Safety - The
Danger
All sporting rifles and pistols are descended from either
military or hunting firearms and these were designed to kill. While target firearms are not designed for
this they are lethal.
There are no firearms including air rifles and pistols which cannot kill
It is essential that the user always have in his mind that
he is using a lethal weapon and that he/she develops automatic safety habits as
a result of this.
Safety will not be compromised. The cardinal rules are as follows;-
Do not
point a firearm at any person, including yourself.
Do not load until intending to fire (this
may be under instruction).
Do not put a finger on the trigger until
about to fire.
Introduction to
the Equipment - “The Naming of Parts”
The barrel and the action of the rifle are mounted on a
wooden stock that has evolved over the years to provide a means of holding and
operating the rifle comfortably.
In a target rifle the barrel is often only attached at the rear, i.e.
the forend and the barrel are separate although appearing to be close. This is called a “fully-floating” barrel
and is made this way so that on firing the very small straitening out of the
barrel is consistent and thus the rifle is more accurate. The barrel is rifled; that is it has
spiral grooves cut into it to impart a spin to the bullet. This spin stabilises the bullet in
flight.
Three common forms of rifle are used in target shooting.
The Prone rifle
This is the
plainest rifle with few adjustments – normally
just the position of the handstock and perhaps the facility for changing the
stock length by adding plates. These
are not often made nowdays as most manufacturers concentrate on ‘free’ rifles.
The “Free” rifle
In this
case just about every dimension is adjustable and some very strange
non-traditional looking models are now on the market. Initially it was designed for 3 position shooting (prone,
kneeling and standing) as each position required a different rifle position
relative to the body. Now often the rifle of choice for prone rifle shooters.
The International Shooting Union Standard Rifle
This is a
rifle which must be mass-produced (not hand-made to suit one person) and
conform to a defined set of dimensions.
Characteristic of these rifles is a deep forend extending down to the
bottom of the trigger guard. The idea
is to try to remove “technical” advantage in Standard Rifle only competitions.
Ammunition
Small-bore
shooting is based on the .22 Long Rifle round made by a variety of manufacturers to a
standard design but with varying degrees of quality (and cost)
.22LR cartridge characteristics Trajectory – drop from a straight line
Muzzle Velocity 1100
ft/second 50 yards 4 inches
Maximum Range 1500
yards 100 yards 17 inches
hence
the need for adjustable sights.
Equipment
The mat for prone shooting makes concrete floors and
wet out-door firing points more comfortable
A spotting telescope and stand allows the hits on the
target to be seen and then corrected by adjusting the sights.
The shooting jacket gives some protection to the
elbows and shoulder and if correctly fitted improves the stability and
repeatability of the firing position.
A left-hand glove spreads the weight of the rifle and
gives a better support.
A single-point sling is looped round the upper arm
and passes under the left wrist to be clipped into the swivel on the forend.
Personal Firearms Safety
All firearms are lethal but are
only dangerous when handled incorrectly and you are solely responsible from now
on for any weapon in your care.
To ensure that a rifle is safe to handle it must first be
inspected to see that it is not loaded.
Small-bore target rifles are generally of a Martini or bolt action
type. Which ever type the
initial safety precaution is the same.
1.
On picking up the rifle ensure that the muzzle points in such
a direction that should a negligent discharge occur no injury will result.
2.
Open the breech, if not already opened, and examine the
chamber to ensure that it is empty. 3.
The rifle is now safe to handle.
Personal Safety Rules
1. When you
pick up a rifle always complete the initial safety precaution, as above. This ensures the rifle is safe to
handle.
2. Whenever you
hand a rifle to anyone give it to him with the breech open. Additionally ask him to see for himself
that the chamber is clear. Insist
that the same procedure is conducted when taking over a rifle.
3. Never point a rifle at anyone in jest.
4.
Having once loaded your rifle on the firing point always keep
themuzzle pointing in the direction of your target.
