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The team's tour brochure. - National Rifle Association

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HPS the Developers and Manufacturers of SYSTEM GEMINI Stocks and Accessoriesand TARGET MASTER AmmunitionWish the NRA Team to the Channel Islands 2007 - Good Shooting!HPS is Britain’s premiere target rifle supplies company, bringing the combined experience of two international target rifle shootersin both fullbore and smallbore shooting. HPS can offer the fullbore and smallbore shooter a variety of quality products andtechnical support. With their experience both in the workshop and on the range,HPS should be your first stop for all your shooting needs:ServicingSystem Gemini TR701 & TR702 Fullbore Stocks, FR 703 Smallbore StockNEW in 2006 - System Gemini FC704 F-Class / Bench Rest <strong>Rifle</strong> StockTraditional Wooden Stocks, <strong>Rifle</strong> Barrels & ActionsSystem Gemini Butt Plates, Handstops, Bipods & Other AccessoriesTarget Master Ammunition & Point Master Shooting MatsSystem Gemini Smallbore & Fullbore Test RigsGloves, Caps, Slings, Gun Bags, <strong>Rifle</strong> Boxes, Weatherwriters, CapesRPA & Centra Parts & AccessoriesComplete <strong>Rifle</strong>s Built to Customer Specifications PlusRe-Barrelling and a Full <strong>Rifle</strong> Servicing, Repairs and Refurbishment ServiceAmmunitionButtplatesBipodsTR 701TR 702AKTIV HandstopFR 703FC 704AKTIV Flex SlingHPS TR Ltd. PO Box 308, Quedgeley, Gloucestershire, England GL2 2YFTel: +44 (0)1452 729 888 Fax: +44 (0)1452 729 894 E-mail: info@hps-tr.com Website: www.hps-tr.comHPS Bringing Quality and Innovation to the Shooter.


<strong>National</strong> <strong>Rifle</strong> <strong>Association</strong>Channel Islands 2007


Captain’s foreword<strong>The</strong> NRA has honoured me with the captaincy of the team to the Channel Islands 2007.Many thanks are due, but particularly toTim Bedwell, my adjutant, for his unstinting support andhard work in so many unseen responsibilities. Also to the Specsaver Group from Doug andMary Perkins for their support and hospitality in Guernsey and for the many store directorsfrom all over the UK who have supported our “Personal Development Days”.I have approached the <strong>tour</strong> from a development and training perspective. I know from theselection process, where we had 4 applicants for every available space, that the team is brimmingwith talent, but they vary tremendously in experience – from teenagers still in education tomore mature shooters who have not yet broken through to the highest levels of competitiveshooting.My primary goal is that every member of the team returns the better for their experience,knowing more about shooting and coaching, understanding more about how teams “work” andwith an appreciation of the joys of <strong>tour</strong>ing; particularly the life-long bonds of friendship madewith those who host and with those within the team.To our hosts in the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey, I have many special memories ofvisiting your Islands, on holiday, on business and of course on <strong>tour</strong>, and I am confident our teamwill strive to give of their best, both on and off the range; and to create more of those stories,to be embellished and re-told in years to come.Gary AlexanderIn line with the <strong>tour</strong>'s aim of developing shooters, we have included a number of articles that we hope will prove interesting anduseful to both old shooters and new.We have included a couple of articles from eminent authors from past NRA Journals whichwe have used in our training sessions which many will benefit from both reading and re-reading.


<strong>The</strong> teamItineraryCaptainGary AlexanderVice CaptainJon Underwood (GM,SM,GC)CoachColin Brook (GM, SM)AdjutantTim BedwellShootersCharlotte AldridgeMary BostonPaul CharltonReg CurtisIan DavisonHolly FosterPeter HalfordDavid RoseSimon ShoulerStuart YoungReserveBen StevensGreat Britain, Ireland and TyroneGreat Britain, England and SurreyGreat Britain, England and WiltshireBuckinghamshireNorfolkGreat Britain, England and LincolnshireGreat Britain, Ireland and WiltshireBuckinghamshireEngland and YorkshireNorfolkKentSurreyNottinghamshireEngland and LancashireSurreyTuesday 22nd MayNoon Gather at LMRAAfternoon Match vs LMRA teamEvening Dinner vs LMRA teamWednesday 23rd May11:00 ish Depart Bisley – drive to Poole harbour13:55 Ferry from Poole to Guernsey16:25 Arrive Guernsey – Firearms picked up – drive to Peninsula HotelThursday 24th MayFree day – Team BuildingFriday 25th MayMorning Individual shoots – GuernseyEvening Vin d’Honneur (reception), followed by formal NRA/GRC dinnerSaturday 26th MayMorning Guernsey individual shootsAfternoon GRC vs NRA match19:30 Ferry to Jersey20:30 Arrive Jersey, firearms collected, drive to Les Charrieres HotelSunday 27th MayMorning Long-range individual shoots – Les LandesAfternoon Individual shoots CrabbeMonday 28th MayMorning Individual shoots – CrabbeAfternoon JRA vs NRA match – CrabbeEvening Dinner (formal)Tuesday 29th MayFree dayWednesday 30th May10:10 Ferry to Poole14:40 Arrive at Poole – disperse


Historyby Paul Charlton<strong>The</strong> story of the Channel Islands matches to date has been told many times in previous CITeam <strong>tour</strong> <strong>brochure</strong>s, NRA Journals and NRA Annual Reports, but has stopped at the glossyoverview; there is more to be told, but we must have a recap of those previous reports.<strong>The</strong> <strong>tour</strong>s themselves started in 1935 as Easter <strong>tour</strong>s, but stopped for World War II. Once theChannel Islands had been liberated there was much work to be done and undone to resumethe pre-war practices and competitions. Guernsey, which had boasted three ranges before thewar had to rebuild on what appears to be a new site. Jersey was quicker to get operational,presumably because it had the Crabbe facility pretty much intact.Of note from these old reports is the apparent familiarity of the names of the islanders shootingclans: Le Page, Le Cheminant, de Marteret, Payn,Amy, Mallett and Jory.It is part of the appeal of the sport that representatives of all generations, as well as both sexes,are usually mixed into teams. Of note from 50 years ago are the following team lists fromGuernsey and Jersey.For Guernsey: CF Beck, H Domaille,TS Henry, LO Hill, JA LeTocq,WP Mahy (Capt), GT Martel,F McCormack and J O'Toole.For Jersey: DT Ahier,AJ Amy,AJ Benest,AJ Hidrio, Capt G Malet de Carteret (Capt), CC Mallett(Jnr), CC Mallett (Snr), SJ Payn and EP PinelBeing small communities it is not surprising that families which tend to play sports together alsotend to supply more than one representative at a time and, whilst sibling rivalry often suppliesthe impetus to compete for the coveted place in the VIII, there are also the father and son tagteams. Of course this is a simplification, the family group mixings have included husband and wife,fiancées, brothers, mother and son, in laws and, as the name changes indicate, links across familiesI am sure; lots of father-in-law son-in-law tag teams.<strong>The</strong> varying nature of record keeping, and/or reporting in published material, has failed toidentify all the participants and family links, and indeed sometimes has failed to mention enoughto identify who the person is other than the family name.At a time when husband, wife and sonwere likely to represent an island, a single name appearance on the team list raises morequestions than it supplies answers. Naming conventions were, in today’s familiar terms, slightlyarchaic as usually surname and initials are enough, though more recently initials have given wayto first names. But when father and daughter, father and son, grandfather and grandson etcshare the same initials, or if the <strong>tour</strong> diarist are determined that Dennis is Dennys or Tommyis Tommie or Graham is Graeme it becomes a real pain or Payn or Payne in the Harris or ....So, with the caveats of the real Who’s Who and the best interpretation of the data available tome (there is a lack of detail for almost all of the 70s and early 90s) and apologies to all of thefollowing, on with the history:SJ Payn (father and daughter), CC Mallett (father and son), C Mallett (grandfather, mother andson relative to Cliff), the families Amy (certainly brothers and son/nephew), Benest (certainlybrothers and possibly father, and when is the charming Hermione going to follow suit?), Jory(father and sons), Le Cheminant (father and sons and wife [again]), Le Quesne (thanks for theteam name clue on pronunciation at Bisley in the Families match 2006 Mr and Sqn Ldr Le Cane),Le Seuer, Mallett (Oh god[s])!! Norman J or JJ (who manage to appear not only on both islandsbut were also as an NRA <strong>tour</strong>ist in 1963), and more Payn.<strong>The</strong> <strong>tour</strong>s which originally took place over the Easter weekend swiftly migrated to theWhitsunweekend, but in the early post war years only went to Jersey as the Guernsey ranges neededto be re-commissioned. Once built, the Guernsey match took place at 200, 300 and 500 yardsuntil finally a 600 yard firing point was built.<strong>The</strong> Jersey match took the form of a Kolapore, andindeed on the first couple of years the result of the NRA teams were published as MotherCountry rather than NRA (“Mother Country” being how Great Britain shot in the Kolaporeuntil this cling-on to Imperialism was dropped some quarter of a century ago).Odd events have been noted in the various reports of the <strong>tour</strong>: in 1958 the Guernsey matchwas curtailed after two ranges because of the extreme cold and in 1958 the original Randalltrophy for the NRA Guernsey Match was stolen from the engravers in Aldershot “a few nightsbefore the <strong>tour</strong>”.<strong>The</strong> matches were always shot in the 300, 500 and 600 format until 600 yard firing pointproblems in Jersey prevented its use in the late 1980s.Those who shot at 600 in Jersey up untilthen had the dubious pleasure of mounting (and mounting is the correct phase) a firing pointwhich overshadowed the road to the rear of the current Crabbe range. When the rangetemplate was reviewed the military Powers That Be deemed the 600 firing point too low.Whether this was for clearance over the road or for fall of shot into the butts and the seabeyond I do not know, but the outcome was a requirement to increase the height of the pointeven further.


