The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

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Many years ago in the days when Yorkshire still had Collieries
and the National Coal Board ruled supreme there was a
joint Anglo French project to build a coal mining machine.

The UK built the cutting head and coal movers while the french
built the motor and gearbox, In total it was worth millions in today's
money.

With all the pomp and ceremony that comes with an international
joint venture the two halves of the machine were going to be brought
together and the dignitary was going to put the first bolt in.

As the brass band played and the to halves were touched together
it was embarrassingly realised that the French had built their half in
Metric and the British had built their half in Imperial. All the measurements
were spot on except the holes where the jointing bolts went in.

A million pounds worth of kit and it took a pit top blacksmith 3/4 of an
hour to burn new holes into the French side because it was obviously their fault.

ozone
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Triffid wrote:My understanding is that NRA and MoD ranges have a tendency to use Meters and Yards interchangeably, hence the use of the term 'Mard'.


Triffid

Strensall (near York) went from yards to metres overnight some years back when Landmark took over MoD ranges and put new signs on the firing points.

Makes a bit of a mockery of the precisley measured zero range of 71 feet 7 inches then.:)

1066 wrote:Makes a bit of a mockery of the precisley measured zero range of 71 feet 7 inches then.:)

That's a quirk of ballistics dating back to the .303" days. Somewhere in EGB Reynolds' book on the Lee Enfield he explains it - from memory I think it's because the SMLE can be zeroed at point of aim at both that distance and at 200yds.

Gaz wrote:

1066 wrote:Makes a bit of a mockery of the precisley measured zero range of 71 feet 7 inches then.:)

That's a quirk of ballistics dating back to the .303" days. Somewhere in EGB Reynolds' book on the Lee Enfield he explains it - from memory I think it's because the SMLE can be zeroed at point of aim at both that distance and at 200yds.

Not quite Gaz. 71'7" equates to 1/4 " on the target equalling 1 moa. For a rule of thumb we use 1" at 100 yds as 1 moa but 1 moa is actually 1.047", this makes around 96 yards equal 1 true moa. The zero range is one quarter of this distance.