5. Before
leaving the firing point, on completion of shooting, always check that the
chamber is clear and the breech is open. The use of a breech flag – a brightly coloured plastic
plug for the chamber – is a good check and it is compulsory in some clubs. Carry your rifle with the breech open.
ALWAYS TREAT A WEAPON AS
LOADED UNTIL YOU HAVE SATISFIED YOURSELF OTHERWISE
Each range publishes range Safety Rules and although many
are common to all clubs there may be some specific to that range.
Hearing Protection
Over an
extended period the high energy “crack” of a round being fired is injurious to
hearing and hearing protection is obligatory on our range. This can either be in the form of
protectors similar to earphone or by specialised ear plugs which block impulsive
noise.
Lead Contamination
Shooting
with soft lead bullets produces a minimal amount of lead debris. The majority comes from the impact
of the round into the steel stop plate behind the safety curtain. Extraction fans contain this behind the
curtain. A smaller amount is
mixed with the burnt propellant gasses and again fume extraction reduces this
to a minimal amount. To avoid
accidental ingestion hands should be washed after firing and prior to eating or
drinking.
The Essentials of Accurate Shooting
This
depends on three main elements:-
- Understanding
the sights and aiming process
- Achieving
a comfortable and consistent firing position. This we will deal with in the second session.
- Firing the shot without disturbing the aim. This is the theme of the third session
This
consists of;
1. A front sight assembly in the form of a tunnel into which
an element front sight generally in the shape of a ring is fitted. These elements are available in various
sizes to suit the individual and the size of the aiming mark. 2. The rear sight assembly is made up of an eyepiece with
some form of rear aperture size selection to adjust for light level and
personal preference. The eyepiece
is mounted in such a way within the assembly that there is facility for both
lateral and vertical adjustment.
Sight Relationship
To aim the rifle correctly the sight relationship must be
understood. Correct sight
relationship is achieved by positioning the following in one straight line.
1.
The centre of the eye.
2.
The centre of the rear aperture.
3.
The centre of the front sight aperture.
4.
The centre of the aiming mark.
The acquisition of the correct sight relationship is known
as aiming. The design of the sights
and the capabilities of the eye make this relatively simple to achieve.
It must first of all be understood that the eye is not able
to focus and see clearly objects at different distances at the same time. This can be realised by attempting to
focus on an outstretched thumb simultaneously with an object more than ten feet
away. As the rear aperture is
too close to the eye to focus on, the focussing decision is between the front
sight element or the aiming mark.
The best solution is to focus on the front sight. Selection of the correct rear aperture
allows both the aiming mark and the front sight to appear almost in focus.
(a) With the right eye square to the rear
sight look through the rear aperture at the front sight element, which must be
seen in clear focus. The eye will automatically select a point near the centre
of the rear aperture as that is where the light is strongest. An additional
check is to see that the circle formed by the front sight tunnel is
concentric in the ring of light passing through the rear aperture.
(b) Position the aiming mark in the centre of the front sight aperture. Ensuring
that the circle of white around the aiming mark as seen through the front sight
aperture is equal does this. The
aiming mark, being out of focus will appear blurred. This is immaterial providing the circle of white is equal.
Rear Aperture Size SelectionThe rear sight aperture can be fixed or varied by an iris diaphragm similar to that
used in a camera. The movement of an adjusting stop moves the leaves of the diaphragm to increase or
decrease the size of the aperture.
The size of rear aperture required
will vary with the amount of light available and the eye relief. To select the size for use aim at the
target, with the largest size available.
Decrease the size of the aperture until a change in the amount of light
entering the eye is noticed. At this
point open up until the light level is
regained. The best aperture size is that which results in the aiming mark
being clearest. Research has
indicated that 1.0 to 1.2 mm is optimum.
Front
Aperture Size Selection
It is only by testing the different sizes
and types of elements available that you will be able to decide which meets
your personal requirement. There are, however, some guiding factors:
(a) Don't make the mistake of using too small an aperture. The
idea that the smaller the aperture the easier the centralisation of the aiming
mark doesn't work in practice. 3.4
to 3.8 mm is often used.