<strong>The</strong> first attempt failed to maintain the required stability and it collapsed.<strong>The</strong> rebuild suffereda similar fate so that the JRA were forced to change their courses of fire in all matches andchampionships, and the choice was whether to include 200 or 400 yards, or 300 metres. Frommemory, a bit of all three solutions was involved in their Championships.A note of interest inthe NRA Captain’s report of 1988 is that “next year more practice at 200 is required”; that yearthe JRA v NRA score was 597To 588 at 200 yards. In 1988 and 1989 they shot 15 shots at 300and 500, But Jersey continued the longest winning run, from 1981 to 1989.This was stopped in1990 when one of the few teams to win both matches on both islands <strong>tour</strong>ed under DavidCalvert’s captaincy.But back to the Crabbe range problem, a note of concern had been made when the increasein height was forced on the JRA, that it made the firing point far too narrow, front to back, forsafe occupancy by pretty much anyone other than the firers lying down.This gloomy note wasproved beyond doubt when the official inspection took place by the surveyor - his terrier felloff the top, thankfully without noticeable injury.Finally a solution was found for the collapsing 600 yard FP - move the whole range 20 yardstowards the sea, rebuild the butts and all the firing points! <strong>The</strong> States of Jersey were generousin their support of this project, perhaps as the local facility helps in generating the marksmenwho represent them on the world stage of <strong>The</strong> Commonwealth Games.With both Guernsey and Jersey ranges being very much “on the coast”, they suffer from anormal coastal climactic effect: wind, and lots of it. It is a feature of such wind that, althoughstrong, it is often remarkably steady in overall strength.<strong>The</strong> main feature that makes life difficultis that it will tend to be blustery so that, whilst the average “blustery effect” over the flight ofthe bullet down range smoothes the precise effect of the “blust” at any given point, thereremains the problem of the effects of this “blust” on the shooter himself who is trying to remainstill on the firing point.It is noticeable that a number of Channel Islanders and other successful visitors overcome thisby the simple expedient of using a double point sling, which many claim to reduce the lateraleffect of buffeting. Exponents of the double rather than single point sling include the late greatAndrew StG Tucker, Cliff Mallett, and no doubt many more but you have to rely on thisreporter’s memory.Andrew Tucker made the Jersey Autumn Meeting part of his personal shooting calendar. It wasa nice way to round off August; some great meals in fabulous restaurants, with a few relaxedshoots in convivial company to aid the digestion during the day. He won the Grand Aggregatefour times with impressively high scores. He only stopped going when the DCRA ConnaughtMeeting timetable slipped such that the Canada Team, of which he was often a member, wouldnot return in time for him to get to Jersey. It was rumoured that he would arrive at Heathrow,meet Cathy, who would swap suitcases with him and wave him off to Jersey. I believe this is farfetched as he only lived 20 miles from the airport, and I’m sure he would have gone home fora cup of tea whilst the suitcases were swapped by Cathy.<strong>The</strong> appeal of <strong>tour</strong>ing teams is not only to see other places and shoot, but also to meet thoseinteresting people who do not travel away from their homes to shoot. <strong>The</strong> “Bisleyite” whothinks all the great shots come to worship the art of shooting at Bisley are sadly mistaken.<strong>The</strong>re are hundreds, if not thousands of world class shots who enjoy the thrill of shooting wellat the local club, but are not interested in taking time away from home and family to see if theycould do it on a different range at <strong>National</strong> level. So there are many “Tyros” who due to theNRA’s system of classification will forever remain so because they have no desire to shoot atthe Imperial Bisley Meeting. However on their home soil they are as hard to beat as the bestthat Bisley, Connaught, General de Wet, Malabar, Raton or Trentham can produce. Crabbe andLancrett are no different. Looking through the names and scores of the Island teams one canidentify people who were content to be part of the local shooting fraternity, though family isperhaps a better word as we have masses of superb lady shooters who are sadly more rarelyseen away from their home range.<strong>The</strong> familiar family names give us the individuals who have performed most often in these seriesof matches; so far as I can tell, for Guernsey the most appearances have been by Courteney,Henry, Jory, Le Page, Martel, Perkins, Rowe andYeadon, and for Jersey Amy, Benest, Harris, Langley,Le Cheminant, Le Vesconte, Mallet, Norman and Payn.<strong>The</strong>se records are incomplete at the moment, and research shows that team details are missingfor much of the 1970s and 1990s.Also,, with ladies changing their surnames on changing theirmarital status, I may easily have overlooked some duplication of person through lack of familiarityof personalities.<strong>The</strong> records cover not only the eights, but also the Reserves matches.<strong>The</strong>se side matches onlystarted once the <strong>tour</strong>ists travelled with more than the basic team size.<strong>The</strong> scores in the matchalso mirror the changes in our sport, with the demise of the .303 at the end of the sixties anda choice of which calibre to use; there are notes of individual success and comments on whichcalibre was being used, and the new 7.62 out-shot the older .303.<strong>The</strong> difference was so markedthat target ring sizes were reduced quite considerably in 1974, again in 1988 and the v-bulltinkered-with in 1995.


<strong>The</strong> JRA and GRC were always concerned to use quality ammunition so there are oftenreferences to good batches of RG, Norma and more recently Carmichael ammunition. In thesame way as has been noted in the records of the major International Matches, the incidenceof HPS scores was very low until the ammunition/rifle combination allowed real improvementto be judged on the target group sizes.Thus the first recorded 150 found in the published matchrecords was in 1987 when Jersey recorded a new match record of 1186 with possibles fromMessrs Benest, Mallett and Payn. Not that many 150s have been scored, so the ability to scoremore than one is certainly worthy of note and the known artists of this skill are Richard Benest,David Le Quesne and Colin Mallett.I’m not sure how you top a 150 unless it is longevity of appearances, the accolade for which mustsurely go to Cliff Mallett (CC Jnr for Initials sake) who first appeared, no doubt as a young man(as he still seems to be young today) back in 1957, when Mallett CC Jnr shot in the same teamas his father, CC Snr. Oh, CC Jnr top scored the Jersey team with a 140, and only one NRAshooter beat him, with a record setting 147 by Dick Britton. By comparison, in 2006, Cliff wassecond top score on his team with a 147, counted out on vees, whilst the only NRA score tobeat them was a fabulous 149 by a young man, Daniel Blake, who I think may be a name towatch for future glittering prizes.So here’s hoping that Cliff is shooting straight enough to be selected in a few more matches, sohe can have represented his Channel Island not just in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s but intothe 10s. But we all know he will have to perform, as there is a wealth of talent pressing to makethe VIII on each Island.It is true of the <strong>tour</strong>ing team that many have <strong>tour</strong>ed, only to find they are slightly off form anddo not make theVIII on either Island. But despair not ye who trip at this hurdle, there are thosein the GB PalmaTeam to Canada 2007, who have <strong>tour</strong>ed the Islands with the NRA, but not shotas part of the VIII.Whatever happens to you in your team aspirations, enjoy the trip, as this is a small taste of<strong>tour</strong>ing with a rifle team: great fun, challenging shooting, fear of exclusion, and coping with thedisappointments. Please also remember, when you shoot to your potential, enjoy it, celebrateit, and remember it, for without enjoying the successes there is little point in trying to do it again.


<strong>The</strong> case for SCATTby Tim BedwellOver the past few years I have seen a number of my friends splash out large amounts of hardearnedcash on SCATT machines. How could they justify that sort of expense?My concerns around the value from a SCATT trainer were:-• A SCATT machine won’t help solve “<strong>The</strong> Problem” of the full-bore marksman anticipating therecoil (see article elsewhere in the <strong>brochure</strong>), or simulate the pressures of competition, windreading,slow partners etc. etc.• <strong>The</strong> price!<strong>The</strong> start of the CI 07 Team’s first training day was delayed by fog, and this allowed JonUnderwood to give us a talk about SCATT training and show us how the system worked onhis laptop. Jon followed this up by running a SCATT training session for those interested.This has been a bit of a revelation for me and, whilst some of the concerns remain, I nowunderstand much better the benefits of training with a SCATT machine. I should make it clearthat I do not profess to be any sort of SCATT expert but, as a recent convert, perhaps mythoughts may help other sceptics to convert!Here are some of the things that SCATT gives you:1) Dry firing with a score<strong>The</strong> basic thing that the SCATT system gives you is instant feedback when dry-firing on the likelyfall of shot.This may be stating the obvious to some extent, however SCATT makes dry-firinga lot more valuable in that you can see how you’re doing. Dry-firing is a good mechanism fortraining, so that firing shots becomes a learned automatic reflex – however if you are dry-firingwithout a SCATT you won’t be able to see how you are doing and could be reinforcing somebad habits!Visualising the hold.2) Visualising the hold<strong>The</strong> SCATT system shows you your point of aim throughout the process of firing a shot.Thisis a squiggly wobbly line and for a typical shot you can see the point of aim wobble towards thecentre of the target (hopefully), wobble around in the middle for a while, view where the shothits and the follow-through after the shot (illustrated right).<strong>The</strong> displays are very good, and areprobably better appreciated in real-time, so I would recommend that you download the SCATTsoftware for free from:


http://www.scatt.com/downloads/scatt534.exeand download some example files from :http://ematch.scatt.com/3) Speed vs accuracyAs a SCATT first-timer I was astonished to see how long I had everything lined up in the centreof the target before actually letting the shot go. So another thing that SCATT can give you isthe confidence to speed up your shot release, making each shot quicker, leading to less fatigueand less wind changes – so to some extent a SCATT can help with the wind. If you can convinceyour friends to take it up as well, it might even help with slow partners!4) Explanation for unexplained shots<strong>The</strong> SCATT machine doesn’t just place the shot at the point of aim when the trigger is released.It calculates the fall of shot based on the point of release and the speed at which the barrel ismoving (wobbling) at that instant.This was a real eye-opener for me. In our SCATT session afellow team member was holding the rifle within the “V”, but his shot appeared low right in theInner.A steward’s enquiry was called and we watched the replay of his shot on the SCATT. Onclose inspection the point of aim could be seen to be moving at its fastest with the shooterspulse. So, although the rifle had never left the “V”, he had fired just when the muzzle was movingat its quickest with the beat of the pulse resulting in a low right shot. Uncannily, this was exactlywhat had been experienced out on the ranges.<strong>The</strong> firer was oblivious to this pulse before theSCATT session as it was not pronounced enough to be visible to the firer through the sights.Being able to see the cause gave him the opportunity to work on a solution. He adjusted hisposition so that the amount of pulse was reduced and hey-presto the problem was significantlyreduced.Without a SCATT the low-right shots might have remained a frustrating mystery, orbeen put down to trigger snatch.With a SCATT, different positions can be tried to reduce thelevel of movement with the pulse and instant feedback gained on whether the change has madean improvement.Here is an example – the blue line shows the movement leading up to the shot release, and thered line the follow through.<strong>The</strong> shot is the white spot at 6:00, which has hit low due to the pulsemovement (from blue to red) at the time the shot is released.<strong>The</strong> pulse effect.5) Experimentation<strong>The</strong>re are many factors that affect the general steadiness of the rifle.<strong>The</strong> SCATT can help youtest these in order to work out what gives the steadiest position and smallest pulse.You cantry things out such as different clothing, sling position, handstop position, full or empty stomachetc. etc. and get feedback a lot more quickly than you could on the ranges.


