Reeds Target Shooting Club - Selecting Rifles

Getting Started > Selecting Shotguns & Firearms > Selecting Rifles

Buying a rifle is not as easy as buying a shotgun, simply because there are far fewer dealers specialising in target rifles, so be prepared to travel to buy.

One of the best sources of information about rifles are the members of your club.

The Fullbore-Smallbore divide:

When the NRA was first formed its role was to promote the use of the current armed service rifle: the Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle, a muzzle loader of 0.577 calibre. Thanks mainly to the work of Sir Joseph Whitworth, the optimum calibre of the black powder muzzle loading rifle was determined at 0.451.

Consequently followers of ultimate accuracy adopted the 0.451 calibre, using rifles designed and built by Whitworth or Rigby. So the Victorian shooter found himself presented with two calibres, 0.577, (the standard P53 Enfield rifle calibre) and 0.451 the Whitworth calibre. Pretty soon 0.577 became fullbore and 0.451 became smallbore.

Around 1890 Britain adopted the 0.303 inch cartridge as the standard military calibre, and soon after received a drubbing in the Boer War, by farmers armed with Mauser bolt action rifles. The inevitable enquiry determined that Britons lacked rifle practice. Thanks to Lord Roberts the NSRA was formed and 0.22 ranges sprang up all over Britain. Hence today we have the National Rifle Association - which claims governance of fullbore shooting (nowadays, any cartridge except the .22 rimfire), and the National Small-bore Rifle Association which is the governing body for .22 rimfire and airgun shooting. So .22 rimfire is smallbore, whilst any other (centre-fire) cartridge is now called fullbore. To make things confusing, there are many .22 calibre cartridges that are centre-fire, high velocity and vastly more powerful than the .22 rimfire, even though they fire the same calibre bullet as the .22 rimfire. The current NATO rifle cartridge is the 5.56mm/.223 Remington, which whilst of smallbore calibre is definitely a full-bore performer if loaded with the right bullet, and shot from a suitable rifle, it can be a 1000 yard performer, the accurate limit of the .22 rimfire is only around 100 yards.

Smallbore Rifles:

Let’s split this into conventional smallbore target rifles, and light weight sporting rifles.

Conventional smallbore target rifles:

In the UK the vast majority of smallbore target shooting is 25 yard prone competition - best done with a heavy weight prone stocked rifle.

Manufacturers in Germany dominate the sport. Perhaps the most successful maker is Anschutz; their rifles have dominated world class competition for years.

Smallbore rifles will shoot accurately for years with very little maintenance, so buying second hand is not usually a problem.

If you want to buy new, consider Anschutz, Feinwerkbau, and Walther.

If you are looking for second hand there are models available from many makers:

Anschutz
Feinwerkbau
Walther
Unique
Valmet
Remington
BSA

Some of these might be quite old, and this should be reflected in the price.

If you are buying new, think of a budget up to £2000.

All of these rifles are single shot, bolt actions, except for the BSA: a unique English made Martini falling block action.

Models II III IV and V were supreme hand built examples of Birmingham gun making. Sadly, BSA lost out to Anschutz and Co. because they did not keep up in the marketing stakes, not offering thumbhole stocks, adjustable cheek pieces, or butt plates.

Lightweight sporting rifle:

These competitions are shot standing with a lightweight magazine-fed rifle. Some are shot against the clock.

By far and away the most popular rifle for these competitions is the Ruger model 10/22 or its derivatives. There is a whole industry making “go faster” parts for these rifles. In fact it is possible to buy a Ruger 10/ 22 that has no Ruger made part in it!

These rifles are popular because:

They are cheap.
There is an endless range of custom parts available.
The basic design is sound.

Other makes and types:

If you do not want a semi -automatic rifle, bolt action sporters from BRNO (or CZ) are very popular.

These superb sporting rifles have been on sale for more than 50 years, and early models are beautifully made. Trigger tuning kits are available – not that there is much wrong with the standard trigger.

These little rifles last forever, and given a minimum of care and attention, are indestructible. Brand new they are around £300- £100 gets you a good second hand example- and they all have integral scope rails, so fitting a scope is easy.

Gallery Rifles:

What we mean by a gallery rifle?

The MOD defines a gallery range as one where the shooters engage targets from fixed position at fixed ranges. Hence almost all ranges that we civilians are permitted to use are gallery ranges.

However, the common interpretation of a gallery rifle is one that is shot on, or in, a shooting gallery. In other words we are talking about rifles that can be used at short range in a "shooting gallery"- i.e. an indoor range.

With the passing of the 1997 Firearms Amendment Act came the prohibition of "handguns" referring to cartridge firing pistols and revolvers, as a result many pistol shooters turned to using rifles chambered for the cartridges they had used in their pistols and revolvers.

These short barrelled pistol cartridge firing rifles (or carbines) are manually operated, either by lever or bolt action, and are usually chambered for one of the following cartridges.

.38 Special
.357 Magnum
.44 Special
.44 Magnum
.45 Colt
.45 ACP
9mm
44/40

Lever action rifles:

Everybody who has ever watched a Western will be familiar with the Winchester rifle; modern versions of these guns are still available. The modern Winchester (or American Repeating Arms) made versions are available in .38, .357, .44 and .45 chambering- all of which are suitable for gallery rifle competitions.

If you are looking at a Winchester, consider the AE (Angle Eject) Version, as this permits the use of a telescopic sight.

