Target Shooter

1

2

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 connoisseurs choice for handling and performance. A pride born to make your shooting more rewarding.

Target Shooter

3

Welcome to the 6th month .......of Target Shooter14 Experience the Imperial by Chris White 21 Sightron Scopes ByVinceBottomley Sections6 10 12 Shooting Sport News Shooters Calendar Support your Local Gun Shop What the Guys from Border Barrels used at the Open F Class World Championship Event Review - Derby Open 2009 by Jim Smith SteyrLG100forAirRifle Benchrest by Carl Boswell ProfileonAnnieChickby Hayley Platts ProjectRiflebyVince Bottomely Gun of the Month Shooting Website of the Month John Morrison Offset Scope Mounts by Andy Dubreuil Club Feature Field Target and BR50 in Portugal by Srgio Rita and Pedro Mateus Letters Advertisers Index

31

24 HFT Scopes Part 5 by Tim Finley by By Andy 38 UKRimfireand AirRifleBenchrest Championship by By Andy Dubreuil 53 SniperRifleNo4 Mk1ByNigel Greenaway 61 Redding T7 & Forster Relaoding Presses By Laurie Holland 67 GalleryRifle Basics Part 3 by Gwyn Roberts4 Target Shooter

36 44 50 57 59 60 71

73 75

90 91

Association Pages80 81 82 84 86 87 88 UKBRA UKBR22 F Class UK Quigley Association HFT News GalleryRifle UKPSA Editor(s). CarlBoswellandVinceBottomley Advertising and Office Manager AndyDubreuil.email;admin@targetshooter.co.uk Contributors VinceBottomley AndyDubreuil ChrisWhite Tim Finley Laurie Holland Carl Boswell Hayley Platts Nigel Greenaway Gwyn Roberts Stanley Shaw Ken Hall

Webitorial - September 2009Circulationfiguresareeverythingforamagazineorinthecaseofanon-linemagazinelikeTargetShooter, itsallaboutuniquevisitors.Wehaveinvestedinsomeprettysophisticatedsoftwarewhichtellsushow many individual hits we have each month, how many are repeat hits and even which countries the hits come from. Ofcourse,weneedagooduniquevisitorcounttopullinadvertisersandthereforewearealwaysthinking of ways to publicise Target Shooter and thus increase our readership base. Thethirdmemberofourteam,Andycameupwithabrilliantideawewoulde-maileveryshootingclubin the UK that we could get an e-mail address for telling them about Target Shooter. Well, I thought there would beafewdozenbutAndycameupwithnolessthan300e-mailaddresses!Three-hundredactiveshooting clubsintheUKcanyoubelieveit?Infacttheremustbemorethosewerejusttheoneswefoundthe e-mails for. ThenIgottothinkingwhatdoalltheseclubsandtheirmembersdo?Everyclubhasaccesstoashooting rangeitmaybeindoorsoroutdoors,25or50yardseven100yardsormaybemore.Myownclubhasa veryfullshootingcalendarwithcompetitionseveryweekendwhicharelistedonourclubwebsitebutwhat dotherestofyoudo? Whyarentweshooting25or50yardrimfirebenchrestupanddownthecountryeveryweekend?Or22 mini-rifleorgalleryrifle,orifyouhavea100yardrange,centrefirebenchrest.Ifyougobeyond100yards you can run just about any discipline you choose but we never seem to hear about it. It tends to be the same few clubs who use our monthly events calendar. Ifyouarerunningcompetitionsthenwouldntyouwelcomeafewmoreentries?Ifyoudontruncompetitions,whynotthinkaboutitforthefuture?Ifyouneedanyadviceonhowtogetstartedwithanyformof competitionthenyouonlyneedaskthatswhyTargetShooterexiststopromotetargetshootinginallits forms. Come-on- lets hear from those 300 clubs out there. Tell us what you do. Lets get the nation shooting and getthoserangesfull! Thankstoyourloyalsupport,wehaveestablishedanenviablereadershipbaseinjustfourmonths CarlBoswell-carl@targetshooter.co.ukandVinceBottomley-vinceb@targetshooter.co.ukand AndyDubreuil-admin@targetshooter.co.uk Copyright Trinity Digital Publishing Ltd

Disclaimer

Thewebsitewww.targetshooter.co.ukispartofTargetShootermagazinewithallcontentsofbothelectronicmediacopyrighted.Noreproductionispermittedunless written authorisation is provided. Information,pricesanddataisbelievedtobecorrectatthetimeofpostingontheinternetwhichisonoraroundthe1stofeachmonth.Advertisementsthatarefirearm relatedarefromcompaniesorindividualsthatTargetShootermagazinebelievesarelicensedtoholdsuchfirearmsandacceptsnoresponsibilityifcompaniesor individuals are not so licensed. LettersandphotographssubmittedbymembersofthepublictoTargetShootermagazinewillbeacceptedonthebasisthatthewriterhasagreedtopublicationunless otherwisestated.TargetShootermagazinehasnocontroloverthecontentorownershipofphotographssubmitted. Theviewsexpressedinthismagazinearenotnecessarilytheviewsofthepublishersandrelatetospecificcircumstanceswithineacharticle.Thesearetheopinions andexperiencesofwritersusingspecificequipment,firearms,componentsanddataundercontrolledconditions.Informationcontainedintheonlinemagazineoronthe websiteisintendedtobeusedasaguideonlyandinspecificcircumstancescautionshouldbeused.TargetShooterMagazinedoesnotexceptanyresponsibilityfor individualsattemptingtorecreatesuchtestingusinganyinformation,dataorothermaterialsinitselectronicpages.PublishersofTargetShootermagazine.

Target Shooter

5

Shooting Sport News

H

The tin is currently available at a premium only for .177 pellets, though we hear that Some of Milbros pellet range should be available in a .22 version by the autumn. Airgunners flocked to snap up Milbros new snap close tin at this years CLA Game Fair. The company was mobbed with shooters anxious to try out the new tin which is designed to cut down on pellet spillages. Milbro Sports General Manager Ross Marshall said We were overwhelmed by the numbers and the #interest shown. On Saturday in particular, we couldnt get off the stand for a moment, even for themostessentialofbreaks!Thetinswereflying of the stand and one shooter even came back twice for more tins. Wide coverage in the magazines before the show,fromtrademagazinestomoregeneral publications such as The Field, ensured strong interest.

undreds of Gunners Snap Up Milbros New Tin.

U

Model 393 with a triple-lug bolt. It is brand new, has a Scandinavian sport/target style adjustable cheekpiece walnut stock with a long, deep, rounded, and heavily stippled forend, 22.5 semi-heavy barrel, and appears nicely made and finished. An Internet search suggests the 393 is an uncommon model and all examples found were sporters. With Kongsberg having got out of the riflemaking business some years ago and the serial number A001, this may be a one-off rifl the first of a very small production run. Price? less than that of a heavy-barrel Scandinavian sporterat1,150! YorkGunsLimited, Common Road, Dunnington, York. Telephone: Up in the north east, York Guns Limited has 01904 487180. unearthed a Norwegian Kongsberg target rifle Website: www. The four rare Parker-Hale no, not the 7.62mm Mauser 98 action, laminated yorkguns.com rifles for sale at Norman stock 1st generation TR job older readers might Clark Gunsmith remember, but a modern .308 Winchester Looking at what dealers have in stock, weve noticed two gunshops have rare and/or collectable longarms of interest to target shooters. Norman Clark in Rugby has four rare Parker-Hales including a set of three development prototypes for the 7.62mm M85 sniper rifle, one of which is a non-firingmock-up.Thefourthisthe.223Remington P-H Lano prototype rifle made shortly before the company went into receivership and which was originally intended for UK cadet use, ultimately to be the basis of a new family of precision rifles to replace uncompetitive Mauser 98 based models. It Producing little interest here, it went to Australia and was passed around the state rifle associations doing much to influence that countrys TR shooters to adopt .223, now widely used down under in the target sports. (This was written up in depth in a series of articles by Australian gunsmith and writer Greg MatthewsinGunsReviewmagazinemanyyearsago.) Norman will only sell the M85s as a set, but the LANO is available as a standalone purchase. For further information and prices, contact Norman Clark Gunsmith at 19 Somers Road, Rugby, telephone 01788 579651. Website: www.normanclark.com

nusual / Collectable Rifles

6

Target Shooter

G

unsmithing Tools Most shooters have had the misfortune to own an otherwise fine rifle or shotgun whose appearance is marred by damaged screw-heads, maybe a bad scratch from a poorly fitting tool slipping worse still, done the damage themselves using unsuitable household tools. Theres no excuse for bodging these days with quality gunsmithing tools available at a reasonable outlay, two examples from Norman Clark Gunsmiths comprehensive collection of Wheeler Engineering tools illustrated here. The first is the 72-Piece Basic Professional Gunsmithing Screwdriver Set comprising two drivers with grippy handles, different length steel shanks and bit holders with 72 interchangeable bits comprising no fewer than 54 hollow-ground flat examples to match every slotted-head screw youll likely meet, plus 8 Allen, 4 Phillips, and 3 Torx bits, contained within a sturdy ABS carrying / storage case. It retails at 74.55. The other tool is one I regard as extremely useful, but many of my gunsmithingfriendssaytheydontneed,confidentintheirfeel of how much to tighten things. This is The FAT Wrench, a screwdriver style torque wrench that can be set to slip at any setting between 10 and around 65 in/lbs. Its handle is around five inches long and an inch and a half thick (125mm by 35mm) with inlaid black rubber high-grip panels. It is adjusted by pulling a large rear endcapbackfrom the tool body and twisting it, the setting showing on a scale on the body. Recommended settings are given for bedding, scope base, and scope ring screws, and a square drive adaptor plus ten bits that cover most jobs are included. It is priced at 61.82.Norman Clark Gunsmith, 19 Somers Road, Rugby. Telephone 01788 579651. Website: w w w. n o r m a n clark.com