Rather obvious (but often not realized) facts!From your friendly neighbourhood Gunsmith.1) Bedding Problems?In wet weather do you get erratic shots when water gets between the action and the bedding?Cause:Shrinkage of the wood grain in dry weather or swelling in wet weather, in the past, has causedthe grain structure of the wood to change shape and move away from the action in patches.Thisis a permanent effect.When water gets into these tiny spaces it acts like a lubricant and permitsthe action to move about minutely during each shot and so alter the “grip” of the action againstthe bedding.Very short term solution:If the rain stops then take the action out of the bedding, dry the surfaces thoroughly, refit & retorque.Slightly longer term solution:After drying out & refitting, fit an action cover over the action or apply adhesive tape along allthe upper edges where the action and barrel meet the stock. HOWEVER this is not enough –Remember that rain also falls on the barrel in front of the stock!<strong>The</strong>se raindrops will run roundunder the barrel and remain hanging on the underside.When you lift up the barrel or drop thebutt on the ground – Yes – the water runs down the underside of the barrel straight into thebedding completely negating all that tape!<strong>The</strong> solution to this secondary problem is to fit an ‘O’-ring or rubber band around the barrelabout two or three inches in front of the action.This will act as a drip point for these drops,which will fall off into the stock. – BUT- don’t forget that you will need a drain hole or side slotsin the stock to let this accumulating water out, otherwise it will run onwards into the bedding,negating all that work!Best solution:Have the action rebedded in the stock but also still use a wet weather cover when it’s rainingand keep the ‘O’-ring or rubber band permanently in place.Note:Cleaning fluids or oils in the bedding area will cause the same effects as water in the short termand more permanent chemical damage to the bedding material & wood in the long term – sokeep it dry!2) Trigger Problems? – Erratic Trigger Operation.Do you take your bolt out of your rifle on the range?Do you put it on the ground, or on your mat or in the side pocket of your gun bag?Did you realize that the bolt would collect grit, dirt and bits of grass due to the grease/oilaround the locking lugs and the cocking pin area?This dirt falls off into the action when the boltis refitted into the action and/or when fired.As the trigger is the lowest point of the action andis directly below the cocking pin, then guess where the dirt ends up!Solution/Prevention:Don’t remove the bolt unless you have to. If you do, then don’t put it down on the ground ormat or into your gun bag pocket unless it is wrapped in a clean cloth. Make sure your gun bagpocket is clean inside too!Follow these simple precautions and trigger problems caused by dirt will be a thing of the past.3) Bolt flags – Safe or Dangerous?Bolt Flags are a good indicator that a rifle is safe whilst the flag is in place – BUTTHEY ARE NOTINFALLIBLE. It is still possible to trap a live cartridge in the breech area behind/beside the flag.This cartridge can remain there after removing the flag and lead to an accident.Solution:ALWAYS check that the breech and chamber areas are both clear before inserting the flag.4) Are you suffering from too much wind?Check the lateral ‘wobble’ in your back sight.Try pushing the eyepiece sideways. If you have anysideways movement then you have a problem. If the eyepiece doesn’t return to the same placewhen released you have a BIG problem.You can easily have a couple of minutes windage slopwithout realizing it. If you have a large rear Iris assembly on adaptors & extensions, the errorwill be multiplied by two or three times.Solution A: - UK type sightsIf your sight has slide-way tensioner screws, gently tighten them to remove the slop, but notenough to cause backlash in the main screw movements. Do this to both the elevation andwindage slides.Solution B: - Central style sights<strong>The</strong> leaf springs on each of the slide-ways will need reshaping.You will need to have an expertdo this for you.Solution C: - Older type sights with leaf spring tensioners<strong>The</strong> leaf springs will need reshaping and if anyone has packed the springs in the past, the packersshould be discarded as they actually make it worse by preventing the curved leaf spring fromworking correctly.This is also an expert’s job.Solution D: - Buy new sightsIf you can afford to do this, this is your best solution as the most modern sights have built inadjustable tensioners and ball bearings that make resetting easy and eliminate backlash. Alsonew sights will enable you to discard those adaptors and extensions you may have with youreyepiece.


5) New RPA, and RPA made Swing or Musgrave trigger (and some others) thatwon’t keep the weight setting?Was your trigger good when you got it? Did it seem to get better and then fail to hold theweight?What NOT to do:DO NOT ALTER THE WEIGHT SCREW! What has happened is that all the moving contactpoints and engagement surfaces have been bedding in and settling down. In an RPA type triggerthis involves 4 places each with 2 surfaces touching.What this results in is a reduction in theamount of engagement between the sear and the next lever (called the Bent).If you alter the load screw you don’t cure the problem, you actually make it worse and alter thewhole balance of the trigger.This makes it feel awful and very difficult to put right later.What you SHOULD do:ALTER THE ENGAGEMENT SCREW! This corrects the loss of engagement occurring by thebedding in. All that is needed is about 1/8th of a turn Anti-Clockwise.You will find that thetrigger will now pick up the weight without problems and the trigger feels fine again.So when some helpful competitor offers to increase the load screw when you are having aproblem lifting the weight – Smack them!Specsavers directors enjoying a Development day at Bisley.6) Bolt becoming stiffer to open & close?Try cleaning the locking lugs both on the bolt and on the action.Also clean the cocking pin andit’s cam face.<strong>The</strong>n apply a small amount of grease (preferably Molybdenum) to all the contactsurfaces – Magic! – Suddenly it’s easier. But remember what was previously mentioned intrigger problems!Good Shooting!Tony Walker at Marina Arms wishesthe NRA Team every success in the Channel IslandsMarina Arms – Specialists in Corporate HospitalityBlack Powder Pistol and Gallery <strong>Rifle</strong>01273 550868151 Denton Drive, Hollingbury, Brighton, East Sussex. BN1 8DL


‘<strong>The</strong> Problem’by A. StG TuckerIN 1979 I won H.M. <strong>The</strong> Queen's Prize and seven years later I won the Fullbore GrandAggregate. Those stark facts could be the opening lines of a giant ego trip but I assure you theyare not - anything but!I had already been shooting for 28 years when that fantastic day arrived in 1979. 1 was chairedoff the range, greeted warmly in every clubhouse and congratulated by all and sundry. A coupleof days later I flew to Canada as a member of the G. B. team - I could have got there withoutany aircraft, such was the cloud of euphoria on which I floated as a result of winning the mostcoveted prize in shooting. Also, as a direct result of winning, I was invited to club functions asguest of honour and embarrassed for the rest of that year by the praises heaped upon me.Not Comfortable<strong>The</strong> next year (1980) was not a bad year for results, although I was conscious that things werenot going as well as in '79, and towards the end of the year I was not feeling as comfortable inthe shooting position as I had felt previously. I merely put it down to overshooting and put myrifle into hibernation at the end of September. Next year things would go better!<strong>The</strong> 1981 season did not go better things began to go very wrong. I had been conscious in 1980of a slight but irritating tremor affecting the rifle. It was not always there, but now (1981) it wasa permanent feature and I could neither pinpoint the source nor the cause. It obviously camefrom somewhere in my upper body, went down my sling and had a most detrimental effect onthe steadiness of the rifle, so much so that I was shooting slower and slower in an effort to keepthe rifle still. I tried to improve matters by changing things. I shortened my sling, brought thehandstop back, lengthened the sling again, dropped the cuff on the sling so far down the upperarm that it was nearly round my elbow, then put the handstop so far forward that I nearly ranout of forend wood. I tried bringing my right knee up to get my stomach off the ground (couldthis area be the origin of the problem?) and generally got so confused that I began to forget howI had previously positioned things!While all this was going on I was working up a mental problem that was worse than the physicalone. For years I had enjoyed shooting with a passion that breeds on success, but now I was notenjoying it at all. I had previously approached my shooting with the positive mental attitude thatsaid 'I will win'. This had gradually changed through 'I could win' to 'I might win' to 'I can't win'to 'I won't win' to 'I don't think I'll enter', and many other stages until I finally reached the stagein 1982 when I would do almost anything to avoid shooting. <strong>The</strong> situation was alleviatedsomewhat by the fact that I was captain of Surrey during 1981, 2 & 3 so I did not have to shootso much, but I was still picked for the 1982 G.B. team to Canada and I desperately wanted toprove myself worthy.Towards the end of 1982 1 pinpointed the root of the problem. <strong>The</strong> tremor appeared to becoming from my left shoulder blade, so I visited an osteopath on several occasions and had theoffending area 'worked on'. He succeeded in making it very sore, but he did not succeed incuring the problem - the rifle and I still vibrated in a way which often made me doubt whetherthe next round would hit the target at all! I gradually forced myself to shoot more quicklymerely so that others had less chance to witness my struggling.Somehow I got through the 1982 Imperial Meeting and flew off to Canada feeling thoroughlyapprehensive, feeling that I should confess my problem but too ashamed to do so. This was theyear of the Palma Match in Canada so the team rested to get over jet-lag before going toOttawa, but we did not attend the customary Provincial Meeting so our only practice beforethe Palma was the week and a half in Ottawa before the Match.Help<strong>The</strong> tremor was still with me so, in desperation, I decided to take the team doctor into myconfidence to see if he could help. Richard Nicholson may specialise in helping children, but Ishall be eternally grateful to him for the way that he helped me - to help myself. I took him onone side and detailed the problem. In answer to his query as to how I would describe thetremor I can vividly remember saying "It is as if I am having an attack of nerves". <strong>The</strong> realmeaning of what I had said hit me with blinding reality - it WAS nerves. <strong>The</strong> difficulty had beenthat it was SUBconscious rather than conscious, so it was not until that moment of identificationthat I was able to bring it forward into my conscious mind and began to work out how tocounteract it.I remembered in the earlier days of my shooting career the nervousness that would be broughtabout by the pressure of competition. I had thought all that was history. Had I not overcomeeverything - rivals as well as self - to win many competitions, culminating in the Queen's Prize?And yet my sub-conscious had dealt me this blow there is nothing like rifle shooting to bringone down to earth with a bump!Richard gave me some important pointers, but the most important were 1. now that you haveidentified the problem stop fighting it and 2. Change your emphasis. <strong>The</strong> first was relativelyeasy to handle, but the second needed explanation and then application. What he meant (Iconcluded) was that the problem overshadowed everything to such an extent that I wasconcentrating so much on finding a solution that I had no concentration left to apply to theactual shooting. I must therefore take the emphasis off the problem by shifting my concentrationonto something else.It was suggested that I must get back to the position which I had always (pre-problem days)found so comfortable and successful. With help from close friends who had previously beencritical of a position which - theoretically - was quite incorrect, I altered things until they felt


