.303 shooting

[bladeracer]

I concur. Marrying flat edges (with a 6oclock hold) provides a better sight picture than any point. Same goes with the front sight - the best service shooters steer clear of the barleycorn front sight, even though a newbie may imagine you could be "more precise" with such a point. Truth is you get elevation from them.

Nope, a crisp, blackened, square post, with the corners as reference points for kentuckying, is optimal. Like a No4, P14/M17, or 03A3; with their nice long sight radius.

Agreed on the square bottom edge of the target.

With the EyePal over open sights the front sight is clearly defined, with the aperture sight (without the glasses aperture) my front sight is not as well defined, the right top corner tends to curl out slightly. But shooting without the goggles is just so much more enjoyable. I imagine this "fluidity" of the sight will get worse, and fairly quickly if recent experience is an indicator, but for now I can cope with it.

[bladeracer]

You've been critical of service rifle clubs permitting "non-standard" equipment in the past. But it's a matter of making things comfortable for the (fee paying) members, and ultimately to retain their membership. Overwhelmingly, the so called "silly" jackets are popular to simply reduce the suffering and bruising. Might I suggest something along these lines https://www.nswra.org.au/products/aussie-sweater?It's just an undergarment, if you want to appease other rulebooks...

I haven't been critical of Service Rifle clubs, I hate seeing any shooting that requires the use of a shooting jacket, glove, or sling to be competitive. I consider all shooting to ultimately be the honing of your field skills, even if you never shoot in the field, that is the purpose of practicing, so it should be undertaken as you would in the field. Motorcycling racing is the same for me, why race sidecars when you are improving a skill that will simply never apply in the real world - unless you own a Reliant Robin of course.

I can understand the thinking behind it, particularly as so many of us getting on a little and are in less than new condition. I've fired something like 500rds of this stuff since the middle of last year, plus other stuff that kicks harder. The .303 doesn't bother me at all most of the time. I think four times it's actually hurt me, and I think all of them were due to my not taking the time to ensure my position was correct (my shoulder bones and muscles just don't match what the butt was designed to work with). I really don't need or want a jacket for the negligible issues I have with it.

They're telling us it'll be 42C on Saturday, so fly nets and T-shirts I think, a sweater could be lethal

Most of our practicing has been off a front bag while we were testing ammo and zeroing at different ranges. I have done a bit of practicing from field positions but I don't think my mate has been able to at all. The groups we've been very happy with certainly won't be with us at the Range, trigger control will be very, very important I think. I took the bandage off my left arm on Sunday as the wound has nearly healed over so that was timed well.

[in2anity]

I haven't been critical of Service Rifle clubs, I hate seeing any shooting that requires the use of a shooting jacket, glove, or sling to be competitive. I consider all shooting to ultimately be the honing of your field skills, even if you never shoot in the filed, that is the purpose of practicing, so it should be undertaken as you would in the field. Motorcycling racing is the same for me, why race sidecars when you are improving a skill that will simply never apply in the real world - unless you own a Reliant Robin of course.

“As to using the sling – well, I doubt if it could be done at all during an advance, or during offensive fighting on a battle-field. It ties down a man too much and hinders his movements and observation, also to be of real assistance it has to be adjusted so closely as to be of use in but one certain position, and you change position very often in battle. But the sling is of great help to those in defensive positions, or to those who may get fixed in a good location and stay there. I have seen many old timers in my crowd who had much training on the rifle range, fix their slings for firing and leave them in that position. For the benefit of those not familiar with the sling on the Ross rifle, I might add that it was designed mainly for carrying the rifle and to be of any use for firing had to be removed from the butt swivel, have new holes punched, and then laced so as to form a loop from the upper swivel only. This made the sling useless for carrying the rifle, but our crowd always fixed and kept it in the shooting position. The sling is a most valuable aid in accurate aiming and troops should always be instructed in its use.”
Herbert W. McBride – “A Rifleman Went to War” pages 334-335.

