Owen Guns Bulletin January 2009 No 9
Welcome to the Ninth Edition of the Owen Guns Bulletin.
STOP PRESS
Scroll down for another Free Firearm Manual
We are currently publishing our new website at www.owenguns.com
Where we are in the process of listing 1000s of rifles,shotguns, handguns, accessories, and gun parts that we have for sale. Visit the website now. We also have shooting articles and important firearm information for the gun enthusiast.
Take away free gun photos and free firearm images for your gun gallery collection. New firearm related material being added every day.
Have Great time on Australia Day from all of the team at Owen Guns. Going Shooting for the weekend?
Any Inquiries on any products phone 07 54824099 or 07 54825070
Monthly Specials
Barsaka 3-9×50 Huntsman
The Huntmaster combines high quality optics and rugged construction with accuracy and ease of use. Huntmaster scopes feature fully-coated optics for bright clear views, rugged 1” monotube construction and are waterproof, fogproof and shockproof. Huntmasters are suitable for all types of general purpose hunting. 50 millimetre objective lens all for
$125.
plus postage
BRAND NEW IN THE BOX
Four still in stock at
$550.
New Stock at $650.
| Stevens® Centrefire | |
| Stevens Model 200 – Short Action | |
| Caliber | 223 REM, 22-250 REM, 243 WIN, 7MM-08 REM, 308 WIN |
| Overall Length | 41.75″ |
| Barrel Length | 22″ |
| Weight | 6.5 lbs |
| Magazine Capacity | 4 rounds |
| Stock | Gray synthetic with positive checkering, dual pillar bedding |
| Sights | No sights. Drilled and tapped for scope mounts |
| Rifling Rate of Twist | 1 in 9″ (223 REM) 1 in 9.25″ (243 WIN) 1 in 9.5″ (7MM-08 REM) 1 in 10″ (308 WIN) 1 in 12″ (22-250 REM) |
| Features | Standard trigger, blued barrelled action, free-floating and button-rifled barrel, top loading internal box magazine, and swivel studs. |
| Special Price | $650.00 |
| Stevens® Centerfire | |
| Stevens Model 200 – Long Action | |
| Caliber | 22″ (25-06 REM, 270 WIN, 30-06 SPFLD) 24″ (7MM REM MAG, 300 WIN MAG) |
| Overall Length | 42.75″ (25-06 REM, 270 WIN, 30-06 SPFLD) 44.75″ (7MM REM MAG, 300 WIN MAG) |
| Barrel Length | 22″ (25-06 REM, 270 WIN, 30-06 SPFLD) 24″ (7MM REM MAG, 300 WIN MAG) |
| Weight | 6.5 lbs |
| Magazine Capacity | 4 rounds (25-06 REM, 270 WIN, 30-06 SPFLD) 3 rounds for (7MM REM MAG, 300 WIN MAG) |
| Stock | Gray synthetic with positive checkering, dual pillar bedding |
| Sights | No sights. Drilled and tapped for scope mounts |
| Rifling Rate of Twist | 1 in 9.5″ (7MM REM MAG) 1 in 10″ (25-06 REM, 270 WIN, 30-06 SPFLD, 300 WIN MAG) |
| Features | Standard trigger, blued barreled action, free-floating and button-rifled barrel, top loading internal box magazine, and swivel studs. |
| Special Price | $650.00 |
Email owenguns@spiderweb.com.au for more & bigger photos, its worth it.
If you want to get the best out of your favourite Lee Enfield, have a good look at this before you begin your project Ian and Brian have lots of knowledge and idea’s to get you the maximum results and getting it right the first time will save you time and money. Order it today
$16.60
plus postage
Bi-pods (made Famous by Harris,’Patents ran out’) fit to QD (Quick Detachable) Swivel Stud. Ten years ago they retailed for over $150 now while stocks last half Price
Fully Extended
Compact and folded under the barrel
$79.00.
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This book originally printed by the War Office, was intended for use by officers under instruction at the British School of Musketry at Hythe. It is a complete examination of everything needed to be known about smallarms, ammunition and ballistics. It looks at rifles, swords, lances and bayonets, as well as revolvers, grenades and machine guns. There is a section dealing with small arms ammunition (including pre-.303inch ammunition) which is very comprehensive. The book also looks at the ballistics of this ammunition. The book is amply illustrated with photographs, line drawings and tables, and forms a complete record of the weapons and ammunition that were in service between the two World Wars. It was the Text Book Bible referred to by all the 20th Century Gun writers such as Hatcher, Ackley, and Whelen .430 A4 pages.
Special for this Month Only $59.
plus postage
RCBS Great Prices, Get the Best Reloading Tools for the Lowest Price.
RCBS Great Prices, Get the Best Reloading Tools for the Lowest Price.
Big-scale features and capacity with an affordable price. Two-poise design lets you weigh up to 505 grains with 0.1 grain accuracy. The 5-0-2 also sports our magnetic dampening system for fast readings, maintenance-free movement and a rugged die-cast metal base. Tip-proof aluminum pan for loading convenience. Ounce-to-grain conversion table on the base for handy shotshell reference
$99.00
Special Price RCBS 502 RELOADING SCALES $99.00 plus post
EMAIL Or PHONE 0754824099
For More RED HOT PRICES
EMAIL Or PHONE 0754824099
Second Hand Custom Sako in 17 Fireball
includes 3-9×40 Tasco World Class includs QD swivels
Brilliant Barrel, walnut stock
$720.
plus freight
GUN LAWS
Seeing the Light
Italians Legislate To Protect Self-Defence.
By Carlo Stagnaro & Dave Kopel
Italy is taking big steps towards greater protection of fundamental human rights, as it looks to significantly change old laws that have infringed the right of self-defence.
In Italy, the Minister of Defence, Antonio Martino, recently announced his support for private gun ownership. “Gun control disarms law-abiding citizens, not criminals,” he said. Martino, who was a professor before becoming defence minister, observed that gun laws only affect the law-abiding, not criminals:
When gun-control laws were passed, I neither saw any member of the Mafia giving up his shotguns, nor any terrorist giving surrendering Kalashnikovs. Instead, I saw retired officers giving up their issue guns. Actually, we disarmed law-abiding citizens, and that resulted in leaving weapons in the hands of those who don’t obey the laws.
Italy only has 44,000 Licensed to Carry for Defence.
Australia Zero Licenses for Defence.
Professor Martino’s statement is the strongest ever uttered in favour of gun rights by an Italian minister since at least 1931, when modern Italian gun control was imposed by Mussolini’s fascist regime. The Italian system is similar to what Sarah Brady has announced as her preferred American policy: “needs-based” licensing. A citizen must apply for a permit from the local prefect (for handguns) or to the chief of police (for long guns), and the official then decides whether he thinks the applicant “needs” the gun. Gun-carrying permits are very difficult to obtain; only 44,000 Italians are legally allowed to carry arms for personal defence.
Moreover, the parts of the Italian criminal code (dealing with “legitimate defence” and “unintentional excess”) have often been interpreted by the courts against those who defended themselves or their loved ones against predators. The courts insist that the defence must be “proportional” to the aggression — so that if a man is using his bare hands to commit rape, the woman cannot fight back with a gun. Likewise, if your home is invaded by a gang armed with knives, the courts will not allow you to use a firearm against them.
A few months ago, Minister of Justice Roberto Castelli created a commission to revise the criminal code. The commission is supposed to recognize the right of the people to defend themselves, at least in their own home. Castelli said that “current laws should be revised, especially in those areas concerning actions taken by citizens in their own home.” Carlo Nordio is the head of the commission. “There’s a further, more serious and pressing problem,” he wrote in the Italian daily Il Messaggero, that is, the problem of legitimate defence by those who lawfully own a gun and are forced to use it to defend themselves, and then they are treated as if they were the aggressor. They are peaceful and honest citizens who, faced with a robber invading their home, shot him and perhaps killed him. The laws about those cases are vague and bungling…
In Italy 80.7 % of Crimes Unpunished. In Australia Report a Crime and the Police Feel Threatened and Arrest You.