like they always used to feel.I spent the rest of '82 trying to get used to the idea that the problem was one of nerves.Acceptance was not easy merely because it did not sound logical that such a problem shouldarise after so many years, and yet I was immensely relieved that it had been identified. As I putmy rifle away in October for its winter rest, I was able to regard the coming year with muchmore confidence.Easter 1983 saw me at Bisley again with an enthusiasm which I had not felt for the previous twoyears. I had thought about my problem often during the winter, and I had gradually come toaccept it. Now that I was back on the ranges again and knew what the problem was, I was nolonger afraid of it and that was the beginning of the end for 'the problem'. I had also reasonedout what had triggered the problem - the feeling that my winning the Queen's Prize in 1979meant that people were watching me even closer in 1980, either trying hard to beat me or justwaiting for me to crash, although why it had worried me in 1980 and not after previoussuccesses is still a mystery to me.AutomaticDuring the first half of 1983 the problem was still there but it was not always there, and neitherwas it so intense. <strong>The</strong> muzzle would still tend to bounce when the pressure was on but I wasenjoying my shooting more and more - the dread of even appearing on the ranges had vanishedand I felt I was in that period of transition between classT and class O! Furthermore, I had founda way to combat the thing - by a shift in concentration. We concentrate so hard in rifle shootingthat the concentration eventually becomes automatic, so that the way in which we work so hardin the early days on sight picture, trigger control, breathing, weather conditions and a hundredand one other things all merge into one automatic application. When something goes wrongin this automatic process it is usually possible to identify what that something is and correct itby increasing concentration on it. When that something is nerves, however, to concentrateharder on them makes things worse, thus the necessity to shift the emphasis.Thus I needed something new on which to concentrate - something to take my mind off "theproblem" but something which would not affect the things that I had always done whichbenefited my shooting. And so I went back to basics - I concentrated on the thumb on my righthand. In the same way as a baby sucks its thumb as a comforter, so I directed my concentrationon the position that it was in and the pressure which it exerted. By doing this the moment Ibegan to worry about the slight - and now less frequent - bounce in the foresight, I substitutedconcentration for worry until gradually the shift in my concentration became automatic towardsthe end of 1983, and it was only then that I knew that I had it beaten.<strong>The</strong> process was further helped in Canada when the new barrel which I had fitted before goingthere proved incapable of holding a group. Another team member let me use his long rangeSwing, and I found that this considerable change from my old but trusted Grunig gave myconfidence a further boost and, confidence being the perfect panacea to nervousness, I changedmy allegiance to Swing at the end of the year.Looking BackIt all seems so easy in hindsight, but it was far from easy at the time. It was like falling off amountain and having to climb up again, bruised and bleeding, to try to reach the top again. I waslucky - I had friends to help me and the cussedness to want to do it. But what of those whofall and never climb out of the vally again, for I am sure I am not the only one who hasexperienced "the problem" in our sport. One hears of it among professional sportsmen quiteoften. Golfers find they cannot putt with their usual smooth stroke (they call it "the yips") andsnooker players develop the kind of tremor in their cue that I had in my rifle. Successful andrespected shooters suddenly fall out of the prize lists and never feature in them again. It is forthose who have experienced "the problem", and for those who will experience it, that I havewritten this article. I hope that my experience may help them even if it is merely by theknowledge that their suffering is not unique. Others have trodden that path before - and thereis a solution.AVIATION | BUSINESS & FINANCE | COMMERCIAL DISPUTES | ENERGYINSURANCE & REINSURANCE | SHIPPING & TRADEWe wish all the members of <strong>The</strong> <strong>National</strong> <strong>Rifle</strong> <strong>Association</strong>a very successful <strong>tour</strong>WWW.INCELAW.COMDUBAI | HAMBURG | HONG KONG | LE HAVRE | LONDON | PARIS | PIRAEUS | SHANGHAI | SINGAPORE


Team profilesGary Alexander(Captain)Jon Underwood(GM, SM, GC) (Vice Captain)Gary,46,Optometrist, Co-director and fatherof three Army Cadets/Shooters, has seen hisprize list placings improve since dating Sharon(NRA'S Chief Stats Officer).He loves <strong>tour</strong>s and include Canada x5, SouthAfrica x2, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Namibia, <strong>The</strong>West Indies, Germany, Cyprus and Guernseyx2 and Jersey.Born and bred in "Norn Iron" Gary startedshooting with Royal School Dungannon andmade his first trip to Bisley where hecelebrated his 13th Birthday in 1973.This yearwill be his 35th consecutive pilgrimage and heis still shooting for Dungannon and Tyrone aswell as Ireland and Great Britain in TR andMR.Gary is looking forward to visiting the islandsagain having done so before with Herefordand Worcester RC and Bob Aitkins NRAteam (when they won all their matches).Having met with occasional individual success(<strong>The</strong> Admiral Hutton, Cottesloe and FridayAGG) Gary's greatest satisfaction has alwaysbeen in teams, winning the <strong>National</strong> and Elchowith Ireland is where a lot of the fun inshooting is for him and is a source of greatanticipation for this <strong>tour</strong>.Gary also enjoys Game Shooting of allvarieties working with his Springer Spanielsand running and detachment of ACF inWiltshire along with good food and fine winewhich makes the Channel Islands the perfectchoice of <strong>tour</strong>.Jon made history last year by winning all threestages of the Queen’s Prize in the same year.He also won the Grand Aggregate theprevious year (2005) and with a number ofother trophies inscribed with his name, hethinks he is just beginning to get the hang ofthis sport!Jon has <strong>tour</strong>ed on 7 previous GB <strong>tour</strong>s, theUnder 25 <strong>tour</strong> to New Zealand and theAthelings in 1988, but could only makereserve for last year’s team to Canada! He hasalso shot quite a few <strong>National</strong>s Mackinnonsand Kolapores. Jon started shooting at Aldroschool aged 11, and bitten by the bugcontinued to pursue his shooting career atGuildford Grammar School and LondonUniversity.He continues to encourage the youth of thefuture and now helps coach at GuildfordGrammar School. He somehow manages tofit this in between running the family businessof Tool and Plant Hire and property letting.This will be Jon’s first shooting <strong>tour</strong> to theChannel Islands and he is very much lookingforward to the legendary hospitality! His onlyconcern is how far the duties ofVice-Captainstretch to looking after the Captain.


Colin Brook(GM, SM, SF) (Coach)Tim Bedwell(Adjutant)Being a spent force I was invited along on this<strong>tour</strong> purely because the Captain felt a bitsorry for me, he said it was because of mysuper dooper coaching abilities, but I knowthat was a lie.However, prompted by the thought of notwanting to let the side down too much, Idusted down the rifle, blew Fred the spiderout of the foresight and reported for duty.I have shot at Bisley on and off since 1986 andhave enjoyed more or less every minute of it,special memories are simply too numerous tofully list and I continue to be amazed by thebest of human nature continuouslyencountered on the ranges.Having been fiercely competitive in the past, Ihave had some successes, mostly surroundingbeing confused with other, much better shots,with similar sounding names.That said, I think I may have some usefulknowledge to share with the team and if I cangive back some of what has been so freelygiven to me over the last 20 years, (even thattenner I borrowed from the Captain in 1989),I shall count that to be a success.I have worked for the Civil Service as aChartered Surveyor since 1989 and accordingto the Times survey I have just read, havereceived another notable below inflation payrise, such is the price of public service thesedays.I shall leave you with a handy coaching ‘tip’.“Our footprints always follow us on days when it’sbeen snowing, they always show us where we’vebeen, but never where we’re going”Tim, 46, is a project manager for Royal & SunAlliance. Married to Karen with 3 childrenMatt (10), Rachel (8) & Jamie (7).Tim was introduced to full-bore at CityUniversity by a mad Irish Optics student !!Gary was the club captain & ideas man withTim the secretary keeping the paperwork asstraight as possible!! “Committee” meetingsat City were held in the University bar whereGary was working evenings serving TequilaSunrises to chinese students to supplementhis grant. At one of these sessions Garypromised “Tom” (that’s Tim with an Irish lilt),“when I’m a GB captain – you can be myadjutant”. Frankly at that time there seemedas much chance of Gary being captain of a<strong>tour</strong>ing team as Ireland winning the <strong>National</strong>!! Obviously times have changed & althoughthis is not quite a GBTeam yet, the agreementhas been honoured !!Encouraged by Gary, Tim shot his firstImperial meeting in ’82 & enjoyed it so muchhe has shot every Imperial meeting since.Timalso went on his first “<strong>tour</strong>s” with CityUniversity (basically long drives in a minibusfull of students !) to Ballykinler & Altcar.Tim <strong>tour</strong>ed the West Indies in 1994 with theLMRA team (as adjutant) and has alsopreviously been a member of the NRA teamto the Channel Islands with Rupert Clark’steam in 2002.To subsidise his shooting activities,Tim oftenhas a side-bet with Gary – winnings to dateinclude free glasses for life and enough bottlesof port to supply a wedding reception !!Tim also shoots with the LMRA and StockExchange and is captain of the Bucks countyteam.


