Vintage Rifles

Above: Jared spits lead with a Japanese Arisaka M38 rifle. WW2 vintage.

Collecting and shooting vintage rifles is both fun and interesting. There are millions of vintage rifles both civilian and military in circulation throughout the United States.

Here are some images of Vintage Rifles being used by Russ and his friends (and students)in casual and target match shooting - Try them, you will like them!

Collecting and shooting vintage rifles is both fun and interesting. There are millions of vintage rifles both civilian and military in circulation throughout the United States.Here are some images of Vintage Rifles being used by Russ and his friends (and students)in casual and target match shooting - Try them, you will like them!

Over time I'll add more images and hopefully you'll be featured in them!

Above: Vintage rifles come in all types. In this case Russ is firing a vintage Mossberg M42b .22 LR training rifle made for Great Britain in WWII. Although a little odd looking in comparison to modern guns, it shoots just as well and better than many.

Above: Joseph and George fire offhand. French 7.5 mm MAS49 for Joseph and .30-06 M1 Garand rifle for George. Father and son can have a great time shooting vintage rifles.

Above: Ken works with Finn M27 Mosin Nagant rifle off the bench.

Above: George fires French MAS49 semiautomatic rifle in "Day at the Range" training with Russ.

Above: Paul's gear for the M1 Garand Match - He's always been a "minimalist" when it comes to gear but this is all you need.

Above: Paul Harriss prepares to fire his M1 Garand rifle made by the Springfield Armory in 1945.

Above: If you haven't ever fired an M1 Garand rifle, buy or borrow one and get a little instruction - You'll be happy that you did! A fun, smooth-shooting .30-06.

Look for local CMP sponsored M1 Garand Matches at your local gun club. Often they have a Garand rifle that they can loan you to shoot the match with, you will need to buy the ammo though. Most shooters are friendly and will help you with the rules, technique, etc. You can buy surplus M1 Garand rifles directly from the Civilian Marksmanship Program www.odcmp.org check it out!

Above: CMP Certified Master Instructor Brian Mathews give instruction on the use of the web sling in target shooting. Using a sling correctly can really boost your scores/shooting. By the way: The M1 Garand rifle is not pointing at Brian - It is just a weird camera angle. Safety first!

Above: Brian working with a Finnish Mosin Nagant rifle off the 100 yard bench. He can shoot and the rifle can shoot, I assure you...

Above: View from the fire control center of a Finnish M39 rifle and view at 100 yard targets. Vintage rifles are generally fired with open sights.

Above: French Berthier M1907/15 rifle made by Delaunier & Belleville in 1916. This rifle fought for the French in WW1 and now we still shoot it. Russ reload's his own 8 x 50 Lebel ammo for this but modern factory ammo is available.

Above: Group shot by Russ with the Berthier rifle at 100 yds. Not bad for a rifle made in 1916.

Above: Do you have one of these? A legal semi-automatic version of the Browning LMG. Russ has shot this one - Fun! Fun! Fun!

Above: Bill shoots a Mossberg M44. This is a surplus training rifle used by the US Military in WWII and even when Russ was in the Navy in 1979! These rifles are tack-drivers.

Above: Another vintage .22 LR, a Mossberg Mod 152 made post WW2. These rifles are a blast to shoot and are quite economical as well! Rifles can be bougfht cheap and .22LR ammo is still very reasonable. This is one of my own favorite .22 rifles.

Above: Neat vintage rifle - A German M1888 Commission Rifle modified by the Turks after WW1 and used by them for years. Imported as surplus and now on the range.

Above: Don't own an M1 Garand rifle and want to shoot in a match? Borrow one from the club! Chabot Range, Castro valley, CA. Just talk to Robert...

Above: Robert - M1 Garand Match Director and VERY distinguished shooter prepares M1 Garand 8 round clips for the shooters in the match.

Above: This is what you shoot at: 200 yard targets in the raised position. One you shoot the target is pulled-down into the butts below. Chabot Range.

Above: This is generally what it looks like below. Paul at the target at Ben Avery Range, Phoenix, AZ. Note eye and ear protection. The bullets fly directly over your head and make a snapping sound - like a bull-whip. Sometimes wood, paper and dirt debrise fly which calls for the glasses.

Above: On the firing line. M1 Carbine Match at the CMP Western Games. Russ is 5th from the right. A very challenging match out in the elements.

Above: Brian firing a Finn M28/30 rifle from the prone position at a Vintage Rifle Metallic Silhouette Match. In this image he is firing at a 500 meter steel Ram target.

Above: A beautiful vintage 1903 Springfield rifle made in 1938 - One of the last few years of Springfield 1903 rifles produced from the Springfield Armory. Also is a rest combining an ammo can and sandbag. A shooting mat, glove and a box of precision handloaded ammo are all that is needed to compete in a Vintage Rifle Metallic Silhouette Match.

Above: Add the shooter, in this case Russ and you are ready to go. All shots are taken from the prone position and the steel targets are Chickens at 200M, Pigs at 300M, Turkeys at 385M and Rams at 500M. You need to use softpoint or hollowpoint ammo so as not to shoot through the steel targets.

Above: Brian getting ready to spraypaint 385 meter Turkey targets after putting them back up on the rail after Russ kocked them down. Brian kocked more of them down than Russ though that day...

Above: Brian hunkers-down in a solid prone position to minimize rifle movement.