[bladeracer]

I am well aware that militaries have at times trained in sling usage, but have you ever found anything relating to Australian troops being trained in the same way, particularly in the era of the SMLE and No.4 Rifles?

BTW, my mate's new SMLE has a windage-adjustable rear sight. I've heard of them but never seen one before. These are a competition fitment aren't they? They were never an issued item to troops?

I haven't been critical of Service Rifle clubs, I hate seeing any shooting that requires the use of a shooting jacket, glove, or sling to be competitive. I consider all shooting to ultimately be the honing of your field skills, even if you never shoot in the filed, that is the purpose of practicing, so it should be undertaken as you would in the field. Motorcycling racing is the same for me, why race sidecars when you are improving a skill that will simply never apply in the real world - unless you own a Reliant Robin of course.

“As to using the sling – well, I doubt if it could be done at all during an advance, or during offensive fighting on a battle-field. It ties down a man too much and hinders his movements and observation, also to be of real assistance it has to be adjusted so closely as to be of use in but one certain position, and you change position very often in battle. But the sling is of great help to those in defensive positions, or to those who may get fixed in a good location and stay there. I have seen many old timers in my crowd who had much training on the rifle range, fix their slings for firing and leave them in that position. For the benefit of those not familiar with the sling on the Ross rifle, I might add that it was designed mainly for carrying the rifle and to be of any use for firing had to be removed from the butt swivel, have new holes punched, and then laced so as to form a loop from the upper swivel only. This made the sling useless for carrying the rifle, but our crowd always fixed and kept it in the shooting position. The sling is a most valuable aid in accurate aiming and troops should always be instructed in its use.”
Herbert W. McBride – “A Rifleman Went to War” pages 334-335.

[in2anity]

I am well aware that militaries have at times trained in sling usage, but have you ever found anything relating to Australian troops being trained in the same way, particularly in the era of the SMLE and No.4 Rifles?

Yes this is true, but what dictates we are "only allowed to shoot like historical AUSTRALIAN troops".

The ozzies tended to two-point stabilize with the SMLE webbing sling - still a huge advantage over no sling at all. I love my slings - it's the only way i know how to shoot. The "rhodesian quick entry sling" aka "ching sling" aka "scout sling" is in my eyes the perfect compromise between carry and quick entry stabiliser, for field situations.

BTW, my mate's new SMLE has a windage-adjustable rear sight. I've heard of them but never seen one before. These are a competition fitment aren't they? They were never an issued item to troops?

I'm sure others will be able to provide an official answer; but i'm 90% sure they were never an issued item. You see them at Malabar, but the club level rules are liberal there, as you know. Think they may be a problem for CSD or in the "standard" category for a formal NRAA comp.

[bladeracer]

I am well aware that militaries have at times trained in sling usage, but have you ever found anything relating to Australian troops being trained in the same way, particularly in the era of the SMLE and No.4 Rifles?

Yes this is true, but what dictates we are "only allowed to shoot like historical AUSTRALIAN troops".

The ozzies tended to two-point stabilize with the SMLE webbing sling - still a huge advantage over no sling at all. I love my slings - it's the only way i know how to shoot. The "rhodesian quick entry sling" aka "ching sling" aka "scout sling" is in my eyes the perfect compromise between carry and quick entry stabiliser.

BTW, my mate's new SMLE has a windage-adjustable rear sight. I've heard of them but never seen one before. These are a competition fitment aren't they? They were never an issued item to troops?

I'm sure others will be able to provide an official answer; but i'm 90% sure they were never an issued item. You see them at Malabar, but the club level rules are liberal there, as you know. Think they may be a problem for CSD or in the "standard" category for a formal NRAA comp.

Nothing dictates anything, but if we are going to shoot Australian-oriented historical competitions (LERAA has an ANZAC shoot that I might be able to get to) we should be doing it the way Australians historically did, at least that's how it seems to me. Hanging an American sling from a different rifle onto an SMLE or No.4 just doesn't make sense to me at all. It's shooting, but without any real historical relevance.