Team profilesMary BostonPaul CharltonMary is another member of the OldGreshamian girls only hit squad hired by Garyto add some womanly glamour to the team,and this will be her first full NRA <strong>tour</strong> to theChannel Islands.Having <strong>tour</strong>ed Canada, the USA, South Africaand Australia with Great Britain at seniorand/or under 25 level she is no stranger toshooting trips abroad, but does confess thatshe’s looking forward to travelling on a boatinstead of a plane, and thus not having toprune her shoe collection to fit into a minuteweight limit! Needless to say she’s lookingforward to the <strong>tour</strong> enormously, and hopesas much fun and success can be had this timeas has been in the past.Mary is a confirmed country girl at heart buthas now been living ‘temporarily’ in Londonfor about 5 years. Although there are noimmediate plans for a bid for freedom, the pullof the wild is steadily increasing. Eschewingthe tube in favour of commuting by bicycle,she prefers to see the city from above despitethe risk of marauding lorries and ‘ChelseaTractors’.She has also finally reached the conclusionthat doing it yourself really is better thandoing it for somebody else and thus, incollaboration with a friend, Firefly InteriorDesign & Styling has sprung into being. If yourhome or business needs Firefly you mustphone Mary immediately! See the advert onpage 7.Paul's fascination with rifle shooting started asa result of being useless at ball games atschool. If there had been such a vote he wouldhave been a contender for the person leastlikely to represent his county, let alone hiscountry, at any sport.He returns to the Channel Islands hoping totest his coaching metal. He has been in seriousacclimatisation training by working in Antigua,a 108 square mile island with a population ofabout 60,000, since January. <strong>The</strong> Antiguanfullbore range had no wind flags and allshooters fire in a kind of volley fire, as themilitary gallery target mechanisms do notfunction, so the marker emerges betweenvolleys to mark all the targets. He says itconcentrates the mind to have to fire a matchfull of sighters, but looks forward to coachingshooters who fire more quickly.Paul has represented Ireland in 14 Mackinnon,12 <strong>National</strong>, and one each for the Canada andCommonwealth matches in TR and 13 Elchomatches with MR. He has 4 Bisley Queen'sFinal Badges and 2 Grand Aggregate Crosses.He has a collection of finals badges fromaround the world together with GrandAggregate wins in Jersey and Guyana.He was the first person in the world to scorea 20 shot possible at 1200 yards in 2005 whenhe was coached by Gary Alexander.


Reg CurtisIan DavisonCharlotte EvansHolly FosterReg, 43 is the MD of Alpha Retail, runningvarious chains of airport shops and cateringoutlets, where most of you will haveunwittingly contributed to his bonus!He is married to Susie, with 2 teenagers, andis the usual domestic chauffeur, hotelier andfinancier.Hobbies strangely seem to revolve aroundfirearms; from stalking to vermin control, fromSafari to conservation, from clays to game, andfrom gallery rifle to TR. He has otherinterests, including walking, motor bikes, andbeing an absorbed follower of F1.Reg started shooting competitively with hisfather’s black powder rifles as a young lad,which led onto cadet target rifle shooting atschool, culminating in a place on the Athelings<strong>tour</strong> of Canada in 1981. Reg has shotcompetitively ever since, including winning theCorporation, 5 Queens Hundred Badges, and11 HPS crosses.This is Reg’s first <strong>tour</strong> since the Athelings in1981.Ian’s introduction to shooting came as a smallboy, sitting in the back of an uncle’s Morris“Woodie”, watching in fascination as uncletook pot shots at rabbits and empty .22 casescame tinkling down.This start, although somewhat dodgy, led tohim joining a small-bore club in his early teensand subsequently taking up Target <strong>Rifle</strong> in histwenties.<strong>The</strong> following years saw his shootinginterests broaden, and he now dabbles inmany branches of the sport, from deermanagement for the MoD through toshooting classic firearms and cartridgecollecting, althoughTarget <strong>Rifle</strong> remains firmlyhis first choice.Ian is a Project Manager living in Dorset,where he is husband to the understandingSandy,“Pops” to 2 small yet surprisingly vocalgrandsons, captain of the Civil Service TRteam and a member of the Yorkshire squad.He has <strong>tour</strong>ed with NRA teams twice before,to Europe in 1995 and to the Channel Islandsin 2002, and is looking forward enormously torepeating the experienceCharlotte started shooting at Greshams, ayear ahead of team-mate Mary and, erm,'several' ahead of Holly. A regular Norfolkshot, she has also represented Great Britainat under 19 and under 25 level both at homeand abroad, and was selected for the GreatBritain <strong>tour</strong> to New Zealand in 2003 - muchto her disgust and dismay she had to pull outfor the seemingly ridiculous reason ofensuring her future employability.This will beher first NRA <strong>tour</strong> and first trip to theChannel Islands, where she is hopingeverything she has been told about the sunover there turns out to be true.Off the range, Charlie works as a tax adviserin Private Equity/M&A at PwC. In her sparetime she enjoys cocktails, cross-stitch, cooking& more cocktails, but also likes to keep a keeneye on husband John, for whom the delights ofthe combustion engine often mean a verycold supper and far fewer shopping trips forCharlie than would be ideal in her eyes.At present they are house-hunting in London,something Charlie hopes will put an end toJohn's car and bike collecting habits, due tolack of parking... He always knew there was anulterior motive behind that move!Holly started shooting at Gresham’s Schoolaged 12 with a rifle considerably taller (andpossibly heavier!?) than she was and nothingmuch has changed since! Never having to setfoot on a hockey pitch again combined with<strong>tour</strong>ing Trinidad and Jamaica with the schoolteam confirmed her attachment to fullboreshooting. She had a successful summer atBisley 2006, shooting for her county, winningthe Cadet <strong>Rifle</strong> Aggregate and, the highlight ofher career so far, achieving 10th place in HMQueens.In years to come she hopes to have a list aslong as your arm of places she has <strong>tour</strong>ed butafter returning from South Africa with the GBU19’s in April 07, the upcoming NRA ChannelIslands <strong>tour</strong> will be only her second and onwhich she hopes to learn much from herexperienced team mates.If she ever arrives out the other side of hergap year, she’s off to Cambridge to study lawso as to have no need to scrounge CURAcocktail tickets ever again!


Team profilesPeter HalfordDavid RoseSimon ShoulerBen Stevens (Reserve)Peter is just on the wrong side of 50, marriedwith 2 children and lives in Kent. Althoughhaving been a member of the Stock Exchange<strong>Rifle</strong> Club since the '80s, Peter is a bit of alatecomer to competition fullbore Target<strong>Rifle</strong>. A young family had meant that hissporadic visits to Bisley 20 years ago weremainly social.His first proper Imperial Meeting was notuntil 2004 when he won the Admiral HuttonTyro Trophy at the age of 47! and alsorepresented his home county of Kent. Havingnever visited the Channel Islands before Peteris very much looking forward to representingthe NRA there, before his sight deterioratesany further.David (26 - arrgh no longer under25) startedshooting at Epsom College in 1994. Having<strong>tour</strong>ed with the Athelings in '99 David movedonto the GBu25's and has <strong>tour</strong>ed the ChannelIslands previously in 2001 & vice captained theteam to Australia in 2005. Also a regularshooter with Surrey and the OERC David canusually be found propping up the bar in theSurrey.Having enjoyed his previous <strong>tour</strong> to theChannel Islands David is looking forward toreturning and "hopefully" managing to get ahandle on the wind out there!!Away from Bisley David is a recruitmentconsultant in London, and enjoys socialisingaround town but no bar in town can compareto the Mecca that is Bisley.Simon (26), has been shooting since he was12. He lives and shoots for Nottinghamshireand is currently the Champ for this year!Currently working in Pest Control his currenttitle is 'Bird Specialist' he claims this of courseonly applies in a professional sense. Currentlyhe is STILL throwing money away working ona kit car and hopes to complete her for theImperial meeting.Simon's proudest achievements in shooting sofar was main Wind Coach in the GBU25match in Australia05, Reserve last year forEngland and winning the Chairmans cup in2006. Its shall be seven years since he last shotin the Channel Islands and claims he is verymuch looking forward to shoot the Guernseyrange of 'Fort Le Marchant' again.Ben started shooting with his CCF at schoolat the tender age of 14. He went on toOxford University, but it took him at least ayear to find the rifle club in Oxford.When hedid, he found fullbore shooting to be muchmore enjoyable than the smallbore kind,possibly due to the profusion of bars on Bisleycamp. Ben entered his first Imperial meeting in2002, and has climbed roughly 200 places inthe Grand every year since then, which onlygoes to show how low he started. Incidentally,this rise means that he should be winning theGrand this year!Ben has represented Oxford University,Surrey and the North London <strong>Rifle</strong> Club, andhopes that this <strong>tour</strong> will be the first of manyin his shooting career.He hopes to pick up a few more pointers onthe <strong>tour</strong> to help develop his aim to combinewith his experinces gained from the GBU25's,so one day he can represent a Great Britain<strong>Rifle</strong> Team. Simon has expressed greatexcitement towards the <strong>tour</strong> and cant waitfor the shooting to begin.


StuartYoung18 year old Stuart is currently studying themanufacture of hand crafted furniture andtimber technology at Stockport College. Hehas been shooting for 5 years and has shotregularly for the county of Lancaster; he hasalso represented England in the <strong>National</strong> andLawrence Matches and has recently returnedfrom a second <strong>tour</strong> to South Africa with theGB under – 19 Team.Most Sundays during the season he can befound shooting on Altcar ranges; during theweek he enjoys smallboreTR with the City ofSalford club and fits in frequent visits to thegym and of course he also makes time forsocialising. Stuart is looking forward to joiningthe NRA team to the Channel Islands,following in his father’s footsteps (David wasa team member the year before Stuart wasborn in 1988).