Some Italians are heavily criticizing Defence Minister Martino for saying that people should be allowed to be armed. “I find that absurd,” said sociologist Domenico De Masi. “The crime rates make America one of the worst countries in the world from that point of view. The American population is about five times the Italian one, but the number of prisoners is 26 times greater.” Perhaps De Masi should have added that one reason that number of Italian prisoners is so low is that Italian criminals usually escape capture and punishment. In Italy, 80.7 percent of all crimes go unpunished and the culprit is not found — 96.8 percent of the thefts, 58.2 percent of the homicides, 84.6 percent of the robberies, and 64.3 percent of the kidnappings. Moreover, Mr. De Masi might have addressed the fact that the Swiss are much more heavily armed than Italians are, yet are also less violent. The 1994 Swiss homicide rate was of 1.32 per 100,000 people (among which only 0.58 were perpetrated with a firearm), while the Italian rate was 2.25 (of which 1.66 were perpetrated with a firearm).
Coming to Martino’s defence was Alberto Mingardi, columnist for the conservative daily Libero: “Around the freedom to be armed a duet is played: civilization against barbarism. Martino stands for civilization.” Vittorio Feltri, director of the same paper, pointed out that Italian laws “prosecute the crime of ‘unintentional excess of legitimate defence,’ while citizens and their properties are not safeguarded, since possessing wealth seems to be a crime worse than stealing it. They say that communism is dead; however, it left us with a heritage we were not yet able to get rid of.”
Before the 20th century, Italy had a solid tradition of armed resistance — a tradition that fascism deeply harmed, and the socialist republic of the last few decades almost killed. The free people of Venice and the other Renaissance city-states were loath to allow their governments a monopoly of force. As Machiavelli explained in The Prince,
“When you disarm your subjects you offend them by showing that, either for cowardliness or lack of faith, you distrust them; and either conclusion will induce them to hate you.”
The founder of criminology, 18th-century scholar Cesare Beccaria of Milan, wrote:
“False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that has no remedy for evils, except destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Can it be supposed that those who have the courage to violate the most sacred laws of humanity, the most important of the code, will respect the less important and arbitrary ones, which can be violated with ease and impunity, and which, if strictly obeyed, would put an end to personal liberty — so dear to men, so dear to the enlightened legislator — and subject innocent persons to all the vexations that the guilty alone ought to suffer? Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve to rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. They ought to be designated as laws not preventative but fearful of crimes, produced by the tumultuous impression of a few isolated facts, and not by thoughtful consideration of the inconveniences and advantages of a universal decree.“
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were both big fans of Beccaria and his 1764 treatise On Crimes and Punishments. Adams quoted Beccaria during his arguments in the 1770 Boston Massacre trial.
Thomas Jefferson admired On Crimes and Punishments so much that he carefully copied many lengthy passages into his “Commonplace Book” of favourite sayings. As Garry Wills notes in Inventing America, Jefferson used Becarria as “his principal modern authority for revising the laws of Virginia.” Among the passages the Jefferson copied was the above passage about firearms.
Self Defence is a Human Right
Beccaria was also a major intellectual influence behind the Eighth Amendment, barring cruel or unusual punishment. Beccaria reasoned that a penal system should provide punishment only severe enough to preserve security; any punishment above this level was a form of tyranny. The purpose of the criminal law was to protect “That bond which is necessary to keep the interest of individuals united, without which men would return to their original state of barbarity.” Therefore, “Punishments which exceed the necessity of preserving this bond are in their nature unjust.”
So in a sense, Italy’s moves towards restoration of legal protection for the right of self-defence — and against unfair punishments for people who exercise this right — could be viewed as making Italy more like America. At the same time, we should recognize that America’s Second and Eighth Amendments both draw important roots from the European Enlightenment in general, and from that Cesare Beccaria in particular.
As Beccaria, Jefferson, and Adams all understood, the right to protect your home and your family against an aggressor isn’t a cultural preference; it is a fundamental human right, belonging to all people at all times — even though sometimes governments might disrespect this human right, as they disrespect other human rights. By moving toward reaffirming human rights for its people, Italy’s government is removing the vestiges of fascist rule, and helping Italy reclaim its historic role as a model of civilization.
(So if you want better, safer more sensible Gun Laws Move to Italy as in Australia you have to be a Politician before your worth defending, of course the Tax payer pays for their armed guards, maybe they know we hate them? see quote above by Machiavelli. Ron Owen)
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Gun History
Barrel Developments
Part one Length
The barrel of the famous Kentucky rifle was very long, and Davy Crockett lived and was a real hero with a really long rifle, many people think that a long barrel is necessary for best accuracy in a small-arm. This is not true. Our old muzzle loading rifles and shotguns had long barrels because they used black powder as a propellant. Black powder burned relatively slowly, and it required a long barrel to burn a large enough charge to give the required velocity. Other reasons for long rifle barrels was to obtain a long sight radius, the further the front and back sight were apart, and yet remained visible the less angle of deviation of the sight.
Charges of modern smokeless powder are much faster burning, and the charge is completely consumed in a relatively short barrel. Accuracy depends not on barrel length, nor even in barrel straightness, but on the perfect delivery of the bullet- gyrostats into the atmosphere, and the perfection of that gyrostats.
The length of barrel required to give the maximum velocity with a given cartridge depends on the kind and amount of power loaded in that cartridge, and its bullet. Some powders burn faster than others, and some bullets offer more bore resistance and friction and consequently cause faster burning of the powder charge.
The little .22 Long Rifle cartridge attains its maximum velocity in a barrel only 16 inches, depending on the kind of powder loaded in the cartridge. With the regular target cartridge the velocity in a 4-inch barrel is about 850 fps.; 10 inches, 1,000 fps ; 16 inches, 1,030 fps.; and in a 24 inch barrel only 1,000,fps, showing that in the latter length the powder has been completely consumed, all the gas possible has been generated and expanded, and the friction of the bullet in the extra length of barrel is beginning to retard the bullet. Most.22 caliber rifles have barrels 24 inches long because that is the present “style.” Our .22 caliber match rifles quite generally have 28 inch barrels. The only advantage of such a long barrel on these match rifles is that it gives a greater distance between front and rear sights, and thus a certain error of aim does not cause the shot to strike so wide of the mark;. an advantage that does not hold with a telescope sight.
The disadvantage of a long barrel is also sometimes evident in revolvers using the .38 Smith & Wesson Special cartridge. Where a long or very heavy and soft bullet is used, the velocity is frequently greater in a 6 inch barrel than in one of 7 ½ inches, because the friction of the extra barrel length more than neutralizes the very slight increase in length of gas pressure.
With the US Governments first bolt action the .30-40 Krag cartridge firing the 220 grain bullet the muzzle velocity in the 30-inch rifle barrel was 2,000 fps., and in the 22-inch carbine barrel 1920 fps.
With the US Governments .30-06 cartridge firing the 150 grain bullet, the standard Muzzle Velocity was 2,700 fps., was obtained in a 24 inch barrel which was the standard length for Springfield ’03 and Garand rifles. Increasing or decreasing the barrel length an inch increased or decreased the muzzle velocity 18 to 25 fps, depending on the bullet and powder used. The increase per inch pertained up to a length of about 32 inches when apparently most powder charges were completely consumed.
24 inch Barrel Springfield 1903 Rifle with a Scope nearly as long. WWII Sniper Version.
Quite generally most modern rifles, both military and sporting, are now made with barrels 22 inches long which seems to be a happy medium, giving both handiness and good accuracy, with almost the maximum velocity in many cases. Formerly, over a hundred years ago military rifles used to have very long barrels, 32.5 inches for the Springfield 1873 and 30 inches for the Krag rifle, with the carbines of these models equipped with 22 inch barrels. With the Springfield 1903 rifle a compromise of 24 inches was made with a view to having the same weapon for both Infantry and Cavalry use, and it proved so good that it has established the 24-inch style as standard for seventy years. Another reason for the longer barrel on early military rifles was to provide a sufficiently long handle or reach for the bayonet.
Sporting barrels have been standardised generally at 22 inches, with 20 inches for carbines. Exceptions are the .22 caliber match rifles which have 28 inch barrels chiefly because they are using aperture sights and not optical sights; and rifles for the .220 Swift and 7mm magnums and .300. Magnum cartridges which are made 26 inches long to give certain advertised velocities to their cartridges. Extremely high intensity rifles of over M.V. 4,000 fps, and over attain their high velocity from relatively large charges of powder and light bullets, which combination requires a longer barrel to burn all the powder and give them their high velocity, so that 26 or 28 inch barrels might seem desirable.
.50 cal also needs a long barrel 26 or 28 inch to burn over 600 grains of slow burning powder.
