Target Shooter 1

Here’s the bracket from Stockade
that links two magazines together
best sight for Mini Rifle – another
thing to find out.
accessories, gizmos and tune-ups available for this
rifle than any other. It’s cheap to buy and functions
well and naturally they are popular with Mini Rifle
shooters. If you have a Ruger, Roger Francis of
South Yorkshire Shooting Supplies can offer all the
desirable ‘whistles & bells’. www.rimfiremagic.co.uk
OK, here’s where maybe I’ve made my first
mistake. I haven’t gone down the Ruger 10/22
route. At the IWA show in Germany last year, I was
bewildered by the sheer number of 22 semi-auto ‘fun
guns’ and the old Ruger started to look a bit dated
and that GSG (German Sport Guns) version of the
AK47 as used by Tim Finley got me looking in that
direction. Tim is already shooting Mini Rifle with some
success and he uses the GSG-5 – an MP5 look-alike.
I must admit, the GSG-5 appealed to me more than a
Ruger 10/22 and it also comes with quite a few
useful bits and pieces, like Picatinny rail,
large-capacity magazines etc. so it was off to UK
importers, York Guns, for a closer look.
Stuart Wilson was able to show me the latest
version of the GSG-5, which comes with a larger
diameter faux moderator than
the earlier model but I quite
liked the look and feel of the
earlier version so that’s what
I came away with – plus a very
neat ‘red-dot’ sight which also
incorporated a laser. This is a
beautiful piece of kit for a very
reasonable price and my term
‘red dot’ is perhaps an over
simplification but hopefully you
know what I mean. At this stage
however, I’m not sure as to the
The GSG
would function
with several different
types of ammo, but I
settled on CCI Mini-Mag
I had hoped to pick up an extra
magazine from York Guns but
unfortunately there were none in
stock so when I got home I resorted
to Google. Up popped www.stockadeproducts.co.uk
and I soon had one
ordered and a little bracket which clips
two mags. together. The internet is
great for this though it doesn’t have the
personal touch of your local gunshop,
so it was nice when I got a personal
e-mail from Mike at Stockade
thanking me for my order. Well
done Stockade, it makes all the
difference and I’m pleased to be
able to give you a plug. Less than
a week later and I had the mag.
and bracket – excellent service.
Of course, like a kid with a new toy, I
was eager to try out the GSG-5, mount
the sight and get it zeroed. I had intended getting a
zero at about 25 yards but the range was already in
use so I couldn’t go forward and had to shoot at 100
yards. I charged the 20 round magazine, turned on
the sight and took aim at a small object on the sand
backstop. I couldn’t believe it when I hit it with the
first round! I’m no expert on 22 rimfire ammo. but
I had a variety of oddments accumulated over the
years from various tests. Maybe it was just because
the rifle was nice and clean but the little GSG was
happy to digest anything I stuffed in the magazine
but I settled on some CCI high velocity ‘Mini Mag.’
being all too conscious of the significant
trajectory-drop of sub-sonic rimfire ammo. Next
month, we will get to grips with the GSG-5 and try
and get it ‘competition ready’. Meanwhile, how about
stirring a bit of interest in Mini Rifle in your own club?
If you are already shooting Mini Rifle then feel free
to get in touch if you can offer a few tips - not just for
me as a raw beginner but also for clubs wishing to
start shooting Mini Rifle. vinceb@6ppc.fsnet.co.uk
Target Shooter 17