I did a lot of sling-assisted shooting as a kid, I loved it, I thought it was the best possible way to shoot, and that it was the way soldiers did it. I would walk with the sling tying the rifle to my left arm, the elbow tucked into my waist, and just take a firing grip when I thought I might have a shot. But I learned better, it's great on a mound, but pretty well hopeless in the field. You really can't sneak around for an hour or more with one arm out of action like that, and if you don't then you have to wave your arms about to get into it when you do have a shot. I prefer the single-point sling with the rifle hanging down in front, both hands free. You can control the rifle easily, and bring it to the shoulder with no more fuss than if you're carrying it at a low-ready. And the weight of the rifle is carried across your shoulders so you are rarely even aware you're carrying it, and you never have to keep monitoring and adjusting its position like a shoulder-slung rifle. When you want to put it down just hit the QD clip and it's off, the harness remains on you ready to clip the rifle into again. I can roll down onto my back and slide myself under a fence without even removing it, it just lays across my chest, roll up into a crouch again and carry on. Being able to use the sling to assist a shot is a good tool to keep in your toolbox, but don't get locked into believing it's the best way to shoot all the time. I made my own sling that is "conventional" but with two QD buckles so it can very quickly be converted into a shooting sling that is already set up to fit me, then quickly put back to conventional for shoulder carry, with the loop tied up out of the way, and then clipped up tight along the rifle so it's not hanging and flapping around. I think it's a good design, but I very quickly saw the impracticality of shooting that way. I'm sure I've seen it around here somewhere quite recently.

His new rifle hasn't been fired in a very long time, the owner claimed to have owned it for decades and never fired it. The bore is unfortunately horrendous even after cleaning with Sweets. The muzzle does not swallow a bullet so it might be possible to get it shooting with a really, really good clean. But it looks to me like the entire length of the bore is badly corroded - it might've been fed some milsurp ammo forty or fifty years ago and packed away without cleaning. The front of the chamber also has issues, possibly corrosion, making primary extraction very difficult. And the sight slider is seized open so it slides forward with each shot, but it was neat to be able to make a windage adjustment so easily.

[bladeracer]

Having submitted the entry form I got an email back with a little more information about the shoot, including that we're shooting 300m and 500m, not yards.
It says that the Sunday "Tag" shoot is with "as issued" rifles.
It says the Saturday "Fluke Trophy is for 303 Historic Service Rifle prior to 1952 using a tin hat 300m and 500m." I thought this was going to be with Modified rifles but now it seems not.
But it's an "open range" on Sunday arvo for anybody that wants to play.
It's all going to be quite a surprise I think

[bladeracer]

Well, it was quite a trip, but a very good one

The trip started on Thursday morning when I headed to my brother's place in Gunning, NSW. He was stuck in Canberra though so I was going to spend the night in his back yard and head to Rankins Springs on Friday morning, but the mozzies were horrendous and I couldn't sleep anyway so I headed off. Hit Rankins Springs about 0230 and had a few hours sleep. Spent Friday helping people erect their camping houses as they rolled up. I was surprised to be the only swagman, although my mate had only brought a two-man tent and a gazebo with gas kitchen Then we spent Saturday and Sunday flinging .303 bullets at the countryside before I headed back to Gunning, stopping to catch up with Lazarus. Spent all Sunday night chatting with him, got a few hours sleep on Monday morning, then we spent all Monday chatting again before I headed home just after 1700. I topped up the tank in Gunning and got home at 0230 with a quarter tank remaining after 685km. All up I did 2163km.

I left home at 0944 on Thursday, got fuel and some burgers and chips so I wouldn't have to stop anywhere, chips are easy to munch on while driving. Left Traralgon with a full tank of 98RON at 1020 and headed for Buchan, stopping to check where the SSAA East Gippsland range is - maybe one day I'll manage to get there when they're actually open. Seeing Buchan township appear down below you is awesome. I thought it might be close to dark by the time I got up to Jindabyne, and I didn't know whether there would be fuel available, so I topped up. It filled far too quickly I thought, so I kept trying to top it up thinking it had a vapour lock, but it was brim full and only took 13.5 litres, better than 15km per litre so far, which was a nice start. Buchan Fuel receipt (only 91RON for $1.88) was at 1304 and I headed north for Jindabyne.

