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June 12th, 2010
 In the wake of a tragic, multiple shooting in Cumbria, England, there have been renewed calls for yet MORE gun bans in the UK. But it remains to be seen how much further the Brits can go without banning virtually all firearms. The Cumbria shooter was armed with an ordinary shotgun. Britain has already banned handguns and revolvers, banned self-loading and pump-action rifles, and banned most shotguns that hold more than two shells. The Brits have even banned Airsoft-type toy guns. The UK’s Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2006 made it a crime to manufacture, import or sell realistic imitation guns, and doubled the maximum sentence for carrying an imitation gun to 12 months. In Britain, it is even against the law to fire an air weapon beyond the boundary of any premises.
Can Britain prevent future mass shootings by banning yet more classes of firearms (whatever that might be)? Recent history suggests the answer is no. In Europe, some of the worst multiple-victim shootings occurred in those countries with the tightest restrictions on firearms. In the UK, to acquire a shotgun, one must go through a police interview, show “good reason” to own the shotgun, and then obtain a police-issued certificate. The police then visit the applicant’s home to verify the shotgun will be securely stored.
Lott Says More Gun Bans Won’t Solve Problem
Professor John Lott, author of More Guns, Less Crime, has written an interesting essay for the National Review Online. In that article, Lott analyzes the history of recent mass shootings in Europe. What he has found is that virtually all of these shootings have occurred in locations where it is illegal for private citizens to wield guns for self-protection. Lott suggests, therefore, that the problem of mass shootings will not be solved by more gun control… so long as potential victims are rendered defenseless by laws restricting the right to armed self-defense. Lott writes: “Look at recent history… all of the [multiple-victim public shootings in Western Europe] occurred in gun-free zones — places where guns in the hands of civilians are outlawed.” Here is Prof. Lott’s summary:
Contrary to public perception, Western Europe, most of whose countries have much tougher gun laws than the United States, has experienced many of the worst multiple-victim public shootings. Particularly telling, all the multiple-victim public shootings in Western Europe have occurred in places where civilians are not permitted to carry guns. The same is true in the United States: All the public shootings in which more than three people have been killed have occurred in places where civilians may not legally bring guns.
Large multiple-victim public shootings are exceedingly rare events, but they garner massive news attention, and the misperceptions they produce are hard to erase. When I have been interviewed by foreign journalists, even German ones, they usually start off by asking why multiple-victim public shootings are such an American problem. And of course, they are astonished when I remind them of the attacks in their own countries and point out that this is not an American problem, it is a universal problem, but with a common factor: The attacks occur in public places where civilians are banned from carrying guns. — John Lott
April 7th, 2010
Congratulations to Carl Boswell, Vince Bottomley, Andy Dubreuil, Laurie Holland and all the staff at Target Shooter online magazine. Target Shooter has released its April 2010 First Anniversary issue, and it may be the best yet. The hardware photography is high quality and there is something for everyone — from Benchresters to Tactical shooters. You can view the 110-page April issue for FREE at www.targetshooter.co.uk.
Carl tells us: “Yes, this is our first anniversary issue and we have it packed with articles.” Here are some of the recommended articles in the April Anniversary Edition of Target Shooter:
- Loading for the .308, Part 6 — Laurie Holland continues his informative reloading series.
- SEB Neo Coaxial Rest — Vince Bottomley reviews one of the most impressive rests on the market. This is a very thorough review which compares the old SEB Coax with the SEB NEO side by side.
- Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest — Carl Boswell looks at these rapidly evolving disciplines.
- Gallery Rifle 1500 — Gwyn Roberts continues his course on Gallery Rifle Basics.
- New GBR Custom Action — A New Rem 700-footprint action made in the UK.
- Steyr LG110 Field Test — Tim Finley reviews the Steyr LG110 rifle for Field Target.
Definitely check out the latest edition of Target Shooter magazine. Laurie Holland is one of the best technical gun writers in the business, and when Vince Bottomley reviews a product, he delivers intelligent conclusions you can “take to the bank”. As a special bonus, this April edition includes exclusive reports from the IWA Expo in Germany — the “Euro Shot Show”.
December 1st, 2009
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The latest issue of Target Shooter online magazine has been released and you should definitely check it out. The December issue of Target Shooter is really good — maybe the best yet. READ it here: www.Targetshooter.co.uk.
This month you’ll find an outstanding article by Vince Bottomley, “Building a Rifle for F/TR Class”. Whether you’re shooting F-TR now, or have an F-TR rifle in the works, this story is a “must-read” that will help you choose the right equipment and wring the best performance from it.