Jon Underwood – An appreciation<strong>The</strong> record setting Queen’s Prize winnerBy Tony de Launay“Never under-estimate the determination of the quiet man”. <strong>The</strong>re, save perhaps for anungracious and gratuitous reference to an encroaching forehead, the similarity with a formerleader of the Conservative party comes to a halt.Jon Underwood, or Underperson as the late AndrewTucker habitually referred to him, last yearset the kind of record in the Queen’s Prize that demonstrates a number of qualities in a toprifle shooter. First, there is that quality known as concentration or, if you will, focus. Second,there is the range of technical skills applied in a consistent format that distinguishes the masterfrom the also ran.Third, there is a self-belief that all is possible whatever the disappointments that earlier nearsuccesses have brought - even in the previous 72 hours. Fourth, and last, there is the preciouscommodity of being “an all-round jolly good egg”.From a personal point of view I have known Jon for some considerable number of years. Aswell as being a quiet, unassuming, critically objective and supportive individual, Jon is to me theultra-reliable team shooter who will occupy whatever position you give him in the firing orderwithout grimace or grumble and produce the goods whatever the conditions.It was not difficult to include him in last year’s Mackinnon team as one of the four or so namesthat wrote themselves onto the team sheet - the men or women without whom thefoundations would not be as firm as you would like. It is simply that those shooters holdconsistent top-notch form over a number of years and do not seem to go off the boil.To go through a series of Queen’s I, II and III and to win each and every stage (and QIII is thetotal of QII and III before some clever person points out that others beat him at 900 and 1000)displays all these qualities. So, there will be a formidable competitor in the form of this familybusiness plant hire manager in the team to visit the Channel Islands this May. Thank heavens, Ihear the opposition say, that he should be concentrating on his role as Vice Captain!Not that this is the limit of his qualities. He has been known to celebrate in style, whether itis at his own achievement or at that of a colleague or an opponent. So listen to his words ofwisdom all you young tigers but, like Jon, do not fail to enjoy your shooting experience and putthe lessons – good, bad and indifferent - in your ready use locker for the years ahead.<strong>The</strong> best of luck to you all.


Plot your way to better scoresby David CalvertIf it were possible for a Full-bore target rifle shooter to get an average of an extra point on everyshoot without any expense whatsoever, would he be interested? Probably, yes! So how couldthis be achieved or is it too good to be true?<strong>The</strong> bad news is, that if you already accurately plot each shot during your shoots, keep a runningelevation and wind graph, update your analysis after each shot and fine tune sight adjustmentsbefore each succeeding shot, then you need read no further - you already benefit. However, forthe majority, it may be worth continuing; with a little effort and practice you could improveyour scores and add to the enjoyment of each shoot.So, as you will have gathered, these extra points are to be gained by making full use of the scoresheet, in particular the graphs. <strong>The</strong> main benefit accrues from proper use of the elevation graph.It is no coincidence that the size of the 'bull' is close to the grouping capability of a competentshot with good equipment; it is designed that way and, as grouping capability improves due tomore accurate rifles or better ammunition, so the size of the bull is reduced to maintain anappropriate number of 'possibles' and/or a 'V' bull introduced to assist in tie-breaking. Eitherway, for an individual or team member to realise their full potential, the group must be accuratelycentred. It only takes a bull size group to be a fraction of an inch off-centre for one or moreshots to drop just outside the line. How often after a shoot have you looked at your score sheetand said 'if only I had come up a minute' or 'if only I had 1 more minute of left wind throughoutthe shoot'? Hindsight is all very well but the plan is to turn some of that hindsight into foresightand save points! <strong>The</strong> following 'rules of thumb', example and associated notes provide simpleand easy to follow guidelines.Preparing the Graphs1. Before the shoot, place your best estimate of sight elevation setting and mean wind strengthin the circles along the edge and closest to the middle of the elevation and wind graphsrespectively (i.e. 36' elevation and 2' left wind in the example).2. Fill in the circles either side of your estimated mean values using the following simple rule:Elevation Graph - Put INCREASING values DOWN the graph (and decreasing values up thegraph)Wind Graph - Put INCREASING values DOWN wind i.e. the direction the wind is going(and decreasing values into wind') By preparing the 'scales' for the graphs in this way, you canplot the shots in the natural sense (i.e. a low shot is plotted low and a shot that goes left isplotted left) and the graphs show a true picture of the way the group forms (i.e. the group isshown the right way up and the right way round!).Plotting the Shots3. A 'foolproof' method of plotting the shots on the graphs is as follows:To plot an individual shot, take the sight setting with which the shot was fired and use that valueas the REFERENCE LINE on the graph for that shot. <strong>The</strong>n plot the shot on the graph relativeto that reference line in the direction and by the amount the shot was away from the CENTREof the target (i.e. in the example, for shot 1 the reference line (ie the sight setting) is 35' inelevation and 3' left in wind and the shot is plotted ½' below the 35' line on the elevation graphand 1' left of the 3' left line on the wind graph). Each shot is plotted on the graph relative tothe sight setting used (or 'reference line') in the direction and by the amount that the shot wasfrom the centre of the target. As the group forms on the graphs you can read off what sightsetting was required to put any one shot in the centre of the target (e.g. + 34' and 2' L for shot1) and the mean setting of the whole group as it forms during the shoot (e.g. + 35' elevationafter all 12 shots).Notes1. Plotting quickly and accurately takes practice. You can get this practice by working on oldscore sheets (assuming you have recorded your sight settings!) or by making some up. You willsoon find that you have plenty of time when shooting 3 to a target (e.g. in the NRA MainMeeting) and with experience can plot easily with just 2 shooting on the target. If pressed fortime during the shoot, keep the elevation graph in preference to the wind graph or, if necessary,complete the graphs after the shoot until experience is gained.2. if unsure of your sight elevation setting or wind setting to within about 2' before the shoot,wait until after the first or second sighting shot before preparing the graph(s).3. With a fishtailing wind, as indicated in the example, the wind graph is prepared with increasingLEFT values as you move right from ZERO on the graph (i.e. DOWN WIND for a wind fromthe left) and increasing RIGHT values as you move left of graph ZERO (i.e. DOWN WIND fora wind from the right).4. Declared poor shots should be plotted, but circled, so that they may be more easily identifiedand then ignored when assessing the group for subsequent sight correction.5. On the wind graph an additional option is to plot what you thought the wind was when theshot was actually fired (using, say, an x on the plot with the '.' retained for the plotted shot asbefore): this x value should be close to, or the same as what was on your sights if your windzero is good. <strong>The</strong> mean difference between the x and' .'values at the end of the shoot thenshows either (a) how far your wind zero is in error (assuming you have assessed the wind


accurately) or (b) how good your wind judgement was (assuming your wind zero is accurate!).Practice makes perfect - good shooting (and plotting!)RAF TRC Score Sheets<strong>The</strong> NRA are to 'trial' these to assess demand. <strong>The</strong>y will stock the 300m, MR (9, 10, 11 &1200yd), LR TR (9 & 1000yd) though initially have opted to stock only the 'old', smaller scale3,5 & 600yd sheets rather than the 'new' expanded scale SR TR sheets. Both will of course beavailable from the RAF TRC shop.360o vector diagram. As an example, the 30o 'angle off line is used for a wind from either 1,11 0 5 or 7 o'clock. Pick the wind strength and follow that curved line to the appropriate I angleoff, (from a head or tail wind at 0 deg to a full cross wind from left or right at 90'). Having thusnoted the strength and direction, read straight down the dotted lines to arrive at the deflectionin MoA. By shading in the range of observed wind strengths and direction changes, the expectedmaximum, minimum and mean wind effects can be easily noted.A modified information block on the MR sheets recognises both the use of optical and ironsights as well as the increased relevance of ammunition and weather details in MR.<strong>The</strong> 1995 sheets do, of course, reflect the scoring rings in effect from 1 April, the A5 size is largeenough to plot up to 20 shots with graphs etc., yet compact enough to make use, storage andreference easy.As far as is possible there is standardisation across the range of sheets; it has been a hallmarkof the RAFTRC TR philosophy to have score sheets showing one minute of angle (MoA) thesame 'size' on the sheets for each range. For the 1995 series there is a larger scale option(50% increase in scale) for the short ranges. Due to the smaller size of the metric scoringareas, the 300 metre sheet is available only in this 'expanded' scale. <strong>The</strong> expanded SR plottingarea and graphs should mean that the size of the groups and plotted graphs on these sheets willbe similar to those on the LR sheets due to the inherently larger size of the latter in terms ofMoA.Paper weight has also been the subject of much thought. If too flimsy it may be difficult tohandle and cause problems if allowed to get damp. if too thick, then bulk makes storage forreference a problem. <strong>The</strong> compromise is a heavy 100 g/m2 bond paper. This is used for themajor run of sheets (expanded 3, 5 & 600yd and TR 9 & 1000yd) and is the planned weight forthe future print runs of all 13 sheets.<strong>The</strong> successful wind allowance vector diagrams, introduced in the sheets in the late 1970s, havebeen retained. <strong>The</strong> allowances have been revised, using information from a number of Sourcesand modified by experience.<strong>The</strong> MR wind graph allowances are for 190 grain bullets at representative muzzle velocities andthe diagrams are annotated accordingly (190gr).It may be worth mentioning how the wind diagrams are used. <strong>The</strong> 90o sector is 1/4 of a full


Her Majesty <strong>The</strong> Queen’s prize – some personal notesby Colin BrookIn 1993 I was given a copy of Susie Cornfield’s book ‘<strong>The</strong> Queen’s Prize’; if you have not readit, I can heartily recommend it, though it may now be out of print. Susie’s book finishes its historyof arguably target shooting’s most coveted prize, in around 1986, and this was around the timeI took up the sport.I recall my first <strong>tour</strong> of the trophy exhibition and, to my youthful eye, I was somewhatoverwhelmed by the array of silverware, but what stands out in my memory is the scene of aman in his late 30’s, or perhaps early 40’s, accompanied by his young son. <strong>The</strong>y were bothstanding in front of the Grand Aggregate shield and the son said to his father “ That must bethe one everyone wants to win, dad” and the reply came,“well, perhaps, it is the hardest oneto win, but come and have a look over here”. <strong>The</strong>n, peering into a cabinet of fairly modestlooking medals contained in leather cases, the father pointed to the Gold Medal.“That’s the oneevery shooter wants to win, that’s the Queen’s”Thank you also for making such good scores for the County.SincerelyR E W JohnsonBack to the father and son screenplay acted out in the trophy exhibition, clearly somethingabout the tradition and the emotion which surrounds the Queen’s, is the root of the ‘want’ towin this prize, setting it apart from all of the other individual competitions.For me, the Queen’s prize gives the chance to become part of something that probably will lastforever, in a world obsessed by change.Sit Perpetuum perhaps?Susie’s book reports on the winning of the very first Queen’s prize by Edward Ross, via thisextract from the London Illustrated News:“When called to receive the Queen’s prize of £250, the band struck up ‘See the conquering herocomes’, and the applause that had greeted him before was redoubled. He bore his honours withgreat quietness of manner, receiving the prize just as coolly as he had shot for it”.“Mr Ross wascalled on to show his gold medal and, finally, to put it on: he held it up to the spectators, butcould not comply with the other request - the medal had no ‘fixings’.”It was, in fact, five years before I was first required to attend the prize giving to collect anindividual prize myself, albeit a second place. I think it was at that point that I began tounderstand the depth of feeling and the importance of the tradition that seems to seep intoevery corner of Bisley. It is hard to put this into a ‘tin’ but to try and share a little of what I mean,my late County Captain had this to say, on the back of a postcard, by way of encouragement tome in 1991.4 Aug 91I did not have a chance after the Queen’s final to congratulate you on your fine effort that day.Welldone indeed!You have plenty of time to reach the Chair – you are lucky – youth is on your side. It tookme 35 years to advance from 3rd to 2nd and by that time my eyesight was starting to “go”.Colin and friends celebrate his second place in theQueens in ‘91.