The first 55km was very nice climbing 900m out of Buchan which is very deep in a valley, nice windy road, but there must be lots of heavy traffic as the road appears to get pushed to the outside on turns, causing big lumps and potholes in the bitumen. Mostly they're off-line but some are an issue, especially when you move to avoid one and a 4x4 appears around the corner ahead. Los of roadkill along here, including a koala. Then the bitumen stops and, unknown to me, the road turns into the Snowy River Road that takes you down 36km to join a curve in the river over 700m below. The Snowy River Road becomes Barry Way when it crosses the border and follows alongside the river for 26km, giving beautiful glimpses of the rocky/sandy river, until the river turns away to the east and the road climbs back out another 52km to 1250m altitude before becoming bitumen again at Old Grosses Road. The Snowy River Road is tight, narrow, off-camber gravel so you need to be braking very early, especially into the downhill turns. Barry Way is similar but with less loose gravel and more/larger potholes and washouts across the road. Loose rocks roll down from the slopes above and can be big enough to do significant damage under the average car. I stopped at Wallace's Lookout for a wee and a couple hundred metres from there a baby emu ran out of the bush on my right, planted itself a meter in front of me and ran along the road at 40kph. I jumped on the brakes, locking the wheels and he jumped off the edge into the bush below. His head wouldn't have been much higher than the bonnet of the car - wish I had a dashcam running! From Old Grosses Road it's 27km of bitumen to take you into Jindabyne, still with plenty of potholes.

Got into Jindabyne just before 1600 and had my first feed, a quick burger at the boat ramp while letting Rose know where I was. Then back on the road to Cooma where I turned left and headed north to Gunning, arriving there at 1920. Topped up the tank with 28 litres of 98RON ($2.03) and went to my brother's place where I had my second burger. Tried to sleep there but I wasn't tired enough to be able to ignore the mozzies so got back on the road at 2032. I stopped at Temora at 2304 for a ninety-minute rest but couldn't actually fall asleep, so went on. I stopped again about 40km before Rankins to try to get some sleep so I wouldn't have to sleep in the town but still couldn't nod off, so I got into Rankins at 0230, pulled up across the road from the petrol station and crawled into the back for a nap. Woke up at 1050 broiling, topped up the tank with 21 litres of 98RON (the receipt doesn't show the price but I think it was $2.03), and went out to the range just out of town - 352km from 21 litres is better than 16.5kpl, but the night driving was mostly around 90kph due to the potholes.

There were only two other people there so I spent an hour or so chatting with them then went and had my last burger for a late breakfast. As more people rolled in with camper trailers I chatted with them and helped where I could. I thought there'd be stuff to sort on the range before we started shooting on Saturday but nobody seemed too bothered. I had nothing to unpack but I rolled out the swag and tried to get some rest from the driving, which was difficult as it was pretty hot out there. I had an apple and a few chips and crawled into the swag about 2000 to swelter the night out. Saturday was even hotter, and got quite brutal after midday. I had brought 20 litres of rainwater with me and by Saturday night I had ten litres left. When I left on Sunday I had four litres left.

20230217_134847b.jpg (502.07 KiB) Viewed 220 times

Saturday morning most of us were up by about 0630, it was too hot to have a lie in anyway - I think they said we had 28 shooters. We had a sign-on and a quick chat, a team went out and erected the target frames at 300m, and we got stuck in. We were in six-man details (including a girl having her 13th birthday shooting .303's - awesome!), shooting 300m at the "tin hat" in the centre of a 48"-square white board with "modified" rifles, though more than a handful were using "as issued" rifles and sights. Most were SMLE's with a couple of No4 Rifles. We started with two sighting rounds from prone, then ten rounds prone for score. Between the sighters and each string we had to walk up to score and patch so it was a long, slow, and very hot day. I had worked out my sights at 300yd, but had shot a group at 310m a few weeks earlier so had a rough idea of my hold. I could make out that there was a black blob on the board but not defined well enough to try aiming at it. I was simply sitting the entire white target board on top of my rear sight, and I think I settled on about the 420yd sight position. My sighters were a neat pair about 150mm apart and 450mm low, with good windage - the wind was very slight at this time and from the left.