(b) An aperture that is sufficiently large to enable a good aim
to be taken will not, even when badly aligned, put a shot outside the 8 ring.
Sighting
( 1) The sighting eye should always look out of the centre of the
eye socket for maximum efficiency.
Never through eyebrows. or round nose etc, so sight lines are brought in
line with the eye not the eye with the sight line. An upright head position almost guarantees this.
(2) Eye relief is the distance between the eye and the rear
sight. The head should never rest on the sight. All sights have some play in the slides and touching with the
head may move the sight and cause inconsistency. In Full Bore shooting the eye can be damaged through getting
too close to the sight. There is no set measurement for eye relief. This the shooter must adjust to his own
eye characteristics. It will be
different for each person, ideally from 2” to 4".
(5) Do not stare at the sight picture too long as this can only
deteriorate. Six seconds at the most once pulse, breathing and concentration
have settled. Complete cycle time should take around twelve seconds. Remember it is possible to burn an
image on the back of the eye through staring at an object for too long. If this happens looking away at a neutral
background is better than closing the eye.
Deliberate blinking also helps.
(6) Depth of field is when two objects
at different distances from the eye are in focus. For example focus the eye on
an object some 3 to 4 feet away, then
putting the finger in front of the eye move
it towards the object you are looking at. There will come a point where object
and finger will both become
relatively
clear. This is the depth of field
between finger and object. This depth of field
can be increased by looking through a pinhole or the aperture of a rear
sight. This makes it possible for some shooters to adjust the depth of field so
as to get both foresight and aiming mark clear. The smaller the aperture the greater the depth of field until
the vision starts to blur. The depth
of field will only increase if the aperture is smaller than the pupil of the
eye.
(7) The outside diameter of a ring front sight may be reduced to
help give a clearer aiming
mark. This can sometimes help an
older shooter.
(8) Both eyes should be open when taking aim so as to reduce the
strain on one or both eyes through one being in the light and the other being
in darkness. Whatever work the eyes
have to do it is natural for both to work together so if one is working and the
other closed then this will produce unnatural strain. Some shooters dislike seeing distracting objects with the
non-shooting eye so a Blinder is fitted to blank out its vision. The blinder is usually fitted to the back
sight and should ideally be made out of a translucent material so as to let
some degree of light through but this depends on the shooter. If the blinder is too large it will block
out flags etc, so the size should be just enough to block out unwanted
distractions. Eye patches must be
avoided as they block out the light completely to the non-shooting eye to put maximum strain on the aiming eye.
(9) Beginning shooters should start with a ring front sight element as
the blade requires some degree of experience. Blade sights are prone to errors. These consist mainly
of vertical errors due to light change, for example: if you sight up your rifle
in a good light where you can see both blade and aiming mark clearly, with
shots central, then through the course of the shoot the light brightens and so
the visual aiming mark will look smaller but the eye will still put the same
amount of white between blade and aiming mark, so the shots will go high. The opposite effect will occur if the
light is bright when you start your shoot.
(10) If glasses are worn by a shooter he must never have to
adjust his head so that he can get a
good sight line. He must be able to
adjust his glasses to his head position so it is recommended that the shooter
acquire a pair of shooting glasses that will enable him to adjust the lens to
the head. He can also have the eye
looking through the centre of the lens.
The lens should also be at right angles to the sight line and not tilted
in any way. When glasses are purchased, it should be made clear to the optician that the
point of clarity should be just in front of the foresight. The distance should be something like
three feet to give the best balance between clear front sight and clear aiming
mark.
(11) Check for the master eye. Ring some small object some little distance away with a ring
made with the thumb and index finger, then close each eye in turn, the eye for which the object remains encircled by the finger
is the master eye.
Practice
In the first session we fire a sequence of supported shots in the range
concentrating on getting the aiming right.
We shoot 5 times on each diagram in order to form a group. Where it is on the target is immaterial at
present; what we are looking for is a tight group.
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Learning to Shoot 
