Winter 2002 - National Rifle Association

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A PNRA RA PROPOSALTO AMENDTHE NRA RULEDEFINING THE MATCHRIFLEPresented to the Meeting of Match Riflemen, July 2002 by Richard KenchingtonI consider Match Rifle to be the “Formula One” ofshooting - it is what people graduate to after learningto shoot in other disciplines, and represents thepinnacle of activity in the British style of rifle shooting.Occasionally, as in Formula One motor racing, theformula needs to be changed. There has always beenan experimental aspect to Match Rifle shooting,whereby the very nature of the sport involvescompetitors trying out new ideas with their rifles andammunition. Over the past eight or ten years, I haveexpressed the view in several quarters that theexperimental aspect of Match Rifle shooting is beingstifled by the restriction to the standard 7.62mmNATO cartridge case, and I make no apology forreiterating that view. The restriction needs to berelaxed.In proposing that a wider choice of cartridge beallowed for the Match Rifle, I am only following theprecedents set during the first part of the 20th century.In 1963, the last year of .303 Streamline, the optionstill existed to use “any Foreign Service Rifle” with“ammunition . . . supplied by the competitor”. Thiswas in line with “one of the chief objects” of MatchRifle shooting, as expressed in the Bisley Bible frombefore 1914 until 1963, to determine “the barrel andammunition most suitable for present-dayrequirements”, and with the need for the cartridge tobe “a serviceable one from a military point of view,having regard in particular to the weight to be carriedby the soldier, and to the terms of InternationalConvention”. These phrases were actual rubrics speltout in the rule book.I am not, however, suggesting that absolutely anycartridge be allowed, as I would not wish to changethe fundamental nature of Match Rifle shooting, whichin essence is the attempt to hit the bullseye at thelongest possible distance, making use of a rifle andammunition only just powerful enough to produceconsistent results. Consider the cartridge as a box ofenergy, by the use of which, with the help of the rifle,one attempts to puncture the bullseye. Clearly, inorder to have meaningful competition, the amount ofenergy in the box needs to be subject to some limit,but does the exact shape of the box really matter? Fromthe soldier’s point of view, the overriding concern isthe weight of the ammunition he has to carry.Therefore the only restriction that is really needed is alimit on the weight of the loaded round, and I suggestthat this should be one ounce. My starting point inarriving at this was obviously the existing 7.62mmNATO cartridge. The weight of a 7.62 NATO roundloaded with a 190 grain bullet is about 412 grains [190(bullet) + 170 (case) + 46 (charge) + 6 (primer) = 412].As this cartridge can be loaded with heavier bullets34and slightly larger charges, some slack needs to beadded to this figure. Add 6% and you arrive at justunder one ounce (437.5 grains), a nice round Britishunit of weight.I accept that such a limit would allow the use ofcartridges that require less elevation, and retainvelocity better than the 7.62mm NATO. Within reasonI think this would be no bad thing, as it would take usa bit further away from the transonic instability regionat 1200 yards without altering wind deflectionssignificantly, and would thus not markedly affect theelement of skill needed in reading the wind. Theweight limit would outlaw most magnum cartridges,because in general they have heavy cases. Howeverit would embrace most existing military rounds,including the .30-06 (at the very top end of the scale)and 7x57. Other cartridges such as the 6.5x55, 6mmRemington and .22-250 should fall easily within theweight limit.What would happen if such a rule were introduced?Initially, most competitors would continue with their7.62mm NATO barrels, and might widen theirexperiments with VLD bullets and double-basedpowders in an effort to improve performance. Somemight have their existing barrels re-chambered toprovide a bit more powder capacity. A few alreadypossessing rifles in other calibres might be able tocompete with them. Gradually however, ascompetitors naturally approached the time for a newbarrel, consideration would be given to thepossibilities of other calibres. Those with new barrelsin whatever calibre would tend to win (as they donow), but generally I doubt whether there would beany major change in the level of scoring, or anywidespread feeling of uncompetitiveness moreprofound than that already felt when one’s barrel isbeginning to lose its edge.Besides, I do not necessarily believe that the only recipefor success after such a rule change would be the useof the cartridge with the highest possible muzzleenergy. The 7.62mm NATO has already shown itselfcapable of near-possible scores over the full 45-shotAlbert or Elcho course; witness the score of 224,including a 75 at 1200 yards, made by Pete Campbellin the Spring Meeting this year. However, the scopefor experimentation, especially with small calibres,would be significantly widened were we to make sucha rule change. It would not diminish the need forcompetitors to exercise skill in wind-reading, whichwould still be the main requirement for high scoring,but it would demonstrate that the choice of calibreand cartridge can and should be an integral part ofthe quest for success in this fascinating sport.
