Post by bradshaw on Feb 10, 2018 12:10:01 GMT -5
It is game on for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. If you can’t find BIATHLON on TV, check it out on YouTube. Biathlon combines the fierce cardio-vascular pump of Nordic, a.k.a. cross country, skiing with riflery. Competitors ski undulating terrain to a firing range or series of firing ranges on the course. Targets at each stage are five steel disks @ 50 meters. Stages alternate prone and offhand, one position per stage, or bank of five targets. As in silhouette, one shot per target. Spare ammo is carried in case of misfire or lost magazine. With the exception of a mixed relay, women and men ski & shoot separate events. Medal events include individual, sprint, pursuit, mass starts, and relay, and various kilometer distances.
Target----50 meters
Prone: steel disk 1.7” diameter (45mm).
Standing: steel disk 4.5” diameter (115mm).
A competitor who misses one target must ski 150 meter penalty lap at the end of of the race before crossing the finish line. Two misses=2 penalty laps, etc.
Biathlon mandates a bolt action rifle in .22 Long Rifle, with removable 5-shot box magazine. Iron sights only. Anschutz and Izhmash make competitive biathlon rifles with smooth STRAIGHT PULL actions requisite for speed. The old Browning T-Bolt lacks required smoothness and speed. The Anschutz Model 1827 Fortner represents the creme de la creme of smooth, with bolt handle flicked back by trigger finger and bolt closed via modest thumb pressure on the bolt sleeve. I am told by competitors that the Anschutz is a bit more accurate than the Izhmash, especially so as temperatures plunge to hard freeze.
Rifle
Weight, maximum: 3.5 kilo (7.7 lbs).
Trigger, minimum: 500 gram (17 oz).
A 2-stage trigger is the only way to fly, as it offers safety against jarring, with reliability hot or cold. Take-up is light and dead smooth, with a very light, clean break.
The rifle is loaded and unloaded on the firing line.
Slings are specialized to hold the rifle flat against the back for skiing, with stiff bilateral shoulder loops for snag-free slinging and un-slinging. The sling is not used as a shooting aid. Spare magazines are clipped in the stock.
An Anschutz Model 1827 Fortner, set up with Anschutz sights, sling, and spare mags retails around $4,000. The Izhmash retails around 2 or $3,000. These figures are approximate. Numerous Izhmash biathlon rifles carry Anschutz sights. Custom and customized stocks abound. I handled an Anschutz with experimental carbon fiber stock last year at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Vermont. Plenty of pillar bedded wood along with synthetics. The rifles are amazing. As well, the competitors who screech from heart-pounding exertion to cool, composed trigger-squeezing are amazing.
American biathletes----including Susan Dunklee of Vermont----work year round to achieve olympic performance. Spoke briefly with Susan Dunklee last year. Didn’t get the chance to discuss particulars of marksmanship. Dunklee, smooth and fast on the skis, finds the sharpshooting tougher. Biathlon enjoys a huge spectator following in parts of Europe, an audience no shooting discipline in America has experienced in my lifetime. Going up against ferocious players from France, Italy, Russia, Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, Germany, Ukraine, Latvia, Austria, etc., etc., our shooters have their hands full.
David Bradshaw
Target----50 meters
Prone: steel disk 1.7” diameter (45mm).
Standing: steel disk 4.5” diameter (115mm).
A competitor who misses one target must ski 150 meter penalty lap at the end of of the race before crossing the finish line. Two misses=2 penalty laps, etc.
Biathlon mandates a bolt action rifle in .22 Long Rifle, with removable 5-shot box magazine. Iron sights only. Anschutz and Izhmash make competitive biathlon rifles with smooth STRAIGHT PULL actions requisite for speed. The old Browning T-Bolt lacks required smoothness and speed. The Anschutz Model 1827 Fortner represents the creme de la creme of smooth, with bolt handle flicked back by trigger finger and bolt closed via modest thumb pressure on the bolt sleeve. I am told by competitors that the Anschutz is a bit more accurate than the Izhmash, especially so as temperatures plunge to hard freeze.
Rifle
Weight, maximum: 3.5 kilo (7.7 lbs).
Trigger, minimum: 500 gram (17 oz).
A 2-stage trigger is the only way to fly, as it offers safety against jarring, with reliability hot or cold. Take-up is light and dead smooth, with a very light, clean break.
The rifle is loaded and unloaded on the firing line.
Slings are specialized to hold the rifle flat against the back for skiing, with stiff bilateral shoulder loops for snag-free slinging and un-slinging. The sling is not used as a shooting aid. Spare magazines are clipped in the stock.
An Anschutz Model 1827 Fortner, set up with Anschutz sights, sling, and spare mags retails around $4,000. The Izhmash retails around 2 or $3,000. These figures are approximate. Numerous Izhmash biathlon rifles carry Anschutz sights. Custom and customized stocks abound. I handled an Anschutz with experimental carbon fiber stock last year at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Vermont. Plenty of pillar bedded wood along with synthetics. The rifles are amazing. As well, the competitors who screech from heart-pounding exertion to cool, composed trigger-squeezing are amazing.
American biathletes----including Susan Dunklee of Vermont----work year round to achieve olympic performance. Spoke briefly with Susan Dunklee last year. Didn’t get the chance to discuss particulars of marksmanship. Dunklee, smooth and fast on the skis, finds the sharpshooting tougher. Biathlon enjoys a huge spectator following in parts of Europe, an audience no shooting discipline in America has experienced in my lifetime. Going up against ferocious players from France, Italy, Russia, Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, Germany, Ukraine, Latvia, Austria, etc., etc., our shooters have their hands full.
David Bradshaw