W

EBLEY LAUNCHES KARBINE VERSIONS OF THE SIDEWINDER AND COBRA

Webley (International) Ltd (Webley) of Willenhall, West Midlands, UK, announced today the introduction of Karbine versions of their highly successful Webley-Venom Sidewinder (side-lever) and WebleyVenom Cobra (rear-bolt) Pre-charged pneumatic (PCP)airrifles. Since their introduction in January 2009 the Sidewinder/Cobra range has become our top-selling PCP family and Retailers and Consumers alike have been asking for a shorter version to aid maneuverability in the field said Mike Hurney, CEO of Webley. The new Karbine models are a full four inches (10cm) shorter, and half a pound lighter than their full-size brethren, making them compact, lightweight and eminently pointable he added. Despite the significant reduction in the size of the air tube, a new, more efficient valve system ensures that the gun in .22 calibre will easily deliver 75 plus full-power shots-with the .177 comfortably exceeding 55 plus shots stated Simon Atkins, Webleys Technical and Quality Manager. Webley-Venom Sidewinder/ Cobra Karbine Availability: Immediate RRP: from 575 www.webley.co.ukTarget Shooter 7

S

HPS are of course most famous for their Gemini modular Target Rifle stocks but I didnt know that they also do a tacticalstylestockcompletewith detachable magazine to suit the Quadliteaction.LiketheGemini, these are made from aluminium, anodisedblackorgreyandwith wood-laminate or plastic grips and come with a fully adjustable butt - see at; www.hps-tr.com

tocks

F

WestYorkshireretailerandimporterHenry Krank & Company Ltd. has produced a much revised catalogue, a superb 129 page full colour bound document copiously illustrated with colour product images on heavy, glossy paper. And.........its provided FREE on request, not even postage charged! If youre into sporting or military rifles and ammo, repro muzzleloaders, black-powder pistols, revolvers, and top quality (Pedersoli) BPCR rifles in fact, anything to do with BP shootingairguns,shootingbooks,handloading,

REE Henry Krank Catalogue

antiquesandcollectables...........andmuch,much more, you need a copy. To get one, telephone HenryKrank(theshopstaffthatis,asthereis nosuchindividualtobefoundthere!)orgoonto the companys website (also much upgraded) and click onto the catalogue link on the home page. Incidentally, Henry Kranks website now liststheshopscurrentantiquearmsand secondhand book holdings, both regularly updated. HenryKrank&CompanyLtd:telephone01132 569 163 / 011 32 565 167 website: www.henrykrank.com 8 Target Shooter

B

A couple of issues ago, we covered barrel cleaning and I mentioned Kroil. Kroil is an America product sold as a penetrating oil. It says on the tin that it will creep into openings as small as one millionth of an inch. This claim prompted a few America shooters to use it to remove copper in the hope that it may get between the copper and thebarrelsteel.Idontthinkitdoes but it still has a place in barrel cleaning and I like to put a splash of it in my Butchs Bore Shine. Some shooters, using moly-coated bullets exclusively, clean with Kroil and nothing else but Ive never subscribed to this and wouldnt recommend it - I use the same cleaning regime for moly and clean bullets. Butchs is a very good bore cleaner but some feel that it gets the barrel squeaky clean too clean maybe and this increases the tendency for the barrel to pick up copper. Adding a dash of Kroil to your Butchs hopefully reduces this tendency.

arrel cleaning - Kroil

Unfortunately, Kroil is not readily available in this country but Ive just found out that gunsmith NormanClarkofRugbyalwayshasKroilinstock. Normans new premises carry perhaps the UKs mostcomprehensivestockofusefulitemsforthe accuracy shooter and is well worth a visit. Website;

www.normanclarkgunsmith.com

Y

We also reminded you not to forgettocleantheactionandchamberbut bemoaned the fact that dedicated chamber-cleaning tools just arent readily available. Well, John Carmichael of HPS put me right on that one. He does chamber cleaning

et more on barrel cleaning

jagsspecifictoyourchamber-seepic.These beautifully made jags are shaped like your cartridgewithaslottotakeacleaningpatch. There is also an attachment for cleaning the action lugs. HPS website at www.hps-tr.com

Target Shooter

9

Calendar of events over the next monthSat 05 Sept - NRA Open Day (National ShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley)-TheNSCis hosting, on behalf of the NRA, another series ofpreticketedOpenDayevents.Visitorswill beabletotryshotgun,airrifle,fullborerifle, sporting rifle, laser clays, precision snap, practical and historical rifles to name but a few, all with one-to-one coaching.Sat 05 Sept to Sun 06 Sept - NRC of Scotland OpenChampionships(BlairAtholl(Scotland) http://www.nrcofs.org

If your club or association has events you want to publicise here then email us.Sat 19 to Sun 20 Sept - Surrey RA Open Meeting (NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley) TheSurreyRifleAssociation-AutumnOpen Meeting, a great weekends shooting with high quality competition. Queens I, II and III format. http://www.surreyra.org

Sun 20 - Sun 27 Sept - MLAIC World Long Range Championships, Camp Butner, North Carolina, USA Sun 20 Sept-NationalMuzzleLoadingSkeet Championships, Lakenheath Clay Target Centre Thurs 24 Sept - Commonwealth Shooting Federation (ED) The competition runs from 24th - 27th September. Contact: Isle of Man Sat 26 to Sun 27 Sept - The English Eight Club and Irish Eight Club Autumn Meeting (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) MatchRifle&F-ClassRifleSun 26 Sept - East of Scotland Meeting (Blair Atholl(Scotland) The East of Scotland Open Championships for 2009arescheduledtotakeplaceatBlairAthollon Saturday 26 September. The event includes both TR and F Class and offers discounted entries for seniors,studentsandschools.Courseoffireis2 &17at400,500and600metreswithafinalof2 & 15 for the top 12 TR shooters and top 4 F Class. Entry forms will be available in due course at the Imperial Meeting at Bisley and by e-mail from baitkenshooting@hotmail.com http://www.scottishrifleassociation.org.uk/ Sat 26 to Sun 27 Sept - Range Conducting OfficerCourse(NationalShootingCentre(NSC), Bisley).Twodaycourse-successfulcandidates willbequalifiedtoconductlivefiringonMoDor TAVRAranges. Contact(s):MaureenPeach Sun 27 Sept - Welwyn Phoenix RC Guest Day (NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley) Guest days for potential new members - please applyviathewebsitelinkbelowatleasttendays in advance.http://www.welwynphoenixrc.org.uk/ Contact(s):WelwynPhoenixRC

Sun 06 Sept - Welwyn Phoenix RC Guest Day(NationalShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley) Guest days for potential new members please apply via the website link below at least ten days in advance. http://www.welwynphoenixrc.org.uk/Sun 6 Sept - Sussex County RA XX Cup (National ShootingCentre(NSC),Bisley) Sun 6 - Sun 13 Sept - MLAIC European Championships, Spain

Friday 11 Sept - 2009 British Pistol ChampionshipsThe Championships run from 11th to 13th September. Location: Lord Roberts CentreSat 12 Sept - Start of Probationary Members Course2009/4(NationalShootingCentre(NSC), Bisley) This course is primarily a course in safe handling and provides an introduction to Target Rifle,GalleryRifleandBlackPowderPistol.Each course consists of four separate lessons. Course date to be allocated once entry conditions are

fulfilled.AllapplicationsforProbationary Membership should be made to the NRA Membership Secretary. http://www.nsc-bisley.co.uk/common/asp/courses/courses. asp?site=NSC

Sun 13 Sept - KentCRAAutumnOpenPrize Meeting (National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley) Contact(s):BruceRothSat 19 Sept to Sun 20 Sept - Class League (Diggle(England))Contact(s):MikMaksimovic

10

Target Shooter

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

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

Optics Ammunition Reloading equipment and more...

53 Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5 2RB www.gtshooting.co.uk Tel: 020 8660 6843 Fax: 020 8660 6843We are conveniently situated near the M23 & M25. Target Shooter Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday 10.00am - 5.30pm11

Most of you will have seen magazine advertisements for Fox Firearms but few, if any, will have seen the shop. There is a reason for that Brian Fox doesnt have one! Like many of us, Foxy felt a bit lost when our pistols were stolen from us back in 1995. Brian had never shot a rifle but thankfully, he found his way to Diggle Ranges and a door to a whole new world of shooting opened up.

Support your local gun shop Fox FirearmsBrian will soon offer a British made rifle action

It didnt take Brian long to realise that a lot of our stuff emanated from the States and he saw a marketing opportunity and began importing. As time went by, he refined his stock list and began to cater for shooters who were accuracy-minded and were willing to pay for the right stuff. His market widened and soon he was importing Barnard actions and Trueflite barrels from New Zealand, stocks from Canada and when Litts were unable to continue with their American Kelbly link for the fabulous Stolle rifles, Brian picked that one up as well. He is currently involved in a consortium that is hoping to offer a British made rifle action and you can bet it will be competitively priced. He was not slow to cotton-on to the equipment-obsessed benchrest shooters and front-rests and back-bags from Sebastian Lambang in Indonesia joined an ever growing inventory. He carries an amazing stock of barrel-blanks from Trueflite, Bartlein and several other makes and he can offer a barrelling and rifle-building 12 Target Shooter

service with a very quick turn-round. As there is no shop, he doesnt tend to get bogged-down with all those silly little things that seem to fill up the shelves of many gunshops but he can offer a good range of consumables in the form of powder, primers, bullets, brass and leaning stuff which can be ordered via the telephone. His latest acquisition is Berger Bullets and, as always, he is offering these at very competitive prices. Have a look at the website at www.foxfirearmsuk.com If products are not listed, Brian can usually get it - quickly.

Fox Firearms UKPUTTING SHOOTING FIRSTVISIT OUR WEBSITE TO SEE THE VERY BEST VALUE CUSTOM PRECISION RIFLES FOR TR, MATCH, F-CLASS, AND BENCH-REST

THE 2009 F-CLASS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS PROVE YOU DONT NEED A BARNARD ACTION, TRUE-FLITE BARREL, AND BERGER BULLETS TO REACH THE TOP OF YOUR GAME BUT THEY SEEM TO INDICATE AN ADVANTAGE

www.FoxFirearmsUK.comtel: 0161 430 8278 or 07941 958464Target Shooter 13

Experiencing the 2009 Imperial

The burning issue for TR shooters at this years Imperial was how would the ammunition perform? After the near dismal performance of last years RG, the first year when the NRA were in the open market as opposed to accepting an ammunition issue from the MOD, expectations were high. This year the chosen supplier was RUAG who supplied ammunition under the RWS headstamp. One or two alarm bells had rung since the NRA had (apparently fairly superficially) progressively tested various brews of sample batches from RWS and asked for modifications, however the fact that the ammunition was loaded with a 155 Sierra bullet seemed to bode well.