Standard shotgun shells give practically the same velocity, penetration, and pattern whether the barrel length be 26 or 30 inches, so the well informed shotgun shooter bases barrel length on considerations other than ballistics. A gun with 26 inch barrels handles faster, and is handier in brush and on most upland game. The long barrel swings slower and in the hands of many shooters is best on ducks, particularly in pass shooting. So the shooter who selects a long barrelled shotgun with the idea that he is thereby getting higher velocity, greater penetration, and a denser pattern is all wrong. The ultra modern long range 10 and 12 gauge magnum shells do, however, need around 30 inch barrels to give the maximum ballistic effectiveness which is the sole reason for such heavy loads.
While a moderately short barrel tends towards greater handiness, there are serious objections to a very short barrel which accentuates recoil and report, sometimes to a very objectionable degree. Except with very light cartridges, like pistol cartridges, with an extremely short barrel of only two or three inches, the powder blast at the muzzle may so upset and deform the base of the bullet just as it leaves the barrel so as to preclude any accuracy.
Next Edition Barrel Weight
FREE FOR ELECTRONIC DOWNLOAD
Manual IMI GALIL Assault Rifle
Operators Manual, photographs, specifications and details of all types and different Models and Ammunition.
Exploded View and Parts diagrams and Part Numbers.
Email : OwenGuns@spiderweb.com.au and it will be sent to you in .pdf format free of charge.
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Owen Guns Bulletin Jan 2009 No 8
Welcome to the Eighth Edition of the Owen Guns Bulletin.
STOP PRESS
Scroll down for another Free Firearm Manual
We are currently publishing our new website at www.owenguns.com
Where we are in the process of listing 1000s of rifles,shotguns, handguns, accessories, and gun parts that we have for sale. Visit the website now. We also have shooting articles and important firearm information for the gun enthusiast.
Take away free gun photos and free firearm images for your gun gallery collection. New firearm related material being added every day.
Have A Very Happy and Prosperous New Year from all of the team at Owen Guns.
Any Inquiries on any products phone 07 54824099 or 07 54825070
Monthly Specials
Quality Photographs of the famous Ron Hayes collection of hand guns, the most complete Australian collection. A deluxe compilation of handguns from all around the world, the subjects are conveniently cataloged into National and Manufacturer classifications. The twenty six groups utilise each letter of the alphabet, introduced with a brief description of each particular category. 592 large format pages.
Special Price for this Month Only $99.00
FN Custom Mauser
Commercial Walnut Stock, Famous FN Mauser Action. Bedded and Free floated, Custom worked trigger guard and magazine floorplate. Commercial Adjustable Trigger and Safety Catch. Commercial Striker. 3-9×40 Simmons scope, Simmons Steel Mounts. Comes with 25/308 cases. All finished and deep blued by a Local Custom Gunsmith.
Only
$800.
Email owenguns@spiderweb.com.au for more & bigger photos, its worth it.
Bushnell Sportsman 3-9×40 Variable Riflescope at a once only price of
$90.00
Ian Skennerton has spent more than four decades of world-wide research and study, evolving through two prior editions and many other related titles. The Lee Enfield has proven itself as the finest battle rifle of all time. No other firearm has served for so long at home and abroad with such a proud record. This study encompasses all aspects of the Century of Lee-Enfield development & production… Britain, America, India, Australasia, South Africa & the Far East. Rifles, carbines, bayonets, parts, tools, accessories & ammunition are arranged into specific groups & chapters. There are five new chapters • Preview, Model Identification • Lee-Enfield Hybrid • Serial number Production Ranges • Component Parts Evolution • An Ammunition Summary. The Pattern Room collection has been the primary source for samples and records. With the larger format, this presentation sets a new standard for collectors, students & shooters of the venerable Lee-Enfield… indeed, for all arms books. While the ‘Lee-Enfield Story’ has long been accepted as the definitive tome on the Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield rifle series, this new volume increases the record from 504 to 608 pages and features improved photographic detail, larger illustrations and an improved layout.
Special Price for this month only $79.00
plus postage
Idea for Dad and Son, An Adult Air Rifle. Practice Target Shooting in the Garage.
Includes a 3-9×40 Variable Air Rifle Scope and Air Rifle Mounts. $385.00
(Have to be shock resistant for High powered Air Rifles) . These products will all be 20 % dearer as Distributor prices went up 1st December due to dollar.
Four left in stock
The single shot, .177 cal. spring air Genesis pellet rifle features ultra hi-tech ergonomics in its soft, synthetic pistol style grip and sculpted cheek piece. 28 pounds of cocking force gets up to 1000 fps. Other features include:
• Two stage adjustable trigger
• Ventilated rubber recoil pad
• Precision rifled steel barrel
• Crossblock® trigger blocking mechanism
• Ambidextrous safety
• Made in the USA.
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Anschutz 1450 10 shot 22 Long Rifle
This second hand .22 rifle is a high quality item still in top condition, (open sights are missing) has been used for .22 Silhouette competition with a good scope. Last owner was a winner and up graded. The Ten Shot magazine would be worth $120. This rifle is a bargain at
$250.
This book originally printed by the War Office, was intended for use by officers under instruction at the British School of Musketry at Hythe. It is a complete examination of everything needed to be known about smallarms, ammunition and ballistics. It looks at rifles, swords, lances and bayonets, as well as revolvers, grenades and machine guns. There is a section dealing with small arms ammunition (including pre-.303inch ammunition) which is very comprehensive. The book also looks at the ballistics of this ammunition. The book is amply illustrated with photographs, line drawings and tables, and forms a complete record of the weapons and ammunition that were in service between the two World Wars. It was the Text Book Bible referred to by all the 20th Century Gun writers such as Hatcher, Ackley, and Askins. 430 A4 pages.
Special for this Month Only $59.
plus postage
RCBS Great Prices, Get the Best Reloading Tools for the Lowest Price.
RCBS Great Prices, Get the Best Reloading Tools for the Lowest Price.
Throws consistently accurate charges reload after reload. Powder pours uniformly from measuring cylinder into case, thereby eliminating the hazards of “overloads” caused by clogging when charges are dumped”. Changes easily from charge to charge without emptying powder hopper. Numbered measuring screw is used for reference to find a given charge at a later date. The measuring cylinder has precision ground surfaces and slides into the honed main casting for a precision fit. Standard 7/8″- 14 thread. Includes stand plate, drilled for easy mounting on a bench or under a reloading die lock ring. Two drop tubes for .22 caliber and upwards are supplied. The Uniflow Powder Measure is fully capable of accurately measuring all three major powder types – ball, cylindrical, and flake. It will even cut the cylindrical powders so that a precise charge can be obtained. NOTE: The Uniflow Powder Measure should be used in conjunction with an accurate powder scale for setting the original charge and for checking charges occasionally during the run.
Special Price RCBS Uniflow Powder Meausure, $120.plus post
EMAIL Or PHONE 0754824099
For More RED HOT PRICES
EMAIL Or PHONE 0754824099
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GUN LAWS
The Hoplophobe
by Dr. Bill Rogers
WRogers@KeepAndBearArms.com
Jeff Cooper coined the term “Hoplophobe” to describe a person who lives in fear of an inanimate object. The Hoplophobe does not recognize that there is a living, breathing human being in possession of the inanimate object. (See: Bad Gun – Liberals attack the gun issue.) Therefore the Hoplophobe chooses to have a relationship with an inanimate object rather than with the sentient being in control of the object. Such a person is, by definition, irrational. Such a person is, by association, insane.
In our merciful culture, the insane are granted special dispensations. They are not considered responsible for their own well-being. Public money is often used to house, clothe and feed them. They are not allowed to serve on a jury. They are not allowed to vote. (And when they do manage to sneak into the voting booth, the rational among us are not surprised that they often “dimple” rather than “punch” a ballot, despite written instructions to the contrary.) They are not allowed to serve in the military, and they certainly should not be allowed to make public policy that will put their neighbors at risk of being injured or killed.
We in the RKBA community have spent countless hours and dollars attempting to educate the Hoplophobes. This is hopeless. It cannot be done. These poor folks have a condition known to the medical specialty of neurology as “anosognosia.” That is: they don’t know, and they don’t know that they don’t know. A sure sign of such a deplorable condition is that when education is attempted, the Hoplophobe responds with anger.
