One of the questions we get asked fairly often is “What do you use?”, so I thought I would try to go through all my personal equipment and give you an insight into what I use, and why.

One thing you should bear in mind when reading this however is that I bought a lot of my equipment prior to retiring from international competition in 2003, and my positions haven’t really changed a lot since then, although I have tweaked some kit here and there!

Smallbore Rifle

I’ve shot Anschütz for over 25 years and the core of my rifle is a selected 1913 barrelled action.  This is my second selected version, replacing two 1813s used from the mid 1980s through until 2001.  They have both been excellent, always tested pretty well at Eley, and shot extremely well from the shoulder.  Of the main brands and models, I would always recommend the 1913 as the first place to start for most people (or the lighter 1907 version for smaller adults and juniors) – although I do have a hankering to try a Walther KK300.  There are more esoteric models available – the Bleiker Challenger is excellent, and was I still an international athlete I would probably go for one myself, but I can’t justify that given how little shooting I have time for these days.  I am really looking forward to seeing the new rifle from Grünig + Elmiger when we get production models late in 2010.

Partnered with my 1913 is a Grünig + Elmiger RS Revolution III stock.  I’ve been using the stock for about two and a half years now, and I have to say it is the best rifle stock I’ve ever used.  Previously I used the System Gemini ‘Ultra’ stock, now no longer made, and that was excellent, but the G+E is better.  I’ve tried most of the other commonly available stocks – the Gemini 703 (the replacement for the Ultra), the Anschütz 1918 and the MEC Mark 1.22, but I prefer the Grünig.  I never got around to trying the MEC Project/GE600 stock – the preferred option of GBR’s Neil Stirton and Jon Hammond – so perhaps I’ve missed out there.  However, with the G+E being Swiss engineered, it is beautifully made, but has a price tag to match!  I can’t put my finger on what’s so good about it – the balance is great, the grip can be adjusted to suit, and the recoil is solid and pretty small.  I’ve replaced the cheekpiece on it with the hinged version that G+E normally use on their 300m rifles – it doesn’t have the cut-out at the front and is more comfortable to shoot since I’m fairly tall and have my head a long way forward in Prone and Kneeling.  Since I started using this stock my prone has been better than ever, and even indoors (my least favourite) I’m pretty much shooting a 99+ average, and that’s only shooting once a month if I’m lucky!

For butt plates I’ve stuck with the System Gemini Free Rifle Butt Plates that I used with the old Ultra stock – I was fortunate enough to be coached by Robert Nibbs, who designed them, for the last few years of my international career, and they fit really well.    I have three of them – one for each of Prone, Standing and Kneeling, and I really have never felt the need to modify or replace them.  I am planning on doing some testing with some of the newer butt plates this spring – the latest units from Grünig and TEC-HRO look really interesting – but they will have to be really good to replace my Gemini plates.

What else?  I have a MEC/Centra Champion palm-shelf for Standing.  I have replaced my MEC/Centra handstop with one of the new Grünig units – the profile is much the same, but it goes better with the rifle!  I use a fore-end block for Kneeling, and I’ve recently swapped from a custom block that Robert made for me ten years ago to MEC Push-Up, which is really comfortable, and allows me to easily change my zero point vertically if I end up on a range with an odd target height.  I’ve also swapped out the bolt knob, replacing it with the cylindrical AHG unit with the rubber rings, which I find less slippy on hot days.

I use Hämmerli rearsights – I always found them the most robust when taking sights off and on between positions, and I combine them with Centra components for the rest of the system.  I’ve got four rearsights – one for each position in 3P, plus a second prone set for use in domestic 100yd competitions.  Each is fitted with a Centra 1.8 Competition rearsight iris, with a silver ring on the back which seems to help me centralise my head position a little better.  I normally set the iris apertures to 1.3mm, my eyes don’t seem to like anything much smaller, and I will open this a bit of a dull evening at my local club.  I don’t use much in the way of the colour filters, but I will use the grey filters on a really bright day.  On such days I always tend to start with the polariser, and I’m comfortable shooting in a wide range of light conditions – sometime within the same detail!

I’ve tried a few of the newer models of rearsights – I really like the sight picture with the new Centra Spy and Crystal Iris combination, and I shot a solid 596 to win the Grampian Open at Denwood last autumn using this, but I hate having to re-sight between positions and/or distances, and I’m not going to treat myself to four new rearsights at this stage!

I use Centra Score Plus foresight tunnels – I like the sight picture they provide with the tunnel on a stalk, it seems to make it easier to centre the tunnel in the rearsight aperture.  They are all now M22 tunnels, it seems to help me with the sight picture.  I use High-End elements, always 1.0 ring thickness as my eyes seem to cope best with the thinner ring, and I’ve recently swapped to using the versions with yellow coloured glass (replacing the FS Filter I used previously with the clear glass versions), and the extra contrast helps my ageing eyes.  I use an extension tube for prone – my foresight element is somewhere about the 5.4mm mark, I don’t use any extension for standing so the elements are somewhere about the 4.2mm and I use a Grünig Hammer Shark for Kneeling, with a foresight diameter about 4.6mm.

I’ve had a very brief go with the new Centra Crystal foresight tunnels and high-ends, and there may be some merit in them, and I think I had one on when I shot that 596 at Denwood, but the jury is still out – need to try them again this summer!

