Sight Extension -Bloop Tube?

[Chattcatdaddy]

Whats the ruling on if a sight extension/bloop tube is allowed?

As I read the rule as regards to no attachments extending beyond the end of the barrel and the rule states that sight are not considered attachments. SO did I just answer my own question and a sight extension is allowed?

Surely this has been addressed before today.

[yankee]

This is in reguards to a smallbore standard silhouette rifle. The maximum barrel length is 30 inches from the bolt face. You may have a "bloop tube" on your rifle as long as it does not exceed the 30 inches. You may have weights or sights or a tuner or nothing on the tube.
I hope this answers your question.

[Chattcatdaddy]

Thanks! That answers it. Just never seen anyone at any of the matches using peep sights or extensions.

[1armoured]

Just for interest,

the 54 variant, the 1808msR, came with a bloop tube extension, to hang weights onto.

Came with a couple weights, too, from memory.

It used the barreled action from the moving target version of the 54 action.

http://www.championshooters.com/54-ms-t.jpg

cheers,
Sean in 'Gondwanaland'

[Kevin6q]

I shoot with peep sights at matches in NH and use a ring front and not a post. They work fine with this caveat: Contrast between the targets and the back ground can make it tough(er) than using a scope. If the berms behind the rack are wet, the dark sand almost hides the animals. This becomes more appearant as the targets distances move out. If the sand is dry enough that the occasional miss by other shooters doesn't expose the wet sand underneath the contrast remains pretty good. A sunny day also helps with the contrast. An overcast or rainy day makes the targets really difficult to center. I don't believe sight radius matters as much as being able to see the contrast of the target.

I've found using a larger aperture up front, 3 to 4 mm, helps a lot. The brain naturally wants to center whatever is in the front ring. You will need to learn where to center the mass of the odd shaped animal to increase the hits. A post up front might help with this but I don't have any of these inserts. I also use silo as training for biathlon and don't feel like changing my race set-ups. The silo shooting has improved my biathlon offhand percentage. In addition to great training, I've found silo to be a super fun shooting activity and am in the process of putting together a silo specific rifle with aperture sights.

[Kevin6q]

I shoot with peep sights at matches in NH and use a ring front and not a post. They work fine with this caveat: Contrast between the targets and the back ground can make it tough(er) than using a scope. If the berms behind the rack are wet, the dark sand almost hides the animals. This becomes more appearant as the targets distances move out. If the sand is dry enough that the occasional miss by other shooters doesn't expose the wet sand underneath the contrast remains pretty good. A sunny day also helps with the contrast. An overcast or rainy day makes the targets really difficult to center. I don't believe sight radius matters as much as being able to see the contrast of the target.

I've found using a larger aperture up front, 3 to 4 mm, helps a lot. The brain naturally wants to center whatever is in the front ring. You will need to learn where to center the mass of the odd shaped animal to increase the hits. A post up front might help with this but I don't have any of these inserts. I also use silo as training for biathlon and don't feel like changing my race set-ups. The silo shooting has improved my biathlon offhand percentage. In addition to great training, I've found silo to be a super fun shooting activity and am in the process of putting together a silo specific rifle with aperture sights.

[Chattcatdaddy]

Kevin

You are using a Izhmash 7-4 biathlon rifle correct?

[Innocent]

Not that I agree with the rule if you are using a Izhmash biathalon you may want to check the centerline of the bore to bottom of stock depth.

Mary

[Chattcatdaddy]

I believe Kevin shoots at a range that runs an open class for rifles that doesn`t fit NRA standards. At least that is what I gather from his rimfirecentral posts.

[Kevin6q]

Yes. The rifle I use is a "not even close to silo legal" Izhmash 7-4 biathlon rifle. The ranges in NH where I shoot do run a Club class which other ranges call an Open class. These classes are where you run-what-ya-brung. The NH shooters are very open to having people participate and don't get too hung up on rules. I believe as long as the shooter is safe and is enjoying themselves they allow you to pay your entry fee and shoot. I don't keep track of my scores in an NRA book and there is always room at these matches on the shooting line. My wife enters and so do the kids who are 5 and 8. The kids shoot off a rest while standing and shoot at the Cowboy sized targets. Olivia, the 8 year old shoots the top bank and Nathan, the 5 y.o., takes the bottom. The rifle the kids use is a restocked Marlin 17YR restocked to look like a biathlon gun. It too is not silo legal. The kids participate in summer biathlons so their rifle is equipped with Annie peep sights. Mom's gun is also peep sight equipped on a silo legal Savage.

The strategy works for growing the sport. As I mentioned above, I'm looking for another 7-4 action to build a silo legal rifle. Jud has been very helpful answering my zillion questions and offering advice about all aspects of silo.

The 7-4 I use has too light a trigger. Biathlon rules allow a 500 gram break and mine is right on the 500gm. line. The forestock is too deep, there is an extension below the trigger guard which is intended for support , the butt hook is too low and has too much hook in it. The barrel is not tapered at all and the rifle weighs in at about 4 kilos (8.8 lbs.). I'm, not even sure what class the 7-4 action silo gun will fall into.

The other hassle with the peep sights is keeping the head in proper position . The apertures are pretty close to the barrel hence the need for the large hook drop and trigger guard lift. Without the long hook and lift I need to bend my head down to use the sights. I suppose I can lift the sights up to compensate or see if another make of rifle will work. I'd like the silo gun to have peep sights since I don't really enjoy using a scope. Maybe someday but not for now.

The attraction to the 7-4 action is the straight pull rebolt. The Annies use a Fortner straight pull. Its fast, super smooth and the shooter doesn't have to break position.

Sorry if this diatribe is too much of a sidebar to the original question.

[Chattcatdaddy]

If you restock the 7-4 it will fall into the standard class. I`m just going to use a Biathlon Basic as my standard rifle(if I can hide the money from the wifey)

[Kevin6q]

I'm also considering a 7-2 (biathlon basic) if I can find one in left handed bolt. I can purchase a RH and swap out the bolt and toggle for a LH version but this is expensive. The only benefit to swapping out the bolt is the ability to change from RH to LH in about 3 minutes. This assumes I keep the ambidextrous stock. The 7-2 with changeout will be less expensive than a LH 7-4 build. The trigger group is differant on the 7-4 and I'd have an extra biathlon gun for parts if my current race rifle becomes damaged.

[Chattcatdaddy]

LH are pretty hard to come from what I hear. Have you tried MTguns?

This is what my basic goal should look like when I`m finished.

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u184 ... ights1.jpg