In this issue: Hammerli address needed Re: Want Rules/specs for rapid fire AIR pistol Re: Want opinions on CURT simulator New Reinkemeier book / Gemini stocks Summer job in GA ******************************************************************** Does anybody have the postal address for Hammerli in Switzerland? I have an old 208 International, and someone has replaced the grips at some point. They are really well made but unfortunately too wide for competition use. Hence I'd like to contact Hammerli about a spare set of originals. Many thanks John-Paul thunderbird_zero@hotmail.com [Editor - FYI, John-Paul lives in Finland.] ****************************************************************** Michael, Dale, and others interested: The UIT has indeed released the provisional special technical rules for the Air Pistol Rapid and Air Pistol Standard events. Basically, the specifications are quite similar to the UIT Air Pistol rules regarding pistol dimensions. Pistols must be less than 1500 g in weight, with a trigger pull of not less than 500 g. Grip configurations are similar to the slow-fire air pistol event. Magazine capacity is limited to 5 shots. Although I am not familiar with the TAU, the Drulov DU-10 looks like it adheres to all the rules set forth by the UIT. The facing times for targets in the rapid event are 8 and 12 seconds, and 12 and 20 seconds in the standard event. These rules are available from the UIT at the address I listed in my last posting, and cost 3 DM (less than $3.00). They may also be available from USA Shooting, but I'm not certain about that. While we are on the topic of rapid-fire air pistol, does anyone know of any US suppliers for the less expensive models such as the DU-10 or TAU? Also, I'm not sure this comment fits the intended purpose of this list, but here goes... I suspect that the UIT may be introducing this event to replace the 25 m rapid-fire and sport pistol competitions in future Olympic games. Olympic organizing committees seem to be looking for ways to cut costs, and given the expense of smallbore ranges and the negative profile of the shooting sports in the largest TV markets, this seems like an easy way to do it. It happened with 50 m running game target, after all. Just a thought. Steve Desrocher [Editor - a similar rumor to the ones I've heard - Olympic shooting will be all airgun in a couple decades. Not sure how they would do shotgun, but that doesn't seem to have anywhere near the amount of negative press for some reason.] ****************************************************************** My High School has a Curt training device. Paul Davis (who is probably the best postion coach in the nation) bought one in 95 when it first came out. It had its pros and cons. It did show the shooter's barrel movement and the replay option was nice too. But I very much disliked the distance (4m) is too close to truley show barrel movement. As far as actual firing, it makes no difference. Dry firing is the best tool for postion improvement. It makes one focus on the execution of the shot rather than the shot down range. As far as I know he still has it. I saw him using last time I went home. David Fowler ddfowl1@pop.uky.edu ****************************************************************** On the subject of good books, Reinkemeier has a new one out. I've seen the German translation, and it's very impressive. About A4, 1cm thick, and packed full of diagrams, drawings, and explanations. Apparently, an English translation is coming, but does anybody know when ? The full title is "Wege des Gewehrs Band 1 : die Technik" by Gaby Buhlmann, Heinz Reinkemeier, and Maik Eckhardt. EINVERLAG ISBN 3-00-001509-4 (That's Buhlmann with u-umlaut) As to the questions on System Gemini stocks, they featured in Benchrest News (?) in the recent article on the smallbore US Nationals / the Pershing Match. Available from S&N (UK), and designed by Robert Nibbs, they are increasingly popular in UK and Europe. They've certainly taken off in the Women's Sport Rifle, as they allowed shooters to take their 1907 / 1807 / 1407 barrel and action, and just drop them into a new sport stock. No 20-series compatibility yet, though. I shoot a nice low-use X-barreled 1413 out of a System Gemini Ultra; everything forward of the trigger is duralumin. The action beds onto a PU engineering tape, lying on close fit dural. Ah, the wonders of CNC machining ! It comes in at about 6Kg including iron sights. The buttplate is pretty damn adjustable - most PSK shooters end up buying a stock with three buttplates; it's affordable, and these 10min changeovers are less of a pain. As for results, the NSRA UIT Championship had Robert Nibbs grinning like an idiot, as all four events (Mens' and Womens' Prone and PSK) were won using Gemini stocks. Email martin.sinclair@gecm.com if you want more detail about the Gemini stuff. ****************************************************************** [Editor - While not having much to do with the list, it is an opportunity to get paid to shoot so how could I not pass it on? Please contact Phillip directly.] We are seeking an individual to teach riflery and shotgun to boy scouts at the Blue Ridge Camp from June 14 - August 1. Must be NRA or BSA Certified in shooting sports and 21 years old. Stipend $1500-2000. We will train the right person. Contact Phillip Williams at 706 722 1846 weekdays or 706 860 8217 weekends. Mark all e-mail PERSONAL - PX174@aol.com ****************************************************************** End of UIT Mailing List #18 Michael Ray - Systems Engineer Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. Rifle Coach UIT Shooting Page - http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/1190/index.htm