I have a mix of sight raisers – my rifle has a Centra Action Stabliser fitted, which compensates for the extra height of the Score Plus tunnels.  I use one or two sets of standard Anschütz sight raisers for Kneeling, and a set of Centra Track risers for Standing, with the sights offset a few mm to the left to help my head position.  I think if I was going to change anything here, I would go for the new System 2.0 blocks and 2.1 spacers from TEC-HRO, they look the business to me!

Air Rifle

I have a Walther LG300 Alutec, which I’ve had since 2001 I think.  The regulater was upgraded by Christian Bauer of Walther to the newer LG300XT version and it still shoots really well.  I’ve played around a bit with various options – including a brief foray with a MEC Mark 1 Air Rifle stock – but I’m back to the standard Alutec stock at the moment.  I did like the MEC Contact III butt plate on the MEC stock, but I’m back to my old System Gemini butt plate – unfortunately no longer available in this size.

I did like the MEC Tube II HR that I used for a while, and with the sights at the maximum offset from the barrel the pole on which the foresight rested was quite some height, but using that stopped me from offsetting the rearsight to the left, so I’ve now swapped back to the normal tube and a set of TEC-HRO blocks with pillars to keep the sights as high as possible.   I’ve currently got a Centra Spy rearsight on the Walther, combined with the 1.8 Crystal iris, and I do like the sight picture.

Clothing

When we started this business in 2002 it was with Monard as our first brand, and I quickly got a suit of Monard Super jacket and trousers.  What a revelation that jacket was – for the first time in my life I had a jacket where the left sleeve didn’t try to pull me out of position in prone, and where I could really feel the contact with the butt plate in the right shoulder.  I’m still shooting in that jacket today, and although it’s needed a little TLC here and there (most recently provided by the excellent Philippa Taylor at Ten Point Nine), and it remains excellent.  I’ve thought long and hard about replacing it with something more modern – i.e. synthetic – but I can’t decide what, and I’m still shooting well in it – at least in Prone and Kneeling, even if I can’t stand still any more!  The main contenders for a replacement are 1) another one of the same, 2) Thune Xpert II and 3) Kustermann Monaco Fusion but no decision reached as yet!

I’ve been using an AHG ‘Swing’ sling since 2003, it’s been excellent, and I do use the ability to tighten it as a match goes on and the position sinks slightly.

The Monard trousers have just been replaced with my first ever pair of Thune trousers – the latest Xpert II model.  I decided on the Thune trousers because I think they are amongst the best cut on the market, and they provide the ability to allow me to get into the position I want to in kneeling – with the right leg almost perpendicular to the line of fire.  I could never achieve that with the Monard pair, and with my previous Truttmann trousers I only achieved that after cutting out the crotch (fortunately not when I was wearing them) – they could be a little drafty on a cold day at Denwood!

I’m currently using Corami boots, having made the transition from an older pair of Sauer boots.  I have to say I preferred the Sauer’s for kneeling, but the Corami’s are so much better for standing!

Under all that lot I have a Thune Coldwinner top, a recent replacement for my excellent Mouche Body Cool and Body Warms tops that have provided excellent service for years, and X-Bionic Energy Accumulator leggings and shirt, with X-Socks.  I was pretty sceptical about the compression clothing to start with, but I have to say my legs don’t feel anywhere near as tired after a 3x40 now as they did when I was much younger and fitter…  Must try the CEP socks!

I have a Thune Solid glove – fingerless – after many years of Kustermann, and I have to say it’s brilliant.  Hardly any pain in my hand, and that’s with a tight position.  I still have one of the old Kustermann gloves, which I use for standing since it provides more wrist support.

For headgear I have a HiTex visor – the same as the model branded as AHG – but in a delightful combination of lime green and orange.  It does go so well with my blue/white/purple jacket.

Lastly, I use shooting glasses and have two pairs – one Champion Olympic set which I use for Prone and Kneeling, and one Champion Olympic Archer pair which I use for standing.

Other Accessories

For prone I have a Kurt Thune mat, which I’ve used for years, and it shows no signs of age at all.  They are expensive, but I will never need another mat and it is excellent – firm enough to allow the position to be maintained over a long course of fire, but providing sufficient padding to protect my elbows and keep the body off cold range floors.

For standing I now use a TEC-HRO Stativ, I really like being able to get it in closer to me than the other makes, I just wish they had made these ten years ago!

For kneeling I have a large Mouche roll, filled with grass seed – not ideal for international travel, where it is often illegal to take plant seeds into other countries…  I think this one is still full of grass seed from Australia in 2002 – I took it out empty and the coach wasn’t best pleased when I asked to drop in at a garden centre on the way to the range!

I have a Kowa TSN-661 scope with a 20-60 zoom lens.  This is quite new, a replacement for my old TS-611 which has now been 'acquired' by my older daughter Jen.  It’s currently on a Freeland stand, although I used to use a much lighter unit when I was travelling a lot.  I’ve got an excellent Uni-loc tripod – sadly no longer available – for Standing and Kneeling, which lets me get the scope in nice and close in both positions.

So, that’s about the lot, and if you’ve read the whole lot then you’ve been here for a while!  Thanks for taking the time, and I hope you’ve managed to take something informative from my efforts.  Please feel free to contact us if this has raised more questions than it has answered…

Donald McIntosh

April 2010