20230218_102658b.jpg (257.21 KiB) Viewed 220 times

I think I came up nine clicks, to 500yd, but the group was high, with two shots that went over the board. The eight that were on were not bad, but I held too much for the wind. I don't know how the scoring works but it gave me 20.1pts of the 50 available so I was pretty happy with my first effort. I made a note to come back down four clicks to 475yd but I'll be practicing more so I'll get a 300m zero sorted for next time. The best was a 41.2(!), and three that scored 37pts - it's not as easy as I was hoping

20230218_104510b.jpg (254.91 KiB) Viewed 220 times

I dashed into town for a couple of burgers and scoffed one for lunch, then we went down range and carried the target frame back to the 500yd-ish mark, and set up the new targets. These were also "tin hats", I think on a 60" tall by 72" wide board but I'll have to check the rulebook for the size. The target frame wasn't long enough for all six so we switched to five-man details. I was still trying to work out what sight position I needed when the whole target frame blew down and they sent a bunch of people down there to re-erect it. It was damaged so they moved it back to 500m and lashed it back to the steel Silhouette stands. I can't recall where my sighters went and I forgot to take a photo, and I don't recall what sight position I started with, or what adjustment I made, but the rifle is currently set to 2 clicks back from 700yds. Even better, the holes were very difficult to see in the black, but I can't make them out at all in the photos - now I know why a couple of blokes were manually marking their shot placements in their logbooks! My vague memory is that I had four in the black, two in the white and dropped four, so the blacks would be 20pts meaning the two in the white that I can see are 3pts each, as I managed 26pts. The group was high left as the wind had surprised everybody by turning around. Best was an astonishing 45.3, followed by a 38, a couple of 37's and a 36.

20230218_143303b.jpg (386.88 KiB) Viewed 220 times

Saturday's scores were a brilliant 86.5(/100), 74.2, 72.2, 68, 65.2 with me further down on 46.1pts. Overall I was very happy as I hadn't put them all on the targets (the 14 I did put on paper could've only netted me 70pts anyway) and my sights were significantly high on both. With a bit of time spent sorting my zeroes I should have no excuse not to do better next time. There were three case separations, including a neck separation that the guy cleared in seconds with a separation tool and completed his string. On Sunday though his score plummeted after two squibbed bullets required rod removal and ended two of his three strings - no powder in them.

In the afternoon we had a Rimfire shoot, which was at a "tin hat" on an A4 page at 25m, offhand with SMLE training rifles. They had several club rifles and two guys invited me to try theirs as well. By this time though merely shouldering the rifle was making me squeal in pain so I declined, and just watched them. They shot two prone sighters, then an untimed 10rds for score. This is a shoot that can be done as many times as you want throughout the year. You give your targets to the RO to sign off and in November your best gets submitted in a global "postal" shoot. I don't think it even has to be a LERAA shoot, you can download and print the targets and shoot them anytime you're at a club where the RO can sign them off. I took photos of my mate's target as he'd left his phone on the charger.