The six-page “Hand-loading for the .308 Winchester (Part 2)”, by Laurie Holland, is a fact-filled article that all .308 shooters shoot read and archive. Holland carefully measured various brands of .308 brass, recording weights and neck thickness (see chart below). Even if you are an experienced .308 reloader we guarantee you’ll learn something new from this article. |
The December Target Shooter is chock full of other content covering a wide array of shooting disciplines — from Air Pistols to Black Powder Cartridge Rifles. There’s even something for collectors of historic military arms — Nigel Greenaway’s guide to the Enfield No.4 (T) sniper rifle. This issue also includes a 6-page holiday shopping guide featuring interesting new products as well as low-cost “stocking stuffers”. You can read Target Shooter online via a browser plug-in, and print pages you want to save. In addition, you can now downline the entire month’s content as a handy .pdf file for off-line reading.
September 7th, 2009
 Sorry folks, this is not a joke (or late April Fools’ story). The Boy Scouts Association for the United Kingdom has issued a “guidance” directive telling Boy Scouts not to bring knives to camping events. Prior to this ruling British Boy Scouts were allowed to carry penknives with blades of less than 3 inches.
A Scouts spokesman defended the new policy, saying: ‘We believe that young people need more places to go after school and at weekends, where they can experience adventure without the threat of violence or bullying and the need to carry weapons. Scouting helps to prepare young people with valuable life skills, while keeping them safe by not carrying knives.’
Hmmm, what will the UK Scout Association ban next? Pointed sticks? Ropes? Heck, those neckerchiefs could be pretty dangerous too — better get rid of them. Lord Baden-Powell is no doubt rolling over in his grave. One troop Leader from Kent, England wondered: “Whatever happened to the first Scout Law: a Scout is to be trusted?” Even the British Guardian website questioned the logic of the knife ban: “Scouts are so closely associated with pocket knives that the term Boy Scout knife is a synonym for penknife.”
READ MORE details about this story.
August 22nd, 2009
 It seems hard to believe you can compete and win at the highest levels of long-range shooting competition with a stock factory rifle, but that’s exactly what Team USA did at the recent F-Class World Championships in Bisley, England. The U.S. F-TR team, which included Team Savage shooters, dominated the F-T/R division, winning a total of 14 medals at the World Championships (and various side matches associated with the event).
Three Oregonians, Darrell Buell, Stan Pate, and John Weil, together with Forum member Monte Milanuk of Wenatchee (WA), crossed the Atlantic to represent the USA and Savage Arms. The competition is held once every four years and features some of the best talent and most expensive custom rifles from around the globe. The matches are held over several days, at distances of 800, 900 and 1,000 yards.
The Savage Shooters used the Model 12 F-T/R from Savage Arms, chambered in .308 Winchester. This exact model can be purchased from any Savage dealer for a suggested retail price of just $1,265. The results speak for themselves: Team Savage came home with seven gold medals, two silvers, and two bronze from the World Championships. The Team also earned two gold medals and a bronze at the associated side matches, including the Bog Oak Trophy Match held in Ireland.
NOTE: In addition to the four Team Savage Members, the full F-TR Team USA included a number of other shooters, using other rigs. The USA F/TR team that traveled to Bisley consisted of 11 shooters: Darrell Buell (Captain), Gary Rasmussen (Wind Coach), Brad Sauve, Dale Carpenter, John Weil, Jeff Rorer, Stan Pate, Mike Miller, Paul Phillips, Warren Dean, and Monte Milanuk. Gary Rasmussen coached F-TR Team USA and Kathy Buell was official record-keeper. Monte Milanuk explained: “While almost half the team was using a Savage-actioned rifle of some sort (Warren, Darrell, John, Stan & Monte), the rest were using four Barnards (Brad, Paul, Dale, and Mike), one Stolle Panda (Jeff), and a Wichita (Gary).”
All of the above participated in the FCWC as individuals, and worked together throughout the entire event (both team and individual stages).
The final firing team that represented the USA in the main F-Class Team World Championships, selected according to performance during certain ‘team’ event stages during the Imperial Meeting, consisted of: Darrell Buell (Captain), Gary Rasmussen (Wind Coach), John Weil (Shooter), Paul Phillips (Shooter), Monte Milanuk, (Shooter), Jeff Rorer (Shooter), Dale Carpenter (Reserve/ Plotter).
The remaining four shooters entered in the Rutland Cup, a match held concurrently with the FCWC, primarily for countries which cannot field a full 8-man team for F-Open. The USA F-Open and F/TR teams both used their ‘extra’ shooters in this event. In the Rutland Cup, the USA F/TR team consisted of Stan Pate (Captain/Shooter), Mike Miller (Coach/Shooter), Brad Sauve (Shooter), and Warren Dean (Shooter).
