Bell Target Shooting.

[Jimlad]

Hi Zooma

No not quite, each team has a first man they sit either side of a table near the ocky, they toss a coin to see who goe's first, then the first shooter takes a shot ( sighter) then the opposition shooter takes their sighter, the they each alternatively take their remaining shots until both shooters have shot seven counting shots. then the second members of each team carries on the same, and so on until the match has finished,
each member of the team shoots shot for shot with a member of the opposition.

Match scoring is done by one member from each team, if they cannot agree the captain from each team is called up if they cannot agree the shot is called up. In Cup finals we usually have a neutral scorer and range where possible. The sights we use are tunnel foresights with a clear plastic iris, and the rear sights are open dioptre, (All rifles are .177 low powered match rifles)

Link to website although a little out of date as our website manager emigrated to New Zealand :~ www.badarl.co.uk
Jim

Here is a cross section of the rifles we use :~

[zooma]

OK - now I get it.

Thanks for clarifying the small details for me Jim - now we know how to do it!

[edbear2]

Have a read...

http://www.belltarget.com/

Our league uses full power recoiling (springer) rifles.....open (iron) sights only, think HW97 / TX200 / etc. no aids of any sort, no full match type stocks, etc. etc. 90% of the guns are "out of the box" but there is a league template for shape, so small mods are allowed, this is my comp gun, a early Mk3 TX with stock add on, Adj. butt plate, and home made sights plus rowan set back and lazerglide internals. It is fairly representative of about as far as you can go to personalise a gun within the rules.

The white sticker on the back is the legality mark...all guns are presented pre season to the league officials for both serial registration, shape legality, and for chrono testing to ensure sub 12 ft pounds (normally max is insisted on around 11.4 for a good margin of safety). the is a league standard pellet which all must use (AA field) which of course is a domed pellet.....flat heads are out of the question as they do not leave the required central strike mark which is necessary for accurate marking.

Our targets are "tight" at 8mm, and we only get 5 shots (you are allowed two sighters before the ones that score). teams are ten shooters with reserves.....The reserves come into play if people cannot make it, or score badly as the reserves shoot at the end of a match and their scores are recorded.

What has not been mentioned is the stress encountered by the people shooting at the end of a match, as with alternating teams shooting, the scores slowly build up, and the "last man in" (normally the captain), very often has the match at stake!......often matches are won / lost with the last shot, and winning / losing by one point, or draws are not uncommon, as are "possibles"........ie. 5 bulls in competition conditions.....and we are talking often crowded, dark and noisy small village pubs, where there are distractions not many 6 meter match people could cope with......every team venue is different!

I like to think that our rules are as close to the original concept and spirit as you can get, without using gas lit targets and vintage pre 1914 guns.......something we have done in the past on special occasions!

[zooma]

Thanks Edbear,

It is very interesting to find out about the variations in the rules between the different leagues and this adds to the interest as the rules can be "adapted" to local requirements.

The thought did cross my mind that it would be good to have some sort of ruling to seperate the springers or early type SSP from the full match PCP rifles as they would seem to give a clear advantage over the "basic" ( non match PCP) rifle.

I am sure a good shooter with a" basic" or early type target rifle can score higher than a poor shooter with a top match rifle - but most are neither a top shot or a bad shot and so a clear advantage over 6 yards ( or 7 yards) would seem to be in favour of the competitor with the better equipment.

My first priority is to get a bell target, and to promote the idea to encourage as many people as possible to have a go in our area, but once it is established and we have some experience to refer to I would like to look at any advantages that may be seen between the types of rifle used and see if there is any support to sub-divide or even ban certain types.

To start with I think I need to allow any .177 rifle that is within the legal power limit and see how we get on. I never considered the type of pellet - I just assumed the regular flat nosed target pellets would be the natural choice.

The thought of having a "vintage" match is very appealing and may be something we can look foward to in the future.

[defblade]

I am sure a good shooter with a" basic" or early type target rifle can score higher than a poor shooter with a top match rifle - but most are neither a top shot or a bad shot and so a clear advantage over 6 yards ( or 7 yards) would seem to be in favour of the competitor with the better equipment.

Not strictly bell target, but recently I've been shooting better with my BSA meteor on iron sights than with my FWB 603 on dioptre, so who knows?

[pegasus]

Hi there, Red Bob on here is your man for a bell target,he makes them,I got one of his,first class workmanship,good price,mine also takes a paper target in front so you have two options,bell or paper I would recomend him atb John

[edbear2]

Ring My Bell is 100% Essential reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://frankspittle.com/

[zooma]

Hi there, Red Bob on here is your man for a bell target,he makes them,I got one of his,first class workmanship,good price,mine also takes a paper target in front so you have two options,bell or paper I would recomend him atb John

Thanks Pegasus - just what I need, a solid recomendation from a satisfied bell target user -and I like the dual use idea as well.

I will find Red Bob and PM him for some more details.

[thimblehouse]

Thanks Edbear,

It is very interesting to find out about the variations in the rules between the different leagues and this adds to the interest as the rules can be "adapted" to local requirements.

The thought did cross my mind that it would be good to have some sort of ruling to seperate the springers or early type SSP from the full match PCP rifles as they would seem to give a clear advantage over the "basic" ( non match PCP) rifle.

I am sure a good shooter with a" basic" or early type target rifle can score higher than a poor shooter with a top match rifle - but most are neither a top shot or a bad shot and so a clear advantage over 6 yards ( or 7 yards) would seem to be in favour of the competitor with the better equipment.

My first priority is to get a bell target, and to promote the idea to encourage as many people as possible to have a go in our area, but once it is established and we have some experience to refer to I would like to look at any advantages that may be seen between the types of rifle used and see if there is any support to sub-divide or even ban certain types.

To start with I think I need to allow any .177 rifle that is within the legal power limit and see how we get on. I never considered the type of pellet - I just assumed the regular flat nosed target pellets would be the natural choice.

The thought of having a "vintage" match is very appealing and may be something we can look foward to in the future.

Frankly at 6 yards there is no advantage to PCP. Its all down to the shooter. Plus remember its free standing.

[zooma]

Frankly at 6 yards there is no advantage to PCP. Its all down to the shooter. Plus remember its free standing.

I am surprised, I would have thought any of the latest generation of full match air rifles with diopter sights from Walther, Feinwerkbau, Anshultz, Steyr etc would give a clear advantage over a standard air rifle with open sights and recoil.

This latest generation of match air rifles are also designed for free standing use and I would say they would be easier to use and to gain a better result more consistantly.