A more prolific maker of lever actions is Marlin - a U.S. maker, producing lever actions for over 100 years. These rifles are probably stronger and simpler than Winchester, and with their flat top actions are ideally suited for scope use.

Some time ago Marlin decided to adopt a system of "micro groove" rifling for their barrels. This works well with jacketed bullets, but less so with plain lead bullets- just the kind of bullets we want to use for short range target shooting. The solution is to use the hardest lead alloy bullets you can get / make.

Happily Marlin seems to have reverted to deep cut (Ballard) rifling, better suited to lead bullets. Marlins are available in a variety of calibres and barrel lengths.

Rossi and Puma of Brazil make some nice Winchester type rifles, some in stainless steel.

Ruger produces a .44 Magnum lever action, that uses their unique rotary magazine.

The Italian gun industry has several makers who produce copies of historical Western guns in original chambering, or in "modern" pistol calibres. Famous names are Uberti, Pietta, Pedersoli amongst others. Whilst these guns are faithful reproductions of American originals, most of them are not suitable for mounting a telescopic sight.

Bolt Action:

The UK laws have resulted in some custom built bolt action rifles, chambered for pistol calibres. Armalon Ltd, (run by Peter Sarony a noted pistol-smith) built such rifles based on heavily modified No. 4 Enfield actions. Usually calibres are 9mm Parabellum and .45 ACP.

The rifles are modified to accept pistol magazines and have short barrels and modified woodstock. Scopes can be fitted. The No. 4 Action can be modified to cock on opening - making it a very slick action.

Calibres:

There is not much to choose between any of the gallery rifle calibres. If you are going to shoot any volume, you should consider hand loading anyway. Experience suggests that the .38 special / 357 magazine loaded to 38 special pressures does not perform very well in longer barrels. Best results come from hard lead bullets and small charges of fast burning powders.

The .44 Special/ Magnum does much better, but still needs to be loaded with modest charges of fast powders. Round nose, flat point or "Keith" style semi wad cutter bullets work well. For reliable feeding from a magazine stick to magnum cases.

The same comments apply to .45 Colt (or Long Colt) versions.

Buying second hand:

What to look for:

Check that the rifle feeds cartridges from the magazine properly.
Check for consistent trigger function.
Make a key careful inspection of the bore. Like revolvers, small charges can result in bullets left in the bore, which cause damage when the next round is fired. If the bore seems to have a dark ring in it walk away.

Fullbore Rifles

Fullbore shooting is an increasingly popular aspect of Club shooting with Reeds, for many reasons:

The range of disciplines available is greater. Target, Match, Service, Sporting, Veteran, 300m ISU, F-Class, Benchrest, Muzzle-loading etc.
Technically it is more diverse, there are different calibres, rifles, ranges and cartridges.

It is shot outdoors, at meaningful ranges. This means that the challenge to the shooter is to understand his rifle and cartridge combination capabilities, to be able to understand how the elements affect the shot, and how to compensate for this.
You can hand load your own ammunition.
RTSC travels to a fullbore range (usually Bisley) for a full days shooting. The very act of traveling to a "distant" range makes the day more of an event.
Unlike smallbore shooting, with fullbore, you usually know that you are shooting!

Here's a quick roundup of the type of competitive full bore rifle shooting done in the UK.

Target Rifle (TR):

This, the most popular fullbore rifle shooting discipline, was introduced in the 1950s and was originally designed to enable lots of people to compete with modestly priced equipment. In the early days, many competitors had their old .303 target rifles rebarreled in 7.62, but those days have long gone- today's Target Rifle is a high cost, high tech piece of kit.

The formula is

Calibre is to be 7.62mm NATO or .308 Winchester
Rifle weight and trigger pull are specified
"Iron" or aperture sights only- no telescopes
Distances usually 300 - 900 yards, sometimes longer
Rifles shot prone, no support other than a sling allowed.
The latest 5.56mm NATO(Or the civilian equivalent .223 Remington) is also permitted.
Ammunition is usually issued by the match organisers, and as such can be very variable.

Match Rifle:

The "Formula 1" of rifle shooting

Shot at 1000, 1100, 1200 yards
Rifles can be heavier than for TR
Calibre is still 7.62 NATO/ .308 Win but hand loading is permitted.
Scope sights permitted
The front shooting hand may be supported on a rest
Prone or the "back position" can be used

Service Rifle:

Shot with the current service rifle. AS UK subjects are not permitted to possess or use semi automatic rifles, most of us cannot take part unless we use a rifle converted to manual operation.

Versions of the M16 US Rifle and its clones, built as "straight pull" manually operated guns are very popular.

Some competition also allows the use of any suitable bolt action, magazine fed rifle; the so-called "tactical" rifles are appropriate.

Veteran:

Competitions designed around veteran bolt action military rifles. Usually shot prone at shortish ranges.

'F' Class:

A relatively new format, shot prone at all ranges, using any rifle (as long as it is safe) any calibre, any sights. The rifle may be rested both back and front. Hand loaded ammunition is permitted.

Originally conceived to allow people whose eyesight was declining to continue to shoot, in he beginning 'F' Class saw many people simply attaching a telescopic sight to their trusty Target Rifle.

Now sadly, 'F' Class, to some extent has degenerated into a competition to see how much money one can spend on having a dedicated 'F' Class Rifle built. To counter this development the NRA has introduced 7.62 'F' Class where guns are limited to 7.63 Nato Calibre: this helps keep the cost down.

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