike’s heels was Barry Sullivan, less than three points
behind, and under nine points behind him was the
final Serb, Dimitrije Simic. In sixth place was a junior
shooter, Jim Starley with almost 93% - he’s definitely
going to be one to watch. Further down the order was
the first placed lady and UKPSA Chairman Vanessa
Duffy, with a slender thirty point lead over the next three
ladies who were separated in total by less than ten points.
It was just as tight in Standard Manual, with Neil Smith
beating Martin Davies by less than half a point, and he
was pursued by Iain Guy, less than five points behind.
The next two Level 3 matches are before the Europeans
and take place at Carlisle and on the Welsh border during
July, with the final round of the championship returning to
Harlow at the end of October after returning from the
Europeans.
It’s going to be an interesting year. For more
information on the UKPSA, the match calendar, club
finder and details of how to join, visit: http://www.ukpsa.
co.uk

Stage 5 was the first of the long courses, with 24 plates

in total but only a few visible from each of a number of
shooting positions. In this kind of stage it’s reloading ability
that wins the day. In the most popular divisions, Standard
Auto and Standard Manual, the competitor’s shotgun can
only start stages loaded with eight rounds in the tube, so
nimble fingers and a well oiled technique are required.

Stage 6 proved to equally challenging, with four short

lightweight plates, and four long distance heavy plates.
Since you could not use slug, buck or even really
powerful birdshot for these, it inevitably needed a run
forward, and usually some extra shots before the big ones
fell.

Stage 7 won the innovation award for Harlow’s

Dave Dowding. Many hours of his went into its
construction, and while only ten rounds were needed,
considerable thought was needed in their application.
When shot down, a steel plate on one side of the range
exposed another target out of view on the other, with
another steel plate releasing a barricade that exposed
two more on the same side. The other side of the range Harlow Winners
was set up the same, so while there were only two
shooting positions (and each of those had a knock down
Target Shooter 79
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80 Target Shooter Tel: 01392 354854 Tel: 01935 83099 Tel: 01633 250025
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This year marked the 13th Phoenix Meeting which
was held at Bisley over the May Bank Holiday. It has
continued to grow steadily in size with another record
entry this year of 2909 events being shot by over 560
competitors from across the UK and Europe. Around
137,000 rounds of ammunition were safely put down range
once again which varied from 12g slug to .22lr and the
weather for once was very nice, unlike the last couple of years.
Originally aimed at promoting and continuing on with the
old pistol disciplines but using Gallery Rifles instead, the
Phoenix Meeting has evolved over the years and now
Julie Knights had an excellent debut in her first ever
competition notching up a very respectable 103 in
her M/Tgt centrefire match. Fantastic
shooting!
caters for a much wider variety of firearms that can be
used during the event. Everything from pure speed to
long range accuracy is available and Air Pistol, Air Rifle,
Gallery Rifle Smallbore/Lightweight Sporting Rifle,
Gallery Rifle Centrfire, Long Barrelled Pistol, Long
Barrelled Revolver, Muzzle Loading Pistol & Revolver,
Shotgun, Long Range Pistol and Fullbore Rifles are all
catered for in one form or another.
The sheer amount of ranges needed to accommodate all
of these different disciplines means that over 100 R.O’s
are needed to run things safely and smoothly on the day.
For most, this means being on the range first thing on the
Wednesday morning to set up the ranges and iron out any
problems that they may have with the equipment. Then,
when they are all tired and stressed out they have to go
and shoot their own matches over the Wednesday and
Thursday so that they are ready to start running all of the
competitors through from Friday morning onwards. With
this in mind we all owe them a huge thank you for giving
up their time to keep our ranges safe, and for doing such a
good job under the weather conditions that we had at the
time. It was pretty hot for the entire weekend and being on
the range for up to 9 hours a day over 5 days is certainly
not an easy task for anyone to do, so thanks again guys!
Many of the shooters stepping up to the line at this
years Phoenix were doing so for the first time in a
major competition and a very good job some of them
made of it too! The biggest surprise for them seemed
to be just how friendly and helpful both the R.O’s and
other competitors were to them during their matches.
Simple help with scoring, loaning equipment and a little
help with techniques used in some of the harder matches
like the Bianchi and 1500 all helped to calm them down
a bit to help them enjoy their experience, ensuring that
they will be back next time, which is what it’s all about!
Many of the newcomers are also looking forward to
coming back to shoot in the GR National Championships
in August too! Unfortunately many of them assumed that
competing at the Nationals was only for the top shooters
when in fact they are open to shooters of all abilities, and
the classification system in use will ensure that everyone
has a chance of winning something on the day whatever
their standard!
On the whole the matches ran pretty smoothly and
the standard of shooting was very high in some
of the matches with many new records being set
over the weekend. In event order here is what was
achieved on the day with a Phoenix or British record:
They don’t come much more chilled out
than Declan Byrne or Mike Doherty!
0521 America Match Graham Trimmer 258 & 3X Ph
0901 T&P2 GRSB David Hackett 595 & 32X B&Ph
0921 T&P2 LBP Clive Ferguson 591 & 26X B&Ph
1104 Multi Target SG Rob Adam 107 Ph
1121 Multi-Target LBP Graham Trimmer 112 Ph
1321 Phoenix A LBP Patrick Pritchett 179 B& Ph
1322 Phoenix A LBR - Graham Trimmer 189 Ph
1521 1500 LBP Clive Ferguson 1486 & 91X Ph
1701 Bianchi GRSB Gwyn Roberts 1918 & 155X B&Ph
1721 Bianchi LBP Clive Ferguson 1891 & 140X B&Ph
1722 Bianchi LBR Mel Beard 1903 & 147X B&Ph
1942 Advancing Target MLR Dave Berry 71 Ph
Target Shooter 81

Dave Emery in action on the Bianchi Mover
4302 Granet GRCF Darren Digby 299 & 17x Ph
5986 4,5,600yd F Class Horst Mitera 268 & 43V Ph
5989 4,5,600yd non .303 Millitary Rifle Steven Voak
145 & 9V Ph
6168 8,9,1000yd Free Pistol 18.5in barrel Trevor Alford
210 & 19V Ph
6189 8,9,1000yd non.303 Military Rifle Steven Voak
211 & 15V Ph
The winners of the Phoenix Aggregate matches were:
The John Rolfe Trophy T&P2 John Robinson 1191 78x,
The Sue Mansbridge Rosebowl 1500 John Robinson
2986 229X, The Target Sports Bianchi Gwyn Roberts
3826 312x and Phoenix Trophy Keith Cox 6714 442x.
In addition to the individual scores there were also some
European Team matches in the Shorts events and these
consisted of teams of 5 shooting the T&P1 and Multi Target
matches in either rimfire or centrefire, with the top 4 scores
to count. Highest scores on the day in GRSB were England
Red with 1636 47x followed by Wales 1 with 1630 47x, and
in the GRCF matches it couldn’t get any closer with the top
two teams having tied on X count, but England White just
edged out Wales 1 by one point with 1668 90x to 1667 90x.
The Phoenix is also well known for its trade fair which
is run in and around the Pavillion and this year was
probably the best yet with several hundred, if not
thousands of people coming down simply for this event
alone. The quality of goods on offer was definitely higher
than usual and included everything from the latest bench
rest rifles to miniature cannons, and everything else
inbetween. All
in all it looked
like both the
traders and
punters had a good
time!
The R.O party
on the Saturday
was well attended
and certainly had
an International
flavour to it with
members from
All are there to help you, but the Irish SSAI and
some are a little crazier than German BDMP
others! Make your own mind also attending. As
up about Ash….. a big thank you
82 Target Shooter
the Range Officers were treated to an evening of
musical entertainment including a free hot a cold
buffet with wine and beer to help wash things down.
Jane Shields and Sally Agnew are to be thanked and
congratulated for their hard work and effort that went
into making this event a success. Thanks must also go
to Andy Duffy and the generosity of the shooters who
together raised over £500 on the night with various
raffles. This money is now on its way to the Disabled Police
Officers Association in Ireland which is a very worthwhile
cause indeed, so well done to all of the people involved!
To round off the very enjoyable and successful
weekends shooting the new NRA Chairman Dr
Robin Pizer kindly attended the prize giving in the
packed MLAGB club house, to hand out the trophies
and awards for those lucky enough to win something.
For some of us the weekend still wasn’t over as we still
had the annual International 1500 match to shoot on Bank
Holiday Monday. This would be a shoulder to shoulder
match with two teams of 5 shooters from each country
shooting for gold. This is always an enjoyable match
to shoot, and despite some gun breakages on the line
during the match 5 warm up some very good personal
best scores were achieved. Once the stats team had done
Dave Hackett, a top shooter and great
R.O too!
their thing it was the UK team that had taken the Phoenix
Cup competition with 5966 & 402X with Germany in
second place with 5810 & 257x. In the Phoenix International
Trophy match (which this year also included the European
Gallery Rifle Federation European 1500 Championship
Cup) the UK team again produced a solid score of 5974 &
430x to take the main trophy of the day with the Republic
of Ireland this time taking second place with 5937 & 405x.
Congratulations must go to all those who took part in this
final competition of the weekend, along with a very big thank
you to all of the R.O’s who stayed on an extra day to run us
all through it in their usual professional and friendly way!
The final thanks must go to all of the stats crew
headed by Charles Murton and Chris Farr for once again
doing an excellent job for us all. To Taff in the Army Rifle
Association, for providing the R.O’s and everyone else
with excellent food all weekend. Also to Jane Shields,
Jackie Lamb and Jackie Cowling for doing a great job on
the front desk, Sally Philcox for the excellent job on the
squadding side of things and last but not least, to You the
shooters for making the Phoenix Meeting the success that
it is!
Gwyn Roberts
 HPS Target Rifles Limited
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On Bisley Camp:
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The NSRA shop stocks our .223
Rem Sierra 69 grain & our .308
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Target Shooter 83
 LaserScope
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The LaserScope is a technologically
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Once all four barrels have been sighted in, the scope
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84 Target Shooter
Burris Laserscope/quad advert.indd 1 4/2/09 10:49:14
 The HANDLOADING BENCH
RIFLING TWIST RATES (Part 2)

Laurie Holland
Last month, I introduced Don Miller’s twist rate
formula, an easily used spreadsheet that uses
calibre, bullet weight and length, rifling twist
rate and muzzle velocity to give you the Sg or
coefficient of gyroscopic stability. The recommended
minimum value is 1.4, although any combination that
produces a value above 1.0 has stabilised the
bullet, in theory anyway. I say it’s easy to use,
but getting hold of the bullet length may be a
problem if you don’t have examples on hand
to measure and don’t know anybody who
does. Since manufacturers don’t publish this
information, you may need to do a bit of research
on the Web, or post a ‘please help’ query on one
of the specialist shooting website forums such as
Benchrest Central or Long-Range Target Shooting.