So, I recommend that we finally give up on educating these unfortunates. Let us instead shift our efforts to controlling them and disenfranchising them. They must be treated like the mentally retarded who are allowed to make only limited decisions in the world of “grownups.”
Hoplophobes don’t like to be angry, because it frightens them to be angry. So, our attack on them should be one of frontal assault.
Let us boldly call them what they are: socially retarded children who, when left alone to participate in the making of public policy, are getting people killed. It is time for us to start taking them on directly. We have simply been “too nice” to these social retards. The worst that will happen when these people are confronted directly is that they will cry and run away, trembling and calling us names as they run.
Politically correct witnesses to our frontal assault will doubtlessly call us ugly names and tell us we are being “cruel.” And that, my friends, is the exact moment when we win the debate, because that is when we turn and point to a homicidal shooter, like the one recently captured in Massachusetts, and we say:
“No, DAMN YOU, HE is the cruel one! HE is the one who shot the sheep, some of them in the back as they frantically scrambled for their lives because they had nothing with which to fight back! HE is the one that no one shot down while he was fumbling to change magazines or reload his shotgun!”
Yes. It is time we came out of our own little closets and began telling our fellow citizens:
“Any man (or woman) among you who is physically able and yet who does not learn to shoot and carry a defensive weapon at ALL times, is a deadbeat who deserves…DESERVES…whatever comes your way.”
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Dr. Rogers is a psychiatrist practicing in Tyler, TX. He is a member of the KABA Board of Directors and he is the Director of Doctors For Sensible Gun Laws
……………
Gun History
William Ellis Metford
Rifle Engineer
William Ellis Metford
Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Volume 140, 1900
William Ellis Metford was the elder son of William Metford MD of Flook House, Taunton, by his marriage with Miss M E Anderdon, and was born on October 4th, 1824. He was educated at Sherborne and afterwards became a pupil of Mr W M Peniston, then Resident Engineer under Mr Brunel on the Bristol and Exeter Railway, and from 1846 to 1850 was employed under Mr Brunel on the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway. He subsequently worked for Mr T E Blackwell in connection with schemes for developing the traffic of Bristol and afterwards for a short time acted as engineer under Mr Peniston who was contractor for the Wycombe Railway.
During this period of his life he made many friends in the profession and in 1855 became acquainted with Mr William Froude who at once recognised his ability and skill and became his most intimate friend.
Mr Metford devised a form of theodolite with a traversing stage and a curved arm upholding the transit axis, which is described in the Proceedings of the Institution for February 1856. He also invented an improved level in which the upright stem of the level telescope terminated in a sphere resting on the lower plate of the level and gripped by a ring grip tightened by four screws pulling downwards and having spherical nuts. The instrument could then be adjusted accurately even if the plates were as much as 25 degrees out of the horizontal. Mr Froude suggested a further improvement – that the sphere should not rest on the bottom plate, but should have an internal hollow sphere resting upon a small sphere concentric with the outer sphere.
Early in 1857 Mr Metford, who had married a daughter of Dr Wallis of Bristol, obtained a very important appointment on the East Indian Railway under the present Sir Alexander Rendel. This he obtained largely through the recommendation of Mr Blackwell and Mr Brunel. He arrived at Monghyr, on the Ganges, in May of that year, the mutiny having just broken out. Here there was every probability of an outbreak; the town of 50,000 native inhabitants contained no troops but a handful of Sepoys belonging to a mutinied regiment. The Europeans, some seventy or eighty in all, were taking no active steps to organise defence. If they fled, as was possible by boat, the town would be given over to anarchy and violence. Mr Metford decided to remain and, with his railway staff, took in hand as well as he could the organisation of patrols and other repressive measures. His task was difficult, for he had no official position as leader. The old fort was ruinous and too large to be defended by so few; a house was accordingly fortifiedand provisioned in case of need. Patrols and guards were organised and it became known that ‘Metford Sahib’ was making explosive shells and other murderous inventions. Besides taking his turn on guard duty, he superintended every measure of defence and could scarcely rest night of day.
In the Indian Mutiny some building were fought over more than once. 2000 Sepoys were killed defending this building, due to wild dogs only the large bones were left.
It was the most trying part of the Indian hot weather and not until the beginning of August could English soldiers be spared to garrison the town. Had it not been for Mr Metford’s determination another massacre might have been added to the story of the Mutiny. The heroism of the man who prevented it has remained unrecognised and almost unknown.
The strain of this terrible time left him seriously ill – suffering from inflammation of the membrane lining of the brain – and after some months of rest and an attempt to resume his work at Monghyr he returned home after a little more than a year’s absence from England, and was obliged definitely to abandon the profession. Much of the work which he afterwards accomplished was done under the strain of continual depression and headache.
He soon resumed his old hobby – experiment in rifle work. As early as 1852 Mr Metford had carried out experiments at the long distance of 1,200 yards. About the end of that year he suggested a hollow-based bullet for the Enfield Rifle which was brought to the notice of the Committee on Small Arms in 1853 by Mr Pritchett, and adopted by them. Both at this time and afterwards, he made many experiments on alloys of lead, tin and antimony and on the changes in hardness which take place in them with time.
In 1854 he investigated the disturbance of the barrel by the shock of the explosion, which affects the line of flight of the bullet, a difficulty which has led to much misunderstanding. About this time he designed a form of telescopic sight which he afterwards used a great deal and which was a decided improvement on existing patterns.
He gave much attention to the problem of making an explosive rifle bullet and in 1857 sent in his invention to the Select Committee who found it the best of those offered to them. It was not adopted however until 1863, when it had successfully competed against Colonel Boxer’s and General Jacob’s shells. It was very cheap and easy to manufacture, the explosive being a mixture of sulphur and chlorate of potash, and the hollow a simple one at the nose of the bullet. The Convention of St Petersburg in 1868 put an end to the use of explosive rifle bullets; but the superior accuracy of the hollow-fronted bullet led to its retention for the Service rifle.
The Volunteer movement of 1859-60 had led to a great revival of interest in rifle work, and at the Wimbledon Meeting of 1862 Mr Metford made the acquaintance of Sir Henry Halford, hence-forward his friend and assistant in his experiments. Together they competed, with rifles specially designed by Mr Metford, for the prizes given by the National Rifle Association in 1864-5 for shooting at 2,000 yards. In both these years Mr Metford’s rifles were successful. He now made many experiments to determine the velocity of the bullet at different points in its passage along the barrel and was able to lay down a curve for such a spiral as would give the bullet equal increments of rotation in equal times – the only scientific basis for an increasing spiral. This invention, though it proved to be less important than was at first supposed, formed the subject of a patent. A new form of ballistic pendulum, with double suspension, suggested partly by Mr Froude, was of great help to Mr Metford in his experiments.
Mr Metford’s chief distinction in rifle progress however is that he was a pioneer of the substitution of very shallow grooving and a hardened cylindrical bullet expanding into it, for deep grooving and bullets made of soft lead. No one before him had realised that the expansion of a bullet under the blow of the powder was ample and instantaneous and that deep grooving served to accumulate fouling, while soft lead created unnecessary friction. The Whitworth system of polygonal grooving gave far more grip on the bullet than was needed to give it proper spin. Mr Metford found that a bullet could be spun with rifling only 0.0005 inch deep, and that a depth of 0.004 inch was ample for all practical purposes. In 1865 his first match-rifle appeared, having five shallow grooves and shooting a hardened bullet of special design. It immediately achieved prominence in the hands of Sir Henry Halford, and in a very few years Mr Metford’s rifles, and those made on the same principles, had left all others far behind.
