On Sunday 30 March I attended my first military rifle shoot at the 18 Battalion Memorial Rifle Club, Hornsby. The competition was the annual ANZAC Service Rifle Match. Participants had to use a rifle correct for the ANZAC period, namely a Lee Enfield No.1 MkIII. There was also a secondary match were participants could use a Lee Enfield No.4 rifle. There were over 45 competitors on the day and Mausers were not permitted.
The course of fire consisted of a 300m Deliberate (10 rounds precision) at a 303 Application target, followed by a 200m Rapid Fire (10 rounds in 60 sec) at a Figure 11 target and finally the 200m Snap (5 sec exposure for 1 round x10) at a Figure 13 target. All of the targets used are the same style of target used to train the Aussie diggers in the WW1.
The load used was; Sierra 174gr HPBT MatchKing, 46.2grs AR2209.
It was good to see the enthusiastic young faces of the local Army Cadet Corps there too. The Cadets helped manning the butts and provided a sensational BBQ lunch. Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day.
Precision series at 300m
Finnish M39 Mosin-Nagant 7.62x54mmR (ring in!!!!)
and SMLE No.1 MkIII rifles (top)
No.4 Rifle with standard aperture combat sight
300m
Rapid Fire series at 200m (No.4 Rifle)
For my first service rifle match, I didn't do too bad;
ANZAC Match - No.1 Mk.III rifle
1st Teams Aggregate
3rd Rapid Fire
7th Grand Aggregate
Secondary Match - No.4 rifle
2nd Grand Aggregate
