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I think part of the reservations people express about shooting a bolt gun stem from some misconceptions about how to shoot them.

The British seemed to think (at least in the past) that the gun should be taken down from the shoulder and cycled after each shot. I have even had people tell me that it aided in sight acquisition (??!!). Another misconception has to do with the cycle of opening and closing the bolt as a four step process (up, back, forward, down). Done properly, it becomes a two step process, with the index finger shoving the bolt handle upwards and to the rear at the same time, and then the thumb or heel of the hand pushing the bolt forward and down at the end. This is difficult to explain, but those who have access to David Tubb's excellent tapes and CD's on high power rifle competition can see the process vividly illustrated.

A friend and I once attempted some tests with the SMLE as a result of a magazine article attributing a speed of 37 rounds per minute by skilled British rifleman using that rifle, which caused the Germans in one WWI battle to think they had encountered a machine gun battalion. We were hampered by lack of stripper clips, so the best we could do was simply emptying the magazine without reloading. We found that 10 shots in 16 seconds was not too difficult to achieve, all the shots in the black of a 200 yard target reduced for 100 yards at 100 yards (6 1/2"). Undoubtedly it is a fast shooting rifle, hampered by somewhat crude sights.

A friend of mine once had the privilege of shooting on the same point at Camp Perry with Gary Anderson, the Olympic Gold Medal winner in free rifle and smallbore competition. Gary is also a southpaw who was shooting a pre-64 (right handed) Model 70 Winchester in competition. His first string at 300 rapid was a clean with a modest X count, which meant that all his shots were in the 7" diameter "10" ring and several were in the 3" diameter "X" ring.

A range alibi was announced, which meant that the string would be fired over because the targets had been pulled too soon, or some other malfunction. Gary calmly shot another clean, this time with a higher X count. A SECOND range alibi was called, and again Gary cleaned the target, with an even higher X count. Watching him cycle the right handed rifle with his left hand was a sight to behold.

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