The Martini action, in combination with the Henry barrel, was adopted in February 1869, by the Small Arms Committee who had before them the work of all the prominent rifle-makers of the day, but not Mr Metford’s, and in 1870 he embarked seriously on the production of a breech-loading rifle. He saw that the solid-drawn brass cartridge-case was, for strength and simplicity, far ahead of the compound rolled case adopted for the Service; and that, considering the needs of hot climates and other practical conditions, lubrication of bullet or cartridge was inadmissible. Every detail of the barrel and cartridge received close attention and especially the form of the chamber and of the ‘entry’ conducting the bullet from the cartridge into the rifling. The adoption of a grooving of segmental form was also found to give great advantages in preventing the accumulation of fouling. It was not long before Mr Metford’s first experimental breech-loaders made their appearance and at Wimbledon in 1871 two rifles and a limited supply of home-made ammunition were used. With one of these Sir Henry Halford won the principal prize for military breech-loading rifles – a single prize of £50 – given by HRH the Duke of Cambridge and shot for at 1,000 yards
In 1872 a match at Wimbledon between teams armed with breech-loaders and muzzle loaders proved that while the latter was certainly still superior, the Henry match breech loader was quite out-classed by the Metford military rifle with match sights attached. By 1877 the rifle and ammunition had passed out of the experimental stage and were made by makers of repute, to whom great credit is due for the good workmanship which was an indispensable condition of the success of the rifle. From that time the record of the military rifle is an unbroken series of triumphs; and in the whole 23 years up to 1894, when military rifles of larger bore than 0.315 were no longer recognised by the National Rifle Association, the Metford rifle only four times failed to win the Duke of Cambridge’s prize, while it took a preponderating share of the other prizes. The Martini-Henry, adopted so recently by the Committee on Small Arms as the best breech-loader, soon found its level and after 1882 absolutely disappears from the long-range prize lists for the military breech-loader class. The superiority of the Metford rifle was notably shown in the matches with the military rifle between the Volunteers of Great Britain and the National Guard of the United States in 1882 and 1883 when the American rifles proved to be decidedly inferior to the British, notably at the long ranges, and almost the whole of the British teams used the Metford rifle.
The rapid advance in military small arms abroad, especially as regards quickness of loading, caused the appointment of a Committee to deal with the question of an improved British rifle in February 1883. Mr Metford designed, at the request of the Committee, the detail of the barrel of 0.42 bore for the rifle provisionally issued for trial at the beginning of 1887. But just at this time the question of further reduction of calibre was raised, as a result of Continental experiments, and the outcome was the adoption of the present 0.303 barrel and cartridge for the Service. Mr Metford’s unique knowledge enabled him at very short notice to lay down the proper proportions for the grooving, the pitch of the spiral, the shape and dimensions of the ‘entry’, and the ‘clearances’ to be given for the cartridge, all so satisfactory that though he himself verified them at much trouble and cost and the Committee also tried them exhaustively, it was found that no modifications could improve them, either as regards accuracy, convenience in use, or ease of manufacture. The 0.303 was first used for black powder, for which his segmental grooving was almost essential, and it was only the rapid destruction of the bore by the smokeless powder afterwards adopted which made it advisable to return to a very obvious form of grooving which had been used by Mr Metford twenty five years earlier. The adoption of the name of Lee-Enfield for the 0.303 magazine rifle with the altered grooving obscures the fact that the shape of the groove was only one of many details connected with the barrel, chamber & cartridge, which are due to Mr Metford’s skill. The form of the bullet, for instance, is one which he found to meet with less resistance from the air than any previously invented.
The Lee-Metford Rifle
Rifle work was by no means the only subject in which Mr Metford took an active interest. He was something of an astronomer; was an authority on the making of fireworks; and knew much about kite-flying. He studied thoroughly the questions involved in the cutting of precious stones, and at the Exhibition of 1862 showed some jewels beautifully cut by a mechanism of his own invention. He was an interested reader of books on many subjects.
A return, in 1892, of his old illness in an acute form put an end to Mr Metford’s active work and after some years of failing health he died on October 14th 1899. Those who knew him will always remember specially his kindness, his deep and genuine nature, his wide sympathies, his extreme accuracy of mind as well as of hand, and his untiring thoroughness of his work.
Mr Metford was elected an Associate of the Institution on 4th March 1856
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Owen Guns Bulletin Dec 08 No 7
Welcome to the Seventh Edition of the Owen Guns Bulletin.
STOP PRESS
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Click on the above link and have a look at over 700 firearm photos loaded on the site already. Soon there will be 7000 gun photos and more every day.
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Where we are in the process of listing 1000s of rifles,shotguns, handguns, accessories, and gun parts that we have for sale. Visit the website now. We also have shooting articles and important firearm information for the gun enthusiast.
Take away free gun photos and free firearm images for your gun gallery collection. New firearm related material being added every day.
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Monthly Specials
4 x 32 Silver Antler Rifle Scope $40.
plus Postage
Just as its Christmas and many of us did not get Mr Rudds Christmas present we decided to give away another case of these excellent, very clear, wide field of view, 4 power scopes at the old price of $40. Treat yourself and put a new scope on your old .22 . You will save on ammo, one shot instead of two is a 50% discount on ammo. (I put that one in for all those of Scots decent.) Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all the staff at Owen Guns.
Ideal Christmas Present for Dad, An Adult Air Rifle. Practice Target Shooting in the Garage.
Includes a 3-9×40 Variable Air Rifle Scope and Air Rifle Mounts. $385.00
(Have to be shock resistant for High powered Air Rifles) . These products will all be 20 % dearer as Distributor prices went up 1st December due to dollar.
The single shot, .177 cal. spring air Genesis pellet rifle features ultra hi-tech ergonomics in its soft, synthetic pistol style grip and sculpted cheek piece. 28 pounds of cocking force gets up to 1000 fps. Other features include:
• Two stage adjustable trigger
• Ventilated rubber recoil pad
• Precision rifled steel barrel
• Crossblock® trigger blocking mechanism
• Ambidextrous safety
• Made in the USA.Leupold 3-9×40 Variable Rifle Scope
$349.
plus registered Post.
Only until Stocks last due to the stronger US Dollar. Last year we had to pay $600 for one of these. Leupold, the Leading Scope in accuracy and reliability. The new ones we are importing now are 20% more than last months unless the US dollar crashes again prices will be up next month again, so buy now or pay more.
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These Rimfire rifles produced by Ceska Zbrojovka Uhersky Brod are among the most sought-after firearms in the world.
The CZ 452 featuring beechwood stock without checkering, hammer forged barrel with tangent iron sights and simple adjustable trigger.
The Famous BRNO 22.
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The CZ 452 actions are manufactured from steel billets not tubing or plastic, the barrels are hammer forged for accuracy and long life. The trigger is adjustable for weight, and the safety is located above the rear of the bolt and provides a positive firing pin block. Single shot adapters, 5 round magazines and 10 round magazines are available for this line of rimfire rifles.
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GUN Law FACTS
United Kingdom They Banned Guns,Then
Had 35% Rise in Gun Crime Within One
Year.
Can Guns be used for your Defence? Only if your are a Politician.
By David Bamber,
(12/01/2003)
Police officers should be routinely armed if gun crime continues to increase at its current rate, officers’ leaders believe.
Rank and file police officers have always taken pride in the fact that London is the only major capital in the world where most officers do not carry guns.
Jan Berry, the chairman of the Police Federation, which represents 120,000 officers, has now broken with 160 years of that tradition and called for arms to be issued if gun crime continues to increase.
Does any one really think the British Bobbies are unarmed?
On Thursday, the Home Office revealed that gun crime increased by 35 per cent last year compared to the previous year. There were 9,974 offences in the 12 months to April 2002, compared to 7,362 the year before. The figures came just a week after the brutal murders of two teenage girls in Birmingham. Letisha Shakespeare, 17, and Charlene Ellis, 18, were shot in the early hours of January 2 as a gang war erupted.
Mrs Berry, a serving inspector in the Kent Constabulary, said that if officers felt guns were required for their own protection and protection of the public, the police service would have to review its firearms policy. She added: “If we do not control the gun culture and guns continue to be glamorised, we cannot expect police officers to go out there unless they are properly protected.”
“If gun crime continues its rapid rise we will have to think seriously about the best options to protect us all. We do not want to meet force with force, but we do need to be protected.”
Are the Guns to protect the Public or Police?
Norman Brennan, a serving police constable and chairman of the Protect the Protectors pressure group, also believes the time is coming when police officers will have to be routinely armed.
He said: “For any crime to be out of control is terrible and we are going to have to seriously consider arming officers. We cannot have a situation where police are being shot at and are unable to defend themselves.”
Pc Bob Crees, a former armed response unit officer and secretary of the West Midlands Police Federation, said: “If the police were being targeted by guns then I think the time would come to consider it.
“At the moment we should increase the number of specialist armed officers but I think arming everyone would just lead to more criminals carrying guns.”
Senior officers have always resisted routinely arming the police because they believe that this in turn would encourage more criminals to carry arms. During the year to April 2002, seven police officers were shot in England and Wales.
Specialist armed officers patrol in Manchester, Nottingham and London almost every day but most police are still unarmed in those cities. The Government still believes officers should not be routinely armed.
