Day at Minsterley

[snayperskaya]

Had a good day at Minsterley Ranges yesterday, I found some love for the little Armi Jager AP-80, checked the new front sight post on the ex-Dragoon Mosin and fired my first black powder rifle!.

I've had the AP-80 for a bit now but it's early outings were disappointing due to failures to feed and eject to the point where it got frustrating so it has sat in the cabinet unloved.The week before last I spotted two 15 round mags for it in excellent condition and decided to give it another go so yesterday I got a few different types of ammo and after some trial and error it ran like a champ with Remington high velocity stuff and was surprisingly accurate for what it is so happy days on that front and it will now get a lot more use.

Initial outings with the ex-Dragoon showed that it was shooting high at 100m so a taller front sight post was required so I looked around for a suitable substitute and eventually settled on making one out of a pin punch that comes in an AKM cleaning kit.I made removed the front sight base and installed the newly made post which was a touch over 1mm longer in order to allow for a bit of fettling in case I still needed to lower the point of impact.....but after trying it yesterday it was bang on target with no further action required which was good.

One of the other members was shooting a very nice reproduction 1853 Pattern Enfield and kindly let me have a go.I was pleasantly surprised how nice it was to shoot, I thought it was going to be an animal with a dirty great big 550gr Minie bullet but the recoil was more of a push than a shove and was much milder than a Mosin for example.He also had a very nice Model 1861 Springfield with him and I can now see the appeal of these old black powder rifles after trying one.

All in all a good day and the chance to get out in the fresh air after a hectic week at work

[polemass]

I think around 4am next morning some grim looking gents will knock at your door-you diverting to much,comrade....

PS.I,for a change-tested my 7.62x39 loads at Bisley/SS first it was "oh,c**p" but...last butch did better then factory PPU-60£/100 ,so-work in progress for me

[snayperskaya]

I think around 4am next morning some grim looking gents will knock at your door-you diverting to much,comrade....

Call it "familiarity Training" Tovarisch

[ovenpaa]

Never been to Minsterley, maybe one day! Somebody was shooting a Saga type 7,62x39 thing down the range yesterday, crikey they are loud!

[dromia]

Good grief!

You hadn't shot a M/L till now!

Such abstinence amounts to self harm.

[snayperskaya]

Good grief!

You hadn't shot a M/L till now!

Such abstinence amounts to self harm.

I have shot an Ardesa .50 muzzle loading pistol thing before, and nearly wore it as a hat!, but the Enfield on Saturday was the first M/L rifle.

[snayperskaya]

Never been to Minsterley, maybe one day! Somebody was shooting a Saga type 7,62x39 thing down the range yesterday, crikey they are loud!

I think you'd like Minsterley

I did have a Saiga 104, the short barreled carbine, and that was loud!.....especially under a covered firing point.

[dromia]

I have shot an Ardesa .50 muzzle loading pistol thing before, and nearly wore it as a hat!, but the Enfield on Saturday was the first M/L rifle.

Sounds to me that someone was unhelpfully taking advantage of your chasteness, they do not need to be loaded that way.

[Nelly2014]

I decided to go to Minsterley ranges this Easter weekend for a first visit and so I could try my recently acquired AKM at 100m . We took the motorhome and stayed at a campsite nearby.
The road in was a bit dodgy but not too bad but the final bit of track was pretty horrible and more suitable to a 4X4 even though I had been assured by staff that many visit in their 'Porsches and Ferraris' with no problem.
I was expecting the £30 non-member range fee but I thought it was a wind-up when one of the members told me he pays £220 pa and £10 per visit.
I found the staff efficient but grim and unfriendly echoing one of the google reviews. After examining my FAC (but not noting what firearms or serial numbers) I was given a range briefing in the shop including instructions to inform staff when members infringed the safety rules.
I certainly got some exercise lugging my kit up and down the scree slopes to the ranges.
I had fun blasting away with my AKM then shot a load of slug on the 50m. I then shot 100 rounds on the PSG 'range' which was basically a load of steel flip-over plates on the ground in approx 250 sq m of bermed off scrubland behind the clay shoot.
The shop was clean and tidy, well laid out and stocked but prices seemed rather high.
Apart from the 100m range there was nothing that would tempt me back, certainly not the warm welcome

[snayperskaya]

Nelly.....sorry to hear that, Minsterley is my home club and I have certainly never found the staff to be grim and unfriendly......the access road is indeed lacking a bit but it is also the access road for a working farm.