Wasn’t there a .22 “extra long” too? Or am I misremembering?
In one of the events (can’t remember which one) the commentator commented about a competitor remembering to flag his gun after winning a medal. They didn’t say what the penalty would be if he forgot but looking up the rule 16.17.1.14 it appears to be nothing (paragraph m) but firing before the start command results ina DQ (paragraph h)
Former competitive rifle shooter here. Even tried out for our national Olympic team once. Didn’t make it, but came close. I had an Anschutz 1815, which is a single-shot bolt action rifle. I used .22LR Eley ammunition.
A lot of good information in this thread, so I’m unsure what I can add. But I want to address the “when you are handed one bullet” remark.
Nobody hands you a bullet. You look after your own ammo. I’d typically have a couple of boxes of 50 rounds close to my right hand, so I had to move my arm as little as possible.
Also security. It’s not generally a problem. Nobody but shooters, coaches, range officers, and match organizers is allowed into the range itself. When we checked into a match, we received our credentials (photo ID that you wore on a lanyard around your neck). No credentials, no admittance. There may be a gallery, but it would not be on the range floor.
Plus, if you’ve got far enough to shoot in such matches, you’re presumed to be safe. And indeed, that was always the case. If you didn’t carry your rifle to the firing line in a prescribed manner, you’d quickly hear about it.
More later, if I can think of anything more to add.
D’oh! I actually had an Anschutz 1813. Had to post to correct my error. Sorry about that, and hope there was no confusion.
Certainly.
What’s scary is public, free for all, outdoor ranges.
I was on a jury once where part of the evidence was a rifle. And SKS. When the cop was showing the evidence, he painted the entire room with it a couple of times. I felt like fucking ducking.
Then the rifle was brought into the jury room and laid on the table we sat around. Was pointed at one persons chest. I gently picked it up, asked if anyone wanted to see it, and proped it up in a corner.
Moron. Treat the gun as if it is always loaded.
ISTR seeing pistols with a zip tie secured in a loop passing from the ejector port to the muzzle, which provides good visual indication that there’s no round in the chamber and that it’s not possible for a round to be put in the chamber. Did they have something like this in place, or was this an (ostensibly) unloaded but otherwise-ready-to-use rifle?
Broken off pencil jammed in to keep the breech open.
I didn’t know that when sitting in the jury box. You do NOT point a weapon (even a disabled one) at anyone. This is an easy rule to follow. There are many rules in life that should just not be broken. It makes it easier if it’s not a two step rule. “Oh, I didn’t think it was loaded” How often have we heard that one.
A broken pencil is poor form. ISTM you would have been within your rights to tell him to STOP, and then ask the judge to tell him not to point the barrel at anyone.
Yes. You take your position on the firing line, and get comfortable, with your rifle action open. That way, the range officer(s) can see that your rifle is safe. And it can take a bit of time to settle in—I always preferred to get settled, and not move any more than I had to for the next 30 minutes.
When the chief range officer is satisfied that everybody is ready, he or she will shout, “Ready on the right?” If nobody objects, he or she will shout, “Ready on the left?” If nobody objects, he or she will shout, “Commence firing!” And off we go. But fire before that “Commence!” command, and you’re DQ’ed.
A competitive smallbore rifle target at 50m (which is what I shot) looks like this:
O O
O O
O O
The top two targets (non-bolded) are sighting targets. They are the same as the scoring targets. You can put as many rounds through them as you like. Good for practice shots, getting rid of those “oh my God I’m in a shooting match!” jitters, and last-minute sighting in, which can be important after travelling to a match.
The bottom four (bolded) are scoring targets. You must put five shots through each, and each shot scores. To give you an idea of what we were shooting at, the bullseye was about the size of a dime (remember, we were shooting at 50m), and we were not allowed to use telescopic sights, though we were allowed spotting scopes, to see where we hit after firing. Iron sights only. I could put five shots through the bullseye often. Sometimes, not even touching the edge.
We had 30 minutes to fire 20 scoring shots. The time limit was not a problem, as most of us finished with five or ten minutes to spare, even using sighting shots. Then, when the range officer declared time, we made our rifles safe, the range officer would look, and declare the range safe. We’d walk forward, take down our targets (making sure that our names were on them), and hand them to the judges. Then, we’d get new clean targets, put them on the butts, and return to the firing line and settle in for the next bit.
Another twenty scoring shots, another target change, and another twenty scoring shots. And after 60 scoring shots, we’ve completed a half-course. Time for a break, which would be sorely needed. I’d typically be sweating like crazy, wanting nothing more than to take off my shooting jacket and cool down with some water or juice. I could have had either on the line, but I wanted to move as little as possible while on the line.
Some matches were half-courses, which consisted of 60 scoring shots, and typically took two hours. A full-course would be 120 scoring shots, meaning two half-courses, and could be done in a day, but IME, full-courses were typically shot over two days.
Hey, like I said, I’d add more as it came to me. Maybe more later.
Thanks for the description spoons. Pretty amazing. Iron sights at dime size targets at 50 meters.
My dad used to shoot at Necco Wafers. They would ‘powder’ when you hit them.
When I was a kid I would stick a coat hanger in the ground, and stick a can on it. You could see movement when you hit it, but you didn’t need to set the target back up. I could shoot from my bedroom window.
Now, I cut out a playing card piece of cardboard from a beer box, put a dime size dot on it with a magic marker and staple it to a 2x6. Set up about 6 or 8 of them.
Holy Cow, enipia! You’re one of only a few people who has mentioned shooting at NECCO wafers! We used to do it all the time with our single-shot.22 rifles when we were kids. It’s very satisfying to see them go up in a puff, even if you’re slightly off-center. Plus, they just dissolve a few days later when it rains. No clean-up!
Ha, yeah. My grandfather gave the single shot Model 67 Winchester to my dad, who in turn gave it to me. I still have it.
(ever had a NECCO wafer? It’s actually a good use for them)