20230218_171249b.jpg (340.29 KiB) Viewed 220 times

By 1900 I was ready to crawl into the swag, but they had a general meeting. I didn't know if non-members were even invited to attend but I thought I should at least go and let them know I was heading for bed. I ended up sitting through a two-hour meeting that was very enlightening about the club, other clubs, the sporting shooting situation overall, and some other very cool things that people are working toward. That decided me right away to join LERAA, they have built something very special that deserves to succeed. If you've ever wondered about attending a LERAA shoot - make it happen! The ANZAC shoot looks like a blast, but everybody was telling me the best is the May shoot as the weather is nearly always beautiful.
https://www.leraa.com/2023-the-anzac-trophy-tag
https://www.leraa.com/2023-leraa-events-calendar
Sunday they sent a team down range to set up the Figure 11 targets at 200yd, while I thought long and hard about hurting myself further To try to save some time so we could finish before it got really hot they decided to shoot the first and last strings first using the Figure 11 targets, then switch to the Figure 12's to shoot the middle string. I was still thinking it was going to be offhand, kneeling, then prone, and I figured the prone was going to be where I would have to bail if I did decide I couldn't continue. I went down and shot the two sighters prone, and they really hurt, a lot. Both were just off the left edge and about 200mm low. I don't think I tried to adjust the SMLE sight at all, and I don't have a photo of the target, but the offhand string scored 30pts. I believe these were scored as 5pts for all hits in the 8" strip down the centre, 4pts on the silhouette outside that, and 2pts for hits on the four-foot backing board. These last were missed initially so I was scored 26, but they came around asking us a little later and I was given another 4pts for those two. I don't recall the actual hit positions though. I had managed to get through all ten but the pain was horrendous. I really wasn't going to do the next string. But moments before making the decision I noticed my jacket was on the bench. I asked the guy beside me if I was allowed to wear a jacket and he said it was fine as long as it wasn't a padded or supportive shooting jacket. I pulled it on and went to the line. This string was unusual as you start loaded, with a round in the extractor but bolt up, rifle at the low-ready (pointed down 45-degrees). On the whistle you drop to prone and fire ten rounds within sixty seconds. In Rapid shoots they have another shooter behind carefully watching that your rifle recoils with every shot and that your bolt is fully closed before you fire, a nice safety procedure. I was sighting my fifth shot when I suddenly realised the previous four shots had not increased my pain as I'd expected. I was still sore enough to squeal on every shot, but it wasn't breaking me more each time. I concentrated on the sight picture and continued until the second whistle, opened the bolt and found the magazine empty - I'd managed to get all ten down range. Incredibly, they were good - the eight rounds I had on the target gave me 39pts. The eighth round was 10mm outside the 5-line. The best in that string were a 47 and a 45, with my 39 next - I'm not sure I'll ever beat that.

20230219_112006b.jpg (300.39 KiB) Viewed 220 times

Then a team went up to swap the targets to the Figure 12's, which are not on a backing board, so my sight hold was way off (I was sighted to put bullets 18" above point of aim, not good on a 24" target). But I didn't bother messing with the sights, I'd just try to keep a slight gap between the top of the rear sight and the bottom of the target. I dashed into town for another couple of burgers as the shop closes at 1400. I didn't see the first detail and got back just in time to shoot, so I had to ask what precisely I was doing. This one is shot kneeling, rifle shouldered with a sight picture. On the whistle you have three seconds to put one round on target - done ten times. I dropped four off the target and the six good ones were high, with only four scoring points, totalling 18 (this was scored the same, 5pts within the 8" centre stripe, 4pts outside within the boundary of the silhouette). The best for this one was a 30, followed by 28, 26 and some 23's.

20230219_124926b.jpg (422.63 KiB) Viewed 220 times

It gave me 87pts for Sunday which I was rapt about. The best was a 123, 112, 99, 96, three 90's, then my 87. All in all a much better result than I had expected, and I had a ball doing it.

My shoulder was a major issue for some reason. The first two prone sighters hurt me, and every shot after that hurt me worse. I can only guess that I must've shouldered the rifle poorly for the first shot and crushed the thin muscle covering the calcification on the front of the humorous, and it went downhill with every shot after that. After the first 10rd string I wasn't sure if I should continue and risk being too sore to shoot at all on Sunday, but I decided it would only get worse by then so I'd be better off completing Saturday and missing Sunday if I had to. So I squealed with every shot and carried on as well as I could. Simply putting a jacket on helped a heap so I have to remember to wear a jacket when I'm practicing to develop the habit.

