Mr FM's first steps in the gun world
Many years ago, it all started for me with one of these …
a BSA Mercury air rifle (.22) which I think I was given for my 14th birthday. Now for those of you on the left hand side of the pond that that had graduated to 30-06 by that age – lets just say that boys develop late here in merry old Albion & access to firearms is a little more, errrr, restricted- even 25 years ago.
Anyway, I freely confess to having had a boyhood fascination with firearms that regular readers will know, continues to this day. So, the BSA was the first weapon that I could call my own. I cant even being to estimate the thousands of pellets that I fired during target practice, using my father’s old Army poncho for a ground sheet & a pile of logs, 25 yards away as a backstop.
Never before or since has an air weapon been so lovingly cared for – even after the briefest of use, metalwork was degreased & oiled, the varnish stock wiped down. After a year or so & once I was capable of grouping consistently with the iron sights, I was allowed to purchase a Tasco 4x20 telescopic sight & venture off into the woods & across the fields to learn my first painful lessons in field craft & field marksmanship.
At the same time as this was all going on, at school, I was shooting a Lee Enfield No.8 .22lr three nights a week & during the summer term, No.4 .303s on a Wednesday afternoon. It was this that led me to at a tender age to get into competitive target shooting which in turn led me to at 17, selling the my beloved Mercury to be able to afford my first Firearms Certificate so that I could get one of these, my first 'real' rifle.
Yes yes, I know it isn’t quite the natural choice of a weapon for a youth but even after I left school & had joined the local smallbore rifle club, I was spending 2 nights a week & rugby fixtures permitting, at least half a day a weekend, shooting card after card. Even thought I say so myself, it was at this time that I achieved a level of consistent accuracy that I have never been able to match since.
For anyone that has never shot a German ‘match’ rifle with this stuff …
it is my humble assertion that you have never truly been to the high altar of unmitigated accuracy. From 25 to 100 yards, if the point of impact isn’t right through the middle of the bull - each shot going straight through the same hole, it can only be down to you (if you are outside, you can always blame variations in windage on that last gust).
From there, it has been downhill all the way. In time, the Anschutz went the way of the Mercury & was sold. Do I regret selling these two weapons, now? Of course I do. With the passage of time, I have owned probably more than my fair share of rifles, shotguns & pistols – many have been sold, some, the GFW’s in Westminster seized. These days, the contents of my gun cabinet have become tools – each has its own job to do & each weapon does its job with varying degrees of efficiency. But nothing I have bought since or currently have, has bestowed the same pride in ownership as those two rifles above.
Comments
At university we used to use Eley match grade to do fun things like cutting paper clips in half or 'putting the round back in the cartridge' (i.e. hitting the open end of spent 22 LR brass.) We had an Anschutz-barreled 22 with a 3-9 x 33 Leupold scope.
Posted by: David Gillies | April 4, 2005 8:51 PM
I commend your use of iron-sights!
Posted by: -keith in mtn. view | April 5, 2005 1:10 AM
Just stumbled across your blog and spent a very enjoyable hour reading your comments. Great stuff! When my FAC variation comes through (later this week I hope), I'm picking up a BSA No 12 just like yours.
If you are serious about fitting target sights to yours, would you be interested in selling me your ladder and slider? I can put you in touch with someone who has the correct Parker Hale No 7 aperture sight for your rifle.
Posted by: Brian | April 11, 2005 8:06 PM
hi,
I live in costa rica and I am just about to buy a 22 remington 552 speedmaster. What do you think of this rifle, talking about accuracy.
Thank you
Posted by: oscar cruz | September 17, 2007 5:02 AM