Smallbore shooting – good practice for Target <strong>Rifle</strong>?by Ian DavidsonAt first sight it may seem curious to have an article discussing small-bore target shooting in the<strong>brochure</strong> of an NRA Target <strong>Rifle</strong> <strong>tour</strong>ing team.Well maybe not so strange; the Channel Islands<strong>tour</strong> takes place in May, early in the Target <strong>Rifle</strong> year, before many of us have had muchopportunity for practice after the winter and what is, for most of us, a long break from Target<strong>Rifle</strong> shooting.<strong>The</strong> problem therefore is how to stay in practice, remain sharp and be matchready for some serious competition early in the Target <strong>Rifle</strong> year.a wide range of small-bore prone matches and not simply short range indoor shooting, althoughthe latter will undoubtedly be the main source of winter practice in the UK. I'm in no doubtthat to maximise the benefit and pleasure of small-bore rifle, it is essential to experience thejoys of outdoor shooting at 50m and 100 yards too.Without doubt there are some significant differences between Target <strong>Rifle</strong> and small-bore rifleshooting, and these have been comprehensively examined in a paper by Tim Elliott entitled‘Differences between small-bore and full-bore prone Target <strong>Rifle</strong> shooting’. It is an excellentread and I recommend it to you *.<strong>The</strong>re are also great areas of overlap such as building a stableand effective prone position, breathing control, obtaining the correct sight picture, triggercontrol, and the process of taking the shot where fundamental lessons learned for one disciplinecan be readily applied to the other.<strong>The</strong>se skills are key to both aspects of our sport, so thatwinter practice on the small-bore range can reinforce good practice forTarget <strong>Rifle</strong> and you canhit the ground running when the spring arrives.In this article, I don’t propose to revisit whatTim has already covered so well, but rather to focuson a few differences between small-bore rifle andTarget <strong>Rifle</strong> which may be considered to makemixing the two more difficult, and how they may be overcome and even used to advantage.Shooting at Fort Le Marchant, Guernsey on a glorious May day (mustn’t damage theNapoleonic fort).SCATT is an excellent device designed to enable the shooter to develop and improve his or hertechnique in a controlled and measurable way, with the added advantage of being able to remainin practice during the winter months. An increasing number of rifle shooters are becomingfamiliar with the SCATT trainer, and an article specifically about SCATT appears elsewhere inthis <strong>brochure</strong>. However, SCATT is expensive and only a limited number of individuals and clubscurrently have them. It also doesn’t facilitate the competitive environment that can sometimesmodify our performance.It is my belief that the best way for the Target <strong>Rifle</strong> shooter to develop technique and remainin winter practice lies in a combination of dry firing with a device such as SCATT and live firing– and what better way to experience year-round live firing than with the small-bore rifle. I mustbe clear at this point that when I talk about small-bore target rifle shooting, I'm thinking aboutSight adjustmentAn obvious problem is that full-bore and modern small-bore target rifles (the well-knownGerman makes for example) are fitted with sights that adjust for windage and elevation inopposite senses. For the shooter who aims to be competitive in both disciplines, this isundoubtedly a significant difference that brings the very real chance of winding the wheels thewrong way, particularly when under pressure and making rapid adjustments in fluctuating windconditions.This would clearly be disastrous.<strong>The</strong> problem is compounded by the fact that small-bore rifle sights aren’t even consistent; BSA’sadjust in the same sense as Target <strong>Rifle</strong>s, whilst German rifles wind the other way.<strong>The</strong>n thereis the size of the click adjustment; most Target <strong>Rifle</strong> and BSA sights have quarter minute clicks,whilst Anschütz etc generally use one sixth minute adjustments. It just gets worse and worse.For this reason some shooters who wish to be proficient in both small-bore and full-bore havedoggedly held on to their trusty BSA International, so that their sights will all adjust in the sameway with consistent click size. This is a perfectly acceptable solution to the sight problem,although it rather limits the choice of small-bore rifle, and introduces a new potential issue –BSAs come with single stage triggers.<strong>The</strong>re is no easy answer to this one, but my response is ‘vive la différence’! My Anschütz andmy Musgrave are sufficiently different that I'm never in doubt which one I'm shooting. If I were


Comparing target sights (L toR): Anschütz, BSA, and typicalTarget <strong>Rifle</strong>; BSA &TR sights arevery similar.in any doubt, the first shot would certainly resolve it! In terms of adjusting the sights, just thinkof the sight knob as being a nut running on a fixed right hand thread, and:If the rifle goes pop, it’s the Anschütz and I wind the sight knob such that it would move inthe direction I want to move the impact;If the rifle goes boom, it must be the Musgrave so I wind the sight knob such that it wouldmove in the direction that my shots are falling.It’s a straightforward system that works for both windage and elevation.Touch wood, I’ve nevercaught myself winding the wrong way. Still, if you are concerned about confusing small-bore andTarget <strong>Rifle</strong> sights you can always play safe and use a BSA.TriggerMany shooters prefer to fit their full-bore target rifles with two stage triggers, for the simplereason that the trigger must carry a minimum of 1.5 kg. It is easier to control this relatively heavytrigger if the majority of the weight can be safely taken up during the early stages of shot release,and held on the first pull.This leaves the shooter both physically and mentally with just thesecond stage to cope with, and only the remaining weight to be squeezed-off in the final stageof shot release.Modern small-bore target rifles are also normally fitted with two stage triggers so the style oftrigger is the same, although a much lighter pull is normally used. Should you decide to use aBSA .22 rifle, as already discussed, these are fitted with a single stage trigger. However, goodsingle stage triggers are available for full-bore rifles, so this is also a viable option for those thatprefer this type.As far as the different weight of pull is concerned, it would be possible to adjust your small-boretrigger to the same 1.5 kg weight as your full-bore, for the sake of commonality. However, thiswould probably make you less competitive, and is unnecessary in my opinion. Personally, I usetwo stage triggers throughout and cope with the different pull weights. I find that the sametrigger control technique works equally well; you just have to scale it up a bit for the heavierweight of the full-bore trigger. My advice is not to get hung up over small differences; the tworifles will always be quite different, but you may be surprised at how readily you will learn tocope with this.Follow-throughSurely follow-through is one area where there should be no difference between small-bore andfull-bore target rifle shooting. It is simply the act of doing nothing – maintain position and holdthrough shot break, recoil, and a few seconds thereafter.That shouldn’t be difficult, should it? Sowhy do we still see a few Target <strong>Rifle</strong> shooters who seem to fire the shot, ground the rifle andunload in virtually a single movement? By its very nature, small-bore shooting is done in stringsand so the marksman will normally maintain the rifle in his shoulder throughout the series ofshots, which helps to promote follow-through.With a lower velocity round and consequentlylonger bore time, he must follow-through properly or pay the penalty of a larger group. I amnot trying to discourage the Target <strong>Rifle</strong> marksman from grounding the rifle between shots;when shooting in turn with two or three to a target, it is necessary to rest the supporting armwhen you can.What I am saying is that the marksman must pay attention to the follow-throughbefore doing so.Here is a simple exercise to learn from the .22 shooter: Fire the shot, and then do nothing fora count of three. Job done.Mental approachI am convinced that certain differences between the two disciplines can, if approachedconstructively, be used to complement your shooting. Be aware however, that those samedifferences can also be approached wrongly, with a distinctly negative result.Let me explain:In all shooting, it is essential to maintain concentration and the mental determination to “Makeevery shot a bull”.This sounds obvious, but we can sometimes forget how important the concept is. Because ofvery tight scoring rings, the punishing effect of wind on the .22 bullet, and the mental strain ofa long competition, the small bore competitor knows that most matches (and I’m thinking of40 shot Dewar or 60 shot English Matches for example) will be won with a less than perfectscore.<strong>The</strong>re is an obvious danger here that the shooter will approach the match with the attitude thatit can be won even though some points will be dropped.This approach is obviously not a winner,although it may not be too disastrous where between 40 and 80 shot matches are the norm –there may be time to recover from the damage caused by a lapse of concentration or lazy wind