Above - Focused and on the line

by Chris White

with ammunition as close as possible to Imperial ammunition, and for that reason many shooters regard it as a warm up for the Imperial. So, for TR shooters, the story of this years Imperial really starts there. What follows is my personal experience which I hope will give those who were there another perspective to weigh against their own experience and those who werentthereaninsightintowhatitwaslike.Soour story starts with the Commonwealth (it may really start earlierthanthatbutwewillcometothatinduecourse).

For me going to the Commonwealth was a bit of a Whilst we could still debate the topics around trauma. I last shot the meeting in 2004 and whilst issue ammunition lets not get distracted with we did not know it, it was to be Marys last visit to that right now. Whatever the pros & cons we are Bisley, a place which she loved. Whilst the passage currentlystuckwithit.Asanaside,onavisittothe oftimemaydullthepainitdoesnttakeitawayand Radway Green factory as far back as 2001, I itstillhurtstobewithouther.Quitefrankly,Ididnot had suggested, to a member of RGs senior know whether I could hack it.As it happens I did. management, that using a Sierra bullet for their NRA ammunition rather than their in house produced, Atshortrange(200to600yards)IshootaBarnard Geneva Convention compliant, 155 grain FMJ bullet, with a 30 inch 1 in 14 Krieger barrel and quarter may well eradicate a large measure of the shooter minute Higginbottom sights; and at long range (800 dissatisfaction that their product engendered. Why to 1,200 yards) a Steyr SSG with a solid action, they chose to ignore this free advice and why no one behind a 1 in 12 Krieger and Higginbottom sights at the NRA cottoned on to the idea is a mystery to me. with quarters on the elevation and halves on the windage. Both rifles were pillar bedded, by myself, TraditionallytheBritishCommonwealthRifleClubs intoAnschutzSupermatchthumbholewalnutstocks. open meeting at the beginning of July is shot The former being bedded onto Devcon and the latter

14

Target Shooter

onto Epreven. The Barnard has a quasi two-stage trigger and the Steyr a proper two-stage trigger, both rifleshaveheightadjustableforesightsandareshot with two point leather slings. The Barnard has had 3,580 rounds up the barrel, and the Steyr 6,420. BeforetheCommonwealthbothrifleswererendered squeakycleanbytheapplicationofVMSborepaste, which is not as aggressive as some other brands, followed by a rigorous cleaning to ensure non was left in.

not need to go into here the Steyr had recently had an exhaustive (and exhausting!) check of its wind zero and I was certain it was correct. I also had a high level of confidence that the Barnard zero was, if not correct, within less than a half minute.

So, then, the scene is set and the Imperial was approached with some measure of confidence, or was it? The Yorkshire Open, shot the weekend before the Commonwealth would have been won but for three uncalled shots (handloads) about two In the case of the Barnard there was a small minutes high (one at 400 and two at 600 yards). discontinuity in the elevation plot after three rounds This was subsequently assumed to be due to whereupon the rifle settled down. As we will see some filth (probably case neck varnish) in the later there may have been other factors at play. barrel from some commercial ammunition, shot the weekendbefore,inanissueammunitioncompetition. In the case of the Steyr it took a little longer to settle down. On this basis I decided to take both I chose to travel South on the Sunday prior rifles to the Imperial dirty and not clean them to the TR events so as to have a mini-break untilIreturnedhome.Elevationspreadinbothrifles, before the serious stuff started. This was once they had settled down, was around the minute, pleasant and relaxing but the odd, occasional, which although I do sometimes shoot tighter with heavy downpour was not exactly spiritually uplifting. handloads, was no cause for lost sleep; besides I heard no complaints about the ammunition and the On the Thursday, I decided to head for the usual suspects put in some outstanding scores. Dorset coast and travelled down the A303 exiting onto the A358 heading for Chard, What could have been a concern was that stopping at the George in Donyatt for lunch. It may most errors of wind judgement resulted in shots not have been the best pub lunch Ive had in my downwind, in this case out to the right. This was not lifebutifIvehadabetteroneIcantrememberit! anexperienceuniquetomyselfandonthisbasisa number of zeros were altered. For reasons we do Thursday morning involves a TR team match, The

Everyone getting ready for the match

Target Shooter

15

over every shot which goes sideways. My lot was to coach the Durham B team which consisted of one very experienced shooter (GB Veteran), one student, one recently graduated engineer and a slightly less recentlyqualifieddoctor. The two graduates had abackgroundofpublic school shooting and the student a background of shooting in the County Cadet Force. This was a situation Opening Shot shot at 900 and 1,000 yards (2 + 15 where if everything did go right we may get a at each range). Many see this as an ease into the meeting and an opportunity to establish their long reasonable result but where there was enough range elevations. Usually I elect to coach and not inexperience for things to go wrong. shoot and this year was no exception. We will, no doubt, get into the detailed mechanics of team Nevertheless, I was rendered speechless when after the shoot the doctor returned from a scouting exercise shooting at some time in the future. Sufficeittosaythatthecoachsjobisnottoteachhis to announce that we had come second being pipped shootershowtoshoot,itsnotthatkindofcoaching. onVbullsbytheArmyRifleAssociationAteam.Yes, His job is to give his total attention to wind conditions Ididbeatmyselfupfornotseeingapick-upat900 to ensure the maximum probability that the wind yards which cost a point but the team were ecstatic. correction set on the shooters rearsight and the actual wind strength coincide at the time of shot delivery. The following morning I was again in stress mode when I captained and coached City of Newcastle in theAstorfinal.NotonlydidIneedtodothejobof Briefly this involves the coach assessing a coach properly but I needed to select the right team, forthcoming wind condition, setting this on the including the other coach and just to add to the rifle and giving the shooter a series of commands stress, City of Newcastle won the match last year whichresultintheshooterfiringtheshotwhenthat - largely as a result of our aforementioned ex-cadet correction is valid. Success depends, obviously, on replacingmeduetomyillheath.Talkaboutpressure! the coachs wind reading ability and the shooters ability to fire a straight shot very quickly after the This match is two sighters and seven to count at 3, final command. In reality this Utopian condition 5 and 600 yards for teams of six shooters and two coaches. The Team must have at least two Class exists only in the strongest of International teams. O or T shooters and no more than two class X. Often, at club and county level, the coach is hung More points were dropped than should have been on the dilemma of seeing the wind drift before the at300yardsbutweheldittogetheratfivehundred shot has gone. He is then faced with the decision and put them all in at 600. I thought we ought to ofwhethertostoptheshooterfiring,startagainand have done a bit better but the doctor pointed out disturb the shooters rhythm with the potential for a bad that this was the clubs highest score ever having shotortolettheshooterfireonawindsettingwhich dropped only six points out of 630 (last year they is not optimum but is close enough to save the point. droppednine).Againhisfeverishscoutingactivities It ought to be obvious that the former action is nerve revealedthatwehadbeenpippedonVbullsbyOld wracking for the shooter and the latter equally, if Guildfordians. At which point we realised that whilst not more, nerve wracking for the coach. Usually I we may have been seriously outclassed on paper, follow the second course and take the pain. For team spirit, straight shooting and northern grit had those who have not experienced this, take it from done the job. I was pretty chuffed at the prospect of methataconcienciouscoachwillfindthisextremely two silver medals before I had even thought about stressful and subject himself to soul searching grief pullingatrigger!

16

Target Shooter

of it, merely to highlight incidents of significance. The first occurred during the Duke of Cambridge onSundaymorning.Iwassquaddedwithtwoother shooters sporting GB shoulder titles with me in the middle, on target 25. The left-hand man was a shooter of some repute. I read the wind at about 9 for the first sighter and on the basis of developing experience put 10 on the gun to be rewarded with a downwind water-line magpie correcting to 13. Tempering judgement with observation, the next wentwith12tomakeaVbull.Byshot5Ihadheld it together with both my colleagues having slipped acoupleouttowind,indicatinghowdifficultitwas. Whentheright-handmanfiredhewasrewardedwith a three oclock magpie. I saw nothing at all on the flagsbutlookingalongthelinetherewereahandful of magpies, wide inners and the odd outer. I ought to have put a minute and a half on but I really could not see anything. The Weather forecast for Friday was lousy and it was fortunate that we had got through the Astor with no more than an occasional irritating light drizzle. Friday is warm up day with the Admiral Hutton at 900 and the Century at 500 and 600 yards. The former I got through in the dry, with a heavy overcast, shooting a reasonably tight elevation, misreading the wind to lose three points but working very hard with the wind knob to save the other seven. Not so with the Century, which starts at 600 where I shot in a downpour which loosened the group up enough to do some damage. Five hundred was merely wet and cold with a more than acceptable elevation but two points lost to unseen drop-offs. As the meeting progressed it was obvious that many of us were loosing points to drop-offs that just were not seen and pick-ups which were either not seen or seen but underestimated. Generally the wind was considerably more aggressive than one is used to at Bisley. For example I thought Id got a good detail when I was squadded to shoot theLovell(1,000yards)at0830onSaturday.What looked like a fairly stable ten minute wind proved to be a fourteen minute wind picking up to close on sixteen and dropping off to twelve and the Donegalat300yardslaterinthemorningflicking,very quicklyfrom3toaresultofrapidanglechanges. This then was fairly typical of the whole week. Winds were generally strong and usually it was either raining or there was a heavy overcast resulting in no mirage or when there was one, the wind was too strong for it to be of any use. I do not propose to bore you with a blow by blow account Hadsomethinghappenedorwasittransitory?The previous shot had been right handed. I took the cowards decision and set the sight to the mean of the wind plot at 12 - damage limitation. As it happened it hadbeentransitoryandtheshotleakedoutup-wind. Now comes the entertaining bit. The left hand man had a good look around, left his sights alone and delivered the shot. Nothing happened. The targets on each side of us did not go down until the appropriate shooterhadfiredsoitdidnotlooklikeacross-shot. The message four went and the target reappeared clear whereupon our friend frowned looked at me and said Is it likely that I could have missed? Surely I couldnt have missed! I did not think so. The message seven was passed and the butt officersdummyappearedwiththeendresultofahigh right handed hit scoring one being shown. Thats it under NRA rules thats what you get. The right hand man shot getting a left handed outer. The surrounding targets showing bulls V bulls and the odd inner. I corrected on my last shot, absolutely certain that the wind had not dropped from 10 to 5.Apostshotcheckoftheflagslookedgoodand I was sure I has delivered a straight shot. The target reappeared with a high left-handed magpie which would have needed me to see white in the foresight whentheshotbroke,whichIhadnot.Allthreeofusleft thepointfeelingwehadbeenmuggedbythemarker. More next month.