Addendum.
Why are Police More Valuable Than Ordinary People?
We have to protect our Police and Politicians, but what about the rest?
No one gives a damn, that the general public have been disarmed and are prohibited from defending themselves. The public are just the lambs for the slaughter and the government gives guns and bullet proof vests to the Police. It debates the right of the police to defend themselves but ignores the fundamental rights of those who should have the first call on self protection the General Public. 9,974 offences against the defenceless general public seven against policemen and its “Protect the Police”, “They have to be able to defend themselves” well the right has to be extended to all. Then watch those crime rates decrease. Ron Owen
………………………………
Gun History
Mr John Rigby
Mr John Rigby
Gun Manufacturer and Target Shooter.
The name of “Rigby” synonymous with firearms was founded in Dublin, Ireland, in 1735, since then John Rigby & Co. has forged an enduring history of manufacturing excellence and design innovation that is unequalled in the annals of rifle and shotgun manufacturing. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the company built duelling pistols and defensive weapons, such as the blunderbuss, which established its reputation for utter reliability in life-and-death situations. Later, and continuing to this day, the company’s mainstay has been the manufacture of the world’s finest firearms for dangerous game and other large animal hunting.
The company traded as W. & J. Rigby during the period 1820 – 1865 during the flintlock and percussion eras. A London shop was eventually opened in 1865, and the Dublin premises finally closed in 1897.
Rigby Target Rifle
Around 1880, John Rigby became Superintendent of the government Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock, and was in charge of development of the British service issue .303 British calibre rifle. He was a distinguished rifleman who had competed at international level with the Irish team, and this brought the Rigby’s name to the fore in rifle making.
The principles of this Target Shooting was made possible by Mr Joseph Whitworth in the 1850′s, all famous Gunmakers competed and developed a special class of ‘small-bore’ target rifle. The majority of these rifles were around .451 calibre, and the term ‘small-bore’ was used to distinguish them from the ‘large-bore’ service rifle of .577 calibre.
Trials were held at Hythe in May 1860 to select a suitable rifle. Mr. Whitworth and a deputation of Birmingham gun makers contested the trials, with the Whitworth rifle being the clear winner. With one exception, the Whitworth rifle continued to be issued to Queen’s Prize finalists until 1871, when for the first time the match was shot throughout with breech-loaders. The exception in 1865 was the Rigby target rifle.
This very notable exception was in 1865, when the Rigby rifle was issued to Queen’s Prize finalists.
A report of its selection, which follows, was published in The Times of Monday, 29 May 1865.
MR. RIGBY’S RIFLES – In the competition last year which went on between Mr. Whitworth’s and Mr. Rigby’s rifles the Council of the National Rifle Association reserved to themselves the right of instituting further trials of both weapons, which as far as the contest went, had shot in an almost equal figure if merit. To these further trials, however, which were ordered by the Association Mr. Whitworth declined to accede, and Mr. Rigby’s rifles were accordingly chosen by the Association as the weapons with which the second stage of the Queen’s prize should be shot, instead, as here to fore, with the rifle of Mr. Whitworth. To test the weapons thus supplied by Mr. Rigby, of Dublin, a special trial has just been made by the Council of the Association at the 1,000 yards range of the Royal Factory at Enfield. A number of rifles were supplied which were examined by Lieutenant-Colonel Dixon. The bores were gauged for diameter, the lock and other parts tested, the rifle weighed, and a lead pattern of its interior, and the pitch of its rifling ascertained. All proving perfectly correct, 15 were selected for trial at the targets. In the firing no mechanical loading rod was used, nor, it is stated in the official report to the National Rifle Association, was such assistance necessary, as there was no fouling or any difficulty experienced in sending the bullet home from first to last; and the report further adds that the Council “may safely congratulate themselves upon the excellent arm which has been selected by them for the year for the 60 best shots at Wimbledon.” In all, 15 rifles were tried and 83 shots, at 1000 yards; all, of course, from a mechanical rest of Mr. Rigby’s own make. The mean total deviation of all the shots fired was as low as 1.57. In some cases it was as low as 1.11, and the greatest deviation was only 2.15. Mr. Rigby had made the acceptance of his rifle by the Council depend upon its making an average figure of merit at least equal to the figure of merit made by Mr. Whitworth’s rifles at 1,000 yards in the trials of 1862, 1863 and 1864. In 1862 Mr. Whitworth’s mean deviation was 2.35, in 1863 it was 1.77, and last year it was as low as 1.83, the mean of the three trials therefore being 1.98. As Mr. Rigby’s mean for this year is the lowest ratio of deviation that has ever been attained by any rifle at 1,000 yards, and well within the figure of merit allowed by Mr. Whitworth, it follows that up to the present Mr. Rigby has gained the best of the contest, and produced a rifle which has as yet shot more truly than any other known in this country, at least.
Rigby rifle shows the long range aperture sight.
Many of the world’s most-famous hunters and adventurers have relied on Rigby rifles. The renowned tiger hunter Jim Corbett carried a .275 Rigby; Kermit Roosevelt, (son of Teddy), shot a .450 Nitro Express Rigby double rifle during their 1909 African safari; legendary elephant hunter Walter Dalrymple Maitland Bell used a .275 Rigby; and the famed African safari guide Harry Selby had a .416 Rigby as his favourite lion rifle.
Rigby landmarks include the 1897 introduction of the .450 calibre Nitro Express Double Rifle; the 1899 production of the Rigby .275 calibre (7×57 Mauser) Mauser system and the Rigby .350 calibre Express Rifle; and the 1900 introduction of the .350 Mauser System.
In addition to earning a reputation for unsurpassed quality of workmanship, the Rigby company also established a track record of innovation that allowed it to survive through changing times. The introduction of the .450 Nitro Express in 1898 rewrote the book on big-bore rifle design, and Rigby was among the first of the English gunmakers to recognize the potential of adapting the Mauser ’98 bolt-action magazine design for hunting purposes.
In 1907 the Rigby .470 became Rigby’s main big game double rifle, and in 1912 the .416 Rigby calibre magazine rifle was introduced. Between 1900 and 1960, the Rigby Mauser System was predominantly made in calibres .275, .350 and .416 Rigby, with some .303 calibre rifles in the early days. After that period a wider range of calibres were manufactured. Rigby also made boxlock and sidelock shotguns throughout this entire period.
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Glossary For Optics
Optical Glossary
Achromatic
A lens classed as achromatic has been formulated to be free of chromatic aberration, which causes colour fringing. An achromatic lens, or achromat, achieves identical focus with light rays of two different colours.
Apochromatic
Apochromatic lenses are corrected to bring all three primary colours to the same focus.
Astigmatism
Aberration in a lens or optical system that makes lines oriented in certain directions less sharply focussed than lines running in other directions. Astigmatism also occurs in the human eye. A typical astigmatic effect would be to see the vertical lines on a sheet of graph paper sharply while seeing the horizontal lines less clearly, or vice versa.
Bell
In scope sights with ends flared to accommodate large-diameter ocular or objective lenses, the oversized lens housings are referred to as bells, as in ocular bell or objective bell.
Binocular Collimation
Regulating the two halves of a binocular for parallelism. If the halves are misaligned, the images they form will not merge into a single, sharply defined viewing image. Severe misalignment causes a perceptible multiple-image effect. Slight misalignment may not be specifically obvious, but will result in eyestrain during prolonged viewing.
Catadioptric Lens
A lens system containing front-surface mirrors in addition to refractive lenses. Catadioptric designs “fold” the light path internally to reduce the overall length of the lens system to a significantly shorter dimension than a conventional design would require for a given focal length. Catadioptric lenses, also called mirror lenses, are sometimes used as compact telephoto camera lenses and are occasionally employed in spotting scopes. They are relatively common in astronomical telescopes.
Centre Focus
Refers to a type of binocular with a central focussing control that adjusts both halves of the binocular simultaneously. In centre-focus binoculars, one ocular lens is individually adjustable for focus while the other is fixed. Initially, the user focuses the fixed-ocular half of the instrument with the central control, then focuses the other half with its independently adjustable ocular. Further focussing requires using only the centre control. Centre focus binoculars are quick and easy to use, but are relatively complex mechanically.
Chromatic Aberration
Occurs when a lens brings different wavelengths (colours) of light to separate and distinct points of focus rather than to a common focus. Depending upon the severity, the effect may range from very slight unsharpness to gross unsharpness with visible colour fringing.