If you’re having a rifle built or rebarreled, your

gunsmith is usually a reliable source of information

The Millers Twist Rule spreadsheet does

require you to obtain the bullet length which
may prove a problem.

115gn Superior Shooting Systems Inc.

155gn 6mm DTAC bullet and 6XC cartridge
on the left alongside a 6mm BR Norma
cartridge and 105gn Berger VLD. The DTAC
should work in an 8T barrel even with the
little 6mm BR cartridge.
and advice if you’re unsure of what is optimal.
However, although many heavy bullet / fast twist
barrel combinations are well known nowadays,
you may encounter less certainty over some of the
newer and/or less common extreme weight bullets.
This might include the heaviest 6mm and 7mm
designs, for instance the very long 115gn Berger
VLD and David Tubb / Sierra (‘DTAC’) 6mm bullets.
Berger advises 7T for its bullet, and David Tubb
7.5T for the DTAC. Measuring a sample of the
latter produced a length range of 1.288 – 1.297”,
Target Shooter 85

Sierra 0.224” bullets: 65gn GameKing BTSP
(left) and 69gn MatchKing HPBT. The
expanding sporting bullet has lead all the
way to the tip, while the HP match design
has a void ahead of the core. This feature
allied to a slightly shorter length means the
Game King will need less stabilisation than
its match sibling.
and the Miller twist formula calculates 1.44 Sg at
3,000 fps MV from an 8T barrel for the longest
example found, while the recommended 7.5T rate
produces 1.65. I use 3,000 fps in this example as
the DTAC was designed for the Tubb 6XC cartridge
that gives this bullet up to 3,050 fps, and it’s a
popular choice for other 6mm numbers that can
push it along at 3,000 fps or more. We know that MV
doesn’t affect Sg all that much, so the little 6mm BR
Norma cartridge at 2,675 fps still produces a just
acceptable 1.39 Sg from its ‘standard’ 8T twist rate.
Where does this pedantically precise 2,675 fps MV
come from? We know 2,800 fps is achievable with a
105gn bullet from this cartridge and 28” barrel and that
produces 1,827 ft / lbs of muzzle energy. You will
usually achieve the same ME in the same rifle from
a different weight bullet without needing higher
chamber pressures, and 1,827 ft/lbs equates to
2,675 fps MV with 115gn bullets. However, note
that while Miller says we have enough latitude at
both MVs in an 8T barrel, some recent posts on
a long-range shooting forum about using this
bullet in the 6X47mm Lapua cartridge (6.5X47
necked down to 6mm) with this twist rate advised
that it is on the ragged edge of stability and doesn’t
86 Target Shooter
work in some conditions.
Weight (Again)
Let’s return to the bullet weight versus length
issue. I said last month that bullet length (in
calibres) has far more influence on the required
twist rate than weight, so .223 Remington sees
the long (0.915”) 62gn military FMJBT need 9 or
10T, while the Berger 64gn flat-base HP Match
(0.824”, or 3.7 calibres v 4.1) manages with 12T.
However, weight does affect stability, but not in the
way you think. Let’s take our 0.224” 62gn military
FMJBT again, which is long for its weight through
the use of steel as well as lead inside, plus a void
in its tip. Miller calculates 1.46 Sg at the 3,081 fps
average MV I got recently with some RG fodder out
of a 9T Remington 700 SPS Tactical rifle. I can’t
find an equivalent 0.224” match bullet right on that
0.915” length, but Sierra’s shorter (0.892”) HPBT
MatchKing weighs 69gn, so 70gn will be easily ‘on’
with this length in conventional lead-core HPBT
form, heavier still with a lead-to-the-tip FMJBT, let’s
say 75gn. Keep everything except weight (bullet
length, barrel twist rate and MV) the same, and Sg
rises to 1.65 at 70gn, and 1.77 at 75gn, which are
significant increases. This tells us that increasing
the weight in a given bullet length actually sees
less stabilisation needed, not more. A clever bullet
designer can take advantage of this, as happened
50 years ago when the .222 Remington in 14T
barrelled rifles was king of the small-bore
centrefires. The manufacturers gave sporting
shooters heavy expanding bullets that worked in
HP match bullets marked to show the top of
the core inside the jacket. Left to right: 53gn
0.224” Hornady HPM, 52gn 0.224” SMK, 69gn
0.224” SMK, 107gn 6mm SMK, and the very
long for weight 0.308” 155gn Lapua Scenar.
This feature sees these bullets produce a
higher Sg than is indicated by their lengths.
this slow twist by designing blunt, flat-base, and
thin-jacketed (less light gilding metal = more heavy
lead core within a given size) projectiles that
minimized bullet length while maximising
weight. Sierra’s 0.224” 63gn ‘SMP’ (semi-point)
bullet is a survivor from this period, and
still works at modest .222 Rem MVs in 14T
barrels. The downside of the blunt shape is a
lower BC, so its external ballistics performance is
inferior to an equivalent weight or 55gn ‘Spitzer’.

Uncertainties
We like certainties, everything black or white,
which is hard luck in this subject as bullet
stability is full of apparent exceptions to the rule,
not to mention shades of grey. Firstly, a basic
question. How much trust can we place in the
Miller Twist formula? Ballisticians tell us it’s a very The 52gn Hornady A-MAX (centre) is even
clever bit of work, and generally pretty reliable. longer than equivalent HP match models
Nevertheless, it simplifies a complex process that because of the plastic tip but is fully
requires several sets of mathematical exercises stabilised by barrel twist rates that the Miller
when done rigorously. So it should be treated as formula says will be over-slow.
a guide, not an infallible oracle that says that a changed that pushes it in the unstable direction.
combination producing 0.999 Sg sees bullets all On the other hand, in some conditions the yawing
over the shop, while another with 1.001 shoots may diminish down-range and accuracy is fine at
quarter-MOAgroups. This is why the formula’s creator medium and longer ranges. As we saw last month,
and other ballisticians advise choosing a twist rate differences in air temperature and barometric
that produces at least 1.4 to provide a ‘safety margin’. pressure could affect such a combination either
way, perhaps even during the course of a single day.
Even if the formula’s results were stunningly
accurate for every combination, there is no sharp Another question is whether you can trust the
line in the sand at 1.000 Sg. We have shades of grey manufacturer’s specification sheet. If you buy
between the black and white situations of complete a Bartlein barrel you get the specified twist –
and obvious instability, and full stability identified precisely, down to two decimal places. If the
through good accuracy. For instance, a marginally Savremchester catalogue says a model has
stabilised bullet may appear to be alright cutting
clean round holes in the target, but produces below
par accuracy as it suffers some ‘yaw’ on leaving The Barnard / Eliseo .308W F/TR tube gun
the barrel. Worse, such a combination might give with 30” Bartlein 13.5T barrel. Worries about
excellent results during load development but later it failing to stabilise 155gn Lapua Scenars
disappoint during a match because something has proved unfounded.

Target Shooter 87

The view down Diggle ‘C’ Range from the
range-house webcam on 11th February. The
13.5T twist barrel stabilised 155gn Scenars
fully at 1,000 yards a few days later in barely
warmer conditions.
a 9T barrel say, 9.0 may be what you get, or
then again the actual rate may be somewhere
between 8.75T and 9.25T. This can make a big
difference when the twist is marginal for the bullet, so
something that shouldn’t work does, or vice versa,
and also means that when your mate tells you a
marginally ‘unsuitable’ bullet shoots a storm in his
Remy 700, you cannot be sure it’ll do likewise in your
allegedly same twist Savage. Incidentally, there
is a view that a really well made and chambered
barrel in a precision rifle gives you a little more
leeway at the margins. This is because
everything is concentric, so the bullet enters the
rifling absolutely straight, or as near so as is
possible. If a bullet isn’t spun fast enough to be
stable, the rifle’s component and build quality
cannot put that right, ever, but it might produce
superb results with a combination that produces an
Sg barely above 1.0, while a sloppily chambered
factory or military rifle struggles.
Hornady even lists loads data for the A-MAX in the
14T .222 Rem in its reloading manual. So, what’s
going on here? The answer is that most hollow-point
bullets see the front end of the lead core positioned
well back from the bullet tip leaving empty space
inside the front of the jacket. Hornady’s A-MAX
and V-MAX, and similar bullets from other makers,
are HP designs with the ugly hole up front plugged
with a sharply pointed lightweight insert, and make
the bullet even longer but still with little weight up
front. From a gyroscopic stability viewpoint, such
bullets are effectively ‘shorter’ than they measure, so
produce higher real Sg values than the formula
calculates. Likewise, the 0.224” 68gn Hornady
Match and 69gn Sierra MatchKing are obviously not
that far apart in their designs, but the former’s extra
tenth of an inch overall length comes from a longer
jacket. The resulting shape does require more stabi-
lisation than the Sierra, but not as much as the 0.991”
overall length apparently dictates. This doesn’t
apply to FMJBTs or soft-point sporting bullets of
course which have the lead core going right to the tip.
Too Fast?
If the results of over-slow spin are disastrous and
usually obvious to the shooter, what about going
in the other direction with a much higher spin rate
than needed to stabilise the bullet? There are three
issues here. Will the bullet stand up to the stresses
imparted by a very high rotational speed? Does an
excessively high Sg cause accuracy to deteriorate
by accentuating minor flaws in the bullet that put it
out of balance? Does it affect the long-range flight
behaviour of the bullet through ‘over-stabilising’ it
so its nose doesn’t want to turn over at the top of
Benchrest shooters use the slowest twist
rates that stabilise their bullets.