Target Shooter

17

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

Surgeon XL action in .338 Lapua Magnum

Lawton repeater action in 6mm BR Please feel free to contact us to discuss your proposed custom rifleA very cost effective way to enter the sport .SPS Varmint barrelled action installed in a choice of aftermarket stocks from AICS, Hogue, Bell & Carlson etc Supplied with polished bolt rails, adjusted factory trigger and refaced and crowned barrel. May be upgraded to include detachable magazine system, tactical bolt knob etc

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

Its all happening here right now! Weve also been awaiting more Taurus LBRs but a number of them arrived here the other day. So we have .22 .357 and .44 models in stock again. Everill Gate Farm Broomhill, Wombwell Barnsley S73 0YQ Tel: 01226 756332 Fax: 01226 751321 e-mail: enquiries@rimfiremagic.co.uk website: www.rimfiremagic.co.uk

18 Our retail shop isTargetThursday to Saturday from 9.30am to 5.30pm to allow us time in the workshop. open Shooter

Target Shooter

19

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

20

Target Shooter

Sightron 36 power scopes.

ByVinceBottomleyGood quality scopes dont get any cheaper and, as most come from America (even if they originate in Japan) the exchange rate doesnt help but the Chinese alternative is not an option if you are serious about your shooting optics are definitely nottheplacetostartmakingcompromises.Walkthe line at any F Class or benchrest shoot and the names of Nightforce, Leupold and Weaver will be prominent and for good reason they offer reliable, clear optics with accurate adjustment. OK, I may have left acoupleofnamesoffthelistMarchforoneandof course Schmidt & Bender. Arguably, these are the best of the bunch but they are even more expensive sorarer.

Above - the Big Sky mounted on my benchgunIn the July issue of Target Shooter, we tested the Sightron 8-32 scope. The Sightron is Japanese made but marketed by anAmerican company and recently they have caused something of a stir in the US and that doesnt happen unless the product is pretty good. I certainly found this with their 8-32 model and its also very competitively priced in the UK - now that we have a new importer in the form of Aimfield Sports. If you missed the test, its still available in our archive and at just over 700 the 8-32 Sightron is great value and quite a few F Classers are now using them.

Weaver T36 for comparison. Middle, the Sightron Big Sky and bottom, the previous 36X model Target Shooter 21

The Sightron scopes we now looking at are the 36X models these are fixed power scopes designed primarily for the 50/100/200 yard rimfire or centrefire benchrest shooter but because of their light weight (17 ounces) they could find their way onto a few F/TR rigs and even 600/1000 yard benchgunswhichcanhave a bit of a weight problem with atwo-poundNightforce! The Leupold 36 BR was always the serious benchresters scope of choice. It weighs under a pound and has superb optics and build-quality but for some reason, Leupold discontinued it. The replacement was even better but it was heavier and more expensive, soweight-consciousbenchresterslookingforvalue switchedtotheWeaverT36averysimilarscopebut an ounce or so heavier. Good value though at around 400 if you can get one direct from the States. When Sightron introduced their 36X, I waited to see what the US benchresters said about it and Im pleasedtosayitsallgood!Benchrestersfavoura very fine crosshair with a one-eighth MOA dot and

Close-up of the eighth MOA adjusters and that essential Made in Japan logo

I actually have two 36X Sightrons to review and one is a bit more expensive than the other. They look quite similar but the latest model is dubbed the S11 Big Sky and is claimed to be an improvement on the older model but Sightron intend tocontinuewithboth.Sowhatarethedifferences?

Both scopes are finished in matt-black and utilise a one-inch body-tube. Overall length, weight, objective and ocular lenses are the same size. TheybothfocusviatheobjectbellbuttheBigSky doesnthavealock-ring,soslightly Compare the object bell Big Sky doesnt need a lock- more convenient to use. The turret adjusters move in one-eighth MOA ring and is not marked with increments and have dust covers. distance scale The Big Sky adjusters certainly have a nicer, more precise feel but neither scope is over-endowed with adjustment barely 30 MOA and dont forget, you could lose half of this on mounting. Of course, this wont worry the short-range benchrester but for long-range shooting you will certainly need a 20 MOA rail.

Ive shot both scopes on my 100 yard 6PPC benchgun in practise but not yet in competition but I will do before the next issue of Target this is exactly what the 36X Sightron has. When you Shooter. Meanwhile, if you are interested in a seeitforthefirsttimeyoumightstruggletoevenpick Sightron, Aimfield www.aimfieldsports.com outthecrosshairitsthatfinebutmostshootersget import a good selection to cover the hunter/ used to it and lots of F Class shooters are happy with stalker with lower magnification stuff and the this type of reticle, as it permits very precise aiming. targetshooterwithafullrangeofzoomsandafew Body-tube is one-inch diameter and focussing is via fixed power. The scopes come with a no-quibble the object bell. In benchrest, we rarely need to adjust guarantee should you be unfortunate enough to the focus, so side focus isnt really necessary but need it. forFClassnotsoconvenient,thoughinfairness, many F Class shoots are at long-range with the scope alwaysfocussedatinfinitysoagain,notaproblem.

22

Target Shooter

Target Shooter

23

Hunter Field Target Scope Test Part 4

Tim FinleyThis is hopefully, well probably, maybe, the suitability for the sport over three years ago, that last part of the mammoth HFT scope test is why some of the scopes which have featured series that is until the next newHFTscopecomesalong! This part focuses on the two latest scopes which although not made for the difficult discipline of Hunter Field Target shooting the Bushnell 6500 2.5-16*42 and the Barska Benchmark 4-16*50 are both useful as HFT scopes. I will also in this article publish the full parallax error results on all the thirteen scopes I have 15, 23, 25, 40 and 45 tested and give my personnel yard range test cards recommendations on three scopes in terms of price and performance. I started looking at HFT scopes and testing them for in the last four articles are now no longer made, but I have included them to cover the second had market. The two new scopes featured here are hot off the press as it were. The Bushnell 6500 is a 30mm tubed scope with a lot of things going for it, I am a fan of Bushnell scopes and this has the Bushnell Rainguard coating on the lenses and the new Firefly reticle system, coupled a side-wheel parallax, optional sunshade and superb multi coated optics its no wonder why the scope has Range testing takes a takenoffinabigwaywiththetop long time 24 Target Shooter

HFTshooters.OncesuchmanisPeterSparkes who won the first round of the 2009 UKAHFT Falcon enhanced series he used the scope on with a 59ex60, the mildot next round he cleared the course with a 60ex60 and in his first three rounds he used it on he scored an impressive 87ex90. He now leads the 2009seriesandlookssettowinit.Imanaged to loan one of the new scopes from another top shooter who is about to start using the scope, I cannot name him as he is currently using a sponsored scope from another manufacturer. Thankstohimforlettingmetesthisnewscope for parallax error, this does not involve fitting rings to the scope as the test is to ascertain the maximum amount of error by moving the head to show the extremes of the sight picture, which The 6500 mildot reticle youcannotdoifthescopeismountedonarifle. The 6500 is called that due to the magnification ratio of 6.5 which is more than the usual 3 or four times ratio, the scope has a massive range of 2.5 to 16 The 6500 is waterproof times magnification. Of AND made in Japan course HFT needs a Mildot reticle and the 6500 mils on ten times magnification. The number 10 is picked out in red as opposed to the rest of the indexing numbers being in yellow. I measured the reticle on a calibration sheet at 15 yards as I do on all the scopes I test and it is a true Mildot reticle on ten timesmagnification.Thedots are not too big and I am a real fan of the Bushnell Mildot reticle. The added feature of the 6500 2.5-16 is the FireFly glowing reticle technology, you can charge up the reticle by shining a torch down the scope at the eye bell. Of course we cannot do that in HFT as it is deemed to be altering the scope once you are on the course. In the real world the reticle does still have a slight glow when you have to view and shoot a target which has been positioned in a dark area. The 6500s sidewheel The reticle stands out enough Target Shooter 25

Barskas 1_25 mildot on 10 mag to be able to pick your aiming mark. This is a definite advantage to the HFT shooter, even over the ones with illuminated reticles. You havetoremembertoturnthereticleofforrisk flatteningthebatteryandtheilluminationhasto be set on one level before you start shooting a course. The FireFly system is always there for you to use when you need it. The Rainguard coating is a fabulous thing too coupled with the additional 75mm long sunshade there is no chance of the lenses being made unusable in adverse weather conditions, very useful for this country. The side-wheel parallax has a 10 yardstoinfiniterange,Isetthisto23yardsto measure the amount of parallax error at 15, 25 and 45 yards. The adjustment turrets are minute of angle value with pull up to reset and push down to lock turrets. With a 42mm diameter front objective lens it is ideal for HFT having an exit pupil of 4.2mm when shot on