Team Savage poses with the Bog Oak Team Trophy. Team members are, from left: John Weil, Darrell Buell, Monte Milanuk and Stan Pate.
World Championship National Teams Match (F-TR)
Team USA 1st place… World Champions
Full USA F-TR Team Roster: Darrell Buell (Captain), Gary Rasmussen (Coach), Dale Carpenter, Monte Milanuk, Paul Phillips, Jeff Rorer, John Weil, Kathy Buell (register keeper).
Individual World Championships (F-T/R)
900 Yard Day 1 — Stan Pate 1st (gold medal)
800 Yard Day 2 — Monte Milanuk 1st (gold medal)
900 Yard Day 2 — John Weil 1st (gold medal)
1000 Yard Day 2 — Stan Pate 1st (gold medal)
800 Yard Aggregate Match — Monte Milanuk 1st (gold medal)
900 Yard Aggregate Match — John Weil 1st (gold medal)
Individual World Championships Grand Aggregate
S. Pate 3rd (bronze medal), D. Buell 9th, J. Weil 10th, M. Milanuk 13th
Other Major Matches
Duke of Cambridge (900-yard match) — John Weil 1st place (gold medal)
Ireland — Bog Oak Team Trophy
Darrell Buell, Stan Pate, Monte Milanuk, John Weil, Gold Medal
August 3rd, 2009
The August issue of Target Shooter, the excellent UK-based webzine, is now available FREE online. As usual, this edition is chock full of interesting feature articles written “by shooters, for shooters”. You can either read the monthly e-magazine online, OR you can now download the entire August issue to your computer. This lets you peruse multiple articles at your leisure. (For readers with a slow web connection, reading offline may be more convenient, once you’ve downloaded the file.)
 Among the featured articles this month are an authoritative section on rifle maintenance and scope-mounting by Vince Bottomley (p. 13), a user’s guide to the Redding T7 press by Laurie Holland (p. 55), and an excellent guide to Rimfire Ammo selection and sorting by Carl Boswell (p. 40). If you follow Carl’s procedures (including the visual inspections shown at right), you’ll experience fewer unexplained “flyers” — we can guarantee that.
Complete F-Class Worlds Report
Amazingly, Target Shooter’s August issue contains a detailed, 4-page report on the 2009 F-Class World Championships which concluded just a few days ago in England. You’ll enjoy the reports from the field and interviews with top F-Classers from around the world. In addition to the match report, the August Target Shooter profiles Britain’s Gary Costello, the winner of the Individual World F-Class Championship.
Gary’s rifle was built by American gunsmith Alan Warner and is chambered as a 7mm-270 WSM. (The 270 case is used because it has a slightly longer neck and slightly less capacity). The action is an aluminium Stolle Panda with RBLP configuration. The scope is a March 10-60X mounted in Kelbly rings. The stock is an Alex Sitman Master Class laminated long-range thumbhole model. Sadly, the handsome gray/blue stock broke at the thumb-hole during shipping from the USA. However, Pet Walker of Walker Customer Rifles in West Yorkshire restored the stock to better than new condition, providing Gary with a beautiful rig that carried him to victory.
July 23rd, 2009
 F-Class competition at the Bisley Range in the UK is well under way. Currently, shooters from many countries are competing in the F-Class segments of the annual U.K. Imperial Meeting tournament. This will be followed by the actual F-Class World Championships, an event held every four years. The F-Class Worlds officially start with the individual championships next Monday and Tuesday (July 27-28) with the “main event”, the Team Championship, on Wednesday and Thursday (July 29-30). USA F-Class Open Team Vice-Captain Shiraz Bololia is providing regular written updates in his Bisley Blog. Here’s part of his latest report: “Today there was only one 300-yard match …. For me it was an early morning shoot at 8:00 am. The wind was dead. The weather was cool and overcast. Reminded me of the Plantation 300 yard range in Bellingham, WA where I shoot a lot of matches. First time since I got here the wind was less than 2 MPH. Less than ½ MOA change on my gun. It was a 15-shot match and I shot a perfect 75 with 15 Vs. As Coach Mead later said, even a blind Hog could have done that! Anyway that guarantees me a spot in the finals. Lot of US shooters in the St George’s finals.”
AK’s Great Bisley Photo Collections
In addition, British shooter “762AK” has posted fantastic collections of images from the World F-Class Championship, as well as the Imperial Meeting, which is being held concurrently. 762AK, a very talented photographer, is updating his Bisley photo collection daily. You should definitely check out these collections on Flickr. Click the links below to see hundreds of quality photos.