You might have noticed in last month’s tables for

0.224” bullets, that some examples are calculated
to be barely stable, or not at all, by what should
be appropriate twist rates. For instance, the 52gn
Hornady A-MAX only produces 0.75 Sg in
a 14T barrel, while the 52gn Sierra HPBT
MatchKing is barely stabilised at 1.05. While the
A-MAX is a post-.223R introduction, the Sierra is
an oldie from .222 days and was a favourite in that
cartridge for varmint, target, and even benchrest
the trajectory and point downwards towards the
shooting for years. Move to 12T, and theA-MAX is now
target? All three issues have something in
barely stabilised with 1.05 at 3,300 fps so there are
them, but ballisticians are generally much less
apparently ‘doubts’ about its suitability for use in
worried about ‘too high’ spin rates than the average
most .223 Remington sporting rifles. Anybody who
long-distance or BR shooter. After last month’s article,
has handloaded .223 knows this is nonsense and
I received a nice email from Bryan Litz, Berger Bullets’

88 Target Shooter

Target Rifle shooters used 14T barrels in the
bad old days of Radway Green 146gn ‘Green
Spot’ ammo in a not always successful
attempt to reduce the number of points lost
to ammunition related ‘fliers’.
ballistician who chided me over my assertion
that a 13T barrel might over-stabilise the 155gn
Sierra Palma bullet at the Raton, New Mexico
ranges in high summer, the combination of short
bullet, high altitude and 80ºF temperatures potentially
producing Sg values around 2.2. Although the
Miller Twist spreadsheet says that if the Sg is above
2, a move to a combination that reduces it might
improve accuracy, Bryan says that in this sort of
extreme scenario the 13T barrelled rifle will
produce no less accurate results at high altitudes /
temperatures, than when used in different conditions
which reduce the Sg below 2.0. In the other corner,
we have my good friend and unpaid gunsmith Vince
Bottomley who as an avid (and very successful) BR
competitor takes a different view – make the twist as
slow as possible. Let’s examine each issue in turn.
Extreme Stress
The over-stressed bullet is easy to understand.
Any bullet fired in a modern high-power rifle
undergoes enormous temperature and pressure
stresses particularly inside the barrel where it
becomes almost plastic as it is forced into the
rifling grooves and spun up to maybe a quarter of a
million rpm in a few inches of travel / milliseconds.
Overdo it and the bullet may not reach the target,
disintegrating en route in a small cloud of
grey smoke. This particularly applies to some
exceptionally thin-jacketed ‘varmint’ bullets. For
instance, Hornady 0.224” ‘SPSX’ (Soft-Point
Super-Explosive) bullets were designed with
jackets that gave rapid and massive expansion
at .222 Remington terminal velocities, and the
company advises that if its 50gn SPSX is
used in a .22-250 Rem rifle – same 14T twist
rate but higher velocities – the MV should be
restricted to a modest 3,400 fps. That
produces a spin-rate just under
175,000 rpm in a 14T barrel, so the
maximum MVs that should be used
with this bullet from 12, 9, and 8T
rate .223 Rem barrels are around
2,920, 2,190, and a mere 1,950 fps
respectively! This problem can arise
with any lightweight bullet at high
velocities in a fast-twist rifle –
my 8T Lilja barrelled .223 Rem
Southern Gun SSR-15 sometimes
destroys 52gn Hornady A-MAX
match bullets. The problem has
also arisen with some 140gn
6.5mm and 175gn 7mm bullets
with the ‘hotter’ cartridges used in long-range
target shooting. It has been mostly
associated with Berger Match VLDs with their
superbly consistent but thin J4 jackets, but I’ve seen
it happen to heavy 6.5mm Hornady A-MAX bullets
too. Sierra bullets which have thicker jackets are
immune, and Berger was concerned enough
about its bullets’ reputation to research and
introduce thick-jacketed versions of the two
problem bullet calibre/weight combinations in both
‘Match BT’ and VLD form in a remarkably short time
last year. It should be noted that this phenomenon
often requires aggravating factors in addition to the
high spin-rate – barrel wear or roughness, high air
/ barrel temperatures, heavy fouling and suchlike,
and the exact mechanism(s) that causes bullets to
break up is the subject of much learned speculation.
Balance
When Vince Bottomley and I were deciding on
the barrel make and specifications for my Barnard
/ Eliseo .308Win GB-F/TR tube-gun described
in the Aril issue, not to forget Vince’s identically
barrelled BAT action rifle, he talked me into
joining him in using a 13.5T rate in our Bartlein
barrels, the intended bullet being the 155gn Lapua
Scenar, a very long design for its weight. Vince,
with his benchrest shooting background, always
goes for the slowest twist that will work, but I
began to worry after the order had been placed
as to whether 13.5T was right for the Scenar.
The Miller formula gives the 1.291” long bullet an
Sg of only 1.07 at my target 3,000 fps MV under
standard environmental conditions! I was concerned
I’d end up restricted to the shorter, much lower BC
155gn Sierra Palma MK. Anyway, no problems –
100 yard accuracy was superb even from starting
loads with low MVs, and the rifle’s first 1,000yd club
competition saw reasonable results despite it being
a bitterly cold early spring day – the car’s external
thermometer read 3ºC on arrival at the range and
still read 3ºC on the way out seven hours later!
Target Shooter 89
Using 155gn Scenars from our 13.5T Bartleins,
Vince took 4th F/TR place in the first national F-Class
League round of the season in April and I was 5th
two points behind, the matches shot over 800, 900,
and 1,000 yards, so no accuracy problems there.
Why take this risk, and not specify the
widely used 13T, or even 12T (the manufacturer’s
noticeably more and worse ‘fliers’ at 1,000 yards
with the poorer ammunition lots. Now, I know that
airing this will elicit another email from Mr. Litz
whose view is that today’s match bullets are so well
made that the effects of faster barrel twist / bullet
spin rates are non existent to marginal and having
a stability safety margin is more important.
However, there are valid arguments on both sides
of the issue. As always, you pays your money and
makes your choice, but there is one disadvantage
to the minimum-twist approach you should be
aware of – it limits your choice of bullet. If this year’s
F-Class league results were to demonstrate that
F/TR competitors using 210gn bullets have an
advantage over us 155gn shooters, we’re stuck
with the lighter bullets unless we rebarrel. If it’s
the other way round, the 210gn users can switch
to 155s, and probably not see any noticeable
accuracy loss despite using a 10T twist rate –
in fact, that’s just what successful F/TR
shooter Steve Donaldson does, using 210s at 800-
1,100 yards and switching to 155s for 300-600yd
matches to reduce recoil and barrel throat wear.

Trajectory
Our third possible ‘over-stabilised problem’ is that
some people theorise that a bullet that is spun
overly fast adopts a slightly nose-up attitude in
Berger Bullets now manufactures its 140gn the second half of the trajectory as it drops down
6.5mm Match VLD and Match BT bullets with towards the target, affecting stability and
the regular J4 jacket thickness and a special increasing air resistance. The alleged cause is
thick version. that a bullet that is stabilised ‘too much’ tries to
maintain its initial angle of departure through the
recommended twist rate for this bullet)? An gyroscopic steering effect, and this angle will
article of faith for top benchrest shooters is that the be noticeably upwards in long-range shooting
perfect bullet doesn’t exist, or at least not 100 of because of the elevation required. This theory
them together in one carton. Even expensive was much discussed in the 1980s when 1,000yd
handmade 62-68gn 6mm BR jobs are likely to
suffer the occasional hidden flaw that puts a
bullet out of balance (to be precise, moves its
centre of gravity off the axis fractionally), say the
jacket ever so slightly thicker on one side than the
other. In such top quality bullets, and even the mass
produced MatchKings, Scenars, and Match BT or
VLD bullets that most of us use, manufacturing and
component quality is very good nowadays, so any
‘fault’ will be tiny. However, if it does exist, the faster
you spin the bullet, the more it will deviate from its
intended path, especially at ultra long-ranges. So,
benchresters and many long-range precision
shooters adopt rifling twist rates that spin the
bullet as slowly as possible while still stabilising
it. If you shot Target Rifle some years back you’ll It was alleged that the 155gn Sierra Palma
be familiar with this issue as the ‘standard’ TR rifle MK adopted a nose-up attitude as it curved
in pre-155gn ammunition days used a tight-bore down towards the target at long range if ‘over
14T barrel to cope with abysmally poor quality stabilised’, rather like the NASA Space
146gn FMJBT bullets in RG ‘Green Spot’ 7.62mm Shuttle landing, although with a less acute
ammunition. TR rifles with 10T or 12T rates produced angle.