The Barska 4-16 Benchmarkin the test cradle 26 Target Shooter

theMildottruetentimesmagnification.Imust say the scope is one of the best scopes I have tested for the price and features, it is not cheap with an RRP of just short of 800, but it can be boughtfor415ifyouknowwheretolook. The last scope in the test is a Barska Benchmark first focal plane scope. I am a massive fan of the first focal plane scope, not many are made compared to the much more common 2nd focal plane scope, mainly due to the increased manufacturing costs. Variable magnification scopes with a reticle positionedinthefirstfocalplanemeansanyaim points on the reticle remain the same what ever magnificationthescopeistunedonto.Tothe casual observer the reticle appears to change in size, although it actually remains the same sizerelativetotheincreaseanddecreaseinthe fieldofviewduetothechangeinmagnification. A reticle in the second focal plane will not appeartochangeinsizeevenwhenthefieldof view increases and decrease with any change in magnification. The amount of image you see decreases with an increase in magnification andincreaseswithadecreaseinmagnification. Meaning if you use the second dot down in a mildot scope for 50 yards on 10 mag then wind the mag up to 16 the second dot will no longer be 50 yards. I cannot see any plus points with a variable magnification scope having a reticle in the secondfocalplane.BarskasBenchmarkseries of scopes have reticles in the first focal plane sotheycanbeusedasthesameaimingmarks regardless of what magnification they are set on. The only down side was the fact that Barska did not make the reticle a true Mildot,Imeasureditat1.25Mil.SouthYorkshire Shooting Supplies the sole UK distributor and now bring in the whole range ofBenchmarkBarskas.They are at the top end of the US firms product range, hence thenameBenchmark. They are a 30mm body tubed series of variable magnification scopes, all have side-wheel parallax adjustment and 1/8 minute of angle windage and elevation clickvaluesat100yards.The range consists of a 4-16*50 a5-20*50,afixed40*50and the test model an 8-26*50,

My top three HFT scope picks

the50mmbeingthesizeofthescopesobjective ofcourse.Thefixed40magistheonlyoneof the range not currently brought in by SYSS. The Benchmarks have a minimum parallax setting of50yardswhichmakesthemapurefull-bore scope.IdidcontactBarskaaboutremovingthe objectivelenslockingringtowhichtheystated it would void the warranty. But if you wanted to use the scope at Airgun ranges you do not havetoundothislockingringatall.Ihavelost count of the number of full bore specification scopesIhavere-parallaxeddowntomakethem useful at short Airgun ranges, some scopes are easierthanothersandtheBarskaisveryeasyto alter. The objective lens carrier can be unscrewed to move the objective lens out. This lessens the parallax distance from its factory set 50yard setting, on the 4-16 you only need to turn the lens out about 2mm. First turn side-wheel parallax down to its factory set minimum of 50yards the screwed then screwed the lens out lookingatatwentythreeyardtargetonthefull magnification until it becomes clear and when you move your head looking at a mark lined up with the crosshair the crosshair does not move of that mark. That means the scope is parallaxed for that range. There is a very small diameterrubberOringbehindthelockingring which is exposed as you screw the objective lens carrier out, just be very, very careful not to damage this. This process does not vent any of thegassesinsidethescopeanddoesnotmark or harm and of the optics of body of the scope inanyway,theBenchmarksparallaxside-wheel is not marked up in yards anyway so it does notmaketheindexingmarksonthereuseless. Theonlydifferenceisthe50numbermarkedon

the bottom limit of travel on the wheel is now 23 yards not 50. The 4-16 needs to be re-parallaxed to 23 yards when on 16 mag it was clear at 40 yards and useable at 45 yards, the maximum range in HFT. The small gap made on the objective lens can becoveredbyblack insulation tape, but I normally tape it up and also fit the front of the scope with a Butler Creek flip up scope cap. This keeps the front ring set to the re-parallaxed setting you want and seals it from the elements. It depends upon the user of the scope of the Benchmark scopes, if you think it would make a good HFT and Sporting Field Target shooting scope, which it does, it is up to the owner of the scope as it voids the warranty. That being said I did re-parallax a 4-16 Barska Benchmark scope from SYSS and tested it for HFT use. The scope is very well made for the price, the 50mm objective lens looks smaller then 50 due to the 30mm diameter of the body tube, Benchmark the name of the range is written clearly on the left hand side of the objective. The zoomringtoalterthemagnificationhasclearly been manufactured to tight tolerances with each marking of 4,6,8,10,12, and 16 indexing into a ball bearing notch, very nice and only usually seen on scopes costing ten times as much. It rotates with a satisfying stop into each magnificationmark,theadjustableeyebellhas also been made to the same tight tolerances. It has a massive adjustment range there is no slack in the movement of the lens carrier. The windage and elevation turrets are housed under screw on protective caps, the turrets are marked up from zero to 7.5 minutes of angle withasmentionedbeforeeachclickmovingthe reticle an eighth of a minute at 100 yards. There isanotherbitofqualitytotheBenchmarks.They use a coil spring not the more normal leaf type spring behind the erector tube which they call theAccu-locksystem.OnceresetIcarriedout the parallax error test, the results for this and all Target Shooter 27

Exit Pupil = Objective lens dia Magnification TABLE ONEAGS 3-12*44 SWAT Barska 4-16*50 Benchmark Bushnell 6500 2.5-16*42 Bushnell 10*40 Bushnell 4-12*40 EB Sniper 10*42 Falcon Menace 10*40 Hawke SR6 3-12*44 Hawke SR12 6-18*44 Hawke MAP 3-9*40 Leupold 3-9*33 EFR Leupold 2.5-8*36 MK4 Lightstream 4.5-14*44 Lightstream 3-12* 40 MTC Viper 10*44 Schmidt and Bender 10*42P3 Zeiss 3-9*36 4.4mm 5mm 4.2mm 4mm 3.8mm 4.2mm 4mm 4.4mm 3.6mm 4.4mm 3.6mm 4.1mm 4.4 to 3.1mm 4.4mm 4.4mm 4.2mm 4mm Exit pupil 44mm 50mm 42mm 40mm 40mm 42mm 40mm 44mm 44mm 40mm 33mm 36mm 44mm 40mm 44mm 42mm 36mm Objective lens Mils on 2 Mils on 10 ANY 10 10 10.5 10 10 10 12 9 1 at 9 8.7 ANY 9 10 10 9 Made China China Japan Japan Japan Japan China China China China USA USA Japan Japan China Germany Germany Cost 160 ( Note it is 2 mil) 225 ( Note it is 1.25 mil) 787 Can be found for 415 220 rrp - Can be found for 160 385 ( Note its a special reticle Not a Mildot) 426 rrp- Can be found for 290 -------- No longer in production 130 rrp 150 ( Note its a special reticle Not a Mildot) 55 ( Note its a special reticle Not a Mildot) Not made but $499 rrp for non Mildot scope $1300 rrp 389 rrp --------- Now not in production 150 rrp ( Note its a special reticle Not a Mildot) 615 for 30/30 ret P/A for 100m. 850 for P3Mildot if they will make it 300 2ND HAND ( Note its a 30/30 reticle)

the other scopes are at the end of the article. I have been impressed with Barska scope for a few years now, even wining a few trophies in LBP andMini-rifleevents.Ifyouarebrightenoughto realise how useful first focal plane reticles are takealookatwww.rimfiremagic.co.uk.Tosum these two scopes up the Bushnell is the latest kingofthehillanddespitethe1.25Mildotreticle15 yards AGS 3-12*44 SWAT Target blurred / Reticle clear Barska 4-16*50 Benchmark Target clear / Reticle blurred Bushnell 6500 2.5-16*42 Target clear / Reticle blurred Bushnell 10*40 Target clear / Reticle blurred Bushnell 4-12*40 Target clear / Reticle blurred EB Sniper 10*42 Target clear / Reticle blurred Falcon Menace 10*40 Target clear / Reticle blurred Hawke SR6 3-12*44 Target clear / Reticle blurred Hawke SR12 6-18*44 Target blurred / Reticle clear Hawke MAP 3-9*40 Target clear / Reticle blurred Leupold 3-9*33 EFR Target clear / Reticle blurred Leupold 2.5-8*36 MK4 Target clear / Reticle blurred Lightstream 4.5-14*44 10 MAG Both clear (13y ret blurred) Lightstream 4.5-14*44 14 MAG Target clear / Reticle blurred Lightstream 3-12* 40 Target clear / Reticle blurred MTC Viper 10*44 Target clear / Reticle blurred Schmidt and Bender 10*42 Both clear (10y target blurred) Zeiss 3-9*36 Both clear (10y ret blurred) ALL TESTED ON 23 YARD PARALLAX APART FROM THE ZEISS

small parallax error readings?As for value for money the Hawke Map reticle and the 3-9*40 scope at 55 has to be the best value for money. Look at the tree tables to see the full results, table one gives more detail the exit pupil size of the scopes and price, table two gives the reticle image at 15, 25, 40 and 45 yards. Finally table three gives the actual measuredVFM 7 9 8 10 8 9 9 10 10 10 8 7 see below 9 8 10 9 8 Rangefinding 7 8 8 8 8 9 8 8 8 7 8 8 8 8 8 9 6 Reticle 2 7 9 9 7 9 9 9 9 8 7 10 10 7 7 9 6 Optics 3 7 8 8 8 7 8 8 8 7 9 9 8 8 6 10 9 Overall 4 7 9 10 7 9 8 8 8 9 9 10 8 6 7 11 7

TABLE TWO

40yards Both clear Both clear Both clear Both clear Both clear Both clear Both clear Both clear Both clear Both clear Both clear Both Pin Sharp Both clear Both clear Both clear Both clear Both Pin Sharp Both sharp

45 yards Target blurred / Reticle clear Target blurred / Reticle clear Target bit blurred / Reticle clear Target blurred / Reticle clear Target blurred / Reticle clear Target blurred / Reticle clear Target blurred / Reticle clear Target blurred / Reticle clear Target blurred / Reticle clear Target blurred / Reticle clear Target bit blurred / Reticle clear Target a bit blurred / Reticle clear Target blurred / Reticle clear Target blurred / Reticle bit blurred Target blurred / Reticle clear Target blurred / Reticle clear Target a bit blurred / Reticle clear Target clear / Reticle blurred

theBarskaisaverygoodscope. TogiveanoverallsummaryIratethefixedten magnificationBushnellscopethe320010*40as the best overall, I and many others have won titles with it. The old war horse the EB Sniper has won more trophies and titles than any other HFT scope out there, is that due to the scopesTABLE THREE

parallax error at 15, 25 and 45 yards. I do hope you enjoyedtheseriesasitwasalotofhardwork, but it did teach me a lot about what makes a good HFT scope, if only a manufacturer would make one from scratch, erm they are and I am helping with the design, watch this space.