HMHM THEQUEENUEEN’S GOLDENJUBILEEMEETING2002This would be the first year when the MkII version ofthe SA80 made its presence felt at Bisley. Early reportswere very encouraging, the RAF’s John Prictorcommented that the rifle “just doesn’t stop”; ironicallyseveral thousand miles away the Royal Marines werehaving problems getting theirs to start! DoubtlessWarrant Officer Tommy Sands’ colleagues weresecretly hoping his rifle would stop and prevent himwinning another Queen’s Medal.Despite increased commitments on an almost worldwide scale, competitor numbers were slightly up onthe previous year. The American National Guard wereback, after the Foot and Mouth outbreak caused theircancellation last year, along with regulars from theCanadian Armed Forces and the Sultan of Oman’sArmed Forces; they were also joined by the SouthAfrican Defence Force making a welcome visit.With several top ten places and an appropriate first inthe Gurkha Welfare Match, Colour Sgt ManbahadurGarbuja of 2 Royal Gurkha Rifles collected a wellearned Queen’s Medal by a five point margin fromCpl Prembahadur Baral also of 2 RGR. In the RoyalNavy/Royal Marines Queen’s Medal competitionWarrant Officer Tommy Sands brushed off stiff earlycompetition to collect what would almost certainly behis last Queen’s Medal before retirement, whilst ChiefTechnician John Prictor notched up his tenth win inthe Royal Air Force Queen’s Medal. In the overseasevents the Canadians and Omanis held a strangleholdon the premier places.When events moved to the NRA sponsored events,the big teams would find the larger teams hiving offpeople to practice for the Blue Riband service rifleevent, the Methuen Cup, leaving numbers down 20%on last year. This helped the Omanis and Canadiansto dominate the prize lists. Monday morning wouldsee a clean sweep of the top places by the Omanis,SERERVICERIFLEby Peter Campbell2002Major Al Nasseri led from the front to win the BisleyBullet from Sgt H Al Ghassani, while in the Sittingand Standing Sgt S Al Ghassani collected the pots aftera three way tie in the Standing. After a non-productivemorning, the Empire struck back in the afternoon withLt JC Barber of the Royal Signals winning the Kinnaird,whilst the Canadians collected the Stephens andWantage, both after three way tie shoots. The Stephensneeded a second tie to separate Pte RW Marshall fromWO ML Grey and Maj Al Nasseri of the SOAF.Tuesday brought the Queen Mary - Sharpshooting at500 yards, Fire and Movement from 500 yards to 100yards, Rapids at 300 yards and finally Snap Shootingat 300 yards - something for everyone. Predictably,perhaps, this event was also dominated by the Omaniswith Major Al Nasseri in first place with a score of186, from Sgt Rioux Canadian Forces in second, SgtAl Ghassani in third and Cpl Sandall in fourth allscoring 184 - a tie shoot was required to split them.The Service Rifle Championship went for the thirdsuccessive year to Oman, this time in the hands of SgtAl Ghassani. The Omani/Canadian domination ofthe NRA Service Rifle Championship was sufficientto secure the top eleven places.Wednesday would be Methuen Day which recentlyhas been an event with almost a carnival atmosphere,as Regiments and Corps vie with each other, not onlyfor best team but for the best display. Several teamssupply lunch for their team members and guests. Asusual it was expected to be a two-way fight betweenthe Royal Irish and the Gurkhas, the two regimentsthat have held a stranglehold on the trophy in recentyears. However it was the Royal Electrical andMechanical Engineers who took first blood with ascore of 277, leading the Royal Signals and Gurkhason 274 and the Royal Irish on 273. Practice 2 saw theRoyal Irish regain the initiative with a score of 276,with the Gurkhas managing 271. Practice 3 wouldThe Royal Air Force Chair is becoming very Prictor-shaped afterhis tenth Queen’s Medal win. (Photo: Karen Robertson)Lord Methuen presents the Methuen Trophy to the Royal IrishRegiment. (Photo: Peter Campbell)35
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Page 11 and 12: Imperial Meeting 2004For advance in
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Page 27 and 28: The team in Trinidad. Standing: Mic
Page 29 and 30: (weekend) Aggregate with 332.38 ex
Page 31 and 32: grazing nonchalantly in the line of
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Page 41 and 42: Since there is no 1200 shooting in
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Page 45 and 46: For many today was all-change in th
Page 47 and 48: John Jackman congratulates Scott Mu
Page 49 and 50: Friday 12 July - The Morning After
Page 51 and 52: to my right seemed to be dropping p
Page 53 and 54: The Bisley MeetingOne of the pleasu
Page 55 and 56: plans are in such an early stage he
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Page 60 and 61: THEGAMESFROM A MEDIAPERSPECTIVEby T
Page 62 and 63: Somewhat unsurprisingly, according
Page 64 and 65: FULLBORERIFLEPAIRSRESULESULTSTS300
Page 66 and 67: The Northern Ireland pair at work o
Page 68 and 69: to allow the sport to continue in s
Page 70 and 71: OF NRAPRESENTRESENTATIONTION OFNRA
Page 72 and 73: Once upon a time an enthusiastic Br
Page 74 and 75: Guernsey Range.NRA Team with GRC af
Page 76 and 77: WHAHAT ABOUTTRAININGRAINING?by Bob
Page 78 and 79: If you belong to a small-bore club,
Page 80 and 81: ATTRATTRACTINGNEWMEMBERSby Malcolm
Page 82 and 83: Up until now the club had not incur
Page 84 and 85: From Yvonne Laceby-StevensShooting
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OBITUBITUARIESGeorge Frederick Arno
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David Jones.22 squad for many years
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