90 Target Shooter
Service Rifle competition became popular in
the USA and .308W M1A shooters had trouble
getting a bullet that would perform. Popular 600yd
loads with the 168gn Sierra MatchKing (SMK) went
through the target sideways – if they hit it at all – the
180gn SMK suffering similar problems. The 190gn
SMK was a proven 1,000yd performer in bolt-action
rifles, but couldn’t be used in the M1A as it produced
excessive gas port pressures and overstressed the
action. When Sierra introduced the 155gn Palma
MK, it seemed logical that if it worked at 1,200yd
from a single-shot rifle, it would too at 1,000 in the
M1A even if MVs were considerably lower – but
it didn’t cut the mustard either. It was speculated
that the M1A’s 10T barrel twist was the reason
for this conundrum through ‘over-stabilisation’.
Ballisticians are now much less convinced
about this, and many would say that inadequate
velocities were probably the main problem here,
A handloaded .308W cartridge with 168gn
and 180gn Sierra MatchKing bullets to its
left, and a 175gn long-range bullet to its right.
(The bullet in the handload is a 155gn Lapua
Scenar that has been ‘pointed’ in a Whidden
Gunworks special die.)
.308W having marginal performance at these
ranges unless the bullet is pushed really hard.
(With a 20” barrel and finicky gas operated
mechanism, you cannot use really hot loads or
slower burning powders in M1A / M14 rifles.) The
solution eventually came in the form of the 175gn
SMK used in the US Army’s M118LR 7.62mm
target / sniper cartridge and handloaded too by
many American F/TR shooters.
Long-Range
The M1A problem brings me neatly to the final
issue I’d like to air on bullet stability and
barrel twist rates – does stability deteriorate with
distance? It’s known that some bullets simply don’t
perform at 1,000yd unless they are driven really
fast – the 168 and 180gn SMKs for instance won’t
perform in .308W at this range, but will at .300
Magnum velocities. It was alleged that early 14T
5.56mm / AR15 accuracy was adequate at short
range but not at 500 metres due to inadequate
stabilisation, and so on. Taking the two SMKs first,
the problem is ‘dynamic stability’, mostly due to the
boat-tail angle. Even if spun sufficiently fast, they
become unstable when their speed drops into the
transonic zone somewhere around 1,200-1,300
fps which happens at 800-900 yards with a .308W
depending on barrel length / MV. The AR15
problem was probably inadequate initial stability
that had bullets yawing about a bit as they left the
barrel, but not enough to give really bad accuracy at
100 metres, but saw the yaw increase with range.
The good news, completely counter-intuitive given
that every other ballistic problem appears to get
seriously worse in 1,000yd shooting, is that if a bullet
is adequately stabilised at the muzzle so it groups
well at 100 yards, its stability actually increases
with distance. How so? Let’s go back to basics –
we need to spin a bullet because air resistance
acts on a point towards its front end and tries to
overturn it, the strength of that ‘push’determined by the
bullet’s velocity. As it slows during its flight, the
overturning force reduces accordingly so a
slower rate of spin is needed to stabilise the
bullet. While a typical high-BC match bullet will lose
over half its initial velocity over a 1,000 yard trip,
it only loses around 10% of its spin rate as this is
much less affected by air resistance than forward
speed. So the 155gn Scenar that starts off with a
nominal Sg of 1.07 from my Barnard /
Eliseo F/TR rifle (it will be somewhat higher in
reality because of the void ahead of the core
in this hollow-point design) might have an Sg
of 3 or even 4 when it reaches the target. So, a
comforting message to take away from this brief
look at stability is that if a cartridge / bullet / barrel
combination performs really well at short range, and
continues to do so in the coldest, highest atmospheric
pressure conditions you’re likely to shoot in, then it is
adequately stabilised not only at that range, but
at all ranges. That’s not so say that it will perform
well in long-range competition of course, because
there are lots of other potential pitfalls in that game.
Target Shooter 91
 RFD Lancashire (Section 1 & 2 Firearms)
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92 Target Shooter
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S/H .22 HORNET
CZ S/CUT £325.00
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S/H . 222 SAKO L491 £350.00
S/H BLASER OFF ROAD - STOCK ONLY
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S/H . 222 CZ £375.00
NEW . 222 SAKO 75 VARMINT BLUE £950.00 SECOND HAND AND EX DEMO OPTICS
S/H . 222 RUGER ST C/W DEERFIELD SCOPE £575.00 LEICA TRINOVID 10x42 EX DEMO £750.00
NEW . 222 STEYR PRO HUNTER £690.00
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£295.00 SWAROVSKI 6x42 HABICHT NEW DISCONTINUED £450.00
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S/H .22/250 SAKO 85 STAINLESS S/CUT £695.00 SWAROVSKI 1.25-4x24PV1 DOT RET NEW DISC£595.00
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NEW .223WSSMW INCHESTER SUPER SHADOW £300.00 SCHMIDT & BENDER 6x42 GERMAN S/H AS NEW £425.00
NEW . 223 STEYR PRO MOUNTAIN INC MOD £880.00 SCHMIDT & BENDER 3-12x50 A7 30MM £550.00
S/H . 243 REMINGTON 700 BDL £420.00 SCHMIDT & BENDER 3-12x50 MILDOT S/H £550.00
S/H . 243 BLASER OFF ROAD £1,000.00 SCHMIDT & BENDER 7x50 GERMAN 30MM EX DEMO £495.00
S/H . 243 STEYR MANNLICHER £550.00 LEUPOLD VX111 3-9x50 S/H AS NEW £295.00
S/H .25-06 TIKKA MASTER £400.00 SCHMIDT & BENDER 6x42 HUNGARIAN 1" RET A7 £260.00
S/H .25-06 BLASER OFF ROAD £1,050.00 LISENFELD 6x42 1" TUBE RET 4A £150.00
S/H . 270 BLASER OFF ROAD S/CUT £1,050.00 ZEISS DIATAL Z 6x42 1" TUBE RET 4 £375.00
S/H . 270 SAKO L691 LEFT HAND £695.00 SCHMIDT & BENDER 6x42 HUNGARIAN 1" A7 £260.00
S/H . 270 DICKSON £350.00 PECAR CHAMPION 8x45 RET 4 1" £295.00
S/H . 270 REMINGTON 700 BDL £450.00 LEUPOLD VXIII 4.5-14X50 L/R, TDS £425.00
S/H . 270 CZ SCREWCUT £425.00 NEW SWAROVSKI Z6 OUR PRICE
S/H . 270 RUGER M77 S/CUT £425.00 Z6 2-12x50 £1,099.00
NEW .270WSMSAKO 75 HUNTER £995.00 Z6 2.5-15x56 £1,199.00
S/H . 375 BLASER OFF ROAD PRO (AS NEW)£1,675.00 Z6 2.5-15x56 BT £1,299.00
S/H .30-06 MAUSER 03 BARREL ONLY £330.00 NEW SWAROVSKI Z6I ILLUMINATED
S/H . 308 SAKO A11 £475.00 Z61 1.7-10x42 £1,395.00
S/H . 308 SAKO STUTZEN £495.00 Z61 2-12x50 £1,459.00
S/H . 308 SAKO M591 £495.00 Z61 2.5-15x56 £1,579.00
S/H . 308 MAUSER 66 £450.00 Z61 2.5-15x56 BT £1,659.00
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S/H . 308 STEYR £450.00 4-12x50 £819.00
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NEW 6.5x55 SAKO 75 HUNTER L/HAND £990.00 NEW SWAROVSKI PF
S/H 6.5x55 TIKKA T3 AS NEW INC MOUNTS £650.00 8x50 £599.00
NEW 6.5x55 PRO MOUNTAIN INC MOD £890.00 8x56 £649.00
S/H 7MM REM MAG RUGER No1 £400.00

Target Shooter 93
 Gun of the Month
I came across this rifle at a McQueen
competition at my local range recently. If you
aren’t familiar with the McQueen competition,
it’s basically a sniper type comp. shot at 200 and
300 yards with a little built-in stress element.
The comp. always attracts some nice looking
tactical rigs and if you want to do well in the
anodising in various colours, right through to
custom paint finishes like this one.
The rifle was put together by North West
Custom Parts in Manchester (www.nw-
customparts.com) and they are also
responsible for the eye-catching Duracote
cammo paint-job. You can of course take your
own rifle along for a Duracoat face-lift and

McQueen, you need a rifle capable shooting painting is done on the premises so a quick
around half MOA and a trigger-puller who can turn-round is guaranteed. Check out www.dura-
pick up a randomly displayed target and coat-finishes.com
release an accurate shot in under three seconds.
Other details include the 20MOA Picatinny rail,
The action is a Remington 700 which is standard one of North West Custom Parts own
except for the tactical bolt-knob. The Lilja muzzle-brakes and the butt-mounted mono-pod.
stainless-steel button-rifled barrel is chambered How does it shoot? As good as it looks!
for the 6.5x47 Lapua cartridge, which is quickly
becoming the ‘must have’ tactical cartridge.
The stock is an American McRees Precision Please mention
www.mcreesprecision.net and if you aren’t
familiar, they are machined from billet
aluminium, in several
configurations from benchrest through to tactical. when using advertising in
The action sits in a custom-inlet and therefore
bedding is not required. Inlets are available for the magazine
most popular actions and the stocks can be had
in a variety of finishes, from polished aluminium,