ACTUAL PARALLAX ERRORS FOR ALL 13 SCOPES - MEASURED IN MILDOTS AT 15,25&45 YARDS

Scope AGS 3-12*44 SWAT Barska 4-16*50 Benchmark Bushnell 6500 2.5-16*42 Bushnell 10*40 Bushnell 4-12*40 EB Sniper 10*42 Falcon Menace 10*40 Hawke SR6 3-12*44 Hawke SR12 6-18*44 Hawke MAP 3-9*40 Leupold 3-9*33 EFR Leupold 2.5-8*36 MK4 Lightstream 4.5-14*44 10 MAG Lightstream 4.5-14*44 14 MAG Lightstream 3-12* 40 MTC Viper 10*44 Schmidt and Bender 10*42 Zeiss 3-9*36

Mil on 2mil on 10 1.25 on any 10 10 10 10 10 n/a 12 n/a 1.25 on 9 8 Any Any 10 10 10 n/a

15 LR L&R L&R L&R L&R L&R L&R L&R L&R LR LR L&R L&R L&R L&R L&R L&R L&R

25 L&R L&R L&R 1/8 L&R L&R L&R L&R L&R L&R L&R 1/8 L&R 1/8 L&R 1/8 L&R L&R L&R L&R 1/8 L&R L&R

45 LR LR L&R L&R LR LR L&R L&R LR L&R L&R L&R L&R 2/3 L&R LR LR L&R LR

28

Target Shooter

To introduce our selves we are the United Kingdom Association of RimfireandAirRifleBenchrestShooting.Bythatwemean"True BenchrestShooting".TheAssociationisrecognisedbyrimfire shooters across in the UK, with partners across Europe and the rest of theworld,asthepresentativebodythatpromotesrimfireandairrifle benchrest across this country and with other partners in European and World events. Visitourwebsitefornewsaboutnationalandinternational competitions that all can have a go at. From novice to champion shooter, everyone is welcome www.benchrest22.org

Target Shooter

29

Duracoated AR15 in .204 built to customers specificationsStrictly by appointment only

Savage benchrest in a custom anodised Mcree Precision chassis

Full Spec Custom .22LR Spikes Tactical M4

Duracoat Specialist. .22 ARs Specialist . Full Custom and Semi Custom Rifles built to order. Custom 10/22s built to order.

30

Target Shooter

What the boys from Border Barrels used at the Open F Class World ChampionshipsOver the past four years, the boys at Border Barrels have been taking a very active part in the preparations leading up to the World ChampionshipsatBisleyinJulythisyear(2009). Nolessthanfiveofourladswereparticipatingin the World Championship events. In the individual Open Class championships, 145 of the best shooters from around the world had come togethertofindoutwhowasgoingtobeWorld Champion for the next four years. Four of our lads competed in this class and they came in a very creditable 7th, 9th, 12th, and 17th. Three of them went on to represent the Great Britain team of eight in its romp to victory, which top-scored every range over the two days of team shooting. The past four years have been a rapid learning curve for F Class shooting in the UK. First was AdamAbove-Adamsrifle

therealisationthattheubiquitous6.5-284Win. cartridge everyone was using four years ago was not cutting the mustard. In South Africa, the host countrys team led the way home in the team competitions using a straight 284 Win. or variants thereof. The heavier 7mm bullet could carry through gusts, puffs and eddies of wind muchbetterthan6.5mmbulletsevenhaving the same BC. But, upon mature reflection, the straight 284 Win was a considered little underpowered and preference here in the UK quickly settled on the 7mm WSM as the cartridge of choice. Meanwhile, similar development was going on stock design, bag design and front rest design. Having access to the gunsmithing tools and machines used in their everyday jobs, the dedicated F Class shooters at Border Barrels could quickly try out new developments and variants as they worked their way towards the ultimate F ClassrifletouseattheWorldChampionships. So, after four years of hard work, sifting and sorting through the huge combination of choicesavailable,whatdidourboysendupwith? Lee Tomlinsons rifle features a Lawton action (righthandbolt,lefthandport).Therehasbeen some discussion about the use of a US made Lawton two lug Remington clone action against the 4 lug RPA Quadlock or Quadlite. Would a two lug action shoot as well as the theoretically stiffer counterpart? The answer seems to be that if the lugs are lapped in properly, there is no reason why a two lug action should not perform just as well as the more symmetrically supported bolt of the RPA or its antecedents (Paramounts Target Shooter 31

and Swings). And, most important from Lees point of view, the bolt lift on a two lug action is much lighter than on a four lug action which will have a shorter bolt lift, so there will be less disturbance oftherifleonthebagswhenloadinganewround. The barrel is a Border barrel in 5R rifling (.278 bore, .284 groove) having 8.5 twist. 5R rifling (popularised by the great US barrel maker,BootsObermeyer)doesnothavesuch a sharp angle in the corners of the grooves as conventional concentric rifling, so the bullet seals better in the barrel. Having an odd number of grooves is supposed to confer better in-bore-yaw stability to the bullet as well. There is no doubt that the 5R barrels shoot well. Whether they shoot better than 6 groove or 4 groove barrels with conventional rifling is arguable, but there is no doubt in our minds that the 5R barrels foul less. Instead of the usual intense fouling on the top of the land and the middle of the groove, there is just a uniform light copper wash all around the barrel - if there is any fouling at all. Aficionados will note that the bore diameter is a little on the large side. Before Berger Bullets changed the jackets on their 180 grain 7mm bullets, they were blowing up rather too often. So, to counter this, Dan increased the bore diameter so that the bullet was being engraved less. The barrels shot well and the problem was overcome. Then Berger made the bullets with thicker jackets - but the barrels still shot well, so why change a Dans rifle

Dan this brass to ensure uniformity and best accuracy. The stock was a Robertson Composites (Canada) GBF stock, which the lads at Border Barrels helped design. The front of the fore-end, which sits on the front rest, is thin to keep the rifle low and the recoil straight. The rest of the fore-end is thick for maximum rigidity. The other feature of the stock is the large grip with a shelf on which to rest the right hand. The stock has the usual 3-way adjustablebuttandanadjustablecheekpiece. Lees scope was the 9-36x56(35) IOR

goodformula? Lees cartridge of choice was the 7mm WSM, using Winchester brass, with a 180 grain Berger bullet perched on top. Powder was Hodgedon H1000. Muzzlevelocitywasabout3070ft/sec.Careful case sorting and preparation was needed with 32 Target Shooter

scope with the MP8 floating dot reticule. He used it throughout on power 20, where the hatch lines on the reticule were spaced by exactlyoneminuteandsomatchedtheturretclick adjustments. Lee found this very useful for holding off for the wind by a precisely known

finish. The arrel, nce gain,s ut ifled order ith R b o a i ac r B w 5 amount. As did all the lads, Lee did his own rifling(.278boreand.284groove).Twistwas8.5. gunsmithing in his own time; chambering, Like his brother Dan, Adam used the threading and fitting the barrel to the action necked up Norma 270 WSM brass for his himself,andbeddingitintothestockhimself. cartridge, topped out with the Sierra 170 grain Lee came 7th in the individual shoot for the bullet, driven by H1000 powder for a muzzle World F Class Championships and shot for the victorious Great Britain team in the team event. aniel Broughs rifle features an RPA Quadlite action,withabigblueknobonthebolthandle. Dan heads the cut rifling barrel shop here at Border Barrels, so he made the barrel he shot. He was probably the only competitor who made his ownbarrel.ThebarrelwasacutrifledBorderwith 5Rrifling(.278boreand.284groove).Twistwas 8.5inches.DanhadLespaintthebarrelblack. Dans cartridge of choice was the 7mm - 270 WSM. The 270 WSM case is slightly shorter than the 7mm WSM, but with a range limit of 3250 ft/sec., case capacity is not a problem and nothing is lost by loosing a bit of case capacity. What you gain is the ability to use Norma brass. All European brass is better than any American brass, and Norma make the 270 WSM brass, but for some reason do not make the 7mm WSM brass. So, that is the reasoning behind the Lee cartridge choice. Dan used the Sierra 175 grain bullets, pushed along to 3050 ft/sec. by a good Christian dollop of Hodgedon H1000 powder. velocity of around 3050 ft/sec. Adam also chose ThestockonDansrifleisaMcMillanFClassstock. to use the Nightforce NXS 12-42 with the CH3 Dans choice of scope was the Nightforce reticule, which he wound up to 42 power and NXS 12-42 with the CH3 reticule. Dans left alone. Adams wind reading method was method of judging the wind was to aim off likehisbrotherDan-touseTheForceandnot and say, That seems about right. Then pull bother himself too much with wind tables and the trigger. What can I say, it worked for him! other matters ballistic. He enjoyed himself... Dan came 12th in the individual shoot for the Adam came 9th in the individual shoot for the World F Class Championships and shot for the World F Class Championships and shot for the victorious Great Britain team in the team event. victorious Great Britain team in the team event. Like Lee, Adam Brough chose to use the Lawton action, but a more conventional right hand bolt with right hand port. The stock is a RobertsonGBFinarathernattyblackandsilver Lees rifle Target Shooter 33

BORDER BARRELS LTDNewcastleton Scottish Borders TD9 0SNTel: 013873 76253 email: info@border-barrels.com www.border-barrels.com