20230221_141740b.jpg (317.33 KiB) Viewed 220 times

Sunday was hot and almost everybody packed up and left immediately after we finished, though I think a few did hang around to play with some of their other toys. By 1500 I decided to head off to get to Lazarus's place before dark. As I'd come via Temora I decided to go back via Young, which was a major mistake. The GPS kept telling me to turn where there were no turns, sent me the wrong way numerous times, and had me sneaking around various goat tracks in very poor condition. I guess the area must've been flooded last year looking at the road damage out there. I was having to stop at every intersection to reset the GPS and more than three hours later I ended up in Young. I pulled up at Lazarus's place just after 2100 where we talked all night. I managed a few hours sleep in the morning, then we talked again until after 1700 when I tore myself away I topped the tank up at Gunning (30 litres but $2.09 this time), and drove all the way through, arriving home at 0225.

I'm already planning the ANZAC trip!

[bladeracer]

For different reasons I haven't managed to get any .303 shooting in since I got back from Rankins Springs, though I have been doing a lot of .22LR practice. But I finally managed it today. I mainly wanted to confirm my 200yd and 300yd sight settings as the ANZAC shoot is at these ranges.

20230311_145859b.jpg (505.59 KiB) Viewed 64 times

I made a 900x1200mm tall target with scoring rings and put a paper diamond in the centre to give me a more precise aiming point. I started at 300yd by setting the sight to 300yd and holding on the centre of the target. The 3rd group was right around 300mm high, and 43mm across. If I do decide to aim at the target centre I'll have to set the sight to 200yd - I'll have to confirm this next time.

20230311_153454b.jpg (319.27 KiB) Viewed 86 times

I also want to determine the sight position for when I hold on the bottom edge of the 1200mm-tall target board, so I needed to add 4MoA to put my shots 600mm higher than point of aim. The step from 300yd to 400yd on the sight should be 2.7MoA, and 450yd should be about 5MoA, so I came up to 400yd to see where they'd drop. Elevation wise seems good, though I spread the windage a bit. I didn't have a definite bottom edge due to the grass but I think this will do me.

20230311_155705b.jpg (322.47 KiB) Viewed 86 times

Then I brought the target back to 200yd. At the 200yd position holding centrally they fall about 200mm high.

20230311_162918bb.jpg (317.16 KiB) Viewed 86 times

I needed to add about 8MoA to hold on the bottom edge of the target and drop the bullets 600mm above point of aim, so I came up to 300yd which is 5MoA to see where they'd fall. They're about 100mm low so I'll have to try the 350yd position as well next time, that should add about 1.5MoA.

20230311_162920b.jpg (329.08 KiB) Viewed 86 times

Then I fixed the bayonet to see where the bullets fall with that dangling off the end of the barrel and shot a neat 115mm group, about 200mm low and 100mm right. Pretty happy with that I think.

20230311_164401b.jpg (377.29 KiB) Viewed 86 times

Then I put some rounds on the 500yd target. Holding about one-quarter up from the bottom of the 1200mm square puts my shots about the centre. I need to do a lot more practice at this distance but I don't need this for ANZAC.

I also discovered something about my eye issue. I've been wearing a WW2 Field Cap for a few weeks and while I was sighting the rifle in strong sunlight I noticed that if I tilt my head down so the hat's brim just about touches the top of my sight picture, the front sight suddenly becomes visible, much like using the Eyepal on my goggles, very interesting. This is not at all consistent and quite difficult to get right but it may be something else I can play with. So far it doesn't look like I could use it in rapid fire.