2009 F-Class Worlds | F-Class Worlds Slideshow
Imperial Meeting 2009 | Imperial Meeting Slideshow
June 6th, 2009
Vince Bottomley and his team of writers and photographers have released the June issue of Target Shooter online magazine. This third monthly edition is the most impressive so far. You’ll find a full 118 pages of articles, match reports, gear reviews, and shooting info. There are many interesting feature articles in this June issue, including a great story by Laurie Holland on Savage precision rifles.
There is also Vince Bottomley’s regular column featuring updates on Benchrest events and gear. Vince provided a “spy shot” of the new rear bag from Sebastian Lambang (maker of SEB coaxial rests). In this design the “ears” are integrated into the main bag body. As Vince notes: “Seb has always been an [innovative] thinker.” The rear bag design is “radical” compared to most current designs, but it has an elegant simplicity that we like.
Target Shooter is designed like a conventional magazine, with large, half-page and full-page ads. Believe it or not, we actually like perusing through the ads, because they illustrate many cool products not commonly seen in North America, such as RPA Precision rifles. It’s fascinating to see the high-end products marketed in the UK but not sold on the other side of the Atlantic.
We think the Target Shooter staff is doing a great job with their new magazine and we strongly recommend you log on to www.Targetshooter.co.uk and check it out. You can either browse Target Shooter online in a flip-page format, or download each monthly edition as a .zip archive for later reading.
April 2nd, 2009
 Lead by top UK shooter Vince Bottomley, a team of UK gun experts has launched Target Shooter, a new online “e-zine” dedicated to precision shooting. This is a great new offering — you should log on to TargetShooter.co.uk right now to check it out. Vince explains: “Our online magazine will cover target shooting in all its forms, including rimfire and centerfire benchrest, F-Class, classic military rifle, and tactical. We’ll deliver feature articles plus match reports and gear reviews.”
Target Shooter employs a publishing format called “Scribd” that delivers a print-magazine style format over the web. This is actually kind of cool, as you can zoom pages smaller and larger and download the entire “magazine” for off-line reading. A new edition of Target Shooter will be released every month.
Target Shooter Offers Great Content
The debut April 2009 edition, 109 pages long, is truly impressive. It contains many interesting articles including a 2009 IWA (Euro Shotshow) report from Vince Bottomley, a comparison test of budget scopes by Carl Boswell, a detailed F-TR Tubegun review by Laurie Holland and Vince B., and a fascinating discussion of Field-Target shooting by Tim Finley (covering all positions). And that’s not all — the magazine offers a two-month event calendar, plus match reports (check out Gwyn Roberts’ Gallery Shooting Tri-Nations tournament report).
Target Shooter also features many gear reviews and product evaluations. In the April edition, Carl Boswell provides a comprehensive review of the BullzeyePro optical boosters. If you are considering purchasing this product you should definitely read this review — it even includes through-the-lens photos, so you can see the magnification boost with your own eyes.
Overall, the new Target Shooter online magazine is a mighty impressive accomplishment. It is rich with content, the photography is excellent, and the level of technical expertise is high. We were very impressed by the diversity of disciplines covered — this magazine covers much more than conventional benchrest. Any gun enthusiast interested in precision shooting should log on to TargetShooter.co.uk. Not only is it one of the best sources of shooting information available, but it is currently 100% free. You can’t beat that.
February 10th, 2009
Whatever your politics, you owe it to yourself to learn more about the restrictive firearm laws adopted in the United Kingdom and Australia. These have effectively banned hand-gun and semi-auto rifle ownership in the UK. In Australia self-loading rifles and even pump shotguns were banned, and hand-gun ownership was severely restricted. In this 10-minute video, gun owners in the UK and Australia tell their own story. The message is clear–without unified, organized opposition by sportsmen and hunters, gun rights will be taken away. In the UK, even shotguns and 22LR pistols used by Olympic competitors have been banned. Think it can’t happen here? Well already in California, new sales of semi-auto AR15-style service rifles are completely banned.
To further highlight the absurdity of gun laws in the UK, Great Britain agreed to construct a new indoor pistol-shooting venue — in order to win the right to host the next Olympic Games. But Olympic authorities have announced the shooting range will be demolished (at public expense) at the close of the games. Why? Because Brits aren’t allowed to own or shoot handguns. Today, even Britain’s Olympic pistol shooters are prohibitied from shooting in the UK and are required to do their training abroad. When London hosts the 2012 Olympic Games, Parliament will have to pass legislation allowing the athletes to import and fire their target pistols.
This is a “must-see” video. Click on the image below to watch the video, hosted by YouTube. CLICK HERE to watch other NRA-produced videos.
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