.22 LR RIMFIRE BARRELSOK FOLKS.... Today we are going to talk about rimfire barrels; what makes em shoot, what makes em shoot real good, and why you should choose one of our barrels if nothing but the best will do. So, listen up, you might learn something. The first thing we will talk about is the choke. The what....? No, you dont have to put your hands around the barrel and grip it real hard. But the fact is that any barrel that shoots lead bullets must have bore and groove dimensions that are smaller at the front than at the back. That is a copper bottomed, gold plated fact you can take to the bank. We choke our barrels by a method of progressive lapping, so that there is a uniform, smooth tightening of the barrel dimensions as the bullet goes down the barrel, with a final tightening in the last few inches before the bullet exits. Of course, most manufacturers dont go to that sort of effort. Lapping barrels is a skilled job which takes time and costs money. They just put the barrel in a large hydraulic collet and squeeze the end to make sure that is the tightest bit. So, the bullet rattles and shakes down the barrel and gets a final straighten up so it will hopefully fly right as it is spat out the end. Well, it works sometimes. And then there is the stress. No no.... nobody gets stressed making your barrel and you wont get stressed using it. But if there is stress in the steel, The top barrel is a drop-in replacement barrel for a 20 series Anschutz. The 19 then the first shot down a cold barrel will series Anschutz below has just been re-barrelled with a cut rifled Border barrel. generally head off in some direction you would rather it did not go, and it could take several shots before the barrel warms up and bends just the right amount to start putting the shots somewhere close to where they should. Our barrels dont do that, because our barrels dont have stress in em in the first place the first shot goes where the rest of the shots will go. So, if the wind changes and you want to wait it out until the wind comes back again, you can do so with confidence that your next shot will go where you point it. So, if you are thinking of putting a new barrel on your rimfire rifle because yours is over the hill or you think you need something better, give us a call. A good-as-you-can-get cut rifled Border barrel will cost 655 including proofing and VAT. If that sounds rather a lot, think about one of our Archer button rifled barrels. They are heat treated to remove any stress and progressive hand lapped just like our cut rifled barrels for just 487 including proofing and VAT. If you are worried that your rifle will be away for weeks and weeks and you will get behind with your league cards, fear not. We can make the barrel, have it proofed, get you to send in your rifle and we can get it back to you by return. Hell, if you bring it yourself, we will change the barrel while you wait and give you a cup of tea! You cant ask 34 for better than that. Target Shooter

www.FoxFirearmsUK.comWE STOCK HUNTING RIFLES BY COOPER, KIMBER AND PFEIFER AND COMPETITIONWINNING RIFLES FROM KELBLY AND KEPPELER, AND ARE TRADE AGENTS FOR THE SUPERB BARNARD ACTIONS, AND RECORD-BREAKING TRUE-FLITE AND BARTLEIN BARRELSVISIT OUR WEBSITE TO SEE THE VERY BEST VALUE CUSTOM PRECISION RIFLES FOR TR, MATCH, F-CLASS, AND BENCH-REST

Tel: 0161 430 8278 or 07941 958464 PUTTING SHOOTING FIRST

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

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

Target Shooter

35

Derby Rifle continues to put on probably the best Action Weekend outside of Bisley/NSC. Held on Saturday, Sunday 27/28th June, in uncommonly good weather, saw 75 competitors from all corners of the UK descend on the Twyford range, many of whom camped on site to enable them to shoot on both days. Originally the Derby Open was just a 1500 event but with increased range capacity and newly installed turning targets it has grown remarkably and now offers 1500, T&P1, T&P2 and Multi-Target in all four disciplines; S-B & C-F gallery Rifle, LBP and LBR. Additionally this year T&P3 was included for LBP and LBR. With good conditions scores were very high and with many of the National Squad in attendance the competition was fierce. John Robinson claimed most of the small-bore events but Gwyn Roberts and Ash Dagger stopped him making a clean sweep. For winning the small-bore aggregate John won the 10/22 stock donated by North West Custom Parts but very generously gave it to Teresa Carnall from LCBM who had been drooling over it! It was Taff Wilcox who stopped John in the CF events. Clive Ferguson and Graham Trimmer shared the honours in the LBP competitions, however in the LBR events thing were spread out betweenBobPeace,Mick Tedesco, Jim Smith, Doug Green and Ted George. For various reasons some of the long time supporters of the event were missing but it was great to see many new faces taking part. Particularly Pinky & Perkythewell-knownRO

duoofMelvillefame,makingarareexcursionandhadtee shirts especially made to commemorate the occasion. AfewyearsagoDRPCexperimentedwiththeirprize table and it proved very popular, now winners can choose from trophies or shooting accessories and shooting related items or the trusty favourite of wine, spirits and beers. Five companies supported the competition and this boosted the prize table considerably and these generous sponsors deserve to be mentioned Learning Processes Limited North West Custom Parts Wentworth Sporting Services Fox Firearms Phoenix Firearms The host Club put on a BBQ both days and gave out 250 bottles of water to cool the competitors and even arranged a fly past by a Spitfire on Sunday afternoon.Tocompleteanexcellentweekendevenmore thanusualstayedforthePrizegiving.Forafullsetof results please see the website below; http://www.drpc1999.com

By Jim Smith

36

Target Shooter

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

Tel 02392 660574 Fax 02392 644666 E-mail sales@portsmouthguncentre.com Website www.portsmouthguncentre.com

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

Email : stuart@ospreyries.com Tel : 0161 4083555

The Savage Specialists We still have a limited supply of precision target actions for sale at 500 for your next custom project. The new RRP is 920 so grab a bargain while you canTarget Shooter

Osprey Ries

37

URL : www.ospreyries.com

UK Rimfire Air Rifle and Rimfire Benchrest National Championship

by Andy DubrueilThe 2009 National Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest Championship was held at Portishead Shooting Club in Somerset; in the heart of the West Country and what an event it was . This event was held over the Bank Holidayweekend,witha practice day on the Friday and then the main events over the Saturday and Sunday. Medal presentations were on the Bank Holiday Monday. The UKBR22 (United Kingdom Air Rifle and Rimfire Benchrest Association) ran this event, but was an open event and had nearly 40 competitors taking part in Light Varmint

Set up and ready!!!and Unlimited Air Rifle and Rimfire Benchrest. Portishead Shooting Club has been around since 1948andhasheldeventsinthepastbutIdontthink it has had anything as big as this in the last 20yrs of its history. Ken Stockham (secretary) has been at the club since he was a boy and has been part of the British team for the past four years. He was askedtoholdtheeventatPortishead,atthetimeI dontthinkherealisehowmuchworkwasgoingto be involved in putting on such an event, but being Ken he gets on with the job and puts 150% into it . He has had a fantastic team of volunteer members that have put hours and hours into getting the club ready for the championship. They have been work parties contributing during weekends and even people taking time off from work during the week to help out. Scrubland has been cleared, and the car park had been extended.Themajorworkwascreatingnewfiring points that had not been touched for more than 40yrs. Friday was practice day and the day that most people arrivedon,buttheweatherdecidedtomakeitashard as possible for people to practice with heavy down pores of rain and high winds to batter the range. But everyone seemed up beat and made the best of the conditions and got as much practice in as possible .

Scott - one of the junior shooters cleaning his rifle just before his detail

38

Target Shooter

Those windflags look fast!!!!!On the air gun side there were some interesting air riflestobeseenoneespeciallyfromAirArmsthatwas aoneoff.TheS400hadbeenmodifiedspeciallyfor Benchrest and had a few extras added to it. (A review ontheS400inforthcomingissuesofTargetShooter) Saturday saw the 25yd unlimited which was indoors with the big guns of unlimited Rimfire. The rules are that you have to obliterate the 10 to

Honest guv - it was this big!!

score a 10x, this is just as well as a majority were hitting maximum scores of 250 and it was down to the 10x to decide the scores. Scoring such a target is a black art and needs keen eyes to make sure they are scored, properly which is not easy when you have a huge amount of targets to score but

the officials did a great job in beingprofessionalintheirtask. The weather was a complete contrast to the day before as it was bright sunshine and very warm but had a stiff breeze at times. The air rifle hunter got on the way with scores averaging around 242 and increasing through the day as competitors got used to the conditions. On the 50m range the Rimfire was seeing the 10 lb boys make their mark, but the winds were very stiff and saw scores averaging 243 but a stunning performance from our very own Carl Boswell putting a 250 and 11 10xs on hisfirstcard,welldonetohim. Back on the unlimited 25yd I wasshootingwellwithmyfirsttwocardsbeing250 17 10xs and 250 22 10xs and was in the running foramedal.Ihadbeenworkingoutofthebackof my car due to not having too much room to clean my rifleduringmatches.Ihadclosedthebootofthecar withtherifleonitcleaningbench,itwastwohours beforemyfinalcardandhadbeenbusywithbeen RO on the 25yd range. One of the guys went to my car to bring my rifle down to me and as I placed it on the rest I noticetheriflewas extremely hot, I looked through the scope and all I could see was a blob for the target. By leaving the rifle open in the car I had cooked the scope and all I could see was a haze, I frantically tried to focus as much I could but it made no difference and I had no choice but to shoot it as it was, all I could do was aim at the centre of the blob and hope for the best. At the end of the card I had thought to myself I would be lucky if I was in the 230s the chance of a medal had been

Target Shooter

39

This is not a Darlek on the right, but the level of precision used to score each cardblown by a stupid mistake. These things happen and you learn from these mistakes and I will not bedoingthisagain.TomyamazementIhaddone a2491510xshowIdidsowellIdontknowbut I have trust in my rifle and ammo, what I hope is that readers will learn by my mistake and dont leaveyourrifleinthebackofacarinthesunlight. With the 25yd out of the way now I was worried about howtheriflewouldstanduptothe50m.Igothome and left the case open to see if the scope would settle, to say the least I had a restless night. The next morning I got to the range and was relieved to see thatthescopewasbacktonormalasIsightedupona target, so now I was able to concentrate on the match. Being England the conditions had change once againwithitbeingcloudyanddrizzlewiththewind pickinguponceagain. The unlimited air gun saw scores on average of 245 which is fantastic for the conditions and theRimfiresawscoresof246beingthe even a best and heavy gust of winds at times. For theAir Rifle and Rimfire unlimited would see their scores go forward to the world postals so it was a double competition for those guys in the teams. At present team A for Rimfire is top of the leader board but there is still Australia and the USA to shoot this month so we have to wait to see how theygeton.OntheAirRiflesideofthings the air world postals team A and B are topandaregoingtotakesomebeating. Most of the competitors had come from clubs that have been building up their members in benchrest over the past couple of years. Paul Lane Club from the North had brought down a team

At times there was chance to chat.