The proposed courses of fire for ANZAC:
1.The Bombardment
Distance: 300 yards
Position: Prone with sandbags (use optional)
No. of Shots: 2 sighting shots (scored) & 10 to count
Targets: Tin Hat
Scoring: scored individually (v, 5, 4, 3, 2)
Timing: in your own time
HPS 50
PROCEDURE
1. Competitors will when ordered, fire 2 sighting shots from any position, with
optional use of sandbags, each shot to be individually marked. On completion of the
sighting shots, competitors will nominate to keep or cut sighters then be ordered to
adopt the prone position and then make ready. Seconds to signal readiness to RO
2. On the command ‘Watch and shoot’ competitors commence fire.
3. Scores will be collected at the end of the practice

2. Landing On The Beach
Distance: 300 yards
Position: Prone (bayonets fixed)
No. of Shots: 2 sighting shots (not scored) & 10 to count
Targets: Landscape
Scoring: other than sighters, shots are not marked and score is tallied at end of
practice. Markers to communicate total score of each target to mound.(4, 3, 2)
Timing: in your own time
HPS 40
PROCEDURE
1. Competitors will be ordered to fix bayonets and then fire 2 sighting shots from
any position, each shot to be individually marked. The RO will instruct the rifles to
be loaded with 10 rounds, make ready and adopt the prone position. Seconds to
signal readiness to RO
2. On the command ‘Watch and Shoot’ Competitors will fire 10 rounds in own time
(max 45 seconds per shot)
3. Rifles cleared and bayonets removed
4. Target totals will be communicated to the firing point at end of each practice

3. Up the Cliffs
Distance: 300 yards -200yds walk (if appropriate for range conditions)
Position: Kneeling
No. of Shots: 10 shots to count, 10 rounds in 2x chargers.
Targets: Bacon Strip
Scoring: Shots are not marked and score is tallied at end of practice. Markers to
communicate total score of each target to mound (4, 3, 2)
Timing: 60 seconds Rapid
HPS 40
PROCEDURE
1. Competitors/Seconds will be ordered to walk downrange in line to the 200 yard
mound The RO will instruct the rifles to be loaded with 10 rounds with Chargers,
make ready and adopt the kneeling position. Seconds to signal readiness to RO
2. On the raising of targets, Competitors will fire 10 rounds within 60 seconds
3. Rifles cleared
4. Target totals will be communicated to the firing point at end of each practice
Lee Enfield Rifle Association of Australia

4. Quinn’s Post
Distance: 200 yards
Position: Prone
No. of Shots: 10 to count
Targets: Fig. 12
Scoring: Shots are not marked and score is tallied at end of practice. Markers to
communicate total score of each target to mound (5, 4)
Timing: 10 exposures of 3 seconds
HPS 50
PROCEDURE
1. Competitors will be ordered to adopt the prone position, load with 10 rounds and
make ready. Wait for command ‘Watch and shoot’.
2. There will be 10 exposures of 3 seconds each, with an away time of 5 seconds,
over a 6ft frontage. One round to be fired at each exposure.
3. Scores will be communicated to the firing point

5. Repelling the Counter Attack
Distance: 200 yards
Position: Kneeling
No. of Shots: 10 to count
Targets: Landscape with Hun Bull
Scoring: Shots are not marked and score is tallied at end of practice. Markers to
communicate total score of each target to mound (Huns head 5, 4, 3, 2,)
Timing: 60 seconds Rapid
HPS 50
PROCEDURE
1. Competitors will be ordered to load with 10 rounds, start in at the ready, kneel
and bolt closed.
2. On appearance of the target, competitors will fire 10 shots during the exposure.
3. Scores will be communicated to the firing point

6. The Evacuation
Distance: 200 yards
Position: Standing
No. of Shots: 10 to count
Targets: Fig.11
Scoring: Shots are not marked and score is tallied at end of practice. Markers to
communicate total score of each target to mound (5, 4, 2)
Timing: In your own time
HPS 50
PROCEDURE
1. Competitors/Seconds will be ordered to walk up-range in line to the 300 yard
mound The RO will instruct the rifles to be loaded with 10 rounds, then adopt the
standing alert position (rifle at 45 degrees pointing down). Seconds to signal
readiness to RO
2. On the command ‘Watch and Shoot’ Competitors will fire 10 rounds in own time
(max 45 seconds per shot)
3. Rifles cleared
4. Target totals will be communicated to the firing point at end of each practice
Match HPS = 280