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This SMALLBORE Business


attaching screws are tight. If these screws are burred in the slots, I suggest you replace the screws with socket-headed studs


Finally, check that the action bedding bolts are clean in the threads and if necessary replace. On re-installing the action into the stock, make sure the action screws do not bottom into the action. This is crucial! Many a rifle’s accuracy has been compromised because of this. The rear action screw, I have seen protrude into the bolt way, and is one of the reasons why I designed and built my own alloy stock! Timber stocks are likely to compress in varying weather conditions, particularly in hot, or humid climates such as near the equator, or places such as Spain.


Make sure all the accessory attachment screws on your stock are firm, such as the accessory rail, which holds the palm-rest, and the sling-stop units. Replace the accessories exactly to the positions on the rail you have reached in training. (Take careful note of these positions, otherwise you are right back where you started from!)


The bolt


Completely dismantle the bolt. (You MUST know how to do this, as once more I have seen a shooter get off the firing-point with the bolt in pieces. If you cannot dismantle and rebuild the bolt as a matter of course, it is pretty embarrassing to ask a range officer for help!).


Clean the bolt thoroughly, once more with solvent and the use of compressed-air is helpful, particularly with the bolt-way through the firing-pin hole. Clean the firing-pin and the attached springs, then reassemble.


The only part of the bolt that needs lubrication is where the bolt handle assembly contacts the bolt proper. It is better to keep the firing-pin itself dry. Any lubrication down the surface of the firing pin can cause the bolt to ‘diesel’ with resultant variation of firing-pin protrusion and speed of operation. You need that like a hole in the head.


Make sure the firing-pin sear is dry and clean, which helps with the trigger release operation. Make sure the bolt-face is clean and free from accumulated wax, with particular attention to the extractor claw. This is a prime place for wax and powder residue to accumulate. I use a small sharp pocket knife to remove the accumulated gunk.


Finally, with a snap-cap in place, test the trigger operation, making sure there is no ‘creep’ in the release sequence. I cannot stress this aspect more, it is crucial that the trigger operation ‘breaks’ as clean as a sliver of fine glass.


If your choice is a two stage trigger, (as mine is) make sure the first stage is smooth and quite safe. You should be able to pull up the first stage and release it with no chance of the trigger releasing the shot. Many prefer the single-stage release (that is up to personal choice) but the release must be crisp, no discernable creep what so ever.


Then there is the ‘brain’ of the piece, the rear sight itself.


I am stunned at how often I have seen the rear sight neglected. I emphasise this because it is extremely important. You only have to go into the Anschutz caravan and watch the technician shake his head as they virtually have to rebuild the back sight of a customer’s rifle! I have seen them so seized up that they do not respond to the knobs. Either that, or eventually the sight catches up to the movements made in one fell swoop (backlash).


I always check that the sight moves correctly with a small dial indicator. This instrument will detail how accurate the movements are, or if there is any backlash and the remedy is simple, keep the sight lubricated. A small maintenance job will give everlasting results!


About every six months, I wind the knobs out to the fullest extent of the screws and place a drop of sewing-machine oil on the threads, then wind the knob to the opposite end of the thread so the body of the sight is also lubricated. This is done on both elevation and windage screws, then zero the sight in both elevation and the wind arm before the next training session. You do not need excess oiling and wipe the body of the sight itself if needed.


The thread that attaches the rear peep - or iris - is cleaned as sometimes this can accumulate lint or fine dust particles, that can intrude on the sighting plane. Not much fun when you are looking through a hair in the sight picture!


If you are using filters, make sure they are spotless using a spectacle Calotherm cloth to wipe them over. Make sure there are no smeers left. The same applies to shooting glasses if you need them.


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