Collimator
An optical device containing a lens system that bends light rays passing through it to make the rays parallel. The lens system is often coupled with a target such as a reticle or, in certain applications, a pinpoint light source. A collimator is used to “trick” another optical device, such as a camera lens, telescope or scope sight, into forming an image of the collimator’s reference target as though it were a distant target rather than a very close one. In the optical industry, collimators are widely used for visually assessing the image-forming characteristics of lenses or lens systems. In the context of sporting firearms, small collimating units, also called boresighters, can be used to regulate a scope sight’s reticle to approximately match a shoulder arm’s bore axis in the relative comfort of shop or home, without making a trip to a firing range. The scope “zero” achieved by careful use of a collimator should be considered simply a rough setting that must be refined by actual test firing.
Coma
Off-axis lens aberration that distorts oblique light rays transmitted by the lens. Coma produces taillike smears on tiny round image details such as points of light. Under high magnification, coma may make tiny points of light resemble miniature comets.
Crosshairs
A cruciform reticle in an optical sight, also commonly referred to as crosswire’s.
Curvature of Field
Off-axis lens aberration that makes light rays come to a focus at different points along a curved, rather than flat, focal plane. When viewing a flat subject, such as a paper target or a brick wall that is perpendicular to the lens axis, curvature of field will make it impossible to obtain sharp focus at the centre and edges of the viewing field simultaneously. When the centre is sharp, the edges will be soft; altering focus to sharpen the edges of the image will blur the centre.
Diaphragm
A mechanical device for reducing the amount of light entering or transmitted by an optical system. In simplest, non-adjustable form, often called a stop or Waterhouse stop, the diaphragm is nothing more than an opaque plate configured to fit in a slot or holder in the lens system, or to attach over a lens. The plate has a hole of the desired size, usually circular, that allows a limited amount of light through the optics. An adjustable diaphragm, such as found in most camera lenses and called an iris diaphragm, consists of several interconnected, overlapping movable metal or composition blades that can be opened and closed concentrically to vary the size of the central aperture. Using a stop or diaphragm to reduce the effective aperture of a viewing system produces two immediately evident effects. First, the brightness is reduced. Second, the depth of field is increased. Depth of field refers to the zone of sharpness from near to far in the observed image. Accessory stops or diaphragms available for some target-model rifle scopes are used to enhance sharpness in depth, which is quite limited with high-magnification optics. Iris diaphragms or interchangeable stops are often used in conjunction with high-precision aperture sights on match rifles to achieve optimum clarity of front sight and target. Handgun shooters who cannot see iron sights clearly without corrective spectacles that render the target unacceptably blurry may manage to sharpen sights and target adequately by placing an accessory small-aperture diaphragm or stop plate over the aiming eye’s eyeglass lens.
Diopter
A measurement unit that expresses the refractive power of a lens. Focussing eyepieces of scope sights and binoculars are sometimes equipped with a scale calibrated in diopters to facilitate returning to a previously determined setting. The corrective power of simple eyeglass lenses is given in diopters. Accessory diopter correction lenses are sometimes available for installation in viewing systems or sights to allow comfortable use while wearing non-prescription shooting glasses.
Distortion
A distorted image falsifies subject contours and/or proportions. Distortion is most easily perceived when viewing subjects of known shape and dimensional relationships. Two common forms of distortion are barrel distortion and pincushion distortion. Barrel distortion makes straight lines appear to bow outward toward the edges of the field. Pincushion distortion makes straight lines appear to bow inward toward the centre of the field. Small amounts of distortion may be tolerable in viewing optics provided the distortion remains fairly unobtrusive, as it generally does not impair overall utility. Nonetheless, the finest viewing optics are virtually free of distortion.
Erector lens
Certain combinations of objective and ocular lenses yield an inverted image. An erector lens incorporated into the system serves to reorient the image right side up. In binoculars and telescopes, prisms are often used to “erect” the image.
Exit Pupil
The exit pupil of an optical viewing system appears as a bright disc of light that may be seen by looking into the ocular lens from about 10″ with the instrument aimed at a light source (not the sun!) or a bright background. Within certain limits, the larger the exit pupil, the brighter the view through the optical system. You can calculate the aperture of the exit pupil in millimetres by dividing the effective diameter of the objective lens in millimetres by the magnification of the instrument. An exit pupil aperture as small as 2 mm is large enough for easy viewing in good daylight conditions. An exit pupil diameter of approximately 7 mm is large enough for darker environments or evening use. As the pupil of a normal human eye cannot open larger than about 7 mm, there is little or no practical brightness advantage to designing ordinary viewing instruments with excessively large exit pupils.
Eyepiece
The lens or lens group through which the user of an optical instrument views the image. The term eyepiece is often used interchangeably with “ocular” or “ocular lens,” but may also refer to the physical rim or mount flange that contains the outermost lens of the ocular. The context in which the word occurs normally reveals the meaning.
Eye Relief
The distance between the user’s eye and the ocular lens at which the entire field of view of a scope sight or other optical device is visible simultaneously. Instruments described as having long or extended eye relief allow more than the usual distance between eye and ocular. Long-eye-relief rifle scopes are desirable on rifles that recoil strongly to reduce the likelihood of the ocular striking the shooter’s eye or face. Handgun scopes with extended eye relief provide a full field of view when held at arm’s length. Long-eye-relief spotting scopes and binoculars allow users to see the entire field of view while wearing eyeglasses.
Field of View
The expanse of subject included within the field of an optical system. The measurement is normally taken across the diameter of a circular field and, in the US, expressed, for scope sights, in feet or yards at a subject distance of 100 yards unless otherwise stated. The field of view of binoculars is generally given for 100 or 1000 yards. In countries using the metric system, field of view is commonly expressed in metres at a subject distance of 100 or 1000 metres. Field of view may also be specified in angular terms, as an angle of view. Knowing the angle of view allows calculating the field of view for any subject distance of interest.
Flare
The scattering of non-image-forming light within an optical system, caused by poorly controlled internal reflections from lens surfaces or mechanical components. Flare may be perceived as stray reflections, as a veiling glare or hazy quality that obscures detail in the image, as a loss in image contrast, or as any combination of these phenomena. It is most likely to occur when the field of view includes highly reflective, brightly lighted features or a strong light source. Some target scopes and spotting scopes are equipped with lens shades that may be quite effective in suppressing flare by preventing sunlight from shining directly on the front element of the objective lens in side-lighting or when shooting against the light. The higher the quality of the optical system, the less likely it will be to exhibit flare effects, although no optical system is immune to flare under extreme’ lighting conditions.
Focal Plane
The plane where the image formed by the lens or lens system is in sharp focus. In a camera, the focal plane is the sensitized surface of the film.
Focus
This term may refer to the focal point of a lens, a lens’ focal length, the condition of maximum clarity of an image or the action of adjusting a lens system to yield the clearest and best defined image it is capable of forming of a subject at a particular distance. An unfocused or out-of-focus image appears blurry, ill-defined and deficient in contrast. An in-focus image looks sharp, precisely defined and as rich in contrast as the lens system and viewing conditions permit.
Focussing Scale
Scope sights with adjustable focussing objectives usually have a focussing scale on or adjacent to the movable focus control. The scale, calibrated in feet,yards or metres, permits setting the focus rapidly for targets at known distances. When target distance is unknown, the scope is focussed visually and the scale ignored. Accuracy of focussing scale calibrations should be verified when a scope is new and occasionally thereafter, as discrepancies are not unusual. This may be done by focussing the scope carefully on targets at known distances. If the focussing scale is at odds with reality, have it adjusted by the appropriate service facility or remark it with small pieces of tape or dots of nail polish for personally useful range settings. An optical instrument that focuses erratically or inconsistently should be repaired or replaced.
Haze
Light scattered by particulate matter in the atmosphere, such as dust or moisture droplets. Haze lends a foggy or cloudy appearance to distant objects or scenes, subduing colours and contrast. Haze effects are more apparent when using high magnification optical instruments than when viewing with lower-power optics or the naked eye, and are more pronounced at long range than short range under a given set of atmospheric conditions.
Individual Focus
Refers to a type of binocular in which the ocular of each half must be focussed independently each time the instrument is refocused. Adjusting the focus of an individual-focus binocular is slower than a centre-focus model, but the former is mechanically simpler and, construction quality being equal, potentially less vulnerable to hard knocks.