94 Target Shooter
 Target Shooter 95
 Club Feature
Novio club room
Target shooting is a sport for all; men, women, the young
and the old. You will see a good group of people from all
walks of life shooting at the ranges at weekends and during
the week. Novio Magnum Pistol Club is in the heart of the
Sussex countryside not far from Chichester. Being a ‘self
made’ Club, Novio Magnum outdoor ranges were built by
its Members during the seventies, gaining MoD approval.
The Club has good facilities, with two outdoor ranges
and one indoor range. Rumble Range (named after its
creator John Rumble) is based in an ancient chalk-pit in the
middle of the South Downs just North of Chichester. It is
designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest because
of the rare insect and plant life found there and the Club
Members are proud to be doing their bit in looking after
an important part of rural England. It houses a 50-metre
outdoor range where we can use rifles and pistols up to a
maximum calibre of .577” and a maximum muzzle velocity
of 2150 ft/sec and muzzle energy of 1496 ft lbs. This range
has six covered firing points.
By the Summer of 2009 we will have a full-size Running
Boar moving target on the 50 metre range. This was
originally housed at Bisley and was purchased by a few
Members for the Club. We are the only private Club to have
this facility outside of Bisley and this makes Membership of
Novio Magnum very desirable.
The second range of 25-metres in length can also use rifles
and pistols to a maximum calibre of .577” and muzzle
energy of 1496 ft lbs, but with a lower maximum muzzle
velocity limit of 1675 ft/sec. This range also has six covered
firing points.
Our 25-metre indoor facility is in Wellington Road in
Chichester itself. It is a purpose built construction next to
the Rugby Club and is for .22LR rimfire and air pistol or
rifle. We also have a smaller version of the Rumble Range
moving target mechanism for air pistol rapid-fire. This
range has six firing points and hosts the main Clubroom,
kitchen, offices and club notices and displays. The indoor
range is brand new, built in the last two years and is shared
with Chichester Rifle Club. This new facility is superbly lit,
ventilated and heated and is used extensively throughout
the year.
96 Target Shooter
Some Members shoot fullbore rifle at Bisley, while others
arrange to go up as a group a few times a year. Most
enjoy the wide range of shooting disciplines that can be
shot throughout the year at the Club, although it gets pretty
cold at Rumble Range in the winter months! The disciplines
shot at various ranges the Club has are:
• Prone small-bore rifle at25 yards and 50 metres
• Rapid Fire and Precision Centre Fire Gallery at
25 yards and 50 metres
• .22 Benchrest Rifle at 25 and 50 metres
• Air Rifle Benchrest Rifle at 25 metres
• 22 Sporting Rifle at 20 yards
• Muzzle Loading Rifle at 50 metres
• Muzzle Loading Pistol and Revolver at 25 metres
• Air pistol - 6 yards/ 10 yards/ 20 yards and rapid fire
• Target Air Rifle
• Fullbore Centerfire Rifle - (Shot at Bisley 100-1200
yards)
There are approximately seventy Members shooting a
variety of disciplines including prone small-bore, rapid and
precision gallery rifle, rimfire benchrest, rimfire sporting rifle,
muzzle loading rifle and pistol; and air rifle and pistol to name
a few. We take part in a variety of competitions; taking it
seriously but having fun at the same time.
The Club Members participate in inter-club, county, national
and international competitions, as well as running internal
competitions and fun shoots. The fun shoots take part at
various times during the year, with some ‘range maintenance
days’ helping to keep the place tidy.
The Club opens on four days of the week, but any day can
be booked by full Members throughout the week, as long as
two Members are present at all times for safety reasons.
New applicants are coming in all the time, but we welcome
new Members of any age. These will be given a ‘Sponsor’
who will provide training and mentoring throughout their
Probationary period. As the Club has both 50 metre and 25
metre ranges (indoor and outdoor) we consider ourselves
lucky to have some of the best facilities in the South. We feel
that the Club has a lot to offer the committed sports person
– both adult and junior – so feel free to roam around our
website and we look forward to hearing from you;
http://www.novio.co.uk
Indoor 25 meter range
 Chris Potter
Country Sports

Over 900 new & used guns in stock at any time.

Shotguns, Centrefire, rim & air rifles.
Large clothing & footwear departments.
From world class shooters to beginners - we can help.
Expert advice and guidance!
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Target Shooter 97
 Continental Shooting Supplies
North Ayrshire Shooting Ground, Blackstone Farm, Dalry, Ayrshire KA24 5HN
Tel: 01294 833297 Fax: 01294 833312 e-mail: enquiries@continentalshooting.co.uk

Continental Shooting Supplies is based at the

North Ayrshire Shooting Ground, a first class
all-weather facility for the Skeet, Trap and
Sporting disciplines.
We welcome customers to our shop, where a
friendly chat and expert advice are always
available.

You can also purchase goods from us by mail order.

Our online catalogue can be viewed at
www.continentalshooting.co.uk and orders placed over
the internet.
We carry an extensive range of products covering all
aspects of shooting including:
Calls and whistles
Cartridges and cartridge cases
Clothing and footwear
Decoys
Dog training equipment
Gun care materials and repair service
Gun cases
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Knives
Lamping equipment
Optics
Rifle accessories
Recoil reduction pads
Shotguns and firearms (both new and second hand)
If you are looking for something and can not see it on
our web site please give us a phone - we usually know
where things can be found! Also keep an eye out for
our special offers each month.

98 Target Shooter
 VINCE’S REGULAR COLUMN WHEREBY
ACCURACY NUTS CAN KEEP UP TO
DATE WITH THE ACTIVITIES OF THE UKBRA
Competitions
May already and we are still freezing on the
firing-point! To be honest, the wind wasn’t too bad on
the Saturday for our 100 yard shoot but we had just
three groups in the ‘ones’. Smallest of the day was a
superb 0.131 incher shot by Tony Lenton. Tony is a
relative newcomer to benchrest and this was only his
second competition with a proper 6PPC bench gun,
so excellent shooting.
The overall win went to Martin Eldershaw, who has
returned to the sport after a lay-off but clearly it hasn’t
done him any harm – second place last time and now
a win! In Factory Sporter Class fellow writer, Laurie
Holland continues to embarrass many HV shooters
with his out-of-the-box Savage LRPV chambered
in 204 Ruger. Laurie not only won his class again
but finished fifth overall with a small group of 0.209
inches! A stunning performance for a genuine
modestly priced factory rifle.
Results:
Heavy Varmint as they don’t start beating us!
1st Martin Eldershaw 6PPC CSS Stolle 0.2578
2nd Ian Dixon 6PPC Walker BAT 0.2856
3rd Carl Sales 6PPC Tooley Nesika 0.2894
Ian Kellett on his way to winning Factory
Sporter with his 6.5-284 Savage1000 yards.
Small group 3rd Alan Seagrave 308 Steyr 24.468
Tony Lenton 6PPC Stolle 0.131 inches
Factory Sporter 1st Laurie Holland Ian Kellet 10.179 inches
204 LRPV Savage 0.3084 inches
2nd Darrell Evans 6PPC Sako 0.4716
3rd Bill Martin 223 Remington 0.4764
Small group
Laurie Holland 0.207 inches
On the Sunday, we shot at 1000 yards and the wind
was really fierce, though it was otherwise quite
pleasant. Again, we had another great entry but it
was soon clear that we were in for a hard day. Last
month Dave Jackson won the competition with a
seven-inch agg. – today, his best group was sixteen
inches! These conditions punish slow shooters but
those who can get their five rounds away in under
15 seconds were rewarded with some impressive
groups. Ian Dixon’s 5.91 incher was best of the day
but Les Prior also had a ‘six’.
We had four ladies shooting this time and
Diane Smith was the best of the ‘powder-puffs’
shooting a very creditable 9.8 inch group with her Eliseo
tube-gun chambered in 6.5x47 Lapua. It’s great to
see ladies enjoying 1000 yard benchrest – as long
In Factory Sporter, Ian Kellet had little opposition
with his 6.5-284 Savage as Phil Gibbon and Bruce
Lenton were absent, so it was ‘game set and match’
to Ian with small group, smallest agg. and nearest
to centre which netted him a useful £30.
Results:
Light Gun
1st Ian Dixon 7WSM Walker Stolle 11.265
2nd Steve Dunn 7mm Dunn BAT 11.267
3rd Mal Roberts 6.5mm BAT 11.853
Small group
Ian Dixon 5.91 inches
Factory Sporter
1st Ian Kellet 6.5-284 Savage 15.46
2nd Adrian Evans 308 Remington 19.687
Small group
Target Shooter 99
New Stuff - Bags
For those of you who are interested
in back-bags – and what benchrest
shooter isn’t – here’s a pic of
something new from Seb Lambang
who makes the joystick front rests.
Seb has always been a lateral thinker
and his new bag design is so obvious
you can’t believe no one has thought
of it before. Ace BR shooter Brian
Walker is currently testing it so we’ll
see if it works as well as it looks.

Scopes
When I go to the IWA show with
Brian Fox of Fox Firearms, we are
always on a mission to find you
the best value in rifle optics. Brian Seb Lambang’s
already imports spotting-scopes from new back bag.
Nikula and believe me, they are very
good - on a par with my Kowa for
about half the cost. Brian picked up a magazine if you are interested.
sample Nikula rifle-scope at IWA and he lent it to me Aimfield Sports are great supporters of shooting
for a quick look. OK, no proper test yet but on first and will be providing prizes for the World F Class
glance it looks very good. Contact Fox Firearms if Championships at Bisley in July. Let’s support the
you are interested. They should sell for well under dealers who support us.
£300.

