About 50 Meter 3-Position Rifle

50 Meter Smallbore 3-Position Rifle:

Smallbore shooter

Among the rifle shooting sports, smallbore three position is possibly one of the hardest and most intricate. The term "smallbore" confuses some people, but all it means is that the rifle is chambered in .22 long rifle. The basics of the sport are the same as 3-position air rifle (see the air rifle post). It is shot in three positions; prone, standing, and kneeling with pre-set times for each position. What seperates the two sports is that the smallbore rifle brings in even more adjustments, it is shot outside, it takes more time, and it is shot at the international level.

First, let me explain the rifle a little bit. I am hopefully going to make a post about the equipment used at some point, but until then, this will have to do. The rifles used aren't your granddad's old bolt action .22, they are highly precise target shooting tools. Each rifle is able to shoot a "one-hole" group (all the shots appear to be within the same hole), or close to, and are engineered to fit a shooter as closely as possible.

Average smallbore rifle

As you can see from the picture, the rifle doesn't look like an "ordinary" rifle that most people are accustomed to. Virtually every piece, from the buttplate to the front sight, is adjustable so that the shooter can "fit" the rifle to their position (more on that in the equipment section).

Unlike the air rifle discipline, the rifles for smallbore have very little restrictions on how one can set up their rifle. In order to compensate for the recoil, many shooters prefer a very heavy rifle (mine weighs around 15 pounds), this extra weight, while helping to solidify the shooter's position, is very taxing on the body especially in the standing position.

Also unlike air rifle, this sport is shot outdoors (most of the time). Being shot outdoors brings on a whole new slew of difficulties. The most prevalent being the wind. Most people don't think too much about the wind, but at 50 meters even a slight breeze can move the bullet an inch or more! The only way for shooters to compensate for this is to either wait for the wind to die back down, or take their chances (most smart shooters prefer the first choice :) ). Wind can be observed in a competition by watching wind flags posted at various distances on the range. These wind flags, while very helpful, do not always give the most accurate showing of the wind adding to the difficulty.

Wind flags (that's me at the bottom if you can see :) )

Another difficulty associated with outdoor shooting is weather/light. Because the place where the shooters actually shoot is covered, matches are sometimes shot in the rain. The rain doesn't always alter the trajectory of the bullet, but it does make aiming much harder. Also, heat can play a major role in the competition. When shooting in 100+ degree heat in thick shooting clothing, heat exhaustion and stroke are very real dangers, plus the heat waves coming off of the ground can distort your view of the sights making it harder to aim. Light is another difficulty. Many people don't realize it, but where the light comes from, how bright it is, and the color are all very important. I could go into a very in depth explanation of this, but i fear I would bore you to death. If you would like to know more let me know! All I am really going to say about it is that most shooters have to use a set of colored filters/ polarizers on their sights so that they can monitor the amount and type of light they see in order to get the best sight picture.

Now a little on the competition itself. The men and women compete differently (much like air rifle) the men shoot twice as many rounds than the women. A men's course is set up so that they shoot 40 shots in each position (prone, standing, and kneeling) resulting in a match that takes upward of 4 hours. The time, combined with heat/cold, the size of the rifles, the mental strain, and the strain of the positions makes smallbore one of the hardest of all rifle shooting sports. The target used looks about the same in the sights as an air rifle target. The ten ring is about half the diameter of a dime. Just like air rifle, their is a final shot for the top 8 shooters (in the same format when using the old rules).

Example of a 50 meter target with a dime to show size

The sport of 50 meter rifle is difficult, yes, but the difficulties make it a lot of fun. I know people who have shot this sport for 30+ years and they always are learning something new every time they go to the range. Learning how to read the wind is a lifetime pursuit just as much as fine tuning your position. This is a sport that you can enjoy for many years and is definitely a sport I recommend trying if you ever get the opportunity. Like all shooting sports, the shooters are probably the friendliest people you will ever meet. I can't tell you how many times a competitor next to me has offered me help or equipment that I needed even though we were competing against each other! If you ever find yourself at a range and see a competition shooter, go up and ask them any questions you have and they will most likely be very happy to answer you and help you get in to this wonderful sport.

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