Will be updated and completed as I get round to it…
Action
Half of the “gun” part of the rifle. Combined with a bolt, the action is the bit that fires the round.
Aperture Sights
The type of sights we use in target shooting. Consists of a ring on the front of the barrel and a peep to look through on back end. The aim of the game (hehe… I punned…) is to center the target in the front ring at the same time as centering the front ring in the rear peep. Basically a very expensive series of holes to look through.
Barrel
The barrel is the pointy end of the rifle. It is the bit that makes the projectiles go fast and in the right direction. Rifle barrels have rifling inside which makes the bullets spin for accuracy.
Bedding
Usually the only contact between the rifle and the stock. It is important that your rifle is bedded well as it can effect accuracy (due to recoil and harmonics and many other things I don’t understand yet). It can range from a bog-like compound which is moulded to the particular action, to v-profile aluminium blocks and many other types.
Beer
How we celebrate and commiserate after fullbore. What you drink after being Trenthamed. The fullbore version of cake. Cake is delicious.
Bolt
Combined with the action, the bit of the firearm that fires the round. It contains bits and pieces such as the firing pin which starts the chain reaction involved in firing a round.
Bull/Bullseye/V-Bull/10.1
The middle of the target. The bullseye (score of 5) in fullbore isn’t challenging enough for some people so if you hit the very centre, you get a V-bull which scores 5.1. This is also called a “centre”. In smallbore, 10 is the highest score with 10.1 for hitting the very centre. If two scores are the same, the person with the more centres wins. i.e 48.6 beats a 48.5.
Cake
What we all eat on club night at smallbore when someone has a birthday.
Card
It is a smallbore thing. 10 counting targets and a sighting target are printed on one A3 piece of cardboard. You shoot a whole card in one go. In a 20-shot match, you shoot two cards at once but you shoot no sighters on the second one (if you shoot sighters on your second card in a 20-shot, you are executed via a million paper cuts. Or no one actually notices… whatever…)
Click
A sophisticated way of describing how far to turn the windage or elevation knobs on your sights (because the knobs click when you turn them). How far a click moves your sights depends on the model of sight. For example, one click on the windage knob on my fullbore sights is equal to half an MOA but on someone elses sights, it might be a third or an eighth of an MOA.
Coached Shooting
A style of shooting where a shooter has a wind-coach. A wind-coach adjusts the wind and elevation for the shooter so all they need to do is concentrate on firing a good shot. Often the shooter doesn’t get to see where their shots are going until the end of the string. In fullbore, team shooting involves a wind coach. Individual shooting usually doesn’t unless the shooter is a Tyro.
Not to be confused with teaching someone to shoot well (which can also be called coaching).
Foresight Element
Fullbore shooters agonise over these. The ring in the front sight. This is what you centre around the target when lining up for a shot. The diameter and the thickness of the ring can effect all sorts of things – mostly accuracy but sometimes just your headspace or vision. If someone figures out a solid formula for choosing the correct size, please let me know.
F OPEN
FTR
Fullbore/.308
Big bang!
Group
Hold
The pause between when you stop breathing and releasing the shot. Hold is very important in shooting. If you are wobbling about all over the place during your hold, it is unlikely that you will hit the target. If your hold is too long, you will run out of oxygen and probably die. If your hold is too short, your rifle will still be pointing at the floor when you fire.
Hotloaded
When a round has more gunpowder in it than strictly necessary. Makes a bigger bang.
HotloadeD
This site of shameless self-promotion and bragging.
Match
MOA/Minute
Minute of angle (or minute of arc when you aren’t shooting). 1/60th of a degree or 290.8882087 µrad. Roughly equates to 1 inch at 100 yards. A Shooters MOA equates to exactly 1 inch at 100 yards.
Fun Fact: having 20/20 vision means having a visual acuity of 1 MOA… (also, 20/20 vision is actually below average eyesight for a normal healthy eye)
O Clock
Used to describe where on the target the shot went. Vic struggles with where the numbers on a clock face are…
Position
Re-Entry
Scatt/NopTel
Smallbore/.22
Little bang.
Squad
Stock
The ergonomic link between rifle and shooter. They range from sporting stocks (looks like everyones idea of a rifle) to full-on target rifle stocks (which look a little bit like a praying mantis). To Vic, a stock is a blank canvas for painting things on.
String
TR
Target Rifle. Using a sling for support, the shooter holds the rifle and uses aperture sights. There are a bunch of other rules but they are quite boring.
Trenthamed
When you get hammered by the world famous wind at the Seddon Range in Trentham. It is an unhappy feeling to be Trenthamed. Usually requires beer to recover from.
Trigger
As eloquently stated on a customs declaration one time… “release mechanism for rifle”
Wife/Husband
The direct competition…
Also shooting buddy, training partner, coach, muse, psychologist, lover, team mate, distraction, best friend and encouragement