Gary’s anecdotesreading. However, it is catastrophic inTarget <strong>Rifle</strong> where 10 to 15 round matches allow no scopeto recover from lost points.<strong>The</strong> Target <strong>Rifle</strong> shooter must make every shot count and knowsthat he must approach every shot with maximum concentration and the determination to makeit a bull.In this respect, the small bore shooter has something to learn from hisTarget <strong>Rifle</strong> counterpartin the mental approach to every shot. If theTarget <strong>Rifle</strong> shooter carries this approach into smallborecompetitions, performance can be improved.<strong>The</strong>re is no doubt that successful shootersin both disciplines adopt this approach, although it is perhaps better understood inTarget <strong>Rifle</strong>.Conversely, the Target <strong>Rifle</strong> shooter is sometimes guilty of sloppy technique in the knowledgethat the relatively generous Target <strong>Rifle</strong> bull size allows some room for error; the effectivediameter of the Target <strong>Rifle</strong> bull is over 60% larger than that of the small-bore bull.This meansthat a group tight enough to score bulls on NSRA small-bore targets would score V-bulls forthe full-bore shooter.This is where the Target <strong>Rifle</strong> marksman can profit from adopting the small-bore approach,where good technique (eg position, hold, shot release, follow through, etc) is essential to highscoring.‘<strong>The</strong> Plank’It was July in the mid 1980s and the occupants of “Tyrone Corner” were somewhat scepticalwhen Gary modestly let on that he had scored a 50-25 in the Donegal (in those days insteadof V bulls you fired 5 extra tie shots if you got a 50). Sure enough, when the prize list waspublished, it was confirmed that Gary was in the tie shoot with 7 or 8 others. It seemed fateto Gary that an Irishman should win the Donegal and he set of to the trophy exhibition tocheck out how much Silvo he would need to keep the trophy in pristine condition. If youhave a chance during the meeting have a look at the Donegall – it is one of the mostimpressive trophies. [can we get photos for the <strong>brochure</strong>] <strong>The</strong> tie shoot was held on a dampevening and unfortunately Gary didn’t win and he vowed never again to tempt fate by lookingat a trophy before he’d won it !!In 1993 Gary once more caused consternation & disbelief in Tyrone Corner by claiming tohave shot a 50.10 in the Admiral Hutton (yes by then V-bulls had been introduced !). By thetime the prize list came out it transpired that it was a 2-way tie shoot and Gary spent thenext couple of days giving the trophy exhibition a wide berth !! <strong>The</strong> evening of the tie shootcame and Gary was victorious !! With victory secured Gary & friends headed for the trophyexhibition to feast his eyes on the trophy – however the first few minutes of searching didn’tuncover it. Finally it was found – it’s quite a small trophy which was irreverently described byone of the party as “two candlesticks cunningly nailed to a plank of wood”. Since then Garyhas won his share of impressive pots – but his first individual trophy at the meeting was “<strong>The</strong>Plank” !!Tight scoring rings mean that the small-bore marksman must develop good techniqueand build a stable position.In conclusion then, I hope I have convinced you that small-bore target shooting is a brilliantway of keeping in practice through the winter months. More than that though, small-boreshooting is an excellent sport in its own right, especially as an outdoor discipline at the longerranges. I don’t expect everyone to agree with my ideas. Indeed it would be a dull world if theydid, and this article will have achieved its purpose if it just stimulates a bit of thought anddiscussion.* A copy of Tim Elliott’s paper ‘Differences between small-bore and full-bore prone Target <strong>Rifle</strong> shooting’,and otherTarget <strong>Rifle</strong> shooting notes, are available on request by contacting him on tje@easynet.co.uk.Tim’sassistance in reviewing this article is gratefully acknowledged.“<strong>The</strong> Irish Open”A quiet evening at home was disturbed by an excited phone call from Gary.“Tom,Tom, Do you want to speak to the Irish Champion ?”(I’m actually Tim, but it sounds like Tom in Gory’s accent !)“Put him on Gary, put him on !!” I replied“No its me” he said (without checking if I was sitting down first !)After the initial disbelief the story of Gary’s triumph emerged.


<strong>The</strong> Irish open is shot over two days finishing with the top 16? shooters shooting a 2 and 15at 600 yards. Gary went into the final a point ahead of the next shooter – Bob Aitken, andthey were detailed on the same target. Gary and Bob shot quickly, matching each other shotby shot, until DISASTER Gary’s 11th came up as a Magpie. Bob pressed home his advantageand kept the lead going into the final few shots. Independently the Scottish Team with a planeto catch were looking nervously at their watches, and after a quick word with the organisers,it was decided to cut the final short and the shout went out “Stop after 10”. So Gary wascrowned Irish Champion with a non-counting Magpie for his 11th – and Bob was robbed !!collection.<strong>The</strong> following day we shot the Edge and used the 1200 scores to decide the Armourers. SoGary's 97 was beaten by a pair of 94s. Clint Dahlstrom won the tie and the prize of £100, anAlexander Forsyth (Inventor of the Percussion system of ignition) Memorial Medal to keep,and an invite to the Livery Dinner. But I, and the NRA, wrote to the Livery (one of myneighbours is a past master) putting Gary's case, so Cinders did get to go to the ball afterall…“<strong>The</strong> HPS that never was” – or “Payback for the Irish Open”<strong>The</strong> year was 2000.<strong>The</strong> Place was the NRA July MR Meeting.And Gary "Cinderella" Alexander was not really enjoying things.Whatever could, was goingwrong. On the Saturday and Sunday morning there was always a story about what had gonewrong, in fact it was part of the progress of the day to find out what particular conundrumhad been placed in Gary's way.So on Sunday lunch-time it was no surprise to find Gary was not in the "Top Hopton "second detail but in the "Hopton-also-rans" first detail, whilst I had just conjured a seconddetail place where I was due to shoot with Andrew Tucker.A slightly battered Gary goes off to the range with a pitiful cry of "Just one shoot without astory would be nice", and so indeed it was.A 97 something has been good enough to win inall but one year, so Gary was ecstatic, as he deserved to be.As we prepared for the seconddetail the BLACK clouds gathered over Red Road Ridge at the far end of the Stickledownsafety area.Andrew, who was recovering from surgery declared that he was not willing torisk the damp, so I shot alone and rattled off the string as fast as I could, after about six shotsit was clearly raining in the butts, after twelve the first drops on the firing point, after fifteen Iwas having to tell my register-keeper the value as his scope could not see clearly through therain.After seventeen I made safe, covered the rifle with a towel and retired to the RO gazeboas the cats, dogs, buckets and rivers streamed by.A few minutes later the RO called cease fire (no one had, due to no targets or butts beingvisible. and a half hour after that the competition was declared voided.Ten minutes after thatBright Blue broken-Clouded sky heralded a lovely evening and another story for Gary's“Gary’s dry stag do”Gary’s chose his brother Keith to be his best man, and Keith came up with an excellent planfor Gary’s stag do.Plan : University minibus full of students/friends – “Sally Line” ferry Ramsgate to Dunkirk &back – don’t get off in Dunkirk – smorgasbord & booze on the ferry – head home suitablyrefreshed.Reality : Minibus broken down on M2 – Ferry Missed – no booze on the bus - Licensinghours 12-2 – at 1:59 bus still being worked on by the man from the AA – Canterbury and itspubs visible in the distance – bus fixed – headed into Canterbury – pubs & restaurants closed– lunch in McDonalds – request for happy hats all round politely refused – 3pm and still nobooze in sight.Happy Ending : Corner shop/off licence discovered – licencing laws still a problem – went inmob-handed, will he serve us ?? – Asian man behind counter’s eyes light up – “Only here forthe beer then boys ?!” – Ker-ching !! – Tinnies galore - Drive back to Brick lane – Keith fallsasleep with his face in a bowl of curry !


Annoying observations of a spent forceby Colin Brook (GM, SM, SF)Being a spent force does bring it’s advantages: I am rarely bothered for autographs, mypostage costs for replying to fan mail is considerably less than it was and I have shed theattentions of the paparazzi.When the captain asked me if I could include a few coaching tipsfor the <strong>brochure</strong>, I scratched my head, pondered momentarily about my receding hairline andwondered if there was anything I could share with you. So:‘Black blob in middle, squeeze trigger’A simple concept, often hard to do, but if that black (or often grey) blob is not in the middleof your sights as the shot goes off, you probably won’t get the result you want.Working onthe shot release, via .22 shooting and maybe (though I have little experience of them)electronic computerised gubbins, is probably a warmer way of winter training.This takes meon to…‘A carefully aimed shot, on the correct wind, generally scores a bulls eye’This can be phrased in other ways.• A poorly aimed shot on the wrong wind, sometimes scores a bulls eye• A carefully aimed shot on the wrong wind rarely scores a bulls eye• A carefully aimed shot on the correct wind, pointing at next door’s target…It sounds obvious, but the carefully aimed shot part is the most important, you only getdecent feedback on wind calls if you fire good shots, or are lucky enough to coach annoyinglygood shooters. If you are struggling with wobbly releases you might try:a) With a practice target up and ready, get an obliging friend to squeeze the trigger for you,while you do the aiming bit.b) Get the same friend to load for you, sometimes with live rounds, sometimes not.This isthe classic way of detecting any anticipation of recoil.c) Maybe have a try with the said electronic gubbins mentioned above.I am a spent force, so you are at liberty to ignore me, but at your peril…


AcknowledgementsGary Alexander and the Team are indebted to everyone who has been involved in helping theteam whether by hospitality, financial support, advertising, donating their time or assistance,or taking part in Corporate days.Mark Scoggins, Fisher Scoggins LLP<strong>The</strong> management and team in Alpha Retail at Jersey AirportJohn Carmichael, HPS Target <strong>Rifle</strong>s Ltd.Ince & Co.Paul Cutts, Diverse Trading Ltd.Mandy Eulenkamp, UniglobeDonna & Colin, London & Middlesex <strong>Rifle</strong> <strong>Association</strong>Mary Boston, Firefly Interior DesignTony Walker, Marina ArmsGemma Duport, Specsavers GuernseyDavid Kirwin, Specsavers CreativeSpecsavers Newbury<strong>The</strong> Overseas Team FundKaren RobertsonKaren Bedwell<strong>The</strong> <strong>National</strong> <strong>Rifle</strong> <strong>Association</strong>/<strong>National</strong> Shooting CentreMark ShoulerDavid Richards and Charles Oliver-BellasisPaul CharltonMargaret ThomasRichard BailieJersey <strong>Rifle</strong> <strong>Association</strong>Guernsey <strong>Rifle</strong> Club<strong>The</strong> following Specsavers practices:Altrincham Bedford Bexleyheath BradfordBraintree Bristol (Fishponds) Camberley CannockChatham East Dereham Farnham GloucesterGreat Yarmouth Harrow Hertford HollowayLoughton Maidenhead Northallerton North FinchleyNottingham Richmond Ruislip StainesStreet Truro Wells WokingWood Green WorcesterAlan Goddan, Linda Weaver and the Specsavers Regional Development Team<strong>The</strong> Surrey <strong>Rifle</strong> <strong>Association</strong>Martin FarnanDavid Calvert<strong>The</strong> late Andrew StG TuckerTim ElliottTony de LaunayWith Special thanks for all the help and support from Doug & Mary Perkins.

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