More scopes
I tested an 8-32 Sightron scope last
year for Target Sports magazine
and I was blown away by the
quality of the glass and the
accuracy of adjustment. The
Sightrons are not cheap but they
are no where near the cost of say
a Nightforce so they represent
excellent value. The 8-32 will make
a great F Class scope and at 17
ounces their 36X is light enough
to interest the centrefire and
rimfire benchrest shooters.
Aimfield Sports, who do the superb
shooting-mat and drag-bags are
the new UK Sightron importer so TThe 4-16 Nikula scope from Fox Firearms
contact them through their ad. in this

100 Target Shooter

 Jackson Rifles
Parton, Castle Douglas, Scotland DG7 3NL
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We are happy to give advice and information to retail customers, Shooter
only supply the trade 101
Jackson Rifles is a division of Forge Consulting Ltd, RFD 108 (Dumfries & Galloway) ts0904
102 Target Shooter
 In association with
Jim Kelby is well known in centerfire benchrest circles
for making excellent quality actions, rifles and other
equipment. He is also known for the manufacture of
the swindlehurst rimfire action, which unfortunately
no longer seems to be produced. (The last one I saw
for sale was in Italy last year). These products were
all available a few years ago via Litts. Since then
people could get Kelby actions and parts through
Brain Fox at Fox Firearms. Brian has been
bringing in benchrest equipment for a good few years,
including the SEB rest that I reviewed last month.
The good news is that I have just heard that Kelby’s
is making rimfire barrelled actions, using the Turbo
action as the base, fitted with a Lilja rimfire barrel.
These are also being imported into Europe by
Cicognani of Italy. With just a bit of further research I
have also found out that Jim Kelby will also produce
these actions for individuals in the UK. Now he will
deal with individuals, but getting things from the USA
is very expensive going it alone, as you will have to
get your own import/ export licence agreement and
still have to find an RFD that will bring this
equipment in for you. Better to go with
someone that can do all of this for you and has
The US made
turbo action -
Synonomous
with accuracy
All teams together - the UK won best
dressed.
Side view of the
Turbo bolt
the licence already. Kelbys work with Brian a lot
so this is where I would personally go to. Even
better is that Jim Kelby will actually make a complete
rifle for you, the earnest UK shooter, based on the
specification noted above. Barrel selelction is up to you
and can be reamed for the ammunition you tend to use.
For those in the know, the Turbo action is
synonymous with benchrest accuracy in the states
and is used in a lot of rifles that win many matches
over there. I have only ever heard of one Turbo action
in this country and it would be nice to see us
diversify a little in this sport instead of finding the
number of Anschutz actions we use. (Let’s face it that
what we have access to). With this news and the fact
that we can also have access to the number of Lilja
rimfire barrels available, its bringing the UK rimfire
benchrest shooter closer to the kind of equipment
that is winning matches in the USA. (Lilja remember
make the barrels for the Bleiker rifle and are used by a
number of top shooters including Matt Emmons). I have
one of these on order myself, but for a 2013 action.
The cost of the barrelled action is $1555 plus
shipping at $100. There will be other importation
charges on top of this and I quote US prices as
currencies fluctuate at the moment – as we all know
too well!
Enquiries should be made through;
Brian Fox; www.foxfirearmsuk.com/mainpagefront.
htm
The Kelby website can be viewed at; www.kelbly.
com/
The Lilja website can be viewed at; www.riflebarrels.
com
Bottom view of
the Turbo bolt
Target Shooter 103
 The Long View
News from the GB
F-Class Association

sections and we can

now buy, sell, help,
discuss and moan
about all things F
Class. Check out
the forum on www.
longrangeshoot-
ing.forumup.co.uk

Now we have it, let’s

use it and just to start
the ball rolling what
about our on-going V
bull debate – should
the V bull score 6
points or 5.1 as in
GB Team captain Des Parr (back to camera)
Target Rifle where it is simply used as a tie-breaker.
addresses the troops during one of the few
Remember, our F Class V bull is just half MOA in
dry sessions of the weekend
With the GB F Class League competitions spread diameter. There are strong feelings both ways so if
out over the country, it is sometimes difficult for you have an opinion why not put your case online?
competitors to keep in touch with each other
to discuss various F Class matters. Also, with 2009 World Championships
“effers” being such a sociable bunch they With the World F Class Championships only
are normally happy to share any newly two months away, GB squad members from
gleaned information with their fellow shooters. all parts of the UK arrived at Bisley on the
(Usually in the bar of the nearest hotel to the weekend of 16/17th May for their second
range after the comp, whilst licking wounds!) ‘training weekend’. The object is to work with
wind-coaches and get used to shooting as a team.
This was one of the reasons that we set up the
F Class UK website www.f-class.org.uk and in For Saturday morning, it was thankfully dry but
particular why the ‘Soapbox’ page was added blustery. It was to prove to be a real work-out
to allow members to air their views. But it has for the coaches; the strong blustery winds were
its limits, it is hardly a true discussion forum. challenging the ballistics of the F-Open guys
and so pretty daunting for our F/TR squad, who
We had talked about the possibility of setting up needed up to 17 minutes of wind with their 308s.
an on-line UK F Class forum but as with all these
things, we all have jobs and limited time so it was The second of the morning’s practices followed
up to someone to actually put it together. Well now the same format and, if anything, the wind
someone has. Lee Tomlinson of Border Barrels was even stronger – lifting off hats, mats and
has put together an excellent forum with various umbrellas. Shooters rotated between coaches
and targets to ensure a balanced mix.

104 Target Shooter

 assembled to shoot, storm
clouds rushed in, the
temperature plummeted
and the rain arrived. The first
scheduled practice ended in
a torrential downpour with
the targets barely visible.
We took a break until
conditions eased and
then returned to soggy
firing-points. Mercifully, it
stayed dry for most of the
last period.

So ended another GB
training weekend and what
a valuable exercise it had
proved to be – if our teams
can cope with those howling
Conditions proved challenging for everyone winds and driving rain, they
but as Team Captain Des Parr says – “train can cope with anything. It was noticeable how the
hard – fight easy”. squad has become quicker and more efficient in
their firing-point procedures. It has been said that
By late afternoon, the coaches strengthened their a good team is a quiet team, and it was obvious
understanding of our ballistics, the squad had that the GB squad was simply getting on with
become considerably more efficient and doing the business in a quiet and methodical
everyone had developed a greater appreciation of manner.
the total concentration required to coach and plot
throughout strong and fastchanging wind Both pictures courtesy of Alan Keating.
conditions.
Sunday morning dawned bright but, just as we

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Target Shooter 105

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Special Pedersoli Pistols Ardesa Pistols

Offers Le Page Flintlock £732 Derringer .31 Percussion £97.80
Charles Moore Target Flintlock £486 Underhammer .40 Percussion £510.00
Moly Coated MatchKing Charles Moore Flintlock £426 W.Parker .45 Match Percussion £276.00
Sierra Bullet Heads Harpers Ferry Flintlock £325 W.Parker .45 Match Flintlock £348.00
(All in packs of 500) Le Page Target Percussion £544 Buckhunter Blue .50 Percussion £238.80
Le Page Match Target Percussion £582 Buckhunter Blue .45 Percussion £238.80
1410M .22 cal (.224) 52gr HPBT Howdah Double Percussion £510 Buckhunter Allweather .45 Perc £260.40
Was £90.48 NOW ONLY £72.00 Kuchenreuter Percussion £1092 Patriot .45 Percussion £178.80
1505M 6mm (.243) 70gr HPBT Leigi Derringer £110 Kentucky .45 Percussion £178.80
Was £106.92 NOW ONLY £85.50 Leigi Pocket £121 Kentucky .45 Flintlock £141.60
Mang In Graz Percussion £1002 1871 Duelling Pistol Percussion £39.60
1570M 6mm (.243) 107gr HPBT
Zimmer Pistol £262
7” - 8” TWST BBLS Ardesa Rifles
Was £126.78 NOW ONLY £101.00 Pedersoli Long Guns Hawken .451 Match Creedmore Perc £598
1715M 6.5mm (.264) 107gr HPBT
Frontier Flintlock Rifle £498 Hawken .45 Flintlock £354
Was £137.16 NOW ONLY £110.00 Brown Bess Flintlock Musket £838
1725M 6.5mm (.264) 120gr HPBT Hawken .45 Percussion £328
Brown Bess Flintlock Carbine £838
Was £121.20 NOW ONLY £97.00 Kentucky .45 Flintlock £272
Tryon Rifle £610
1742M 6.5mm (.264) 142gr HPBT Tryon Creedmore Rifle £864 Kentucky .45 Percussion £234
Was £153.90 NOW ONLY £123.00 Mortimer Whitworth Rifle £906 Pennsylvania .45 Carbine Flintlock £309
2200M .30 Cal (7.62mm) 168gr HPBT Sharps 1874 Silhouette Rifle £1008 Pennsylvania .45 Carbine Percussion £260
Was £139.14 NOW ONLY £111.00 Sharps 1874 Quigley Sporting £1380 Pennsylvania .45 Rifle Flintlock £456
2275M .30 Cal (7.62mm) 175gr HPBT Springfield Trapdoor Carbine £882 Pennsylvania .45 Rifle Percussion £409
Springfield Trapdoor Rifle £1020 Shenandoah .45 Rifle Flintlock £372
Was £145.56 NOW ONLY £116.00
Springfield Trapdoor Long Range £1116 Firearms licence required for all guns above.
2210M .30 Cal (7.62mm) 190gr HPBT
Was £153.54 NOW ONLY £122.00
Leather Shot Flask £40.80
NO LICENCE REQUIRED
Brass rocker type double shutter
Brunox Cleaning top which has two settings, Persian Mauser Bayonet £40.00
Kit Offer throwing 1 1/4 or 1 1/2oz. Bright steel blade. Wooden grips. Blued
1 x Brunox 100ml Gun Oil Length 216mm. steel scabbard. Overall length 55cm.
1 x Brunox 300ml Gun Oil Hawksley Copper German
1x Roll 4x2 Rope Flask £42.00 Demac
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£9.95 + + throwing from 2 1/2 to 3 1/4 Knife £45.00 Overall length 28cm.
drams in quarter dram Used with WWI Mauser rifles.
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Socket Bayonets Bright all steel construction. Overall length approx 52cm dependant on model. Socket fitting varies
depending in model. (Brown Bess Socket Bayonet pictured).
Brown Bess Socket Bayonet £29.95 Charleville Socket Bayonet £29.95
Enfield Socket Bayonet £29.95 Prussian / Potsdam Socket Bayonet £29.95

