July2026 (1) - Flipbook - Page 77
An En昀椀eld Short Ri昀氀e was used by Paul Wolpe
to gain second place at 200 yards
though some are based around
special interests. The sport of
long range target shooting in the
UK has a rich heritage and the
hey-day of the muzzle loading
era for ri昀氀e marksmen was the
昀椀rst two decades of the National
Ri昀氀e Association’s (NRA) existence; broadly 1860-1880. It is
this period that the Long Range
Ri昀氀es Branch (LRR – www.longrangeri昀氀es.uk) of the MLAGB
seeks to foster an interest in.
The MLAGB and LRR work
together when planning their
respective calendar of events,
resulting in a series of matches
and practice sessions, usually
over three days, between April
and October. All events are held
at the NRA ranges at Bisley,
Surrey. Whilst the matches are
all for muzzle loaders, during
the practice sessions, some will
use the opportunity to 昀椀re black
powder cartridge ri昀氀es.
Long Range Ri昀氀es members
enjoyed a practice day at Bisley
on Saturday 11 April, shooting
at 600 and 1,000 yards. Either
side of the LRR practice day
were MLAGB Ri昀氀e Championships; 200 yards on the Friday and 500 yards on Sunday.
Barring excessive heat, weather-wise, pretty much everything
else that can be encountered
on a range day occurred. Bright
sun, clouds, passing rain showers and hailstones! All this with
the strong wind made for challenging conditions, so in many
ways it was an ideal training
opportunity at the start of the
season...
David Minshall and Rob Groot
vied for top places in the
MLAGB percussion target ri昀氀e
matches, with David beating
Rob by one v-bull at 200 yards,
and Rob beating David by two
v-bulls at 500 yards! Chris Goed
won the 200 yard En昀椀eld ri昀氀e
match and David won the 500
yard En昀椀eld match.
Making ready on Century Range for the 昀椀rst detail of the 600 yard Volunteer Trophy match
God Bless Black Powder!
77