40

Target Shooter

We may be seeing a bit more of Colin - shooting for 6 months and taking away medals

of 12 with a fantastic group of juniors like Bunty Jenkins, Peter Jenkins and Jake Healey. We also had the Buxted Boys from the South East of England and they had their very own Scott Greyson who is a national junior and is top of his gameatpresetanddidafantasticjobattheweekend. Portishead saw its own Steve Rogers put in a fantastic performance, since he had never shot outdoors before. He finished 8th in the unlimited section and he should be very proud of what he has achieved, as he had beaten some of the top shooters in his class. Steve even manage to do a personal best of 242 which is even better than scores he has achieved indoors, so we will be encouraging him at the club to spend more time on the outdoor range. And not for getting North Walthams very own Rosie Evans, this lady has just taken up the sport of benchrest and has won the 50m unlimited junior medal, well done to her. It wasgoodtoseesomanyjuniorstakingpartasthey are the next generation and they have shown the older ones a thing or two. They may not have the best of equipment but they have proved they can shoot and hopefully with time and good mentors likeJohnFarrellwhospendsalotoftimewiththe Paul Lane juniors they will go further in the sport. The weekend saw some great shooting and here are the top winners, as you can see from the scores sheet to the right: Ipersonallythinkthattheeventwasatremendous success, but this was down to Portishead Shooting Clubandtheworkthattheyhavedoneoverthisyear, therangecrewshouldalsogetapatontheback. Form the guys that had the job of changing the targets inthebuttstotheRangeOfficersonthefiringline, and we should not forget the crew that fed us right throughtheweekend,itwasfantasticfoodandIhave

Score X's Place UKNationalsAirHunterIndividualsResults2009 CRenwick 737 31 1st MGolloghly 728 15 2nd ASimpson 723 18 3rd FirstJunior SGrayson(J) S Grayson (J) 702 18 1st UKNationalsAirUnlimitedIndividualsResults2009 CBoswell 737 20 1st GKingaby 735 24 2nd PBarker 733 29 3rd FirstJunior SGrayson(J) 721 21 1st UKNationals.2250m10.5lbIndividualsResults2009 UK N ti l 22 50 10 5lb I di id l R lt 2009 CBoswell 737 24 1st BKelly 730 13 2nd JFarrell 726 12 3rd FirstJunior CStockham(JL) 708 10 1st UKNationals50m.22UnlimitedIndividualsResults2009 CBoswell 741 18 1st BKelly 733 21 2nd RHarrison 732 17 3rd 1stLady GStockham(L) 713 9 1st 1stJunior REvans(JL) R Evans (JL) 709 15 1st 1st UKNationals.2225yrd10.5lbIndividualsResults2009 BKelly 750 50 1st JHealy(J) 750 40 2nd BJenkins(JL) 749 41 3rd FirstJunior JHealy(J) 750 40 1st UKNationals25yrd.22UnlimitedIndividualsResults2009 BKelly 750 62 1st CRose 750 59 2nd RHarrison 750 53 3rd 1stLady MHayes(L) 737 36 1st 1stJunior PJenkins(J) 749 57 1st

Target Shooter

41

Colin Renwick - Air Rifle Hunter gold medallist and overall Air rifle Aggregate winnertosayIfeelbigasahouse,manythankstothem. 2011 it will be World Championships in the USA. During the coming months the team will be chosen andwewillbelookingforsponsorstohelpwithtaking shooters to these championships, so if youre a company and interested in sponsoring you can contact the team through the editor of Target Sports. Finally congratulations from all at Target Shooter to allthewinnersandtoeveryonethattookpartyou

The Superb Portishead Team - without who the nationals would not have happenedBenchrestisstillrelativelynewintheUKthanksto UKBR22 founding member Pat Phelps he should be very proud of the associations record and its achievements. Many of the competitors spoke amongst themselves and want to encourage more shoulder to shoulder shooting for the future. The problem for a lot of clubs in England is that they dont have the benches to accommodate benchrest shooting but most of the clubs have built their own benches with a cost of around a 150 per a bench. It may seem a lot of money for a bench but if you buy them direct from manufacturers you could be looking in the region 300.The sport needs more clubs to look at taking up benchrest shooting for the future. UKBR22 have sent a team to previous Europeans and World Championships and next year a team will be going to Czech Republic. In

The Medallists

made it a great weekend to remember and you should all be very proud of your personal achievements. We look forward to what the team can achieveintheCzechRepublicin2010.

Full scores and pictures can be found on the UKBR22 website at; http://www.benchrest22.org/

42

Target Shooter

Target Shooter

43

The Steyr LG100 for Air Rifle Benchrest

By Carl BoswellAfterwritingsomequitetechnicalstuffandafew reviewssincewestartedthismagazine,Ithought itwouldbegoodtogetbacktohowIstartedoff withwriting.Thatistomodifyarifleforbenchrest. (ForthosethatrememberyearsagoImodifieda CZ 452 and then an Anschutz 1407). This article is about developing the Steyr LG series for air rifle benchrest. Air Rifle BR has become increasinglypopularoverthelastfewyearsthe USA have been shooting it for at least two years, Australia are developing as I write this others like Portugal are coming onto the world scene as we speak and there is an article about this further in this issue of Target Shooter. (This particular article actually brings in a few other products that I have been testing recently the Weaver T36 scope and an air splitter designed and madebyPeteDuttonofHunterFieldTargetfame). This is a bit of a picture diary article so I have done it all in one to keep it simple. As this projectisasimpleonethismakessensehopefully!

My idea for this particular piece came last year asColinRenwickandIusedhisSteyrLG110at the World Championship in Milan. As we both came away with individual and team medals, the rifle serviced us very well. With this in mind, we talkedtoSteyraboutthechanceofdevelopinga benchrest specific model. As the market is very small, and the fact that the recession started to bite, this was unfortunately PIC 1 - LG 100 as it was, with aluminium the wrong time block on the forend and FT stock - both of to try this type these were removed as they are not the best of development. for shooting benchrest PICs 2 and 3 - show the As we shooters frontstockbeforeand are an inventive after the bedding process. breed I started to develop the idea myself, so the design I came up with, based on rimfire stocks, is what you will see

44

Target Shooter

PIC 4 - The roughed out rear stock - where it joins to the rifle needs to be accurately made and hand fittedhere in this article. There is nothing really new in the design, but it takes the LG100/110 to the pointwhereitcanbeusedasaspecificbenchrest model and away from the HFT/ FT design that we tend to see. (This would be my only complaint of theLG110usedlastyear,asIfelttherifledidnot trackproperlyduetothedesignoftheFTstock) As the LG110 has gone up in price over the last yearastherecessionbitesandthepoundsinks lower in value this is due to exchange rate and nothingelseIstartedlookingforasecond-hand model so I could attempt the modifications I wanted.InfactknewsomeonewhohadanLG100 FT model that had been upgraded and is basically thesameastheLG110.Myluckwasin,ashewanted totradethisintofinanceanupgradetoabenchrest specific rimfire rifle.A quick handshake later and the LG100 was mine to fashion as I wanted.

off cuts at the Phoenix meeting originally I was going to import some laminated Diamond Wood from the US, but this would have been the expensive option. The first part was the stock forend. The LG series has a hand rail slide mounting, so it was relatively easy to fashion the shape I wanted based on rimfire designs and hand route a grove to fit the basic curvature oftheLGstock.Nowthenextpartistheriskybit asIthenbeddedthenewforendtothestocktoget the best fit so it would not slide or move during shooting. I used a basic epoxy bedding compound to achieve this and plenty of barrier gel and tape, sonottoaffectanyoftherifle.(Pictures2and3 showthebeforeandafterbeddingprocess).This is a relatively easy feat to accomplish, as long asyoumakesurethateverythingiscoveredand

PIC 5 - Make sure that each part of the new stock is well primed

Picture 1 shows the LG as it was. As this was a prototype and I w a n t e d to get s t a r t e d PIC 6 - The three final pieces drying with quickly, I the last coat of paint in my makeshift p u r c h a s e d workshop s o m e hardwood

Target Shooter

45

PIC7 - The rifle with all the new furniture and painted parts on itthe bedding compound does not get into places it should not be. You will need to ensure the new forend has the slides attached and then screwed down to put pressure on the bedding compound asitsetsforagoodfit. Therearstockitselfwasthemostdifficultpart,as thisrequiresthatthealuminiumconnectorwhich feeds into the rear of the action housing be absolutely perfect. If you have a milling machine this will be a relatively easy thing to accomplish. If not, do what I did and produce this the old fashionedway.Thisdoesneedtobehandfitted, so keep testing in your rifle. The process takes some time but it is worth it. Once this is done the new connector needs to be fitted to the wood that will eventually turn into the stock this can be done with stainless machine bolts or screws. (Personally I added epoxy to ensure a very good tightfitthatwouldnotmove).Themodellingofthe stock form, to get the required angles is time consuming. Using a calliper and measuring throughout the entire process is what takes the time. I did this by hand, carving every point, using rasps,thenfilesforthemainpartsoftheforming process-alwayscomparingtotheformoftherifle soIwasachievingthebestfitpossible.Ifyouhave anymachinetoolsthengoodlucktoyou!Thiswill aid the process, but be careful when forming as thematerialgetsremovedquicklyandthesize(s)

PIC 8 - The rear stock fitted and locked in place - the tracking is now a lot better 46 Target Shooter

PIC 9 - The forend pice also locked down - both this and the rear stock have stock tape on them to aid tracking

PIC 10 - One of the final pieces the butt plate is made from plate aluminium. The logo is a badge prepared on computer.

housingcreatingablindhole.(Seepicture4).The housing itself came out of the rifle by loosening a few bolts and could easily be worked on.This may not be the case with the model you have and a lot of investigation of the rifle is needed beforeyoustartaprojectlikethis.Thisiswherethe disclaimercomesin;youdothisatyourownrisk andanyworkIhavedonewillprobablyvoidany warranty.(Astheriflewassecondhandthisreally didnotmatter).However,alwaystakecarewhen workingonarifleandtakeittoaqualifiedgunsmith if you are unsure. In this case Harry Preston at Steyr UK, as his services is second to none and he isqualifiedtoworkonallSteyrairriflesandpistols. Aftertheshaping,forming,beddingandfinishing, the wood is primed with a few coats of cellulose or acrylic grey primer and sanded to form, ensuring allholes,gapsandlumpsarefilledorreducedat thi