Enfield Military Rifles & Mossin Nagant Rifles &

Accessories Accessories
Enfield No.4 .303 British (pictured) From £325 Mossin Nagant 91/30 7.62x54mm (pictured) From £215
Enfield SMLE .303 Bolt Action Rifle From £295 Mossin Nagant Sniper Rifle 7.62x54 From £495
Enfield Long Lee .303 Bolt Action Rifle From £425
Mossin Nagant Sling Mossin Nagant
Enfield P14 .303 Bolt Action Rifle From £395
£10.50 Cleaning Kit
.303 Brass Cases Pkt 100 £9.99 Web / leather sling for a £5.95
Enfield No.4 New HXP boxer unprimed. Mossin Nagant rifle. Includes a 2
Sight Adjuster In used condition. compartment oil
Enfield Brass Oil
£18.50 Bottle £5.00 bottle, combination tool,
cleaning jags, brush, complete
Lee Enfield .303 Clips
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Packet of 15 £10.50
106 Target Shooter
Postage & packing £4.00 per order. Additional p&p charges apply for firearms + explosives. Above prices correct at time of printing.
 A regular column whereby Ken Hall keeps us up to date
with black powder cartridge rifle shooting in the UK.
Quigley Competition – Round 2 May Saturday
16th May - what should have been a mild spring
day in fact turned out to be cold and
occasionally wet and miserable, with a
challenging wind. This was round 2 of our
series of Quigley shoots using buckets and
buffalos at 400 and 600 yards.
Stage 1 at 400 yards, consisted of two sighters
and fifteen shots to score at the Quigley bucket
at 400 yards and Dennis Richardson was able
to read the wind better than most to lead stage
1 with 59 points, just ahead of David Gregory
on 51 points and Richard Healey on 47 points.
After lunch, stage 2 was again two sighters and
15 to count, this time on the buffalo silhouette
target at 600 yds and unfortunately, the rain
continued to make an appearance to add to the
difficulties, though our three leaders maintained
their standard to score 38, 36 and 40 points
Dave Coleman waits for the smoke to clear
respectively.
Final results:
1st Dennis Richardson Browning Hi Wall
45/70 107 points
2nd Richard Healey Sharps
45/70 87
3rd David Gregory Sharps
45/100 87
Fifth Annual Tightgroup Shoot
Saturday 23rd May saw twelve firers compete
in the fifth annual Tightgroup competition. Run
on the lines of UK Benchrest style competition,
the format generally followed that of benchrest,
but with some minor allowances due to the
unique nature of these 19th Century long guns.
Each firer was to fire four separate groups
of five rounds on a standard 25yd pistol
target and a time limit of 10 minutes per group
was allowed, giving time to wipe the bore
between shots. The resulting group
sizes recorded were then added
together and divided by 4, to give an
average group size.
As per benchrest rules, firers were
allowed to rest the rifles front and back.
Although not used to this
position, most soon got the hang of
it and some very reasonable groups
began to appear. However, as it
turned out, almost everyone shot
at least one group larger than we
would have liked, due to the odd flier.
Target Shooter 107
It soon became apparent that Conditions proved challenging for everyone
a ‘Battle Royal’ was brewing but as Team Captain Des Parr says – “train
between last year’s winner hard – fight easy”.
Richard Healey and Eric Todd,
who has continued to show
improvement with every shoot.
Richard’s smallest group, at 1.09in
looked a sure winner until Eric
achieved a magnificent group at
0.58 inches centre to centre, this
with lead bullets sized to 0.458in.

Overall the results were

encouraging and show that firers are
getting to grips with the ‘Dark Stuff’.
Thanks to everyone who entered,
we should continue to strive towards achieving
smaller groups at this distance, otherwise decent
scores at longer ranges will continue to elude us.
Dave Gregory in action
centrefire rifle and shoot a 5-shot 0.58 inch
group – with iron sights don’t forget. I know
that some of our American friends shoot their
BPCRs benchrest style and I would be interested
to know what the world record is for this practice.
In addition to Eric’s magnificent group, I see that
several shooters had groups in the ‘ones’. The
Quigley guys have certainly developed BPCR
shooting in the last few years. Vince Bottomley

Quigley winners Dave, Dennis and

Richard

RESULTS:

Average Best Group

Richard Healey 1.09in 1.63in

Eric Todd 0.58in 1.67in
Dennis Richardson 1.45in 2.46in
Gary Allsopp 1.71in 2.51in
Dave Bownass 1.65in 2.76in
John Ellin 2.14in 3.19in
Gary Lee 2.99in 3.39in
Ken Hall 2.46in 4.07in
Please mention
Greg Hoskin 3.39in 4.08in
Doug Herod 3.26in 4.25in
K. Jones 2.94in 4.39in
Jake Healey 3.95in 7.39in when using advertising in
Comment: As a keen centrefire benchrest
the magazine
shooter and sometime BPCR shooter, I am
immensely impressed by the groups shot
today. I don’t know many folk – including myself
– who could sit down at 100 yards with a modern

108 Target Shooter

Hunter Field Target News
Welcome to the first of a regular column to keep The national organised shoots run by the UKAHFT
HFT shooters abreast of what is happening in HFT have been running since 2004, there are seven
in the UK and from the governing body which is the rounds left in the calendar of the 2009 series, see
UKAHFT (United Kingdom Association for Hunter the web site at www.ukahft.co.uk for dates and
Field Target). directions to the shoots as well as the rules. Anyone
I am not a formal part or the organisation which with a below the legal limit airgun can come along
consists of Pete Sparkes (The founding father of and shoot the competition. Safety briefings are for
the sport) Lou ( The web master) and Pete Dutton all competitors before the morning and afternoon
( Supremo rule writer) but I have been allowed by sessions with new comers up and coming shooters
them to put the news letters together with their shooting in the second session at each shoot. You
blessing and approval of content. do not have to be a member of a club or organisation
My first dabble at a more sporting type of Field to join in the fun but safety is the number one priority.
Target shooting came in 1994 when I competed There are classes for juniors and lady shooters and
in and luckily won the trial Sporting Air Rifle or there are far more young shooters and members
SAR shoot held at Bisley, unfortunately the BFTA of the faire sex shooting HFT than FT. A lot of the
(British Field Target Association) at the time did appeal of HFT is that a very simple non
not want to hold any SAR events at their shoots. parallaxing or fixed magnification scope is ideal
Today they have more open minds and have a for the sport and just a few days ago I shot with a
SFT or Sporting Field Target section run on the chap who with a £40 Hawke MAP scope won the
same full blown FT courses. FT as a sport today recoiling class at a NEFTA hunter series shoot. The
is a far cry from a hunting simulation, in the very, other main feature of HFT is that shooters gain a
very early days it did resemble HFT, but with targets point for hitting the metal face plate of each target
out at 55 yards, bean bags to sit upon and large with two points for actually knocking it over, gold
magnification expensive scopes, it now bears silver and bronze badges can be bought if your score
no real resemblance to hunting at all. HFT falls within the bands for each award, again the web
addresses that need in airgun shooting to give a more site has all the information. Next time I will go over
realistic sport, still some shooters do not grasp the how the sport has evolved from its beginnings.
fact that HFT is just hunting scenarios NOT hunting
simulation. The ranges are pure
hunting ranges, the shortest
target is 8 yards away and the
longest 45 yards, but no responsible
hunter would ever, ever take a 45
yard shot in a howling wind. In HFT
we are forced to take shots we would
never do when hunting as it is part
of a competition. This is true for
unsupported standers, 90% of the
shots I take when hunting are in a
modified kneeling position, which by the
way would not be allowed in HFT or FT
competitions as I sit on a turned back
foot and rest the rifle on my knee.
So, all you HFT shooters out there Tim getting ready for action
remember we are shooting a sport
which is not like hunting, just more
hunting than FT is.

