Target Sports

GALLERY RIFLE: GET A GRIP

Created on 14th May 2009

GWYN ROBERTS is back to help you choose your new rifle, looking at grips, the butt and cheekpiece and receivers in part two of this series

Grip type - Sporter or thumbhole?

THERE ARE many different types of grip available. The main consideration when choosing a grip is whether the ergonomics of the grip allow the pad of your index finger to rest naturally on the trigger blade, while keeping the finger relatively straight in order to ensure a good trigger release. You may find that a curved sporter grip works better for you, while some shooters find that a thumbhole/pistol grip design aligns their wrist and trigger finger more naturally in relation to the trigger blade. Personally I find that the Fajen Silhouette/Blaster type stock fits me best, but as it's a single-sided stock it means that I have to spend a fair bit of time re-shaping the grip and scalloping out the right-hand side of the cheekpiece in order for me to be able to align my head up properly with the scope to shoot from the weak shoulder. It's not the end of the world, as it guarantees I end up with a stock that allows me to shoot properly from any position, but it does take time and effort. Whether you have to convert a single-sided thumbhole grip, or re-shape, narrow down or bulk out an existing grip, it is fairly simple on most stocks. A bit of effort to ensure a positive and correctly aligned hold will pay dividends in your future performance. Also, some well-placed skateboard tape can help to improve both grip and control so it's worth thinking about. The grip areas on some of the more ‘fancy' stocks, however, will require a lot more care if you try to convert some of them to do a job for which they really weren't designed. Removing too much material in some areas may leave the stock vulnerable to damage if handled without due care.

The butt and cheekpiece

The length of the butt should allow you to comfortably reach the grip and forend together, and enable you to consistently bring the rifle up into the aim from both the waist height and 45º ready positions. Again, you may need to alter this area in order to achieve the best fit. There are various extendable butt pads available on the market, from simple spacers to fully adjustable three-way units, depending on your needs or bank balance! The proper height, width, length and profile of the cheekpiece needed will also vary greatly from shooter to shooter, but again you can always make what you have fit you somehow. Whether you end up installing an adjustable unit or simply adding or taking material away, you must make sure that the end result allows you to quickly align your head correctly with the scope when bringing the rifle up into the aim from the ready position. It should also enable you to achieve this when shooting from every position, to ensure good consistency and shot placement on the target. This is especially critical when shooting snap stages, where target acquisition and quick, well-aimed shots are nigh-on impossible if you can't adopt the correct head/scope alignment/eye relief quickly and consistently, every time!

For the Gallery Rifle Centre Fire lever action rifles there really isn't much choice regarding any aftermarket stocks for them at the moment, so you are stuck with a bit of DIY to modify what you have. Some shooters have added their own pistol grips onto the lever to try to get their hands in a better position in relation to the trigger and some of them appear to work quite well, so maybe this is worth looking at if you find the current setup of your lever action doesn't fit you properly. Mike Chinnery, who attends a lot of the Open shoots, has some really good Stockade adjustable cheekpieces for the lever actions and can usually fit them on the spot while you wait. Likewise, Steve Foskett at SFCustom will also be able to supply and fit an extended or adjustable butt plate should you need one, so check out the website (www.sfcustom.co.uk). I'm going to modify my own over the next couple of months as the forends on mine are too narrow and a little short, and I'm also going to look at fitting something over the barrel so that I don't keep burning my fingers half way through a 1500 match.

Receivers - alloy or stainless?

Galley Rifle Small Bore: Going back to the weight consideration should help you with this choice as a stainless version will be around ¾lb heavier than an alloy action, although the cost difference between the two could also be the deciding factor in the end. One advantage of these heavier actions is that some of them are available pre-threaded, allowing you to screw-fit a stainless barrel into them for a really secure lock up, although this usually means it's a gunsmith job to get them out again. They are available in, well, silver as you would expect, and from a performance point of view function just the same as an alloy version although some would say that they offer a more rigid setup. The various alloy units, however, come in a multitude of different colours so you can mix and match things to achieve a more individual look for your rifle. I think it's generally accepted that threading these lighter receivers isn't a good idea as they would be quite easy to damage. The normal twin bolt lock up with a V-block does the job more than adequately. This system also gives you the option of changing barrels pretty quickly should you decide to use, say, a heavier one for bunny bashing and a lighter one for competition use. The standard Ruger unit doesn't exactly arrive with tighter tolerances like the Volquartsen and Tactical Innovations varieties, but I think they do the job just as well although the choice of just black or silver may not appeal to everyone. One could argue that a ‘tighter' fit between the receiver and bolt will produce more accurate results. This is not upheld by a lot of the testing done in the States, though, where it seems that the 10/22's built on Ruger receivers are putting in groups that are just as good as those from some of the more expensive offerings!

One thing to take into account when choosing a receiver is whether or not it has a scope rail built into it, as this can be a good thing or a not-so-good thing depending on what you want to put on top of it. If you want to fit a Bianchi mover base then you will have a bit of a problem if your rail is fixed on as part of the machining process. With this in mind, for my rifle I opted for a flat-topped Tactical Innovations unit that has a removable rail held on by substantial 5mm allen screws. Since we started using 10/22s I have always drilled and tapped my receivers out to this larger size purely for reliability, as well as the ease of replacements as the standard ‘Yankee' ones are pretty hard to get hold in the longer lengths. Some bolts now come as a matched pair with some of the newer receivers and offer a few improvements for functioning or reliability. In the end, whichever manufacturer you opt for, getting it correctly head-spaced and profiled at the rear would be a good modification to have done. A tight-fitting or pinned ejector will improve reliability, and a pinned firing pin in a Ruger-type bolt will help to avoid any light strikes from occurring. A properly fitting (not just the latest techno whizz model thrown in) extractor fitted should help reduce or eliminate any stove piping issues, and a decent bolt buffer in the back is really all you should need to do to it.

Gallery Rifle Centre Fire: Blued steel or stainless are the two choices you get with a Marlin. A stainless one will cost more and may be very slightly heavier, but they are less prone to rusting so that may be the better option for some people who don't clean their rifles as much as they should. Other than that, it's down to which you think looks better! One thing I have found with the stainless versions when tuning them up is that many of them have rougher machining marks inside, which is probably due to the harder material being cut. All of the Marlins can be made to operate really smoothly with a little time and effort whichever finish you decide on, although a blue one will show up a two-tone effect after you have stoned or polished any of the parts.