Lens Aberration
An optical flaw that adversely affects image quality.
Lens Coating
Anti-reflection layer or layers deposited on surfaces of prisms and lenses by vaporizing metallic compounds in vacuum chambers containing the optical elements to be coated. Lens coating reduces loss of light and image degradation caused by scattering of light reflected by lens surfaces. Traditional lens coatings comprise a single anti-reflection layer applied to each significant glass surface. More modern multiple-layer lens coatings consist of three or more anti-reflection layers per surface. Both single and mufti-layer coatings are effective when they are applied appropriately.
Luminosity
Radiating or reflecting light. Also a measure of the brightness of alight source or of a reflective surface expressed quantitatively according to rigorously defined criteria.
Magnification
Relationship between the apparent size of an object as viewed through an optical instrument and the apparent size of the object as seen with the naked eye. For example, a scope that makes an object look four times larger than it appears when viewed directly has a magnification of four times, usually expressed as 4X. A magnification designated by a number smaller than one indicates that the viewing device makes the subject appear proportionately smaller than when seen with the unaided eye. An instrument of 0.9X magnification reduces the apparent size of the subject to only 90% of what it would seem in direct viewing. Note that the term magnification is used even when the optical device “minifies.” As a practical matter, nearly all sporting optics yield positive magnifications that enlarge the viewing image. The magnification bears a direct relationship to the apparent distance of the viewed object: the greater the magnification, the closer the object appears. Dividing the actual distance of the object by the magnification indicates the apparent distance of the object as viewed through the optical system. An object 100 yds. distant would appear as though it were 50 yds. distant when viewed through a 2X scope and just 10 yds. distant through a IO X scope.
Mirage
Optical phenomenon that occurs when air near the ground is significantly denser than the air above it, creating visible reflected images of distant objects or targets. Less extreme mirage phenomena are of concern to outdoor target shooters, appearing as a shimmer that makes precise aiming difficult or impossible, or that may cause an apparent displacement of the target that leads to erroneous shot placement as the shooter fires at the mirage image rather than the actual target. High-power scope sights make mirage more noticeable, but they also allow the experienced marksman to judge the mirage effect with greater certainty, and compensate for it to the best of his or her ability. The term mirage is also broadly applied to the heat shimmer from a hot gun barrel, which may disrupt the sighting image. Extra-long lens shades offer relief from such heat shimmer.
Objective
The objective lens or lens group forms the image of a distant target or subject at or near the focal point of the optical system. The objective is located at the front of the instrument.
Ocular
The ocular lens or lens group enlarges the image the objective lens forms and allows the viewer’s eye to see it clearly despite its proximity to the eye. The ocular is the part of the optical system nearest the viewer’s eye and is the rearmost lens group of a scope sight. The ocular lenses of nearly all rifle and handgun scopes may be focussed to suit the user’s vision, thus providing the sharpest possible view of the reticle and of the image formed by the scope’s objective lens.
Parallax
Apparent shift in position of a viewed object attributable to the difference between two separate and distinct points of view. In a scope sight, parallax can cause an aiming error, or parallax error, when the target image is not formed in the same plane as the reticle. The condition may be detected by moving the aiming eye progressively away from the centre of the ocular toward the edge of the lens without moving the scope. If the target and reticle shift position slightly relative to each other, parallax error exists and will cause a corresponding shift in the centre of impact. The more the eye moves away from the scope’s optical axis, the greater the parallax error. Parallax error does not occur when the aiming eye is well centred with respect to the ocular lens, even though the conditions for a potential error are present. With a fixed-focus scope sight that has been factory-set for optimum focus at a specific distance, the potential for parallax error exists whenever targets are nearer or farther than the range for which the optics were regulated. In most cases the amount of error will not be significant in the context of normal field shooting. Parallax error can be avoided satisfactorily by keeping the aiming eye reasonably well centred. High-power varmint and target scope sights have adjustable objectives that permit focussing the scope over a wide range of target distances. Focussing such scopes carefully assures maximum image sharpness and also eliminates potential parallax error at the distance for which the scope is focussed. With the scope focussed properly, moving the eye off centre will not cause a shift in the relative positions of reticle and target, and the centre of impact will not be affected by the shift in eye position relative to the optical axis.
Objective lens
Used in pairs in a binocular barrel between the objective and ocular lenses, right-angle porno prisms erect the inverted image formed by the objective lens group. They also “fold” the light path, permitting the binocular barrel to be made shorter than if a non-prismatic optical design were used. The offset required between the porno prisms in each pair gives the binocular barrels a corresponding offset between the objective and ocular sections.
Relative Brightness
Relative brightness numbers are an attempt to quantify the “brightness” of scope sights and binoculars to facilitate comparison. The relative brightness number is the square of the diameter of the instrument’s exit pupil, expressed in millimetres. You can determine the size of the exit pupil, if it isn’t stated in product literature, by dividing the useful aperture of the objective lens, in millimetres, by the magnification, or power, of the instrument. For example, a 4X rifle scope with a 40 mm objective would have a 10 mm exit pupil (40 = 4 = 10) and a relative brightness of 100 (l Oz). The relative brightness reflects the optical truth that, all other factors being equal, large-diameter objectives admit more light than small-diameter objectives. More light can pass through a large window than through a small one.
Resolving Power (Resolution)
The ability of a lens or lens system to form an image in which fine subject details are clearly differentiated. The higher the resolving power, or resolution, the more precisely the subject detail is rendered.
Reticle
In a rifle or handgun scope, the reticle is an aiming reference consisting of crosswires, dot, pointed post or other distinct shape that appears superimposed on the field of view. The reticle is positioned within the optical system to coincide with the plane of focus of the objective lens or lens group. Some scope sights are offered with a choice of reticle styles to accommodate subjective preferences and/ or match function to application. As a rule, to which there are exceptions, hunting-style scope sights have relatively bold reticles that aid rapid aiming, while target and varmint models feature finer reticles that subtend less of the target and may be less prominent, but are conducive to precise shot placement when aiming carefully and deliberately. Some spotting scopes and binoculars incorporate a scaled reticle intended to aid in estimating target distance or size.
Roof prism
Also called Dach prisms (Dach is the German word for roof), these relatively complex prisms erect the image in binoculars and “fold” the light path to allow shortening the barrels. Roof prisms are more difficult, and therefore more expensive, to manufacture than porno prisms, but they allow designing the binocular with compact, straight barrels, reducing size and often reducing weight. For a given level of quality, a pair of binoculars incorporating roof prisms is likely to cost more than one of similar power and light transmission that uses porno prisms. When minimizing instrument size and weight is not a major criterion for selection, overall optical and mechanical quality are more important than prism configuration.
Spherical Aberration
Causes varying degrees of image distortion. Light rays entering the outer portions of the lens are brought to a focus closer to the lens than light rays passing through the center of the lens. The resulting distortion is more likely to be noticed in photographs than when viewing through such a lens.
Twilight Factor
Most often associated with binoculars, the twilight factor is a numerical expression of the telescopic effect in dim light. It may also be calculated for scope sights. The twilight factor is derived by multiplying the magnification, or power, by the useful objective diameter, in millimetres, and then extracting the square root. In the case of a 4X scope sight with a 40 mm objective, the calculation would be 4 x 40 = V ’160 = 12.64911. The twilight factor assumes realistically that in dim light, all other factors being equal, viewing instruments with higher magnifications and larger objectives will outperform those instruments with lower power and lesser light gathering capability.
Variable Power
Variable-power scope sights, spotting scopes and binoculars have a control that allows the user to adjust the magnification over a predetermined range, as with a photographic “zoom” lens.
Wide-Field
Wide-field viewing or sighting optics provide a broader field of view at any given distance than would a conventional non-wide-field instrument of the same magnification.
Sighting And Glasses
Shooting with protective glasses presents a different sight picture than without glasses because of the intervening layer of plastic or glass. Many shooters have noted that there is a displacement of objects in the field of view and believe the use of protective lenses introduces a sighting error.
Instead, as the diagram indicates, the direction of the gun is determined by the alignment of the sights with the target. The eye only sees the alignment after it has taken place. Even if there were a mirror or prism behind the sights, so that the sight picture could be viewed from entirely around a corner, it would make no difference. By the same reasoning, this principle also applies to optical sights as well as iron sights.