Target Shooter 109

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110 Target Shooter
Gallery Rifle News

The weekend of May 22-25 saw the 13th the end of August will be out soon so don’t forget to
Phoenix Meeting take place at the National Shooting enter early to avoid disappointment.
Centre, Bisley, in pretty good weather. Turnout was
much the same as last year but lots more events COMPETITION CALENDAR
were shot. There is a full report in this issue.
June 27-28 GR&P Derby 1500
During the Phoenix, teams from five Derby R&PC
countries competed in short event aggregates with
England coming out on top this time. The July 12 Jim Brown Memorial Steel
European GRCF Championship Match and Challenge
Phoenix International was shot on the Mattersey R&PC
Monday with the UK winning the Championship.
Congratulations to all who took part and July 12 Shield GR&P Practical
especially to the winning Team Captains – Shield Shooting Centre
Norman Brown for England and Sharon Bowden for (Either contact the
the United Kingdom. organisers direct or go to
Another piece of good news on the Internation- www.galleryrifle.com for
al front – South Africa is joining the European GR entry forms.)
Federation and hopes to have teams competing GR&P = Gallery Rifle Centre Fire (GRCF),
here in 2010. Gallery Rifle Small Bore (GRSB), Long Barrelled
Pistol (LBP) and Long Barrelled Revolver (LBR)
This month you have the Derby 1500. A great range RESULTS
with good facilities and plenty of events to enter. The Basildon, Mattersey Ten, Western Winner,
1500 match and also a selection of “short” events. Aberdeen (all on www.galleryrifle.com or the club
Next month there are two meetings on the 12th sites)
– one at Mattersey (between Worksop and Phoenix Meeting available in full on the NRA/NSC
Doncaster) and the other at Shield in Dorset. One website or at www.galleryrifle.com.
or the other must be within reach wherever you live. Please go to the Gallery Rifle website
www.galleryrifle.com for more news and
The Mattersey shoot is the Jim Brown information.
Memorial Steel Challenge in aid of Cancer
Charities and Help for Heroes. It has events ......and Finally.......
for Gallery Rifles, Long Barrelled Pistols and The following match which is in memory of one of
Revolvers and Shotguns. Jim worked tirelessly for our best pistol shooters ever Jim Brown who sadly
the club and for shooting as long as he was died of cancer last year.
able and a good turnout would be a way of There are no prizes as we have decided that all of
saying “thank you” as well as supporting these the proceeds will go to charity.
deserving causes. MATTERSEY
The Shield shoot is a GR and LBR/LBP The Jim Brown Memorial
practical match put on by that master of course STEEL CHALLENGE
design, Steve Pike. He is known for putting on
Sun 12th July
matches that are best described as challenging
entry forms are available from either
although there are other names for them! Check the
Shield website for entry details or give Steve a ring. www.matterseyrapc.org.uk or
Entry forms for the GR National Championships at www.galleryrifle.com websites

Target Shooter 111

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112 Target Shooter


The IPSC European Shotgun Championships
(ESC 09) take place in the Czech Republic in
September. Thirty UK shooters have been
awarded slots to the match. The UKPSA hope to
enter a number of teams in the Championships. The
National Squad Director, Ken Trail, will select teams,
based on performance from both last year and this
year’s Championship matches.
The first round of the UKPSA Shotgun
Championships got under way in May with the
Southern Areas Championships. These were held
at Harlow, Essex. The Standard Auto and Standard
Manual Divisions were keenly contested. See the
full article in this edition to see just how close.
Further rounds include the Northern Areas
Championships at Carlisle in July. The British Open
Championships at Borders in early August and
finally back to Harlow for the Home Countries
Championships in October. It is hopped that there
will be a number of new venues putting on both
Level 2 and Championship matches in 2010.
UKPSA Medals were awarded at the Southern
Championships for the first time. Pate Starley
New medals, sponsored
by Midway UK
from Midway UK has generously donated these
medals. The medals will be awarded at all
Championship matches in all divisions and
qualifying categories such as Senior and Ladies.
Leicester Shooting Club have been awarded the
British Open LBR Championships. These will
take place on Saturday 13th December 2009 at
Leicester. Other confirmed Level 2 LBR matches
include Carlisle on 15th August. Any UKPSA
affiliated club is welcome to apply to run L2
matches.
Over the weekend of 23 and 24th May, two
shotgun basic safety courses were held at both
Shield Shooting Centre and Border Guns Club.
All students successfully gained a pass certificate.
More courses are planned in both shotgun and LBR
later in the year.
Members are reminded that they must renew their
annual membership by the end of June, otherwise
they will incur a £10 rejoining fee. Membership
renewal forms are available on the web site www.
ukpsa.co.uk.
Target Shooter 113
 Gunseeker.co.uk
The Ultimate Firearms Listing Site
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation

TRADE Everything for countryside sports in one place

No 1 – For buying and selling your Firearms, Accessories and Clothing

No 1 – For RFD dealers advertising their businesses and firearms
No 1 – For Brand owners to increase awareness and trade advertising

Gunseeker for the Shooting • Advertise your business direct to the • Advertising available to you includes
Enthusiast public and trade, using banners, directory listing, banner advertising,
skyscrapers and page adverts for page advertising and advertising
• Search thousands of firearms ensuring
unbelievable introductory rates bundles. Advertising starts at as little
you find the right one for you, even
• Access the unique BASC trade only as £69 a year
search your postcode area !
page
• Sell your unwanted firearms for
• Gunseeker is controlled by a simple to What to do next?
unbelievably low rates
use program free for you to download. • Join the gunseeker community on-line
• Sell your unwanted accessories and
• Due to a partnership with Countryside at gunseeker.co.uk
clothing, register a wanted advert
Software the leading IT provider to • Give us a call to discuss your
• Locate those hard to find accessories,
our industry, all Countryside Software requirements and see what we can do
clothing, ammo in fact anything you
customers can advertise directly from for you
need
their products.
• Receive special offers from RFD dealers
all around the UK and ROI
• Keep abreast of the industry via Gunseeker for Brand Owners,
the dedicated BASC page aimed at Wholesalers and Service Providers
keeping you informed • Increase awareness of your products
Telephone:
with advertising campaigns directly to
Richard Cross 07920-178684
Gunseeker for the RFD dealer the shooting enthusiast
• Advertise to all RFD dealers and Trade
Allison Burns 07554-119117
• List your entire range of firearms and Email: sales@gunseeker.co.uk
just pay a single nominal yearly admin members directly in the Trade only
area Web: www.gunseeker.co.uk
fee!

DRAGON FIELD SPORTS

THE WREXHAM GUN SHOP

SHOTGUNS AIR GUNS

BROWNING, WINCHESTER, MIROKU, LINCOLN, BERETTA, BETTINSOLI, Air Arms, Brocock, BSA, Daystate, Logun, Stealth,
BAIKAL ­etc. etc. Webley, Weihrauch etc.

CARTRIDGES PART EXCHANGE WELCOME

GENUINE ELEY HAWK ­CHEAP

8 Egerton Street, Wrexham Town Centre
Besides McDonalds Above Les Fish Bar

01978 290990
www.dragonfieldsports.co.uk

114 Target Shooter

We are a well established gun shop in surrey for the
last 36 years now under new ownership of Peter
Friend. Over the years the surrey guns has built a
reputation for specialist target shooting and stock a
large range of match air rifles, pistols as well as .22
target guns and accessories

7 Manor Road, Wallington, Surrey, SM6 0BW

Tel:020 8647 7742 Fax: 020 8669 9199

E-mail: pfriend@surreyguns.com

Monday—Saturday 0900 - 1700 Target Shooter 115

Letters and News
What a great response to the first two editions with lots of really good feedback and a few things
to make us think about how we can deliver a better magazine to you.

customer.services@targetshooter.co.uk
Happy reading and we hope you enjoy the magazine. The team at Target Shooter.
If you have any letters or news that you would like to air on a national basis then please contact us
at the magazine. This could be for those budding writers out there that would like to submit a full
article on specific firearms, competitions, shooting sports, etc.
The aim of the magazine is to include you the shooters in the United Kingdom. So having a regular
letters page or even a question and answer section would be really useful for a lot of people out
there. Let us know what you think!?
We would also like to have a gun of the month section - so send us your pic and spec and we’ll
include it in ‘gun of the month’.
Any news that your club or association thinks is worth viewing can also be sent in for selection.
What we would like is to get a letters page started with your views, news and perceptions about
all all the aspects of target shooting. So lets see those letters coming in and we will read your
thoughts in these pages.

Advertisers Index
Air Arms 57 Intershoot 42
Allcocks Outdoors 35 Jackson Rifles 101
A Macleod and Son 93 Low Mill Range 70
AIM Field Sports 8 Midway UK Lyd 30
Armalon 10 Minsterley Ranges 70
Auto Target 55 North West Custom 71
Bassetts 63 Norman Clark Gunsmiths Ltd 15
Benchrest Directoryy 107 NRA 95
Border Barrrels 44 NSRA 84
Bromyard Sports and Leisure 105 Osprey Rifles 25
Check-Mate Guns 92 Rhino Rifles 22
Chris Potter Country Sports ltd 97 Riflecraft 64
Continental Shooting Supplies 98 RPA International 42
Countrymen of Derby 74 RUAG Ammotec 12
D
Daystate LTD
t t LTD 43 R
Rude Fat Dog
d F tD 11
Diverse Trading ltd 112 Prestige Air Guns Ltd 13
Dragon Field Sports 114 Section 5 11
Eley LTD 3 Shooting Supplies 115
BulzeyePro 36 South Yorkshire Shooting Supplies 29
Essex Guns 62 Sportman Gun Centre 80
Fox Firearms 45 Steyr 102
Frederick Beesley 70 Surrey Guns 95
G T Shooting 41 Targets Direct 93
GMK 0 Theoben 110
Green Leopard 37 Tim Hannam 21
Gun Trader 16 UKBR22 104
GunSeeker 114 UK Custom Shop p 2
Henry Krank 0 Uttings 56
Highland Outdoors 50 Webley 75
HPS Target Rifles Ltd 83 Westlake Engineering 52
Innovative Systems 63 York Guns 77

116 Target Shooter

Next time in.....

Welcome to the fourth month of this free online shooting magazine for shooters in the UK

July 2009 Issue

On test
Regular Reviews
Columns
Features … and lots
FT Scope Review • Classic Rifle• New Products • and lots more…..
Target Shooter 117
 World Cup Success
- 9/9 Prone Medals
- 11/12 Gold medals in 50m events
- Total of 35 medals won by ELEY
2009 ISSF World Cups 1, 2 & 3

Champions shoot Tenex

118 www.eleyammunition.com
Target Shooter ELEY - the home of Tenex